Danielle MacInnis – Marketing Blog for Small Businesses

Small businesses now get it. They need to capture potential customers that come to their website. They get that they need to have a series of touch points before they convert that lead into a customer. How to capture that lead with relevant content often becomes the stumbling block.

What do I have that I could share? What information, resources or tools can I share?

Here are some good tips in working out what to use as a lead capture tools:

1. Understand what your ‘ideal’ prospects want, and give it to them

Determine what information your prospects are seeking to make a purchase decision, and make that information easily attainable. ( e.g a checklist, free trial, pricing information, comparison chart)

2. Offer something that solves your prospects problem

Solve your prospects problem. Draw an arrow from your prospect’s problem to your solution. (How to choose an architect, How to consolidate your debt in 90 days, Retire at 55 confidently, download our checklist)

3. Offer something that helps prospects make a purchase decision

Paint a picture that enables your prospects to envision themselves experiencing the benefit of your product or service. (competitive chart, education)

4. Don’t sound like everyone else

Get more attention by being different. Have a sense of humour, community, value. (free shipping)

5. Good offers should be enticing

If you can elicit an emotional response in your prospects, and you’re already on the path to creating a relationship with them. (30 day free membership access, free consultation, our key tools)

6. Make your offers easy to share

Use your site traffic to amplify your marketing efforts by making your offer enticing enough that prospects will want to share its benefit with others. (tweet, FB like, download, forward  to a friend)

7. Create value 

If you don’t want it, won’t open it, download it they they probably won’t. We are way past email newsletters.

While the landscape of marketing is changing with new emerging technologies, small business have been quick to pick up on marketing tools that allow them to level the playing field with bigger companies. The gap between a professional blog or website is closing with software and apps that can be downloaded at a low or no cost.

Here are 7 trends I see for small businesses marketing in 2012.

1. Online and Offline marketing merging.  We are already seeing this happen at Christmas. How many of us searched the web for the ipad2 and found we could buy it on Kugan.com.au cheaper than we could buy it from Apple!  Forrester Research predict that almost 50% of purchases will be influenced by online activities. That means even if you didn’t buy your Christmas gifts online, chances are you looked up the best price before hitting the shopping centres or looked at reviews of your holiday destination before booking it. This online activity is important for small businesses to consider and has highlighted how critical having a online presence to doing business in 2012.

2.Mobile and Local Search. We use our iphone to work out what the whether is how to get from “a to b” in the car and do instant web searches on the fly.  The web experience is now portable and experienced to a larger degree on smart phones and devices. Small businesses have an opportunity in 2012 to cater their offerings in a mobile format. Booking online, being found on local search directories and soon the use of geo-location queries will become normal.

3. Social Media Advertising.  We are now interacting on many social forums. Linkedin, Facebook and forums. These sites give us a great opportunity to advertise to a specific niche. Even the yellow pages have cottoned on to the power of segmented advertising and has targeted advertising offer. Small businesses can now advertise on Facebook and target a specific age group, suburb and interest and likes of individuals to show their ads to for a low ad spend. Social media advertising I believe will continue to gain momentum as business owners discover the power of sending their messages to a select customer segment.

4. Email marketing is gaining momentum. Email marketing is now become more social, colourful and looks more often than not like a website instead of a text based message. The sign up forms for email are more inventive and the content shared is more about being know as the “go to expert”. As small business now come to understand the benefit of building a list of prospects to nurture, email marketing will continue to mature. Tools like mailchimp and content management systems that all for email marketing are assisting small business create some really nice looking branded and effective communications.

5. Your personal brand is exposed. With interaction and conversations now enabled with mobile devices and forums, a company’s brand and the personnel within that company are now exposed.  Understanding how everyone is searchable on google and that the profile built about each company or persons within that company are indexed in this online world for LIFE is an important element small businesses need to understand. People are watching our activities and if we are not consistent in who we are, authentic in what we stand for and represent we will be held out to dry! However, those individuals that do the right thing will be celebrated and a small gesture can be communicated virtually and build a company or business over night! So beware and be vigilant in responding to people. Set up a google alert on your name and your company’s name (might as well set up an alert on your competitors name at the same time). Only engage in those social media tools that you intend to use and be active on.

