Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category:
I’ve been saying for quite some time that every business, startup or established, must have a web presence. A website is the online equivalent of a business card, brochure, and yellow pages ad all rolled into one. No matter what your business is, you must have a web presence. There is one other thing that every business, big or small, just starting out or in business for years must have: a Customer Contact Database.
Now, don’t let the word database throw you into spasms of “not more software” and “it’s too complicated.” In its most simple form, your customer contact database could be a box full of index cards with each customer’s name and contact information. At least, if you decided to do a mailing or promotion, you would know how to contact people.
There are a number of slightly higher tech solutions available, and the more specific the software, the more features you are likely to have.
- Keep contact information in your eMail software.
- Keep contact information in a spreadsheet.
- Use a contact management software such as ACT!
- Use a commercial service to manage your list (such as ConstantContact or VerticalResponse).
- Hire an outsourcer to manage your list.
I don’t care which method you choose to manage your customer contact information, but please choose one and start gathering that information now!
Starting a Business? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com
Recently, I attended a cooking demonstration at a local store. They did an excellent job. The demonstration covered exactly what it was advertised as. There weren’t too many people, so everyone could see what was being prepared. They kept everyone engaged for the full hour, and the samples at the end tasted as good as they looked.
The presenter used less than five minutes to display new products that were used in the preparation and point out where to find them in the store — not intrusive or distracting at all. So why do I bring this up in a blog post? Because they did make one major mistake. At no time in the entire process did the store get my name, number or email address. Not when I signed up for the class. Not when I arrived for the class. No “evaluate the class card.” No nothing.
Every business, no matter what you are providing to your customers must have some way to stay in contact with those customers. I’ve never purchased anything from that store yet, and while the class made me more inclined to go back and browse and shop, the store has no way to remind me of my great experience, no way to thank me for coming, no way to notify me of upcoming classes, and no way to connect with me.
Of course, not everyone who attends a class or demonstration will be willing to share their personal information. But you never know until you ask! Don’t put the time and effort into providing a high quality experience without remembering to ask for information and then put that information into your contact database. Don’t have a database? Tune in tomorrow for some thoughts on that!
Starting a Business? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com
There is an old adage…”If you aren’t the lead dog, the view never changes.” This is true in business, as well. If you aren’t leading the competition in some area, then you are always trying to play catch-up to the leaders. How do you know if you are in the lead? One way is that if your competition is copying you, then you are in the lead in that area. Have you noticed how all the other sub sandwich chains are now offering “toasted” sandwiches?
This doesn’t mean that you have to be out ahead of your competition in every aspect of your business, but that you have something that makes you better than your competition. And, it means that you need to constantly evaluate whether your unique selling proposition (USP) is still unique in the marketplace. Once your competition starts copying you, you’ll have to change or improve to stand out again.
Starting a Business? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com
I received an eMail recently from a supplier of legal services to business startups. They have declared February “National Start a Business Month.” I looked on the internet to see which organization was behind it, and couldn’t find any other references to it. However, that didn’t diminish the power of their marketing message — purchase their services and get a business started in February. It obviously got my attention!
What business are you in? Do you need a marketing boost? Maybe you should declare February National Month for your business. Check with your trade association — they may already have a National Week or National Month in the works.
Starting a Business? Don’t Know Where to Start? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com
If you, like me, find yourself strangely intrigued by the way infomercials are mesmerizing in the middle of sleepless startup nights, this article by Steve Straus from USA Today, has some great lessons we can all learn about marketing from infomercials. In summary:
- Enthusiasm is Key — There is a reason those informercials catch your ear…the sheer enthusiasm of the pitchman.
- Show the Need — Many people don’t realize they need the product until the infomercial shows them they do.
- Keep the Solution Simple — Show that your product is a simple way to meet that need you’ve just shown.
- Testimonials Lend Credibility — Use testimonials from satisfied customers to add credibility as well as a “me too” element to your sales.
- Ask for the Sale -Right Now! — Provide an incentive for your prospect to buy now or contact you today.
Starting a Business? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com
This past weekend, our daughter was involved in a co-marketing event for girls hockey as part of Hockey Weekend Across America and the new movie “The Tooth Fairy.” In addition to giving a hockey demonstration in the lobby of our local Regal Cinemas, the girls were also handing out brochures about the local girl’s hockey program to movie goers. She did a great job talking to people and getting the brochures in the hands of people that have daughters, but we all learned some lesssons:
- Some people are going to say no. Always thank them for their time.
