What should you be paying attention to this week?
Well, this whole debt ceiling issue is pretty distracting. It's hard to do business with so much uncertainty in the air. My clients are telling me that sales are pretty slow - most folks are taking a "wait and see" attitude before making any kind of committment.
In other news, more and more people are exploring Google+, and while reports say that the number of new users is leveling off, word on the street is that what we're seeing now is a Beta version, and there are many, many features to come, including special features for businesses. If you're not clear on how Google+ works, here's a video from the nice folks at Hubspot explaining the basics.
Are you on Google+? How's it working for you? Join me here and let's connect.
Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading!
Setting Your Goals
If you're reading this blog, it's probably because you want some pointers on using marketing to build your business. But sometimes it's good to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Today, give some thought to why you're really in business and what you really want.
What was your original goal?
If you can't remember, now is a great time to write down your goals so you can refer back to them later. It's amazing how our goals slide over time and how easy it is to forget what it was we really set out to do in the first place.
Did you want to help people?
Is helping people what you expected it to be? How much time do you spend helping and how much do you spend doing other things? If you are burnt out with compassion fatigue, think about investing in yourself for a change- by taking a class, upgrading your computer, or hiring some help.
Did you want to make a lot of money?
Is bringing home the bacon filling your spiritual bank account, too? Think about things you want to do besides making lots of money and set some additional goals.
Did you want to be in charge of your own time?
The promise of freedom attracts many people to freelancing and independent businesses. But if your work has taken over your life, it's time to take control back from your customers and clients.
Did you want to do what you love for a living?
Is turning your hobby into your living all you wanted? Are you still enjoying your work or do you feel overwhelmed? Think about ways you can make more time to be creative and spend less time on administrative and financial matters.
How does all of this connect to your other life goals?
Whether it's spending more time with your kids, enjoying your retirement, or going back to school, it's important to make sure your business goals and life goals don't get lost in the shuffle of your daily life.
How do you make sure you focus on what's important? Please share in the comments. One of my goals this year is to spend more time interacting with readers like you.
Today, give some thought to why you're really in business and what you really want.
What was your original goal?
If you can't remember, now is a great time to write down your goals so you can refer back to them later. It's amazing how our goals slide over time and how easy it is to forget what it was we really set out to do in the first place.
 |
| Undergoing metamorphosis. Photo: Vincent Teeuwen via Flickr. |
Is helping people what you expected it to be? How much time do you spend helping and how much do you spend doing other things? If you are burnt out with compassion fatigue, think about investing in yourself for a change- by taking a class, upgrading your computer, or hiring some help.
Did you want to make a lot of money?
Is bringing home the bacon filling your spiritual bank account, too? Think about things you want to do besides making lots of money and set some additional goals.
Did you want to be in charge of your own time?
The promise of freedom attracts many people to freelancing and independent businesses. But if your work has taken over your life, it's time to take control back from your customers and clients.
Did you want to do what you love for a living?
Is turning your hobby into your living all you wanted? Are you still enjoying your work or do you feel overwhelmed? Think about ways you can make more time to be creative and spend less time on administrative and financial matters.
How does all of this connect to your other life goals?
Whether it's spending more time with your kids, enjoying your retirement, or going back to school, it's important to make sure your business goals and life goals don't get lost in the shuffle of your daily life.
How do you make sure you focus on what's important? Please share in the comments. One of my goals this year is to spend more time interacting with readers like you.
On Building Trust
One of the most important things your potential (and current) customers need to do is trust your business. After all, if they don't trust you, why would they buy from you? Why would they recommend you to others? Why would they follow you via social media?
Here's how to build that trust:
Mean what you say and say what you mean. Keep your promises.
Be available. Answer phone calls, emails, and posts on twitter, Facebook, and Google+ promptly. If your company is reviewed on other sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp, keep track of reviews and reply appropriately.
Stand for quality. Provide a quality product and resolve complaints quickly and fairly.
Appreciate what you've got. When customers publicly thank you for the great work you do, acknowledge it.
In short, treat your customers the way you want to be treated. The best way to build trust is by simply being trustworthy.
Related posts:
Refocusing on Your Customer
Don't Rickroll Your Customers - Offer Better Service
A Tale of Two Customers - Why Customer Service is Marketing Too
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| Photo: Flickr user Sahaja Meditation. |
Mean what you say and say what you mean. Keep your promises.
