Problem Solver

William Ernest Waites, president of the Advertising Federation of Southwest Florida, answers:

As we do our day-to-day business, we can lose sight of our marketing plan. All the thought that went into creating a great plan and the investment in implementing it is jeopardized by business as usual. Even if sales and profits are good, problems could be right around the corner. Prepare yourself with the following steps:

1. Conduct a competitive analysis. Are your competitors still doing what they have done in the past? If they have changed their behavior, pay attention. Perhaps you should adjust your plan.
2. Review your target market. In a geographic area as dynamic as Southwest Florida, target market demographics and attitudes can change. Be sure you still are targeting your best prospects.
3. Conduct a marketing materials audit. Do your printed materials still reflect your company's strategies and your customers' desires? A brief survey of your customers can tell you if your materials still are on target.

Make it a practice to have regular check-ups so that bad marketing health doesn't sneak up on you.

Waites can be reached at (239) 482-7025 or sanibelart@earthlink.net.

Q: Other than offering insurance benefits to employees, what other benefits can I provide without breaking my budget? 

Libby Anderson, a Naples-based human resources consultant and trainer, answers:

With the cost of insurance benefits skyrocketing, business owners need to get creative in providing other benefits in order to retain and attract staff.

Considering that employees all have different medical needs, one convenient alternative is to offer supplemental benefits to employees. Vision insurance, a 529 College Savings Plan, Christmas Club or even pet insurance are paid fully by the employee, but the cost is deducted by the employer, who only has to pay an administrative cost.

Robb & Stucky, a Fort Myers-based furniture retailer and interior designer, goes further, offering a prepaid flexible spending card that reduces tax costs and gives employees a fast and convenient way to pay for medical and dependent care expenses.

Another virtually no-expense benefit is flexible scheduling, which helps give employees the time to handle their busy lives as well as work.

The City of Naples helps employees with their personal lives by offering no-interest computer loans repayable via payroll deduction.

Food is always a fun and appreciated benefit, whether it be bagels on Friday mornings, birthday cakes or a quarterly cookout in the parking lot. Celebrating diversity and good food, the Immokalee Health Department has a potluck in which participants bring food to share with coworkers.

Although training is an expense, employees will frequently perform better after receiving it. One way to provide training with less expense and time commitment is to offer brown-bag seminars during lunchtime. If you have a large network of colleagues, you may be able to share the expense of a trainer with another employer or call on them to help you find speakers who will charge little or nothing.

Sometimes you may spend a lot on benefits that you feel employees don't appreciate. One good way to help employees understand that is to give them a "hidden paycheck" report, which puts on paper how much you are putting toward their benefits.

Finally, don't forget that employees also find it a benefit simply to work with a great team and managers who are well trained and have good supervisory skills. That cost is free: You just need to exercise good selection and leadership.

Anderson can be reached via e-mail at edahrsvcs@aol.com. Her Web site is www.edahr.com.

Q: I'd like to give my employees some tips for writing e-mail to clients, co-workers and potential customers. What are some guidelines for such correspondence?

Jim Jacoby, president of Estero-based Management Communications Consultants, answers:

First, watch your use of acronyms and abbreviations. Consider the recipient of the e-mail and whether that person will understand the acronyms or abbreviations. When in doubt, spell it out the first time, then use the short-hand method in subsequent references. Also watch your use of jargon, or business slang. Jargon can be good or bad, depending on your reader. If your reader understands your jargon, you have a shorthand way of saving words.

Second, write the way you talk. Today's trend is to write in informal, conversational style. Think of how you share ideas with a friend. It's OK to use contractions such as we'll and even colloquialisms such as y'all. Reserve more formal writing for proposals and correspondence that goes to upper management and external executives.

Third, write in plain language. Here are five rules:

• Use everyday words. For example, use "buy" rather than "procure."
• Use active verbs. A passive sentence takes seven words: "The contract was signed by the director." An active sentence takes only five words and gets to the point: "The director signed the contract."
• Use lists. Incorporate bullet points or numbers that break out, rather than bury, series of phrases within a sentence or paragraph. [This description of plain language is an example of such a list.]
• Use pronouns. After introducing your organization's name and the name of your reader's organization, use "you," "I" and "we" to make your e-mail user-friendly.
• Keep sentences and paragraphs short. Keep sentences at an average of two lines on your PC screen. Consider 17 words per sentence average for business-to-business writing and 10 words per sentence average for fifth-grade education.

Jacoby has more than 35 years of experience in writing, editing, publications management, consulting and teaching, and currently serves as an instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University and Edison Community College. He can be reached at (239) 390-1522.