- Some people are going to pretend you don’t exist. Say thank you to these people too!
- Some people may not be in your target market — don’t ignore them — you never know who they may know that is in your target market.
- If you don’t make the first move, you may not have anyone to talk to.
- Always smile.
No matter what your business, there will be times that you need to do direct networking. Remember these networking lessons the next time you have the opportunity to talk your business up!
Starting a Business? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com
I just ran across this free ebook, “How to Grow Your Twitter Followers — On Autopilot.” by Bill Platt. Bill writes in a very accessible, engaging style and the plan he lays out for using Twitter in your marketing efforts is smart, easy-to-follow, and based on sound marketing principles.
His book is based on two principles:
- It is better to have 400 followers that are listening to what you have to say than 4,000 followers that ignore your posts.
- Your followers want to read content, not advertising, so tweet 80-90% informational tips and only 10-20% ads (or less!)
With the advent of social media as a marketing tool, there are so many platforms and places to engage your customers. Use Bill Platt’s newest free eBook to help you decide what role Twitter will play in your marketing efforts! You can follow us at http://twitter.com/LaunchX.
Starting a Business? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com
One metric that every business should know is the cost to gain a new customer. This is important because it lets you determine if your marketing efforts are cost-effective or if they need to be changed. It can also let you know if you can lower (or need to increase) your prices based on the cost of making that sale.
To calculate the cost per customer, you will need to know exactly how much you spend on sales and marketing (preferably by source) and how many new and returning customers you get from each source. For example, if you spend $500 on per-click advertising and get 25 new customers and 25 returning customers (ask them during checkout how they heard of you), then your cost per customer is $10. This is great if you make an average profit of $1,000 per customer, not so good if the average profit per customer is $5.
Keeping track of cost per customer by marketing source will help you manage your marketing budget and focus your resources on the avenues that will give you the best bang for your buck!
Starting a Business? Start Here. Go Far.
The new version of Good Keywords (v3) allows you to do keyword research using Google Keywords, download the data as *.csv files, then upload it into their database. From there you can do queries and searches to help you identify high potential keywords for your business.
Now, you may be thinking that search engine optimization is not a priority for your business startup. The reality is that most people hit Google or another search engine before they hit the phone book or newspaper any other resource to find anything they need — local or otherwise. And because that is how things have changed, even if you have a small, local business, you still need to be findable in the organic search results for Google and other search engines.
This piece of free software can help you narrow down the keywords you want to focus on, give you an idea of how you stack up against your competition, and help you identify long tail keywords that will help you boost your search engine position.
Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com
MSNBC posted an article last week regarding the “new” home business scams using Twitter and Google (read the article here). These scams are not new, they are just extensions of the same scams we’ve been seeing for years. What is unbelievable is that they are still effective! It’s just hard to understand how people can believe that they can make thousands of dollars per month “…filling out forms and doing searches…” – basically doing nothing. Apparently these tactics are quite effective, especially for the desperate among us. Part of the hook, of course, is that these companies charge only a few dollars for the informational packet on how to get rich without working, but then charge your card monthly dues between $50 and $100…details that are not apparent in the initial order. Of course, technically these fees are disclosed, buried in the abnormally long and teency-printed Terms and Conditions page…but who reads that anyway? And, you can request a refund, but good luck getting your cash back.
The Better Business Bureau is trying to stay on top of these scammer – they mark them with “F” ratings – and the Federal Courts are closing down the worst offenders when they can. But still, thousands of Americans are offering up their bank card numbers and losing cash every day. Desperation is no excuse for stupidity…what good thing in life does anyone get without working for it? Twitter, Google, Facebook…these are all excellent tools for marketing a real business, but there is no way to make real money without having a valuable product to sell.
Want to get rich? Get ready to work. Don’t waste your hard earned cash on these ridiculous claims of easy money. Instead, put your money where it counts. Buy the tools that will actually help you plan and build a legitimate business that will give you the life you want. Entrepreneurship is the best and only way to build dramatic personal wealth, but it will be earned by your hard work and time invested.
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