365 Days of Marketing

Mission-Shmission: I Know What Really Matters to You

2012-03-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

You spent hours swatching, matching and testing in order to choose a paint color for your walls.

You, your accountant and a team of lawyers spent a month finessing the disclaimers on your invoices.

You spent months (or even years) writing an employee policy manual.

But your corporate mission and vision? That one sublime, supreme statement which reflects the ideal of all you want your business to be? That one you knocked out in a single staff meeting.

Believing in the words that you wrote and hoping to inspire others with its intent, you made an announcement or two to employees and customers, blew it up poster-sized, put it in a beautiful frame and hung it on the wall.

There it sits, in all its glory, but no one remembers it. It’s not a source of inspiration to your staff because apart from reading it during employee orientation, to them, it’s no more than a lifeless wall ornament. Your customers don’t connect with it – or worse, are even offended by it – when their experience with your business does not match up to the promise that it conveys.

Why?

Because your mission statement is just not that important to you.

Why do I believe that? Because as human beings our actions speak louder than our words when it comes to telling others about what is important to us.

Because what is important to us gets done.

What is important to us, gets attention. And resources. And research. And funding. What is truly important to us receives whatever is needed to keep it alive and well. And right now, your mission and vision statement isn't on the receiving end of any of that.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize that all of those other things are important, too. Mistakes can cost money or even result in law suits on the part of customers or employees. How you present your business to the public is intrinsic to your branding efforts.

But here’s the thing:

If your mission and vision statement is really important to you – if it is a genuine reflection of the ultimate ideal of what you believe your business can be and the good that it can do in the world and in the lives of your customers – then all of the actions you take, goals you set, strategies you undertake and tactics you employ to reach them – all of it should tie back in spirit to the mission and vision of your business. Because all of those day to day interactions, all of your business policies and operations, all of the goals you set and the means you take to reach them -- all of those little things are the means by which you will reach (or fail to reach) the ideals laid out in your mission and vision.

See what I mean? If your business decisions, operating policies, goals, hiring and training investments and all of the other little and big things that you do every day aren't aligned with your corporate mission and vision, how in the world do you expect to achieve them? If your corporate mission and vision are just pretty words hanging lifelessly on the wall, you never will.

Your mission and vision statement should be the guiding and determining factor when it comes to your long and short range plans, your marketing plans, and the decisions made behind closed doors in staff meetings. Your plans and operating policies should all be measured against their relevancy to your mission and vision and whether the strategies and tactics you will employ are in harmony with the promises you make to your customers within them.

As should your hiring decisions; after all, what is more important to the customer experience than the individuals they will encounter or who are responsible to create and facilitate them? Job descriptions should tell employees how the role they fulfill helps to fulfill the corporate mission and vision, and the manner in which they are expected to create them. Performance evaluations and salary determinations should be tied to whether and how employees embody your corporate mission and vision in the fulfillment of their duties.

The training you provide for employees and the education and resources you provide for your customers should all contribute toward fulfillment of your corporate mission and vision. The ambiance and atmosphere you create for customers and the climate and employee culture you provide for your team should reflect the ideals contained within them. And of course the overall experience that you create for your customers.

If your mission statement is truly your ideal, then keep it alive. Make it the focal point for yourself and for your employees. Work with vendors and manufacturers who will support the spirit of your mission and vision and partner with you in ways that are strategic in order to help you fulfill them. Hire people who will buy in, readily and with enthusiasm, and who have the ability to embody what it is that you want to provide for your customers day in and day out.

Where you invest your attention and resources tells the story of what is important to you.

At one time, your mission and vision were the center of your workplace universe, at least for a little while. Perhaps they still are truly important to you, but you assumed that people would understand just how important they are, simply because they the natural ideal for your business, without making them the literal measure of your business decisions and operations. Bring your mission and vision back to life by ensuring that they permeate every area of your business.

Make us believe!

8 Ways to Transform Marketing into a Profit Center

2012-03-04T13:26:00.002-08:00

8 Ways to Transform Your Marketing from Cost
to Profit Center

One of the reasons that many business owners and managers fail to execute when it comes to even basic marketing is that they see marketing as a cost – as an expense – without realizing its benefits or return.

And this, in turn, can probably be traced to something very simple: They don’t understand marketing.

The word “marketing” is connected with (and limited to) “advertising” in the minds of many business leaders. And advertising is expensive. By definition, it is visual, audible or other promotional representations of your business for which you have to pay money.

Even though it is often targeted in terms of placement to provide a business with potential exposure to members of their target markets, the return on paid advertising is often very small (or non-existent) since consumers have learned to tune out advertising across pretty much all media. To say that consumers have been bombarded with ads over the last few decades is to understate. Small wonder that we have learned to ignore the ads we see on TV, hear on the radio, which clog up our mailboxes or which frame out the articles and other information we’ve sought online.

But to limit your understanding of “marketing” to what constitutes “advertising” is to put your business at a serious disadvantage.

To give you an idea of why this perception exists in the minds of non-marketing professionals, check out infographics like this one from CreativeDesigns.com that demonstrates marketing in the 1980s vs. marketing in the 2010s. Or Brian Solis and JESS3’s “Conversation Prism” which aptly demonstrates that today’s businesses can take advantage of thousands of different marketing strategies. The trick, of course, is determining which can actually produce the best return on your marketing investment.

And that brings me to the point: 8 ways to transform your marketing from a cost center into a profit center—in reality and in the minds of non-marketing managers and co-workers:

1. Put your mouth where the money is.

No – that’s not a misstatement of the well-known phrase, “Put your money where your mouth is.” Rather it’s to make the point that you must be able to specify what you desire to accomplish or what results you want to achieve for any given marketing campaign or on any given marketing channel. And then, be prepared to track, measure and report your results on an on-going basis.

This strategy has an added bonus: by measuring and reporting real results – results that provide your business with more followers, more leads, more customers, more sales – whatever it is that you want “more” of – you will greatly increase the probability that your boss, co-workers or employees will develop a better understanding of and appreciation for what marketing “does” to benefit themselves and the business.

2. Educate internally, about what marketing “is” and on the many ways and channels where marketing occurs.

Do you attend staff meetings? Ask for (or take) 5 minutes to introduce your peers to a new aspect of marketing. Do you have daily huddles? Take 1-2 minutes to present employees with a marketing concept or tip. Offer to teach a marketing-oriented internal class or make marketing training part of your new hire orientation process. Don’t assume that all employees have a clear understanding of what marketing really is or the potential for return that well-executed marketing tactics can bring.

3. Include your marketing specialist in your product or service development meetings and discussions.

All too often, purchasing, accounting and sales managers seclude themselves with vendors and purchase in quantities of products, which are then received and put into stores; and only then, after the fact, is marketing given their marching orders to develop demand for and sale through of the same products.

When, if consulted earlier in the process, not only would marketing have the opportunity to develop a full-scale, strategic launch campaign and the opportunity build demand and educate consumers prior to its arrival, but they would also have a chance to test market the products or may even be able to provide valuable input to prevent the expenditure of valuable resources --not just the money to buy the products, but all of the time, shelf space and other valuable resources needed on what are commonly referred to as “dogs,” (a.k.a. products your customers don’t want, don’t like and won’t buy).

4. Include marketing in other processes, too.

Think about things like the disclaimers you put on your invoices or customer statements, your employee policy manual and hiring processes. Anything that impacts the customer experience should be viewed from a marketing mindset, specifically, from the customer’s point of view.

5. Conduct an analysis of all customer touch points from the customer’s point of view.

Recruit key customers to participate in focus groups. Conduct surveys to gauge customer satisfaction, potential interest in new products or services and anticipate other things that your customers want and need (that your business might be able to provide). Find out what your customers value that exists within your customer processes, what they don’t like, or what might be missing.

6. Engage in Content Marketing.

Studies* show that leads obtained by way of inbound marketing (blogging, social media and other content marketing and curation platforms) cost 61% less than outbound marketing (including traditional advertising, mailings, etc.) Not only do these leads obtained via inbound marketing cost less, but they are higher in quality, and as a result, produce more conversions. Inbound marketing gives your business the opportunity to target your ideal client types by providing relevant, interesting content, and also gives you the ability to pre-qualify these same leads to some extent through the same content.*source: www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2012/7243/inbound-marketing-leads-cost-61-less-than-outbound

Related: Why Should I Consider Inbound Marketing When I'm Already Using Social Media? (business2community.com)

7. Use SEO strategies.

I know, I know -- one hears the term “SEO” and envisions that mastering SEO and SEM strategies will necessitate learning equivalent to that of a complex computer programmer. While you can go that deep if you so desire, you need to drop that presupposition. The truth is, SEO is as much a part of marketing today as is social media, as is advertising, as is your print collateral, website or any other channel. Get smart enough so that you are incorporating basic SEO strategies into all of your online content marketing, website development and email marketing. SeoMoz.org offers a wonderful and free Beginners Guide to SEO online.

8. Do research and stay on top of emerging trends.

Marketing isn’t just responsible to help promote your business to people, it’s also responsible to find out what those people (a.k.a. customers and prospects) want. It’s also responsible to be aware of what is trending in content marketing so that your social media and blog actually provide content that draws web traffic and generates leads or stimulates in-store visits (you know, “shopping!”) It’s also responsible to keep abreast of what’s coming next and how to utilize it to help your business, like how smart marketers became aware of Pinterest and started using it for business long before the media realized that it had quietly passed up the much-heralded Google+ in terms of traffic, and engages its audience members in average minutes per visit more than almost any other social network; second only to Facebook.

Marketing is not the errand girl for the sales department or the janitorial staff for any other department when they make a mistake that impacts your customers. Marketing is not a series of activities that occur. Marketing is not reactionary. In it's most powerful and effective form, marketing will be a proactive part of all of your business decisions and will be strategically essential when it comes to the success of your business.

Transforming your marketing efforts (or how you view marketing) from cost to profit isn’t just desirable – it’s absolutely critical for your business. Marketing, done right, can help you now and be a valuable resource to help you become more profitable in the future. If you view marketing as a cost center, or as expenses, chances are you don’t really have a good grasp of what marketing is or what it’s real benefit to your business can be.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

Forget what I said, Your Business is Awesome

2012-02-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

Forget what I said before, your business is awesome.

There is a trait shared by nearly every business that I have come into contact with as a consultant, and even in most of the roles that I held working for companies in the past, and it’s this: you want me to tell you that your business is awesome.

On one hand, I get it: your company = your baby. This is something into which you have poured your blood sweat and tears, based on your vision. You want me to share your vision, and I can, and I do.

What I do not share (and this is what lies directly between your business and its best chance for success) is the fact that (based on how you react to criticism and suggestions for improvements) for you, criticism of your execution equates to criticism of your vision.

As long as you are unable to separate the two in your mind, you will continue to want people to tell you what you want to hear: Your business is awesome.

And as long as you believe that your business is awesome, your mind will be closed to the improvements that you could make that would truly make your business awesome in actuality, rather than awesome based only on your intentions (your vision).

Do you see the difference?

You are smack dab in the middle of your own way.

The vision of your business – the good that you want to do in the world and in the lives of your customers – is likely awesome and from that standpoint, so is the intent of your business. But to fulfill your vision will ultimately require that you are able to separate the esteem in which you hold this vision from the way that you analyze and view the ways in which you are trying to achieve it.

How your business will become awesome isn’t equivalent to your vision statement. Rather, it’s entirely embodied in the strategies and tactics that you undertake in order to achieve it.

The next time a consultant or even an employee tells you something about the tactics and strategies you have in place that aren’t working, or which need to be put into place, don’t view it as an attack on the awesome-ness of the vision that you have for your business. Instead, embrace constructive criticism from customers, consultants, vendors and your employees—because the truths these individuals care enough to share with you can become the catalyst by which you attain the awesome vision you have for your business.

***

Little white marketing lies are common misconceptions that many well-meaning business owners claim to be true, but which usually aren't.

4 Articles and Infographics to help you Market Your Business on Pinterest

2012-02-27T09:58:00.002-08:00

26 Tips for Using Pinterest for Business
Social Media Examiner provides you with 26 tips -- an "A to Z guide" for using Pinterest for business [click here] including topics and how-to like these:

How to add a Pinterest "follow" and/or "pin it" button to your site
Branding and enhancing your brand
Crowdsourcing
Improves your SEO results
Etiquette
Using keywords and hashtags
Linking to your own sites
Networking and more ---

Now that you know how, find out what:
3 Ways to use Pinterest for Marketing Research

[Click here] to get the scoop from SocialMediaExplorer on how you can use Pinterest to conduct market research in these three ways:

Discover what people are pinning from your website/s
Understand customer perception
Capture descriptions, comments, board names (and hashtags and other reference markers); this can help you get more traffic as you cross post to other media, look for patterns, see how the most influential are playing to win and improve your SEM

56 Ways to Market your Business on Pinterest

A great favorite resource of mine, Copyblogger.com shared these 56 ways to harness the power of Pinterest to grow your brand and your business: [click here]. Saying: "Yes, Pinterest is beautiful. And yes, its users love it. But don’t let all the hearts and flowers fool you. Behind those lovely images, Pinterest is fast becoming a heavy hitting marketing tool for brands and businesses … like yours. Let’s take a quick look at why this is, and then we’ll get into 56 specific Pinterest tactics you can use to your own marketing advantage."

Is Pinterest the next social commerce game changer?
With its U.S. traffic skyrocketing to more than 10 million visits, Pinterest, the virtual pinboard, is now one of the top 10 social networking and forum websites. Seen below, Monetate's infographic introduces you to Pinterest and provides ideas on how you can use the social photo sharing website to promote products, build community, and drive website traffic and conversions.

Monetate Marketing Infographics

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

Announcing the release of: Little White Marketing Lies

2012-02-23T09:29:00.002-08:00

Announcing the release of Little White Marketing Lies
by Elizabeth Kraus

Have you fallen for any of these little white marketing lies?

The Little White Marketing Lies table of contents:

we provide exceptional customer service
our employees set us apart
word of mouth is our best marketing
our customers love us
success is just one great idea away
marketing is a verb
we need to tell people how great we are
it takes luck to build a great team
employee culture has nothing to do with marketing
what's in the past is in the past
there's no room for emotion in the workplace
service professionals aren't sales people
social media isn't critical to my marketing strategy
bigger is better
when I apply my logo, I'm branding

Little white marketing lies are common misconceptions that many well-meaning business owners claim to be true, but which usually aren't.

In fact, these little white marketing lies might even be standing between your business and success.

The new book, Little White Marketing Lies will help you put these and other little white marketing lies to the test, enabling you to identify the true strengths and weaknesses of your business and put your business in the best position to succeed in the future.

Available now [click here] from my createspace.com bookstore for 14.95 and coming soon to amazon.com. Little White Marketing Lies is also already available from the amazon.com Kindle / digital reader store for 9.95 and can even be borrowed for free by Amazon Prime members [click here].

In fact - any of my books can be purchased for Kindle/eReader for under $10 each and most can be borrowed for free as part of the Kindle Lending Library.

It's going to be a great year!
Elizabeth Kraus

Bring on the Drama! Why You Need Emotion in the Workplace

2012-02-22T14:41:00.002-08:00

How many times have you heard that emotion has no place in the workplace?

I pondered that, thinking about how often we believe that every problem can be solved if we can only apply enough logic and keep our emotions out of the equation. I realized that it just is not true. In fact, in many cases, the opposite is true.

Emotion has everything to do with the success of your business.

Take customer loyalty and brand advocacy. From a purely logical standpoint, they would only exist when high value and low price meet their optimum levels.

Logically, as customers, we would always shop for the best value for any item we want to buy. But once a business has successfully established and reinforced our satisfaction (this emotional - the way we feel that a company has exceeded our expectations) then, and only then, do they court our loyalty. Then and only then do they have a chance to win our loyalty in a way that transcends the lure of lower prices, better value or even better products offered by competitors.

But customer loyalty, referrals and brand advocacy are not based on logic. Customer satisfaction is based on a feeling. A customer must feel extra-ordinarily satisfied (which may or may not reflect the actual effort put forth by your business or employee). You can do everything perfectly and still not make someone feel that they received exceptional service.

Do you want your employees to be able to evoke emotion in the form of customer satisfaction?

Logically, the livelihood and financial success (not to mention the potential for raises and bonuses) for all your employees rests on the ability of your business to identify and attract customers and for your business to create customer loyalty and satisfaction—yes?

And yet in most businesses, despite the logic of this financial incentive, fewer than a third of employees feel (emotionally) engaged with or self-identify with your business.

Logically, your employees should be busting their butts to get your customers more emotionally connected with your business.

But they aren’t.

And since they aren't, you have to ask yourself: what is missing (or present) within the culture of your business that is failing to motivate your employees—who logically should be doing everything they can to work for business success that could translate into more financial reward for themselves.

What is it about your business that is failing to attract and engage your employees emotionally?

To develop customer loyalty or employee fidelity, you must work logically, strategically and authentically within the realm of emotions to:

cause people to view themselves as a connected to your business (and to you, as its leader)
go beyond logical reasons; you must realize that loyalty is an emotional response
garner the faith of others based on history and trust in the promises that you make relative to what customers or employees can expect to be true of all of their experiences with you and your business

Only by understanding the role that emotions play relative to employee or customer loyalty will you be able to create the type of emotional connection needed to cause employees to go beyond the call of duty (and in turn to garner customer loyalty) on behalf of the team as a whole. And only by building an employee culture characterized by trust, honesty and a sense of shared destiny will this occur.

***

(Speaking of emotion, I'm so excited!) 'There's no room for emotion in the workplace' is one of the new Little White Marketing Lies that will be featured in my upcoming book of the same title - look for an announcement next week!

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

Are You Using The Paper Cutter Approach to Marketing?

2012-02-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

Ah, the paper cutter—that oh-so-useful tool with its machete-like blade that sits way up on that shelf in the copy room.

We actually like it when we have a chance to use it. It’s kind of therapeutic, even fun. We get to figure out how to line things up perfectly to get the cut exactly where we need it, it saves us time and work, and it’s really efficient when it comes to doing what it was designed to do.

So we take it out, wipe the dust off, use it to trim the edges off whatever it is we’re creating, then we lock the blade back up and put it back up on the shelf until we need to use it again.

That’s how you use the paper cutter, but it’s no way to use marketing.

But unfortunately, it’s exactly how marketing is utilized in many small and even not so small businesses. You know who you are.

You’re the one who pulls the marketing tools off the shelf because that wunder-product that you thought would fly off the shelves, didn’t. So now, only at the end of the process, do you whip out some marketing in a last-ditch effort to sell a few units before you have to put it back on the clearance table.

If you are wondering what’s wrong with that model, I can help. Here’s what marketing can do for you when you give it a seat at your business process table every day:

Working with your most valuable clients and/or members of your ideal client types to determine their most important needs and wants, so that purchasing decisions are more informed.
Test marketing before you spend precious resources and allocate valuable shelf space to new products.
Setting up a focus group to identify what product benefits (and selling points) resound most powerfully with members of your target market.
Seeding the market to get pioneers and early adopters on board and talking about the product.
Creating demand and anticipation among customers before the product arrives with teasers that speak to the identified real needs and wants of your customers across multiple communication and social media channels.
Running a strong launch campaign across all of your marketing channels.
Sharing product testimonials on print and in-store displays, in email marketing and on social media.
Doing in-store sampling.
Creating promotions for the product which represent genuine value to customers (and which are also profitable for your business).

