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There is a delicate balance when it comes to the relationship between a customer/client and you, the service/goods provider. And client preferences are different. Some of your clients will love your eNewsletter while others have already lost control over their inbox and would rather read about your updates in a blog. The question is, how do you find a pleasant way to stay in the minds of your clients without becoming that overbearing “give me your business!” supplier? This is a good question indeed. Here are some suggestions to help you achieve that balance.
The 3-6 Month Follow Up Program: Depending on your business, sometimes 3 months works for this strategy, and other times 4 or 6 month intervals work. Either way, at whatever time schedule works for you, you should set aside some time to run through your top clients list and touch base with them via email. Remember, this is no general email. You know your clients. You know what projects they were working on when you last communicated, and you may even know some of their hobbies and personal interests. Play that knowledge to your advantage and send an email out that talks directly to them. You never know what new projects have landed on their desks, or what new needs they may have.
Send Out a Monthly Newsletter: What customer doesn’t like free information, especially if it is relevant and something they can easily use. Newsletters are also an opportunity to highlight your business or offer discounts. If you don’t have the budget to invest in an eNewsletter solution, we recommend MailChimp, a service that will let you have a monthly newsletter for FREE as long as your mailing list is under 1,000 and your sending limit is under 6,000 a month. We say monthly because you want to give your clients a little time to miss you, or at least to thoroughly read all of the information you have to offer. Newsletters that come out a couple days a week or sometimes weekly end up not getting read, or lost in inbox clutter.
Follow Your Clients: No, not literally! But your clients probably have social networking profiles out on the web, through Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. They will be happy to have your support. Then, you get to hear about what they are doing in live time, and they in turn get to see what you’ve been up to. Show your support even further by actually commenting on some of their posts and updates. Now this is really strengthening the relationship and showing support.
Give The Gift of Your Logo: It’s really cost effective to invest in a promotional item that has your logo on it. Something like a pen or a post-it note pad; these items are sure to get some use and its an indirect visual reminder about your business. These little items can be included when you ship orders if your business makes a product. It can be sent with a final invoice if you’re in the service business. Or, the holidays are literally just around the corner (hint hint), you could slip a promo item in the envelope with your holiday card thanking your clients for another great year.
Think About Your Clients: “Just a little note to let you know I was thinking of you….” Okay, maybe it doesn’t have to be that sentimental! But you get the point. Your best clients and customers are the ones you know the most about. Is someone a sports fan? Well, send an email about how their team did in the playoffs last night. Is someone really into online marketing? Email them an article you found on some really ground-breaking online marketing techniques. You probably come across a lot of this information in your daily web surfing. Why not use it to your advantage.
Remember, you are responsible for making sure your business gets noticed and your clients know that you are there when they need you. The real question is, what are you going to do about it?
With the rise of social media and online users being more eager to check their Facebook and Twitter than their email accounts, in terms of marketing strategy, one must ask, where do we go from here? Partitioning out your marketing budget used to include setting funds aside for an advertisement or two (print or web), and perhaps getting some promotional materials printed (whether it be brochures, mailers, etc). Now, it’s more like seeking out followers on Twitter that can be potential customers to you, and doing advertisements to get people to join your Facebook fan page. Are there any trends or current characteristics that we can point out to help guide us in the future of marketing as we dive deeper into the social media era?
Yes. In our research on the future of marketing we came across an article by Gareth Kay, the head of Planning for Modernista. Have you heard of the term Amara’s law? It simply states that a”we inevitably overestimate the short-term impact of new technologies while underestimating their long-term effects.” Sound familiar? Some of these social networks have literally sprouted up over night! At the same time, you shouldn’t rush into them without a plan of action. The rise of social media technology will have a lasting impact on our culture, especially with reference to how you reach your consumers. Kay had some great insights as to where the future of marketing might be headed. We are going to highlight them here and add our insight too.
Brands will be built on cultural and social missions, not commercial propositions.
So true! Kay says that “marketing historically has been obsessed with the concept of positioning – how you are different to your competitors in your category. Increasingly, great brands are realizing that people don’t see categories and don’t obsess about them.” What actually matters is your company’s point of view, your cultural mission. Your customers and potential customers are looking to connect with you and find something that you have in common. Take a look at the Dove “Campaign for Beauty” or USA networks “Characters wanted” campaign, or yet still the “Product (RED)” campaign that has united several brands under a common goal. The beliefs that your consumers have shape their lives, right down to the materials they buy. What can you do to connect with your customers on a more personal level?
Marketing will be about what you do, not what you say.
Absolutely. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Try to look at your business through the eyes of your consumer. Still lost? Ask your current customers or potential customers to look at your business and provide feedback. This can be through an online survey or simply a question and answer email after they check out your website. Your goal, as a business, is to make it natural for customers to come to you, and come back every time. You see your business through your own eyes, but what about the eyes of an outsider looking in. Are you reaching your customers? Some basic research into your own market can easily highlight common issues like “it’s hard to navigate through your website,” or “I can’t figure out what you’re trying to sell me.” Look at companies such as Zappos, who upgraded to overnight shipping, or how Amazon has one-click shopping. They are responding to the need of their customers who want things quickly. What do your customers need from you to make their experience delightful and how can you deliver to exceed their expectations?
