EDITOR'S NOTE

So you want to grow?

You’re the best there is at what you do, what you produce, what you sell, what services you provide — or at least you strive to be. So, how do you get the word out to potential customers? How do you set your-self apart?

Word of mouth? Advertising? Both have worked for years for smaller businesses that seek no more than a steady customer base. But, what about those that want to grow, to expand?

For corporations, branding, marketing and public relations has long been an important component of their operations. Increasingly, small to medium-sized businesses are turning to professionals to help them succeed.

And on the Seacoast, particularly in Portsmouth, there are a lot of professionals with a variety of experi-ences and approaches from which to choose. (Story, page 10)

They’ll tell you that you have to be different from the competition and that the process includes steps as crucial as choosing the right name or logo for a business.

Think of a stylized drawing of a frothy mug of beer, for instance, and the Portsmouth Brewery might come to mind. Think of a red and white target and you’ll come up with the company that doesn’t even include its name with its advertising.

When Irving Oil wanted to improve name recognition at the convenience stores at their gas stations, they did away with the Irving Mainway name and went with Bluecanoe. Why? Because they wanted some-thing that was different than the names used by the competiton. They decided Bluecanoe was memorable, lyrical and fun to say. (Story, page 14)

Another important aspect to every business — large and small — today is its Web site. The importance of a presence on the Internet increased daily, if not hourly. E-mail can get a message out to potential cus-tomers, but the usefullness of the Web site is prime.

Gone are the days when a site could simply list the name of a company, a description of products, and contact information. Today a Web site needs to include everything you offer, answer almost every ques-tion a potential customer might have, “sell them” on why your product or service is better than the com-petition, and include creative use of graphics and photos. (Story, page 12)

Also in this edition, you’ll find an interview with Laurie Lynch, co-founder and owner of The Lollipop Tree in Portsmouth (Page 17).

We want your letters

There are plenty of issues facing the business community in the Seacoast and we want to share your opinions, criticisms, suggestions with your contemporaries.

Is the Legislature or federal government making it harder for you to do business?

We’d also like feedback on the articles and features in Seacoast Ventures. And suggestions about the kind of information that would be helpful to you that we are not providing.

Reach CAL KILLEEN via e-mail or 610-1193.