Tim's Blog

Don’t defer referrals

You know that referrals are a very powerful form of advertising for your business. You know that no salesperson can replace the strength of a testimonial from a customer that sings your praises. So rather than just waiting for referrals to happen, wouldn’t it make sense to harness the most
powerful marketing technique known to business and ask for referrals? Some business owners are afraid to meddle with the referral process.

Because referrals are perceived as organic growth for a business, some think that the referral may be contaminated with insincerity if the business is involved. We also often have the perception that referrals will grow themselves in their own time, so we may as well focus on other marketing efforts that need some encouragement.

The truth is, referrals are organic, because it’s one human telling another human about a great experience. There is no reason why a third human, you, can’t also be involved, keeping the entire process completely organic and authentic. The problem with organic referrals is that while the marketing message from the satisfied customer is very convincing, the referral sale may be
lost due to procrastination or apathy. The referee may be very willing to purchase from you, however they can get busy or forgetful. Remember that the satisfied customer (the referrer) is more than happy to recommend you, and the friend (the referee) is very interested in experiencing the same service that their friend did. There is no shame in helping the process
along, because both parties want to reward your business.

So, what to do? Firstly complete the sale of the first satisfied customer, making sure that they are more than happy with your service. You may then ask them, “I’m glad I could be of service, is there anyone else in your family who could also benefit from the same service you received?” When they respond positively, ask them for names and contact details. Lastly and importantly, ask your satisfied customer if they mind calling the family members they recommended first to tell them that you would be calling them in a few days. Don’t leave it up to the customer, because we all know this won’t happen.

When you finally call your new prospective customers, your satisfied customer has already sold them the service, and you have yourself a “hot lead”. Don’t you wish all sales were this easy? Don’t be shy in asking for referrals; remember your happy customer wants to help you out. If you don’t ask then you may not receive.

Business networking or notworking?!

Last week I was heading out to an after-hours business networking event hosted by the local Small Business Centre. As I was getting ready, my six year old asked where I was going. I said that I was going to a business networking event. He often repeats what I say, so he responded in his usual innocent voice, “A business not-working event daddy?” I chuckled and replied, “Yes I’m sure there are a few not-working businesses there!”

Sure enough, that night I met a few business owners with the same story. They wouldn’t say that business is “not working”, but things could be better. I often wonder if they truly own their business, or if their business owns them. These ‘business owners’ go to work at eight, and come home at six, if they’re lucky. Their routine looks strikingly similar to their life before they went into business. The promise of more freedom and more income by entering into business for themselves hasn’t quite materialised yet.

I wouldn’t be so bold to say that if you are “owned” by your business, rather than you owning your business, that your business is not working. You may thoroughly love what you do, and you wouldn’t dream of doing anything else. If this is the case, then sure, your business is working, it is providing you with exactly what you desire. If your desire is to own a business that provides for you, not you providing for your business, then it may be worth admitting to yourself that business is not working.
I’m not suggesting it’s time to give up, on the contrary. If you can front up to the idea that business is not working, then you are on your way to doing something about it. If your business is not working then reassess your goals, identify what’s getting in your way, and then make your business work. Grab some of that passion and determination that you first saw when you started out in business.

Well done for getting this far in business, you should be proud of yourself. Now look forward to the future of owning a business that works for you and provides for you.

Getting the most from your Business Cards

You have that big box of business cards, fresh from the printer, there on your desk…Now, what next?

Business cards are an inexpensive marketing tool, but they are only useful when they are out of your hands and into the hands of others.

Always carry a supply of cards with you, wherever you go. You never know when you will have an opportunity to give one to someone who may become a customer, or who knows someone who may become a customer. Having cards in your pocket or purse means that you will never miss out on a chance to promote yourself.

Start with the following seven suggestions on getting the most out of your business cards, and always look for more ways to get your cards to people who may become your customers.

Hand out cards at networking events, and anywhere you meet potential customers. When you make a sales call, give a card to your contact. Give one to the receptionist when you arrive for an appointment, so they can refer to it when announcing you

Provide a supply of cards to customers and associates who are in a position to refer others to you. It will be easier for them to do if you make sure they always have lots of your cards on hand.

Drop two cards in every envelope you send out. Whether you’re sending sales letters to prospects, invoices to clients, or a cheque to a supplier, include your business card. You never know who will open the envelope and find your cards.

Add your cards to card displays at local businesses. My Butcher allows customers to put a stack of business cards on the counter. Some simply place a few cards on the shelf, others supply a cardholder to display them upright and keep them neatly organized. I have also seen bulletin boards and card holders at a number of other businesses. Whenever you see a place that allows you to add your cards, do so.

Include a few business cards in your media kit. Sending cards when you send media releases or full media kits means the media outlet can easily give your contact information to multiple staff members who may be working on stories in your field.

When a radio station schedules an interview with you and requests your media kit, be sure to ask them to share your card with their receptionist. That way, the person who answers the phone will be able to pass your contact information to anyone who calls the station after hearing your interview.

