Lead your consumers to strong brand sales
No marketer today can count on unquestioning brand loyalty; few ever could. Nevertheless, success demands that you build and maintain your brand. You have to give your product or service a personality, a sense of being – something that sets you apart from competitors and emphasizes a benefit to customers.
Why? Think about how you choose laundry detergent or a package delivery service. Chances are you may consider as many as three options acceptable. Those options make up your “competitive set.” Those brand names immediately pop into your mind when you think about buying a product or service.
Strong brand identity can lead you to include a product or service in your set – and choose it more frequently. That edge jumps in importance when price and service differences dwindle, or when consumers find it hard to differentiate between products or services.
You can take steps to gain that edge. Use the steps in the “branding pyramid” to maximize the opportunity for your product or service to be considered and purchased. Evaluate your communications to be sure you lead consumers through each level:
Awareness: “I’ve heard of you.” Awareness is the foundation of successful selling. Who’ll buy from you if they haven’t heard of you? Advertising is just one way to create and sustain awareness. Consider direct marketing, public relations and other ways to communicate with your target audience.
Your message needs to do more than get attention. It should be rooted in a strategy that ensures you’ll reach the audience you want with a message they’ll find meaningful and relevant.
Familiarity: “I know who you are.” Communicate with enough frequency to maintain awareness. The purchase cycle for your product or service can help you determine the right frequency level. Also, a message may be quickly forgotten if it is not repeated with some degree of regularity.
Image: “I know what you stand for.” Use your marketing communications to give consumers a definite idea of what your brand stands for and the benefits it delivers. Think, for example, of Federal Express, “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”
Inclination: “I’ll look for you.” When you’ve established a positive image with your target audience, your brand becomes part of their competitive set. They’re predisposed to seek you out.
Trial: “Show me what you can do!” At this point, communications take a back seat to quality and service. Product performance is what counts.
Reinforcement: “Did I make the right decision?” Advertising or other direct contact with the customer after the sale will support their buying decision.
Satisfaction: “I like you.” Again, quality and service are the keys. But it’s important that your communications have built realistic expectations. Be positive, enthusiastic, but don’t over promise. There’s nothing less satisfying than puffery.
Referral: “I’ll tell my friends to try you.” Advocacy is the ultimate form of satisfaction; recommending a product or service puts a person’s reputation on the line. Marketers also look at advocacy from the other direction – from consumers’ willingness to listen to people we respect (as in endorsements by celebrities, experts, or satisfied customers).
It’s possible to measure your progress. Market share growth tells you customers are moving from awareness, familiarity and image to trial and satisfaction. Begin, though, by determining where you’re at in brand building.
A strong brand maintains its identity against the competition, encouraging repurchase. It’s also the base for introducing new or improved products and line extensions. Follow the pyramid to build your brand, and establish trust with the consumer and sales for your company.
Ronald Luskin is senior vice president and general account group manager for Blue Horse, Inc., in downtown Milwaukee. The firm handles advertising, marketing and public relations.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

As competition heightens, it’s more important than ever to distinguish your business and to position your firm as the best in its market. To help your firm accomplish that goal, Small Business Times asked area marketing consultants to offer their “top 10 marketing tips.” A compilation of ideas ran in our June issue. This month, Milwaukee’s Blue Horse agency provided these ideas:

Extended-stay hotels see rising demand
It used to be the only time business owners really thought about finding temporary accommodations for employees was when they hired an employee from outside the area who needed to relocate.
But, with traditional employment patterns a thing of the past, with rising trends in outsourcing, contracting and off-site training, business owners are faced with the responsibility of housing their temporary and permanent employees far from the home base.
Extended-stay accommodations are the solution. They range from hotel rooms with additional amenities such as kitchenettes and laundry facilities to upscale apartments strategically located near schools, business districts and downtown areas.
Carol White, general manager of BridgeStreet Accommodations on Regency Court in Brookfield, says more and more people are traveling on extended stays which can last anywhere from a month to two years.
“The extended-stay hotel industry started out more for people who were relocating, but now it also accommodates people who are on long-term assignments or in an off-site training program,” White says. “These people are often looking for more than what regular hotels provide.”
Computer specialists who are brought into town to help companies debug the Year 2000 problem is a hot market in the extended stay hotel industry, White says. Many businesses don’t have staff employees who are able to do the debugging, so they bring people in for the sole purpose of working on the problem. While in town, these people need a place to live and, depending on their length of stay, regular hotels may not be adequate, she says.
When last June’s floods hit southeastern Wisconsin, insurance companies brought in extra adjusters and many of them stayed in BridgeStreet facilities, White adds.
BridgeStreet Accommodations, an international company with locations throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, offers fully furnished, short-term apartments, housekeeping service, laundry and health facilities, and pools. Also, White adds, BridgeStreet Accommodations are located near schools and business centers for the convenience of the business person.
“You often have a person who is relocating and has a family, and we take into consideration the needs of the family as well as those of the business person,” White says. “Because many of our facilities are located near schools, relocating parents can enroll their children in a school while looking for permanent housing.”
Sandra Hansen, housing coordinator for QuadGraphics, a BridgeStreet client, gives BridgeStreet’s service high marks.
“I tell them exactly what the employees want and BridgeStreet delivers,” Hansen says. “Our employees love it. They walk in with their toothbrush and a change of clothes and BridgeStreet does the rest. I have complete confidence in BridgeStreet’s service.”
Currently, QuadGraphics has 10 BridgeStreet apartments to temporarily house trainees and an employee who has relocated from Europe with his six children and a dog. The cost to stay at a BridgeStreet facility varies according to a number of factors, including length of stay, number of bedrooms needed and number of people staying.
Kelli Effinger, a human resources consultant with Fortis Insurance Co. on Michigan Street in downtown Milwaukee, says she appreciates the care BridgeStreet puts into its service. Fortis uses BridgeStreet for relocation purposes and has had 15-20 employees stay in BridgeStreet properties.
“They really take care of the guests and do all they can to make them happy,” Effinger says. “All our employees have been very pleased with their stays at BridgeStreet.”
When it opens this month, Hotel Metro will provide guest rooms of about 350 square feet with stocked bars, desks, two-line speaker phones, separate data ports, and 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s vintage decorum. The hope is that the upscale suites on the corner of Broadway and Mason Street in downtown Milwaukee will feel more like a residence than a hotel room, says Jamie Hummert, managing partner of Hotel Metro Milwaukee.
