GoHuman Blog

GoHuman supports local businesses and communities through a unique integrated approach to distributed ownership and responsibility. One of the ways we help is by bringing together like-minded companies who are working to achieve the same goals in their communities.

The Seattle Umbrella is Seattle’s only “Local Certification” service. Committed to promoting a sustainable and environmentally friendly local community in Seattle. Once your business is certified local, The Seattle Umbrella is your source for promotion to a highly targeted audience of people who genuinely want to support local business in Seattle.

Use their logo to gain recognition as a local business, as a marketing point, and as a statement that you support your community. Local businesses are the backbone of our community, and they are working to support practices that keep Seattle green, diverse, and sustainable.

Respond by Friday, June 4, and receive a 20% discount on your Seattle Umbrella membership and 6 months free basic subscription to GoHuman.com.

Whom do you trust most when making a decision to hire someone or buy something?

Most likely, you trust people you know: friends who have given you good recommendations, colleagues who have particular expertise, family, etc.

This type of trust has taken on a new form through the Internet and social media. Reviews for products and services are prevalent on GoHuman and elsewhere. These are useful, to be sure, but are subjective in nature.

GoHuman is allying with trusted organizations that promote local businesses. To represent this trust in a reliable and intuitive fashion, we have added a Trust Badge feature to GoHuman, which allows you to showcase your earned certifications, affiliations, and partnerships right along with your business postings, endorsements, and feedback.

Our first Trust Ally was the Green Business League, that provides Green Business Certification. We are working with several organizations to allow their members to proudly display their Trust Badges with GoHuman.

You can help by telling us about the organizations you trust and want to show off with GoHuman. We’ll work together to provide more exposure for you and all your fellow members.

Ultimately this will help your online reputation, which will lead to more trust, which helps get you more leads.

James Wood, of Abbotsford, B.C., Canada just earned one of the coveted Founding Member positions at GoHuman. James is responsible for bringing 200 new members into the GoHuman community. We reward people for contributing value to our community and are pleased to give James this well-deserved award.

James said, “Since being a part of GoHuman.com, it’s changed my life. I’ve met so many small business owners that have enriched the world I live in. They have inspired my own growth, they have rekindled my artistic flame within me, they have dared me to be not good..but great in what I do, each and every day.

”GoHuman.com is not a passing fad. It truly is a family of like minded individuals concerned with the communities they live in, bringing out the best in all, and realizing that we are ONE!”

James, you are truly one of a kind. Thanks for everything you’ve done to support GoHuman over the past year!

If you are interested in becoming a Founding Member of GoHuman.com by joining our grassroots marketing team, just email us.

James is a local business consultant. Call him today for help finding new business opportunities!

GoHuman.com is expanding, and we are taking over Minneapolis/St. Paul!

We are pleased to announce our newest partner; TwinCitiesCheap.com.

Over the past 3 years we have all seen how the financial world will sacrifice the “little guy” at all costs to make their own profits. The small businesses (in the Twin Cities and nationwide) are especially vulnerable to the fluctuations of the economy and have been gravely hurt.

Twin Cities Cheap (www.TwinCitiesCheap.com) has been developed in an effort to combat the unfair advertising climate where the “big box” large businesses and financial organizations overshadow our small business community. We understand that many small businesses also have small budgets for advertising. In response, we offer our website free of charge this year to those businesses who can prove that they are owned & operated here in Minnesota and have 35 or fewer total employees. Starting in 2011, TCC will offer the same attractive advertising spots at a serious discount. Twin Cities Cheap is for the ethical or socially-conscious small businesses who directly benefit their local economy and those who seek to invest in them. All funds have gone into and will continue to grow our site which helps shine the spotlight on our wonderful small business community.

We, as consumers, have more power than we give ourselves credit for. TAKE YOUR COMMUNITY BACK! Save them from the “big box cheap” goods at the “big box cheap” prices, which only makes the USA and our creative people “CHEAP”. Coupons have become Big Business for the big box companies, while they destroy countless trees producing coupons never used. The “little guy” doesn’t stand a chance to compete with them in this arena; and to be honest, would they really want to? We offer the “little guy” of the Twin Cities a safe “arena” to advertise their discounts at an unheard of price! Coupons are only distributed online therefore paper would be used ONLY if a coupon is used. We help the consumer look to their local businesses for what they need, what they want and what they hope for!!

Together, GoHuman.com and TwinCitiesCheap.com are working towards truly changing how your world works.

We’ve been honoring two important themes in April – Earth Month and Autism Awareness Month. Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and we want to help you find ways to create a more sustainable business. We’re also continuing support of our MicroCause for Sunshine supporting autism.

Green is a long-standing buzzword, but what does it mean for your business and community? It’s different for every business and can be difficult to know where to begin. While there is no silver bullet for going green, many great resources are available to help you achieve sustainability.

GoHuman has partnered with Green Globe, providing the premier global certification for sustainability since 1993. Green Globe pioneers what it means to be sustainable and has developed several programs to help businesses achieve sustainability across the planet. They provide independent verification that your business is operating sustainably and in line with Green Globe certified businesses around the world.

Respond today to receive a 10% discount off your Green Globe membership and enjoy these benefits:

• GoHuman Local Marketing Consultant support – we’ll register your business and provide 6 months free at our $5 monthly subscription level.
• Immediate access to the Green Globe Certification System
• The Green Globe benchmarking tool: Green Globe Index
• The Green Globe Environmental Trainings Program
• Listings as “Green Globe Member” on all Green Globe websites
• Access to accredited Green Globe Consultants and Auditors to pursue certification
• Marketing Services provided by Green Globe Marketing
• 10% membership discount applies each year you renew

GoHuman is a marketplace devoted to helping local communities achieve sustainability. Local energy and ideas serve as the foundation for the site’s growth and allow for mutual prosperity. Read more from CEO Wade Fransson about why green energy matters.