6. Integration marketing tools and measurement. This year my most popular articles have been on marketing apps and software that allow small business to email, build forms, build websites, blogs and a social media profile. These apps are often have a free version. On my website Stuff  We ‘re Into I list a lot of them. What I am starting to see is the integration of these tools so that they work together. Wufoo a form tool bought by Mailchimp is not totally integrated. WordPress is integrating more an more plugins and apple now has an app that work across apple devices.  The integration of these tools means that I can post a blog post and share it on my LinkedIn groups, Twitter follows and to key journalists at a click of a button. With more education, small businesses will learn how to use these tools together. Hubspot’s new Marketing Grader will assist small businesses in knowing what they should be looking to do with these tools. Putting more forms online, social media integration and better segmented and brand communications I see as the starting point. Marketing Dashboards that aggregate views of visits, mentions, downloads and sales is the next step.

7. Outsource or specialise. Marketing has become more complex in the last few years with digital or online marketing, relationship marketing and green marketing all areas of marketing that previously were unheard of. As small businesses grapple with the miraid of tools now at their disposal to communicate with customers, create lead generation campaigns and create a brand that is differentiated, those that understand marketing is a key business function will decide to outsource to consultants and focus on what they do best their core business. There is just so much more activity and content that is created now and the time required to build a presence can be all too consuming. Those small businesses that can afford the time will become experts in a few key areas of marketing, others will outsource and some will put their head under the doona and ignore it hoping word of mouth will continue to bring them new business. Whether it is building a Facebook campaign, designing an email newsletter or getting help on how to optimise for key words on your website the answer is always to be informed but choose the best use of your time.

I am conducting some research on marketing insights for small businesses in 2012  and I would love it if you take my survey .

I have met many business owners who now have a website, but basically it is just a brochure online. Your website should be a hub for all your marketing. Your customers look for you on the web, they google you, the search your profile on linked in. It is up to you to make your website an effective marketing tool. So how can you do this? Well take our test below and you will see by answering the questions what you have and haven’t been doing and we will come back to you with some more tips over the coming posts and the results of this test so we can all learn.

I recently listened to a video by Michael Schultz from Rain today about the sales skills of small business owners and entrepreneurs. I found this video really interesting.

Basically the reason that most small businesses are struggling with sales comes down to a few simple reasons.  Mike outlines these nicely in the video but here is my summary.

1. Not having enough sales conversations. Not communicating with customers. Generating leads so that you can talk an uncover customer needs. How many sales conversations do you have a week?

2. Not having skills in managing that conversation masterfully. This requires listening and being able to convey your service in a personal compelling way. Story telling, evidence and relating to the customer to show how you provide value is a big part of this. Actually knowing how to sell is a skill-set. Most small businesses haven’t invested in this skill.

3. Having a selling playbook so that you know what tools, language and options you have to meet the customer needs. This is understanding the steps to attract and move the prospect through to a closed sale. This process of attracting leads and converting them into customers is difficult and does require understand your ideal customer and the problem you solve.

4. Have a lead generation engine. You need to have some tools to get the attention of your prospects. These days the tools are many. From downloads, videos, Q&A in forums, success stories, email campaign, sales calls, PR, networking, social media engagement, sales force, SEO.

5. It is important that you build a relationship and that they like you. If they don’t like you they won’t buy from you. Being like-able is all about being helpful and listening. It is about your values and how you do things.

6. That you convince them of the value in the service you  provide. This means having some clear sales tools, success stories, testimonials, cheat sheets, templates. Give them a taste of your service.

