First, let's answer some of your questions. We know you have questions because, while we've been doing this for nearly 5 years now, we did it for other companies for almost 30 years before starting out on our own. We asked many of these questions in the past ourselves. With the most popular question we get we have found a lot of other questions and answers are covered.

The most popular question we get is "how do people find out about the website?" One of the most reliable methods we (collectively and as individual business owners) have had to drive potential customers to our Network has been "word of mouth." Quite simply, by having business owners, managers, and employees describing our Network and directing their customers to our site, we are letting their customers become ours. And it doesn't matter what type of business, or size of the company. Our goal is to have ALL business headings represented (if you don't see yours on the Products and Services Directory, you will once you join us!). But as we all know, or eventually find out, relying simply on "word of mouth" doesn't always get us the customers we need, or may not provide a complete and total picture to potential customers of all the products and services we as businesses have to offer. For this, we need Networking within our group, but we also need to go outside to other areas. We need to ADVERTISE! We advertise our Network as a whole on TV, radio, in newspapers, convenience store menus, and in movie theatres. At a cost individually, few if any of us would be able to afford. However, in our role as an Advertising Agency for business owners, we combine our resources and put together some pretty powerful programs, an exampale of which can be seen at the top of our Wisconsin Towns page. Another way we "get the word out" is by working with other, similar types of marketing companies, to "cross promote" our businesses (under "Our Marketing Partners" you can see these). Finally, The Westphal Group has a growing portfolio of dedicated websites we produce for businesses, also seen under "Our Marketing Partners." These are businesses we produce, maintain, and promote individual websites for however, these companies also do their OWN advertising campaigns and include their URLs (web addresses) in their ads. Each website we produce includes Links not only back to the main Wisconsin Towns website, but also to businesses of potential interest to customers in each of the geographical marketing areas (generally, the region from which these businesses want to focus on to attract customers).

Another question we get deals with how the main website got it's name, and the types of companies and in which communities we work with. We can answer these with a few short lines. Regarding the website name. We are the Wisconsin Towns Business Network, as such, we took the Post Office abbreviation for Wisconsin ("WI") and added, "towns." Pretty simple, huh? We ADVERTISE our network, however, as "Our Wisconsin Towns" because when potential customers, or anyone interested in learning more about our state hear or see our ads, the likelihood the words "Our Wisconsin Towns" will be remembered when they get to a computer and are ready to look us up is greater than if we promoted ourselves as "www dot, why towns, dot com" or "www dot, whia towns, dot com." On the brochures, product information guides and menus we produce, we use the same banner you see above these three paragraphs and on the print side of our Marketing campaigns, we have spots available for our Network clients to place ads knowing that while there are a lot of people out there who shop with the Internet these days, there are still quite a few who do not, preferring the old fashioned paper way, and we print our products with attracting those customers in mind. As our name implies, we are generally interested in promoting Business and Commerce efforts in the State of Wisconsin, as well as Tourism and Educational aspects (the postcards and origins of the names of our communities under the Wisconsin Towns page.) The Wisconsin Towns page also gives you an idea of our Marketing scope with respect to the Communities we serve. While we have always had as our primary focus the Mission of promoting and preserving the American Dream of Small Business Success and have worked to do this largely in our small Wisconsin Towns, we have recently begun looking for expansion opportunities for our Network in both Michigan's Upper Peninsula as well as the lower part, Northern Illinois, and Eastern Minnesota knowing that shopping patterns are likely to bring results to our members. In addition, we have begun to attract the interest of larger companies, corporations, and groups who contribute to our Mission by providing sponsorship dollars to aid in the funding of our print media, website development, and marketing campaigns. Not only do these larger companies see many of the struggles, concerns, drive and determination in the small companies we represent in their own histories and backgrounds, but many realize the "shoestring" we started this campaign with nearly 5 years ago hasn't gotten a whole lot thicker over time and, as is the case with any effort, a little "boost" here and there is always welcomed. Plus, since a great deal of corporate officers and employees shop local businesses along with their friends and families, well, there we have our Marketing Partners at work once more!

