Archive for September, 2008

You know I’m a fan of online social networking, but I am also a HUGE fan of the good-old-fashioned in-person real-life shaking-hands type of networking.  

Before Twitter or Facebook or any of the ‘new media” sites, I built my business (and several previous employers’ businesses) by getting out there and meeting people face-to-face.  Networking is one of the lowest-cost, highest-impact and most-sustainable marketing efforts you can do on a consistent basis.  Are you doing enough real-life networking?  Or are you hiding behind your computer, waiting for business to come to you?  I encourage you to get out there – and I have just the place in mind.

If you are a small business owner and live in or around Orange County, California, I want you to come out and meet me this Thursday, October 2nd from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.! Not only will you get an opportunity to mingle with other new and accomplished entrepreneurs from the Orange County Entrepreneur’s Center, but I’ll be sharing with you the 7 steps you need to take to create affordable, effective marketing programs for your small business.   The event is FREE if you are an Orange County Entrepreneur’s Center Member, and only $20 if you’re not. 

REGISTER HERE!  http://www.ocentrepreneurs.com/networking/ 

Yes, I know it’s Thursday night, which means it’s must-see-TV on NBC, but you have Tivo or Cox’s DVR service, don’t you?

I thought this YouTube video did a great job of showing the disconnect between advertisers and consumers – and how social media marketing can bridge the gap.  Businesses large and small need to COMMUNICATE with their audience not just throw information at them, hoping something will stick.  Enjoy!

I think social media marketing is an extremely cost effective way for small businesses to attract and retain customers.  So…what did you think?

With all the talk about the economy and the bailout, I thought it would be perfect timing to re-post John Jantsch’s 7 Recession Proof Small Business Marketing Tips.  If you aren’t already following John’s Duct Tape Marketing blog, you can find it over at:  Duct Tape Marketing Blog.

John says:

It’s times like these that send many small business owners on a quest for the magic recession fighting marketing tip. Today I would like to share my top seven quick fix marketing strategies with the caveat that you understand nothing beats building a marketing system based on a narrowly defined ideal customer and core message of differentiation.

Being the practical guy I am though, I also know that sometimes you need to hear about ways to start getting out of a hole before you can really listen to the message of long term fix. The good news is that these seven strategies, applied effectively, can help you make your business recession proof and unswayed by the various and inevitable cycles in the economy.

Take these seven tips and re-energize your marketing today!

1) Partner with other businesses – Proactively creating strategic partnerships is a great way to generate new leads and build long-term momentum. The trick is to do it ways that are win-win and simple for all parties. Number one rule, only seek marketing partnerships with organizations that you would have no problem referring your best customer too. Adhering to that logical rule alone will make this strategy more effective. Creating motivated strategic partners is simple if you can find a way to tap their self-interest. Take them an effective white paper or seminar idea and let them co-brand and co-sponsor it. That way they have a ready made and logical way to partner with you and you’ve done all the work.

2) Reactivate past customers – Where did I put that customer anyway, I know they are around here somewhere. Sad but true, sometimes we don’t bother to communicate with current customers unless they call with an order. By the time they have decided someone else appreciates their business more, it’s too late. Reach out to lapsed customers and make them an apology, promise to never ignore them again, and make them a smoking hot deal to come back.

3) Get out from behind the computer – Building personal relationships is always in style. It’s very tempting to sit and write blog posts and participate on social networking sites, and while these aren’t always bad things – sometimes you need to go out and shake some hands. Make it a point to go to several industry conferences every year. Join an industry or chamber type group and go to events where you can make connections with prospects and partners. Join a referral group such as BNI and participate. Go visit your customers and ask for referrals.

4) Speak at events, hold workshops – Marketing is essentially a trust building game. Few things build trust more efficiently than getting in front of a group of potential customers and sharing your expertise in an educational setting. Go propose to conduct a hot sounding workshop for your bank, accounting firm, law firm and insurance firm. Check local libraries, chambers, and associations for opportunities. Look in your local business papers and see what groups have speakers listed in calendars of events. Get two of your best customers to help conduct peer2peer webinars to discuss best practices and issues with peers you invite.

5) Fix your follow-up – lead generation and conversion is not a one shot deal. By automating your multiple follow-up messages, scheduling routine marketing touches and sending the occasional thank you, hand written note, you can stay top of mind when the buying and referral decisions are made. The longer the sales cycle for your industry or service the better your follow-up needs to be. There is so much that technology can do for you here, let it!

6) Repackage your products and services with offers to act – This goes along with differentiating really, but sometimes you’ve got to give that tired old dog a new look. Find simple ways to relaunch yourself, your people, your products, your services, your packaging, to give yourself a new start in your market. You don’t need to start from scratch, look for innovative ways to repackage, reprice, redeliver, reguarantee and recommunicate about what you do. Make them an offer they can’t refuse, make it so bold they must rehear you.