Look how many marketing tools can – and should – be used before the product even arrives or the new service is made available to customers!

It’s much more difficult to create strong sales momentum around a new product or service after the fact! In fact, at that point, you have skipped several steps that are critical to the process, not the least of which is determining whether there is even demand for the product or service you want to introduce.

But in many businesses, the sales manager, operations manager and purchasing director sit down with manufacturers and buy product, receive it, stock it and put it on the shelves. Only then do they hand marketing a product brochure and tell them that it’s up to them to get it sold.

In many businesses, thousands and thousands of dollars are spent purchasing sophisticated phone systems, customer service reps (who, for some inexplicable reason, report to accounting, rather than sales) are hired and a significant amount of time and resources are invested in training them on the technicalities of answering a phone call, inputting an order, putting a caller on hold or transferring a call -- but next to no time or resources are spent actually training them in communications and customer relations.

In many businesses, new techniques or even whole new services are learned, pricing set, menus and signage updated and then service professionals find themselves sitting around twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the phone to ring. Only then is marketing informed that they need to get people in the door to use the new service.

In many businesses, the controller comes up with what he thinks is a great new policy relative to how customers pay, register, check out or are invoiced. He writes a terse, accountant-like script and slaps it on a display for the cash register, sends it out in letters to all your customers and puts notes in bright red on all customer invoices (so they won’t miss it).

Only after a barrage of angry customer phone calls, dropped accounts, unsubscribe requests and other missives is marketing appealed to for damage control. All of which could have been avoided, had marketing and a customer-centric mind been part of the process and policy review process, part of the policy writing process, and part of the customer communications process.

Your paper cutter approach to marketing demonstrates not only that you don’t value or understand marketing, but it also demonstrates a serious deficit in terms of how important you believe your customers are, based on how little they factor in to your operational processes.

It’s obvious when a business employs a paper cutter approach to marketing.

And it’s just as obvious that it costs those businesses, big time, over time, in blown opportunities, poor customer relationship management, lost sales, diminished profits – it all adds up, doesn’t it?

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

St. Patricks Day Marketing Ideas for Small Business

2012-02-15T08:19:00.001-08:00

With Valentine’s Day in the rear view mirror, the next observance you may be looking toward when it comes to themed promotions, marketing and decorating is March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day marketing does not offer you the same types of organic gift and gift certificate sales probabilities as did Valentine’s Day, and as did the holiday season, before that. But with a little creativity, you can still use St. Patrick’s Day to bring new people in to your business, nurture and manage customer relationships among your existing clients and to stimulate sales.

St. Patricks Day Marketing Ideas for Small Business:

St. Patrick’s Day Marketing Themes

When it comes to decorating or creating product sample displays, promotional coupons or graphics for advertising, email marketing or your blog or website, St. Patrick’s Day offers several strong decorating themes:

Four leaf clovers and “Shamrocks”) which symbolize luck. Shamrocks are not four leaf clovers. A Shamrock is a 3-leafed old white clover, recognized as a symbol of Ireland. For free / royalty Free St. Patricks Day Clipart to use for marketing collateral, visit Clipartpal.com

Use St. Patricks Day clipart on coupons, mailers and displays, to create St. Patrick’s Day window displays, to decorate displays for sampling stations or for decorations for any special St. Patricks Day themed demo event or happy hours.

Just like Google does, change your logo, social media avatars or other online imagery to reflect upcoming holidays; in this case, St. Patrick's Day by changing colors to green or adding shamrocks or other St. Patrick's Day imagery.

Share links to St. Patrick's day recipes and traditions. Suggest unusual, unique St. Patrick's Day gifts. Make your own line of St. Patrick's Day cards to be used in conjunction with your gift certificates.

Four leaf clovers are considered lucky. In March, use social media, your blog and email marketing to list reasons why you feel “lucky”:
- to have the customers that you have (why you are grateful)
- to live where you live (for your business to be located in the community/neighborhood where it is located)
Hold lucky drawings. Create custom messages with quotes about luck and the occasional ‘instant winner’ for scratch off cards or fortune cookies. Reward random “lucky” customers (such as the 10 or 100th of the day, etc.) with a free add-on, gift card for future purchase, or branded mug, t-shirt or another branded item.

Hold a Lucky Trivia contest by way of your social media networks or at an event. Quiz contestants as to St. Patrick's Day trivia, trivia about your products or services, trivia about your community or on other relevant topics. Let contestant's answers be the basis for a sweepstakes entry and reward one lucky drawing winner with a grand prize.
St. Patrick’s Day Happy hours. From National Beer Day on March 1 to St. Patricks Day, March is a month that provides you with a lot of reasons to have customer and prospect happy hours. Since you don’t want them to feel like stereotypical time share presentations, here are some ways to craft happy hours that make your customers happy at the same time that they make you happy by fulfilling your sales and event goals:
- Happy hours that target your ideal client types. Create happy hours that are not intended for everyone, but which instead target your ideal client types (men, soccer moms, single working professionals, fashionistas, millenials, Gen Y, Gen X, Baby Boomers, etc.) by featuring activities and demonstrations that would be specifically of interest to them.
- Offer real incentives. Happy hours in restaurants or bars are hours when appetizers and popular beverages are offered at a special price. Notice that these are items that are popular ones – items that your prospects and customers actually want – as opposed to an attempt to unload unwanted goods or services. They’re also priced compellingly; the discount or add-on offer represents a real motivation to the customer to come in, try and buy.
- Pick low hanging fruit. Use happy hours to lure customers who love you in for a special appreciation event wherein they’ll have the opportunity to: Purchase more of what they love most, be able to join a VIP club, receive extra loyalty rewards, be rewarded for bringing friends, family or other referrals with them to the event. Or think low-hanging fruit in terms of geography: Invite the managers and employees of businesses near yours in for a private happy hour event, or work together with businesses located near yours to hold multi-business happy hours with cooperative offers and cross marketing.
Leprechauns (who guard pots of gold, which can be found at the end of the rainbow). Believe it or not, a leprechaun is actually a type of fairy in Irish folklore that usually looks like an old man and who – in contrast to the happy, helping way we usually view fairies – enjoys mischief, misdeeds and trickery. Despite that, if you catch one, you receive 3 wishes and if you follow one, you might just be led to his secret store – the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Playing off this idea simply, you might decorate your small business in shamrocks, leprechauns, four leaf clovers and green, and place a pot of gold (chocolate coins) at the point of purchase as a thank you treat for customers.

If you want something more engaging, you can create your own Leprechaun hunt for prospects and clients by leaving a trail of clues they can follow on Facebook, Twitter, your blog or in a series of emails. Use engagement responses and posts as entries into a special drawing, or feature a grand prize for the first to complete your contest and prizes for any runners up. To build excitement, you might create your own game of this kind which ends in a special happy hour event at your business.

Or go big. Partner with local businesses and make a punch card or game board wherein people receive markers for visiting each of the participating businesses, attending a series of happy hour demo or sampling events, etc.
Things Irish (such as Irish blessings). Print Irish blessings on the back of business cards and hand them out at the point of sale, send them out in thank you notes, “we miss you” mailings for inactive clients, email newsletters, Facebook, Twitter or social media posts, print them on invoices, include them on flyers inserted into customer shipments, or display them as station talkers or at your point of purchase. Here are a few you may be familiar with to choose from (there are more featured at the link above):
- May the road rise up to meet you • May the wind always be at your back • May the sun shine warm upon your face and rains fall soft upon your fields. • And until we meet again, may Gold hold you in the palm of His hand. (If you are uncomfortable with any religious reference, you can simply omit the last sentence.)
- Wishing you a rainbow for sunlight after showers • Miles and miles of Irish smiles for golden happy hours • Shamrocks at your doorway for luck and laughter too • And a host of friends that never ends each day your whole life through.
- May there always be work for your hands to do. • May your purse always hold a coin or two. • May the sun always shine on your windowpane. • May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. • May the hand of a friend always be near you. • May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

RELATED ARTICLES: Here are 8 more St. Patricks Day marketing ideas for small business:

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
If you want to build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty as well as profitability, change the way that you understand and use marketing. 365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

When it comes to love...

2012-02-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

What Valentine’s Day Can Teach You About Branding Your Business

2012-02-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite quotes, not just because it’s beautiful, but because I truly understand it. Not only am I lucky enough to be married to someone who brought meaning back to this word, but I’m also a parent, and when one becomes a parent, the word “love” is once again defined in a totally unique, new way.

The special Valentine’s Day quote that can teach you more about branding your business is this: "Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning."

Throughout our lives, love is defined for us by the individuals closest to us. Our parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles, our early childhood caregivers and teachers, our sisters and brothers and cousins and then as we grow older, friends, boyfriends or girlfriends, fiancés and other significant others, and ultimately, our spouses and children.

When you think about the word “love,” everything that comes to mind whether happy or sad, joyful, painful – every memory, every twitterpated first date, every heartbreak – everything that has lent meaning to the word becomes part of its definition for you.

And here’s what this Valentine’s Day quote should teach you (or remind you) about branding your business: The brand (or name) of your business is just a word until people come along and give it meaning.

Because the brand of your business is made up of all of the meanings given to it by your customers, your prospects, your friends, your family – anyone who comes into contact with any aspect of your business.

All of these people assign emotional meaning to the brand of your business and the name of your business, with each and every point of contact. And every time they hear your business name, or your name, or one of your business’ representative names (your employees), all of those experiences work together to become the brand of your business in their minds.

You can’t control their perceptions. You can, however, work to design and control each and every touch point so that the meaning that customers and prospects assign to the brand of your business are infused with positive perceptions, words and meanings.

This is what branding is all about: the understanding that every channel by which a prospect or customer comes into contact with you is building the brand of your business in their minds.

And that’s why it is so important to take the time to define what you want those impressions to be and to design each touch point to consistently represent your desired brand image and messages. That’s why it’s so important to infuse your business culture with positive, customer-centric values and to hire people who share your values, so that your mission and vision can be fulfilled.

Your brand – the name of your business – is just words, until someone comes along and gives them meaning. Do you know what meanings are your customers and prospects assigning to your brand – and how to better affect what they are?

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
If you want to build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty as well as profitability, change the way that you understand and use marketing. 365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

Customer love is more than skin deep

2012-02-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

You won't want to miss the next issue of the Style, Strategy and Marketing Savvy Newsletter --

This Valentine's Day, spend time thinking about how to show your customers that you love them and how to get your most ardent admirers to talk up your business.

Here's what you'll find in the next newsletter:

- Work should be more than a four letter word
- Seduce your customers with passionate story telling
- Do your customers really love you?
- Ten ways to show customers you care
- Six ways to measure social media results
- Social media for small business
- Twelve ways to give your biggest fans a megaphone
- Community passion is more than skin deep

Why "Job" is a 4 Letter Word and "Work" Shouldn't Be

2012-02-09T14:35:00.000-08:00

We all know that you spell work using the 4 letters w-o-r-k and we’ve all heard the phrase, “work is a four letter word,” referring to the fact that it’s something most of us have to do vs. something that we actually want to do.

But I’m going to suggest, instead, that the word “work” is just fine; rather, “job” is my four letter word. Because a job is something that you do to minimal standards:

You arrive at your job no later than a certain time
You leave no earlier than a certain time
You perform certain tasks or fulfill certain responsibilities
Or you complete a certain tasks or a certain number of tasks during your shift

Do you see? "Jobs" are all about simply meeting standard expectations, pursuing “good enough” instead of something more fulfilling.

In fact, most written job descriptions are full of nothing BUT minimal expectations.

You’ll show up on time, you’ll do these tasks, you’ll meet these minimal measures, and you’ll answer to these people. What’s more, most of these job descriptions are based on minimal expectations, because they aren’t written with over-achievers in mind, at all.

In fact, the way that most job descriptions are worded makes them sound as though they were written with the presumption that without these written minimal standards, an employee wouldn’t even try to work up to the mark. They’re written as though they assume that any employee would try to do the least amount of work possible on any given day if these lists of responsibilities weren’t provided for them.

Not exactly the basis for an inspiring, mutually beneficial relationship.

There’s nothing particularly fulfilling about meeting minimal standards as an employee. And the other side of the equation is just as bad, because there’s nothing about an employer-employee agreement for meeting minimal standards in exchange for pay that lends itself to continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence, the pursuit of extra-ordinary.

Here’s what I propose instead, from both sides of the employee/employer relationship: don’t work your job. Instead, no matter what your job, set out to work your calling.

So what’s the difference? A job is something you can do (a competence) and probably something you have to do for financial reasons; but your calling is something you want to do -- and the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Many times people think of callings as grand vocations, the reason that people become doctors or ministers or public servants. But those aren’t callings, those are jobs, roles that people are drawn to because they are called to help and heal, to spread a message that is bigger than themselves, to give assistance to people who can’t help themselves, etc. In other words, their calling is facilitated by the role they chose to use to fulfill it.

No matter what your job is, you can still work your calling. Think of your calling as those things you most love doing, those things that give you the most personal satisfaction, those things that stimulate your creativity and passion. And no matter what your job, work your calling.

This might require that you revisit the terms of your employment and negotiate with your boss to modify your job in ways that will allow this. It might even require that you seek a new role within your organization or outside of it. If you are an individual who has proven themselves not only against the minimal standards of your job description but as someone who is willing to exceed them, your employer may be open to the idea.

If you are an employer, you should grab onto this concept as well. If you write employment terms in traditional job descriptions and manage and measure your employees by a set of minimal standards, that’s what you’ll receive in return – employees who return the minimum of what you expect.

If you really want to get more from your employees, provide the means by which that can happen!

You have to be willing to take a chance on people. Demonstrate that you trust your staff to not only do what is expected, but that you trust them to work from their passions to do more. Help your employees discover their passions and strengths and then work creatively to craft roles by which they can exercise them. And reward and acknowledge people in return for the investment that they make with their passions – the contributions that come from their hearts and souls.

Can you imagine working for a company like this? Can you imagine running your company like this, and all of the places that it could take your business?

“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, and imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of a competence.”

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American humanitarian and UN diplomat

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
If you want to build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty as well as profitability, change the way that you understand and use marketing. 365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

The Doctor is In! Symptoms, Diagnosis and The Leadership Cure for Your Business

2012-02-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

One of the questions that I ask clients when working on brand identification is, “If the brand of your business were a person and walked into the room, what words would you describe it?” The point of the question is to help identify what type of brand personality the organization has and how they want their customers and prospects to perceive them.

But the same type of exercise can be helpful in other diagnostic ways, as well. For instance, when something’s not right with your body and you go to see a doctor, they don’t cut you open to find out what’s wrong; instead, they diagnose your symptoms.

We can do some of the same things when it comes to your business. For instance, show me an organization characterized by:

lack of shared vision
power struggles and in-fighting
lack of clear objectives
disjointed efforts and stop-and-start initiatives

And I will show you an organization suffering from a power vacuum. It may have a titular leader but it lacks the clarity that is provided in an organization with strong leadership.

Without strong leadership to provide clear objectives, authentic shared values and a commitment to the mission and vision of an organization, this business is likely to develop power silos – departments that war with one another over resources and priorities and turf.

What’s more, without clear objectives and a commitment to mission, vision and shared values, these organizations lack the ability to establish measures, which leaves them few objective ways to hold any of its members accountable.

In this type of organization, a few power-mongers fight fiercely for dominance. And as a result, meanwhile, most employees experience frustration and discouragement. Eventually they become disengaged and apathetic when it comes to the good of the organization; after all, it’s every man for himself here, isn’t it?

And we haven’t even mentioned the customer yet, have we?

Without a commitment to the customer, which leads to the development of the mission, vision and shared values of an organization, which then leads to the development of the strategies that will be employed to meet them in the form of clear and measurable objectives, how can you hope to succeed?

More?

Show me an organization characterized by:

uninspired, boring, repetitive behaviors
severe adherence to policies
inability to solve problems or identify areas for growth
a propensity to shift blame and C.Y.A. (cover your - well, you know)

And I’ll show you a business led (or at least managed) by someone whose ego is squarely in the way. While this person may have a clear vision and even good values, they don’t bother sharing them. Instead, they manage by decree, wondering why they are not blindly followed into the fray.

As opposed to the first type of company diagnosed, this business doesn’t suffer from a lack of accountability, in fact, there’s so much accountability that its employees are terrified to step out of line or even to step up and solve problems for customers. Staff quickly learn that it’s a mistake to speak out or make suggestions.

In this organization, employees have no meaningful way to contribute and creativity? Forgeddaboutit! Once they’ve learned their place, these employees become fearful and discouraged, then bored, then completely disengaged. No wonder they don’t care!

And we haven’t even mentioned the customer yet, have we?

Your business needs – and your customers and your employees deserve – to have good leadership, in order to succeed.

And in order to provide good leadership, you have to stop focusing on all the wrong things.

Making peace between warring managers. Balancing competing organizational priorities. Telling yourself that your business is awesome, that your employees set you apart and that your customers love you.

To become successful and build a truly great company, you need to get back to what must be the heartbeat of your organization, and that is the customer.

In a customer centric organization, there exists a strong customer-centered vision and mission. Every role from the top down in this organization exists to fulfill the mission and vision of the organization for the customer (what you will do) and to do so from a core of authentic, shared values (how you will do it).

In a customer centric organization, every employee is clear on why the role they play is important to the fulfillment of the mission and vision of the organization. And every employee is empowered, so that they can invest themselves by making a real difference by solving problems that matter to people, be them customers or co-workers.

Good leaders inspire vision and set direction. They keep the mission and vision of the organization in front of themselves at all times and lead by example. It is not the opinions and desires of turf-warring managers, the sales force, the controller or any other individual – including themselves – that determine company strategy and policy; but rather, the final determinant in every decision-making process is the mission, vision and shared values of the organization. When in doubt, this company errs on the side of doing what is best for the customer, every time.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
If you want to build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty as well as profitability, change the way that you understand and use marketing. 365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

How do you measure up against these traits of good leadership?

2012-02-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

Everyone wins in an organization characterized by good leadership, but people can talk a good game and spout leadership quotes and clichés all day long. And leaders both good and bad will tell you the right things to get you on board, get you to go above and beyond the call of duty, do more than what is expected and even give your own personal time and energy to help them or the business succeed.

Over time, under good leadership, this results in success for both the organization and the individual. Under bad leadership, it usually results in burned out, discouraged and disillusioned followers – which in turn negatively impacts the organization and its customers as well.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of ending up on the burned out, disillusioned side. And I certainly don’t want to be the kind of leader who brings all of that bad ju-ju down on my own company.

