Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

The Apple Tablet and Word of Mouth

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According to tens of millions of dollars worth of FREE publicity, Apple Inc might be about to launch some kind of Apple Tablet computer this week.

Isn’t that amazing?

No, not the idea of an Apple Tablet!

I’m talking about the only hard fact in this whole story – the FACT that once again, Apple Inc has managed to generate multi-millions worth of free publicity and pre-launch advertising, for a product that not only doesn’t officially exist – it’s not even been announced at the time of writing this.

That’s one heck of an achievement!

To give an idea of just how smart the PR guys at Apple are, they have once again managed to get the BBC swept up in the hype surrounding their new product.  This gift from the BBC is priceless, as you (literally) can not buy advertising on the bbc.co.uk website.

In my opinion, the BBC are not doing anything wrong with their reporting of this (though many disagree).  The BBC need to cover the rumours surrounding the device, because the actual rumours themselves have now become news – Kudos to Apple!

The lesson here?

For anyone seeking to generate free, word of mouth publicity for their business, there’s a lesson here.  If you want people to remark on you, you need to be remarkable.  Apple would not have got this coverage, without a great track record for innovation, design and service.  That reputation generates expectancy.  So long as Apple keep meeting those expectations, the word of mouth will continue, from their loyal and vocal customer base.

Just for fun, check out how many free mentions you see for the new Apple device this week; including this one of course!

Quick business tip: Success leaves clues!

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Who is the top person or company in your industry right now; locally, nationally and internationally?

Many businesspeople can’t answer that question.  Because of this, they miss out on some amazingly valuable information, which could save them years of wasted time and a stack of money.

As business owners, we tend to work hard in our business, looking after our clients or customers.  Therefore, it’s all too easy to become cocooned in our own little ecosystem.  This can place us in a very precarious position!

Study what works

In order for a business to grow, its owners need to look outside of their own experiences.  For example, what is it that makes one design company, law firm or training business etc, extremely successful – And another just manage to survive?  Well, a useful starting point for that answer, is to keep up to date with what the thriving businesses in our industry are already doing.  It’s a study of success.

As has been said many times: “Success leaves clues.”

In other words, by studying what already works with these successful businesses, we can uncover clues to success, which can then be introduced into our business (with a little unique tweaking.)

I did this myself when I started each of my blogs.  Before I launched this blog, I spent 3 months reading as many of the top marketing and small business blogs in the world as I could.  I was looking for clues to their success.  I then fused what seemed to work for them, with my own unique touch.  14 months later, this blog was ranked by Technorati as one of the world’s top 10 small business blogs.

The bottom line: It pays to study success!  It pays to learn from those, who have already made some costly mistakes, so YOU don’t have to.

Are you still on target?

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I was listening to some people chatting yesterday, about their New Year’s resolutions.  It seems that just 23 days into the New Year, every one of them had broken their resolutions.  This is not uncommon.  The queue to use the equipment at you local gym will be getting smaller right now, just as the queues at your local Kentucky Fried Chicken get longer!

This got me thinking: How many of us are still on target, with the resolutions and plans we set for our businesses?

The ability to make a good decision, and then see it through, is one of the master skills of business success.

However, as my mentor Jim Rohn used to say, even if people could keep the doctor away by just eating one apple each day, most people wouldn’t!

Why not take a moment to review your business plans and check if you are still on target.  Those plans you made deserve the opportunity to fly.  You need to give them wings, by ensuring you take action to see them through.

By the way: If you need some powerful, motivational help right now, this could be exactly what you need!

The marketing power of perception

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This post is all about the marketing impact of perception, and how the way people feel has a massive influence, on whether or not they buy from or recommend certain brands.

The marketplace’s perception of a brand or industry is extremely important, which is why big brands work so hard to ensure that the general perception surrounding them and their industry is as positive as possible.

As a result, companies like Gillette, will pay David Beckham to ‘model’ their products. By aligning the way people feel about Beckham, with the Gillette  brand, Gillette can improve the perception of their brand or reinforce what’s already positive about it.

As well as the perception of our businesses, we ALSO need to be mindful regarding the marketplace’s perception of our industry!

What’s the typical perception of your industry?

When people talk about your industry in general, what is the typical perception?

For example, many accountants or CPA’s find themselves selling their services based on their fees – because the common (incorrect) perception is that all qualified accountants provide a service of equal value.

To market effectively, accountants need to break this inaccurate perception and THEN set themselves apart as being of greater value than their competitors.

Negative perceptions of social media experts

As you have probably noticed, there has been a huge negative perception shift, regarding the social media industry and especially those who work in it.

One particularly negative article appeared in BusinessWeek, called Beware: Social Media Snake Oil. The article names both Chris Brogan and Gary Veynerchuk, before saying:

“The problem, according to a growing chorus of critics, is that many would-be guides are leading clients astray. Consultants often use buzz as their dominant currency, and success is defined more often by numbers of Twitter followers, blog mentions, or YouTube hits than by traditional measures, such as return on investment.”

I believe much (not all) of the article was inaccurate.  However, if stories like that either reflect the current perception of social media experts or negatively damage it, it’s going to create a real marketing challenge for them.

Positive perceptions of Apple Inc

Thanks to the Apps Store, an entire industry has sprung-up around the Apple brand.  Moreover, it seems that right now, everything Apple Inc does is automatically heralded as great – often before it’s even announced.  The perception of Apple in their marketplace is something that as a marketing coach, I am constantly amazed by.  It’s incredible!

For example, there have been millions of dollars of free publicity gifted to Apple in recent weeks, for a product that as I write this, still does not officially exist and has not even been announced – the Apple tablet.

In closing

Feelings play an essential role in both the sales and the marketing process.  The more positive those feelings are, the easier you will find it to make sales.

This is why it’s so very important for you to understand the marketplace’s perception of your industry.  If it’s a good / positive perception, then you need to build on it.

If it’s a poor or negative perception, then you need to break it! Your marketing messages, your quality control, customer service and everything else, should be designed to absolutely shatter any negative perceptions about your industry.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Never, ever, settle for less than you deserve!

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Here’s a quick question for you:

“Do you fit your business around your lifestyle or your lifestyle around your business?”

Many people start a business with big plans and dreams.  They want to get out of the rat-race and start earning what they are really worth; not what their boss pays them.  They want the freedom that comes from running their own business.

They know that better financial rewards and more freedom will give them a better quality of life or lifestyle.  It will allow them to live where they want to live, drive what they want to drive and more importantly; it will allow them to be the master or mistress of their own destiny.

So why is it that years later, most small business owners still work long hours and live an uninspiring lifestyle?

I believe these business owners make a subconscious decision:  They decide to fit their lifestyle around their business.

Their business grows to a certain point and then, usually after 2 or 3 years, it levels off.  They then adapt their lifestyle, to fit the limitations of their business.  Whether they know it or not, they are in just as big a rut as they were, when they worked for someone!

The answer? Fit your business around your lifestyle

I believe the answer is to turn the model on it’s head and fit our business around our preferred lifestyle.  In other words, we need to decide the income we want and the number of hours we want to work and draw up a new plan to take us from where we are right now, to the quality of life we deserve.

I meet people all the time, who have seen their business results reach a plateau.  Their business may have grown a little or shrunk a little, but it’s not growing in the way they originally planned, when they were inspired to start their business at the beginning.  Those dreams of the good life are a distant memory.

For example, they live where they can afford to live – not where they want to live.  They find themselves having to constantly settle for less.  They also have to spend too much time away from their families and friends – because their whole lifestyle is designed to fit around their business – which is NUTS!

Instead of being on top of their business, their business is on top of them!

So, right now, decide to reclaim your dream

Right now, if your business is not rewarding you with the results you need, in order to enjoy the lifestyle you want, CHANGE IT!  Reclaim your dream – get back in the driving seat and plan for what you want.  I suggest your new plan is based around developing your business, so that it generates the income you need, in order to give you freedom of choice.

Money is very definitely not everything, but it does give you options.  It gives you the option to decide how many hours to work, and with whom you work.  It gives you the option to decide where you live and in many cases, it can help you live a longer and healthier life too.

Don’t allow yourself to settle for less than you deserve and don’t be fooled into thinking that the good life is for others and not you!  With the right plan and the motivation to put that plan to work, you can achieve anything you want to.

How to understand your marketplace like never before!

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This quick marketing tip, will help you communicate with more people in your marketplace than ever before.

If you have studied marketing, you will know how important it is to be able to communicate your message effectively.  That makes sense. It’s no good having something great to say, if you can’t get your point across.

However, a less talked about element of marketing communications, is the importance of being able to understand what your marketplace is saying to you.  This has never been more important, now that marketing communications are all about “the conversation” and forming a 2-way dialogue with the marketplace.

The challenge many of us face is that as we become adults, we tend to get set in our ways.  We consume the radio, TV, newspapers and websites, which are most aligned to how WE think.  This is understandable, but it dramatically limits the richness of our experience. In other words, it narrows our view of the world and what millions of other people are saying and thinking.

Communications tip

If you want to be able to communicate effectively, with a larger percentage of your marketplace, I suggest you try this.

Each day, either listen to, read or watch information that you would normally ignore.  Just invest 20 or 30 minutes a day.  For example, listen to radio stations, which are directed at people in a different age group to you or read some sites / blogs, written for people with different views to your own.  Listen to what they are saying and how they say it.  It’s a fascinating experience.

This simple (and enjoyable) exercise also enables you to understand what’s important to other people; their hopes and their fears.  I promise you that over time, this simple activity will allow you to communicate more effectively, with more people, from more backgrounds than ever before.

Look within if you don’t want to be without

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If your sales are down or business has gone flat, who or what do you blame?

I hear some people blaming the economy

Even though they have competitors that are doing really well, many people choose to blame the economy for their lack of sales.  If they had zero control over their business and were literally unable to change or adapt anything, that might be a reason – but they can make the changes required.

It’s like them blaming the weather for getting wet, because they decided to go out, in heavy rain, without a coat and umbrella!  When the economy changes, we adapt.

I hear some people blaming the marketplace

I regularly hear from people, who blame their customers and prospective customers for being too price conscious or fee sensitive.  The marketplace is attracted to VALUE not ‘cheap.’

For example, if you needed a heart surgeon, would you hire the cheapest you could find, or the best you could afford? That’s how value works.  It’s not cost cutting, it’s value gathering.

I seldom hear people blaming themselves

Regardless of the economy or what your competitors are doing, you can grow a massively successful business.  However, there’s one important proviso here:

You have to do the right things correctly.

That’s the part where businesses fail.  They see sales are down or that growth is way too slow and they look for answers OUTSIDE themselves, rather than WITHIN.  When I meet a new client, I am able to help them dramatically improve their sales and income, because they tend to sell and market their services really ineffectively.

I don’t change the economy for my clients and I don’t perform Jedi mind tricks on the marketplace for them either.  All I do is look within their business, find what’s wrong (or missing) and coach them on how to fix it.  As soon as they start doing the right things correctly, their results change and they start growing their business.

Instead of blaming the economy or the marketplace for your business results, take a look inside your business.  That’s the only thing YOU have control over and as soon as you identify and fix what’s wrong, your results will improve.

The leadership question – Your feedback please!

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If you checked out the social media activity of 100 businesspeople, do you think you would find many leaders?

Leaders lead: They have the courage to offer their own unique opinions and views.  They act like leaders, from the front.

Followers follow: They copy what others do and share what their leaders have the courage to say and do.  They act like followers, hidden within a crowd.

Personally, I see VERY, very few businesspeople in social media with leader profiles.  However, I see a LOT of businesspeople, who seem to follow the crowd and just say / do what’s safe – especially on Twitter. They tend to retweet whatever people such as; Guy Kawasaki, Gary Vaynerchuk or Seth Godin etc have to say – But are less inclined to offer their own individual opinion.

The Dragons Den?

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The reality TV show Dragon’s Den is very popular. However, like almost all reality TV, it’s not very ‘real.’

The second you point a camera at people, they start to perform.  In my experience, the format of the show is not that ‘real’ either.  I have attended VC meetings for over a decade, where sums from hundreds of thousands to millions have been discussed, and it’s never been anything like the Dragon’s Den TV show.

That’s EXACTLY as it should be though! The TV show is designed to entertain, which it does very successfully.  Typical meetings with  angel investors are a little dry for mainstream TV.  Those that are not, are far too animated for prime-time viewing.

I was talking with an angel investor last week and he told me that since the TV show, some people seeking investment funds are expecting the real process to be like the TV show.  He said that when they do, he calmly explains that the format of the Dragon’s Den show is about as accurate as the show’s title:

“Dragons don’t live in dens.  Dragons lived in lairs.  LIONS live in dens!”

I then wondered why I had never thought of that!

Make this YOUR moment!

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Here’s a question for you:

Have you ever wondered how far you can go with your business?

I mean, if you REALLY applied yourself fully; did the hard stuff, made the tough decisions, used all those great ideas you have picked up over the years – how far could you go?

I believe you are capable of truly amazing things.

Here’s why I am sharing this with you today: By cranking things up a gear or two, you can achieve literally life-changing results.

Make this YOUR moment

My mentor Jim Rohn used to say that whilst a ship can’t turn around in an instant, it can change its course instantly.  Right now, you have the power to make this your moment; the moment where you decided to move things up to the next level and change the course of your business (and life) forever.

I will give you all the help I can here on the blog and via Twitter.

Are you an adaptor?

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One of the hallmarks of all successful people and businesses, is their ability to adapt, when new information comes along.  Rather than continue with the ‘same old same old,’ they adjust their strategies and approaches whenever required.

Compare this to their less successful counterparts and you see a very different picture.  You will see people and businesses that do what they are comfortable with, regardless of what’s happening around them.  This inflexible thinking seems to impact everything they do.

For example, I saw a car crash today that could easily have been avoided; had the driver adapted his driving to match the severe winter conditions we are experiencing here.

Heavy snow and constant sub-zero temperatures have turned our roads into something close to ice rinks!  Even so, I saw a car speeding into a corner close to where I live, and then spin off into a ditch.  Thankfully, the driver was OK.  He told me he lost control when he hit the breaks and that he was “probably driving too fast.”

In business, when people are too rigid or inflexible in their thinking, they too run the risk of going dangerously off track.

This is why it’s so important to listen, I mean REALLY listen, to the marketplace and our clients.  Keep your thinking flexible and look for opportunities to adapt and grow.

What do you think?

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

What’s your experience?

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Do you have companies you buy from or stores / places you visit, where they make spending money with them an enjoyable experience for you?

I’m sure you do, and this post will give you some of the reasons why you feel the way you do, when doing business with those rare providers, who “get it” when it comes to the business of business.

It will also give you some food for thought, about getting people to feel that way about spending money with you and your business.

The Apple experience

One of the best examples of the value of creating a great buying experience is The Apple Store.  Your experience, from the moment you enter an Apple Store until you leave, is deliberately designed to appeal to Apple’s core target market.  You will experience cleverly designed retail spaces, packed with beautifully designed products and staffed by people, who enjoy their job and love their products.  This creates an overwhelmingly enjoyable and positive experience.

At a time when other computer retailers have gone broke or seen profits drop significantly, the Apple experience has helped Apple Inc post record-breaking profits.  This, despite the recession and the fact that their products are often twice the price of PC-based alternatives.

The coffee experience

I was prompted to write this post, after going out for a coffee yesterday and seeing a wonderful example of the benefits of creating the right buying experience.  There were 2 coffee shops within the same part of the shopping mall I visited. One was a Costa Coffee and the other an independent shop.  I walked past the independent coffee shop and it was almost empty.  However, Costa Coffee was full downstairs and almost full upstairs too.

I have used the independent coffee shop before (they make great smoothies) and their coffee is great. Their coffee is also slightly less expensive than Costa Coffee.  However, their floorspace is over-filled with cold looking wooden tables and wooden chairs, which always makes it feel cramped.  Costa Coffee has a mixture of wooden tables and chairs, along with big, soft sofa’s / couches and comfy chairs that almost hug you as you sit down.  It looks and feels comfortable and welcoming.

What experience do you offer?

So, here’s the question: What kind of experience do you offer to your existing and prospective clients / customers?

Customer service is a key part of creating the right buying experience, (and developing a successful business in general), but it’s just one part of the experience.  For example, the people standing outside the busy coffee shop had no idea how well they were going to be served and those who ignored the independent coffee shop also knew nothing about the service there either.  In fact, the independent shop offers a much better level of service; especially if you have a young child with you as I often have, as they bring your order to your table!

The kind of positive, commercially valuable experience I’m talking about here, needs to penetrate your marketing, your delivery, your customer service, your design – everything.  If those beautiful Apple Stores I mentioned earlier were full of ugly products or the customer service was poor, it wouldn’t have worked for them.

Your employees are also a massive part in this development of a buying experience.  I bought my wife a new phone this Christmas and the lady that served me really did not want to be at work that day.  How do I know?  Because she told her colleague, when he asked her why she was so miserable looking!

When we look at improving business, I believe we need to look at the whole business – everything. We need to ensure that every element of our offering is consistent with creating the best buying experience possible.

What’s your take on this?

What do you think are the most overlooked areas, which let businesses down? What tips or ideas do you have, for people who want to create a better buying experience for their clients or customers?  Which companies do you think offer the best buying experiences and why?

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

 

Marketing tip: Get a wider spread of business!

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I have a simple, yet valuable piece of information to share with you today.  If you take this information and use it, it will help you build a strong foundation for your business AND help you avoid one of the most common, serious and avoidable business mistakes possible.

The challenge: A narrow spread of business

Many small businesses rely way too heavily on a small number of clients or customers, for a large percentage of their income.  This leaves them in a horribly exposed position.  It’s known as having a narrow spread of business.

You need to avoid putting yourself in this precarious position.  Here’s why.

OK, the obvious reason first: If a client that you rely heavily on for your income goes broke (or picks another provider), you could see your turnover suffer enormous damage in one foul swoop.  If you rely too heavily on that client, you could go broke – I’ve met many, many business people this has happened too.

I once asked a room full of businesspeople, on a show of hands, how many of them relied on fewer than 3 clients or customers for 50% of their turnover. Most of the room put their hand up.  I then asked if anyone relied on 1 client or customer for more than 50% of their business and around 30% of the room put their hand up.

But there’s a second, less obvious problem with relying on a small number of major clients for the majority of your revenue / turnover.  It gives them too much power over you, if they are aware of their importance to your finances.

In fact, I was prompted to write this post after speaking recently with a businessman, who went bankrupt last summer; due to the massive influence 1 client held over him and his business.

He had one client for his web design business, who was responsible for over 70% of his turnover.  Most of his employees worked exclusively on this one client’s portfolio of websites and associated work.  The client soon realised how big a part of this guys business they were, so they decided to renegotiate their fees.  They used their enormous influence to get all their work done for a peanuts and eventually, there was too little profit to make the project viable. The web design company owner then tried to renegotiate, but from such a poor position, he had no success.

Having already had to make 30% of his workforce redundant to accommodate the drop in income, he was no longer able to effectively service this major client (or his other clients) and in just 12 weeks he had gone broke.

An obvious answer to this problem? Not really!

On the surface, it seems there’s an obvious answer here. Just ensure that you have a larger number of clients, which you treat equally superbly; none of which are responsible for more than a moderate share of your business’ overall income.

However, here’s where it gets tricky and why so many intelligent businesspeople get caught out: In most cases, these ‘super-size clients’ were not super-size clients to begin with!

They were regular sized clients that developed a greater and greater requirement, until they slowly became a huge part of the income for the provider’s business. The danger here, is that this kind of thing often happens so slowly, that it’s a problem before you realise it.  It’s also pretty tough to see all that extra income flowing into the business and regard it as a potential problem!

The answer?

There’s nothing wrong with developing your clients, so that they become more financially valuable to your business. In fact, it’s a really good idea.  Just make sure you never over expose yourself, by relying too heavily on a few key clients.  Try and develop all your clients as evenly as possible and work on as even a flow of income through them as you can.

So, if you are currently too reliant on a small number of clients, I suggest you immediately focus your marketing efforts on developing additional sources of revenue for your business.  Only by having a wider spread of clients can you plan ahead with confidence.

Achieving bankable results!

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As regular readers will know, I’ve made a career out of helping businesses and entrepreneurs achieve measurable sales results.

Recently, I have started to use the term “bankable results” to refer to my style of marketing. This phrase was commented on by one of my readers and regular contributors, Robin Dickinson. So, I thought I would quickly explain to you, what I mean by focusing on bankable results. (Oh, and I have a question for you in a moment too!)

Bankable results

It’s great to meet interesting people at networking events.  It’s wonderful to have lots of traffic to your company’s site and tons of fans on Facebook or followers on Twitter.  However, the businesses I work with, and write this blog for, want to know how to transform their marketing efforts and hard work into MONEY.

They enjoy “being part of the conversation,” connecting with people and sharing ideas via social media; but they know that in order for their business to thrive (or even survive), they need results that they can take to the bank. That’s what I mean by bankable results.

As you are reading this, it’s safe to assume that you are interested in generating bankable results for your business.  I admire you for that.  For my part, I promise to share as much useful content as possible with you.

What’s on the outside counts too!

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This post is all about the importance of how you present and deliver your marketing messages.  Content may be king, but if that content is delivered inappropriately, no one will read it.

Here’s a recent example of what I mean.

I was emailed today by a company that wanted me to buy some software.  I could tell that from the subject line of their email.  However, I have no idea what their software does or even how compelling their offer was.  That’s because I never read their marketing message.

Why?

Because they emailed me using the free version of an emailing program, which inserted advertisements all over their marketing message.  It immediately drew my attention away from their marketing message and caused me to wonder why they were using such a low class way of marketing their services. After all, emailing software is not expensive these days.

I drew a number of immediate, negative conclusions about the company that was trying to market to me.  After all, how professional are they likely to be?  They have just shown me, (and everyone else on their list), that they either think it’s OK for pictures of semi naked women advertising online casinos to be plastered all over their messages, or they were too unprofessional to check first.  In either case, I was unimpressed.

My conclusions may or may not have been correct, but that’s not important.  What’s important is that the way they delivered and presented their marketing to me, caused me to ask myself questions about them that they could easily have avoided.

More importantly, and the reason for this post, I was unimpressed before I even knew what they were offering!

The way they chose to present and deliver their marketing was enough in itself, to ruin any chance they had of winning my business.  You might think that this is a rare example, but I see it many times every day.  All day long I see people, who make such a mess of how they present and deliver their marketing message, that their message never gets the oxygen it needs, in order to work.

Here are some very common examples:

  • People who email you marketing messages, without your permission. They just add your email address to their list and spam you.
  • People who cold call you, reading from a script, showing you no respect for your individuality or needs.
  • People who have never previously connected with you, sending you messages on Twitter, with a link to a sales page for their wonder product.
  • People who walk up to you at a networking event and give you a sales pitch, whilst looking over your shoulder, eyeing up their next ‘victim.’

The bottom line here, is that if we want people to take our marketing seriously, we need to create a powerful, professional impression.  We need to do everything possible to encourage them to trust us – and that includes the way we present and deliver our marketing messages, not just the content of those messages.

Are you prepared to shine?

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In many countries around the world, something interesting happens on TV and radio stations over the Christmas period.  The established TV and radio presenters take a break from work and are replaced by their less well-known colleagues.

As the a-list; newsreaders, weather people, broadcasters, DJ’s and announcers relax at home, the people stepping into their shoes are presented with an amazing opportunity.  They are given a shot at the big time – a chance to shine – a chance to showcase their talents to (in some cases) millions of people.

Some of the stand-ins grasp this opportunity with great success and go on to become a star.  They have prepared for this moment. They see this as THEIR time.  Others look ill-prepared; almost awkward.  They lack enthusiasm.  They look and sound like they have been forced to attend a really bad party.

Be a wise optimist

In business, there are opportunities around us all the time.  A chance meeting, an unexpected phone call, an email you were not expecting with an interesting offer, etc.  The thing is, we need to ensure that we not only spot these opportunities, but that we have readied ourselves to fully benefit from them.

An optimist expects the best.

A wise optimist expects the best and is prepared for when it happens!

It’s about the journey – NOT the money!

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The late, great Jim Rohn was the first person to explain the value of a journey to me.  Jim explained that making a million dollars was NOT about owning the money; it was about the journey.  As usual, Jim was absolutely right!

That’s because the kind of person we need to become, in order to create 1 million dollars worth of disposable income, is where the REAL value is.

The journey is what’s priceless – not the money

I am a very different person today, to the guy who grew up in a slum / ghetto surrounded by violence and destruction.  As a result of my personal journey, I am equipped with the tools that will ensure my son never has to see the things I saw as a kid.  By the time I was just 10 years old, I had witnessed 3 murders and at age 17, I was left for dead after being attacked by a gang armed with axes!

Thankfully, at the age of 21, I discovered the power of personal development and 7 years later, I was financially secure for life.

So, when you set your goals and targets for 2010, feel GOOD about putting a BIG financial figure at the top of your list!  Ownership of the money is fine, but the improvements you will have to make to your lifestyle and thinking is going to help you, and those you love, far more than the money.

Your life journey

What have been some of the key lessons you have learned, along your life journey thus far? Please take a moment to share them, so we can all benefit from your experiences.

What’s your opinion on this?

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Ever wondered why some blog posts get lots of comments and other posts get very few?

I have one post on this blog with almost 700 comments and others with just a few, so why does this happen?  Well, there are thousands of posts around the Internet, offering long lists of what to do in order to encourage comments; however, in my experience, it’s easier than that!

Here are what I have found to be the primary things to consider, if you want to encourage people to comment on your blog.

Ask for feedback

The first thing to do, if you want people to comment, is to ask them.  People like to know that their feedback is welcome.

Show you value feedback

There’s a world of difference between saying you want people to comment or share their feedback with you and showing you value their feedback.  A blogger who really values reader comments, gets into the comments section of the post and communicates with the people there.

I switched from using a website to using a blog exclusively for the comments. I ‘chat’ with just about everyone who comments here, so people can see for themselves that I am reading every comment and listening to them.

Make it easy for people to comment

In an effort to reduce spam, some bloggers force their readers to use what are sometimes called a captcha, before they can post a comment.  This is where the reader leaves a comment and then has to look at an image, with a series of heavily distorted letters or numbers, which they then have to enter into a box.  It’s a pain in the rear end and many people just won’t use them.

I also question how necessary captcha’s are for the average blogger. There are some amazingly powerful anti-spam plugings available, which will catch over 99% of all spam.

Leave the conversation open

If you write a blog post, which finishes by closing the conversation, you make it hard for anyone to find something to add.  I did this in yesterdays post, by finishing the post with a series of links (more on that in a moment.)  The post was intended as a resource rather than a conversation piece.  This is NOT the way to encourage comments, so try to use this approach sparingly, if you want people to give you their feedback.  I’ve only every used it a handful of times here.

In advance of today’s post, I wanted to be able to show you what happens, when a blog that gets regular comments breaks these rules.  So, I wrote yesterdays blog post in such a way that it did not ask for comments.  It also closed the conversation and ended in a series of links.  So, there was nothing there to respond to.

24 hours later, it’s attracted just 1 comment!

What makes you comment on a blog?

What things either encourage you to comment on a blog or stop you from wanting to comment?

Do you think the relationship you have with the blogger is important?

What about the ability to get your comments published immediately – rather than having them held for moderation?

A lot of my readers are bloggers, so your feedback here would be of enormous value to them as well as myself.  Please take a moment to share your feedback.

Marketing results in 2010

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Here’s a quick question: What kind of sales results are you expecting in 2010?

By the way, if you want great results, I’ve put links to dozens of powerful ideas at the foot of this post for you!

I’ve worked with thousands of small business owners and studied thousands more and I’ve found that we are all creatures of habit, who tend to fit into 1 of the following 2 groups:

Group 1

Some of us habitually strive to achieve better and better results, by using increasingly effective marketing strategies and taking the actions required for sales and marketing success.  We know that whatever 2010 throws at us, we are masters of our own destiny and we look to the challenges of 2010 with excitement.

Group 2

These business owners habitually avoid change.  They prefer to stick with what they know, even if it’s not working.  As a direct consequence, they already know that 2010 will be a struggle.  Many have already decided to just sit tight and hope things will get better.  They look to 2010 with apprehension.

Thankfully, we each get to pick which of those groups we are in.

If you are in group 1 (and if you read this blog I am assuming you are), here are some marketing ideas to help you blow the lid off your potential in 2010:

Make a million – How leverage works in marketing

The importance of taking action

How to develop the right marketing mix for your business (Part 1)

How to develop the right marketing mix for your business (Part 2)

A list of 34 marketing tips and ideas

Here’s 10 of the most commonly used, effective, small business marketing activities

… and finally, here’s something for you to avoid – Marketing that makes you cringe.

The magic of keeping in touch

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Here’s a quick question: What is your attrition rate?  For those who have not heard the term before, your attrition rate, is the rate at which you lose customers or clients, (herein called clients.)

Your client base is being actively targeted by your competitors.  Your clients are receiving; mail shots, email marketing, advertising and all kinds of offers, from competitors who are desperate to win their business away from you.

Offering great customer service is essential, but if you want to keep their business, it’s also important for you to do the following:

  • Do whatever you can, to try and meet as many clients as you can, as often as you can.
  • Make sure you are in contact with ALL your clients, even those that you have not done any work with recently.  Your great customer service will soon become just a memory and you will slip off their radar, if you do not retain regular contact.
  • Pick up the phone from time to time just to see how they are.  Email is great, but voice to voice contact is far, far better. It’s an immediate 2 way dialogue.  I suggest never letting more than a few weeks go by without a chat, if at all possible.
  • DON’T TRY TO SELL THEM ANYTHING.  Just connect with them. Find out what’s happening in their world right now.
  • If you can’t regularly phone every client, email them something of value (see below.)
  • If you have a massive customer list, which it just too big to phone around, drop customers a line and ask for their feedback.  Don’t just broadcast your news to them.  Ask for their news too.
  • Oh, and think before using gimmicks!  A marketing guru once told his readers to send chocolate bars to their clients.  He was then slammed, after a number of them lost clients, who were diabetic or overweight and thought it was a bad joke at their expense!

Develop an attrition plan

Develop a simple attrition plan, which will ensure you remember to make regular contact with your clients.  In brief, you should try and do as much of it face-to-face as possible.  If that’s too hard, then use the phone, if you are dealing with many hundreds or with thousands of clients, start a customer-only newsletter.  Again, don’t fill it with sales pitches – that’s not good enough. They deserve better than that.  Share your news and ask for their news (that’s why its called a newsletter and not a salesletter) and make them a genuine, customer only offer in each issue.

The bottom line here is that the longer you stay out of contact with a client, the less relevant you become to them. The less relevant you become, the easier it will be for your competitors to win their custom from you.

Keep in touch and show them you care.

Other than offering outstanding customer service, what are your tips for retaining your clients / customers business?