7. Have a sales plan. Every small business owner needs to generate sales conversations. How do you do it? Do you have a sales force? If not you need to create a systematic approach to sales. How do you follow up leads? How do you generate leads? I for example do speakng gigs, article writing, podcasting and workshops. I also have a e-newsletter and some free tools so that people can get a taste of me. What do you have as sales tools?

A sales plan is also about the templates and processes you use when engaging with the client, educating them and informing them about your services and how you can help them. it is about staying in touch so when they are ready to use you, you are top of mind. It is about using your tools via a sales process and funnel to consistently move prospects to have buying conversations with you. It never ends but over time can get easier and easier with an established brand and sales tools that work!

8. Establish a list of key measures to reach out to new prospects every week. E.g Visit existing clients or call them every month. Create tools that will generate a list to market too. Get your name out there as an expert in articles, forums and sites where your ideal customers are.

Sales is part of being a small business. You can either take a passive approach or take an active approach.

I was at a seminar recently and the presenter was talking about the value of content marketing. A follow attendee asked me the question is content marketing worth it?

“You can’t buy attention, you have to earn it.The little smart business is going to be able to out run and our compete and out run the big dump business.” Sonia Simone, Copyblogger

Content marketing is build on the idea of creating great content as a method of pull marketing. That is; to pull people to your product or service. However, the question around is it worth the time, effort and creative energy to create this content in its many varied forms?

Well to answer this question Copyblogger Sonia Simone wrote a great blog and also did a podcast. Let me summarise her take and mine on this topical subject.

I guess my take is is content marketing worth it compared to what?

Compared to spending money on print advertising, the yellow pages, trying to trick google, groupon,signage  I say yes. Simone explains this “buy or die”  hit and miss approach of sending people to a sales page is less and less effective. The ad world have recognised this and now ads are sending people are back to a content experience like email responders so that customer get a greater taste of you before they buy. “No body owes you any attention”.

It is worth it because it allows you to “call your own shots” as Sonia explains. It allows you to do your own lead generation and more important to build your own reputation by pulling your ideal customers to you by creating really valuable content that means something to your audience.

It doesn’t matter what business you are in. Coaching, consulting, technology, bricks and mortar store, hairdresser, architects, real estate and any small business this is a great way to do your own marketing to build your business. Especially for new businesses with out that referral business, there is one big problem. You need to create awareness!

Content marketing is one aspect of marketing. It is just getting started. Make no mistake it is a hard work. You need to create content that is high value. This takes creative insight and listening and customer understanding. Your content strategy needs to be consistent. After all you are building a following of people that like, know and trust you. However, what could be better than that? People who want to listen. An okay it is time consuming, but as a small business you can make a lot of profit from a content strategy that is well done. The costs can be very low if you are doing the content yourself, however even outsourcing some of the copy creation can still be a very profitable model.

Content Marketing  System

Create compelling content to attract customers to you.

It is easier for a small business to be creative, think on our feet, be responsive to our customers. This is our time to take on big business. Our customers want it. They don’t want to be interrupted, they want to be educated, to be entertained and have real relationships. Content Marketing allows you to do this. The content mediums have exploded. u-tube, blog, articles, podcasting, webinars, email marketing etc. Choose the medium that works for you  and  your audience but I would start with a blog. Keep your audience in mind, keep your focus clear and write in an education, informative and entertaining way. By being out there and capturing the audience attention with your relevant content you will be the “go to” broker, architect, graphic designer, garden or dentist in your community!
There is a new way  of doing marketing and if you choose to you can take your cost of marketing down by doing content/ online marketing. You can get people in the door without spending all of your profit on expensive marketing campaigns like you might have done 5, 10 years ago.

“The days when businesses could get our attention by paying for it, that clock is ticking.” Sonia Simone

Use these communication tools. It is run on communication, engagement creative and customer insight. As small businesses we have better access to our customers, we can be nibble and lean and we generally know what our customers want. By providing some insights and learning we can really make that marriage between our ideal customer and our service or product a logical choice. Still not convinced? Well I have spent less than $200 on advertising and my content strategy has me run off my feet with clients. It can work for you too!