Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

2 things I didn’t know yesterday!

By |

Here are 2 things I didn’t know yesterday, which I wanted to share with you.  If you have anything you want to add, please do so – it’s always great to get feedback.

Twitter unfollowing trend is set to continue

Since blogging about Robert Scoble unfollowing his Twitter followers, I have had a lot of feedback.  As well as the comments on the blog, I have had people emailing me, a few people calling me and even a blog post featuring me.

I’ve been told we are going to see some more well-known Twitter users doing the same as Scoble, over the coming days and weeks. Maybe even sooner!

MarketingProfs feature

I wrote a post recently, called; “How to sell against cheaper competitors” and was blown-away to see it used in yesterday’s MarketingProfs newsletter. With around a third of a million subscribers, it was exciting to get the opportunity to reach so many new, great people.

History will judge him

By |

Isn’t it funny, the things people say without really thinking?

I was listening to the radio recently, as some experts were discussing how good a recently deceased artist was, when one of them said;

“history will judge him!”

I disagree!

Surely the future will judge him?

Scoble, Twitter and the wisdom of the crowd!

By |

My FriendFeed buddy Robert Scoble announced last night, that he was going to unfollow around 105,000 people on Twitter.  He has his reasons for doing this, most of which are valid in my opinion.

Robert also publicly said (very generously) that he now realises he was wrong, when he said that I should not have reset my Twitter account way back in January. That meant a lot to me, as Robert’s one of the brightest people I know, and I value his opinions a great deal.

Robert’s decision comes after other well-known Twitter users unfollowed their followers too, including; Loic Le Meur, Jason Calacanis and Natali Del Conte. By the way, all of these people simply unfollowed their followers. I completely reset my account – zero followers / zero following – and started again from scratch.

But Jim – Everyone’ says you should blindly follow on Twitter!

I reset my Twitter account because of the time it took me to deal with all the spam and ‘noise’, that came from following everyone back, when I was the 3rd most followed person in England.  Back then, almost everyone, including a man I really respect Guy Kawasaki, was telling people that the ‘right’ way to use Twitter, was to follow everyone who follows you. I disagreed with Guy and with ‘the crowd’ on this.

I believed then, as I do now, that different people should use their Twitter accounts in different ways, based on what they want to achieve.  In fact, if you have the same business model as Guy, following everyone who follows you might be the right thing to do.

But here’s the challenge

It might not be the right thing for you to do: Just because ‘the crowd’ are all taking one piece of advice, does not make it automatically the best advice for you or the right thing for you to do. I am not talking about Twitter here, I’m talking about the commercial importance of having faith in your own judgement.

Never be afraid to stand out from the crowd

If you know your subject, have done your research and you truly believe that you are right, do it!

Be an original, like Gary Vaynerchuk

By |

When Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library became an Internet star, hundreds or maybe thousands of people tried to imitate him. Almost overnight, I saw wine expert websites and blogs popping up everywhere.

I started getting followed on Twitter and FriendFeed by wine experts. This sudden rush of wine experts everywhere was incredible – However:

  • Can I name one of those other wine sites for you? No!
  • Can I name even one of the experts behind any of these wine sites for you? No!

That’s because Gary was the  first – or rather, he was the first wine expert to maximise social media.  By the way, I don’t drink alcohol and even I became aware of Gary’s work really quickly – such is his reach and influence. I’m a diet Coke person, which is a pity as Gary emailed me recently and offered to take me out for a beer. (Yes a beer, not wine!)

The power of being an original

I was at a football game earlier this year, when I noticed that there was one person wearing a bright yellow shirt, in an area of the stadium, where they were surrounded by about 5,000 people wearing red shirts.  That one person was more noticeable by themselves, than the other 5,000 people combined.

Just like the person in the bright yellow shirt, true originality stands out.  It commands our attention.

There’s no point in someone trying to be the next Gary Vaynerchuk.  Gary himself only succeeded, because he allowed his own unique style and personality to come through.

