Marketing

I almost didn’t write this post because I didn’t want to sound snarky post-holidays. I finally decided to write it because I think that some small business owners may be receiving some bad advice related to leaving comments to build SEO. Worse yet, some may be paying people to do this for them.

I’ve noticed, both on my blog and some of my customers’ blogs, a rise in the number of comments left on posts that appear to be made solely for the purpose of providing a link back to the commenter’s Web site. Of course, I can only assume the intent, but since these comments tend to be very generic, unrelated to the topic of the post, and do nothing to add to the conversation, I think it’s a pretty good guess.

When talking to folks about what makes sense in social media (I include blogging in social media) I always go back to the idea that what we are talking about is conversations. Conversations that take place online. In this context, I think of the type of comments described above as “look at me” comments. It’s as if you are talking to a group of people at your local chamber event and I walked up and interrupted by yelling “hey, look at me.”  People may remember me from the event, but I wasn’t networking, was I?

It’s not only that this is bad form, it’s worse. If  the only reason you are leaving comments is to get a link back to your site, then you are wasting your time. If you – as a business owner – are spending marketing dollars to do this for your company, go ahead and send me the money, I will see that it is properly shredded.

Here’s why. I don’t know what the market share numbers are, but I think it’s a pretty safe bet to say a majority of today’s blogs are built using either WordPress, TypePad, or Blogger. WordPress and Blogger automatically flag the URL in your comment as “Nofollow”.  Nofollow tells the search engine spider not to follow the link, so it might as well not be there.

TypePad uses javascript to display your comments and thereby hides them from the search engines. If you view the source of a page where you have left a comment on a TypePad blog, you won’t find your comment or your URL in the page html. So again, no Google juice for you.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that people should stop leaving comments on blogs. What I am saying is if you are leaving comments for the sole purpose of creating a link back to your Web site, then you are wasting your time.

Being part of the conversation and contributing in a meaningful way will get you noticed. Think back again to the local chamber event example. Let’s pretend I was a CPA and I walked up on your group while you were discussing a tax issue. If I listened, asked questions, and pointed out issues that you need to be aware of, you would probably think I “knew my stuff” and may seek me out to help you with future needs. The same is true with online conversations. If I see you contributing to the conversation in a meaningful way, I am likely to want to learn more about you.

Bill Brelsford is the owner of Rebar Business Builders. As an Authorized Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Bill works with professional service firms and independent professionals who want to spend less time chasing business and more time serving profitable customers.
phone: 913.962.9261
email: bill@rebarbusinessbuilders.com
web: http://www.RebarBusinessBuilders.com
blog: http://blog.rebarbusinessbuilders.com

Tags: bad advice, Bill Brelsford, Duct Tape Marketing Coach, SEO
Posted on January 15th, 2010 | No Comments »

AmEx’s OPEN Forum is quickly becoming one of the best places to find new and informative content from some of the best minds in the business world. Along with great articles from people like Anita Campbell, John Jantsch and Guy Kawasaki, you can find short video’s from MSNBC and from the AmEx forum itself..

This video about the Cafe Circa restaurant in Atlanta is a great example of how a business can learn from mistakes and the effort that goes into creating a successful business.

Click the picture to watch the video on the OPEN Forum website

Tags: AmEx OPEN Forum, Small Business, video
Posted on January 11th, 2010 | No Comments »

Have you ever thought that running a business, especially a retail store, is a lot like dating? There you are in your store and in walks Mr. or Ms. “Right”, that ideal customer who simply loves your store and goes wild for your stuff.

You have a great time and Mr. or Ms. Right leaves the store, hopefully purchases in hand, and you think, That was great! I wonder when I’ll see him/her again?

Hmmmm? Too often, you just wait until they happen to show up another time. You can sit next to the phone and wait for it to ring, or you can take action!

