Archive for the ‘Offline promotion’ Category
Do you lie in your marketing materials?
Have you ever thought about that?
How many times have you seen a sales letter that made a big promise but the product didn’t deliver? Or how about a blog post whose title said one thing but the post itself said another?
How did you feel when you were done reading? Like you just wasted 5 minutes you’ll never get back.
Make sure you don’t do that. If necessary, have someone else read your marketing materials.
Always test your emails. Send them to yourself and click on the links, reread for clarity, and check the formatting. If your emails look sloppy, you’re going to lose subscribers.
And above all – if you say you’re going to tell your readers how to do something, follow through! And don’t take 50 paragraphs to do it.
Exciting news . . . I’ve recently joined the Subject2 team of bloggers.
The Subject2 site was created by Nick Johnson, a savvy real-estate investor I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Subject2 will be an authority site on real estate and marketing. Even if you aren’t in real estate, the marketing and writing advice there will be valuable to you. I encourage you to check it out.
My first post is about knowing your audience and can be found here.
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and here’s to a happy 2010!
I was reading a post on Clayton Makepeace’s site and one of the comments jumped out at me. Loren Woirhaye mentioned Googling your name and offered ways to get more exposure and make your name “Google-able”. I Googled myself and while there are others out there with my name, I should have been on the first page somewhere because of this site.
Nope. My Twitter was there, but nothing about Grab More Customers.
Know one reason why?
Because until this moment, my blog posts all showed “Melody” as the author. Not “Melody Brooks”. That’s been changed and we’ll see what happens in the next few weeks.
If you want more credibility, make sure you show up on Google. Read Loren’s comment here (go to bottom) for more ideas to make your name “Googleable”.
Clients need your help in getting more customers, especially online. Most of them have no idea where to start – and not only will they pay you handsomely, but they will love you for taking this chore off their hands. These are just a few ideas meant to inspire you to come up with plans personalized for your clients.
1. ASK your clients what they need . . . just because your other beauty shop clients needed help with Craigslist ads, that doesn’t mean this one will too.
2. Closely related to #1 is Don’t assume anything. Your client may have a solid marketing background and just needs to know how to start a WordPress blog. To waltz in and assume he needs your services from A-Z is not only condescending and rude, but you’re going to lose business . . . to people who ASK.
3. What kind of list does the client have now? It may be mailing addresses only, in which case you can start a postcard campaign. It takes time to get this together and see results, so the process should be started right away and running in the background along with #4.
4. Gather contact information consistently, especially email addresses. You can use Aweber or Constant Contact to create a monthly newsletter with coupons and specials. Make sure that newsletter delivers quality content.
5. Create a blog or website. If nothing else, a Blogger site will do. The client may want to update the blog or website in-house but want you to train the staff who will be doing it. Or he may want you to take it over.
6. Don’t forget old clients. You may need to send them a “sorry we haven’t touched base” letter or postcard, but reactivating old clients can pay great dividends.
7. JV, JV, JV. Joint ventures are a big piece of the corporate money pie, but most small businesses have never heard of them. In a joint venture, two or more businesses leverage each other’s resources.
For example, a jewelry store that specializes in high-end diamond jewelry might work with a boutique in an upscale part of town. The boutique could send out a letter to its clients recommending the jewelry store, with an introductory special of 20% off for anyone who brings in the letter. The boutique gets 35% of the profit from the campaign.
All it cost the boutique was a little time mailing the letters, and the actual costs to put together the campaign could be taken off the top of the proceeds. The jewelry store has new customers they wouldn’t have had otherwise, and the customers got a great deal on jewelry.
A win-win-win situation for everyone.
Most business owners are so busy running their businesses (especially in this economy) that they don’t have time to learn how to market, much less to do it. Anything you can help them with will be much appreciated . . . remember, they are already used to paying for marketing and advertising.
Nope, that’s not a typo.
Try looking, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting your company (brand) and your product. More precisely, you need to experience what your customer sees, hears, feels, smells and tastes . . . and how he or she reacts. Your brand perception is the end result of literally everything your customers’ and prospects’ senses pick up.