Lots of little ideas, not one big idea.
According to Kay, “the future of marketing lies in breaking the tyranny of the big idea for two reasons. First, we must remember that while marketing (and brands) exist for a commercial purpose, they live in a cultural space.” And culture is far more richer, deeper, and complex. Marketing will be more culturally interesting if it is made up of lots of coherent ideas instead of constantly repeating one idea. “Second, given our inability to predict the future, it makes much more sense to start lots of fires to see what takes hold; to place lots of small bets, rather than putting everything on black 35.” Think about your marketing efforts. Do your research yes, but instead of picking one big idea and running with it, pick four small ideas and see where they take you. All your eggs are not in one basket, and you can monitor your results. Learn from them and then scale up behind the ideas that seem to be working. If you’re doing online advertising, there are plenty of ways to monitor whether or not an ad or article or website is working (see Google Analytics, or WordPress has a stats feature, and most websites track incoming traffic and will compile that data automatically for you). Think BIG. Start small.
People first.
Marketing will be about putting people first. Too often marketing efforts have centered around convincing people how great your company is rather than working out what people are interested in and working out how you might be able to add value. Kay sites Tate tracks, a campaign created by Fallon London for the Tate Modern Gallery. “They needed to increase the number of under-25s visiting the gallery and realized that their current marketing tactics were unlikely to change behavior. So instead they thought about what this target audience was passionate about – music – and created a campaign around art inspiring new, exclusive music.” So perhaps now is a good time to ask, what is your target audience interested in? Let’s get a clearer picture about who they are and what motivates them. Then, tap into their interests and find some way to relate them to your products and services.
To sum it up, when it comes to marketing, creating cultural value will create commercial value. The possibilities are endless.
Resource
The Future of Marketing on Talent Zoo by Gareth Kay
The new year is upon us! You’ve partied with friends or stayed in and celebrated with family. You toasted with champagne or kissed at midnight. And no doubt you’ve started to contemplate the possibilities of what is yet to come. There is no time like the present to start thinking about your business goals and what you hope to accomplish in 2010. Thinking about this now and setting some goals for yourself will help to further ensure your success in the future. In light of the new year, we have developed a list of 10 tips of what you absolutely have to do to make 2010 your year.
10. What is Your Brand? “Brands are defined by the customer. They exist as a feeling that extends beyond the product itself,” says T. Scott Gross, author of Microbranding. What do we say? We define a brand as the emotional and psychological relationship you have with your customers. Strong brands elicit thoughts, emotions, and sometimes physiological responses from customers. Think of your favorite brands and your response to them as they pass through your mind (for example…Apple, Starbucks, Nike, etc). What should your customers think or feel when they talk about or see your company? If you are drawing a blank, you should definitely take some time to think about this and write down what you want your customers to feel. Words like “happiness, quality, reliability” are all great adjectives to start with. Then, build your entire company around these core values. Remember, brands are not concrete; they are the thoughts, feelings, and psychological relationships between a business and its customer. And your brand is the foundation of all your marketing activities.
9. Your Mission Statement. According to the Center for Business Planning, your mission statement should be a clear and succinct representation of your company’s purpose for existence. It should incorporate socially meaningful and measurable criteria addressing concepts such as the moral/ethical position of the enterprise, public image, the target market, products/services, the geographic domain and expectations of growth and profitability. And, it should represent value. If you haven’t written your mission statement yet, now is the time! And when you are finished you can put it in your office or place it on the back of your business card as a constant reminder. Your mission statement can be broad or specific and shouldn’t be more than a couple sentences. If you have trouble getting started, we recommend researching the mission statements of some of your favorite brands. For example, 3M’s mission statement is “to solve unsolved problems innovatively,” Mary Kay Cosmetics’ mission is “to give unlimited opportunity to women,” and our personal favorite, Walt Disney’s mission is “to make people happy.”
8. Image is Everything. Have you been putting off getting your website professionally designed or getting a logo for yourself? Don’t make this mistake! Make this year your year! Start setting aside some funds so that you can have a budget to make this happen. When you are researching which creative company or freelancer to go with, remember that you get what you pay for. Websites that are offering to do your logo design for next to nothing may not give you the personal touch you deserve. Here are some components to consider in your search: Will you be able to call and talk one on one with the potential company about your needs? Will the company consult with you for free? Will they offer more than one option? What is the turn around time? How would they deliver the final files to you? Ultimately, you want a company that will take the time to understand the nature of your business and the industry that you are in, so that they can provide you with the highest quality of design. Still not sure where to start? We will evaluate your old website or logo for free. Simply fill out this contact form to get your FREE evaluation and we will be in touch!
7. Get Your Social Networking in Sync. This comes in two parts. (Part 1) Now is the time to get all of your social networking efforts together. Are still logging into Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn separately? You can save a lot of time by syncing up your social media efforts. For example, from your Facebook account you can link up to your Twitter account so your updates will appear from one to the other. Activate this application by clicking here. Log into LinkedIn and you’ll see that it has the option to post Twitter status updates too! Now logging into Twitter will update your status on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Do you have multiple Twitter accounts? Two great interfaces you should consider for managing them are HootSuite and Splitweet. Check out this very informative article on Mashable: The Social Media Guide for more options.