To save time and life energy, you need to be sure at the outset of a new work or volunteer endeavor that you’re working for the right type of leader. Here are a few criteria you can use to get to the heart of the matter – the personal character of a leader – before you sign on to work for them or their organization:

What’s their track record like? It’s not just about wins and losses or whether they have been successful; it’s about how they have achieved what they have achieved. Do they have a history of winning at all costs or would their followers take a bullet for them?
How do they treat people who can’t help them? A great way to determine the character of a leader is to take note of their behavior toward individuals who have no power or no ability to help them succeed in their current endeavors.
Do they have any interest in what you want out of the relationship? Good leaders view working relationships as mutually beneficial and with a view to the long term. They take time to discover whether what you want in the long term will be possible or aligned with the values of their own business. Poor leaders tend to want what they perceive you have or can do for their business, whether or not it is aligned with your personal goals and values -- and sometimes even without your permission.
How do they treat people who leave their organization? Do they discard people who no longer matter to them? Great leaders take a long term view of relationships, don’t burn bridges and leave doors open. Poor leaders don’t waste time on relationships which they see of no benefit to themselves.
Do they show good judgment when it comes to “fit?” Good leaders understand the importance of interpersonal ‘fit’ amongst the people who work for them. Whereas poor leaders tend to adopt an “if it doesn’t fit, force it” approach, so long as they get what they want.
Are they generous and honest when it comes to giving credit to others? Good leaders pay authentic compliments and praise the work of their staff in specific terms. Good leaders don't need to take credit for the work of others, because they are not insecure, envious or threatened. Great leaders understand that what makes them great is the way that they facilitate the success and recognition of others. Poor leaders find subtle (or even not so subtle) ways to take credit for the work of others. They imply that they had something to do with the successes of others.
Do they micromanage? The best leaders surround themselves with good people and turn them loose to do the things they do best and most enjoy. Great leaders know they don't have all the answers and inspire trust by trusting those around them to do what is expected. Poor leaders demonstrate controlling and maybe even bullying behaviors. Poor leaders feel that they need to control the flow of information and try to place themselves as the funnel of information to and from their team.
Is there any sign of "bait and switch?" Good leaders don't paint a picture that doesn't measure up to scrutiny. Poor leaders will do so, or will say what they think you want to hear to get you on board; however, once they are writing the paycheck, quickly reveal that you've signed on for something else and demonstrate that they feel they hold the whip hand in the relationship.
Do they invest in employee development, whether or not it’s related to current projects or job responsibilities? Great leaders – leaders worth following – invest in developing others around them, even if it might mean that the individual will leave for another opportunity. Great leaders know that investments made in their team will pay off in real results as well as greater employee job satisfaction and loyalty. By contrast, poor leaders tend to invest only in things which will (only) bring benefits in the here and now, and which primarily benefit themselves as a leader or the business.

If you are considering a new position, take the time to speak with other individuals within an organization about the leadership that exists within it from the top down. Try to get at the heart of what the leaders within the company truly value, and what it is that they value about others. And take time right now to consider what type of leader that you, yourself, will become.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
If you want to build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty as well as profitability, change the way that you understand and use marketing. 365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

The View from Under the Bus

2012-02-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.cafepress.com/under_the_bus.87530543

Good morning, I’ve been elected to speak to you on behalf of the group – those of us you’ve thrown under the bus, in the course of running your business, managing your team or otherwise trying to control the tiny little bit of commercial territory you’ve been allotted.

You said that you wanted us on board, and at first, we believed you.

We wanted it to be true.
We were excited about the trip and we thought that we understood the route we’d take to reach our destination.

But somehow we didn’t make it on board. We ended up under the bus, and now, covered in tread marks, I’ve been deputed to say: Ouch.

Maybe you didn’t realize we weren’t on board.

Maybe you shut the door before we boarded. You put us in a dead end job. You ignored our ideas. You put us in our place and told us to just “do our jobs.”

And when we did do our jobs, maybe you failed to notice. You failed to show any sign of gratitude or appreciation. You made us feel as though you believe we exist to fulfill your ends, and as though the privilege of doing so should be reward enough.

Maybe you had good intentions but failed to deliver with employee development and training. Maybe you just didn’t train us at all.

Maybe, since you evidently believe that our jobs aren’t as important as yours, you made us feel like interchangeable, expendable tools. Maybe you were threatened by our enthusiasm and so chose to protect your own position by hoarding information and depriving us of opportunities to contribute in more meaningful ways.

Maybe you confined us to particularly unrewarding tasks, leaving us bored and deprived of any spark of creative renewal. You painted a picture of opportunity then failed to engage us, at all.

Or maybe, for your own reasons, you nudged, or shoved us directly under the wheels.

You blamed us when things went wrong. You didn’t stand up for us when co-workers or customers came after us. You took credit for our work. You made sure we knew that we could never, ever truly please you. You couched your compliments in criticisms. You made us feel like enthusiasm is a mockable quality.

For one reason or another, here we are, under the bus.

Well, let me tell you something: It’s quite a view we have from down here.

If we look down, we face the prospect (pun intended) of being dragged along the pavement, with a closeup view of the road and all its hazards.

But when we look up, we see everything.

We know exactly how your bus works. We see all of the dirty, grimy, greasy and oily working parts. We know what’s broken and we know what’s about to break. You might be able to talk a good game to people on the outside, or even other people in the bus, but We. Know. Better; you aren’t fooling us, not one little bit.

What’s more, most of us have probably tried to tell you, more than once, about the problems, flaws, broken and about-to-break things that we’ve seen. You didn’t do anything about them, or you didn’t listen or worst of all, you told us to shut up, ignore it and “get back to work.”

Eventually you’re going to lose us completely – and this might be painful for one or even for both of us.

At some point, you might even realize that you lost a truly vital part of your ‘engine,’ something necessary to customer comfort or care – not to mention the deep pools of untapped skills and devotion that could have been at your disposal, had your promise matched up to the reality of our experience with you.

Or maybe you don’t really care about what your customers, employees and coworkers experience during their ride at all, so long as you collect your fares.

If that’s true, let me share one last word of collective warning from all those of us under here: Eventually someone will come along who’ll offer a better ride to your customers and your employees, and you’ll find yourself broken down on the side of the highway, wondering what went wrong.

***

Do you know what this has to do with marketing? Only everything. Your business is not the products or services you sell or the building or website from which you do so. Your business is made up of people. Real people. With feelings, ambitions, dreams, needs and wants – on the inside and out.

On the outside, these people are your customers, prospects, vendors, investors and other stakeholders. Given their roles and how important you perceive them to be to your business, it’s likely that you listen to them more than you do to those “people” who make up your business from the inside: Your employees and co-workers.

It’s ironic that once you get someone on the inside you stop considering their opinions. Because who has more vested interest in the success of your business than your employees – the people whose livelihood and future depend upon it? I’ll tell you: no one.

Your customers may “love you” but they’ll get along just fine without you. It might hurt your vendors if you went away but they’d find a new relationship too. But your employees are the ones with the most at stake. Your employees are the people closest to the problems. Your employees are the people most capable of coming up with creative solutions.

But it’s really hard for us to help you from under the bus.

Need more convincing?

Here’s how important your employees and co-workers are to the success of your business:

Want more profit? Lost productivity due to actively disengaged employees costs the US economy $370 billion every YEAR; and part of those billions are lost right in your business.
Think customer service matters? 70% of engaged employees have a good understanding of how to meet customer needs, but ONLY 17% of non-engaged employees say the same.
Like referrals? A mere 13% of disengaged employees refer others to their company, whereas 78% of engaged employees happily and readily do so.
Like problem solvers? Only 3% of disengaged employees say their job brings out their creative side, vs. 59% of engaged employees.
Think hiring is difficult and expensive? 75% of people don’t leave their ‘jobs,’ they quit their bosses.
Fewer than 1 in 3 employees worldwide are ‘engaged.’
Companies with more engaged employees experience dramatically lower rates of turnover, absenteeism and even a 50% reduction in reportable incidents (workers comp). Think those things impact your bottom line?

And even though 90% of business leaders say that employee engagement impacts their success, 75% of them have no – nada – zero –none – no engagement plan or strategy, at all.

(‘Human Capital and Corporate Culture’ http://www.thesocialworkplace.com/2011/08/08/social-knows-employee-engagement-statistics-august-2011-edition/)

Now that we’ve got your attention, what are you going to do about it? Roll merrily along and wait for the whole thing to come off the wheels? Or will you take time now to make things right – or at least make them better!

You only have today and the time is now to make sure that all the people who could and should be most invested in the success of your business are in a position to feel engaged, satisfied and even happy as a result of the employment relationship with you. Now is the time for you to ask the hard questions and be open to the realization that maybe you don’t have it all figured out, after all.

Now is the time for you to decide just where this bus is going to take all of its passengers, and set out to get there, together!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

If you want to build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty as well as profitability, change the way that you understand and use marketing. 365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

Friday's 5 - Short and Sweet Marketing Ideas

2012-01-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

Good morning, all!

I haven't done a Friday's 5 in a while (bad on me!) but there is never any time like the present to make things right. That said, here are 5 short and sweet marketing tidbits to help you top off your week or get your weekend started:

[READ] 1. It's not just about getting customers, it's about keeping them, too.

business2community.com | Christina Pappas
If you ask a sales person if they would rather call upon a new lead that could potentially land them some commission in their pocket or spend their time checking in on customers they have already successfully converted, which do you think they would choose? It’s ultimately up to you and the organization as a whole to ensure a successful customer retention plan is in place and is properly being executed upon. Here are 6 things to consider when you start thinking about building yours.

[READ] 2. 7 Tips to creating content that will actually pull prospects in.

According to a recent Content Marketing Institute B2B study, marketers’ biggest content marketing challenge is creating a steady stream of must-read information at every step of the purchase process that stands out amidst the endless messages available on social media, tablets, smartphones, computers, and other devices. How do you consistently develop content that pulls prospects and customers in, meets their needs, and does so right when they’re ready to consume it? To help you in this mission, here are seven easy-to-follow tips:

[READ] 3. How to create a social media editorial (publishing) calendar.
searchenginewatch.com | Lisa Buyer
January is always a fresh time to fine tune online marketing habits. One good place to start is the social media editorial calendar. Originally designed for books, magazines, and newspapers, editorial calendars have been around for centuries and are the lifeline to successful publishing. Today’s editorial calendar takes into account web content, company press releases, blogs, social media news network postings in the likes of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and YouTube as well as email marketing plans and more; plus they should also wrap into traditional marketing campaigns.

[READ] 4. The Power of Praise in Business.
entrepreneur.com | Ross McCammon

Excerpt -- there's a lot more in the article link:
1. Praise should not begin with the phrase "You da …."
2. Ending an expression of praise with "… and stuff" nullifies the praise.
3. Ending an expression of praise with "… now get back to work" also nullifies the praise.
4. In ascending order of forcefulness: e-mail, face-to-face conversation, handwritten note, bear hug.
5. No bear hugs.
6. A handwritten note is worth more than a $100 gift card.
7. But probably not more than a $200 gift card.
8. Easy on the superlatives: "hardest-working," "most glorious," "awesomest," "best-smelling," etc.
9. Praise followed by criticism is not praise.
10. Praise followed by praise is probably a little too much praise.
11. Praise followed by criticism followed by praise is a sandwich.

[GO] The 1% Windfall: How Successful Companies Use Price to Profit and Grow

by Rafi Mohammed
Review, SmallBizTrends.com 2010 Editors Choice, Best Business Books of 2010:
A study by McKinsey and Company of the Global 1200 found that if they increased their prices by just 1%, and demand remained constant, on average each company’s operating profits would increase by 11%.” If you’ve been avoiding pricing, this sentence alone should get you interested. Need to sell more product to existing customers – there’s a pricing strategy for that. Mohammed makes pricing easy and engaging by grouping pricing strategies by marketing challenges.

Want more? Today's Marketing Savvy Newsletter [ CLICK HERE ] contains these goodies:

Characteristics of a Great Team (part 2 of 2)
Why Everything is Marketing in Your Small Business
3 Reasons You're Not Playing to Win
How to Hire Positive Employees
6 Steps to a Social Media Strategy
The Beginner's Guide to SEO

Let me know if you enjoyed any of these in particular in comments below --
Have a great weekend!

Elizabeth

14 Characteristics of Great Teams (Part 2)

2012-01-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

14 Characteristics of Great Teams: Part 2 of 2

Earlier this week I posted the 7 characteristics that great teams not only “do” but that they do better than the competition. Stating,"Whether you have a small business or not, cultivating these traits within your business and employee culture will give you a competitive advantage and put you in a position to gain ground when it comes to sales, customer loyalty and employee engagement. What’s more, it will make your business stronger – more successful not only in the short term but better prepared for the long haul."

Here are 7 more characteristics shared by great teams:

8. Great teams work their channels of public communication effectively.

Great teams don’t just release news, updates and other information to the public, they do so strategically. They have people assigned to address requests from the press and to communicate with the general public via web, social media and other online avenues. They don’t release information that would give competitors an edge; they play things close to the vest when it’s important to do so. On the other hand, great teams also know how to share information of human interest to garner fan affection and sympathy. How many times have you watched a game on television and heard one or more stories about a player’s rise from poverty or how they overcame an illness or faced a personal tragedy? And great teams make not only their coaches but their star players available to the public – and they also prep and train them to help them better present themselves in a positive light in the public eye.

Develop a communications schedule to support short and long term goals and objectives (which, of course, assumes that you have some type of written plan and specific sales, customer acquisition and retention and other goals). Once you have a basic schedule, use it strategically to develop customer engagement, provide education about your products and services and support current and future initiatives.
Part of communicating strategically is staying on point. This doesn’t mean that you only talk about your company, it means that even when sharing outside ideas and resources in order to build your reputation as an expert resource for your audience, everything that you share in outbound communications (email, social media, etc.) is on a topic that your audience would logically connect you or your business with. Make sense?
Invest in communications training for yourself and your staff. You can’t assume that all of your staff possess an intrinsic ability to communicate both effectively and appropriately. You may not even feel that these are strong points for you as a leader, personally. Write scripts. Train staff. Practice. Have a second pair of eyes review updates that will be posted to social media as well as blog posts, press releases, outbound correspondence, memos that will be added to invoices and other customer forms and even to internal memos (which could negatively impact your staff, and in turn, the morale of your workplace).

Sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Great teams take the time to do it right, the first time. Think about that NFL team, where mistakes could be not only costly but devastating, resulting in team losses, season destruction or even firings. Isn’t the extra effort and training worth it?
Share the story of your business and human interest stories about your team members. Get involved in your community and talk about that, too. Champion local schools and charitable causes. Lead ‘buy local’ campaigns that keep dollars in your community. Give people reasons to connect with you and your business emotionally and to identify themselves with your business and your brand. Give people reasons to believe that when they align themselves with your business through loyalty and referrals, they are part of something good, part of something truly special.

9. Great teams cultivate adoration – nay rabid enthusiasm – from among their fans.

They position themselves to appeal to the types of fans they most desire. They know who their most important and influential fans are. They establish emotional connections and develop loyalty that does just last for a season, but a lifetime; loyalty that is even passed on to the next generation. Their fans are not only willing to spend money to attend a game or order up a season’s worth via cable or satellite TV, but who are willing to purchase all kinds of extra merchandise for apparel or their homes in order to show that they are “part” of the team.

If you’re struggling just to get people in the door to begin with or with finding ways to get them to return a second time, thinking about how you could develop this type of loyalty might seem light years away from where you are right now. But here’s what I say: If they can do it, you can do it – because it can be done.
The way to begin is to focus on engagement and use customer relationship management techniques to move prospects to customer status and move customers through the customer lifecycle to the next level of relationship. For an overview, visit my recent post on engagement [click here].

10. The owners of great teams invest in the future and in adding the best players and coaches to their rosters.

And it’s not just that they go after “the best” players or coaches; in fact, there are many great players and coaches they would not want on their team. But they do spend the money necessary to attract top players to their team who are not only experts or highly skilled at certain things, but they go after great players who also represent a good fit for their company, other team members and for the long term as well as short term. The owners of great teams are always investing toward the future.

What about you? Do you hire strategically? Do you wait for the right person or fill positions with ‘warm bodies?’ Do you consider the impact to other team members? Do you consider personality type? Do you prepare team members to welcome a new player that might be a superstar (and therefore represent a threat to existing team members or become the basis for jealousy and insecurity on the part of team members)?
Remember that long range plan – how are you investing for the future? Train and mentor team members to prepare for growth as well as enable it. Keep your team in the know when it comes to your vision for the future and the route you’ll take to get there. Ensure that people understand that they are important to you and that you value them, but that you’re also interested in helping them to develop personally and professionally. Build an employee culture that is safe and welcoming for all team members and help those prone to jealousy or insecurity (or help them to realize that they might be happier somewhere else). And ultimately, remember that your responsibility is not only to the individuals who work for you, but that you are responsible to your customers and your business, and what is best for all.
Part of thinking about the future and investing in it may require that you have difficult conversations with team members who may no longer be as invested in their role, who may not believe in or be supportive of where you want to grow your company, or who regularly negatively impact your employee culture in some way. Employer loyalty is a laudable virtue, especially today when so much of our economy is transient. But it is not a valid excuse for retaining employees who negatively impact your business, customers or their co-workers. Remember, the choice to support the initiatives, goals and objectives of your business, the choice to live out the mission and vision of the company belongs to each individual employee. If they can’t or won’t align themselves with the mission and vision of your organization – should they be there?

11. Great coaches know how to motivate and inspire players to perform even better than they believed they could. And great coaches know which players to put in, when, and how to call the right plays. Great coaches inspire confidence and trust in their players and other coaches and support staff. And on great teams, players have trust and faith in one another.

While we often think that emotion has no place in the workplace, have you ever watched what goes on on the field and on the sidelines during a game? Coaches and players get fired up, get excited, celebrate big plays, turnovers and scores. They raise their arms to fire up the crowd. Thousands or even more than a hundred thousand people, all excited about the same thing in the same place at the same time. This occurs because of emotional connection, not logic -- and certainly not discounting!
Cultivate an employee culture of trust. Do what you say you will do and insist that all staff members do so, as well. Hold people accountable. Leave no room in your company for backbiting, gossip or individuals who choose to undermine the efforts of others or even corporate initiatives.
Don’t throw people under the bus publically. Part of being a great leader means that you will, occasionally, be the one who takes a hit because one of your employees makes a mistake. Taking that hit for someone else may be one of the most powerful signals you can send to your whole team that you have their backs, always.

12. Great teams play to win, and keep on playing to win. Great teams don’t get complacent and never seem to tire. They play every minute of every game until the final buzzer sounds. They don’t assume that any lead is safe. They don’t abandon the strategies and tactics that put them in the lead. Great teams keep on keeping on!

What about you? Have you relaxed your vigilance when it comes to competitors? Have you let programs lapse or failed to measure or follow up on initiatives? Here are 3 reasons you’re not playing to win.
Continue to execute the strategies and tactics which are bringing your small business desired results, a measure of stability and maybe even competitive advantage. Analyze the competition for weaknesses which might mean places you can gain ground for your small business. Maintain a mindset where you constantly scanning the field, thinking strategically and taking calculated risks in order to gain ground. Play to your strengths and bring great players to your team who can help 'carry the ball' even further.

13. Great teams reward and acknowledge great performances and loyalty.

Great performances are rewarded with game balls, sideline celebrations, most valuable player awards for games and seasons. Great players who prove themselves loyal have jerseys retired, get streets named after them and are inducted to team and even industry halls of fame. Not a game passes by – not a week when it comes to football and not even 2 days when it comes to sports like basketball – not a game passes by where performance is not recognized, acknowledged and rewarded.

What a model! Who have you acknowledged or thanked today? For that matter, when was the last time someone put in an acknowledgement-worthy performance in your business? If you can’t think of one, you’re either not paying attention or it’s (past) time to seriously evaluate and improve your employee culture.

