The Nature of Greatness

How well does your business follow up with customers who inquire about your products or services?  What about those who try your products and then just sort of fade away?  These are lost opportunities.  Customers who had interest in your product and for whatever reason did not follow through.

Converting these wandering soulds back into customers is a problem that is especially prevalent for E-Businesses.  Customers register an account, poke around a website and then they’re back out on the world wide web searching for something else.  Today I was sent one of the best examples of a follow up email.

Subject: Amanda, Weebly misses you!

We haven’t seen you for a while, Amanda
It’s been 6 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes and 35 seconds since you last logged in, and we’re starting to get really worried.

We were just getting to know each other. You created 1 site, 1 page, dragged on 2 elements, and then… nothing.

We were really excited for your new website, it had so much potential!

If you ran into any trouble along the way, we’re here for you. Making your own website is fun, fast and easy with Weebly. Best of all, you will have a website of your own to show to customers, clients, family or friends.

So we’ll make it really, really easy to start working on your Weebly website again: just click here!

If you have any questions, we’d love to help. Feel free to visit our Support Center or email us at support@weebly.com.

Sincerely,
The Weebly Team

So why do I feel that this is such a good follow up email?  It’s relevant.  It connected to how far I got in the process, and how long ago our last contact was.  It provides an easy next step if I wish to pick back up where the relationship left off and it provides contact information if I need help.  It’s also written in a way that is consistent with the Weebly brand and it has the same tone as the rest of their materials.

Following up with consumers who have already expressed an interest in your product or services is one of the easiest ways to improve your conversion rates.  Maybe they just were not quite ready to buy yet, but if you maintain that relationship with them, when they are ready to buy, you will be the first name in their mind.

Halloween is quickly closing in on us. It has long been one of my favorite holidays, and not just because I have a sweet tooth. I like halloween for the same reasons that I like marketing. It allows you to put yourself in someone elses shoes and take on a complete different persona. On Halloween, I could be a scary witch cackling over a bubbly pot of goo, or the Queen of Sheba decked with jewels, without alarming my friends and family. Part of the job of a good marketer is to put themselves in the shoes of their consumer, in order to determine how to reach that customer effectively.

Gail Martin, over at the Marketing Turnaround Blog has some great tips for those trying to reach their customers, without scaring them off.

Magic animates all of us. For compelling copy, find the “magic” that connects your reader to your story.

Use the right medium for your message. Maybe that medium is a newspaper, a radio station or a TV program–but it could be a blog, web site or email campaign.

Channel your spirit effectively. Today’s consumers have more options in how to find information than ever before–and more distribution channels to choose from to receive their products of services. Can your company provide its product or service via download, telephone, webinar or through online collaboration? Expand your channels and you expand your profits.

This evening, I spent some time looking into what is new in advertising options at the mall.   While I’m aware that I’ve seen plenty of advertising while shopping, I had never stopped to consider the opportunities presented by using a mall as an advertising medium, especially to reach a teenage audience.

Hanging out at the mall is a traditional teenage pastime, which can be both a good and bad thing for the mall management.  While their pocket money is certainly welcome, large and rowdy groups can impede the shopping experience for other patrons.  But what about teenagers as a semi-captive advertising audience?

One study(pdf), released by Scarborough Research in June of this year, came up with some interesting statistics.  According to the study, 68% of teen mall shoppers spend more than 2 hours at the mall during a typical visit and 95% of them notice any form of mall advertising.  This results in a hugeopportunity if your desired clientelle falls in the 12-17 age range.

Tips for reaching a teenage audience: 

- Your ad should be interactive and entertaining.  In a word, “cool.”  Moving ads, tv screens, kiosks and displays are in. Be creative and think of unique ways for your ad to interact with its enviroment (Habitat-Centric Marketing).

- Celebrities and music have a large influence on this age group.  While small businesses may not be able to afford a billboard top 40 musician, consider working with bands that have a strong local following.

- Build Synergy.  Advertising on a mobile platform and through social networks are also effective ways to reach teens.  If you’re currently running a campaign on another platform, think about ways to integrate it into your mall advertising.

- Be sincere.  Teenagers can be very cynical when it comes to advertising, so be straightforward and don’t try to trick them.

Have more ideas on how to reach the teen audience?  Add them to our comments!

What is an effective mobile form of advertising for small businesses?  Ok, so the title probably gave it away.   Many small businesses have caught on that putting your name on your vehicle is a great way to advertise for many reasons.

It’s local!  Since your vehicle is generally driven in the area you service, you know that you are targeting the correct geographic area.   It also helps your customer know who is pulling up the drive.  It adds a little bit of legitimacy that your business is a professional venture.

Movement attracts more attention than a billboard.  Just make sure that you are not catching your potential customer’s eye because you are an erratic driver.

There are several different ways to put your business information on your vehicle.  If a custom paint job is within your budget, it can be painted directly onto the vehicle.  This is the traditional method and nothing can match it for durability.  But, there are also options that will not affect the car’s resale value. 

Magnetic signs are an affordable option.  They are removable, so if you use your vehicle for multiple purposes or under several business names they are easy to remove and switch out.  They are limited in size, and should be removed about once a week to avoid moisture building up beneath it.  They may also fall off or slip over time.

A newer option is a full vehicle vinyl wrap.  These colorful vinyl pieces can take a normal vehicle and provide a complete makeover.  The video below shows the process of applying a vinyl wrap.  Please note that I am not endorsing this company.

Have a success story about advertising on your vehicles?  Let me know!