Remember that guy who used to have his “little black book” with the names and phone numbers of lots of cute unattached girls? He always had a date. Here’s how to be that guy in the retail world:

When he met an attractive girl, the guy with the little black book probably said things like, “May I have your phone number so I can call you?” By doing that, he got permission to call, because if they gave him their number, they were probably interested, maybe even flattered that he’d asked.

You need to get permission to follow-up too. “Permission to Market” is something you want to achieve with every one of the ideal customers who enter your store—those people who you’ve identified as the ones who are most likely to be interested in the things you have to sell—in other words, your “target group”.

This shouldn’t be too difficult; after all, they already came into your store and bought something.

But even if they didn’t buy there’s no reason to think they might not buy at another time. Maintain contact. While you’re transacting with them, say, “Would you like to be on our VIP list and receive advance notice of specials and sales events?” …or “We love to keep in touch with our neighbours. Can we have your contact information?”

You might simply have your own little black book next to the cash and ask people to sign up. Lots of them will. Or better yet, start a database on your computer.

Now you’ve got permission to market to them, so start with a simple message thanking them for their business. You might add an extra, like a coupon good for a small gift with their next purchase—whatever you can afford. You want them to know you appreciate their business and are offering a value added service by staying in touch.

Next, send them an invitation to a special event at the store, a preview of new fashions, a demonstration of something that’s of interest, or an exclusive pre-sale VIP customer night. Anything you can come up with to make them feel special and get them back to the store.

But be careful, don’t pester the people on your list, space the messages out, perhaps than a month or six weeks apart. Be sure the emails have an “opt out” provision as a courtesy—most people will not use this.

You’re thinking, when am I going to find the time to do all this? Good question! The answer is: you automate the whole thing with contact software. Check out Master of the Moment— the Art of Follow-up Marketing on the download section of the Marketing Masters.ca website to learn more.

Just as in dating, if the chemistry is right, your goal is to further and build the relationship. Having ideal customers that you see often, can be a marriage made in heaven!

Ken Burgin and Elizabeth Walker are the Marketing Masters (www.MarketingMasters.ca), a full-service marketing and advertising partnership that helps build busy businesses. Send your ideas on How to Thrive in Times Like These to liz@marketingmasters.ca or ken@marketingmasters.ca, or call 1-866-908-5720.

web: http://www.marketing,masters.ca
blog: http://thebuzzwithkenandliz.blogspot.com/

Tags: customers, Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Elizabeth Walker, Ken Burgin, Marketing, retail
Posted on January 7th, 2010 | No Comments »

“Marketers can’t push products on people. They have to think like journalists and create a dialogue with their audience to earn a prospect’s trust,” notes Varju Luceno of Global Office Partners. “Many firms will need to reinvent their marketing in 2010.”

As you get ready to flip your calendar over for the new year, take some time to rethink your social media marketing system and goals, with the helpful tips in this new Mplans.com article: Why Your Company Needs a Social Media Marketing System in 2010.

Tags: Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Marketing, social media, Varju Luceno
Posted on December 17th, 2009 | No Comments »

We recently helped one of our clients, a skills training centre, do some research with a group of small business owners. We discovered that the three top issues on the minds of these business people were: how to find new customers; how to stay ahead of their competition; and how to spend their marketing money more effectively. They were all interested in taking their business to a higher level.

A good first step in getting to the next level in your business is to “discover” what your company is really good at. In business lingo, this is called “defining your core competency,” and it’s often surprising that many business owners have never nailed this down.

Ask yourself this question, “If you were forced to divest your company of everything it does every day except one set of activities, what would you keep?” What really generates your profit and keeps your customers coming back? What activities could you discard with no real danger to your business?

Once you know the activity that is core to the survival and prosperity of your business, it gets easier to see who the prime prospects that you appeal to are, and because you know precisely who you are appealing to, it’s easier to find them, and easier to determine how to spend your sales and marketing dollars.