14. Great teams are known for something.

No two teams are alike in specialty, mix of players, strategy or playbooks. No two teams look alike; in fact, teams go to great lengths to differentiate their visual brand identity.

Great companies are known for something. They are known for their specialties. Their founders. Their stories. Their charitable and public contributions. What is your business known for?
The path to success is not to be a copycat. The path to greatness is about identifying and choosing those traits, skills and specialties that will make your company different from the competition. It’s about identifying niche markets and finding where opportunity exists – you’re looking for the gaps and providing solutions there. You’re thinking about the future and developing products and services that will meet emerging customer needs and wants. You’re cultivating and educating prospects and customers. Set yourself apart!

14 Characteristics of Great Teams. Easy to write, not so easy to live up to – but start, today. Try today and try again tomorrow. Get your team on board; but remember, you have to believe in these things yourself, and endeavor to model them with authenticity to your team, before they will be willing to reciprocate – especially if there is a history where these traits were not part of your value system.

It’s going to be a great year!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

14 Characteristics of Great Teams for Small Business Success

2012-01-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

14 Characteristics of Great Teams: Part 1 of 2

If you read my recent post titled, “Playing to Win” then you know that I’m an avid football fan. And while my favorite team was knocked out of the playoffs, I’m still watching the remaining games with great interest, including the two divisional championship games that were played yesterday. In just under two weeks, this season’s NFL champion will be anointed after winning the Super Bowl.

This got me thinking: what is it that sets great teams apart?
What do the great teams do differently and better than the others?

Whether you have a small business or not, cultivating these traits within your business and employee culture will give you a competitive advantage and put you in a position to gain ground when it comes to sales, customer loyalty and employee engagement. What’s more, it will make your business stronger – more successful not only in the short term but better prepared for the long haul.

So here are my 14 characteristics of great teams for small business success:

1. Great teams study the competition. They scout the players and analyze the play of other teams. They discover the strengths and exceptional players of the other team and they look for weaknesses they can exploit for competitive advantage.

Do you know who your competitors are? Do you know what they are best at? Do you know what their ‘fans’ love most about them? Do you know where their weaknesses are?
The answers to these questions can help you develop tactics to improve your own performance to better compete against them. And by analyzing their weaknesses, you can gain not only competitive advantage but you may also be able to identify portions of your shared target markets which they are not serving well. In other words, rather than competing against the competition at their points of strength, become good in areas where they are weak or may overlook completely.

2. Great teams strategize and plan. They spend hours and hours and hours “off the field” creating detailed game plans and even contingency plans for the team to follow on the field.

Do you have a plan? Do you have a mission and vision statement? Do you have a customer bill of rights? Do all of your employees know the plan, understand your mission and vision, support the promises you make to customers and – most importantly – understand how their role helps to fulfill each? When was the last time you conducted a SWOT analysis?
(SWOT=Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Threats)
Do you have a marketing plan, or are you winging it? Do you have specific goals for sales, new customer acquisition, retention, referrals, customer life cycle management and strategies to achieve them?
Do you have contingency plans for when things go awry, competitors emerge, the market changes or emergencies occur?

3. Great teams work as a team. While players who carry, catch or throw the ball might get more time in the spotlight, they represent only a small fraction of the players on the team, most of whom rarely touch the ball at all. On great teams, those in the spotlight understand that they can only do what they do because of the efforts of their teammates who perform other roles. On great teams, every team member understands their own role and how it contributes to the success of the team as a whole. They know the importance of what they do and they strive, continually, to improve.

Few businesses of any size can say that all or most of their team members perform at this level; it’s likely that there are few businesses where even a significant portion of their employees perform at this level.

To develop this type of employee culture:
Make sure that all employees know the game plan: the mission and vision of your company, the promises you make to customers, your business goals and long term objectives.
Make sure that all employees study the play book: the strategies and tactics that will be employed in order to fulfill the mission and vision of the organization fulfill customer promises and reach goals.
Every employee must understand how their job works to fulfill the mission and vision of the organization, how it enhances and impacts the customer experience and how what they do impacts the ability of others in the organization to succeed.
Create a culture where each employee feels equally valuable and needed by the organization. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about money; what I mean is that in many organizations, one or more departments or individuals is made to feel that they are more important than others. Some are driven by the sales department. Some by operations. Some by singularly charismatic, dominant individuals. But for a team to feel and perform like a team, it’s vital to develop a culture where people understand why ‘what they do’ is vital to the organization and one in which no one department or team consciously or subconsciously believes that they are more important than the others.
Don’t pit people against one another or create power silos. Nip negative behaviors such as hoarding power, information or contacts in the bud. And conversely, make it absolutely safe for people to share information, power, contacts and even customers by behaving with integrity and insisting that all employees do the same.

4. Great teams recruit strategically. They go after the best players for each position; people who are not only great at what they do, but people whose strengths, personality (on and off the field) and abilities complement their style of play, work to fulfill their game plan, enhance and complement the strengths of other players and ultimately will help to generate immediate “wins” but will also help to build the team for the future.

When hiring, remember that you’re not just looking for superstars, you’re looking for individuals who will fit in well with the employee culture that you have (or the one you want to develop).
If you want to have a positive workplace, you must hire people who are positively charged. If you want to grow your business, you must hire people who can embrace change, welcome the suggestions and ideas of others and understand the concept of continuous improvement. If you want to deliver exceptional customer experiences, you must hire people who are positive, patient, knowledgeable, good at problem solving, can think on their feet, who don’t take criticism personally and who absolutely live to make the lives of others better.
Hire for personality and attitude as well as abilities and experience. Make sure that not only your screening and interview processes but also your reference checks include questions which will help you determine whether the individual will be a good fit relative to other employees, whether they will add skills and abilities that you strategically desire, and whether they are individuals who can help you achieve not only short term “wins” but also build for the long term.

5. Great teams are committed to continuous improvement which they achieve by running drills, training, education and good old practice, practice, practice. Never satisfied with “good enough” or how good they were last season or during the last game, great teams constantly analyze their own performance to identify areas where they can improve, and then set out to do so. They work out to stay in shape and to get stronger and faster. They study the game plan. They learn every play in the playbook so that, if called upon, they can do their job to the absolute best of their ability.

For many businesses, especially small businesses, this is an area which is often shelved for some time in the future when you believe that you will “have time” to develop a plan for improvement. In many businesses, employees are putting in a “good enough” performance because there is no reason or incentive for them to go above and beyond the call of duty. They don’t see a career path and opportunities for strategic development and advancement are not put in front of them. Mentoring and cross-training – practicing new skills -- is non-existent.
Have you created a climate of continuous improvement, or is “good enough” good enough at your business? Do you incentivize, reward or acknowledge ideas for improving sales, reducing costs, increasing efficiencies and other process improvements? Do you make it safe for people to make suggestions and share ideas relative to their own jobs and to those of others?
Do you encourage or support continuing education and training? Do you even have a training plan? How about a job mentoring or employee development program?
How often do you even analyze the ‘play’ of your team to look for areas which can be improved? Do you conduct employee and customer surveys? Do you encourage and facilitate customer or employee feedback in any way? Do you act on ideas and complaints? Do you report results?

6. Great teams take time to reassess and adjust their game plan mid-season or even mid-game, and they do so for many reasons. They may have lost key players due to injury or trades. They may have lost one or more coaches, or even fired them for poor performance. Or what they are doing may simply not be working.

Part of your planning process should include incremental measurements; points in time when you will step back and analyze whether the tactics you’re employing are working. You (and all the members of your team) must be able willing to make needed adjustments to your game plan. You must be open to change.
You have to create a culture where managers and employees feel safe; safe to make suggestions and where criticisms are given and taken constructively (rather than personally). It’s not easy to develop this type of climate, and it starts at the top and is a climate to which all of the leaders in your organization should be held accountable.
This is not a culture you’ll develop by accident; ‘fight or flight’ is human nature when it comes to confrontation and criticism. Creating a culture where it is safe for the people within it to operate, make and receive suggestions and implement needed change is something you’ll only achieve when it’s an authentic part of who you are as the leader of your business and the steps you take strategically to nurture it.

7. Great teams listen to experts on and off the field. Great teams don’t just have one great coach, or even a great coach plus a great offensive and defensive coordinator. Great teams have experts on and off the field and in the booth, people who have a different perspective of things because of where they’re sitting, who can be tapped for advice and insight.

This may be scary, because top down, dictatorial leadership can seem easier. It gives you the illusion of having control – but it’s not the way to build a great team. To build a great team, all of the leaders and influencers within your business need to feel (and should be) valued and heard.
To build a great team, you need to tap the advice and insights of people who are watching your game from a different perspective. No man is an island, and great leaders seek out mentors, peers and consultants who can provide them with real time feedback on their own performance as well as that of their team.

The next 7 characteristics of a great team will be published on Thursday, January 26th -it's going to be a great year!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Is Pinterest Right for Your Business, or Should You 'Put a Pin' in It?

2012-01-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

The phase, “let’s put a pin in this” means that something may be a good idea or suggestion, but that you are going to pin it to a bulletin board (really or symbolically) for further study. But since early adopters generally get the most ROI from being among the first to really understand and utilize new communications, you might not want to “stick a pin” in Pinterest, which landed among the top 10 social media sites with nearly as much traffic as Google+ according to dreamgrow.com.

Instead, you might want to start pinning on Pinterest on behalf of your business sooner, rather than later. Now that I’ve spent a few weeks sleuthing through the site pinning interests of my own at http://www.pinterest.com/beinpulse; here are my current suggestions for Pinterest as far as business use goes:

Is Pinterest even for business?

Strictly speaking, no. No one who has set up an account and taken time to check the site out for any length of time would think that Pinterest is a social media site meant for business. And since it is still in Beta mode, and open to users by invitation only (to get an invitation, check with your friends or contacts on Facebook, it’s likely that someone will be able to send you an invitation), it will be interesting to see where its developers take the site.

That said, you can use it to build brand awareness and even to feature products and services, but my advice would be to use it sparingly and judiciously for those purposes, and participate on it as an individual if it is something that interests you, first and foremost.

To know whether Pinterest is right for you or your business, you need to know what it’s being used for and who is using it.

Who is using Pinterest?

Again, a short foray into Pinterest itself will quickly reveal to you that it’s users are mainly (overwhelmingly) female. The site is used by individuals who share their own or other people’s handcrafted decorations and décor, home decorating styles, personal fashion styles, wedding ideas, party ideas, recipes and food presentation, kids crafts and rooms, quotes, graphics, DIY (do-it-yourself) how-to and other inspirations.

If you don’t see your business’s target markets or your own interests represented in those categories, then it’s unlikely that Pinterest is right for you, at least not right now.

If you do find members of your ideal client types represented by those types of interests, though, here are some guidelines to help you get started with this social media site:

Get your own account (as a person) first. Put in at least 10-12 hours of personal research (believe me, this will happen more quickly than you might think). Learn how to find and follow other users. See if you can identify some of the influential ‘pinners’ relative to your business type.
Begin using your account to highlight a few aspects of your business that you believe would be of greatest interest to other individuals on Pinterest. Don’t post pictures of products or copies of your advertisements. Do post how-to tutorials for achieving looks, style, fashion, décor or decorating that would interest the individuals participating most on Pinterest.
Revisit Pinterest at least three times per week. Make your activity a combination of pinning your own interests, your own how-to or tutorials and re-pinning things others have pinned that you also appreciate.
Create one or two boards committed to your business. These might be boards which feature your work, how-to, tutorials, etc., blogs or books which inspire you (personally as well as professionally), a board which features quality head shots of your key staff along with interesting personal information or quotes about each – in other words; go light on business content and heavy on human interest content.
Pinterest allows you to cross-post pins simultaneously to Facebook and Twitter; do so, but be aware that every time you cross post you are putting another post from your Facebook page onto the stream of your friends and fans. One, they will see what you are posting so the same rules that govern your Facebook posting should apply (no profanity, no religious or political controversy, etc.) as well as frequency of posting. If you pin or repin 20+ items to Facebook, you could quickly lose followers there, so be judicious and cross post only those items which would be of interest or inspiration to your Facebook or Twitter fans and followers.
To use Pinterest for business, you need original content and images by way of your own website, blog, or multimedia sites. Particularly when it comes to featuring your own work or how-to tutorials in pictures, utilize your own blog or website to post your text and images, then 'pin' to Pinterest. Sorry -- Pinterest doesn't allow you to post from Facebook (another reminder that Facebook is not a replacement for having your own website or blog!)
Watch as this social media site evolves for more opportunities.

Want more? Likeable.com's article on how to curate your brand on Pinterest [here] suggests that you 'pin' contests and giveaways (great idea!), create an online catalog by way of its pin boards and pin relevant how-to and special interest content.

***

Elizabeth Kraus, author of 365 Days of Marketing and the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies.

Dispel all the little white marketing lies that might be holding your business back - check out the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies on amazon.com. With hundreds of marketing ideas laid out for 2012, you'll get into a marketing groove and build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients!

Show Customers You Care - 10 Valentines Day Marketing Ideas for Small Business

2012-01-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

Now that you’ve taken down the snowflakes, lights and tinsel, you’re probably looking for Valentine’s Day decorating and marketing ideas for your small business. These Valentine’s Day marketing ideas are more than window dressing, and that’s the point, because people won't care about your business until they know how much you care about them!

Here are 10 marketing ideas for Valentine’s Day to help you build business, show customers you care and cultivate customer love and loyalty:

1. Use Facebook and Twitter to send 29 messages of affection to your customers.
Every day in February (and it’s a Leap Year, so there will be 29 days in the month) put blog and Facebook posts and Tweets out into the social media universe that conveys some measure of your affection for customers, a customer service promise or another customer care oriented message. And create a special Valentine’s Day email to send to your contacts on February 14th. That's 30 ways to say "I love you" to your customers!

2. Create your own Valentine’s Day love themed set of coupons.
You know how couples often create Valentines Day IOUs for back rubs and date nights? Create your own Valentine's Day IOUs in the form of bounce back offers distributed at the point of sale, via email and social media redeemable for a gift with purchase, discount or add on the next time they buy from your business.

3. Hold a 14 Days of Valentines contest or give away.
Every day from February 1-14, hold a contest or drawing to give away an inexpensive but desirable product, service, add on or even a branded coffee, water or travel mug, t-shirt or another branded tchotchke. Put together a grand prize for the February 14th drawing (such as a gift basket, collection with one of each of the items given away previously, larger ticket item, etc.)

4. Don’t forget the singles!
Obviously, everyone doesn’t have a significant other. The singles among your client base may well be sick of all the talk of love and romance. Cater to them by way of a romance-free shopping event or go the other direction and hold singles shopping hour mixers. Include a few love-cynical quotes on Facebook and Twitter. Or celebrate with special offers on February 15th, which is “Call in Single Day.”

5. Take time for introspection and show some love to your employees.
Study after study (not to mention common sense) tells us that engaged employees – employees who see themselves as aligned and connected with the brand and culture of the business where they work – are happier, more likely to deliver exceptional customer service and more likely to proactively resolve customer’s problems (or even go out of their way to prevent them). Your customers are much more likely to feel ‘loved’ by your business when your employees do, too! During February, send Valentines or notes of appreciation to your staff noting personal traits and talents you appreciate. Post customer raves on social media and in employee break and lunch areas. Hold a Valentine’s Day luncheon or send chocolates or flowers to each at home.

6. Put Cupid to work in your business.
Literally, put Cupid to work in your business. Solicit a staff volunteer to dress as Cupid and stand inside or outside of your business, distributing business cards, special offers, branded pens or promotional items, etc. Or hold a Cupid-hosted Valentine’s Day open house, extended shopping hours for VIP or loyalty club customers or another special event.

7. Send Valentines to people who need and deserve them.
Collect or create Valentines to be given to soldiers, seniors, cancer patients or another deserving group. Ask customers to bring signed Valentines or hold a DIY Valentine craft workshop for kids (of all ages). Feature the project in a press release and in stories on your website, social media, email newsletter and blog.

8. Live out the spirit of Valentine’s Day.
Donate a portion of proceeds or proceeds from the sales of specific products or services to a local deserving charity, or hold an a-thon type of event with proceeds and solicited donations going to charity. And don’t forget to tell people about the good works that you do for charity or in your community in communications via your website, blog, in email newsletters and on social media.

9. Get closer to your customers and prospects.
Do a customer service survey. Solicit customer comments, raves, reviews and other feedback. Form a focus group from among your most loyal customers to discuss one or more aspects of the customer experience which could be improved. Use customer or child-created Valentine arts and crafts to decorate within your business and feature them in photos on your website, email newsletter, social media and your blog.

10. Reward your best customers.
Double loyalty points or rewards for all purchases, your most loyal customers, club members or double up rewards or points when customers purchase specific products or services in February. Extend a special offer such as a free or reduced-price add on, gift with purchase or another incentive to your best customers or loyalty reward members. Send a Valentine to your most loyal customers by mail or email.

11. BONUS: Looking for Valentine’s Day decorating ideas for your business?
Last month I found Pinterest and became immediately immersed (or, more accurately, addicted) as it appeals to my own A.D.D. approach to the internet. It’s an especially great resource for finding holiday craft and decorating ideas, including ideas for how to decorate your business for Valentine’s Day. You'll find some of my favorites here, but I highly recommend that you visit www.pinterest.com and take a look around, yourself. My next email newsletter will include this article about using Pinterest for business.

Merely decorating the windows, walls and displays in your business for Valentine’s Day is not enough. For customers to believe you care, your efforts must come out of authenticity. Remember the Law of Reflection? The principle included in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Ideas at position #5 was this: No one— not your customers, employees, vendors or investors— no one is going to put more into the relationship they have with your business than you do. Your investment (the extent to which you go to show customers that you really care about them) will be reflected in their ‘love’ for and loyalty to your business. The return is never going to be more than your investment!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

To Succeed in 2012, Get Engaged: #7 in the Top 10 Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2012

2012-01-03T16:22:00.000-08:00

#7 in my top 10 marketing ideas for small business in 2012 is this:

To succeed in 2012, you're going to have to get engaged. And as in any good love story, unless you’re part of an arranged marriage, you’ll never get engaged if you don’t ever meet so you need to ‘be’ where your customers ‘are.’

Once you’ve found them, you need to engage them.To do that, you need to know how to engage them.To engage them, you need to understand what it means:

en-gage: v.

To involve oneself or become occupied; participate: engage in conversation.
To assume an obligation; agree.
To enter into conflict or battle: The armies engaged at dawn.
To become meshed or interlocked: The gears engaged.

Look at the definition,
it’s almost a picture of the customer life cycle.

One, become involved (prospect finds you, or you find them, and an interaction occurs).
Two, assume an obligation (they agree to pay, you agree to provide services and/or products in return).
Three, to enter into conflict or battle (sure, it’s a stretch, but I’m going to liken this to the customer, becoming involved in your battle – to grow your business – by telling others about you or choosing to purchase from you again).
And four, to become meshed or interlocked: based on 1-3, you now have developed customer loyalty and even brand advocacy.

To do any of that, you need to know them (both your current and desired/ideal customers).

You need to have an idea of the shared interests, values and passions of your current customers, and you need to have an idea of those of your ideal client types (those you most want to attract, or want to be able to attract in the future) as well.