Have you considered using Craigslist to advertise your business?  If your business has a local focus, it could be a very good option.  And why not try it? It’s free!  Here are a few tips to consider when posting your ad.

Select the Right Category:  Look at the site from a consumers point of view.  By posting in the appropriate section, you will reach the customers who will most likely be looking for your product or service.  Avoid the general or miscellaneous sections.   Your ad will most likely get lost among the clutter.

Make the most of your title:  You are given 70 characters to work with, so make the most of it.  Use keywords about your business to make it easier for people to find you with the search function.

Provide your contact information:  If you rely on the craigslist provided email, customers may assume you are just spam.  If you are worried about getting a lot of spam in your main email, create a secondary email address that you will feel comfortable discontinuing if the spam gets out of control.

Use Pictures:  Craigslist will allow you to upload up to four photos to their site.  You can use this to your advantage to help add legitimacy to your advertisement.  If you’re a service business, use a picture of your business’ sign and maybe a picture of your staff.  If you’re selling a product, of course, put pictures of the product you are selling.

Proof Read:  Please proof read your listing before you post it.  It will reflect badly upon your business if you don’t!

Post Often, But Uniquely:  Craiglist does have an anti spam policy.  No one wants to see the same listing over and over.  Think about the multiple ways you can post your business so that each ad is very unique.  Craigslist ads are sorted by date, so better results will be seen when you have a post every couple days.  I would not post more than that.

Link to your website:  This is a great way to have an inbound link to your website.  Every link helps!

Review your Ad:  This goes along with proof-reading your advertisement before you post it.  Craigslist offers a great preview option where you can check any links (to your website maybe) and make sure everything is working.

Consider what time you post:  Do a little bit of research on when your target audience will be looking for your ad, and try to post in that time frame.

Call to Action:  Make sure to include a good call to action to help roll the customers in.  “Call us today and mention this Craigslist ad for 15% off your next service”

Experiment:  You may not come up with the perfect advertisement the first few tries around.  Keep track of what works best and build on it!  A great way to keep track is to vary your call to action by using a coupon code.

I hope these tips will help you try Craigslist with confidence.  Have more tips?  Feel free to add them to the comments!

When I have a spare minute or two, I often like to cruise over to the Ad Agewebsite and read some of their articles.  Today I noticed a great article from Mr. Rance Crain about remembering to include the personal touch in your business to business marketing.   Technology does have many advantages and it can allow you greater access to decision makers than ever before.  But there is so much more you can learn about your prospect by visiting them face to face. 

During my university years, I took a class on Sales Management and one key point I remember are there are four different types of customer personalities.  Amiable, Analytic, Driver, and Expressive.  There are key bits of information you can recognize about a decision maker by having that peek into their office environment.  For Example: 

Amiable decision makers do not like the hard sell.  They prefer a more conversational and friendly approach.  They do not like to cause strife and therefore they are risk adverse.  The way to recognize an Amiable is that they might have lots of pictures of their family and friends in their office, and their offices will generally feel soothing and calm. 

On the other hand, an Expressive decision maker’s office will be very messy.  With stacks of files and piles of paperwork.  As a general guideline, their office will be brighter in color and full of works in progress.  These types of decision makers want to know what your product does for them.  They are very enthusiastic and generally are ready to jump in with both feet when there is an idea they like.

With a straight digital marketing approach, the information you send out would probably be the same for both of these customers.  And your piece would probably have different results.  There is no substitute for learning who your customer is on a one on one basis.

When customer service breaks down, it can be a bad thing. When the customer happens to be a singer with some video backup, it can be a very bad thing. I laughed when I first saw the following video, but beyond its humor factor, it can serve as a good warning for all businesses big and small.  This is a clear example of how one customer’s experience with a brand can be spread to many other customers. The old phrase use to be:

If a customer has a good experience, they will tell one friend about their experience. If a customer has a bad experience, they will tell ten friends.

Add a couple more zeros to that in this digital age, as the following video has over 5 MILLION views.

United’s response has been the typical big business answer: apologize and offer to pay the nominal fee and review their customer service policies. Viral videos are by nature short lived and while it is definitely negative publicity, it is simply a blip on their radar.

What I am impressed with in this situation, is how Taylor Guitar responded.  What a great way to capitalize on a viral video to plug your brand’s offerings while adding value (information) to the customer.

Thanks to Bandwidth Bits for bringing this to my attention!

Have you heard of Evite.com? You may have used it for holiday party details or small social events, but Evite can also be a great tool for sending invitations to your small business’ next event.  With more than 22 million registered users and 25,000 invites send every hour, Evite.com is the top online destination for invitations. It’s a free service, and can save you money on paper invitations and postage.

Hosting a book signing at your local bookstore?  A radio station interviewing you about your expertise, and want your audience to listen? Simply create a mailing list and sign up for their free invitation service. They even allow you to add polls for your guests to answer. The Evite service can also allow guests to invite more people to your event. Buzz building anyone?

Visit Evite.com, and check if their invitation design and distribution services are right for your coming events.

Have more ideas for free services for small businesses? Let me know!

As new technology becomes main stream it opens new doors for entrepreneurship.  One business that is going where no business has gone before, is Trunk Club.  Trunk Club was created to help gentlemen who do not like to shop still be able to find that perfect outfit.  Based out of Oregon, they use webcams to bring personal shoppers to the customer.  It is a membership based service, without the membership fees. 

This approach allows Trunk Club to be a retail business, without many of the difficulties of inventory management.  Inventory is ordered for the specific customer who it is for.

How can new technology help further your business goals?