Marketing

As an entrepreneur, one of your most valuable business assets are your customers.

Dying has made Michael Jackson’s music even more popular now then when he was alive. What can we learn from this legend? Well, when it comes to marketing, it pays to build a buzz and then back that up by being the real deal. It’s important to get the word out about who you are and what you do. Jackson did it through record releases, public appearances, concerts, interviews, and fan clubs.

Yeah, but that was Michael Jackson, you say. It was easier for him. Is he really that different than us? If we build a buzz about our business, position ourselves as a leader in our field, deliver quality products and services to our target market-and are promote-able and likeable, what’s to stop us from changing the world-or at least make our mark in our area of expertise?

Be consistent in how you present the business/YOU.

By identifying and following a set of core values, you will have the foundation for the kind of visibility and credibility you want. From these values come the behaviors that create consistency, integrity and measurement for how you are doing as a business and business owner.

The most important step to positioning yourself in the market is defining yourself. This includes taking stock of your strengths, values, goals and personality to determine the personal messages you want customers to take away from their encounters with you.

When you have taken the time to be consistent to your targeted audience then:

1. You are perceived as an authority in your field, you gain credibility.
2. Your performance brands you as highly experienced, talented, proven to get results.
3. Recognition starts to come from leaders in your domain and adds to your credibility.
4. You find ways to differentiate what you excel in.
5. You will form alliances with those who are already perceived leaders in their domain.

You must be perceived as truly special, with attributes unique enough to create a strong and lasting market position, being consistent does that. Otherwise, when money is tight, consumers will make a necessary if unpleasant choice: They simply won’t look to you to fulfill their needs.

The Challenge: Review your week, how consistent were you staying focused to your goals, how about the behaviors that identify your values – what needs tweaking?

As I have worked with Mind Masters clients over the years, I have always stressed the importance of having 3 marketing tactics that you do consistently.

There are many perspectives on what marketing is, let me illustrate – a first definition of marketing: the business activity of presenting products and/or services to potential customers in such a way as to make them eager to buy. And there is: Marketing – the management of perception.

But what I have learned is that most marketing is haphazard. We’ll try a little of this, a little of that, then a little more of this. What I really got from all of the experts is that if you want to be successful in marketing and sales, you need to have a system: a repeatable process that consistently produces a successful result.

Jay Levinson & Seth Godin in “The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook” discuss 73 low cost, high impact ways to get your marketing message out. Most of them are activities that support other marketing tactics. Barbara Lambesis has a list of 101 tactics in her book 101 Big Ideas for Promoting a Business. There are plenty to choose from as long as they are an activity that creates a connection between you and a prospective client, which moves them closer to doing business with you, and you use those tactics consistently to build trust.

A friend shared an experience with me about a tactic she used that might illustrate what consistency can really do for your business. She had been in her business for awhile and thought about doing some other things with her life, so she decided to have her business appraised to see if it were saleable. To her shock it was not worth close to what she had poured her blood, sweat and tears into up to that point, so she set out to make it more valuable. Over a 5 year period the tactic she chose was speaking, she spoke anywhere they would listen, she did classes and workshops, she spoke to business groups all over the city.

From her one topic (she said at times she felt like a broken record) she was able to grow the business to the point that when she sold it, it was worth substantially more than that first appraisal. She became known as the expert and people came seeking her out because she had developed a relationship with them.

What tactics do you use and how do they combine to fit your situation on a consistent basis so they become your basic game plan? There are no miracle tactics. Marketing is all about communication. When your marketing is inconsistent, and you are trying to do too many things your potential clients don’t get your message, they don’t respond or buy.

There are many things to consider when developing your marketing, the message, the benefits, how you are different, are you credible, do you do what you say you will do, but the component that is essential is how consistently you use those key tactics that say “I can trust that person”. Remember people have to trust you, to do business with you.

The Challenge: Take a step back and asses what tactics you are using, and track how consistently on a weekly basis you are working with them.