So, does this mean that we can’t learn from pioneers? Of course not!  Google was not the first search engine; they actually came to the party relatively late. However, they did have a uniquely valuable approach to search.  It was their unique value that started them on the road to success.  If they had simply copied what AltaVista or Yahoo were doing back then, they would have failed.

If we want to stand out or we want our business to stand out – we need to break away from what the crowd are doing.  Yes, this requires a lot of confidence and courage, but the rewards can be amazing!

6 little-known facts about Jim Connolly

By |

I have just updated the blog’s ‘about’ page and was going to include some personal information about me, which is not business related.

Then I realised that if the information just gets added to the about page, almost none of my regular readers will see it!  I like to know a little about the people who’s work I read and I know others do too. So, here are 6 things about me that you probably didn’t already know.

Early exit

On the day my son Lewis was born, (a month before he was due), a story appeared in a UK newspaper with the headline; “Jim may have to make an early exit!”  The story related to a comment I made to a reporter, about a talk I was giving at The London Stock Exchange building for AWD PLC. I said that it was my last speaking engagement because my wife was 8 months pregnant. The newspaper is a great keepsake for when Lewis grows up.

Dead serious

I ‘died’ briefly, when I was 17 years old; after receiving three scull fractures during a fight, where one of my assailants was armed with an axe. I grew up dirt poor, on a London council housing estate – very much on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’.  Although blessed with loving parents, I got in with the wrong crowd and almost paid the ultimate price.  I was 21 years old when I turned my life around (that was 23 years ago); thanks to the support of my mother, father and older brother.

Relative strangers

Billy Connolly, the famous comedian / actor is a cousin of mine.  I only found out about 15 years ago, when visiting another cousin for the first time, in Galway, Ireland.  I noticed pictures of Billy Connolly on the wall and then realised that the pictures of Billy were actually taken in the house.  I have never met Billy but those I know who have, tell me he’s a really nice fella!

Radio days

I once coached a BBC Radio presenter live on air!  Lara King was hosting her first ever solo radio show and was extremely nervous, so the interview she had planned with me on her launch show, became a live on air coaching session. Lara is a real professional, a genuinely lovely person and it was always a joy to work with her.

Boxing clever

I have been in love with boxing all my life, both inside the ring and outside.  Though I never fought professionally, I have sparred with scores of professional fighters and have a dedicated boxing gym at home.  This is one of the reasons I don’t drink alcohol or smoke – It made training so much harder!  I have just restarted training (last week) and need to lose a STACK of fat, after a serious shoulder injury stopped me from training for almost 5 months.

Jim loves tech

I own (and write for) The Tech News Blog. The blog is just a year old and has already been referenced as a news source by many of the best known people in tech news, including; Leo Laporte’s TWiT network, Dave Winer’s Scripting News, The BBC, C|net and ReadWriteWeb.

So, those were six random things about me, which usually don’t fit into the topics I cover. I hope you found them interesting and that maybe you feel you know me a little better now too.

The Power of Influence

By |

I have a question for you.  “Why does one person’s recommendation carry a lot of weight, when another person can give the same recommendation, yet few people take any notice?”

The answer, of course, is influence.

The recommendation of an influential person is powerful and in business it has a huge commercial value too.  It’s why a sports star will get paid millions; just to be seen wearing and endorsing a brand like Nike or Adidas. Their influence is so strong that it changes the way people actually feel about the brands they endorse.  As a result, the brand makes more sales.

Twitter & FriendFeed make measuring online influence easier

One of the great things about sites like Twitter and FriendFeed, is that they give you an insight into how influential some people are – online at least! On FriendFeed, I have seen people like Robert Scoble and Louis Gray generate hundreds and hundreds of comments; just by asking a quick question – such is their influence.