7) Fix the marketing gaps – In every way, shape, and form that your business comes into contact with your prospects and customers it is performing a marketing function – good or bad. You must look at all of your customer touchpoints and turn them into positive, brand-building opportunities. Tear down the lead generations touches, sales touches, service touches, delivery touches, follow-up touches, transaction touches, and billing touches and make sure that every single one of them is a performing a killer marketing function for your business.

Maybe by now you’ve surmised that all of the items above are good for business, no matter the economy, it’s just that sometimes you need a fix or two to get restarted.

What do bags, shoes and jackets have to do with small business marketing?  Prioritization. 

Like most people, I love to shop, but I have to watch my budget too.  I will spend a disproportionate amount of money on bags, shoes and jackets because (1) they are worn more often (2) have a greater impact on the overall look and (3) when I buy quality, I can keep them longer.  

The marketing equivalent of bags, shoes and jackets are your website, business card, and marketing folder (used to hold your marketing kit materials.)  I’m continually shocked by how much time and effort will be devoted to nit-picking a direct mail piece, when the website looks like it was developed in 1995, and the business card doesn’t even tell me what the company does.  I refresh my business cards about every six months!  Once you have these fundamental marketing pieces in place, THEN you can look for other ways to market your business and generate leads.  These pieces function to generate awareness and leads, while they raise your credibility level. 

Clients and friends are always asking me, “How much of my time and money should be spent online?”  In most cases, I recommend about 75% of a small business’ marketing effort should be invested online – but there are exceptions.  For example, you may have a tradeshow that’s a cornerstone of your marketing plan.  If that tradeshow drives above-average awareness and sales activity, you should be spending more time and money on that tradeshow.  If there’s a magazine that with a long shelf-life that’s avidly read by your target audience, you should be in it.   But in all cases, small businesses need to focus their marketing efforts where they’ll get the biggest bang for their buck.  Make sure your website, business card, and marketing folder look as polished and professional as you do – you’ll quickly reach your goal of getting people to KNOW, LIKE and TRUST you.

How do you prioritize where to spend your marketing dollars? Are you focusing on the right things?

I just got back from Fargo, ND and I’m reflecting on The Partner Event conference for Microsoft Dynamics partners.   The Partner Channel always does a fabulous job with events.  Even though I was very skeptical about the prom-themed reception (and chose not to wear a prom dress myself) I have to admit I did enjoy seeing everyone else who was brave enough to take “the prom plunge.”  Those pictures will be a worth a fortune in hush money someday.

I want to thank The Partner Channel, The Partner Marketing Group, and especially Cheryl Strege, for inviting me out to present Duct Tape Marketing’s “Seven Steps to Marketing Success.”  Both sessions I ran generated a lively discussion.  Can blogging really be effective?  Is social media even appropriate?  Are CFOs online?  Who will read this stuff?  What great questions!   I could have gone on for another hour, but instead those ideas are forming into becoming a next session. 

For the Partner Day at Microsoft Convergence 2009, I would love to be able to run two sessions just on blogging.  The first session would be on “Business Blogging – Is it right for you?” and another showing people the actual process of setting up a blog – a hands-on how-to-do-it session.  I think the challenge with conference material is that sometimes you learn what you should be doing – but you still have no idea HOW do it.   If Microsoft won’t sponsor it, maybe I’ll see if there are enough people interested in attending a pre-conference session.  Email me or leave a comment below if you are interested!

I truly believe that businesses in general (and Microsoft Dynamics partners in particular) will be making a huge mistake if they choose to ignore this new era of business blogging and social media.  Web 2.0 is a game-changing phenomenon.  Never before has it been so easy, and so affordable to promote a small, regionally based business.  The early adopters will reap the rewards.  Even those who don’t start their own blogs need to learn how to listen in and join the conversation because bloggers might be talking about your firm and the products and services you represent.

To follow the theme Bonnie Robertson set for this conference, Gen Y’ers are leading this push of online social media marketing, but Gen Xers (like myself) are seeing the light, and baby boomers will soon follow suit – simply because they want and need to communicate with us young’uns.  My father-in-law now follows me on Facebook.  My mom text messages me when she wants to reach me.  And my dad is extremely internet and email savvy. He’ll be on Facebook the second his friends show up and he can start an online bridge game.  All are well into their 70’s. 

The Gen Y’ers have shown us how efficient it is to have human interaction without the human voice – and do it in a way that is warm, engaging and useful.  Revolutions always start with the young.  The question is: Will you join the revolution?  Or will you be content as an old dog that refuses to learn new tricks?

Everyone wants to be greener, right?  Wouldn’t you love to know how to help your business go green, AND save money at the same time?