Business is all about relationships. In the rush to get something done, small business owners often find themselves with less then perfect outcomes. Too often I hear the complaints and laments of clients because doing business with a vendor, independent contractor or performing the work themselves required accountability on both sides but somehow got overlooked. Relationships are built on trust, trust is built when commitments are fulfilled to the satisfaction of all parties. Creating the agreements that go with the commitments is a fundamental skill. Unfortunately, most people have never learned how to articulate their desired results.

Recently a client of mine decided to hire a public relations professional. Three people were being considered for the project. I was invited to sit in on one of the interviews. The PR contractor spoke only in very general terms, used the daily news to see where my client might be able to “fit” in and could make no commitments for positioning the client. The result was, my client moved on to the next 2 people.

The contractor hired presented a complete PR program outlining areas she would pursue and what my client needed to do to support the program. Together they developed a document accepting full responsibility for performing the required work and achieving results. With the agreement in place my client has a roadmap for things to go right.

In all of our business relationships we hire people or are hired to perform a service or deliver a finished product. Usually the cause of challenges is a lack of clear agreement; agreement of the work to be done and the results to be achieved.

In my experience I find small business owners are so eager to make the sale or get the work done, that they do not take time to do the due diligence. Important for creating relationships that work:

1. Decide what the Goal and end result will be.
2. Agree on When it is to be done.
3. Agree on How it will be done.
4. Be prepared to resolve any issues that arise

When you have policies in place and are consistent in how you work, business grows because people know what to expect from you and trust you to fulfill your commitments.

The Challenge: Review your own policies and procedures, make sure they are clear and visible to your customers and before hiring an outside company use that same criteria for choosing them.

There are hundreds of books and articles too numerous to begin to count that deal with ways to get attention for your business. Most are predicated on delivering a message that speaks to your prospects’ needs. The difficulty for small business owners is to be able to use the internet to deliver that message, without chasing away other prospects. On line advertising is moving away from just display ads and into a more interactive (pull) model.

Have you seen some of the car company TV ads that direct you to go to
their web site and click on the car of your choice, and change the features,
like color and accessories? The idea behind this involvement is once a
customer has been pulled in with this type of advertising, Online Advertising
Magazine says “companies can then strengthen that relationship through
opt-in e-mail newsletters and focused word-of-mouth campaigns, moving
the customer forward with the brand.”

If you are using direct mail or print advertising, you always want to direct people to your web site which can give you more opportunity to interact with customers. Provide an interactive experience. Provide visitors with experiences that engage them, this enhances their interest in your product or service, and leads to sales. What kind of things can you use?

Remember the online experience derives its power from the ability to pinpoint what consumers are searching for. So perhaps you can use surveys, tips, free informational articles and an e-zine. A big part of all of this is making offers – something people will respond to. Offers need to be compelling and immediate and relevant as well as good deals.

Be willing to take a risk. Be flexible and willing to change if something isn’t working. We are in an era of rapid change, be open to it. You may not like what advertisers are doing, but you don’t want to be left behind.

The Challenge: Check out at least 3 of your competitors’ sites.
Look for what they are doing to engage their visitors. Then ask yourself,
am I ahead of the game or behind? What do I need to do to catch up.

A recent B2B Expo was quite an eye opener. Many companies paid $800 to $1000 to create awareness and showcase their product/services. My observation was that few exhibitors got a return on their investment; not because of the attendance but because of poor understanding on the part of the booth “staffers” on how to engage their audience. Sitting behind a table, failing to qualify booth visitors or even ask for their business cards, were some of the negative comments I heard from colleagues who attended looking to do business with the exhibitors.