“We have something for the business client who is looking for more conveniences than those offered by regular chain hotels, even if that client is only staying for two or three nights,” Hummert says.
The attempt to provide guests with the comforts of home goes down to the restaurant which, Hummert says, has a “living room” ambiance and provides freshly prepared foods, and bike rentals so that, if they wish, business clients may bike to their appointments.
Suites at Hotel Metro Milwaukee range from $175-235 per night and corporate rates can be negotiated. The facility, which was originally built as a hotel but then was served as office space, is in the final stages of redevelopment. Some suite rentals began in June while construction proceeded.
For those looking for accommodations not necessarily of the full-scale apartment variety, Extended Stay America, on North Avenue in Wauwatosa, offers efficiency studios of about 300 square feet, each with fully equipped kitchens including dishes for two, a microwave, utensils and a full-sized refrigerator; a full bathroom; color television with cable; recliners, data ports, free voice mail, free local telephone calls and a desk. Laundry facilities are available on site. Rates at the Wauwatosa Extended Stay America are $259 per week or $49 per night.
“Most guests stay a week or so and are looking for more than what traditional hotels provide,” says Mariesa Capelli, a corporate spokesperson for Extended Stay America. “If you compare our quality, we can’t be beat for the rates we offer. If you’re a business person who’s traveling and you’re trying to save money but want quality, then Extended Stay will fit your needs.”
Extended Stay is considering putting another facility on Fourth Street downtown on the site of the former Ambrosia Chocolate factory.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Hotels responding with more rooms, innovations, new sites
When it was first proposed, one of the initial objections to putting the $175 million Midwest Express Center downtown was that Milwaukee simply did not have enough hotel space to accommodate large conventions. Supporters believed that once the state-of-the-art convention center was built, hotel rooms would follow.
It looks like those officials were right.
As the city awaits the grand opening of the new convention center, it seems there is a new hotel development being announced every other week. The opening of the Midwest Express Center has revitalized the downtown hotel industry.
There is no doubt of the convention center’s impact on downtown Milwaukee. Renovations of nearly all the established hotels have either been planned or completed. Whether it’s the elaborate $30 million restoration of the Milwaukee Hilton, formerly the Marc Plaza, or the renovations of the Hotel Wisconsin and the Hyatt, downtown hotels are preening for the anticipated rush of conventioners and tourists.
The Marcus Corp., which owns the Hilton, is also continuing with its plans to add an additional 250 rooms to the Hilton, bringing its capacity up to 750 rooms, according to Dan McCarthy, a City of Milwaukee Urban Development coordinator. The Hilton will be attached to the the convention center through a yet to be constructed skywalk.
The hotel boom is coming from conversion of old office space, as well. The new Hotel Metro, on the southeast corner of East Mason and North Milwaukee streets, is the first of several new hotels to take existing, commercial space and convert it into hotel rooms. The Metro is on the site of the old Blunt Ellis & Loewi office building, and upon completion later this summer, will have 65 extended-stay hotel suites.
The former office space of the Straus Building was recently converted into the Inn Towne Best Western at 238 W. Wisconsin Ave. Harlan Sanders led a group of investors in the Straus conversion and also heads a group of investors which plans to renovate the majority of floors in the former Woolworth building in the Grand Avenue Mall.
Office space on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the Woolworth building would be converted into 36 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The apartments’ target audience will be people living in Milwaukee on temporary assignments.
The conversions of the formerly vacant office space are beneficial to Milwaukee’s development for two reasons, according to McCarthy. It not only increases the available hotel space in the downtown area, but it takes former Class B office space off of the market, thereby improving office occupancy percentages.
The Woolworth conversion also adds to the list of extended-stay hotels in the downtown area. Along with the former Woolworth space, Courtyard by Marriott is planning a 169-room hotel on Michigan Street adjacent to the Grand Avenue Mall. While the deal has not been finalized, Extended Stay America, Inc., has plans to build a hotel on the former Ambrosia Chocolate factory site on North Fourth Street, between Juneau and Highland. The site, adjacent to the Bradley Center and MATC, is currently used as a surface parking lot.
Next door to the new Inn Towne Best Western, Milwaukee’s Hotel Wisconsin is renovating its rooms and lounge. And the Ramada Inn Downtown and Holiday Inn City Centre have refurbished and updated their facilities.
All of this hotel space will be necessary when conventions are in town. But what happens during the off periods when there are no conventions filling up the vacant rooms? McCarthy believes that attractions such as the IMAX theater, the Riverwalk, the new art museum wing and the proposed Harley-Davidson museum all add to Milwaukee’s appeal to keep visitors coming back.
“If we keep adding to the cultural and entertainment assets within the city, visitors will have a variety of things to do,” McCarthy says. “If we keep adding to that list, it will give people a reason to revisit Milwaukee.”
While the Midwest Express Center and other new Milwaukee attractions have been at the heart of the downtown hotel boom, it appears those developments have had little, if any, effect on Milwaukee’s surrounding communities.
Denny Moyer, executive director of the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce, thinks the new convention center is good for Milwaukee and the state, but adds that it won’t affect the economy in Sheboygan.
Other than unusually large events, such as the recent 95th anniversary of Harley-Davidson, which caused full capacity in its hotels, Sheboygan rarely feels Milwaukee’s economic influence.
What Moyer would really like is Sheboygan’s own convention center.
“Kohler is first class, and they have their clientele already,” Moyer says of the exclusive community just west of I-43 from Sheboygan. “What I’d like to see is a convention center in downtown Sheboygan that could accommodate companies that can’t afford having their conferences at the American Club.”
Kenosha and Racine counties are in the enviable position of lying halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. The Radisson Hotel and Conference Center near I-94 in Kenosha was recently developed with its prime location in mind.
Dave Blank, the executive director of the Racine County Convention and Visitors Bureau views the opening of the Midwest Express Center as an opportunity for Racine to focus on smaller conventions of up to 500 people. There’s just one problem: Racine does not have its own convention center.
