IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies & family owned businesses.  The following blog has been provided by Janet McNaughton of Lasting Impressions (www.lastingimpressionsgifts.net):

4G Marketing of a Family Business in 2020

Covid-19 has wiped the monopoly board clean. As America reopens for business, it is critical to understand we are amidst the greatest reset in the history of business. Time to reimagine your company, pivot, and go for growth with 4G Marketing. Whatever “BOARDWALK” and “PARK PLACE” mean to you, today is the day to strategize how to secure those boardgame prizes and build your business.

Is your best decision in re-launch to boldly commit to sales and marketing? While I realize a company has to survive financially first, cutting too deep can end in ruin too. I learned the importance of doubling down on sales and marketing for myself during the Great Recession. One of my clients referred me to the tale of two cereal companies, Kellogg’s and The Post Corporation. This famous case study demonstrates recessions are a time of opportunity for the nimble and the brave. To learn how Kellogg’s overtook The Post Corporation in 1929 and never looked back I invite you to read Recession, Innovation, and Survival – A Lesson from Kellogg’s.

Persevering in sales and marketing can be as simple as converting the concepts Jim Kwik is known for in The 4 G’s to Genius into a mindset and action items you stick to in your sales and marketing strategy.

If you are wondering what the next 4G Marketing steps are for you, it will be my pleasure to roll up my sleeves and spend an hour with you to figure that out at no charge. Here’s how to become a sales and marketing genius with The 4 G’s:

• Growth – Decide to thrive, not survive. Identify if you want to pivot and where you need to change to meet new customer habits.
• Giving – Four B2B customer personas have been identified in the wake of Covid-19. “Journey Map” their end to end buying experience and identify how to provide each profile an exceptional experience with your company. The four personas are shown below. Sometimes the personas are combined.
• • Choose to stay at home even after the “stay at home order” is lifted. (Fear & safety)
  • Ready to return to business, but they have safety concerns.
  • Work from home. (convenience or preference)
  • Cost-conscious.
• Gratitude – Appreciate what you have now. Your employees and customers. The people that got you through Covid-19. Lasting Impressions has brilliant strategies incorporating branded merchandise you can give to these people at the office or their home. Visit our blog for ideas that promote working from home, celebrate family, fun, plus health and safety products.
• Grit – My favorite learning from the Jim Kwik article is to shift the way I think about “problems” into reframing them as “puzzles.” Grit and perseverance are the crown jewels of character. They require consistency – sometimes in areas, you cannot do yourself. If consistency is a puzzle you have not been able to solve, you may want to consider outsourcing.

Change creates opportunity is trite and it is true. Have you considered what is possible? It’s a whole new world out there! Where are you now and where do you dream of going? Our wish for you is to dream big! Its time to rebuild America.

Janet McNaughton is the President of Lasting Impressions, a marketing & corporate gift company.  If you have questions about the content of this article or would like to obtain information related to the services offered by Lasting Impressions, Ms. McNaughton would welcome communication at (425) 822-6651 Ext. 1 or Janet@lastingimpressionsgifts.net.

IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, and real estate communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family owned businesses.  IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.