Engagement – and the potential to move someone through to the next level of engagement – occurs any time you come into contact with a prospect or customer. That means that opportunities for engagement will occur both within your business and without.

The interactions that will engage people – get them to want to do business with you, to want to do business with you again, to want to tell others about you, and to want to do business only with you (when it comes to the products and services you provide) – these types of interactions will be those where alignment of emotional connection and relevance (what you have is actually something they need) occurs.

Make 2012 the year that you truly connect with your customers. Find out where they live, what they truly want and need, what stirs their passions, what things they believe in, what they value in and about your community, and so on. Make 2012 the year that you truly engage with people on behalf of your business. Get engaged – it’s going to be a great year!

Play to Win: #6 in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Musts for 2012

2011-12-29T07:14:00.000-08:00

If you watch a lot of football (like I do), it’s not uncommon to watch your favorite team gain an edge over their opponent and get a small lead. Then, with a few minutes left on the clock, for reasons I will never understand, they abandon the strategy which helped them get the lead (which usually involved assertive play and calculated risk taking on both offense and defense) and start playing “not to lose,” hoping to run out the clock before the other team can gain the lead.

What inevitably happens is that the other team is able to take advantage of this less aggressive style of play.

They stop your offense, because you’re trying to keep the ball on the ground and you fail to make a needed first down. And once they get the ball back, they march right down the field into scoring range because your defense isn’t working as hard to force a turnover and they aren’t taking the calculated risks needed to put extra men where they think the next play is going to be.

So how does this relate to your business?

You worked hard to get your business established; you took calculated risks and tried things you hadn’t tried before in order to gain an edge. Now that you’ve gained some ground, you’re so afraid to lose your position that you start playing “not to lose” instead of playing to win.

You’ve got a few hundred (or thousand) fans on Facebook or Twitter but you’re so afraid of one or two of them “unliking” your page that you’re afraid to post things that will provoke and connect with people emotionally. You’re afraid to speak passionately on social media. Your posts are about as exciting as a bowl of oatmeal (which, incidentally, is how they're making your brand look, as well). You’re afraid that if you post more than once a day someone will get annoyed and stop reading your posts.

So you’re not playing to win on social media, you’re playing “not to lose.”

Instead of adding value and changing your lineup – taking a few calculated risks in order to compete in the new economy, you’re holding on to the way you’ve always done things. You are more focused on not losing one or two customers than you are on gaining new ones by making changes you need to make within your business.

Instead of making your business – and your customer experience – truly unique, you’re playing it safe by keeping things as generic as possible. And so once the customer walks out, there's nothing memorable to make them want to come back and nothing that makes them want to tell their friends about you.

Instead of engaging with your customers through communications, you’re so worried that someone might unsubscribe from your emailing list if you actually email them that you never do it at all; or at most, you send one or two one-and-done offers and a holiday greeting each year.

Or even worse, maybe you don’t have a playbook at all, and everything that you are doing is being done as a one-and-done, because there is no short or long term strategy in play.

There’s still time on the clock: are you going to play not to lose? Or play to win?

***

Elizabeth Kraus, author of 365 Days of Marketing and the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies.

Understand the Law of Reflection: #5 in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Musts for 2012

2011-12-28T07:12:00.000-08:00

How many times have you wondered what it would take to turn one time customers into repeat customers, to turn repeat customers into exclusively loyal ones -- to attract and develop a group of people willing to refer, recommend and otherwise talk about your brand to others.

How many times have you felt powerless and hopeless when it comes to getting your employees to think more like stakeholders – people who have a vested interest in the health and well-being of the company and so become engaged and loyal to the business (not just the paycheck, and make decisions that are in the best interest of the company, even if it's not always comfortable or most convenient for themselves.

How many times have you wondered why you aren’t converting more search engine results, blog post links and other web site visitors into online sales and in-store visits.

Here’s the secret.

People don’t buy from companies, they buy from people.

People don’t develop loyalty to companies, they become loyal – and sometimes addicted – to the things that companies do for them or how they make them feel.

Getting found by search engines, having your blog posts read and getting people to your website is a preliminary step; only what happens after that point – the engagement and emotional connection built into the online experience – produces sales, booked appointments and in-store visits.

Only what occurs after someone walks into your store in terms of engagement and emotional connection produces desired results at the cash register, repeat visits and referrals.

Employees don’t think like stakeholders when they’re treated like tools. (Take that any way you like.) And all if it can be attributed to what I call the ‘Law of Reflection.’

And here is its shortest, sweetest version:
no one is going to put more into a relationship than you.

Employees won’t invest themselves personally in the well-being of your company until they feel that you are invested in them. Clocking in does not produce engagement. If you want them to act like a stakeholder, you’ve got to give them reasons to feel like one, first.

Customers don’t become loyal to you until you become loyal to them, making them #1 in your focus and thinking, and making it your goal to benefit them and improve their lives. (Notice how “sell stuff to them” is nowhere to be found in that statement.)

The relationship and loyalties that customers develop toward you and your business is a direct reflection of your commitment to and interest in them. Likewise, the loyalty and engagement that employees demonstrate toward your business is a direct reflection of not only your policies and employee culture but also of how much (or little) you take the time to educate and train them and of how important you make them feel that they are to you, and to your business.

Understanding the Law of Reflection is the first step on the road to loyalty and engagement, changing the way that you think about your business and set goals and priorities must follow.

Remember, just like with a pool of water or even a mirror, the reflection (the way customers or employees feel about you and your business) is never going to be clearer or stronger than the original, and you are responsible for creating the original side of those relationships.

Define, or Be Defined: #4 in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Musts for 2012

2011-12-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

This week, I included an article in my newsletter titled 12 trends that will change marketing in 2012. The original article (from PR Say) spoke to public relations, but in reading through the trends, you’ll find that it’s much bigger than just that segment.

In the article, the third trend stated it this way: “Organizations will be defined by communication.”

Citing the fact that Time Magazine named “The Protestor” (worldwide) as their person of the year for 2011, Daniel Tisch is quoted as saying, “As we move ever closer to a world in which global publishing power lies in every person’s pocket, the punishment for failing to listen, engage, anticipate and respond effectively will be severe; and the rewards for an organization that defines itself through communication will be rich indeed.”

This is definitely a coin which has two sides, though.

Note the prediction that organizations will be defined by communication; meaning, judgments will be made about whether someone wants to be associated with your business in any way (as a customer, employee, investor, vendor, etc.) based on how they perceive your company by way of your communications.

Stay with me.

In the subsequent quote, however, Tisch makes the point that the businesses which are going to be rewarded in the future will be those who define themselves through communication.

Do you see the difference?

People are going to decide whether to do business or otherwise associate themselves with your business as a direct result of how and to the extent to which you do (or do not) define yourself through communication.

To define yourself through communication, you must first define and develop an authentic brand (that means you really are who you think you are, and who you really are and who you think you really are matches up to what you say you really are).

And then you must develop a strategy for frequent, relentlessly brand-consistent communication that encompasses all of your internal and external communications (marketing, social media, advertising, public relations, employee relations, etc.). You are likely going to need to increase both the frequency of your communications and means, you’re going to have to make it a priority and you’re going to need to stick to it!

***

Elizabeth Kraus - www.12monthsofmarketing.net
365 Days of Marketing and the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies

#3 in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2012: Stick Around

2011-12-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

So far in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2012 are:

1. Process - not practice - makes perfect [ click here ]
and 2. Commit to Continuous Improvement (and no 'sacred cows') [ click here ]

So what made the 3rd spot in my list?
Stick Around.

What I mean is this: Persistence is far more important to small business success in 2012 than is almost any other marketing genius.

But don't just take my word for it:

"Never, never, never give up."
(Winston Churchill)

"Ambition is the path to success.
Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in."
(Bill Bradley)

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."
(Benjamin Franklin)

"The habit of persistence is the habit of victory."
(Herbert Kaufman)

"Paralyze resistance with persistence."
(Woody Hayes)

"Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence.
The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning."
(Dennis Waitley)

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap,
if we do not give up."
(Paul the Apostle, Galatians 6:9)

Sometimes the only difference between the successful and those who are not is persistence. Showing up, trying, doing, learning, putting what was learned into practice, and showing up again, the next day.

To be successful in 2012, commit yourself to persistence. Make it a habit. Make it one of the defining traits of your character, a word that those closest to you would use to describe you. Don't give up in pursuit of your dream or in doing what you know is right, because you'll never have or enjoy the first without the second.

Elizabeth Kraus

***

Elizabeth Kraus, author of 365 Days of Marketing and the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies.

#2: Top 10 Small Business Marketing Musts for 2012 - Continuous Improvement (and no 'sacred cows')

2011-12-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

The second in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2012 is

2. Continuous Improvement (and no “sacred cows”)

One of the first business books I read after college was Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers (Kriegel & Brandt). I still rank this among the best books for business owners and managers.

Why? Because it makes a very important point, over and over and over again.

People (i.e., managers, decision makers, policy setters and bosses) resist change to one extent or another, for one reason or another.

We think that what worked in the last decade will always work. Heck, we think that what worked last year will work again this year. We set up certain of our programs or departments as “untouchable” or we put territorial bulldogs in charge of them. We become emotionally invested in our brain children and in our ‘firstborn’ business ideas.

The term ‘sacred cow’ refers to the status of cattle in India. They’re untouchable and protected for religious reasons, without exception. They are afforded the status almost of gods on earth, you must give way for them, starve rather than consume them, sacrifice to them and even adorn them with flowers for celebrations.

Over time, programs and departments in our businesses can assume this status. Even if the company is ‘starving’ to death, these programs, departments or persons must not be touched, changed or affected.
We’ve all been in organizations like this, where certain programs and certain people seemed to be able to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, without consequence, without accountability and without question – even when their actions or results were significantly detrimental to the company.

To be successful in 2012, companies must renew their commitment to an old idea: continuous improvement, throughout every area of their organization.

Continuous improvement is a buzz term related to the “Total Quality Management” (or TQM) approach to leadership that gained popularity especially in the late 1980s/early 19902 (although its roots are older than that).

In the early 1990’s, I worked in a company that encouraged continuous improvement formally, through a program which rewarded those who brought good ideas (reviewed by committee) for improving the process or even conditions for their own job or for the company with the grant of the money needed to implement the change. It was rare that at least 2-3 new ideas were not accepted and implemented every month, resulting over the course of just one year in dozens of improvements throughout every area and in every department of the company.

I say, no more sacred cows. This especially resounds with me because of all the times I've been trained in a new role or otherwise been treated to some variation of the phrase, "this is the way we've always done it."

In one such role, about 10 years ago, I had taken an administrative job at the private school my children attended. Right after I started, the school had hired a consultant to help implement a capital campaign for improvements and expansion. With all the school execs (principals, board members, a few key teachers, etc.) in the room, many of whom had been there for decades, the consultant looked around the room and said, "Who do you think is the most valuable person in this process right now?"

People responded with different ideas but he said they were all wrong. Pointing at me, the low man on the totem pole (truthfully only in the room because they needed someone to take notes!) he said it was me. He said that I was the only one who'd been with the organization for less than 6 months, I was the only one whose brain had not been inducted into the groupthink that occurs after behaviors are learned and become routine. I was the one most capable of thinking creatively, because I was not yet 'trained' in the 'way they'd always done things.' Now almost 2 decades later, I've never forgotten that point.

To loose yourself from the hold of sacred cows in your company will require that you let go of preconceived ideas about what works and about how you view your company. You will need to bring in fresh eyes, survey customers, solicit employee opinions and pay attention to discontent (instead of defending yourself) from all stakeholders. You will need to be open to new ideas and actually trying new things and – gasp – worst of all, you will need to empower people to make changes that will improve their own jobs, working conditions, and processes in your company.

In the new year, commit yourself anew to this ‘old’ idea of continuous improvement in every area of your business, and your own life!

Top 10 2012 Marketing Ideas for Small Business Success

2011-12-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

No matter what your business specialty, at the end of each year you’ll always find a smattering of articles touting predictions for the coming year. With few exceptions, most of the 2012 marketing predictions and 2012 small business trend related articles I’ve come across this year have been little more than noting that trends already in play will continue.

While still helpful, hardly the secrets to success most small business owners are looking for. I mean, we all know that social media has earned its place as a legitimate tool in every business’s marketing arsenal. We all know that success is tied to our ability to build and develop online and offline communities, fans, followers and referrals. And it's not news to anyone that we have to set ourselves apart from the competition (which, by the way, is fiercer than ever!)

We know what the problems and challenges are, and most of us know what the trends are, what we don’t know is how to take advantage, how to solve the problems and how to overcome the challenges. It’s not knowing what the next big web app or social media platform is going to be, it’s knowing how to use it to build business. It’s knowing which of the hundreds of choices available are right for your business, customers, employees, products and services.

From old-fashioned to new-fangled, visit my blog every day for the next 10 days for my Top 10 Marketing Ideas for Small Business Success for 2012:

1. Process – not practice – makes perfect.

It’s not that practice isn’t a good thing, because it is. This is something I understand well; I took piano lessons from the age of 7 through my sophomore year of college. Practicing something the right way helps you improve your ability to perform and leads to stellar, buzz-worthy performances and competitive advantage.

But practicing something the wrong way over and over, with mistakes, poor technique, skipping steps through ignorance or poor memorization – in music, these are the things that make for mediocre musicians and poor showings in recitals and competitions.

The same holds true for small business.

If your processes or the services you provide to customers are practiced (or performed) over and over the wrong way, you kill your ability to compete, negate any chance of referrals and even run the risk of losing your regular clients. Take time to make sure that you’re practicing things right by thinking through each of the processes that impact the customer experience.

And - maybe even more obviously: create a 2012 marketing plan, and work your plan.

It's just too easy for things to slip from the get-go if your plan simply consists of "doing better" in 2012. Without a written plan, you can't expect staff to understand the big picture, your organizational goals and how they contribute to the success of the business. Without a written plan, you can't develop a playbook for the day to day. Without a written plan, your social media marketing is going to be all over the place and do little to create engagement, build community or support your sales goals. Without a plan, all of your marketing is likely to be hit-and-miss, one-and-done and (worst of all) ineffective.

"Write a marketing plan." Sounds pretty basic, doesn't it.

But, by and large, business owners don't actually do it.

Why? They don't know why they should. They lack the motivation. They lack the know-how. It sounds like work (and it is; but it's not as much work as you think). You can create a process for your marketing that is simple; it doesn't have to be a doctoral thesis!

At it's most basic level, a marketing plan has these components:

Goals (or Strategies), such as:

a specific sales goal
launching a new product or service
developing new products or services
getting more customers
conducting a charity drive
moving customers to new levels of engagement
getting social media followers
building brand awareness
increasing market share

Tactics, which are the things that you will do (or at least try) in support of your goals. This is my favorite component, because it's the creative element. This is where you and staff get to brainstorm new ideas, think out of the box and get excited about the possibilities. This is where you develop employee buy-in and engagement and help employees to understand their role in the mission and vision of your organization.

Time-line and/or target dates (or incremental dates when you will measure and analyze results).

Results, which is simply whether or not you met a specific goal, and by how much you exceeded or fell short.

And finally, analysis, which is what went right, what went wrong, and how you will do things differently going forward or 'the next time.' As implied, this is another opportunity to impact employee engagement and buy-in and unleash creativity that can truly help to differentiate your business from competitors.

In fact, the very fact that you are now writing - however simple - a marketing plan is likely to differentiate you from your competitors; using it and executing it is going to take you even further!

Where to start? Click here for a free worksheet.

1. Set a goal
2. Set a timeline
3. Think of (at least) 3 things you will do (or do differently) to meet the goal
4. Do those 3 things
5. At the end of the timeline, measure results
6. Analyze and try again or modify marketing accordingly

It's that simple!

Need marketing plan fodder? The 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar is a great choice, especially if (like many small business owners) you are maxed-out when it comes to time. It's a great choice if you are just starting (or still need to get started) with social media. It's a great choice if you need a tool to help not only with your marketing plan, but as a staff development and learning tool. It's a great choice if marketing is just one of the responsibilities that falls under your job title.

For those who plan to spend time every day on social media or want to grow their social media and overall marketing efforts, 365 Days of Marketing can fuel your marketing plans in 2012 and for years to come.

Want more customers? Fill your car with balloons.

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

So yesterday while driving home from nearby Enumclaw, Washington, I was winding my way along familiar back roads and slowed when I caught up to a white sedan driving just under the speed limit. While normally this might irritate me and my lead foot just a tad, yesterday, it didn’t. The car had only one occupant, a guy, but was also filled with red and green helium-filled balloons.

It was kind of obvious that he was looking for an address, because he kept slowing up at the crossroads. After about a mile, he turned off on a side street and I found myself wanting to follow him.

I wanted to know where he was going with all of those balloons. I’m guessing he was headed to a holiday party, and I am positive that any party that was going to play host to that many red and green bouncy balloons, straining to be released from their earthly tether, was going to be a good one.

Those red and green balloons promised me a good time.

When it comes to your business, is there anything about you or your team members that makes people want to follow you in to your business? Attend your events? Book appointments? Is there anything about your website, Facebook page or email newsletter that promises a good time?

How can you become the man with a car full of balloons?

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

To build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee engagement as well as profitability, change the way that you understand and use marketing. 365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

The Little Things that Cost Your Business, Big Time

2011-12-11T18:08:00.000-08:00

I love football. I’ve been an avid fan since I was young, mostly of college ball, but now that I’m married to a bona fide ‘cheese head’ – a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin – I’m watching a lot of pro ball too. During one of the games I watched today, a team (thankfully not the Packers) made several very fundamental mistakes which resulted in yards and yards of lost ground for their team, on offense and defense. I told my husband that if I were their coach, those guys would be running basic drills and running lines all next week. They'd be going through the basics until they had them down to the point that they occurred automatically, without mistakes, each and every time.

Football is hard enough—what with 300 pound linemen trying to kill you, wily, veteran linebackers looking to pick one off, tacklers coming in trying to strip the ball and the like. With so many “big” things to worry about (like those linemen) it’s critical that your team doesn’t make things that much harder for themselves by missing small details or making little mistakes like jumping ahead of the snap count, lining up wrong or failing to get extra people off the field before the next play starts.

It’s the same when it comes to your business: The competition wants to crush you; in this sluggish economy, you have to make every ‘play’ count.

You can’t afford to screw up on the basics—things that should be pretty much automatic because they’ve already been drilled in to your employee culture to the point that individual team members don’t have to think about them to get them right.

Things like friendly greetings and good attitudes. Things like a culture where employees are encouraged and empowered to go out of their way to accommodate customers, to solve problems and make sure people get connected with exactly what they need and want.

Things like making sure that your building’s exterior and signage, entry, waiting area, lobby and rest rooms make people feel welcome, comfortable and clean. Things like arriving on time, opening on time, keeping appointments running on time and being convenient for your customers.

Things like scripts for prescriptive products clients should be using at home and add-on products and services. Things like preventing traffic jams or long waits during the appointment-making, check in or check out processes, or on the phones.

The last thing you want to do is beat yourself.

Take some time to think about things that you take for granted will be part of your customer’s experience, each and every time they do business with you or interact with your business. Do all your team members agree, and do they fully understand and know what these are? Double check to be sure that your team members don’t need a refresher on the basics and to determine whether it’s time to craft some new basic ‘plays’ to add to your business’s playbook.