Trade shows open doors and pave the road to building strong future relationships with current and new customers, the media and other influential players in your marketplace. How you present your business and yourself can have rippling effects for a long period of time. Here are some “tips” on making any opportunity to display your products/services a good return on your time and investment:

1. Set measurable goals and objectives: close sales, gather names for leads, enhance market visibility.
2. Choose the right venue: is your market local, national or industry specific and large enough for a good return.
3. No amount of dazzle in your booth will do more then being enthusiastic and professional: engage prospects, watch your body language, acknowledge visitors, qualify, present and close.
4. Feature your product/service in a spectacular way: use a large sign, design your message to grab attention in less then 5 seconds, use risers to add better visibility and color, giveaway something they will remember you with.
5. Measure your results: create your follow up piece ahead of time, use a database with mail merge to store the contacts and call or mail/e-mail something within 7 days of the show.
6. Be prepared: with qualifying questions, ways to handle objections and when you can get back to them.
7. Follow-up makes the difference pay more attention to closing sales after the show. Take business cards from every possible prospect, and note their particular interests and concerns.

Exhibiting at trade shows, b2b exhibits and conferences can be important for any size business. At large industry shows more and more company executives are recognizing that these shows can be the number one tool to build a brand and generate leads. Recognize it takes planning. Budget wisely and you too can raise awareness of your product/service if you do it right.

The Challenge: Check out your local chamber’s b2b expo opportunity or other business venues where your marketing dollar will give you the return in visibility, new business and reconnections for 2007.

By Debra Simpson

People opt for internet advertising methods because practically half of the world’s population knows HTML. If you have your own business, you have to decide on what internet advertising method works for you. Ask yourself what are you going to avail yourself of the expensive internet advertising methods or the cheap ones? Others will pipe in “expensive!” immediately, but they don’t know cheap internet advertising method attracts great benefits as well.

Here’s the lowdown and a comparative look on the cheap and expensive internet advertising methods:

The Expensive

• Pop-ups
  Not only are these expensive, but also outright annoying that visitors close pop-up windows without even bothering to know what they’re all about. This is an internet advertising method that you can do without.

  Fly ads are derivatives of pop-ups which are also equally irking to the visitors.

• Podcasts
  Broadcast is to TV as podcast is to internet. It’s one sophisticated internet advertising method that can somehow hamper your budget. But if you’re thinking results, podcasting is worth the money.
• Paying the search engines
  How does this one work? When someone types in a keyword related to your site, your URL is automatically included in the first page of the top results. Fixed payment for the search engine allows just that. Expensive, yes, but if we’re talking about Google and Yahoo search engines here, then don’t give it a second thought.

The Cheap

• Blogging
  Go along the bandwagon and blog about your website. This is an internet advertising method that is popular as of the moment, so you never have to worry that this will never spur outcome. All you have to do is sign up for a blogging account, post and voila! You don’t even need to pay!
• Submit to not-so-big search engines
  This is cheap and dependable. If you submit your site to smaller search engines, you have bigger chances to get bigger results. Remember that the search engine giants can dwarf and overlook your site easily, so this internet advertising method might just be the right one for you.
• Text links
  This is not just cheap…this is virtually free! Let someone text link your site and return the favor.

Cheap versus expensive, that’s always the question that hounds us whenever we’re trying to acquire something. In the field of internet advertising, just be wise enough to figure out what will suit your needs. Go for what you want as long as there are visible results.

The Challenge: Review your ad budget and review your on line results. Do you need an adjustment?

How often have you walked out of a seminar thinking you wasted your time and maybe even your money because the presenter seemed more interested in promoting his/her next workshop then delivering the topic you signed on for?

I have often heard business owners complain that they hate being sold. The market place has changed, customers do have access to more information and have become more educated about what they want. But what is “wrong” with self promotion?

Sometimes it has to do with that bad experience we had with that salesperson who talked us into buying something we really didn’t want. Or perhaps we heard our parents make disparaging remarks about that car sales person who seemed just a little too slick. It is important to recognize how we respond to people who are promoting their business or product and why we react the way we do.

It is important because we may be holding back on broadcasting the benefits of our product or service. Success oriented people promote their product, service or even their ideas enthusiastically and passionately. C.J. Hayden in her book Get Clients Now says “Reluctance to promote yourself holds you back from achieving personal fulfillment and financial success.”