From your logo to product packaging to the paint job on your building to how your employees dress, think about what design and color say about you and your company. Are they broadcasting the right message?
What do your prospects hear from and about you in the media? Voice inflection, tone, and pitch tell your customers more than you might think. You truly can hear a smile or a frown over the phone. How does your customer service team handle incoming complaints? Are former and current customers likely to recommend you? Are your employees pleasant, and how do you answer your own phone?
In just a few seconds, prospects and customers get a sense of who you and your company are, sometimes as a “gut” feeling or a first impression that can be positive or negative. They don’t forget it, and if it’s negative it may never change no matter what you do. Do customers and prospects feel they can trust you? Do they feel your honesty and desire to help?
The sense of smell is one of the strongest memory triggers we have. Does your office smell clean or maybe not-so-fresh? Does your receptionist wear a lot of perfume?
Taste is often overlooked. Make sure your product tastes great (if it’s meant to be tasted) and that you don’t skimp on the quality of water or coffee you serve. If you have a vending machine, check to see that it is serviced regularly.
Take the time to look at yourself with all your senses. Once you see the message you are sending your customers, you can understand their perception of you on a deeper level. Most companies don’t do this, so you will be one step ahead.
I just read a quick little ebook by David Allen Bullock.
Wow. Just wow. We all know it but many of us don’t realize we’re not living it.
No registration necessary (go down to the lower right side to the word HERE), and it’ll take you 10 minutes to read it.
You’ll be glad you did.
I went to see my auto repair shop client last week, and we were talking about focusing on the Spanish-speaking market. While discussing “Se habla español” signs for the building, we went outside and took a good look at the overall signage.
While the pricing on the windows was nice and big and easily seen, the signs on the building itself were small and hard to read from the street. The owner had already ordered new, much larger signs. Smart man. He also knew he needed something next to the street to grab attention, so he put a good-sized inflatable oil bottle as close to the street as he could.
I looked up and down the street, one of the more heavily traveled in the Denver area. A few businesses had signs near the street, but most of the signs were set so far back that you wouldn’t see them until you were right next to them. Many were also so small that drivers would miss them anyway.
But one stuck out like a sore thumb.
McDonald’s. Those golden arches can be seen several blocks away . . . and that’s no coincidence. You don’t need to be able to read anything — one glance is all you need. Every business should have a signature symbol like that, and most fast food restaurants have one. The Arby’s hat, the KFC bucket, and the Taco Bell bell are like beacons. Stop here and eat . . . stop here and eat . . .
If you have an offline business or you consult with offline businesses, drive by their location(s). Can you easily see their signs? Do you even know they’re there before you’re on top of them?
If the answer to either question is no, you know where to start. Make sure people driving by know the business is there.
What could you put near the street to publicize your business or your client’s business?
Why do businesses have trouble getting and keeping loyal customers? Owners and employees forget the cardinal rule: It’s not about you–it’s about your customers. If you treat your customers as treasured partners instead of dollar signs, you’ll have the competitive edge every time.
While there are a thousand and one ways to deliver stellar customer service, the following seven tips create a win-win for your customer and your business, whether your business is online or off.
1. Hire the right people.
If you don’t have the right people, you can’t fully serve your customers. Period. Take your time hiring and pay employees well for their expertise. Better yet, give them a piece of the pie for excellent performance. Invest them in your business, and they’ll represent you well.
Listen to your employees, especially those on the front lines with customers. They’re the eyes and ears of your business, and you ignore them at your peril.
2. Do what you say you’re going to do.
If you tell Mrs. Brown you’re going to call her about her leaky faucet tomorrow at 10, you’d better be on that phone at 9:59 dialing her number. Or better yet, go to her house and look at the faucet yourself. Go above and beyond and you’ll be remembered.
Customers talk. Make sure they’re saying good things when they mention your name.
3. Pay attention.
Learn who your customers are. Greet them immediately by name when you see them, and ask how their families are. If you have an online business, drop them an occasional email to see how they are and how your product or service is working out for them.
Connect on a personal level and you’ll have more loyal customers than you’ll know what to do with.
4. Help your customers with all their needs.
Mr. James loves your mechanic Tim, but he really needs someone to detail his car next week. Put him in touch with a good detailer and you’ve just solved another problem for him.