Be available. Answer phone calls, emails, and posts on twitter, Facebook, and Google+ promptly. If your company is reviewed on other sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp, keep track of reviews and reply appropriately.
Stand for quality. Provide a quality product and resolve complaints quickly and fairly.
Appreciate what you've got. When customers publicly thank you for the great work you do, acknowledge it.
In short, treat your customers the way you want to be treated. The best way to build trust is by simply being trustworthy.
Related posts:
Refocusing on Your Customer
Don't Rickroll Your Customers - Offer Better Service
A Tale of Two Customers - Why Customer Service is Marketing Too
Marketing News Roundup - July 22, 2011
What should you be paying attention to this week?
Most business executives now aware that social marketing is important, but have failed to create cogent social media strategies as part of overall marketing plans. (eMarketer)
Your takeaway? Do you have a social media strategy that supports the rest of your marketing plan? Social media can be time-intensive, so make sure that time is being used wisely.
Fake Apple store in southwestern China best ripoff store ever, and just around the corner from, you guessed it, two more fake Apple stores. (NPR)
Your takeaway? Now's a great time to set up google alerts and other social media monitoring so you can see how your brand is faring online (and detect any fakes).
Time to take another look at coworking. Coworking offices are set up so that independent professionals have space to work and share ideas. The city of Santa Cruz is using it to help local talent find work. (Fastcompany)
Your takeaway? Why does the best talent for you to hire have to live somewhere in your geographic area and arrive in your office at the same time each day? Maybe it's time to think more creatively about getting the best people for your marketing team.
Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading!
Most business executives now aware that social marketing is important, but have failed to create cogent social media strategies as part of overall marketing plans. (eMarketer)
Your takeaway? Do you have a social media strategy that supports the rest of your marketing plan? Social media can be time-intensive, so make sure that time is being used wisely.
 |
| Photo: Copyright John Rawlinson, Flickr |
Fake Apple store in southwestern China best ripoff store ever, and just around the corner from, you guessed it, two more fake Apple stores. (NPR)
Your takeaway? Now's a great time to set up google alerts and other social media monitoring so you can see how your brand is faring online (and detect any fakes).
Time to take another look at coworking. Coworking offices are set up so that independent professionals have space to work and share ideas. The city of Santa Cruz is using it to help local talent find work. (Fastcompany)
Your takeaway? Why does the best talent for you to hire have to live somewhere in your geographic area and arrive in your office at the same time each day? Maybe it's time to think more creatively about getting the best people for your marketing team.
Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading!
Creating Your Marketing Plan
You've got a Facebook page, a blog, a twitter account, and a web site. You send out emails, do press releases when you can find the time, and you made a New Years' resolution to update your direct mail program and get on top of your SEO.
But how are you connecting all of these things?
photo © 2005 Francis Bijl | more info (via: Wylio)
Does your SEO support your press releases and your new product launches? Is your twitter feed engaging customers about the same deals you're promoting on your email newsletter? How do you keep everything straight?
This is where a basic marketing plan can help you get organized about how you invest your marketing time and money. First, list all of your marketing channels. Channels are ways of engaging with your audience. Channels include things like direct mail, PR, advertising, web site, email, Facebook, etc.
I like to map out each week with related promotions for clients. That way, if we take the time to update the web site, videos, and in-store merchandising, our press releases, advertising, and social marketing all support those investments. Since we know what we'll be promoting in a strong, multi-channel way, it's also easier to forecast what will be selling best each week.
Too many channels? I can help.
Related Posts
Why Marketing is not Sales
Three Ways to Drive Sales Today
But how are you connecting all of these things?
photo © 2005 Francis Bijl | more info (via: Wylio)Does your SEO support your press releases and your new product launches? Is your twitter feed engaging customers about the same deals you're promoting on your email newsletter? How do you keep everything straight?
This is where a basic marketing plan can help you get organized about how you invest your marketing time and money. First, list all of your marketing channels. Channels are ways of engaging with your audience. Channels include things like direct mail, PR, advertising, web site, email, Facebook, etc.
I like to map out each week with related promotions for clients. That way, if we take the time to update the web site, videos, and in-store merchandising, our press releases, advertising, and social marketing all support those investments. Since we know what we'll be promoting in a strong, multi-channel way, it's also easier to forecast what will be selling best each week.
Too many channels? I can help.