One of the easiest (and most affordable) ways go go green is to minimize your printed marketing collateral. Most companies can do-away-with or significantly reduce the amount of printed marketing materials they use. Most marketing documents have a short shelf life – many end up in the trash before they’re even given to prospects and customers. 

It’s the one phrase I hear ALL the time  when I first meet with people.  “I know we should be doing more, but we just don’t have time for marketing,” they  confess dolefully.  I also hear its variants:

“I know our website hasn’t been updated in 10 years, but….”  

“I know we don’t have any collateral material, but….” 

“I know our logo is still so 1986, but…” 

“I know our materials don’t really reflect what we do, but…”

But what?  Yes you need time to sell, consult, implement, do your accounting, pay taxes, meet, go to the bathroom, grab a bite to eat AND…you need to make time for marketing.  There’s not enough time?  No, there’s always enough time.  Everyone gets the same 24 hours a day.  You get to choose how to spend it.  Many times you shoot yourself in the foot by focusing all your energy on sales – only to lose the deal because your presence (your marketing) didn’t make you a credible competitor.

Recently in John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing blog for small business marketing, John wrote :

Marketing is and must become a habitual activity in your business. You must live by the marketing calendar or die by the lack of time available to complete the greasing of the squeaky wheel. 

Amen, Brother John!  I’m a big fan of Stephen Covey, and live by his quadrant theory of paying attention to those items on your to-do list that are important, but not urgent.  Those items will propel your business forward. That’s where marketing lives.  Marketing means getting people to know, like and trust you — and that’s a lot easier to do if you buid a relationship BEFORE you’re trying desperately to sell them something. 

So what’s the secret to maketing marketing a habit?  The secret is….to make a calendar.  It can be in Excel.  It can be in Marketing Plan Pro.  It can be on a giant whiteboard in your office.  Just do it.  Live it.  Your sales people will thank me later. I promise.

Last week, Michael Banks of the Orange County Entrepreneurs Center invited me to participate in a professionally-done studio video shoot showcasing a variety of Orange County entrepreneurs in their various stages of business development.  I spoke specifically about being a woman entrepreneur.  I’ll let you know when Michael posts his videos, but watch this video to hear my thoughts right after the shoot:

Now of course, after I shot THAT video, I thought of still MORE I should have said.  The above post-OC-Entrepreneurs-video really explores more WHO would make a good entrepreneur, and what skills and attitude they need to possess to be successful.  But one of the things I didn’t touch on, and felt I should have, is the difference between a Work-At-Home-Mom (WAHM), a Freelancer and an Entrepreneur of the Female Persuasion.  I think it’s a difference of commitment level.

I consider myself an entrepreneur.  By my own definition, a freelancer takes on short-term jobs and moves from one project to the next.  A work-at-home-mom (again, my definition) is juggling kids between phone calls and work – and often the work is done for an employer.  I’m neither a freelancer or a WAHM.  I work with my clients long-term, usually a minimum of 3 months and some …basically forever… and my kids are in school and at sports all day.

The other reason I consider myself an “entrepreneur” is because I have a grander vision of Tornado Marketing’s business potential. Today Tornado Marketing focuses primarily on marketing consulting and coaching – but that’s not where we’ll be forever.  While I love my customers (thank you for all your support!!!) – and I adore my existing employees (thank you as well), I don’t want to grow significantly in size in either customers or  employees.  Instead, I want to continue to extend my reach beyond 1:1 engagements, to continue to grow and learn.  I want to create info-guides.  I want to do more speaking engagements.  I want to run more one-to-many training sessions to reach the small businesses who can’t afford their own dedicated marketing coach / consultant.  That’s one of the reasons I became a Duct Tape Marketing Coach. 

(BTW,  if you’re looking for a 1:many marketing workshop, make sure you sign up for my Tornado Tips Marketing Newsletter, and I’ll let you know the dates for upcoming sessions.  They’ll also be posted on my http://Tornado-Tools.com website. )

My friend Matthew Scott runs a business called The Life’s Work Group whose Men@Pause program helps men transitioning from the corporate world to entrepreneurship.  Over the past few months we’ve shared our perspectives about about men vs. women owned businesses.  In a previous post, I talked about what we could learn from each other: http://tornadomktg.com/blog/men-vs-women/.  I joke with him that I should start women@pause- but I don’t think that many women want to be true entrepreneurs.  They’re more often looking for work-life balance than for total-world-domination…  ok, small-piece-of-the-world-domination.  Am I wrong?  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with work-life balance.  I know I keep looking for it myself!  It’s just a different mindset and goal.

I want to hear from you.  What do you think defines an entrepreneur?  What do you think holds women back from becoming entrepreneurs?