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cup of coffee at work. His passion for quality hot beverages was a very compelling story and he mentioned it to everyone he came in contact with. The more he shared his mes- sage, the more people asked him to provide a top quality OCS service. This gentleman now has a success- ful 10-year-old company and enjoys every single day he gets to spend at work — all because he had a story he was willing to share with others. Step 2: Discover who would be interested in listening to your story. Publicity, much like a snowball roll- ing downhill, gains momentum over time. Discovering who is interested in "your story" may seem to be a daunt- ing challenge at frst. But the more "your story" gets told, the easier it becomes to tell, and as it's retold again and again, more and more potential customers become aware of your products and services. Start by Googling groups who are interested in the same things as your business. For example — If I were interested in starting a micro market business that focused on locally sourced fresh food selections, I would seek out local farmers' market groups, growing co- ops, health clubs, Trader Joe's fan clubs…anyone who may be glad to hear that a micro market stocked with local ingredients is available in their area. These people may be the very decision makers who would ask to have a micro market at their workplace. Step 3: Use local resources to tell "your story" A.F.A.P. (As Free As Possible). Perhaps a video of "your story" would be a great way to spread the message of the company. Video productions are power- ful tools, but they can be diff- cult to develop and expensive to produce. That's where local help can come in handy. Search for students or volunteers willing to work in exchange for expe- rience or credit on a project. Community colleges, vocational schools, drama clubs and local media centers all contain will- ing volunteers who would love to help you get "your story" on recorded media. Having a recorded message makes it easy for local broadcast outlets to fea- ture your business in a feature or special. Look internally for someone with excellent written communication skills or a creative marketing back- ground to assist in producing "your story" in a text format. The story should be interesting to a broad seg- ment of the population and written like a profle in a magazine. Focus on facts and give the writer some good quotes from you that are both memorable and personal. Getting a family member or intern to start a social media campaign to share "your story" online can also be benefcial. The most important component of social media, as a pub- licity tool, is time. Posts need to be made regularly, daily in most cases. It can be a challenge for some business owners to work into their schedule, so paying a small stipend to an employee or getting a family member with a vested interest in the company to handle the social media aspect, with your input, is an ideal way to build awareness of your business. The ideas and methods of gener- ating publicity are certainly many and varied. But developing a story and spreading it locally can go a long, long way in helping a business grow and succeed. '' The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. '' – Oscar Wilde ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ben White was the general manager at Monumental Vending in Beltsville, MD. for many years. He recently started Vending Insights, Inc. to help operators incorporate technology and advance large projects such as micro market develop- ment. Contact White via email at ben@ vendinginsights.com March 2015 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 29 M A R K E T I N G