Had enough? We have too. The last thing we want to do is bore you with a lengthy presentation, but we all need to be informed in order to make good decisions whether those be with Advertising or anything else, and as a Results-driven, Goal-Oriented Marketing Company we intend to provide you with a complete understanding of what we do, and why. If you have any further questions we haven't touched on here, we'll go over them with you when we get you signed up for the Promotion. Now, why don't we get to that?

Our "Spread the Word" Business Builder Membership Drive Campaign

Here's what you'll get:

1. A listing for your business ($120) under your heading(s) on the Wisconsin Towns Products and Services Directory,

2. Your business card, or a business card-sized ad, on the Wisconsin Towns "Here's My Card" page ($400). Most of the cards or ads you see there were

    designed and produced by us and if you need business cards, pamphlets, brochures, product information or menus done, we can work with you

    in those areas as well.

3. A full-page, full color ad  linked from your business listing and "Here's My Card" ad to highlight and showcase the products and services you have to

    offer ($300).  If you already have a website, and are looking for a cost-effective way to "get it out there," we will link to your current website from this

   page.  If you need a website for your business, or have one that needs a bit of work, we can help with that also. In addition, this page will provide us

  with the ability to TRACK YOUR RESULTS in other words, RETURN ON INVESTMENT. We haven't kept at these efforts for as long as we have

  because  it hasn't been effective for our clients, and some have done better than others over the years. But when our clients ASK their customers "how

  did you find me" and the customer responds "through Our Wisconsin Towns," AND you are provided with monthy reports of your results that tie the

  comments    together well, we like to refer to that as a "win-win"...for the needs of the customer, your business, and our Network.

 

Now for "The Damages" and what you need to do to get started:

The first thing you need to to is call us to schedule an approximate time and day that works well for you to get signed up. You will be meeting with Jeff

Westphal, and you can either call our office at (920) 830-3818, or you can reach him on his cell at (920) 809-3770. We realize  meeting times have to be

flexible, and try to get a lot of the groundwork done on the first appointment, anywhere between 5-15 minutes of your time. We also realize that many of

us are either sole proprietors, or have few employees to help run our businesses, and if "Tuesday at 10 o'clock" is always a quiet time for you and the

moment we get there to meet with you, so does a customer, the needs of that customer and your business come first. We will "window shop" at your

business until you have finished "job one." You can also e-mail us, with the time and day that works best.

Included with the benefits of the services you will receive with this promotion were prices. These are the regular, annual (NOT "monthly") rates for

the services included with this package. You can add them up if you want to, but we believe in fair, round numbers based on what our clients TELL US

is AFFORDABLE FOR THEM. In recent focus groups (the process of "building up" which led to creating this promotion), we learned that this amount

was "ball-parked" at $45-$50 per month. However, our current Networking partners tell us they need NEW Businesses to work with and promote!

THEREFORE, we are proud to announce you will receive 12 months of Marketing Services in the Network working to become Wisconsin's FASTEST

GROWING Business Alliance, including the services outlined above, for $250.00! (This is NOT a "type-o").

Now, we will need at least half down on the day you sign so that we may purchase the "space" for your ad campaign ("bandwidth", for you Techies out

there), and normallywe charge an extra twenty bucks to "carry you over" that way, but we'll even waive that for this promotion only, with your balance

due within 30 daysfrom the date you signed. In keeping with our policy, your renewal rate next year will have a 10% increase so when your membership

in our Network has worked so well for you, you'll know better what to budget for us when it comes time for you to do that process.

 

We look forward to working with you. And in advance, "welcome aboard!."

Effective. Powerful. Affordable. Marketing. Solutions.

 

The Westphal Group

 

Appleton, Wisconsin.