Danielle MacInnis – Marketing Blog for Small Businesses

Paul Castain from the customer collective has written a great blog. I have added my two cents but essentially thanks Paul, brilliant thinking!!

Lachie and me in the hug lock!

1)    Surprise Them!: I order my shirts from Paul Frederick and they aren’t cheap. Every now and again, without warning, they will include a tie with my shirt order. I hate to admit this, but I’m like a little kid who just got the free prize from collecting cereal box tops! Gold star Paul Frederick! I’m a frequent guest at the Omni Hotel and they have the surprise thing down pretty well. One evening they sent fresh fruit up to my room, one morning it was some orange juice and bottled water. Here’s the point, it doesn’t have to be a million dollar, give away the store thing, just get in the habit of surprising your clients. It is the element of surprise that is so delightful here. It is beyond your expectations. Arrive to your clients with a box of doughnuts for morning tea.

2)    Find A Way to “Wow” Them When You Screw Up: Everything you ever heard about Disney is true! I should know, I stayed there for 10 days with my family back in 2006. We went to a dinner show one night and the waitress was visibly hustling from table to table. Somewhere in the mix, she forgot my son’s lemonade. When she returned to our table, my son very respectfully called it to her attention. She immediately apologized (doesn’t that have a way of immediately diffusing a situation?) and said “Wait until you see how we fix things when we make mistakes at Disney” What happened next blew my mind. She returned with an entire pitcher of lemonade (complete with a very cool straw and glow cubes). So let me see if I get this. What was once a mistake has now turned into a “Wow”? Here’s the best part, I figure that between telling that story to everyone I’ve trained since then and mentioning it in my blog (twice) this story has reached over 15,000 people. I can see the Mastercard commercial now . . . Price for the lemonade: $2.00, Way Cool Straw & Glow Cubes: $2.00 Wowing a disappointed customer and getting word of mouth advertising from his blogaholic Dad . . . Priceless Baby! Everyone makes mistakes. Take away 1. Admit it. Be genuine. Turn around a bad situation and you could win a client and fans for life.

3)    Make Your Client Look Like A Rock Star To Their Boss: Think about it. Who doesn’t need some good press these days?  One of the best ways for you to do this is to proactively go to your client with ideas and resources. By the way, ideas and resources shouldn’t always require payment. This is one of the many ways you and I provide this thing everyone keeps regurgitating called “value”. Now if you are amongst the clueless who think everyone is already doing this, then make it a habit of asking this question in your Needs Analysis: “When was the last time your sales rep came to you (proactively) with an idea?” Get ready for a head tilt as they try to remember. One way you stay fresh with ideas is to carve out weekly thinking time to, well, think about your client’s business. Talking to the brainstorming queen, love it when I can give my clients extra value in terms of ideas.

4)    Be A Breath Of Fresh Air!: File this one under “I’m just sayin” but business folk can be wound way too tight these days. At times its just way too freakin serious. We’ve forgotten to put “laugh and lighten up” on our  To Do lists! Assignment: Go down to the card store and pick out a few funny greeting cards that you are going to send your clients. If you can’t find one, then at least pick up a cool thank you card and simply thank them for being your client. How about putting together a rock star kit for them complete with cool shades, a cd, an all access pass to your business along with a card that reads “You’re always a rock star to us!”

Sales Managers: Have a sales meeting in the near future and brainstorm ways for everyone to be that “Breath of Fresh Air” to your clients. Oh, and if you can’t think of anything, your competitor probably will.

Love the idea of thanking clients!

5)    Better Relationships Require Better Communication: Ridiculously obvious sales advice in 3,2,1 . . . The key to better communication is in asking better questions. Most sales reps make it through the Needs Analysis part of the process with barely a passing grade and then they stop asking thought provoking questions as if they are saying, “But dude I already did that step”. You have to continually ask the questions nobody else asks. Harvey Mackay has a cool questionnaire he calls “The Mackay 66”. It’s 66 questions that you should be able to answer about each one of your clients. Now, I admit that some of these questions might seem a bit much, but the point is to know your client better than anyone else. Love them. know them, surprise and delight them. Go the extra mile.

