Several years ago, I began developing some marketing resources at the urging of several clients. These tools were designed to communicate the basics of several concepts that are crucial, especially to small and mid-sized businesses. Based on further prompting by even more clients, I recently converted both of these resources into downloadable PDF’s.
First is the Primer and Workbook for SWOT Analysis, a tool designed to teach the basic business concepts of SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat) analysis. This workbook grew out of a series of workshops that I presented to help businesses and organizations understand the role of this exercise. The workbook explains the differences between the internal influences (strengths and weaknesses) and the external circumstances (opportunities and threats) that impact every business. It also goes a bit further and provides guidance for how to conduct your own SWOT analysis with example questions and worksheets.
As the name implies, the Primer and Workbook for SWOT Analysis guides you through the process of openly discussing the good, the bad and the ugly about both your own organization and, the current market situation in which you find yourself. The goal is to create an honest, objective look at your business and your business prospects. The findings revealed through SWOT analysis can then be used to inform your larger business strategy.
The digital version of the workbook is currently available for the low price of 19.99. Since the cost for the live workshop starts at $2500.00, I hope that this offering will put SWOT analysis within reach of more small businesses. Of course the full seminar includes a lot more, but this workbook will provide a solid foundation for marketers and entrepreneurs willing to do the work on their own.
The second resource I’ve posted online is the Pocket Guide to Reputation Management. This short booklet offers twelve steps toward protecting your business reputation online. It is written as a basic outline of the essentials of monitoring, managing and repairing your online business persona. The information your customers find online is often the only foundation on which they have to judge you — and this judgment can mean the difference between a growing business and a struggling hobby.
My Pocket Guide to Reputation Management offers advice, both philosophical and practical, that will help you understand the role of reputation and the techniques for monitoring it in a digital age. The pocket guide is only the beginning of managing your digital stature, but it gives you a place to start in a potentially daunting task.
The guide is available for FREE here in my online store. I hope you’ll download it and review the basic information it contains. I’d love to hear your experiences with the ongoing challenges of reputation management.