On Twitter, I have seen similar results.  On Sunday, for example, Chris Brogan sent out the message below.

chris-tweet

When I checked my blog stats for Sunday, I saw a significant spike in visitors here from Twitter.  The interesting thing was the unusually high percentage of Chris’ ‘followers’, who clicked that link.  It was around 400% higher than I usually see, when someone ReTweets my posts. In other words, Chris’ followers were 4 times more likely to click a link he sent, than I usually see.  His Twitter followers clearly trust him to provide interesting links.  Now, I am the first to admit that this was a snapshot, but I see similar patterns repeated all the time.

Influential recommendations

I have a friend, who has recommended my marketing services to seven of her contacts. All seven contacts called me and within just one call, all seven became clients. Each one told me how much they respected Sarah’s recommendation and endorsement of my services.  In other words, before I even spoke to these people, Sarah’s recommendation had already reassured them that I would get the sales results they needed.

Influence, is a huge subject – way too big to cover in a single blog post. However, there’s a great tip I found years ago, which we can all use, in order to help us understand how to increase our commercial influence.

The tip is simply to study two types of people: Those who are highly influential and also those who lack influence.

You will quickly see that there are certain things, which people within each group have in common.  For example, I find that people with commercial influence are usually far more knowledgeable in their field than their counterparts.  They are also excellent at developing trust.

Okay – Now it’s your turn!  Please share your thoughts regarding influence.

7 ways to get more sales leads and enquiries

By |

more sales leads, more sales enquiries, get sales, get leads

Here are 7 simple things you can do, to increase the number and the quality of your sales leads and enquiries. Take a look through this short list and see how many of them you are already doing.

1. Ask

Think of the contacts you have, who already have access to your ideal profile of customer or client.  Are you asking these contacts to introduce you? If not, it’s time to start!  To fully leverage this approach, you will need to motivate your contacts.

Remember, motivation comes from the fusion of two words: Motive and Action.  If you want your contacts to take action (to recommend you) you need to give them a strong enough motive (or reason) to do so.

2. Make it easy for people to contact you

If you want people to get in touch, you need to make it really easy.  Take this blog for example.  The link to my contact page appears in the menu, on every page. On the contact page, you will find an extremely simple contact form. Plus, I list my Twitter account, which is set to receive Direct Messages [DM’s] from anyone.

As a result, I regularly get messages, emails and Tweets from people asking about my services.

3. Just ask for their name and email address

This leads on nicely from the previous point. If your website or blog already has a contact form, how much information do you require from people, before they can send their request to you? All you really need, is their name and email address. Each additional ‘field’ (like their surname, company name, phone number etc), which you ask them to fill in, reduces the percentage of people who contact you.

In other words, you can increase the number of sales leads and enquiries you get, simply by removing these unnecessary barriers! Once someone has contacted you via the form, you can always request additional information if you need it.  It works.

4. Get your full contact details into the ‘signature’ of your emails

Your full contact details should also be visible on your emails.  This way, if someone forwards an email from you, to one of THEIR contacts, that contact will easily be able to get in touch with you, if they wish.  When you consider how many emails you write in a year, this could get your contact details in front of hundreds or thousands of new people.

5. Search Engine Optimisation or SEO

If you have a website or blog and you want more sales enquiries, the best way is to ensure that your site’s attracting lots of targeted prospective clients.  This is where Search Engine Optimisation or SEO comes in.  No, keyword stuffing is a terrible idea, as is 99% of the SEO you see advocated on common websites. That will drive traffic to your site, but when they arrive, the keyword-stuffed-bullshit that awaits them will ensure they leave as fast as they came. I cover this here in my main marketing tips page.

A true SEO expert (maybe 1 in 100 of those who claim to be experts) can help your site attract lots of people, who are searching for your exact product or service.  There’s some great SEO sites, which provide useful tips, but I very strongly recommend you get expert help, if you are serious about getting sales leads from your site.  If you want to know more about SEO, take a look at the excellent SEOmoz blog.