If you are wondering why you customers DO  buy from you marketing guru Laura Lake has some good ideas which I add my own thoughts to.

1. They are aware of your product. GET THEIR ATTENTIONConsumers  purchase products they are aware of. Your target customers know about your product . You targeting the right market with your message. Your message  is reaching those that  have an interest in your product. This does not mean you are doing more marketing, but you are suing the right marketing vehicles for your target customers is key.
2. They understand the benefits of your product. THE VALUE PROPOSITION IS CLEAR
   Consumers don’t buy products solely based on price. Now, this does not mean that they don’t factor in price, they do. Consumers buy based on the benefits your product brings them. You have asked your customers what the benefits of your product are, and you know. This is important. Your marketing is centered on these benefits so your consumers  take an interest in purchasing your product. You know the top  three benefits of your product and  you use those in your marketing message.
3. They  feel your product has perceived value. WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME
   Consumers will buy products that they perceive as having a value. You  use the benefits of your product to create a perceived value and it is that perceived value that helps in the sales of your product.  You  create that perceived value in your marketing message.
4. They see how your product meets their needs. HOW DOES THIS  PRODUCT HELP ME
   Consumers know how your product meets their needs. They know if  it make their life easier, save them time, make them feel better? You know what need our product satisfies. You don’t make them guess or come up with the answer on their own tell them, you help educate them on why they need your product.
5. Your product is  accessible to them.HOW DO I FIND IT?
   Consumers buy what is  available to them. If they hear about your product and it is accessible, they will consider it. Consumers want ease in obtaining and using your product. You make your product accessible to them. It is in different locations.  It’s offered online.

6. Why should I buy from you including any other option I have, including the option of doing nothing? Today people have defaulting to doing nothing. Not a compelling message that drew them in and do something.

7. Better sales people – consistently throughout the sales process in the customer voice communicated why this product or service was important to their business and the value it had to them in resolving their business issues. (Huthwaite)

8. You understand your customers. Why do your best customers buy from you? What stories did you use in the sales process that reasonated with them? Why did they choose to buy from you? The information is in your customer’s head.

Great webinar on value propositions from Steve Rankel

Steve talks about sales friction.  How to create a killer value proposition – it is a crystral clear statement about your product or service that:

1. Solves a problem

2. Delivers some benefit

3. Improves their situation

Delivered in a compelling way that gets you to the next step…

This discussion has been going for some time on LinkedIn but I think it would be valuable for every small business owner.

Here it is:

What Are You Doing As A Business Owner To Get New Customers?

Eric Dean 951.972.8011

More than ever you as a business owner have to be able, and ready to move with today’s market. The potential customer is turning to the Internet today more then ever. They have a computer at home, at work, even our cars and cell phones that provide a quick and accurate list of businesses.

What is a business profile you ask? This is your businesses digital business card online. Almost every business has one. It has your business name, address, phone number and a link to your website if you have one. It also opens up to a business profile page. This has all the info listed above and more. It tells a customer what you do and the areas you service. They call this a customer connection page.

As for websites, many of today’s small and medium businesses do not have websites. Or the old adage is that “I have a website I am on the Internet” doesn’t mean you are found in local search. No Sir/Ma’am, we have to think outside the box or the belief of what we had been told in the past about the Internet. Today’s search engines take a whole new approach to getting found. Remember when we had to name our business “AAAA Plumbing” to get put at the top or the first page of the phone books. Well let me tell what the search engines look for. It is best to have the type of service you provide in the name of your business. i.e. Plumber- Joe’s Plumbing, HVAC – Joe’s Heating and Air Conditioning. Get the idea? Next, if you have a website does website match you name. i.e. Joe’s Plumbing – www.joesplumbing.com

If your business is on the front page of Google you have a good chance of getting contacted by the potential customers who are looking for the services or products you provide. I can tell you this if your business name and number are not there on the front page the likelihood of you getting a call are slim to none. You may say well I am on the front page or have been on the front page before and I didn’t get any calls. My question to you is: How long ago was it that you were on the front page? What Category were you listed under? What “key phrases” or “key words” were you found for? And what cities were you found in? Typically most businesses are ranked in the city in which they are located in. This is good however. You and I both know we travel long distances, sometimes 50 miles radius or more to get a job. There may be 10, 15 or 20 different cities in that radius. You need a good company to take care of your listing while you take care of answering the phone and servicing your new customers.