Racine has expanded its hotel capacity with the newly opened Holiday Inn Express, a 107-room hotel located just off of I-94 and Hwy. 20, near the Ramada Limited. The Radisson, located in downtown Racine, has added 30 rooms, and there are several other hotel deals in the works, according to Blank.
As for construction of a convention center for Racine, Blank remains hopeful.
“By no means are we built out,” he says.
Brookfield has experienced a hotel building boom in recent years, with developments being built up along the Bluemound Road/I-94 corridor.
“I think what’s really driving the hotel development is the number of office developments throughout the area,” says Kathleen Cady, Brookfield’s economic development coordinator. “A lot of the hotels being built are extended-suite hotels.”
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Without buy-in from the boss, training is doomed to failure
Roadblocks/Solutions
Roadblock:
The company president was convinced his branch managers weren’t as effective as they should be in running their branch operations. He believed they needed better organizational skills and prioritizing of their tasks and responsibilities. In addition he gave their decision-making and problem-solving skills a poor grade.Being an action-oriented individual, he contacted a trainer to conduct time-management and problem-solving workshops for the six branch managers. Unfortunately, the overburdened managers resented the time being taken from their day-to-day responsibilities.
Problem:
What the managers really resented was the assumption that their problems were training problems. From their view, they did not have enough staff to meet the goals of their branches, communication with the home office was inconsistent and inadequate, and the president continually overrode their decisions. They thought the idea of having someone who didn’t know them or their situations come in and tell them what to do was a waste of their time and the company’s money. In fact, they thought that if anyone needed training it was the president, himself.
Solution:
Before selecting a training program for these managers, training and non-training issues should have been identified. An outside training consultant can be invaluable in this process. Through interviews, surveys, or direct observation, the training needs can be separated from support needs, systems problems, or communication barriers. When participants’ problems are recognized and solutions considered, they are much more open to learning new ways to be more effective in their own jobs.
Second, the trainer did not have the respect of these managers. Confidential interviews prior to the training would have given the trainer an opportunity to get to know each person and to build credibility for him or herself. At the same time, the branch managers would have felt some “ownership” in the program because they had an opportunity to provide input on the training process.
Finally, the president’s decision to provide training lacked his commitment to support the process. His role is to monitor progress and reinforce positive change. He must hold his people accountable for implementing what is learned; he must hold himself accountable for modeling the leadership and management principles incorporated in the training. The president’s job is to work with his managers to remove the obstacles that prohibit them from applying what they learn.
Solutions to Roadblocks is provided by The Performance Group inc., a Brookfield training and consulting firm. Small Business Times readers who would like a “roadblock” addressed in this column can contact the author, Lois Patton, at 784-2922 or via e-mail at perfgrp@execpc.com.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Midwest Express Center looks, works first class
The contrast couldn’t be more stark. And Milwaukeeans will have another few weeks to observe the dramatic difference.
Along Kilbourn Avenue stands Milwaukee’s old convention center, formerly known as MECCA. It’s basically a box that severely separates the inside world from the outside.
Immediately to its south stands its replacement, the Midwest Express Center – a decidedly non-boxy structure that speaks well to Milwaukee’s architectural heritage but also boasts of modern design.
The first phase of the new center occupies four square blocks between Wisconsin and Wells streets, Fourth and Sixth streets. But to limit the new facility to its immediate geographic boundaries would fail to do justice to its stature. The architectural team, led locally by Engberg Anderson Design Partnership of downtown Milwaukee, designed more than just a building. They designed a physical and emotional presence that carries many blocks beyond the physical site. It is woven into the urban fabric rather than standing apart from it or being a stain upon it.
“There is no finer convention center in America,” said an understandably proud Bill Hanbury, president of the Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It is the premier architectural structure in America when it comes to convention centers.”
The center will be inaugurated Aug. 1-4 when Milwaukee and the center play host to the National Governor’s Conference. A series of grand opening celebrations for the facility will be held the weekend of July 25, including a community open house that Saturday and Sunday.
The Midwest Express Center will do more than host conventions and other meetings, say Chuck Engberg and Scott Smith, partners in Engberg Anderson Design Partnership. Its function goes beyond that. And thus, as form follows function, its form goes beyond the physical constraints the old MECCA is held to.
Consider the challenge that Smith, who coordinated the project, and his fellow architects faced. They were to design what would become the largest architectural design/build project in Wisconsin – a structure which required vast interior spaces and which could hold up to 14,000 people – more people than live in most Wisconsin cities. Yet they had to blend that structure into a downtown neighborhood without overshadowing nearby buildings. “It was not simply a building that we were charged with designing,” Smith said. “It was, rather, an urban design problem that we were to solve.”
Further complicating the planning was the failure of state building codes to make reference to issues such a huge structure would face, such as those involving exit plans. And locally, the team had to work with the city on determining whether the portion of Phase II which will be built over Wells Street would fall under “skywalk” regulations or normal building regulations – building regulations won out.
Because it’s so huge, it was designed to allow the passerby to take it in pieces. “When you have a four-square-block building, you can’t take it all in at once,” Engberg notes. “So our thought was, ‘What do the pieces look like?'”
Colonnades, roof peaks and false-front parapets add a style to the building. But the glass is what really stands out in the design, and it is the element that so clearly sets the Midwest Express Center apart from MECCA, and which so powerfully makes the center a part of its neighborhood rather than an affront to it.
The extensive use of glass, however, would be a change from the way convention space was thought of. Exhibit planners have basically wanted a “holideck,” Smith says, referring to the get-away space on the USS Enterprise of the Star Trek TV and movie world. That space is really nothing to begin with but walls, a ceiling and a floor. Such a basic environment allows the planners to control and create their own environments, just as the holideck users create their own.
Widespread use of windows, therefore, would seem contrary to the function of an exhibit hall. But in the early stages of planning during two days of meetings with event planners from around the country, the widespread use of glass was welcomed.
Major changes in design concept arose from those early meetings with the center’s prospective “customers,” notes the GMCVB’s Hanbury. The size of the ballroom was increased and its position within the center was changed. And more pre-function space was added.
The tie to the community is more than visual, however. City planners are banking on the Midwest Express Center to be a major catalyst for downtown development – in addition to that already under way or accomplished. Even the design of the Phase II section which will be built over Wells Street will serve that purpose, acting as a new, arched gateway to downtown, Smith notes.