(Part 2) Does your website look one way, your Facebook page another way, and your Twitter page looks like something else? Consistency and repetition are very important when it comes to brand recognition. Make sure your customers and fans know its you by taking advantage of being able to have a custom Twitter background and upload images to your company’s fan page. An easy fix would be to make sure that your logo is clearly displayed on all forms of social media. There are also several sites that provide FREE Twitter backgrounds; if you go this route, double check to make sure the logo or name of the provider of the image you use isn’t so big and bold that it overpowers your logo and your message.
Want something more original? You can also get your Twitter background and icon custom designed to match the style of your website or your company. Our client, Footprints at 50, is an excellent example of having a unified professional design across the board. Be sure to check out her website, Twitter page, and blog. We’d be happy to take a look at your online presence and offer suggestions for FREE. Just fill out this contact form and we will be in touch!
6. SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It’s easy, it’s beneficial, and many people do not do it. Your website can be spectacular, but it’s not living up to its full potential if the right people aren’t seeing it. Optimizing your website makes it easy for search engines to go through your site and bring it up in relevant searches. Setting up your Meta Tags, site map and page descriptions is simple HTML that you may be able to do, or your designer or VA should definitely be able to do. If you are unsure about it, check with your service provider where you purchased your domain name and hosting package. They might have a search engine optimization plan that you can pay for to have it done. For example, if your site is through GoDaddy.com, they have a search engine visibility package, with the lowest option priced at $28.49 for 2 years. Check out this plan and other options by clicking here. And, as an added tip, submitting your website to most search engines is FREE.
5. Meet People. Hello, my name is… Many industries operate on a “it’s all who you know” basis. Be available. Check out your local business journal for networking events, but also keep in mind, they don’t always have to be networking events. Have you heard of Meetup.com? This site allows people to meet up and form groups based on similar interests. Search for groups in your area that meet your needs and interests (for example, Young Entrepreneurs, or Green Business Owners). Also search for groups that might be outside of your industry (if you are a boutique, you may get more potential customers amongst a mix of people rather than other boutique owners). By the way, as you’re headed out and about, it would be a good idea to have some business cards handy. Our portfolio is full of examples of business cards we’ve done for our satisfied clients. For example, check out Destiny Homes 4 You, Get Luba Fit, and Butterfly Effects.
4. Send Out An E-Newsletter! It’s a very cost effective way to stay in touch with your customers and clients. This is not something that you have to update every day. Set it up so it works with your schedule so you don’t overwhelm yourself looking for content. An eNewsletter is an excellent way to call attention to a new product or promotion and its a good way to collect contact information. Many service providers for eNewsletters (such as Constant Contact for example) offer free trial periods so you can get comfortable using their service. Mail Chimp offers free use of their services as long as your mailing list is under 500. Here’s some additional advice, choose quality over quantity when it comes to the content of your newsletter. It is okay to sign up for other newsletters from your industry just to see what they are talking about and how they structure their content.
3. Keep In Touch. Your customers/clients are what drives your business. Keep them happy and you will get additional business from referrals. Let your customers know that you appreciate them in a way that brings them back to you. After you complete a service for them, send them a note thanking them for their business, and you can also offer 10% off their next project. If it’s a product that you are selling, you can also include a note that says “Thank you for your business!” You can include a coupon for a percentage off of their next purchase. Or, you can include a company branded promotional item (a notepad, pen, bumper sticker, etc) as a freebie with their order. Everyone loves getting something for free, and it is even more of a surprise when it’s unexpected. These little tactics are sure to help you hold on to your current customers and attract new ones as well.
2. Take Time For You. This would be time away from the computer, away from the smart phone, away from all things work related. You are no good to your business or your clients/customers if you are stressed out or feel as if you are stretching yourself too thin! Whip out your planner and schedule some me time! It can be a few minutes to dive into a book you’ve been meaning to read, a walk in the park, dinner with friends, etc. Make a wish list if you have to. You schedule time to meet with clients, to give free consultations, and to work on your online marketing efforts, why not put yourself on the schedule too? Taking a few minutes or more a day will allow you to regroup, refocus, have a clear mindset, and be of even more value to your customers.
1. Grow. If you are a small business owner then it may seem like you are on the front line for your business. You are making the sales call, you are the customer service rep, you are the marketing guru. How can you continue to fuel the many facets of your business? You must look for ways to continue to grow on a personal and professional level. Make it a goal to once or twice a month do something that advances your knowledge and your skill-set. This might mean attending an online seminar, speaker series, lecture, class or a conference that relates to your trade (be sure you’re not signing up for “How to Make 6 Figures in 30 Days” or similar platforms, you want professional, concrete information as it relates to you). Set aside a small budget to make this happen. This is important. These growth sessions, whatever they may be, will help you to develop fresh ideas, gain a broader perspective, and learn from the experiences of others.