Let’s face it, your customers, I mean your potential customers are looking elsewhere today. The old idea of mailers, fliers on cars and homeowners front doors and those expensive full or half page ads in the yellow pages are gone for good. I don’t even own a phone book any more and when we were visiting the grandparents, my father asked my youngest son if he knew where the yellow pages was he looked at him like he was speaking a foreign language or thought it was some sort of coloring book. Then I said son where would you find a pizza place near grandpa’s house he immediately bolted for the computer and Googled “Pizza” immediately a page came up and in the local map section there a list of pizza places. It showed where they were located in relation to Grandpa’s house. It gave him the name and phone number. He showed Grandpa and they called the pizza place together to order dinner.

So what are you doing to get those potential customers today who are out there looking for the services you provide? Do you want them to call your competition?

• 50 comments

Danielle MacInnis • Chris Anderson has a great book called, Free the future of a radical price. I think a great way to get customers is to give them a taste. Start the relationship. Be proactive. Do something useful, unexpected, boy why not be downright generous. I am happy to give away my content, tools and experience. I know I am building a long term relationship with my prospective clients, supporters and collaborators. I live with the mindset of abundance.

Eric Dean 951.972.8011 • Well thank you Danielle. I will be sure to look up and read what he has to say. I hope you will take the time to look over my website and blogs. If you would like to help your clients get their businesses found on the front pages of all the major search engines in each and every city they service then by all means I would be more then happy to speak to you. Please feel free to contact me directly.

John Lee • I send real greeting cards (not ecards) and gift to my clients to show them appreciation. They love it. Then they think of me when their friends are talking about something I can help them with. Appreciation is the key!

I don’t drive to the store to buy cards. I do it all on line and the company prints it and mails it for me. It’s great!

Judy Misbin • I also set up a user profile on http://www.zeringo.com It allows me to easily organize and send eletters, online invites, post advertisements, set up a public profile that is SEO friendly and provide me a great area for real-time communication and collaboration.

Mila Rudneva • Some business owners give away some services for FREE. For example, I just found “Win a FREE Professional Logo and Stationary Design for Your Business” by MologokoStudios.
You can find it here http://www.mologokostudios.com/aboutus/design-special-offers-and-prices.php .

I think it is a great idea to get exposed!

Eric Dean 951.972.8011 • Mila, free stuff is a good idea though many people see it as a gimmick and most of what is given away is some cheap item. I have found that good old fashion American value is the way to go. The key today is to make sure your business is found where clients look most. Lets face it the prime real estate is the front pages of Google and the other search engines. Soon enough businesses will be paying someone to put them on page two and you know and I know most customers don’t go past page 1. I have programs that work both ways, one a subscription based ranking program and a performance based pay per call program. It’s your choice. I hope this helps. Have a great day.

Jim Shanman • Eric, are you advocating that the ONLY way to get new customers is by improving your SEO ratings? You ask a question at the beginning of the article and then restate it at the end, without ever really answering it, so I’m a little confused.

I’ve participated in a number of conversations like this – both online and off – and it always seems to boil down to the same process: Develop a multi-level marketing strategy and stick with it. Yes, online marketing is a key component to any marketing mix, but interestingly, while I agree the phone book is a dead medium, direct mail is proving to be surprisingly effective. Why? 2 reasons: 1 – there is less of it, meaning you have a better chance of standing out and 2 – People are so overwhelmed by online marketing techniques, they are increasingly tuning it out and prefer to actual hold something in their hand. For example, when we look to order a pizza at home (and quality is secondary to price), we sort through our door hanger coupons looking for a good deal.

Further, while impressive search engine ranking is key to many businesses, it is hardly the best solution for many others. To single it out as the salvation of sales seems to be a bit naive to me.