“In the old building, there’s no tie between the inside and outside,” Engberg says. “Ours, on the other hand, functions with the city both from the inside out and from the outside in.”
Phase II will commence once MECCA is razed. It will extend the facility onto about a third of MECCA’s four-square-block parcel. A possible Phase III would fill the block to Kilbourn Avenue.
The visual appeal of the Midwest Express center won’t just come from its architectural elements. More than $1 million has been allocated for art to be placed in or integrated into the new convention facility. Works have been commissioned specifically for the center. And the center will play host to the Millennium Art Project which will primarily embody the talents of professional artists and students in Milwaukee Public Schools.
Hanbury calls the center “a very friendly space with a lot of intimate spaces for impromptu gatherings.” That “friendly” atmosphere isn’t something that’s expected from massive convention center facilities, but it’s one which gives Milwaukee a competitive advantage.
While other second-tier cities have built new convention halls, Milwaukee was behind in that arena – until development of the Midwest Express Center. “We could not previously compete with the Indianapolises and the Kansas Cities out there,” Hanbury said. “Now, we are winning in that arena.”
The center is expected to create an estimated 2,000 new jobs for the area and pump $300 million annually into the Milwaukee economy.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Developing your company’s competitive edge starts with creating a company culture which encourages customer service and allows it to flourish, says Christine McMahon, a Milwaukee consultant who does performance training for companies. The other critical component of honing your competitive edge is having the right employees to carry out your company mission, McMahon says.
“If you go to Disney, typically, you are wowed,” McMahon says. “Your visit is flawless, it is nothing less than an absolute delight. Their whole focus is: ‘How do we deliver absolutely beyond what people expect?’ They are a big company, but they think small when it comes to delivering.”
At Disney, every single employee is hired and profiled to ensure that he or she is able to deliver the Disney experience, says McMahon, who recently studied Disney’s methods firsthand. Disney only hires happy people, because unhappy people do not deliver outstanding customer satisfaction, she says.
Based on the Disney model, McMahon says, here’s how to go about sharpening your competitive edge:
Hiring – You have to hire right. Within your organization, the people doing the interviewing are often not skilled at determining whether the candidate is right for the company. Determine the skills a prospective employee needs to make an outstanding contribution to your organization. Are you hiring for the future, or are you hiring for today? Hire for the future, as you can outgrow certain employees.
Setting the expectation – Once hired, employees need to know what they are going to be measured on, in terms of making a contribution to the organization. One of the things that Disney does when it hire s is give its employees a full set of criteria for making a decision. That allows it to handle virtually any situation. Employees are told that public safety is paramount with Disney, as is demonstrating courtesy, being an integral part of the show – they have to be “on” – and operating in an efficient manner.
Training – “Often, when we hire people, we are not really sure that they know how to do the job,” McMahon says. “Give them the skills and the know-how, the tools, so they can be effective. Training allows employees to practice, to make sure that they are doing it right.”
Feedback – Let your employees know what things they are doing well, and let them know what they are doing poorly. That lets employees know where they need to focus. What do they need to learn? Remember, most employees want to be successful, and they want to make a difference.
Accountability and Ownership – They understand the expectations, they have been given the tools, and they have to want to be successful. You want to hire people who are happy, who are passionate, who want to make a difference, and who have the potential capability for doing the job.
The Consequences – If an employee is not performing based upon expectations, what are the consequences? Companies sometimes don’t know how to terminate employee relationships. They also don’t know how to provide feedback for good performances. Often, people want additional responsibilities. They want to grow, they want to spread their wings. Don’t overlook good performances.

– John Rondy

Internet marketing offers big opportunity for small firms
Internet marketing can present new business opportunities for small firms; a Website can turn your firm into a business that never closes.
But there are some guidelines to follow if you want to realize the opportunities, says John Audette, founder and president of Multimedia Marketing Group, an internationally recognized expert on Internet marketing.
Audette, who was in Wauwatosa for a multi-media seminar in June, had the following advice.
Find a niche and serve that niche well. “That’s going to be an opportunity for a long time because the larger companies usually can’t pay attention to specialized markets.”
An online company brochure. “This is an excellent place to get more information about your company to potential customers. You don’t have to have a highly technical Website to be effective.”
Customer service can be greater. Because of the 24-hour, seven-days-a-week nature of the Internet, customers can reach a company at all hours of the day. The site can list FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) or have an automated e-mail system which acknowledges the fact the company has received e-mail from a customer and someone will be in contact with him or her shortly to resolve problems or answer questions.
Content is king. “Make sure the site is interesting to the visitor. Take advantage of the interactivity of the medium – update it frequently, use monthly newsletters through e-mail. Make it proactive, instead of waiting for someone to contact you.”
Use your site to establish credibility. Put your picture and pictures of your employees on the site. List clients and have client referrals posted. Make sure the company’s contact numbers, address and e-mail address are listed.
Have a professional design the original site, but update it internally. Updating Websites is not that technical anymore; almost anyone can maintain them.
Finally, Audette stated that there is no real size limitation for companies thinking about using the Internet. “We’re almost re-defining size now,” Audette said. “Size used to be how many employees you had and how big your buildings were. Now it’s how many people are visiting your Website. You can have three employees, but if you have a million hits to your Website you can be a big player.”
Audette can be reached via e-mail at ja@mmgco.com. Multimedia Marketing Group’s Website is at http://www.mmgco.com.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Systems give small firms new edge on their competition
Six years ago, Therm-Tech of Waukesha introduced a DOS-based FoxPro software program for order entry and invoicing. Implementation of the software, which was designed by Heartland Software Development, Inc., in Wauwatosa, cut the number of people needed to do the work roughly in half but doubled productivity.
It’s amazing what a little software can do.
About a year ago, Heartland Software wrote a new program for Therm-Tech, a metal heat-treating firm, using Microsoft Visual Basic and a Microsoft SQL Server. This program allows Therm-Tech to, among other things, cut orders 24 hours a day rather than 10 hours a day, perform a complete customer search simply by typing the customer’s name, search old work orders up to years ago and apply process information from old work orders to new orders for the same product.
Software systems intended to improve office efficiency, whether custom-designed or mass-produced, are not just for the large corporations and big businesses which must keep track of thousands of invoices and communicate with employees across the country. Small and mid-sized businesses have found that new software can improve their office efficiency, and some programs now on the market are designed specifically for small businesses.