When you see articles that may be of interest to your customers, send a copy with your business card attached.

The bottom line…Don’t hoard your business cards. Give them out freely. In fact, set yourself a goal of ensuring that you run out of them within a certain amount of time.

Building a brand is all about EMOTION

A brand is best defined as an emotional attachment.

Newsletters, brochures, websites, advertisements and even blogs are all mediums of communication that aim reach out to your target market and create that attachment. A major part of any of these mediums is the copy…the other part of course being the visuals.

Without effective copy, your market may be oblivious to your message, and it’s one reason why so many attempts at attracting more customers simply fail. Knowing who your prospects are is just the first step in reaching out to your new customers, but learning about how to stir their desire and motivation in order to find you appealing is the necessary element to marketing success. Whether it’s in sales collateral, a newsletter, or a blog post, marketing with emotion needs to be a major part of your plan.

The first step in choosing your message involves identifying what they really want. Is it status? Vanity? Relief from fear? Increased security? Understanding the basic desires of your customers may require a brainstorming session or two, but the more you can fine-tune your message to appeal to the basic human emotions, the easier it will be to capture their attention. Fear and greed are the most common emotion-stirrers, and are also the themes we see time and time again in mass marketing today…There’s a lot to be learnt from the way the big marketers go about it. Take a look around and see for yourself which ads stick out from the crowd—in almost all cases, they are presenting a message that is designed to appeal to our most basic desires.

Build an emotional attachment between your business and your target audience and you’re well on the way to getting your business booming.

You can find many more ideas to get your business booming right here.

An advertising idea that is cleaning up

I love it when I see a smart advertising idea.

As I am often heard commenting to Clients (and anyone else who wants to listen)…99% of advertising is a waste of time. Either the message is not compelling or the place in which it appears is wrong, wrong, wrong…Given the expense of advertising as a way of promoting business this continually surprises me.

But every now and then I see something that makes me go WOW. In fact, that makes me go “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?” And you know what, the idea involved is always so simple.

This time round I’m referring to STREET ADVERTISING SERVICES …It’s so good that I’m including it immediately in my 50+ ways to get your business booming list.

The British company’s Street Art service uses high-pressure cleaning machines to wash brands, logos and adverts onto dirty pavements. First, clients provide their design, and SAS turns it into a giant stencil. Then, working at night, the SAS team blasts the stencil with water and steam on dirty walls, roads, pavements or even road signs. The result is a sparkling clean image in the shape of the company’s logo or message. Nothing but water and steam are used, and it’s all perfectly environmentally friendly and legal, SAS stresses.

The idea for the service came to founder Kristian Jeffrey out of sheer frustration. She runs several small online businesses, and was searching for cost-effective advertising to attract consumers to her sites. Her potential customers were walking around her every day, and it was when she was walking through the dirty streets of London that the idea came to her: why not take advertising literally to the street? Having experimented with several different methods, she wanted to apply a technique that was not just eye-catching and effective but also friendly to the environment. What could be more natural than water?

Let’s hope she cleans up

Grate Customer Service

How often are you pleasantly surprised by great customer service? If you’re like me, then sadly not very often. But things changed on Monday.

You see, last Winter I had a fire grate made. For $170 I got what appeared to be a solid piece of craftsmanship. But after only twenty fires, it started to lose shape, bend in the middle and generally stop functioning.

After tossing up for a couple of weeks as to whether or not to take it back (I avoid conflict at all costs you see!), I finally decided I should. I was of course expecting the worse - “Sorry mate, our guarantee only extends to 14-days” or “Sorry but you shouldn’t have kept using it.”

To my astonishment the fellow who made it 1) apologised, 2) offered to fix it and / or replace it and 3) advised it would be all done within two days. The end result was that it was fixed same day, at no charge and now works better than ever. And he didn’t even refer to me as “Mate”. (As a side issue, I think the referring to a customer in this way is mighty unprofessional…My favoured approach is to use their first name. That’s another article in itself.)

Now, back to my fire grate. OK, so maybe the problem shouldn’t have arisen in the first place - maybe they should pay more attention to their craftsmanship…but hey, mistakes do happen. From a business owners perspective, the learning here is how you handle customer complaints. I could almost guarantee the fire grate fellow has had no training in customer service, he just did what seemed right – Listened to the customer, made a judgment that what the customer was requesting was reasonable and then over-delivered. In fact he under-promised and over-delivered…Even better!

This doesn’t mean giving in to every customer’s request…of course there are times when they (we) are simply unreasonable. But it does mean being sensible and mature about your options.

Customer complaints are an opportunity to promote your business. Handled well, they are a great way to generate word-of-mouth. That said, I’d buy another fire grate tomorrow from Flash Weld in Mornington, Victoria

Business building ideas from others

Do you readily accept ideas from others? Experience tells me that many business owners don’t. Maybe they’re too busy. Maybe they know better. Or maybe they think the idea is just plain stupid. No doubt, the answer lies in all three.