Eric Dean 951.972.8011 • I am not saying that Internet Marketing is the only way by any means. In fact, diversity is the key. I think mailers, hangers, flyers, radio, tv and numerous other avenues are all still great ways to get your business name in front of the masses. I am just stating that today more then ever people use the internet on their phones, computers, GPS devices, and TV’s to find what their looking for. I use my phone three to four times a week to find stores, shops and for services that I need or require. I am open to all forms and believe they all have relevance in todays market. Have a great day.

Warren Boschin • I have found that Yellow Pgs., direct mail, hand outs, and local ads just don’t work.

Lately I have felt that I must do more on the internet and by email.
In the main I have done lots of networking at Chamber mixers, expos..and
business groups to make connections with other businesses that might need my
help. Also being a public speaker teaching other business folks how to network
to get business has helped. It’s that person to person contact that does it.
People need to get a sense of the real you to feel trust and understanding for
your company.

Warren

Jim Shanman • There is a lot of truth to that. People like to do business with people they know. But again, it’s having a good mix in your plan that works. Speaking in public, ads and handouts all help familiarize you with your audience, but may not lead directly to a sale. And then when they search for you – and easily find you – that’s a big plus (Eric’s key point). Finally when you do meet them in person at a networking event, they feel they already know you. It’s not so much a sales pitch as an affirmation as to who you are.

Dan: I really think the answer is in having a ongoing marketing and sales strategy. Together these elements form the basis of your lead generation machine. Some really interesting comments!

Laura Lake marketing guru had a great post inviting small businesses to share their stories about how they started their businesses. Thought it was a really good idea.

Here is mine. Why not share your ideas?

I think it was Seth who said it best when he said  that customers,  you and me are in ignore mode. We ignore so much of what is going around us because there is just too much to take in. We are doing more, we are multi-tasking, we are time poor. So it is not always easy to get attention as a small business. It is harder to cut through the clutter. Why then is your content strategy so important and what is it? According to Kristina Halverson, “content strategy is the practice of planning for the creation, delivery and governance of useful and useable content.” As John Gerzmen from the Brand Bubble  explains “Brands are now used more than they are perferred. Function benefits and relevance now outweigh the intangible emotional allure of a brand.”1 Now brands have to earn attention, rather than bid for it. Now online we don’t just observe we participate. We interact, use and have conversations.

1. Content is a key reason for your customers to invest time viewing your web, listening to your ipod, looking twice at your advertisement on google. Content is a reason for your customers to remember you, as long as that content is valuable for them. According to Jessie James Garrett from The elements of an experienced user, “The single most important thing that websites can offer their users is content that they find valuable” 2 I would extend this to be all marketing communications.

2. Content keeps you top of mind. It takes on average 8 interactions with a customer for them to be considering purchasing with you. To get this traction you need to be top of mind. If you create an autorepsond campaign that has valuable content, your customers might not read the message all the time, but if they come across a person who needs your service or product they are more likely to mention you.

3. Content gives you an opportunity to interact with your customers. Blogging about their problems, answering their questions where everyone in your community can benefit. Social forums on products are now an area that customers can get product and services reviews before they buy. Some companies use interactions to improve their customer offering and experience by asking questions and fostering collaboration.

4. It shows that you care and are willing to invest in what matters to them. Understanding your customers is a key marketing strategy. Showing that you are listening and responsive is something that earns you credibility. Frankly it is so rarely done that it is a point of differentiation for your brand.

5. What do you/ your customers get by investing in a content strategy?3

• Better user experience
• Greater brand consistency
• Better risk management as you are talking with your customers
• Improved visability via SEO and analytics
• Better operational efficiencies
• More effective personalisation and targetting

Visit my slideshare to see a mud map on creating a marketing content strategy. You might have to login and join to view but it is free and there is a lot of great content on this slideshare website!

Enjoy.

Notes: 1,2,3 are the quotes and strategy from the work of Kristina Halverson. Please refer to Kristina Halverson’s presentation for more information.

Great blog by Valeria on 10 reasons why a content strategy fails.