Make sure your referrals are top-notch and that you’re paid a commission every time your referrals buy. In turn, give anyone who refers business to you a commission. This type of joint venture is a win-win-win.
5. Know how to handle complaints and upset customers.
Your front line staff plays the most visible and critical role in the customer’s experience. Be sure they know what to say and do . . . and what not to say and do. Set guidelines for handling every type of complaint and get staff involved. Properly handling complaints separates successful businesses from failures.
6. Stay in contact.
Collect email addresses and start a monthly newsletter to keep customers informed. Create a short, simple “What do you think of our company?” questionnaire using SurveyMonkey. Questionnaires and newsletters give you the opportunity to anticipate and identify customer needs.
Customers don’t buy products and services—they buy solutions to their problems. Buying decisions are made emotionally and justified logically, so appeal to both sides of the equation.
7. When in doubt, err on the side of the customer.
This is not to say the customer is always correct, but the customer’s perception needs to be that she is treated fairly. If you have a conflict, do what you can to resolve it.
Often the customer just wants to be heard and wants to know that you understand. Sometimes a small tweak, like changing a due date, is all the customer needs. It’s always a good idea to use The 10 Words of Great Customer Service: “What can we do to make it work for you?”
If you have a customer that just won’t work with you (and it will happen), consider refunding his money and letting him go. If you argue or refuse to refund his money, he will tell everyone he knows about it. If you part on friendly terms, he might tell everyone he knows, but there’s a chance you won’t look like the greedy bad person if you treat him fairly.
Having good customer service is crucial for every business to stay alive, but having great customer service will make your business thrive. Customer service is everyone’s job, no matter where they work. Your business will not and cannot exist without happy customers.
Customers and clients need you to be credible and trustworthy. One of the best marketing techniques for doing this is to position yourself as an expert in your field or niche.
Experts get recognized, have more work than they can handle, and are primary sources of information for potential customers and clients. But how can you establish yourself as an expert?
1. Write articles and post them on directories.
High-quality articles with plenty of actionable, accurate content show prospects you know what you’re talking about. Don’t forget the resource box for each article.
2. Comment on appropriate blogs.
Find blogs that complement your topic or niche and comment there, making sure you link to your website (usually you put in your site URL before your comment, then it’s linked to your name). People will flock to your site or blog, already pre-sold on you based on your comments.
3. Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo, Digg . . . or your local newspaper or radio station.
Online and offline media can both help you establish yourself as an expert if you play your cards right. Always be professional, find ways to be helpful, and give away a few secrets. People will wonder what else you have to offer if you’re freely sharing such good stuff!
4. Leverage your resources and acquaintances.
Do you know other experts in your field? Why not get together and hold a seminar to help your target audience with their biggest problem? Or guest blog for each other. You scratch their backs, they’ll scratch yours.
5. Try Google Knol.
This is a really cool tool I just found out about this morning and had to share with you. You’ll probably agree after you see the video . . . Knol is a great way to become known as an expert.
Good luck and if you have any other ideas, please let us know!
When a prospect sees or hears your ad, he wants to know one thing and one thing only:
“What’s in it for ME?”
If you don’t answer that question–pronto–guess what happens? That ad is tossed, deleted, or ignored.
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see companies make. They’re so busy tooting their horns about how long they’ve been in business, why their products are better than the competition’s, how much they’ve spent on this and that. (Yes, those are all important, but they come later.)
You need to grab your prospect’s attention first. She needs a good reason to keep reading or listening. And the fact that you are located across the street from the library is not a good reason. What can you do for her? Why would she want to do business with you? What pain can you ease or what problem do you solve?
You need to know what you can do for your prospect before you write the first word of your ad copy. You need to understand what would motivate your prospect to buy.
If you don’t know, ASK.
Ask your best customers why they buy from you. Ask past customers why they don’t buy from you now and what you need to do to get them back. A little research now saves a lot of headaches later.
Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. What pain or problem does he or she have that you can help with? That is what your advertising needs to be about, not how much you’ve invested in your company, blah blah, blah.
Make it about them and you’ll never go wrong.
ASK!