It amazes me how many ideas I’ve offered up that have fallen on deaf ears. No doubt there were a few dodgy ones in there, but there have been some absolute gems. Gems that were ignored!

Only yesterday I was getting a haircut at the local hairdressers. The owner has decided to occupy the most ‘out of the way’ shop in the local shopping centre. One that, if you didn’t already know it was there, you’d actually never visit. Surely this must limit the amount of business he gets? So I decided to jot down some ideas to help him address this issue of ‘awareness’. A bit of free marketing advice!

As I shared each one with him he was nodding away, but as soon as I’d finished he took the piece of paper, thanked me, placed it in his pocket and proceeded to ask if I’d seen Shrek. Amazing!

OK, so he didn’t seem to be receptive to my ideas. And OK, he may give them more attention later on…but it got me thinking. As business owners we should be open to ideas from others that are given in the spirit of helping build your business.

Mind you, I’m not suggesting implementing all of them. But do give them a moment’s thought. If you want to be proactive about it, maybe even ask people whose opinions you respect (staff, customers, suppliers) what they would do to attract more customers if they owned your business.

Podcasting…A marketer’s dream

Gee I love Podcasts…I listen to them daily.

Not only do I get to choose what I want to listen to, but I get to choose when as well. And I love the fact that Podcasting makes it possible to listen to people from all over the globe talking about subjects they are passionate about. Folk who ordinarily may not get the opportunity to share their views in the mass media.

The other upside of Podcasting is that it gives the Marketer the opportunity to create an entire program around their product or service. Not just a thirty second ad, but a fully fledged production that can go for as long as they like. You see, producing a podcast is a very inexpensive operation…all you really need is a good mike, a computer, some editing software and a bit of technical nowse to upload it to iTunes. Additional costs may come in the form of voice talent and a music score, but both these things are freely available as well.

So, if you’re a business owner and are looking for a cheap way to promote your business then I strongly recommend Podcasting. You don’t need to create an epic, just something enetratining that will appeal to your target audience. Here’s some ideas:

1. Educate people on your area of expertise.

2. Offer tips on how to get the most out of your product or service.

3. Tell the story of how your business came to be (if it’s interesting!)

4. Interview suppliers in related areas

Importantly, if you decide to Podcast, make it interesting and entertaining. Not dull and lecture-like.

There are some great examples of businesses both small and large doing it…here’s some to check out:

Manager Tools

Marketing Monday

The Real Estate Guys

So, what are you waiting for? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this great marketing tool.

Spying on your competitors

I asked a Client today what she knew about her competitors.

“Not much!” came the answer. “It’s too hard finding information on them…Plus it feels a bit sneaky.”

“Get over it!” was my measured response.

The reality is, how can you possibly position your business in a unique and interesting way, that’s different to what the competition are doing without doing a bit of ‘healthy surveillance’?

To this end, I’ve developed the following tips for gathering information on your competitors:

Get their customers’ perspectives. Request sales brochures and download information from your competitors’ websites. Sign up for newsletters and promotions. Buy products or services for competitive analysis, and chat with employees at retail stores. Attend their public seminars.

Get your customers’ perspectives. Ask how your products or services compare to the competition and how other companies’ marketing efforts differ from your own. Make sure your customer service representatives take note of complaints, compliments and other comments callers make about competitors.

Get their investors’ perspectives. If the company is public, buy some shares so you’ll receive annual reports and other corporate notices. Use a monitoring service (Google Alerts is free) to track print, broadcast and online coverage of your competitors. Join industry associations, and subscribe to trade and government publications that focus on your field.

Gathering competitive information isn’t as hard as it sounds. Much of it is easily available and relatively inexpensive to obtain.

What do you think?

Sign Language

I’m writing this blog entry whilst sitting at the local sports ground as my son does football training.

I was going to write about a customer service experience I had yesterday, but I think I’ll save it for another time as the signage around the ground has caught my attention.

Not for it’s brilliance, but for its ability to waste the advertisers’ money.

Each sign is promoting a local business…in fact I’d go as far as to say a local small business. Ones that have very modest marketing budgets and that need to make every dollar spent on promotion show a return.

Yet, not one of the signs I’m looking at would do this. Instead they’re full up with headlines, phone numbers, copy points…even pictures! With the logo buried somewhere in the corner.

Although these signs wouldn’t have cost a fortune…a couple of hundred dollars I’m guessing…it’s still no excuse not to make them work dam hard to bring in customers. I’d be thinking the best solution would have been to print their logo on them as big as they can…and leave at that. At least that way they’re starting to build some visual recognition around their business.

Afterall, one of the best marketing tips for small businesses is to learn from the big guys. In this case, look at the signage around any professional sporting ground and it’s simply all logos.

The bottomline? Less is more. Do one thing well and not five things poorly.

What do you think?