Do you believe you deliver value? How strongly do you believe in your product or service? In speaking to a client this morning, she mentioned that a marketing person told her she needed to change how she presented her products when in front of a group. We both know she loves what she does, but her personality is more reserved making it difficult to sound enthusiastic. Self promoting is not about being boastful or pushy, but being genuine. Letting the passion and belief for what you do ring out, because you know that what you offer can truly assist people and you need to let people know how it can.

Take time to check on your 30 second promotional, are you talking benefits? Re-evaluate your product or service – are you highlighting the real value you offer? Check your belief system, are you carrying old worn out ideas about selling? If you really believe in what you do, then share it with everyone who comes your way. Be a “fearless self promoter”, you will grow and your business will grow.

The Challenge: Ask a client/customer for a testimonial and get re-enthused about what you do.

If you are using a Web Site to drive traffic to your business (not just to the web site), is it delivering the return you want on your investment of time and money? There is a great deal of talk about different strategies to use to get people to your site, but once they are there what happens? Are you making a lot of money from it? Are your clients and friends sending others to check out the site? Are you getting new subscribers to your eZine. Are you getting the calls or emails wanting to know more? Can you point directly to your web site as a key to attracting more clients?

If you have not taken time recently to review your site, let me suggest some questions that should be addressed.

• What do you want your prospect/client to do once they have landed on your site and how do you want them to do it? Do you want to educate them, sell them or receive a referral?? What is your most wanted response? Are you getting it?
• Who is your audience? What do you know about them? When and how people access your site will tell you if you are reaching your right audience.
• Does your site enhance your company image? If you want to educate, do you provide information prospects can use with links or down loadable data? Does it speak to your targeted audience? Does your content attract/engage visitors and get return visitors?
• Does the site get them to connect with you? Are they opting in for your free information or contacting you easily from your contact page? Do you offer them something of value if they do? Do you know what makes them take action?

Let’s be realistic here, you only have about 8 seconds to get the attention of a visitor on your site. You want to build value so they come back. This means you need to begin building a relationship with them from the get go. Based on the nature of your business and your customers expectations your competitive advantage will depend on how well you can make that connection. By taking time to:

1. review what you do have/or want to have,
2. analyze how well you are doing it,
3. test new markets, new products and new offers,

you will be in much more control over your ROI. Remember the internet is a fast paced, changing market place, your need to stay in front of it to meet your objectives.

The Challenge: Stop and open your home page, does it reflect what you want prospects and clients to know about your business?

When was the last time you asked a customer/client for a referral? So many times I hear that as a business owner it is uncomfortable asking for a referral. Yet last week I listened to three rookie insurance/financial advisors talk about how they began their businesses and what were the important keys that have made them successful. Asking for a referral was right up on top. Your current customers can be your best influences on prospective clients. So what can you do to break through the “discomfort” of asking for the name of someone they know that could use your product or service?

If you had to guess, what percentage of people are visually oriented: that is, they need to see something before buying it – you know they need to drive a car, feel the material of a suit/dress or preview a house before purchasing it? More then 95% of people are visual consumers. So how do you a service provider create this opportunity?

Why not start with a testimonial from a client who has had a very positive experience working with you? How many times have you heard, “I don’t know how to thank you”? That is the perfect time to ask them to put their gratitude in writing. Testimonials can become part of your powerful arsenal for opening the door to new prospects. Something magical happens when you read those testimonials, a special relationship develops with that customer opening the door to relaxing the “discomfort” of taking the next step and asking for referrals.

Testimonials should be used in all of your promotional materials, they can be developed into case studies that you can verbally convey when someone asks, “how do you do that?”. Testimonials are one of the most effective and powerful strategies, they create an air of credibility for your business and gives you confidence when approaching new prospects.

The Challenge: Review your marketing strategy and begin asking for testimonials! Let us know if you have any concerns.