***

Elizabeth Kraus, author of 365 Days of Marketing and the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies.

Remember Pearl Harbor Day and a Generational Marketing Breakdown

2011-12-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, Pearl Harbor Day (December 7) was observed to remember the day Japanese bombers attacked the US forces stationed in Hawaii—an act which brought the US, finally, into World War II. It's a day to honor those that fell and all those who served. It was the members of "the greatest generation" whose lifeblood and sacrifices made on the front lines of the war and at home paid for the freedoms we still enjoy as Americans.

What is "The Greatest Generation?"

The term “the greatest generation” was coined by Tom Brokaw to describe the generation of people that grew up during the great depression and whose members fought in World War II. This generation grew up in a time of incredible and sometimes even painful want, yet had the backbone and determination to face and overcome some of the most difficult challenges imaginable. Pearl Harbor Day is the perfect day to honor “the greatest generation” for the sacrifices they made, for their wisdom and for the much of the prosperity we have enjoyed in generations since.

Famous members of this generation include people like John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, George H.W. Bush, Walter Cronkite, Joe DiMaggio, Billy Graham, Charles Schultz, Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, and many more who went on to make major contributions in shaping the world and our society as we know it.

Honor members of “the greatest generation” by soliciting stories and nominations of local individuals who are members of this generation, holding an open house, extending dedicated happy hours or shopping hours, giving special awards or honors or by extending a special offer or free gift to them.

In recent years many reports and articles have been written as to the characteristics of different generations, how to market to them, how to manage them as employees, etc. At a minimum, you should be familiar with the general breakdown and marketing generalizations:

The Greatest Generation: Born between about 1909 and 1942, they’ve seen it all when it comes to advertising. They are savvy consumers who are careful about who they do business with. They want to know more about your business and about you, before doing business with you. Keen on value, they don’t shop just for fun. Having spent their early years in the Great Depression, they try not to waste anything if they can help it.

Baby Boomers: Born from about 1943 and 1965, on average this generation outspends other generations by $400 billion per year. They have exceptional drive and the ability to evaluate (and see through) advertising to find out whether something has real value. This group is projected to grow to represent as much as 20% of the total population by 2030.

Generation X: Born between about 1965 and 1980, a somewhat overlooked generation whose members are now entering/in their peak earning and buying years. Generally very tech savvy, they love to shop. They put a high value on education and knowledge. Prestige is a draw for this generation, but value trumps labels.

Generation Y: Born from about 1981 and 1990, the children of Baby Boomers, many members of this generation lived longer at home than did previous generations. Tech savvy, Gen Y members process information quickly and tend to be brand loyal.

Gen Z or the Internet Generation: Born between 2000 – present, the children of the youngest Baby Boomers. The only generation to be born fully in the internet era and the only generation whose parents are also (generally) more accepting of technology.

For more information about national and regional demographics, visit www.census.gov.

The above is an excerpt from December 7 in 365 Days of Marketing.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Style, strategy and marketing savvy - December 8 - 2011

2011-12-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me for long knows that I'm passionate about branding and its importance to marketing success. The same principles that hold true for businesses also apply to people. Whether you're a business owner, entrepreneur or 'just an employee,' and whether or not you ever plan to own your own business, building "brand you" is nevertheless essential to your professional success and the future of your career.

View online at www.12monthsofmarketing.net/3dec2011.html

In this issue:

- How and why to build "brand you"
- Ten secrets of successful leaders
- Marketing insights: Do you know what you're really selling?
- Ten sloppy social media mistakes
- Marketing insights: Email is essential to your success
- Most read on the blog: Four ways to sell more gift cards this holiday season

***

Elizabeth Kraus

Why and How to Build 'Brand You'

2011-12-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

If you’re 'just an employee' (rather than a business owner) or an independent seller or entrepreneur, you might not yet know how important marketing yourself is to your success, whether or not you ever plan to actually own your business.

When you think of the word “marketing” what comes to mind? If you think of things like advertisements, press releases, events, websites and internet marketing, you aren’t thinking big enough.

Marketing isn’t just for business.

In a sense, as human beings, we all use marketing tactics in many areas of our lives, because marketing is not about activities you do to promote a business, marketing is about relationships.

Specifically, marketing includes anything that you do to attract, engage, motivate or retain people in relationships; in the case of your professional life, these are relationships with customers, co-workers, superiors, vendors – anyone whose opinion is important to your professional success.

'Marketing’ actually includes anything that helps you:

Attract people
engage people to a deeper level of relationship and dependence upon you for products or information
motivate people to take actions you want them to take, and
retain relationships and develop loyalty

Have you ever had a co-worker who seemed to have it all together; who most likely regularly outperformed those around them? It didn't happen by accident; it’s because they choose behaviors that bring them success in relationships. They don’t expend energy on negative behaviors. They focus on the future and on others, rather than themselves.

Here are some behaviors you can choose that will help you become someone like that:

Develop a personal brand. Your own personal style is reflected in the words you choose to use, the clothes you choose to wear and the detail that you show in your personal appearance. Your personal style should be unique and reflect your own tastes, but it should also be a style which contributes to your social and professional success.
Don’t toe the line. Many times people do no more than what is asked and expected. They toe the line when it comes to how they behave in the workplace, whether they conform to standards of dress and the level at which they work to meet sales and performance goals. Exceed expectations and goals.

Don’t take the “it’s not my job” attitude; if you see something that needs to be done, do it. Dress for the job that you want, rather than the one that you have. Don’t knowingly violate the employment policies at your workplace, even if you don’t agree with them. Work to make change the right way. Arrive early and put all of the time in that you are expected to.
Hold yourself to high standards. Steer clear of gossip and those who gossip. Don’t engage in negative conversations about your employer or co-workers. Say nice things behind people’s backs as well as to their faces. Be generous with sincere compliments to co-workers and clients.

Be supportive of the initiatives and programs introduced by your boss and co-workers. Do all you can to see that they are successful. Participate. Encourage. If you do have criticisms or suggestions for your boss, meet with them privately and do your best to express your opinions or suggestions in a calm, clear manner. Use logic and persuasion to help make your point, rather than emotion.
Be absolutely present with each customer, co-worker, vendor, etc., in each moment that you have the opportunity to help them. People should feel that they have your full attention when speaking to you, whether in person, on the phone or even online.
Remember: It may be business, but it’s still personal. Make writing thank you notes part of your daily routine. Extend sincere compliments generously. Go out of your way to help people who need help, whether or not it’s part of your job. Acknowledge the efforts of others. Write a personal note (or an email) of sympathy or encouragement to those who particularly need it.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Make sure Marketing is more than your 'Gal Friday'

2011-12-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

Do you know what a ‘Gal Friday’ is? I know from personal experience; I’ve been one, more than once.

It’s that person in the office who’s often found un-jamming the copier or replacing the toner, who orders office supplies, who bounces out to pick up food for the important people, cleans up after the meetings they probably took the notes for, or makes the emergency run to the office supplies store for paper.

It’s someone viewed as existing for the convenience and benefit of others, with little thought to what their official job and real responsibilities really are (or should be).

Because they’re amiable and willing to help out with whatever needs to be done, they’re often undervalued and their real skills and strengths get overlooked.

In too many businesses, Marketing is viewed as a 'Gal Friday.'

It’s most powerful, effective strengths and abilities are wasted. Too often, Marketing:

Is viewed as the ‘errand girl’ for the Sales Department or the public relations conduit for the CEO or head of Finance.
It’s used to when needed to un-jam the company from mistakes they made.
It’s brought in to try to move items that Purchasing shouldn’t have purchased or shouldn’t have purchased so many of.
It's called upon at the last minute to deliver a 'hail mary' pass in order to help fill up classes and events that didn't magically 'sell themselves.'

If, as I suggest, Marketing includes all the activities, means and tools you use to

    1. attract
    2. engage
    3. motivate (to take desired actions) and
    4. retain customers

then marketing deserves a seat at the table in your business, from the get-go.

Marketing is not your Girl Friday, there only to facilitate or clean up after others. If Marketing is an afterthought – a “tool” you use only to try to achieve the ends of others, then you’re wasting its strengths and you don’t really understand marketing, at all.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Feeling marooned, without a compass? Here's your 2012 marketing map!

2011-11-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

It often happens that I’m invited to meet up with a friend or business colleague for coffee or lunch at a restaurant I haven’t been before. In order to make sure that I arrive on time and with as little stress as possible, I usually go online for a map and directions. As a backup, I have GPS in the car if needed. And that’s just to make sure that one little meeting goes well.

If you don’t have a marketing map for 2012, you’ll be arriving ‘late’ to many opportunities and missing dozens of others. If you don’t want to keep driving your business around in circles, hoping to arrive at your desired destination by luck, you need to get directions and follow them! You can start with the 2012 Marketing Calendar for small business or for salon and spa, or use 365 Days of Marketing to build a plan to use all of the marketing channels available to you – from traditional marketing to cooperative partnerships, social media, events, etc. – in order to get things moving in the direction you want them to go.

Excerpt, ideas from 365 Days of Marketing
November 6 is ‘Marooned Without a Compass Day’

The last thing you want is for your customers to be “marooned without a compass” while at your business, unable to find what they need:

Be sure in-store signage is up to date.
Create directory signs to be placed at eye level at the ends of aisles.
Create signage to help customers choose the right products to use at home.
Create signage and scrips for emails, social media, etc., that suggests products for home use as well as provides them with "You might also like..." add-on ideas.
Make specific gift suggestions; tell customers what products make great gifts, and for whom they would make the best gifts.
Create a floor map directory noting the route to the offices, departments, rest rooms, reception or other areas that visitors to your building most commonly visit. Post it in your entry, reception desk or waiting room, give copies to first-time guests, post it on your website or include it in an annual e-mail newsletter.

It’s only natural that from time to time you will need to reorganize or renovate:

Draw up a new floor map following any remodel, renovation or re-organization project to e-mail and/or direct mail to customers and prospects, or one that can be handed to customers at the door or utilized at an open house event.
Use this opportunity to draw attention to new products or services and hold an open house with door prize drawings, contests, entertainment and refreshments as well as product demonstrations, professional consultations and product sampling.

Educate customers as to products or services—solutions—you provide that they may not have been previously aware of, or which they may not have needed previously (but do now):

Throughout the year, use your communications channels and events to put the spotlight on various products, services, departments, specialists, etc.
Use your e-mail newsletter, blog, Facebook and other social media and your website to introduce new employees, products or services to your customers as soon as possible.
Pair new items in promotions with best-sellers and clearly define their benefits in messaging across all of your communications channels.
Create time-limited promotions to help fill appointments books for new employees or to support the launch of new products.

Create a formal mentoring or apprenticeship program within your business for your own employees, local students, adults in need of vocational training, etc. Help subsidize or provide resources for continuing education for your employees.

Partner with a local counselor, life coach or motivational speaker to hold a workshop on what people can do when feeling “marooned” or lost. Compile a list of recommended reading, audio books and videos. Add some of the best titles to your retail or impulse buy offerings, or post them online.

Post links to local resources that would interest your most important or ideal customer types on your Facebook page, e-mail newsletter or blog:

Create brochures listing local attractions, the best dining, entertainment and family recreation centers, activities for rainy days, options for hiking, swimming, golf, etc. and which also features relevant products or services.
Solicit ideas and recommendations from customers and post links on Facebook. Send copies to local hotels, motels, car rental agencies, travel agencies, etc.

Work with marketing partners and local education institutions to hold a career or job fair for adults, college or high school students:

Work together to establish job shadow and intern programs.
Create a community support group for job seekers or employers, or set up a specialty job listing resource online.
Invite your marketing partners to participate in regular meetings to discuss ways to “map out” pathways to improve local economic health in order to benefit independent businesses and the community.

Don't leave yourself 'marooned without a compass' in 2012: even though this is probably a busy time of the year for your business, set aside time to map out your route to success in the New Year!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Do you want more creative ways to generate social media engagement -- for every day of the year? Check out 365 Days of Marketing, available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

Happy Thanksgiving: Where did it all begin?

2011-11-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

Sure, you’ve heard about the Pilgrims and the Indians and the first Thanksgiving, but that was just a dinner. Do you know how Thanksgiving, now officially celebrated on the 4th Thursday of every November, earned its place as one of the major US holidays?

11 December, 1620: 102 pilgrims disembarked the Mayflower at Plymouth rock after a rough and tempestuous sea journey of more than two months (66 days). Originally aiming for northern Virginia, they were blown off course by winds. That first winter, about 45 pilgrims died due to extreme cold. In the spring of 1621, led by Squanto, native Americans taught the pilgrims to grow corn, beans and pumpkins, which helped all of them survive. In the autumn of 1621, they invited their Indian friends and held a grand celebration to thank God for his favors. This communal dinner is popularly known as “The First Thanksgiving.” There is no evidence to prove if the customary turkey was a part of the initial feast. According to the firsthand account written by the leader of the colony, the food included, ducks, geese, venison, fish, berries etc.

During the 1600 and 1700’s, it was common practice for individual colonies to observe days of thanksgiving throughout each year. These were days set aside for prayer and fasting, not a day marked by plentiful food and drink as is today's custom. Later in the 18th century each of the states periodically would designate a day of thanksgiving in honor of a military victory, an adoption of a state constitution or an exceptionally bountiful crop.

October 1777: All thirteen colonies joined in a communal thanks-giving celebration commemorating the surrender of British General Burgoyne at Saratoga.

3 October 1789: The first historic proclamation was issued by President George Washington, declaring November 26 as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer give gratitude to God. Here is the proclamation:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have show kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3rd day of October, A.D. 1789.
(signed) G. Washington

3 October, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issued a fresh proclamation calling for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November as a national holiday. In 1939, during the great depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the third Thursday of November to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy. After a storm of protest, in 1941 Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November, where it stands today.

It's interesting to note that most of the triggers behind our Thanksgiving Day history involve not times of great plenty and blessing, but times of great want and trials. Perhaps as human beings we take the good times for granted; because it seems to be the bad times that bring our true gratitude to the surface. We may need to have tough stuff in our lives in order to truly appreciate all of the people and circumstances for which we should truly be thankful to God and others.

Jacques Maritain said, "Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy," and 'thanksgiving' itself is a word of action. To make the most of this Thanksgiving, as you celebrate with family and friends, as you brave the shopping hordes, as you eat to overflow and watch football, as you travel to see your favorite people, or as you simply rest and renew, be thankful and find ways to turn your gratitude into actions that benefit others.

Elizabeth Kraus
Be InPulse branding, marketing and design

An open letter to 2012 Holiday Shoppers

2011-11-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Before you set out on your 2012 holiday shopping adventure I wanted to point out that – just by doing what you’re going to do anyway (shop) – you have the opportunity to improve the economy.

Let’s face it, it’s pretty obvious that the government has neither the will nor the disinterested common sense needed to do the right thing when it comes to cutting spending and reducing the tax burden on small businesses – you know, the ones who provide the JOBS – in order to stimulate the economy. It’s pretty obvious that the 1% are not going to endow each of us with a portion of their riches (nor do I think they should). And it’s obvious that big business won’t, either.

So that leaves it up to you and me: It's the shopping choices we are about to make that have the ability to make the real difference.

I live near Auburn, Washington, a town of about forty thousand people. If each Auburn resident, aged 18 and over, spent just $10 a month more with local, independent businesses, the impact to the local community over the same 12 months would (estimated-ly) be well over 2.5 million dollars. Increase that number exponentially when you up the amount.

If you want more jobs in your community, spend (more of) your money with local, independent businesses. And seek out and ask for American-made products, whether you're shopping locally or online.

When it comes to holiday shopping, seek out local craftspeople and purchase truly unique gifts for your family and friends – locally-made jewelry, t-shirts and other novelty items, boutique retail items, home décor items, restaurants, or even give the gift of photography services, home renovation or handyman services, landscaping, beauty, spa and other services to those on your local gift list, rather than the same-old, same-old you see in all of the chain stores.

You'll find lots of local, independently-owned businesses represented at events in your community in the form of holiday bazaars and festivals.

Ask your hair stylist, friends and family for local recommendations.

Use social media to find local gift shops, artisans and craftspeople.

Once you start looking, you're going to be amazed and inspired by the amount of talent and fantastic options that have been flying under your shopping radar the whole time!

And when your friends and family ask what you want for a gift, ask for gift cards, products or services from local, independently-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.

Not only will more of every dollar you spend stay in the local community to be repurposed for additional local expenditures, locally-made retail and new JOBS (there’s that word again!) but there are other benefits that trickle down into your community as well.

Local merchants and entrepreneurs re-invest their profits not only in their own businesses, but they also provide direct support to your local schools, community arts, music and theater programs, charities, etc. Many local businesses even go one step further and seek out needy families to ‘adopt’ during the holidays or even all year long.

It’s not just that you make a difference by spending your money with local, independently-owned businesses (vs. chains). It’s that you make a real, lasting difference – one that benefits real people right in your community!

By all means, shop— and Shop local!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Dispel all the little white marketing lies that might be holding your business back - check out the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies on amazon.com.

With hundreds of marketing ideas laid out for 2012, you'll get into a marketing groove and build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients.

Friday's 5 - Marketing Shorts and Sweets

2011-11-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

I don't know what happened, I just realized that I didn't put up a Friday's 5 last week -- and that's crazy because for whatever reason, there are a lot of good marketing tidbits to share right now!

This isn't really marketing but it made me laugh:

But these are marketing, enjoy!

[READ] Facebook inspired tip jar

Speak to today’s online generation in a language they understand with the wonderfully clever Like Tip Jar. Sure to inspire happy curiosity in social networking aficionados, the Like Tip Jar may be just the thing to encourage a sharp rise in the amount of tips.

[READ] your story, your way

Chris Brogan makes a great point: People can understand details, instructions, facts, and statistics. They remember stories.

[READ] relaxed shoppers will spend more

A new study finds “that relaxed shoppers were willing to pay 15 percent more for goods than less-relaxed ones,” reports Kelli B. Grant in the Wall Street Journal (11/3/11).

[READ] customer loyalty costs as little as 32 cents

One little email and 32 cents transformed a satisfied customer to a delighted one. A business philosophy that goes beyond satisfaction can do that. How much time does your business spend delighting your customers in unexpected ways?

[READ] mommies part of your target market? 10 ways to engage
Moms have always been the pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow for marketers. But not until social media, have moms had so much power to determine the direction of brands and marketing campaigns from the ground up. If you want to sell to moms, you need to get it just right.

[BONUS!] dress your interior to impress your customers
For those inspired by inspiring design, a reminder that customers notice everything about your business, not just the products and services you provide. You have the opportunity to make every customer touch point special and outside of their expectations.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Dispel all the little white marketing lies that might be holding your business back - check out the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies on amazon.com.

With hundreds of marketing ideas laid out for 2012, you'll get into a marketing groove and build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients.

4 Ways to Sell More Gift Cards this Holiday Season

2011-11-17T07:08:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of months I’ve been writing about “little white marketing lies” which are falsities many business owners tell themselves and others. These are things they often want to be true about their business but either don’t really understand or don’t want to do the real work needed to make them true.

Here’s one more little white marketing lie:
Your gift cards make great gifts.