Here are some ideas to start your thinking about core competency:

Are you better than your competition at the nuts and bolts of sourcing raw materials and components, turning them into products, and setting up a great distribution and sales network? This is probably the only time we will recommend that you look at your pricing — if you can drive cost of your development processes and guarantee delivery times, you can keep your profit margin while passing savings on to customers and create long-term business relationships. A good example of this is Walmart.

If research and designing great products is what you are good at, you can go to market saying you really have developed the equivalent of the better mousetrap! Unique products is the niche where you’ll compete. Apple (iPhone, iPod) is probably one of the better examples here.

If your company is known for creating a great customer experience and able to promote it with a marketing system that ensures customer relationships, you’ll be able to say that you are easier to do business with than your competition, and be able to prove it. If your team excels at creating happy customers who can’t wait to refer you to others, you’ll want to focus on the results you offer. Think of TD Trust and all those easy chairs in their ads.

Yes, we know, the examples are all multi-zillion dollar companies with megabuck advertising programs, but you can play the game too. It’s a simple idea: find what you are good at, and only spend your hard-earned marketing money on finding customers who want and appreciate just what you do best.

Ken Burgin and Elizabeth Walker are the Marketing Masters (www.MarketingMasters.ca), a full-service marketing and advertising partnership that helps build busy businesses. Send your ideas on How to Thrive in Times Like These to liz@marketingmasters.ca or ken@marketingmasters.ca, or call 1-866-908-5720.

web: http://www.marketing,masters.ca
blog: http://thebuzzwithkenandliz.blogspot.com/

Tags: Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Elizabeth Walker, Ken Burgin
Posted on December 16th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

“One of the best business-building tactics is to demonstrate your knowledge to a receptive audience,” say Marketing Masters Ken Burgin and Elizabeth Walker. “Public speaking is particularly effective if your business has a service or consulting component.”

In their recent article, ,Speak Up! Get out there and find an audience for what you do on Mplans.com, Burgin and Walker point out the hows and whys of business owners getting out into their target market communities and engaging in different forms of public speaking, e.g. demos or hands-on workshops.

Click here to read the entire Marketing Masters’ article.

Tags: Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Elizabeth Walker, Ken Burgin, Marketing, Marketing Masters, marketing tactics, public speaking
Posted on December 14th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Lately, I have been part of several project teams. Some of these experiences have caused me to sit back and analyze the project planning process to understand how project management planning and implementation could be improved. Why do projects managed by talented people end up being delayed or not completed? Why do project teams sometimes feel that they are shooting at a moving target? I find that the lack of proper planning or failure to create a systematic approach can be fatal to projects.

Seven steps to successful project planning:

1. Every project needs a roadmap with clearly defined goals that should not change after the first phase of the project has been completed. All stakeholders benefiting from the outcome of the project should be named and their needs stated.

2. Develop a list of all deliverables, make sure all project team members are familiar with this list.

3.  A document that clearly outlines all project milestones and activities required to complete the project should be created and maintained. Establish reasonable deadlines, taking into account project team members’ productivity, availability and efficiency.

4. Create a budget for your project.

5. Ideally, project managers should be able to choose team members who work well together.  Identify by name all individuals and/or organizations involved in the project. For each of them, roles and responsibilities on the project should be described in detail. Otherwise, miscommunication may occur leading to delays and situations where team members may have to redo their work.

6. Set progress reporting guidelines – monthly, weekly or daily reports. Ideally, a collaborative workspace should be set up for your project online or offline where all parties can monitor the progress.

7. Identify the risks involved in your project and discuss alternatives if new requirements will be added to your project or members of your team will not meet the deadlines.

These steps should get you started with delivering your project on time, within your budget.

Varju Luceno is the owner of Global Office Partners – a marketing firm that focuses on the needs of professional service businesses. Varju is also a global marketer, blogger and writer on small business and technology related topics. She earned her MBA in marketing from the University of Montana in Missoula.
Web: globalofficepartners.com
Blog: outsourcemiracle.com
twitter.com/varjuluceno

Tags: Duct Tape Marketing Coach, project planning, Varju Luceno
Posted on December 11th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Project management is critical in manufacturing, event planning, software development… but did you know it’s just as important in marketing?

