Secrets To Marketing Your Family Biz
   By B.J. Addington

Your family business has a story to tell. It’s not just about your products and services. It’s about the traditions, values and stability that your family firm has built.

Those unique aspects of your family business make a powerful marketing message that can attract customers and build loyalty.

Many family businesses have been handed down through the generations. Others have just started. Both have stories to tell.

Here’s an eight-point checklist that will help you think about and communicate your family business story.

1. If yours is an established family business, draw on your rich history. Think about family members and their lasting contributions to the firm. Consider how your family business continues to build on the foundation laid generations ago.

2. If you’ve recently launched a family business, focus on the reasons you decided to start a family company. Was it to build a lasting business for the generations to come? Did you and your sister (brother, mom or dad) go into business together because you share a work ethic? Look at the positive reasons you opted to work together as a family team.

3. As you begin to tell your family business story, avoid hype. No one likes a braggart. So don’t boast about products and services. Instead, focus on the values and traditions your company embraces, such as:

• Craftsmanship
• Quality
• Personal service
• Being trusted advisors for your customers
• Community philanthropy
• Stability within the community
• Retaining long time non-family employees
• Building a future for coming generations
• Cementing long-term relationships with clients

4. Once you polish your family firm’s story, broadcast it to the world. Publicize your company history at every opportunity to generate credibility for your small business. Put your history in your brochures, press releases, catalogs and on your Web site. By showing that family members have passion for seeing the company succeed, you’ll build trust with customers.

5.Celebrate your milestones. Throw parties for customers when your family business hits an anniversary. Send out notices and press releases when a family member takes on new responsibilities. Do the same if a family member retires. By promoting these milestones, you create connections with customers.

6. Collect your memorabilia. Folks love nostalgia, whether it’s old photos or original logos. Make a point to collect and archive all of the mementos that showcase your family business. If you own a retail establishment, display the collection for customers to enjoy. Earmark a few pages on your Web site for your customers who love history. Show historic photos of family members, changes to your logo, the evolution of equipment used in your business. Tout any ties your business has the community, such as being housed in a historic building.

7. Promote the official date that your family business was launched. Make it part of your tagline. Print it on promotion giveaways and in your advertising. Try one of these:

• “Serving the community since 1976”
• “Founded in 1999”
• “A family-owned business since 1995”
• “A family-owned tradition since 1950”

8. Publicize ties to your customers. If your family business has been around for multiple generations, chances are some of your customers have been too. Find current customers whose fathers or grandmothers patronized your business. Get testimonials about how your business has successfully served generations of the same family. Post the testimonials on your Web site. Print them in brochures.

9. Stay informed about new marketing opportunities specifically for family businesses. Check out these online resources:

• Family Business Magazine, www.familybusinessmagazine.com
• George and Robin Raymond Family Business Institute, www.raymondinstitute.org
• Family Firm Institute, www.ffi.org
• Family Business/Strategies, www.fbnews.net
• Family Owned Business Institute, http://fobi.gvsu.edu/fobi

(Posted September 2004)

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