“We saw a three-fold increase in productivity with the DOS program,” says Patrick Burdick, Therm-Tech metallurgist. “Now with the SQL server programing it’s very easy to train people so that our office staff can be cross-trained to help in all areas. The system really did a tremendous job for us.”
Burdick notes that the system is designed with the capability to be built upon as Therm-Tech’s needs grow.
“We have a vision of where we’re headed which has not yet been realized but we already know of some of the things Heartland will be able to help us do with this system,” Burdick says. “We’ve got a quality product that we can continue to build.”
Although the nature of his business is software development, Gary Edgar, president of Heartland Software Development, warns small businesses of a potential danger in purchasing customized software. Apparently 50-80% of custom software fails and this, Edgar says, is due to the presence of poor to mediocre programers who are soliciting and getting business.
“Purchasing custom software can be a big risk because if you don’t know who you’re dealing with, it is very possible that someone will design a program for you that doesn’t work,” Edgar says. “Be careful, do your homework on several programers, and see some of the work the programer has done before working with him.”
Edgar recommends a program called Act!, which is designed by Symantec for use with Windows systems. Act! can organize databases of customers, clients and contacts into various groupings and can search the databases in a variety of ways. For instance, if you have a group of new customers and you want to send a letter to all of them, you would type the name of the group in the “Group” field and your database of new customers would appear. Then, because Act! can work with Microsoft Word and tie into e-mail, you need only type one letter and let Act! do the rest. If it’s a printed letter in MS Word, Act! automatically enters the name and address of each new customer into the letter and prints all the letters and envelopes (if your printer has that capability). If you’re sending an e-mail, Act! sends the message to all members of the group you searched. Act! costs about $100 per workstation.
Another commercial product designed to help improve office efficiency and productivity is the Microsoft Small Business Server. The product is a bundled software program, meaning that it includes Microsoft NT, Exchange, Proxy Server, SQL and Internet software, and is geared to small businesses with two to 25 employees. When a business gains more than 25 employees it upgrades to a full Windows NT and Microsoft Exchange program, says Brian Weis of Core Computer Systems, LLC, in Milwaukee. The list price of the program, which is designed for Windows 95 or Windows NT systems, is $1,500 for a five-user license. Additional licenses can be purchased in increments of five.
With the Small Business Server, users can fax and receive faxes from the desktop, which not only saves paper but also increases efficiency because faxes are automatically routed to the person they are for; utilize the Internet to document inventory and take customer orders, which reduces the time it would normally take to receive orders over the phone; and send billing notices via e-mail rather than regular mail, Weis says.
“The Small Business Server can be a great asset to businesses that want to make the move toward electronic business,” Weis says. “It’s not for a business that has only one computer or a couple computers that don’t share information or printers. Business owners have to evaluate their needs before making the decision to purchase any kind of system.”
Additionally, Weis adds that the Small Business Server is Year 2000 compliant.
Kenrich Development, Inc. (KDI) in Milwaukee has designed what it considers a solution to the problem of trying to update customer records for remote or field sales representatives in a timely manner. The Team-In-Touch system automatically exchanges, or “synchronizes” data among all outside offices and remote sales reps every 15 minutes through secure data lines to a server hosted by KDI.
“Team-In-Touch allows businesses to improve communication with their field offices without having to invest in additional infrastructure, personnel, or training,” says Rick Chamberlain of KDI. “To hire an IT person to run a system in-house could cost upwards of $50,000 per year for his salary, not to mention the cost of adding to your infrastructure. Since KDI hosts Team-In-Touch, the business owner doesn’t have to worry about that aspect of it.”
Team-In-Touch costs $45-60 per user per month, depending on the length of the contract. It is run on Gold Mine software, which KDI can also provide. Team-In-Touch has been available since January.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

These local companies have committed employees who know their roles and perform their jobs with the customer in mind. Your company can reach this higher plane, but it’s not an easy journey.
When Randy Wojcik first went to work as a shipping manager for Woodlore in Port Washington five years ago, relations between managers and line-level employees were poor, and production lagged.
That was before Woodlore President Jay Wilcox took steps to create an organization of self-managers, one in which employees are entrusted to make their own decisions and mistakes, and one where everything the company does is with the customer in mind. Now Woodlore employees think of each other as customers. Departments within the organization view each other as their customers so that they develop a keener understanding of the inter-relationships and are better able to respond to their needs, Wojcik says.
“Each department knows what the bottom line is, and in what time frame and shape they need to get it to us,” says Steve Rammes, a production manager.
Now in its 11th year, the 90-employee division of Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corp. is setting records for production of cedar shoe trees and cedar accessories, all without the benefit of mechanized improvements. The difference is in the attitude of the people, and the way they interact with each other. People know their roles.
Employees are involved, committed. No task is considered too great. The prevailing attitude is “can-do,” such as the time last December when production employees worked overlapping shifts to crank out 45,000 pairs of shoe trees in short order for Amway of Japan, the company’s largest-ever order. The job was achieved by letting employees come up with their own solution, Wilcox says.
“We simply asked the people in the factory how they were going to accomplish this, and they came up with the solution,” Wilcox says. “What we try to do as managers is set out the goals and the expectations, and then let the employees execute.”
The process of engaging your employees does not happen overnight. At Woodlore, it took a change in company culture that Wilcox says was years in the making.
But once it happens – when people stop pointing fingers at one other and take personal responsibility as if they had an ownership stake in the company – the results can be dramatic, says Michael E. Gerber, author of “The E Myth Manager,” a best-selling book that debunks the idea that most management theory works.
Rather, Gerber believes the truly successful companies are those that encourage an entrepreneurial mind-set within their own employees, one in which a division views itself as a company within a company. This state of mind begins and ends with the personal commitment that employees bring to their jobs, Gerber says. It is a conviction that once a decision is made it is deemed a commitment, and that employees will move mountains to keep that commitment.
“It’s a matter of doing whatever it takes to satisfy our customer,” Wilcox says. “It’s a willingness to act and take action. A lot of companies have the words, but it takes actions for it to become part of the culture.”
Take a step back
But before you reach that almost magical state where employees are committed and the organization generates a forward momentum all its own, you have to step back and analyze your internal structure.