Joe Dager puts it this way:

“The purpose of a project plan in marketing is to coordinate many of the uncertain activities that happen. And possibly more importantly, a good project plan will coordinate the activities of your resource requirements. Not everything will be predictable, but if we can make even some of the unpredictable predictable, we will increase the likelihood of success.”

Read more about improving your marketing efforts in the full article on Mplans.com: Can Your Marketing be Effective Without Project Management?

Tags: Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Small Business
Posted on December 11th, 2009 | No Comments »

In a new article on Mplans.com, Fiona Friesen, president and founder of Glue, outlines why your business needs a Marketing Kit as part of your strategy to convert potential customers to loyal ideal clients.

1) It keeps your marketing efforts consistent
2) It tells customers why they need you
3) It keeps you on track
4) It keeps you flexible
5) It saves you time

Fiona Friesen is a certified Duct Tape Marketing Coach located in Calgary, AB, Canada.

Click here to read Fiona’s entire article.

Tags: Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Fiona Friesen, Marketing, marketing kit, marketing strategy
Posted on December 7th, 2009 | No Comments »

Lead generation is the process of turning a “suspect”, one that you believe needs what you have to offer, into a prospect, or someone who has “raised their hand” and engaged you or your company in some way.  But in order to turn that prospect into a happy, repeat customer and referral partner your “marketing” or communications must match the experience.

A couple of months ago, I received a direct mail piece from a local dentist promoting his company and trying to engage new customers.  The mailing provided information about the services performed; touted the warm, personal  nature of his practice, and finally provided a discount offer for new customers.  From a marketing perspective, the mailing had most of the key elements of a good marketing piece:  attention grabbing headline, educational copy and an offer to act.  It was the “perfect” storm.  I was looking for a new dentist in my home town and here comes the mail.  So far so good.

I arrived at the scheduled time, filled out the necessary paperwork, gave it back to the front person.  I was quickly escorted into the hygienist for my cleaning.  The hygienist was pleasant, did the job without too much talk or blood and my experience is winding down.  The hygienist handed me a goodie bag with toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and sends me back to the front desk to set my next appointment.  Everything is great, right?  Not so fast.  As I’m walking down the hall to the receptionist, I can’t help thinking, I never saw the dentist.

Well the marketing piece touted the personal nature of the practice and how patients were treated like “family”.  (I”m happy to report, my family doesn’t treat me this way)  What happened?  I asked the receptionist if the dentist was in.  Her reply was yes, he is here.  I said I thought it was a bit odd that the dentist didn’t come in to say hello and check my teeth, especially since I was a new client.  Her reply, “Oh, he won’t see you unless there is a problem”.

Guess what?  There is a problem.   You almost had me but not quite.  Almost everything was done properly; mailing with offer, cordial customer service people, on time with my appointment and a not too painful dental experience.  But, then the dentist drops the ball big time by not at least coming in to introduce himself and thank me for the business.

Moral of the story:  It’s not good enough to say all the right things in your marketing materials; you have to live it; it needs to be embraced by the whole company; the customer’s experience must match the promise or you will have a bunch of first timers that never return again and never refer you to anyone.

Joe Costantino is owner of Business Marketing Success in Boston, a marketing company that helps professional service firms learn how to effectively market their businesses with a step-by-step marketing system.  He is also a certified Duct Tape Marketing Coach and East Coast Regional Guide assisting in recruitment and training of new Duct Tape Marketing coaches.  Joe also provides keynotes, seminars and workshops on a number of marketing topics.  You can learn more about Joe at www.businessmarketingsuccess.com or by e-mail at joe@businessmarketingsuccess.com

Tags: Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Joe Costantino, lead generation, sales
Posted on November 30th, 2009 | 1 Comment »