When I was Publisher of some Manufacturing Management magazines, a group that represented Industrial Distributors asked me to survey our readers — their customers & prospects — what they valued most, aside from product-related attributes such as accuracy and reliability. About 15 items were listed.

To most everyone’s surprise, the customers and prospects ranked “Prompt Response to Needs & Requests” a very close second, only to “Price” which almost always comes out first. What came in #3 wasn’t even close.

“Prompt Response” costs you almost nothing and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to do it. It’s not only a great way to improve sales, it’s also a very inexpensive way to gain goodwill.

Although the concept of Branding is simple, effective execution is neither easy nor inexpensive.  Too many business execs today talk about Branding as though you can buy it by the pound at your local supermarket.

To develop an effective Branding program you first have to determine:

1. What markets & market segments can most benefit from the product or service you offer?
2. What are your prospects’ major wants and needs, and how well you can satisfy them?
3. Can you satisfy any of them better than your competitors?
4. If so, are the ones you better satisfy as important as the ones your competitors excel at?
5. What concise message best conveys your ability to satisfy those wants & needs?
6. How will you effectively convey your message to those prospects?
7. How much will it cost, and can you afford to do it as often as needed to make it register?
8. Can you do it over an extended period of time?

Branding is hard.  Branding is costly.  Branding is forever.

Branding must be a total company commitment to giving customers & prospects everything they expect from a superior, committed organization.

Branding is every public thing you do, not just the obvious like:

• Ads & PR
• The media that carry your message
• Websites, Brochures & Newsletters

But also the not-so-obvious like:

1. Product Quality & Packaging
2. User Manuals (appearance, ease of use, etc)
3. Your Supply Chain, including your sales staff, service people, dealers, distributors, etc.
4. Speedy, on-time delivery
5. Competent, courteous Installation & Set up
6. Customer Service in all its forms – with special emphasis on “Prompt Response to Needs & Requests”
7. Your website and letterhead
8. Sales Presentations & Sales Materials
9. Your Receptionist & the way you answer the phone
10. Your office, your furniture, their cleanliness & condition
11. How fast you pay your bills and how you deal with suppliers

These are just the basics, but hopefully that’s enough to get you started!

What does green mean to you as a business owner or consumer? It’s certainly a buzzword that gets a lot of attention, especially this month as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

In 40 years have we accomplished as much as we could to sustain a sustainable ecosystem for our planet? Probably not, but it’s human nature to move incrementally until disaster strikes.

GoHuman is a marketplace devoted to helping local communities achieve sustainability. Local energy and ideas serve as the foundation for the site’s growth, and allow for mutual prosperity. Local means:

• Fewer resources to transport goods and services is better for the environment
• Money spent by the community stays in the community
• Services tailored specifically to the needs and challenges of the community
• Reduced costs due to lower overhead of the individual provider
• Greater flexibility for better quality of life
• Bringing back the unique downtown communities this country has lost
• Helping the economy-at-large by feeding it at the smallest level
• Taking the current crisis into your own hands rather than waiting for someone else to fix it

If you are a green-certified service provider, you’re one of us. So why not join us? I welcome you to post your services to GoHuman and join a growing community of like-minded businesses and community members. Together we can help local communities and the environment.

Thank you for making a difference in your community and ours. Read on for ideas on marketing a green business.

Our mission is to bring you the best quality marketing assistance at the lowest cost. GoHuman.com offers very low cost subscription upgrades for you to list your business in more ZIP codes or feature different products and services in different markets.

You can upgrade or downgrade you account at any time via your account management page on GoHuman.

$5/month gives you 15 postings, which helps you market specific services to customers in other ZIP codes.

$9/month gives you 30 postings as well as a unique WebAddress, which makes it easier for people to find your business posting on the Web. (http://www.gohuman.com/chicago-lawyer)

We’re excited to announce a unique partnership with Red Spot Marketing, which provides marketing planning, consulting and management services to small and medium sized businesses across North America.

Join GoHuman for free today and you’ll get more exclusive marketing help for your business! Already a GoHuman member? The just drop us a line.

The first 10 members to respond receive: 12 months of $9 GoHuman.com subscription level ($1,080 total value!)

AND everyone who responds by April 15 receives: 6 months of $5 GoHuman.com subscription level ($30 value each) and Red Spot’s Free Marketing Planning Start Bundle that includes:

• Marketing Plan Template
• Marketing Plan Sample
• Marketing Plan Budget Spreadsheet

This set of templates and guides retails for $99 but is free for GoHuman members. It includes everything you need to get a marketing plan and monthly budget put together. This is the most important part of the marketing process.

Red Spot is partnering with GoHuman to gain more exposure to small and medium sized businesses within the GoHuman network.

As the GoHuman community grows, Red Spot Marketing will be bringing a number of exclusive offers to our members designed to help them implement better marketing practices and grow their business by marketing outside of GoHuman and learning how to get the most from their GoHuman experience.

Red Spot has ten full time marketing management consultants plus a support network of marketing back office staff to help manage the execution of their 100 plus clients’ marketing.

Focused on affordable integrated marketing designed to generate new leads for their clients, Red Spot Marketing uses a variety of awareness and lead generation marketing both online and offline to generate new leads for clients every month.

Join GoHuman for free today to get started!