Gerber says the problem in most organizations is that employees fail to understand their roles, which leads to a dysfunctional workplace in which days are spent flailing about solving immediate problems and putting out fires instead of operating in an organized, systematic fashion.
At his E-Myth Academy in Santa Rosa, Calif., Gerber starts with the premise that there are essentially three roles, or three forms of work: that of the entrepreneur, who is typically someone who is good at making something, that of a technician, who thinks that gives him the ability to run a company – It doesn’t. Then there is the role of the manager, who formerly was a technician, and who may know very little about managing/organizing an enterprise.
The entrepreneur’s role, Gerber says, is to impart the vision and create a system whereby that vision is manifested at the practical/technical level of the organization. The manager’s role is to impart that system for accomplishing the task to the technicians, who carry out the task. What commonly happens is that everyone in the organization ends up doing the work of a technician, and the larger structure evaporates, which leads to chaos.
Understanding of the relationship between those three levels is critical before you can move toward becoming a vital, customer-driven organization, Gerber says.
“Because most people don’t understand what they are truly accountable for, they become confused by the notion of work, and end up doing the wrong work for the wrong reason,” Gerber says.
This fundamental organizing principle helps people understand their roles. In the 20-year history of the E Myth Academy, Gerber says it has not been uncommon to hear owners and managers who go through the course say, “Oh, so that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.” That’s when Gerber knows that he got through to them.
It’s all about the ability to transcend the day-to-day trivia and implement a system that creates momentum and eliminates confusion, Gerber says. But first, the head of the company must have the right vision and clarity of purpose.
“Until I can rise above the tyranny of daily routine and see it as it is, then I can’t transform it,” Gerber says. “Without this system for doing what you do, you end up making it up as you go along,” Gerber says, adding that this is what the majority of companies do every day, whether they realize it or not.
“If you do that, there is no way you can become a brand like a Federal Express, or McDonald’s,” he adds. “The branding of any company resides in its ability to do what it does in its own proprietary and identifiable way, so that each time customers go there, they have the experience of the brand. Until everyone [in the organization] understands that, there is no way of going to work on what we do to create the brand.”
Remember that it is not enough to simply empower your employees and to trust them and allow them to learn from their mistakes. Without first putting the organizing principle in place, leaving it up to your employees will ultimately result in chaos, Gerber says.
Think small
As companies start to grow larger, they start to think big. And that’s suicide, according to Harry V. Quadracci, founder of Quad/Graphics, an 11,000-employee commercial printing giant with operations spread out across Southeast Wisconsin.
Quadracci has built Quad into what it is today by engendering an atmosphere that relies on close personal relationships to get the job done. The 100 Best Companies to Work For in America gives Quad five stars for camaraderie and four stars in both opportunity and fairness. Author and consultant Tom Peters has praised Quad as a learning institution.
Quad got to where it is by thinking small, by continually cultivating relationships between employees, Quadracci says.
“Where companies go wrong is, they become too professional, too impersonal,” Quadracci says. “They forget that the basics of a successful business are close personal relationships – employee to employee and employee to customer.
“These relationships aren’t legislated, they are established over a period of time,” Quadracci says. “It becomes a matter of getting to know each other, which leads to establishing a bond of trust. And, you only trust people if you know them.”
And trust, says Quadracci, is the basis of all teamwork, which is at the core of all successful business practices.
And how does Quad build trust? By throwing elaborate parties for its employees. And by having everyone wear the same dark blue uniform, from Quadracci, himself on down to the janitor. Quadracci’s egalitarian vision manifested itself in the early stages of the company back in 1973 when he refused to appoint a head of the pressroom. Instead, he let the pressmen be in charge of their own presses.
Then there is the oft-repeated story about the time Quadracci left it up to drivers to make Quad delivery trucks more profitable by hauling cargo on return trips. According to a published account, Quadracci handed each driver a set of keys to the trucks, instructing them that they were all owner/operators in a new division called Duplainville Transport. When a driver asked what kind of loads they should haul , Quadracci shrugged, saying he knew nothing about driving an 18-wheeler. This principle has been referred to as “management by walking away.”
That fragmented, non-traditional approach to management is behind the theme that has everyone marching in lock-step at Quad. As the company grows larger, Quadracci encourages his employees to think small. At twice-a-year “think small” meetings, a dozen people who work on the same press get together to discuss problems and build teamwork.
“In order to get your job done here at Quad, you’ve got to know a lot of people,” Quadracci says. “And, we make it that way. It’s also a lot more fun.”
Helping foster that trusting, team-centered approach is an absence of rules, or the fear that one will be punished for making a mistake. And, it works. Not only has Quad/Graphics experienced phenomenal growth, doubling in size in the last six years, but pressmen, many of whom begin with no previous experience, advance faster than the industry average.
Quadracci estimates that 95 percent of his time is spent with employees and clients. While Quadracci can no longer personally communicate with everyone in the company the way he could in the days when the company numbered 60 or even 150 employees, he spends up to four hours a day personally responding to 170 to 180 e-mail messages he receives daily from Quad/Graphics associates. That is his way of continuing to “think small,” and, also, to impart his vision to the troops.
Terry Anderson is the CEO of Omni Tech Corp. in Pewaukee, a fast-growth company with 175 employees that expects to do $100 million in sales this year. Anderson is exploiting the gap between his personal computer assembly company and his mega-size competitors, IBM, Compaq and Dell Computer, by being more responsive to his customers’ needs.
Omni Tech takes advantage of its relative smallness by doing things the big computer makers can’t because of their lumbering size. Anderson does that by constantly staying in touch with his customers and providing a level of personal service the big boys can’t match.
“Our top 50 customers get a lot of attention from us,” Anderson says. “We do a lot of customization of our product. We solve problems for our customers – things like network and software problems – and we create machines that will work under their unique environments.
“The big guys always leave crumbs, and we go around gobbling up those crumbs,” Anderson says. “There are not many who can match what we do. We are not bottom feeders, we just do those things they can’t do as well.”
Unleash your employees
Once upon a time, having a unique product or service was all the competitive edge a business needed, observes Christine McMahon, a business performance trainer on Milwaukee’s East Side. The lead time a business had over its competition was significant, as it was years before a competitor could duplicate products or services.