In your mind, your gift cards make great gifts. You know the benefits and wonderful products and services that your business provides to its customers. But much like the illusion provided by the artist who created these graffiti stairs in a Toronto train station, it may be that you perceive something that others don’t or that just isn’t there. And if you act on your perception, you may find yourself stumbling forward and hitting the wall!

Don’t hit the wall when it comes to gift card or gift certificate sales. If your customers aren’t “seeing” your gift cards as gifts, change their perception.

Many people aren’t conceptual, meaning, you need to help them visualize how your gift cards become “gifts” and for whom they are best suited. If your gift cards are collecting dust on – or behind – the counter, these 4 tips are for you.

Make gift card suggestions specific. Use signage that draws attention to a problem or a person that would be a perfect gift card recipient:

last minute gifts
extra on-hand gifts for unexpected guests
picky mother in law
teen or tween
the boss you need to impress
co-workers such as your best friend at work, receptionist, security guard, etc.
clients or vendors
holiday party gift exchanges

Display or package your gift cards with illustrations or descriptions of the products or services for which they could be exchanged or which demonstrate the solutions they could provide.
Package your gift cards with best-selling retail.
Bundle gift cards with other items that are, in fact, “gifts:”
- Gift-quality books (‘She’ is one of my favorites)
- Men’s grooming or women’s beauty products or tools
- Gift baskets
- Chocolates or other goodies
- Craft kits
- Games
- Novelty or unique retail items
- Branded wares

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Dispel all the little white marketing lies that might be holding your business back - check out the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies on amazon.com.

With hundreds of marketing ideas laid out for 2012, you'll get into a marketing groove and build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients.

Don't punish everyone for one person's mistake

2011-11-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

As a business owner, have you had a few bad experiences which led you to create blanket policies -- things like:

No cellphones
No kids
No loitering
No food or drink allowed
Customers only (restrooms)
No use of social media on company time

Or have you even gone to the trouble and expense of hiring companies to lock down computer systems or install expensive surveillance tools in order to make sure that your employees know you're constantly on the prowl for a misstep?

This video is FUN and great food for thought. At a minimum, take a look at how your policies are written. They may well be necessary; but can you word them in a way that makes them positive statements or at least explains the necessity?

Don't punish everyone for one person's mistake from Derek Sivers on Vimeo.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Dispel all of the little white marketing lies that might be holding your business back - check out the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies on amazon.com. With hundreds of marketing ideas laid out for 2012, you'll get into a marketing groove and build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients.

You're Too Cool for Facebook

2011-11-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

I have a few acquaintances and even family members who think it’s some sort of badge of honor that they aren’t on Facebook. When we talk ‘business’ they lean back and with a disdainful look on their face proudly assert that they aren’t on Facebook, and they never will be. I read the dumb comments about how Facebook is just for grandmas to look at pictures that moms post and how “that’s all it’s good for.”

I’ve got news for you. If you’re too cool for Facebook, that’s your loss, and it might be a big one.

Why? (Soooooo glad you asked!)

The way I see it, two things are keeping you from realizing what Facebook is and how to use it for business success.

One, you’re ignorant. You don’t really know what Facebook is and why one out of every 11 minutes spent online is spent on Facebook. You have not taken the time to experiment with the tool yourself. You have not taken the time to read the multitude of articles available on how to use Facebook to make business friends and influence them.

Two, you’re lazy. Ok, lazy may be too harsh a word, but maybe you’re just “too busy” doing all of the other things that you’re doing to build business.

Here’s the thing.

Your customers are on Facebook. People in your community. Professionals who share your interests. Members of your target markets and ideal prospective customers. All on Facebook. Without you.

And all those moms and grandmas? Guess what? They’re the ones making 80% of the purchasing decisions.

Too cool for Facebook? It’s like you got invited to a party but decided you were too cool for the venue.

Your customers are there, and they’ll try to miss you. On the other hand, maybe they’ll simply make new friends!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Succeeding in the Deal-Centered Economy - November 14 Marketing Savvy Newsletter

2011-11-14T07:30:00.000-08:00





	what you need to know before you 'daily deal'
	elizabeth kraus \| 12monthsofmarketing.com
	Remember the "4 Ps of Marketing?" If price is not the real problem, why would you try to solve the problem by discounting? I'll tell you why: it seems like a quick fix, a bandage, a medicine that will take care of the symptoms. Covering up the symptoms when you're sick might be Ok, but in business, it can be deadly. [ go ]


	the real repercussions of discounting
	guest post by Darryl Manco at savvystylist.net
	Discounting may entice consumers to take advantage of a business's brand, but will the business brand be able to respond to the seduction that discounting encircles? Discounting has all the properties to be addictive as well as cannibalistic, and befoul businesses as well as the consumers that it bewitched. [ go ]


	dealer chic: consumer deals now a way of life
	trendwatching.com
	As deal hunting has become an integral part of daily life for millions of consumers, trendwatching.com thought it was time to dive into the drivers behind this trend and its long term impact on all B2C brands. [ go ]


	big businesses shy away from daily deals
	washintgonpost.com
	Business owners dream of making quick sales and luring scads of new customers in the door when they place those daily deal ads, yet big returns for small businesses have yet to materialize. And big businesses? With the clout they have, if daily deals were a 'good idea,' don't you think they'd be the first to expend the resources to jump in and make some money? Their sales are down too. But they haven't, and you should ask yourself why. The main reason cited why big businesses haven't jumped on board the daily deal bandwagon is this: fear of tarnishing their brands. Those few big businesses that are experimenting note that it's a very small part of their marketing strategy and is done in conjunction with their overall marketing plan. [ go ]


	7 easy tips to attract new customers before you discount
	noelbellen.blogspot.com
	Before you resort to undermining your own brand and profits with discounting (whether we're talking daily deals or your own internal clearance or anything-for-five-dollar-baskets — you know who you are!) here are seven easy ways to attract new customers and build true lasting relationships with them. [ go ]


	it's your reputation: handle with care
	entrepreneur.com
	Unless you take ownership and step up to accept responsibility your brand will diminish in the eyes of those who work with you and your company. And you can bet on it - they will spread the word. Here are 5 ways to manage your brand and protect your reputation. [ go ]


	let's get engaged!
	elizabeth kraus \| 12monthsofmarketing.com
	The secret for small business (or any-sized business) success is not just attracting customers or getting one sale, it's engaging them over the long haul. Engaged customers believe they are part of something. They believe they are important to you and to your business. Apart from having a family or social connection to your business, the only way a client will become engaged will be because you deliberately plan and provide consistent client experiences that demonstrate to them, over the passage of time, clearly and unmistakably, that they are a unique, valued and vitally important person in your life, personally, as well as your business. It's not that they love you or even the products or services your business provides. It's that you've convinced them that they are important to you. Think about it in romantic terms. Would you 'engage' or commit yourself to a long-term relationship with someone if you didn't believe that they truly cared about you—enough so that they care about you more than themselves and put your interests above theirs? That's what it takes to stimulate engagement! Elizabeth Kraus \| 12monthsofmarketing.com


Have you seen the new website? Check out the new design, find out what's available and what's coming next [ here ].

November 14 is Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day

2011-11-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

November 14 is National “Loosen Up, Lighten Up” Day. If you've been procrastinating on getting your marketing in shape to 'loosen up' customer's purse strings and 'lighten up' your load by getting your business going this is the perfect time for you craft some special promotions and seek out some strategic marketing partners.

Hold a special skin bar-happy hour focused on helping clients lighten up their complexions with proper cleansing and makeup preparation and loosen up wrinkles to reverse the signs of aging and fight damage caused by harsh winter and other environmental factors.
Partner with a caterer or restaurant (and possibly with a party planner) for a special holiday party how-to happy hour (for both sets of clients) to provide healthy, light refreshments at a holiday-party class. Include complimentary makeup demonstrations or free touch ups and send clients home with retail makeup purchases and with the recipes for the light party fare, instructions on re-creating holiday 'tablescapes' and other entertaining tips which they can use to entertain their guests during the holidays.
Partner with a local gym or fitness trainer for cross marketing; or work together to create a “loosen up, lighten up” promotion which includes fitness/diet/weight loss coaching and workouts to prepare for the holidays.
Create a special collection of makeup and skin care products that help loosen up wrinkles and lighten up the complexion to offer at a special price.

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

What You Should Do Before You Daily Deal

2011-11-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of his article, “The Real Repercussions of Discounting,” Darryl Manco made a very important point. In essence, he asks why you’re trying to cure what ails your marketing with the wrong medicine.

Here’s what I mean. In marketing 101, you learn the "4 P’s" of marketing:

Product (the products or services you sell)
Price (what the buyer must pay in exchange for your products and services)
Placement (where you will sell the products or services and the means by which you will get products and services to those places) and
Promotion (how you will attract and persuade buyers).

The only time discounting is the right cure for your problem is if your product or service is priced incorrectly; in other words, it’s not worth what you’re asking for it. By discounting, you send the message that whatever is discounted does not have value equivalent to its normal price (i.e., its worth less than you said it was originally—and couldn’t this lead the buyer to question your integrity – as the price-setter – as well?)

So then, if “price” is not the problem, why would you try to solve the problem by discounting?

I’ll tell you why: it seems like a quick fix, a bandage, a medicine that will take care of the symptoms.

Don’t we often medicate ourselves that way? It’s like taking a sleep aid when you have a cold. Sure, you’ll sleep, but it does nothing to help fight the cold and make you better.

When you have a cold, that’s probably harmless. But in business, covering up the symptoms can be deadly.

Assuming that your products and services are, in fact, priced fairly and in accordance with their value, what problem do you really need to cure:

“Product” problems:
You’re not offering what your current clients, ‘ideal client’ types and target markets really want or need

“Placement” problems:
Your business is located in the wrong place for your product-price-promotion mix
The way in which you provide these products and services (personnel, customer service, etc.) is not up to par; it doesn’t help stimulate repeat business, referrals, retention or customer loyalty

“Promotion” problems:
You are doing little, if anything, by way of marketing beyond opening your doors every day, any marketing that occurs is by accident
You have not taken the time to identify your ‘ideal client’ types
You know your ideal client types but have done nothing to reach out to these target markets
You don’t have anything that even remotely resembles a marketing plan and all your marketing ‘efforts’ are one and done attempts
You don’t have any incentives for customer loyalty and referrals

Before you daily deal, identify the real problem.

Once you have identified (and hopefully, dealt with) the real problems, if customer attraction is one of your top priorities, here are some things you need to remember before you daily deal:

Your location-based offer needs to be part of your overall marketing plan. It is not a substitute for a marketing plan. It should be one of many other tactics you employ in order to attract new clients.

If you do extend a location-based, deep discount, here are some things you need to know:

You will be selling a product or service at less than 25% of its regular price and its real value. Rather than discounting any one of your regular products or services, create a special product or service to offer. That way, your regular clients will not perceive that you’ve charged them twice as much as deal-buyers, nor will they be able to put a reduced-price value on your regular products or services.
Realize that your regular customers are going to be impacted. One, some may feel that you’ve been overcharging them for the same service or product you’re now willing to discount. Two, and probably even more importantly, if you have an influx of ‘new customers’ by way of daily deal purchases, the level of attention, customer service and product or service quality you impart on your regular clientele may suffer.
Getting a new customer in the door is less than half the battle. You should not expect that a large percentage of these daily deal buyers will ever become long-term customers. You need to plan to expend the same level of quality of care and customer service on these individuals – if not significantly more – than you do your regular customers if you hope to have them return a second time. You also need to be aware that:
- Few, if any, will be among your ‘ideal client’ types or target markets in terms of where they live, lifestyles, interests, etc.
- Few, if any, will live within an area local enough to your business for you to expect repeat visits. For example, my neighbor is a big groupon buyer when it comes to personal care services such as waxing; in many cases, the businesses she buys from are 45 minutes away or more. There is little, if anything, these businesses could do to persuade her to return and purchase their services at their regular price.
- The vast majority will be motivated by price alone and will be unlikely to purchase your products or services (or add-ons while at their ‘deal’ appointment) at regular prices.
- Most are using the daily deal sites to get what they would buy anyway at a deep discount. They are motivated by the discount, not the quality or type of product or service. When they leave your business, unless you “wow” them like they’ve never been wowed before, they’ll be thinking about the next deal they want to redeem, not about their next visit to your business.
You're going to wait a while for your money. Groupon holds funds sixty days (or longer) so don't count on this model for a quick influx of ready cash.

The fact is, a lot of business owners thought that groupon and other daily deal sites were going to provide a work-around for their real problems, or at least it would give them so many new customers that they wouldn't have to identify and do the harder work of solving their real problems.

There have never been shortcuts to doing things well in business – and there still aren’t!

The road to success, client acquisition, loyalty and referrals remains what it’s always been: knowing your customer, giving them what they really want and doing so in ways that exceed their expectations, over and over again.

If it’s time for you to do the work of creating a marketing plan, branding your business or building the employee culture you need to achieve lasting success, I’d love to help.

The only thing worse than doing something wrong for a year, is doing something wrong for a year and 1 day. It’s time to put your business and your customers first, return to the ideals that made you open your doors and do what you first set out to do!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

Free publicity for military spouse-owned businesses!

2011-11-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

Are any of you active military or spouses of military members?

There's a site that would love to help promote your services, products, brick-and-mortar, home-based business or cottage industry -- free of charge.

Niche USA is dedicated to promoting military and military spouse-owned businesses and entrepreneurs!

Check out Niche USA and tell your friends!

Let's Get Engaged!

2011-11-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

The secret for small business (or any-sized business) success is not just attracting customers or getting one sale, it's engaging them over the long haul.

Engaged customers believe they are part of something. They believe they are important to you and to your business.

Apart from having a family or social connection to your business, the only way a client will become engaged will be because you deliberately plan and provide consistent client experiences that demonstrate to them, over the passage of time, clearly and unmistakably, that they are a unique, valued and vitally important person in your life, personally, as well as your business.

It’s not that they love you or even the products or services your business provides.
It’s that you've convinced them that they are important to you.

Think about it in romantic terms. Would you ‘engage’ or commit yourself to a long-term relationship with someone if you didn’t believe that they truly cared about you—enough so that they care about you more than themselves and put your interests above theirs?

That’s what it takes to stimulate engagement!

Elizabeth Kraus | 12monthsofmarketing.com

Getting the attention of deal-obsessed consumers

2011-11-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

Monday’s marketing savvy newsletter is going to be all about the deal-centered consumer culture business owners are facing – be sure to subscribe, you’ll find the link on the right hand side of this page.

Elizabeth Kraus | Be InPulse branding, marketing and design

The REAL Repercussions of Discounting

2011-11-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I shared an article across social media channels from entrepreneur.com, titled, Groupon, Other Deal Sites Not a Good Deal for Small Businesses which noted that not only were up to 80% of deal buyers already customers of the businesses whose offers they purchased, but more than half of them also said they'd have made the purchase without the discount. If you are determined to play the groupon game, do so with caution and set parameters to protect your business and its reputation.

Once posted, Darryl Manco (the owner of Dimension A Salon in San Francisco, CA and google-certified Internet Marketing Analyst who holds a masters in Internet Marketing) pointed me to an article he'd written which details what the real consequences of discounting are to most businesses. I asked if he would let me share this with you here on the blog and I'm so happy he agreed. His summary should open your eyes and make you think twice before significantly redefining your brand, your reputation and your business through discounting. Here's what he wrote:

The Real Repercussions of Discounting
11.10.2011 - Darryl Manco, Owner, Dimension A Salon

There seems to be buzzing these days among salons about doing the discount thing. Now, not all salons do discounts; however, for those that do, here are some concerns that should be weighted before diving in:

1) Diminishing ROI
    a. Erodes bottom-line return.
        i. Supply costs do not go down.
       ii. Fixed operation costs do not go down.
      iii. Variable operation costs go up.
      iv. Commission splits do not go down.
       v. Payroll costs do not go down.
      vi. Atrophy of brand reputation.

2) Target Audience Effect
     a. Traffic partner target audience assumptions.
        i. Business failed to clearly define their target audience.
           1. Failed understandings about psychographic traits.
    a. Broadened target audience’s focus is on the next best deal.
II. Brand reputation rot
1. Business is unable to satisfy unforeseen challenges due to misinterpreted target audience.
    a. Loss of exclusivity.
        i. Quality becomes compromised.
           1. Value collapses brand image.
           2. Business fails to roundup employee cohesion.
    a. Talent atrophy.

Salons that find reinvigoration in discounting are thus
redefining their brand’s worth.

Laura Reis (2010) affirms this by posing the question, “When was the last time a savvy consumer ventured into Bed, Bath & Beyond without a percentage off coupon?”

Yes, discount sites (aka traffic partners) can gloat that continuous discounting leads to increased abiding growth, but what they fail to disclose, is that price discounting does not lead to brand loyalty or even brand awareness.

This idea supported by Ellen Malloy’s (2010) belief that:

“Businesses risk the effect of devaluing their brand. This threatens the over all quality of the brand experience, and when over subscribed, leads to short-term demand spikes that momentarily increase revenue, but in the long-term overloads a business’s ability to meet consumer’s expectations.”

Words of wisdom to salons (or any businesses) that seek solutions:

Examine how your ROI will be affected.
Do masked business problems need addressed?
How will discounting support the brand experience?
If discounting becomes bulwark for the brand, than what does the brand in actually denote in the eye of the consumer?

Discounting may engender consumers to take advantage of a business’s brand, but will the business brand be able to respond to the seduction that discounting encircles? Discounting has all the properties to be addictive as well as cannibalistic, and befoul businesses as well as the consumers that it bewitched.

Resources:
Cohen, D. (2010, June 30). Groupon phenomenon bad for business?
Retrieved from [ reuters.com ]

About the author:

Darryl Manco is an agent of change for today’s beauty salon marketing frontiers. He holds a M.S. in Internet Marketing, and boldly participates in commanding his business, Dimension A Salon, with direct to consumer online marketing programs that impact ROI.

Little White Marketing Lie #8: You need a great logo to build a strong brand

2011-11-07T06:27:00.000-08:00

An awesome logo is a thing of beauty and yes, it can be the trigger that reminds you of a great company.

It can just as easily be the trigger that reminds you of a terrible in-person or telephone customer service experience, of being ignored when you needed help, of waiting far longer than you should have for help, of getting the wrong answer or even the wrong product to meet your need or of any number of poor customer experiences.

No matter how cool, awesome or amazing the logo, how intriguing the ad copy or how compelling the offer, there is no direct correlation between good design and strong brands, really, at all.

The recipe for a strong brand is simple, there are only two ingredients: Reputation and consistency.

And there are no substitutes for these ingredients. To build a strong brand, you must earn the reputation of consistently exceeding customer expectations. Here’s what I mean:

Let’s suppose that my friend, Kathy, visits your business for the first time and she had a great experience. In some way, you exceeded her expectations in a way that was important to her.

She tells me about her visit to your business and I mentally file that information away. If I ever need that product or service, I’ll keep your business in mind or perhaps I’ll call Kathy and ask her for the name of your business.

Let’s further suppose that Kathy returns to your business three more times over the next few months. Each time, you provide her with a truly extraordinary experience – remember, that means that her customer experience exceeded her expectations in some way meaningful to her and is different and better than the competition. Each time, she tells me about your business again and encourages me to experience your business for myself.

Now you are building reputation.