Related Posts
Why Marketing is not Sales
Three Ways to Drive Sales Today
Age vs Stage - What's More Important?
You probably know that you have different types of customers, and that it makes sense to group them somehow. After all, segmenting your customers makes your marketing more efficient - you'll be able to customize your campaigns to work most efficiently for each group.
So what's more important, customer age or customer stage?
photo © 2010 Vivian Evans | more info (via: Wylio)
Well, customer age can be a useful measurement - after all, you're going to pitch your messaging differently if most of your customers are over 65 than if most of them are under 21. It's also great to know your customers' birthdays so you can send them special promotions.
But wouldn't it be more practical to know if, for example, your 35-year-old customer is...
...a new parent?
...a full-time college student?
...a newlywed?
...just started a new job?
...taking care of an elderly parent?
...CEO of a large company?
...recently retired?
Wouldn't it be much more useful to know this information, rather than the age of your customer?
This is why lifestage is so important. Understanding where your customers are right now will help you craft offerings that resonate far better than anything else you might try simply based on customer age.
So how you do you find out what lifestage people are in?
The best way is by far the simplest- just ask.
Are you in the stage of life where you need some marketing help? Let me know.
Related posts:
Email isn't Dead! Permission Based Marketing Works
Secret Trade Secrets on Defining Your Audience
So what's more important, customer age or customer stage?
photo © 2010 Vivian Evans | more info (via: Wylio)Well, customer age can be a useful measurement - after all, you're going to pitch your messaging differently if most of your customers are over 65 than if most of them are under 21. It's also great to know your customers' birthdays so you can send them special promotions.
But wouldn't it be more practical to know if, for example, your 35-year-old customer is...
...a new parent?
...a full-time college student?
...a newlywed?
...just started a new job?
...taking care of an elderly parent?
...CEO of a large company?
...recently retired?
Wouldn't it be much more useful to know this information, rather than the age of your customer?
This is why lifestage is so important. Understanding where your customers are right now will help you craft offerings that resonate far better than anything else you might try simply based on customer age.
So how you do you find out what lifestage people are in?
The best way is by far the simplest- just ask.
Are you in the stage of life where you need some marketing help? Let me know.
Related posts:
Email isn't Dead! Permission Based Marketing Works
Secret Trade Secrets on Defining Your Audience
Marketing News Roundup - July 15, 2011
What's new in marketing (and more) this week?
Everyone is watching to see how brand new social network Google+ is doing. Turns out that 75% of its users are male. Why? Early adopters of new technology tend to be males, and most Google+ users self-identify as software engineers or web developers, which are male-dominated careers. (Mashable)
photo © 2009 Danilo Ramos | more info (via: Wylio)
Meanwhile, Microsoft seems to have given the Internet an accidental preview of its own social project, something called Tulalip. They're claiming it's an internal network, but nobody's swallowing that. (SocialBeat)
Internet movie giant Netflix has taken a real beating this week for raising its prices. Honestly, the new pricing seems more pain-in-the-rear than unaffordable, which gets me thinking that maybe Nextflix should have communicated this in a different way. How do you handle these kinds of changes? (PR Daily)
Customers turned to Twitter to share their Netflix woes, and Twitter turns five this week. 200 million users now post more than 100 million tweets daily. Founder Biz Stone had many reasons for creating Twitter, one of which was...boredom. What do you do when you're bored? (NPR)
Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading!
Everyone is watching to see how brand new social network Google+ is doing. Turns out that 75% of its users are male. Why? Early adopters of new technology tend to be males, and most Google+ users self-identify as software engineers or web developers, which are male-dominated careers. (Mashable)
photo © 2009 Danilo Ramos | more info (via: Wylio)Meanwhile, Microsoft seems to have given the Internet an accidental preview of its own social project, something called Tulalip. They're claiming it's an internal network, but nobody's swallowing that. (SocialBeat)
Internet movie giant Netflix has taken a real beating this week for raising its prices. Honestly, the new pricing seems more pain-in-the-rear than unaffordable, which gets me thinking that maybe Nextflix should have communicated this in a different way. How do you handle these kinds of changes? (PR Daily)
Customers turned to Twitter to share their Netflix woes, and Twitter turns five this week. 200 million users now post more than 100 million tweets daily. Founder Biz Stone had many reasons for creating Twitter, one of which was...boredom. What do you do when you're bored? (NPR)
Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading!
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