But now, because of technology, people can duplicate your products and services within a short period of time, McMahon says. Technology makes the playing field more level. It means others can often deliver your product faster, better and at a lower price.
“When you think about developing that competitive edge, it’s company culture, and its your employees,” McMahon says.
The new term being bandied about called “the capital intellect” is the information, the know-how, and the passion that exists within the collective mind of your employees, she says.
“It is their ability to be creative, not only to delight the customer, but to wow them,” McMahon says.
By listening to a suggestion from one of its employees, Midwest Express came up with the idea for its signature in-flight baked chocolate chip cookies.
The idea came about as the result of a quandary the Milwaukee-based airline had during its early years. The problem was on a flight that Midwest Express CEO Tim Hoeksema frequently took out of Milwaukee at 4:15 p.m. to the former parent of Midwest Express, Kimberly-Clark Corp., which is headquartered in Dallas. It was an odd time to serve a full meal, and Hoeksema would arrive there feeling sleepy and anything but ready to hit the ground running.
An employee in the dining services area came up with the idea of substituting chocolate chip cookies which were baked in-flight and served warm. After six weeks of testing, Midwest Express introduced the cookie and went to a smaller dinner tray. Not only was the cookie a hit with passengers, but no one ever complained about smaller dinners, and the airline saved $85,000 a year in the process.
Hoeksema likes to repeat a comment an employee made four years ago on Midwest Express’ 10th anniversary: “One of our employees said that he doesn’t think of himself as an employee of Midwest Express, that the employees are Midwest Express,” Hoeksema recalls. “That, to me, is really the ultimate mind-set that you can hope to achieve with your workforce.”
Although it now numbers 2,400 employees, Hoeksema says Midwest Express tries to encourage decision-making at the level closest to the customer. As an example, he tells of the letter he received from a woman who flew out of Milwaukee on Midwest Express with her mother, who was denied a 10% senior citizen discount at check-in because she couldn’t produce valid identification. As part of her letter, the woman included a photocopy of her mother’s driver’s license, which showed she was 95 years old.
In the case, the elderly woman received her senior citizen discount sometime after the fact. But when an employee takes care of a problem on the spot, you can make the customer happy and create goodwill for the company, Hoeksema says.
“We talk about this a lot with our employees, but it is not an easy thing to do,” he adds. “You have to encourage it by highlighting examples of where people have gone above and beyond the normal call of duty to serve the customer. This way, they know they will be supported for using their best judgment at the time.”
Treating everyone, especially fellow employees with respect is at the core of Midwest Express’ team-centered approach. It’s also a bedrock principle at Woodlore in Port Washington.
“We really treat our people well,” says Woodlore’s Wilcox, who is a believer in the management philosophy of Edward Deming. “It starts with respect, and the way we interact with one another. One of Deming’s key points is to drive out fear in an organization and create an atmosphere of trust.”
Part of this employee-centered approach is the willingness to allow people to make mistakes, Woodlore’s Wojcik says.
“You give them tasks to perform and let them go with it, let them make mistakes,” Wojcik says. “You can fix the mistake. People remember more if they made a mistake. You don’t have to be a friend to everyone, but, you build trust by getting to know them and giving people freedom to do the job.”
At Medical Advances in Wauwatosa – a maker of coils used in magnetic resonance imaging machines – global sales manager Steve Pareja does not set individual quotas, preferring instead to set out a team goal for his sales force to reach. This helps take the pressure off by not forcing salespeople to meet individual quotas. Pareja also performs his role of manager by focusing on internal issues such as manufacturing, customer support and product launch.
“I like to be the buffer zone for them,” Pareja says. “I act as the liaison, which allows our salespeople to focus on the outside, which is selling our products.”
One of Pareja’s salesman, Lee Taylor, appreciates the ability to act as his own boss.
“I make my own appointments, manage my own time and make my own decisions,” Taylor says. “I don’t need to be held by the hand. My manager is understanding enough to realize that we know what we have to do to get the job done.”
Taylor also has a keen understanding of his role. He realizes that his customer does not see the rest of Medical Advances such as engineering, manufacturing or quality control.
“All they see is the sales person,” Taylor says. “I am Medical Advances to these people.”
Pareja’s hands-off management style and the clear understanding of roles has led to sales figures that Pareja claims he could have only hoped for when he started with the company one year ago.
It starts with hiring
Creating the right internal bullseye within your organization has everything to do with hiring the right people to carry out the job, McMahon says.
Jewish Family Services is a Milwaukee non-profit organization that does more than most with precious few resources. Operating within a $2.2 million budget, the 70-employee organization (40 are full-time) does whatever it takes to get the job done. The East Side non-profit has resettled 1,500 refugees from the former Soviet Union since 1990. It also provides family counseling and other services to the elderly and children and the developmentally disabled.
When Jewish Family Services hires someone, it looks for more than just skill and qualifications. Executive V.P. Elliott Lubar asks prospective employees why they want to work there. He wants to know if they have the passion for the job, and if they can work as part of a team.
“People are here because they say they believe in the what our organization does for people,” Lubar says. “I think when people have a commitment to what they do, it becomes a culture. It becomes very strong and almost has a life of its own. The people that come in here almost have to have that culture, or they are not successful.
“When we hire, we look for more than qualifications and passion for the job,” Lubar adds. “We try to determine if they are going to be team players. We can’t work in isolation. We have to be dependent on each other. If someone in accounting or clerical isn’t going to be supportive, it’s going to have a ripple effect within the organization.”
At Medical Advances, one of the first traits Pareja looks at is personality when he hires someone for his sales team. Rather than apply a cookie-cutter approach to filling a sales territory, what he looks for is someone who will mesh with both the sales team and the culture at Medical Advances.
When Steve Rammes first went to work for Woodlore six years ago, “We used to hire anybody and everybody as long as they would work.” But now, the company is more selective. Team leaders are involved in the process. Undesirables are weeded out.
“We are very honest with people, Rammes says. “If they are not cutting it, we let them know about it and give them a number of chances to get it going in the right direction.”
This process is what McMahon calls “setting the expectation,” which is establishing the standard employees are expected to meet. Your employees need to have a clear understanding of what they will be measured on in terms of their performance, McMahon says.