Because of what my friend Kathy has told me, I now probably have a personal desire to visit your business. And even if I don’t visit your business myself, if others among my friends, co-workers or family have a need for what your business provides, I am probably referring your business to them based on the testimony of my friend. Even without experiencing your business personally, because of the consistency of experience my friend has had with your business, I trust you.

How will you exceed your customer’s expectations today – and tomorrow – and the tomorrow after that?

It won’t be done with your logo or any other aspect of design, it won’t be done by discounting and it won’t be done with any one-hit advertising wonder. To build a strong brand, the experience that your business provides must be more than your customer expects, in a way that matters to the customer and which is different and better than that of the competition.

On your own, or with your leadership team, make a list of the things that you believe characterize the customer’s experience at your business. For each of these characteristics, answer the following questions:

Does this exceed customer expectation or is this what they expect to be true when they visit our business (or any other)?
Does this even matter to our customers?
Is this different or better than all of our competitors?

You might find that it’s difficult to come up with anything about your customer experience that meets all three of these measures. In fact, I’d be surprised if you had many characteristics that survived all three comparisons. But don’t give up!

If it were easy, everyone would do it. Those businesses that find ways to do so will succeed in building a strong brand – no matter what their logo looks like. Those that don’t, wont!

***

Elizabeth Kraus | www.12monthsofmarketing.net

[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter.

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Style, Strategy and Marketing Savvy - November 3

2011-11-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

Just in case you missed it -- the November 3 Style, Strategy and Marketing Savvy newsletter had some great links!

little white marketing lie #7: marketing means talking about your business
Think marketing means telling people about your business? Think again; that's a little white marketing lie that can cost you. Find out what you should be talking about, instead. [ go ]

seven tips to recession-proof your retail
My favorite is number four: Get in touch with your customers (no surprise to my regular readers). Recession-proofing your retail involves changing the way you think about retail and setting out to create a retail center that actually appeals to your customers. Stock only high demand items, increase complimentary (bundled, add-on, etc.) offers and sell products that meet customers needs. Read the rest online. [ go ]

what younger workers want
Your employee culture is a critical component of your marketing plan; without the right team in place, all of the great ideas in the world won't happen. When it comes to the next generation of employees, you might be surprised to know that there are several job factors they value more than money. [ go ]

are you building a social brand or a social business?
In IBM’s recent “From Social Media to Social CRM” report, it was revealed that social media is already siloed within marketing, marketing communication, or public relations, accounting for 52%, 45%, and 42% ownership respectively. When we think about the primary function of each of those functions, it’s clear to see why the premise of many of today’s top social media best practices are marketing driven rather than market driven. [ go ]

10 tips to better content marketingFrom your website to email to social media and your blog, content is the name of the game in marketing and getting found online. Still, for most professionals, it's an area where they still need work. Here are ten tips that will get you on the road to creating content that is relevant to your audience, consistently and on a timely basis. [ go ]

(Shameless plug) Stuck for marketing content? 365 Days of Marketing has themed ideas for every day of the year (literally) plus more monthly and weekly themed marketing ideas for good measure. The one tool you need to jump-start your social media, email and in-store marketing and build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients.

most read on the blog this week: how to be your own media machine
Even if you're on a shoestring budget, you can still promote your business and expertise; but it is going to cost you in one area, and that is time. Here are some recommendations to help you build an integrated web, email, blog and social media marketing program. [ go ]

*** Elizabeth Kraus | www.12monthsofmarketing.net ***

For more, [ subscribe to email newsletters ].

Need social media, email and other marketing content? The 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies already has the schedule laid out for you for every month of the year, plus not only the how-to but also the content you need to carry out a strategic, effective electronic marketing plan.

Elizabeth Kraus is the owner of Be InPulse branding marketing - 12monthsofmarketing.com - and the author of 2012 Marketing Calendars, 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing (12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa).

The happiest place on earth

2011-11-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Just posting this over on Niche USA (the site promoting military spouse-owned businesses and entrepreneurs) and thought it was just too interesting not to share here, as well.

For years, Disney has claimed to be the happiest place on earth. That may be true, but it's not the happiest place to work. According to a new survey, all four branches of the US Military ranked higher than Disney and other well-known companies renowned for their employee culture like Microsoft, Amazon, Zappos, Starbucks and Johnson & Johnson.

According to the CareerBliss study [ click here ] the ten most blissful places to work are:

Google
3M
ABN AMRO
DTE Energy
Air Force
Qualcomm
Army National Guard
Marines
Navy
LSI Logic

The article goes on to say that the reasons military members are happier include factors like "...having a meaningful impact on the world, having true camaraderie with your co-workers and having the opportunities to develop skills..."

Read the article in its entirety at businessnewsdaily.com.

Elizabeth Kraus | 12monthsofmarketing.net
Be InPulse branding, marketing & design

Little White Marketing Lie #7: "We Should Talk About Our Business"

2011-11-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

If you’ve been in business very long, it’s likely you’ve had to create scripts and write marketing copy for your website, advertisements, signs, postcards or other items which fall under the general heading, “marketing collateral.” And no doubt you’ve taken the opportunity to talk about the things you love most about your business, or the things you think other people would most appreciate.

But the truth is, for the most part, your marketing shouldn’t be about your business at all. Apart from your actual call to action or telling people where to obtain the solutions you provide, most of your marketing should ‘talk about’ your customers and prospects.

Ironically, you probably went into business in the first place because you wanted to provide solutions people need and want. But to look at most advertising and marketing copy, you would think that most businesses believe that they are their own reason for existing. Somewhere along the line, people lost track of what is really at the heart of each and every business: the wants and needs of their customers.

Effective marketing speaks to customer needs and wants. When you talk about your business, you’re more likely to be thinking from the standpoint of what your business needs and wants (customers and sales) vs. what your customers and prospects truly need and want.

Take time to make a list of the things that your customers most need and want (this may require that you do some market research) that your business provides:

what problems do they have (that your business solves)
what do they desire (that your business provides)
what do they value in their customer experiences

Write marketing copy that establishes your understanding of their needs and wants – copy that puts you all “in the same boat,” so to speak. Once you have their attention and you’ve shown them that you understand what they really want and need, then point out how your business can meet those wants and needs. Design your marketing to talk not about your business or your own personal amazing-ness; instead, focus on the benefits the customer can expect as a result of using your products or services, and as a result of doing business with you.

Great marketing keeps the spotlight on the true star of your business story: the customer!

***

[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter.

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Do you have vampires in the workplace?

2011-10-30T13:14:00.001-07:00

Have vampires in the workplace? Want to know the 5 key ingredients for your witches branding brew? Just a couple of the treats that will fatten your wallet—not your waistline—in my Halloween marketing goodie bag a.k.a. tomorrow's email newsletter. Subscribe below then watch your email in the morning!

Don't touch my coffee! 15 caffeine stats you can use to start social media conversations

2011-10-30T09:18:00.001-07:00

It seems to me that people used to "like" and comment on posts much more frequently than they do now. Why? Overload. We're all consuming so much on social media that it takes something truly - TRULY - evocative to motivate us to respond.

But there are still a few topics sure to garner social media interaction, including that beloved and sacred day-starter: coffee. However you spell it—coffee, Americana, latte, mocha or cappuccino—you're likely to get attention and (hopefully!) some interaction with your audience.

On that note, the infographic below from the good people at homeownersinsurance.org contains 15 stats about caffeine that you can use as social media conversation starters:

[Source: Homeowners Insurance]

***

6 Ways Your Business Cards Can Make You Money

2011-10-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

We think of business cards as essential to doing business in the modern world (and they are).

But you may not know that business cards have been around for hundreds of years, and they’ve always been important. Business cards were originally used by the most prosperous and the aristocratic in society to announce that they would be coming to town soon, were exchanged during introductions and were left at the homes of peers and friends to note that one had stopped by.

It’s amazing, if you think about it, that we still use business cards in what is – essentially – the same way. We use them to introduce ourselves, we send them with collateral, we leave them at other businesses, we hand them out at events and parties.

Business cards might actually be the most often-used tool in your marketing arsenal; yet it’s often given little attention in terms of design. Worse, many times people hand out business cards that contain obsolete or outdated information, crossing out and writing in new data. This sends all kinds of negative messages; that you're careless, that you don't care how you present yourself, that you're not proud of your business, that you're not successful enough to be able to afford to replenish them (and who wants to work with someone who is unsuccessful at what they do?)

Since it’s the job of your business card to introduce you to others and remind people of your existence, your business cards need to be memorable, need to reflect your brand and the personality of your business, must look professional and be kept up to date.

Once you’ve got this tool ready to work, here are 6 ways to use your business card to make money:

Don’t leave home without them. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it, but how many times have you been at a party, a store, somewhere and in the middle of a conversation with someone, you have an opportunity to give them your contact information but find yourself without a card? If it was good enough for the rich and famous for hundreds of years, it’s good enough for you, too! Give away your business cards to people to whom you are introduced or meet at networking and social events. Introduce yourself to the managers or owners of businesses you visit on a regular basis and leave two copies of your card with them (one to give away).
Include 2 business cards (one to give away) in each Thank-You Note you send. Which of course implies that you are, in fact, thanking your customers. All of your customers. Your most important clients. Your most loyal patrons. (Come on, you can thank at least one person each day, can’t you?)
Send your business cards to large employers or organizations in your area for placement in common areas, like break rooms. Create a special offer and have it printed on your cards. Send or (better yet) hand-deliver a gift basket with samples from your business or with treats and your catalog or brochure to the receptionist, human resources department, etc; introduce yourself, note the special offer you’re extending and ask that your cards be placed in lobbies, break, lunch or other common areas. Provide digital ad copy that can be featured in their newsletters or on their employee/member websites.
Place your business cards strategically throughout your building on displays. Draw attention to special offers, departmental features, awards or charity involvement, etc.
Include business cards with products, services or gift certificates that you donate to non-profit fundraising drives, auctions, etc. When you donate, ask that your business cards be placed near your auction basket or featured in printed or online collateral.
Create a digital version of your business card that can be downloaded from your website, blog or email newsletter and easily shared with others. Put information about your new customer offers or referral rewards on your digital business card.
Bonus #7: Give them out with Halloween Treats this weekend or Monday evening from your business or even from your home.

***

Do you want more creative ways to use your business card and other marketing tools? Check out 365 Days of Marketing, available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

Friday's 5 - Marketing Shorts and Sweets

2011-10-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

My backyard is full of leaves but so is my tree, which means weeks and weeks of raking, piling, yard-wasting, burning and otherwise getting rid of them in order to keep the yard looking good and healthy. When it comes to your business, is your yard covered with leaves? Are there a thousand little seemingly harmless messages trying to distract your customers from what you most want them to see?

Just a thought. Here are my Friday's 5 to start your weekend with - or to give you one more burst of marketing energy and enthusiasm to end the week!

[ READ ] The most powerful 3 inches of space you own
(designer-daily.com.com)
Your business card can be the hardest-working 3-and-1/2 inches of marketing real estate you own. Believe it or not, they've been an important part of civilized society for centuries. Check out this brief history and be sure to scroll down to see some of the amazing things you can do with your cards these days.

[ READ ] Need a Do-Over? 4 Simple Steps to Reboot your Brand
(smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com)
Reboot or refresh – here are 4 steps to putting some umph back in your brand, so it can get back to work for you.

[ READ ] 5 Ways to Humanize your Social Media Marketing
Connecting emotionally with prospects and customers is key to building an army of enthusiasts and evangelists (i.e., getting people to tell other people about you!) Here are 5 ways to humanize your business social media persona in order to do just that.

BONUS: Breathe New Life Into Your Social Media
Six articles that will help you jump start or re-energize your social media marketing.

[ READ ] 13 Tips for Setting Performance Measures
(greatleadershipbydan.com)
Do you want your employees to succeed? Then you need to set – and be able to measure - clear, achievable, challenging, and unwavering performance standards. Believe it or not, clear and enforced standards are strong motivators; most employees want to excel, knowing the target helps them self-measure and prevents unfair practices due to their more subjective counterparts.

[ READ ] What Your House Will Look Like in 2015
(fastcompany.com)
Smaller, smarter, solar: words that describe what homes will look like in 2015.

[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter.

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Breathe new life into your social media marketing - October 27 Marketing Savvy Newsletter

2011-10-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

Style, Strategy and Marketing Savvy

October 27, 2011

I can't believe October is almost over. With the holiday season nearly here, do you have tools in place to keep your business in the forefront of your customer's minds? Today's newsletter is a social media article collage meant to help you do just that.

[ READ ] How to be your own media marketing machine
(elizabeth kraus | 12monthsofmarketing.net)
Yesterday I read a Chris Brogan post (co-author of NY Times best seller Trust Agents and author of Social Media 101) on entrepreneur.com which said "There are inexpensive ways to market your stuff, as long as you accept one fact: You're also a media company." If you're in the position of needing to run your own business while simultaneously promoting it, you might need a place to start, so I wrote this post laying out what you need most, and how to get started. <more>

[ READ ] Social Networks: Your Personal Operating Systems
(venturebeat.com)
Brian Solis, author of the newly-released, The End of Business As Usual suggests that a war for your social media soul is being waged by Google, Facebook and Twitter. Solis says, "Connected consumers are increasingly leaning on their friends for empowerment, entertainment, and enlightenment. Social networks are now personal hubs that bring information, people, and businesses together." . <more>

Most Commented-On this week:
A new joint-venture, Niche USA
promotes military spouse-owned businesses and entrepreneurs < go >
With partners Jennifer Beatty (wife of a US Marine Corps officer, mother of two, full-time day job plus entrepreneur) my long-time friend John Schmidt, who recently entered the ranks of military families when his son told him of his decision to join the US Air Force, and myself, Niche USA was conceived and launched. Check out the site or the blog and if you know someone who needs to know about this project, please forward this information on to them! One more huge favor? Please 'Like' the Niche USA Facebook page to help us get more reach.

[ READ ] 9 Ways to Build a Facebook Following
(smartblogs.com)
I've been in this spot (please note the favor request above) more than once. You set up a new Facebook page for your business or a special project, ask people to like your page, send out announcements and post like crazy, but so far, there's little to show for it. Here are nine ways to get your Facebook page 'liked' and on the move. <more>

[ READ ] Smile Your Happiness Depends On It
(vancouversun.com)
If you're old enough, you'll remember one of the original 'reality shows' whose climactic moment was punctuated with the phrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." Well that phrase takes on a whole new meaning today, with studies showing that there's a correlation between the presence (or absence) of your smile on your Facebook profile page and your future happiness. <more>

[ READ ] 17 Twitter Marketing Tips from the Pros
(socialmediaexaminer.com)
You might have written it off before, but now is not the time to stop using Twitter, which has grown more in the last nine months than in the last five years (and the trend is expected to continue). Here are 17 Twitter marketing tips from Social Media Examiner's writers that should keep you tweeting happily in the months to come. <more>

And last, but not least:
[ READ ] It's Time You Jumped On Google Plus
(networksolutions.com)
A skeptic at the outset, now that Google Plus is open to the whole world, I'm getting the point and seeing its value. Your connections there will not be the same people you interact with on Facebook, nor those you're connected with on LinkedIn; if it were so, I wouldn't make time for it. This article provides interesting insight and etiquette for why and how you should get on and see what all the fuss is about. <more>

[ get ] more quotes

On the resources page this month and free for download and use: a full page display and a 4-up postcard-sized version for signage you can use at the point of sale, on shelves, tables, as bag stuffers or handouts at your business to get your customers to "like" your Facebook page.

***

For more, [ subscribe to email newsletters ].

Need social media, email and other marketing content? The 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies already has the schedule laid out for you for every month of the year, plus not only the how-to but also the content you need to carry out a strategic, effective electronic marketing plan.

Elizabeth Kraus is the owner of Be InPulse branding marketing - 12monthsofmarketing.com - and the author of 2012 Marketing Calendars, 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing (12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa).

365 Days of Marketing

Mission-Shmission: I Know What Really Matters to You

Related articles

8 Ways to Transform Marketing into a Profit Center

Related: Why Should I Consider Inbound Marketing When I'm Already Using Social Media? (business2community.com)

Forget what I said, Your Business is Awesome

4 Articles and Infographics to help you Market Your Business on Pinterest

Announcing the release of: Little White Marketing Lies

Bring on the Drama! Why You Need Emotion in the Workplace

Are You Using The Paper Cutter Approach to Marketing?

St. Patricks Day Marketing Ideas for Small Business

St. Patricks Day Marketing Ideas for Small Business:

When it comes to love...

What Valentine’s Day Can Teach You About Branding Your Business

The special Valentine’s Day quote that can teach you more about branding your business is this: "Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning."

Customer love is more than skin deep

Why "Job" is a 4 Letter Word and "Work" Shouldn't Be

In fact, most written job descriptions are full of nothing BUT minimal expectations.

The Doctor is In! Symptoms, Diagnosis and The Leadership Cure for Your Business

How do you measure up against these traits of good leadership?

The View from Under the Bus

Friday's 5 - Short and Sweet Marketing Ideas

14 Characteristics of Great Teams (Part 2)

14 Characteristics of Great Teams for Small Business Success

So here are my 14 characteristics of great teams for small business success:

Is Pinterest Right for Your Business, or Should You 'Put a Pin' in It?

Is Pinterest even for business?

Who is using Pinterest?

Show Customers You Care - 10 Valentines Day Marketing Ideas for Small Business

Here are 10 marketing ideas for Valentine’s Day to help you build business, show customers you care and cultivate customer love and loyalty:

To Succeed in 2012, Get Engaged: #7 in the Top 10 Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2012

Play to Win: #6 in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Musts for 2012

Understand the Law of Reflection: #5 in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Musts for 2012

Define, or Be Defined: #4 in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Musts for 2012

#3 in my Top 10 Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2012: Stick Around

#2: Top 10 Small Business Marketing Musts for 2012 - Continuous Improvement (and no 'sacred cows')

Top 10 2012 Marketing Ideas for Small Business Success

Want more customers? Fill your car with balloons.

The Little Things that Cost Your Business, Big Time

Remember Pearl Harbor Day and a Generational Marketing Breakdown

Style, strategy and marketing savvy - December 8 - 2011

Why and How to Build 'Brand You'

Make sure Marketing is more than your 'Gal Friday'

Feeling marooned, without a compass? Here's your 2012 marketing map!

Happy Thanksgiving: Where did it all begin?

An open letter to 2012 Holiday Shoppers

Friday's 5 - Marketing Shorts and Sweets

4 Ways to Sell More Gift Cards this Holiday Season

Don't punish everyone for one person's mistake

You're Too Cool for Facebook

Succeeding in the Deal-Centered Economy - November 14 Marketing Savvy Newsletter

November 14 is Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day

What You Should Do Before You Daily Deal

Free publicity for military spouse-owned businesses!

Let's Get Engaged!

Getting the attention of deal-obsessed consumers

The REAL Repercussions of Discounting

Little White Marketing Lie #8: You need a great logo to build a strong brand

Style, Strategy and Marketing Savvy - November 3

The happiest place on earth

Little White Marketing Lie #7: "We Should Talk About Our Business"

Do you have vampires in the workplace?

Don't touch my coffee! 15 caffeine stats you can use to start social media conversations

6 Ways Your Business Cards Can Make You Money

Friday's 5 - Marketing Shorts and Sweets

Breathe new life into your social media marketing - October 27 Marketing Savvy Newsletter