Of course, SEO is just 50% of the online lead generating equation!  You also need…

6. Professionally written copy

This is a no brainer, yet almost every small business website makes the mistake of writing their own wording or copy.  As a result, they get people visiting their site, but very few, if any, leads or enquiries.  This blog generates enquiries on an hourly basis, because it’s written by a professional.  If the copy on your site is not inspiring enough to compel people to click links, email, call or visit you – then why exactly do you have a site?

You can massively increase the number of enquiries you get, with this one simple improvement!

7. Network online

Networking has changed massively over the past few years.  The bottom line here is that today, via a number of extremely powerful online services, you can develop stacks of sales leads and enquiries and make some great contacts too.  I personally focus mainly on Twitter though LinkedIn can also be effective.

I hope you found those 7 ways to get more sales leads and enquiries useful. More importantly, I hope you do something with them.

Marketing tip: The value of feedback

By |

One of the most powerful tools in marketing is also one of the least mentioned. Ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about the marketing value of feedback.

Marketing feedback

The fastest and most accurate way to guarantee you are giving the marketplace what it wants, is to ask the marketplace what it wants! This feedback is gold dust for your business, if you use it.

Of course, rather than actually get a discussion going with their prospective clients or customers, most small businesses simply copy what their competitors are all doing.  It’s easier and feels safer.

Here’s the problem with that approach: It doesn’t work!  You see, the only way you will ever uncover that great niche product or service, which will triple your profits and get you that big house you’ve always wanted, is if you stop copying what the others are doing and start offering what the marketplace actually wants.

The price of success or the cost of failure?

By |

Whenever I ask a business owner, why he or she refuses to get professional help in the key areas of their business, the answer is always the same.  They tell me that they can’t afford it.

This answer is based on a 100% incorrect assumption.

The incorrect assumption, is that by not investing in professional help, a business will somehow be in a stronger financial position. The reality is very different, because the price a company pays for neglecting to invest, is a price it pays over and over again, every day.

  • The next time you visit a website that looks like crap; so you leave, never to return – That company is paying the price for commercial neglect.
  • The next time you find yourself reading about how bad a company’s customer service is – That company is paying the price for commercial neglect.
  • The next time you throw a poorly written marketing letter in the bin – That company is paying the price for commercial neglect.

If those people think the price of success is high, wait until they see the cost of failure.

How to sell against cheaper competitors

By |

If Bob is a consultant and he charges £50 an hour for his time, he might cost you a lot more than Sue, who is also a consultant but charges £75 an hour.

That’s because Sue is well organised and very experienced in her field. Something that takes Bob 5 hours to do, can be done to a higher standard by sue, in half the time.

  • Hiring the ‘cheaper’ consultant in that example would cost you £250.
  • Hiring the expensive consultant would have cost you just £187.50 for a better service!

If you offer a great service and charge a higher than average price for it – make sure you explain this clearly in your marketing and in your negotiations.  Once prospective clients or customers are aware that your higher than average price or fee could save them money and give them a better quality service, it’s a lot more likely they will hire you.

If you just quote a higher than average fee in your marketing, you will lose business needlessly!

The hidden cost of cutting your prices!

By |

The current economic downturn has encouraged many businesses to cut their prices or fees, in order to be more competitive.  These price cuts create a number of important, often overlooked issues.

Here are a few common price cut issues you need to avoid, along with some suggestions and answers.

Even small price reductions have big consequences

When a company cuts its prices, it needs to make a significant increase in sales – just to maintain the same profit level it had before the cuts.

For example: A business I studied, which was making around 45% net profit, decided to lower its prices by just 10%, as a way to halt it’s drop in sales.  It then found that it needed to increase sales by 20%, simply to stay as profitable as it was before the 10% price cut!  When you consider that many smaller businesses are cutting their prices by two or three times that much, it gives them a huge mountain to climb!

So, if a company is planning a price cut, it needs a powerful marketing strategy in place; to generate the additional sales required, to cover the drop in profitability.

The great price drop paradox

Consumers have been taught that when prices drop, so does quality.  Because of this, when a company cuts its prices, its customers actually pay far closer attention to the quality of the products and services they receive.  The paradox here, is that by lowering its prices, a company often attracts far more scrutiny from consumers and more complaints; than when they offered the same services at a higher price!

So, if a company is planning a price cut, it needs to pay more attention than ever to customer service and quality control.

Sudden price drops in a recession are often seen as a panic measure

Your customers and prospective customers are all very aware that the economy is struggling right now.  They are also aware that many companies have gone broke recently – many of whom will have cut prices before hand, in an effort to increase sales and turnover.  A company must, therefore, ensure its price cuts are not seen as a panic measure.

So, if a company is planning a price cut, it needs to market the cuts correctly; so as to reassure existing clients and the marketplace.

It’s easy to cut prices but hard to increase them again

Once a business cuts its prices, customers get used to the new, low prices very quickly.  In fact, these low prices stop ‘feeling’ as if they are low and very soon start feeling like the typical, regular price.  This can cause a major problem; when the provider needs to increase prices to their normal level again.  Although they are simply charging customers what they used to, their customers will feel the ‘pain’ of a price spike.

So, if a company is planning a price cut, it needs to have a powerful strategy in place, which includes plans for increasing prices again.

My advice

If you want your products or services to be twice as valuable to your customers and prospective customers – Don’t cut your prices in half!

Instead, find a way to double (or more than double) the value of whatever you provide!

Quick networking tip!

By |

I was just looking at a website, where the owner has a small banner, which pleads with total strangers to join his LinkedIn network.  I checked out his Twitter profile, and he’s doing the same there too.

It’s actually a pretty common tactic among some businesspeople, who think it will help them develop their business.

If they can just get another 100 or 1000 people into their ‘network’, business will start to pick up…..right?

Wrong!

I have been building and studying commercial networks for over 20 years and have personally experienced (literally) life changing results.  In every case, the most valuable networks were always those that were built by people who focused on quality, rather than quantity.  These networks contained influential people, who had credible access to the people or organisations that the networker needed to know.

Low leverage networking

Most networking I see, especially online, is not just low leverage – it’s super-low leverage.

For example, I see web designers, SEO experts, consultants etc who are wasting stacks of time trying to get 1,000 strangers into their ‘network’, when they could get endorsed access to 10,000 or 50,000 targeted businesses or people, via just one influential, well-connected contact.

A network of just 10 highly influential, respected people is of massively more commercial value to you, than a network of 100 or 1000 people with little influence, interest or reach.

Networking tip

Focus on building a new commercial network, with just 10 people, who have credible access to thousands or more of your prospective clients.  These people can help you get the backing, the sales, traction or the audience your project needs.

The right choice or the cheapest?

By |

During a recession, some people are very fee or price focused.

The next time someone tells you that they would love to use your services or buy your products, but they have found a cheaper alternative, ask them a version of the following question:

“If someone you loved needed heart surgery, would you go for the best surgeon you could afford or the cheapest surgeon you could find?”

This type of question is superb for focusing people’s attention on the importance of quality over ‘cheap!’  Obviously, you can use less emotive alternatives to the one used above.  The key is to focus them on the importance of value.

They lost my business

By |

I have just been on the phone to my Internet service provider. I called them to enquire about adding a new service to my account.  I waited patiently for 15 minutes, before hanging up and calling one of their competitors. I started off wanting to spend more money with a service provider and 15 minutes later, I was giving my account to their biggest rival; who answered my call within 20 seconds!

The interesting thing here, was that all the while I was hanging on the line, a recorded announcement assured me that my call was important and that they were “doing everything possible” to answer my call. (With the obvious exception of picking up the receiver!)

They lost my business and I’m guessing they will lose lots more, unless they improve things very quickly.

Marketing promises

Sadly, many companies fail to live up to the promises in their marketing.  Every business I have ever studied promises to ‘go the extra mile,’ yet as we all know, great customer service is all too rare.  It’s so rare that when we experience great customer service, it REALLY stands out and gives the companies that provide it a huge, competitive advantage.

Customer service

That’s why companies like Apple and Zappo’s have been able to develop a strong reputation for offering great service. They work really hard to ensure that what they promise and what they deliver are the same or that the service you receive is even better than you expected.

In other words, they gain a massive advantage in the marketplace, by simply doing what everyone else promises to do!

I think we can all benefit, by taking time-out to ensure that we are fulfilling OUR marketing promises.  More than that, we need to constantly look out for new ways to increase the value of our services to the marketplace.

If we don’t, someone else will!

A letter from Google

By |

I received a sales letter last week from Google. That’s right, one of the world’s leading email providers contacted me; not via an email, but via a letter.

Email marketing and Google

google email marketingGoogle already has my email address, because I am a user of a number of their services – including Gmail. So, it would have been very easy for them to have sent me the same sales message in an email. However, Google know that they will get a higher response rate from a targeted letter than from a sales email.

If the owners of Gmail are writing letters with sales offers, rather than sending sales emails, there’s a BIG marketing lesson here!

People hate sales emails and spam

People have a VERY low tolerance for emails, which are just sales messages.  The letter from Google was exactly that – a sales message.  However, I did open the letter and read it.  Had Google sent me that same sales offer via email, it would have been deleted, unopened; as soon as I read the subject line (no matter how clever it was!)

The average person hates spam with a passion and many tend to consider all sales emails (no matter how well targeted) as spam. As a result, not only is a prospective customer or client unlikely to respond to a typical sales email, they are very likely to develop strong, negative feelings about the sender too.

Is email marketing dead

No, not at all! Email marketing, when handled correctly, is still extremely powerful and getting more powerful all the time.

If you re-read the above, you will see that I use the term ‘sales emails.’  Sales emails are extremely low leverage and increasingly ineffective.  These are emails that contain a sales message and are often sent to a ‘list’, which the sender has either bought, borrowed or built by harvesting email addresses from business cards / directories etc.

Unless the sender has a good relationship / rapport with the people on that list, the sales emails they send will be deleted before they are read.

Email marketing & sales emails

Email marketing could not be more different. For example, I write a very popular marketing newsletter, which contains a unique marketing article or some valuable marketing ideas / advice.  Most editions have zero advertising.  Occasionally, I will include a single, one paragraph piece to promote something I am involved in.  The response rates are fantastic, because my readers already know me and trust me.  Some of my readers even blog about how much they value my newsletter.

In fact, many of my readers tell me that they have ‘Jim Connolly’ marketing folders on their computers, where they file my newsletters, for future reading.  How many people keep spam email or sales emails on file? No one!

Mail shots, direct mail, marketing letters

The overuse of sales emails is creating a growing resistance to them within the marketplace.  Obviously, with so many businesses mass emailing sales offers to people, the amount of traditional marketing letters being sent has dropped enormously.  As a consequence, marketing professionals are seeing traditional marketing letters, (sometimes called direct mailings or mail shots,) achieve better and better results.

A well crafted marketing letter, with a hand written signature, sent to a small, targeted group, with a compelling offer and a ‘call to action,’ can be extremely effective right now.

Mail shots or email marketing?

This is a HUGE subject.  Here’s a very brief overview.

I suggest you try a professionally handled mail shot IF you provide a service, which is only offered to a relatively small geographical area.  Some examples might include; accountants, commercial lawyers, franchise operators, insurance brokers etc.  Let me be completely clear. I am not suggesting these types of service providers cease using email to market their services.  I am suggesting they STOP using sales emails, START using email marketing AND consider trying a professionally handled, direct mail campaign as an addition to their marketing mix.

Jim Connolly’s marketing

I offer a service, which is sold internationally.  As a direct result, 100% of my marketing is conducted online.  My marketing approach is all about giving away free marketing advice, information and tips, to as many small and medium sized business owners as possible.  Then, when they want someone to look after their marketing, they give me a call.

I don’t sell my services, people hire me instead.  For those of you who provide services or products across a big or unlimited geographical area, I suggest you do exactly the same.  Instead of sending sales emails; emails that just ‘push’ or attempt to sell your services – use email as a way to engage potential clients and provide massive value.  Also, make sure that every person you send your information to has proactively sign-up to receive it.  For example, don’t send newsletters or e-bulletins to people, just because you know them, are a member of the same network or you happen to have their business card.

Use email communication (and your website / blog / FaceBook / LinkedIn / Twitter) as a way to showcase your expertise and encourage potential clients to email you, call you, comment on your blog, follow your Twitter account etc, etc.

The results can be stunning!

A secret of success that can improve everything for you and your business

By |

The most successful businesspeople work smart. They understand the difference between movement (being busy) and progress (being busy doing the right things.)

Hard work alone is not enough, which is why many of the hardest working people out there, get very average results.

As they say, “if hard work alone was the secret to success, our grandparents would all have been millionaires!”

The secret to business success

I have been fortunate enough to work with and associate with some exceptionally successful people.  One of the common traits I have witnessed with all of them, is that they use a ‘test and measure’ approach to everything of importance in their life and their business.  This test and measure approach is also the cornerstone of successful marketing; so I am going to use a marketing example, to show how it works.

For example, when I write marketing emails, I will test different headlines (sometimes called straplines) against each other and measure the feedback – keeping the most effective headline.  Every element of the email is similarly tested and measured; everything from the number of words used, to the time and the day it’s sent.  This can increase positive response rates by (literally) thousands of percent.

Test and measure for business success

In business, the most successful people constantly test and measure what they are doing.  This is how they manage to grow their businesses so successfully; even during a recession! They study the feedback from everything they do and then set their sail accordingly.  This guarantees they move forward and make regular, measurable progress.  When something is not getting the results they want, they quickly seek to either improve it or replace it.  If something works, they seek to maximise it’s potential.

As a direct result, their businesses grow faster and more reliably than their competitors and they can look to the future with excitement, instead of apprehension.

A new year of the same old year over & over again?

When we compare that approach to the way most businesses operate, we see a major difference!

The so-called ‘average’ business owner will work really hard, yet spend their time repeating what they feel comfortable with.   For example, if they feel comfortable attending networking events and writing marketing letters, that’s how they will market their business – even if this is not the right marketing mix for their business, (which it isn’t for ANY business.)  For these people, 1st January is not the start of a new year – it’s just an opportunity to relive the same old year over and over and over again!

The good news is that any of us can dramatically produce amazing results in our businesses (and in any area of our life for that matter,) when we adopt the test and measure approach. We owe it to ourselves to ensure that we are making the progress required, to get the rewards that our hard work merits.

If your business has reached a plateau or your sales have hit a ceiling, the temptation is to work harder or work longer hours or both.  However, what you really need is an effective marketing strategy to work with.

Why?

Because, even if you row your boat REALLY HARD in the wrong direction, all that hard work will actually take you further away from where you want to be!

What next?

I have prepared a list of ten, highly effective marketing tips for you here, which you can start using right now, to help you take your business to the next level.

I also recommend you subscribe to my marketing newsletter. It’s only sent once every 3 or 4 weeks and each edition contains valuable, free marketing advice.  To get your copy (and your free ebook), simply click here.

Owning a hammer doesn’t make you a carpenter!

By |

Here’s why so few people get the marketing results they want from social media tools like blogging, Twitter, FaceBook etc.

If you wanted someone to make you a superbly crafted piece of handmade, wooden furniture, you would go to an experienced carpenter or cabinet maker.  You know that it takes training and dedication in order to develop the skills required, to build beautiful furniture.  You wouldn’t just buy yourself; a hammer, a saw, some wood and nails etc, and expect to immediately be ‘gifted’ the skills required to build it yourself.

For some reason, many people seem to think that different rules apply to anything connected to the Internet!

In marketing, I see people every day, who believe that just because the tools exist online, to help them build a network or community, that all they need to do is start using them.  Then, they start blogging, using FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc and wonder why they see very little commercial progress.

It would be just like giving me a carpenter’s tools and expecting me to build some beautiful furniture – I would end up with nothing more than bruised thumbs and an ugly pile of wood!

The best most people achieve from their online community / network building, is to develop lots of ‘links’ with others, who are equally unaware how to commercially benefit from all these tools.

If you are serious about using social media tools to help you improve your marketing, don’t end up with bruised thumbs! Learn the fundimentals of community building AND THEN start using these amazingly powerful tools.

Quick marketing tip

By |

Right now, no matter what kind of business you are in, one person or company is leading the way; locally, nationally or internationally.  These elite providers get to work with the most commercially valuable clients and their name is usually on everyone’s lips – but why?

A great marketing question

Most businesses spend their time focusing on their own little ecosystem.  They focus on their own business and their client’s or customers – that’s it.

Why not take some time out and do some research on what the top people in your industry are doing right now, which you could learn from or improve upon? This study of success can be extremely illuminating and a very effective way to make a lot of progress, very quickly!

Trust me – We’re great!

By |

This post is all about how to increase your sales and profits, by matching your actions to your promises.

Marketing & trust

Trust plays a BIG part in sales and marketing.  That’s because we buy from people we trust.  It’s also why testimonials and referrals are such powerful marketing tools.  They provide a short cut to the trust building process.  Even if you don’t know a service provider, the fact that a friend recommends them to you, immediately makes you massively more likely to do business with them, than with a stranger.

Marketing & consistency

There has been a lot written about the importance of building trust, yet very, very few marketing professionals ever mention one of the most important elements in the trust-building process. Consistency.

Even if a person or company has been recommended to you, you are unlikely to go ahead and use their services if they seem inconsistent, when you speak with them or check them out.  For example, if Bob recommends an accountant to you, but when you call them you are left waiting for ages before an uninterested person answers the phone, you still won’t use them.  That’s because there’s a lack of consistency between what you have been told and what you have experienced. This causes confusion and in marketing we know that a confused mind ALWAYS says NO!

Consistency & image

Many businesses (of all sizes), think that this consistency problem can be overcome by investing in a snazzy new logo and some well designed marketing material.  Banks and phone companies are a great example of this. They will often invest a fortune (millions) on beautifully designed websites, brochures and commercials – only for you to find that when you call them, you are placed in a queue, before your call is transferred to someone who’s clearly not interested and usually reading from a script or check list!

Whilst it’s REALLY important to invest in great design, this is only part of the challenge.  You also need to make sure that a prospective client’s experience of your business is consistent with that polished, professional image.

Marketing & customer service go hand in hand

Why not take a look at the overall experience a prospective client is likely to encounter, when connecting with your business?  Examine every part of the process.  This should include (though not exclusively), things like; how you deal with their initial email enquiry or phone call, how you handle the initial meeting and the follow-up.

How does their experience in these areas match up with your marketing promises of great customer service?  Remembering all the while that GREAT customer service means that you offer significantly better customer service than your competitors! Every business I have ever studied promises great customer service, yet most provide an average service at best.  They seem to do as little as they can ‘get away with’ – when they should be constantly searching for better ways to improve their customer’s experience.

This simple exercise should be expanded to include how well you look after your existing clients too – that’s if you intend keeping them!  Right now, with so many businesses really struggling, your competitors are working harder than ever to persuade your clients / customers to switch to THEM.

When you decide to offer truly great customer service you; add value to your service, generate more referrals, win more new business and just as importantly, retain more of your existing clients / customers too.