Woodlore allows each department to draw up its own expectations, “and then we hold them to it,” Rammes adds.
Recognize achievement
Woodlore’s philosophy of customer service, quality, teamwork and flexibility is constantly reinforced, whether it’s within a sign in the entryway or in the breakroom or on business cards.
“We talk about it in meetings,” Wilcox says. “It’s reinforced all the time. The result is, it becomes part of our culture. It’s part of our daily behavior.”
Another constant within successful organizations such as Quad/Graphics, Woodlore and Medical Advances in Wauwatosa is giving recognition for a job well-done. At Woodlore, spoken praise from management sustains the intrinsic motivation of employees, Wilcox says, adding: “It becomes part of the increased expectations we have of each other.”
Every quarter, Medical Advances brings its 57 employees together for a town hall meeting. Company leaders give presentations on where the company has been, where it stands, and where it is headed. The company’s financial information is shared with every employee. And, as Medical Advances reaches thresholds and breaks records, these are recognized in the form of banners that recognize individual and group contributions, Pareja says.
“We will take luncheons where we can bask in the glow of our success,” Pareja says. “So, that happens at all levels of our business.”
But, before you can transcend the tyranny of routine, you have to rise above it and see it as it is, warns Gerber, the E-Myth man.
Remember that before you as a manager can become connected in a meaningful way to your employees and your customers, you’ve got to step back and think about it, and see the dysfunctional nature of daily life and work. Once you take this step, you can then begin to see the organizing principle behind the work that your organization performs, Gerber says.
“We first have to think differently about who we are and what we do,” Gerber advises. “It starts with thinking first as opposed to feeling or acting first.”sbt
Details about the E Myth Academy, and other E Myth books authored by Gerber can be found at www.EMyth.com.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Old World Third Street, new, converted from office space,

Extent of alcohol, drug use may make testing worthwhile
Question:
We’ve been having problems with some employees who come to work after they’ve consumed alcohol. We suspect that some of our attendance problems are also linked to alcohol use by employees (hangovers, etc.). I know alcohol/drug testing is pretty common these days but I’ve also heard that it can present some legal difficulties. What can you tell me about a good (defensible) alcohol/drug-testing program?
Answer:
According to the U.S. Public Health Service, more than 10 million people in the United States are alcoholic.
The same source tells us that around 10% of the work force may be labeled alcoholic (i.e., unable to control their drinking to the point of intoxication once alcohol consumption has begun).
Additionally, one in ten employees has tried or will try other drugs (e.g., marijuana, amphetamines, PCP, etc.).
The cost to American businesses is huge, in excess of $100 billion every year, so we are talking about a major problem. Costs attached to lost productivity, inefficiency, absenteeism and such can quickly multiply.
As you relate in your question, you are seeing some of these signs which tells me now is a good time to further investigate the situation.
Interestingly, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, excessive alcohol use is most common among professional, semi-professional, and managerial employees while drug use is lowest among this group. Keep that in mind as you research your drug-testing program.
Nationally, the frequency of drug testing is increasing. However, as with any test, issues surrounding the reliability (such as consistency) and validity (i.e. accuracy) of the specific drug test which is used are primary. Drug tests typically are chemical in nature with examination of a urine sample being the most common type. When we look at the reliability of chemical tests, their reliability actually exceeds that of many traditional written tests.
Conversely, assessing the validity of chemical tests is another matter. Basically, what we are talking about here is accurately differentiating between those who are using drugs (i.e., “positives”) from those who are not (i.e., “negatives”).
We probably have all heard stories about someone who ate a poppy seed muffin and then tested positive for heroin use. I think Seinfeld may have even had an episode on the topic. In any event, when it comes to a “false positive” of this kind, it is no laughing matter. That is especially true in light of the fact that the Centers for Disease Control report that mass drug screening can incorrectly identify the presence of drugs in up to two-thirds of the cases.
Critics of drug testing focus on those findings and contend that drug testing is an unacceptable invasion of a person’s privacy. Drug testing has also been criticized for being too expensive (tests can range in price from $10 to $100 per specimen). Questions also surround the types of positions for which drug testing is appropriate (e.g., “dangerous” jobs, professional jobs, managerial jobs, jobs which require machine/equipment operation, etc.).
What then should be your approach to implementing a reasonable drug-testing program? Research by Murphy, Barlow, & Hatch, industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists with expertise in this area, may be instructive. They suggest that the following guidelines be considered when implementing a drug-testing program:
1) The organization should issue a statement to employees describing its policy on drug abuse and testing.
2) If employees belong to a union, the company’s drug policies and testing program must be submitted to collective bargaining before being put into effect. Employers who refuse to bargain with the union are subject to charges of unfair labor practices.
3) Drug-testing procedures should apply to all employees. No specific group should be singled out for testing.
4) Current employees should be tested only in documented cases of job impairment or because of other valid indications of probable cause.
5) Employees should be informed in advance of drug-testing procedures including the drugs being screened for, the type of tests, and the consequences of refusing to be tested.
6) All positive tests should be confirmed by a second test.
7) All results of drug tests should be kept confidential.
As these guidelines indicate, the emphasis should be on fairness and objectivity. The idea is not to single people out or make examples out of those who are using, but rather to set a high standard of conduct and professionalism which is expected of everyone who works for the organization. A sound drug-testing program is not used selectively. It is used in accordance with accepted employment practices (e.g., the EEOC guidelines).
As a final note, you may want to investigate the use of an employee assistance program (EAP) while you do research into drug testing. If you do not already have one, an EAP may be a nice adjunct to a drug-testing program.
EAPs are used to offer counseling services for employees who are having various problems, including alcohol and/or drug misuse/abuse. Typically, an EAP provides a multi-service approach with some combination of education, early detection, and referral.
My consulting experience tells me that drug testing is becoming more common among southeastern Wisconsin business organizations. It certainly is more common than it was a mere decade ago. And, I have every reason to believe that it will increase in use over the next few years.
In the final analysis, drug testing is not cheap. But as I have pointed out in this article, the costs associated with alcohol/drug testing are far outweighed by the costs of not testing for alcohol and other drugs.
HR Connection is provided by Daniel Schroeder, Ph.D., of Organization Development Consultants in Brookfield. He can be reached via e-mail at odc@execpc.com, or at 827-8383.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee