DIY Marketing

This month is 'Do It Yourself Marketing' Month.  So what is your marketing strategy?  Do you do it yourself or do you have someone else doing it for you?  Or a combination of both?  Either way, do you know what is working?  If not, that should be your first action item.  Start tracking what's working and what's not.  This will save you lots of money over time.

Below are some strategies for marketing that I recommend.  I believe they will work for most any business.

• Know Your Target Market.  Get very specific.  Who can use your products and services?   Consider the demographics of your perfect client.  Often times the more specific you can be about your perfect referral, the better the chances of receiving a referral.

• Networking is a great way to market your business and build relationships in order to gain business.  It is recommended to be part of a closed networking group like BNI (one industry represented per Chapter) and 2 open networking groups (multiple of the same industry), i.e. The Chamber of Commerce, Business Alliance, etc. and perhaps a service group like Kiwanis, Rotary, etc.  Building relationships by seeing the same people over time creates visibility which builds creditability in order to receive word-of-mouth referrals.

• Keep in touch with prospects and clients.  Not everyone you meet may need your product or service right now, but if you stay in touch with them, perhaps in the future if they have a need, you will be top of mind because you kept in touch and will be the one they call or refer.  In my a previous blog, I covered tips for Customer Loyalty which gave information and tips.
• Methods for keeping in touch include Social Media, Newsletters, Greeting Cards, Phone Calls, drop by visits, etc.

• Marketing Materials that represent you, your products, and services well.  Make sure your branding and message is consistent across all platforms.  Whether you are marketing face to face or online ensure your logo, photos, tag line, colors, are consistent.  You can be a one person show, but the little things can make you look like the 'big guys.'

• Track Everything.  Go back through your last 6 to 12 months of business and determine where the business came from.  And depending on the answer would determine where to focus more.  Ask each new client, how did you find us?  Let the stats drive your future marketing efforts.  

 Much of this you can do yourself, but do you have the time and the skill set?  It's always best to consider what you do best and like and enjoy doing and delegate the rest.

I hope you have found this to be helpful. Your comments are welcomed and appreciated.

To Your Success,

Annette

Painted Lady Enterprises

'Helping You and Your Business Look Good'

Are You Easy To Do Business With?

My question comes from my recent two encounters with sales reps from almost opposite ends of the spectrum.  One that I couldn’t get enough information to make a purchase, to one I finally had to block their phone number to keep from getting their calls. 

So, comes my question of follow up and where is it not enough or too much.  I’ve used this graphic  

many times in regards to follow up, which many sales reps will admit they don’t follow up nearly enough.  But I believe with most prospects if we ask a few questions we can determine when and how often to follow up.

For Example:

• Ensure we have answered all the prospects questions and provided them with all the information they need to make a buying decision. 
• Ask when are they thinking of making a decision/purchase.    
• Ask if there is anything else you can provide to help them with their buying decision.   
• Also ask when would they like for you to follow up with them again. 

These questions give us an idea of when and how to follow up.

An effective way to keep in touch with clients is with email marketing and social media.  Email marketing and social media can be used to provide industry information and helpful hints to the client.  Most prospects and clients appreciate this type of marketing.  What most do not like is the daily bombardment of filling up their inbox with Buy, Buy, Buy – Now!  That type of tactics will have prospects and clients unsubscribing, un-liking, unfollowing, and disgruntled very quickly.  But good email marketing consists of providing helpful information about your industry with a sprinkling of special offers and sales, but the sales and offers should not be the main focus.  For most businesses, sending a monthly newsletter is a good way to remind your clients and prospects that you are there to service them when they are ready.

Here is my list of how to make yourself Easy to do business with:

1. Answer questions and be honest with the prospect
2. Provide the information they need to make a buying decision
3. Ask questions to determine parameters for them making a buying decision
4. Respect their time to do their due diligent
5. Keep in touch with periodic newsletters, social media, etc. with helpful information
6. Follow up depending on #3 and #4
7. Don’t hit and run – A No may mean, no for now or I’m not ready to buy yet.  Refer back to #5
8. Don’t be a pest with phone calls and emails especially if the prospect tells you they aren’t going to make a buying decision for 6 months to a year. 
9. Make sure they have all your contact information.  It’s part of every email signature, newsletter, etc.  Giving or sending a promotional product with your contact info is also a clever way to ensure they have your contact info nearby
10. And lastly – be truthful, reliable, and consistent in all your interactions.

What other advice would you add to this list?  Your comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.

Sincerely,

Annette

Painted Lady Enterprises

‘Helping My Clients and Their Business Look Good’

Staying on Track - Reaching Goals – Achieving Resolutions

Well its one week into the New Year.  Did you make some New Year’s resolutions?  Goals?  For yourself?  For your business?  So how are you doing?  What is your track record?  How many goals and/or resolutions did you put on your list that are repeats?  That you either abandoned or didn’t quite attain last year?  Or are you one of the ones that just quit making resolutions and goals?

Lots of questions, I know, but if we keep putting the same goals and resolutions on our list year after year, then it poses the question to ask why.  Why aren’t we reaching these goals?  Is it that important to us?  It must be or we wouldn’t keep putting them on the list time after time, year after year.  Do we lack the skill set?  Hmmm….maybe, maybe not.  If we have the skill set, then do we lack the time?

I had a conversation this past week with a business acquaintance and she talked about ‘staffing for your weaknesses.’  This got me to thinking about why goals and resolutions don’t get achieved, but yet we keep saying we want to reach/achieve said goals and/or resolutions.  Which brings up more questions.

·        Is it really important to us – Will it make us happier, healthier, wealthier if achieved?

·        Do we have the skill set – if not, then why not seek out the expertise needed.  This might be in the areas of our health, diet and/or exercise.  Why not hire a personal trainer and/or a nutritionist, the expertise needed to finally achieve the results wanted.

·        If we have the skill set – is it a strength?  Sometimes we may have the skill set, but it is not a strength or we had rather do something else.  For example:  We may want to get a handle on our finances, profit and loss, etc. for our business.  We know how to do all of this, but it’s not one of our strengths or we just don’t enjoy doing this type of work.  Outsource the work.  Hire a bookkeeper or an accountant who can track the information and provide an analysis.

·        Do we lack the time – or not making the time to put forth the effort?  If it is something someone else can do – outsource it.  For example:  I can and know how to clean my house, but I don’t like to do it so therefore it takes me 3 times as long as it does for the person I have who does it for me.  I had rather be on my computer creating an email marketing newsletter for my clients or setting up clients social media sites.   I enjoy doing that.  So, find the expertise who can do the tasks you don’t have time or don’t want to do yourself.

There are certain aspects of our life and business we like and enjoy doing and we are good at them.  And then there are other things that we may can do, but it’s not a strength and/or we don’t enjoy it.  So comes the question, would we be better off outsourcing the task, hiring the expertise, or it is just something we just have to buckle down and do ourselves.  These are the questions that each of us have to answer and figure out.  My advice is to focus on your strengths, what you enjoy and outsource what you can.  That way you free up the time to concentrate and devote the time to do the things that are your strengths and that you do enjoy and hopefully brings in the revenue to pay for the outsourcing.

Sometimes we can even combine something we enjoy with something we need to do.  I have to put a plug in for my youngest daughter here.  She also works on a computer all day and as a result needs to exercise more.  To solve the issue she has rigged a desk/platform on her treadmill for her computer so she can work and exercise at the same time.  Talk about the 'mother of invention.'  I thinks she is on to something.

So before you abandon your New Year’s resolutions/goals, think about why you want to quit and work through the questions.  And if you need further help, my oldest daughter is a counselor and that’s her expertise, helping people sort things out.

Here’s To Achieving Your Goals in 2016,

Annette

Painted Lady Enterprises

"Helping My Clients and Their Business Look Good"

A Time To Make Lists

I’m a list maker.  I have to write things down.  It seems that during the holidays, my lists multiply.  In addition to the normal to-do list, there’s the shopping list, the honey do list, the greeting card list, etc.  And then my lists have lists.

In business lists are very important, especially customer and prospect lists.   Past clients and prospects represent potential income.  It is extremely important for every business to keep contact records of past clients and prospects and keep in touch on a regular and consistent basis.  The reason a business should keep in touch with past clients and prospects is, you never know when they will 1) need your product/service again or 2) have an opportunity to refer you to someone who needs your product/service.   

How to build a list –

• As you meet potential clients, ask for their contact information.  Even if they don’t purchase at the time, you want to stay in touch.
• Offer something of value – information.  Start a newsletter with industry information that you publish on a periodic basis, like once a month.  As you meet people, ask if you may add them to your distribution lists.
• Have an ‘opt in’ feature on your website and/or blog to ‘Join your newsletter distribution list.’  You can also add this feature – ‘Join My List’ - to your Facebook business page.
• When you do trade shows and expos, give away a door prize by collecting contact information and having a drawing.
•  When doing speaking engagements, have a sign-up sheet for your newsletter.
•  When someone makes a purchase, be sure and get their contact information.  Send them a thank you and add them to your distribution list.

-      Also, keep track of where the names on your list come from.  I find it interesting to go back and see the source of the referral/sale.

So now that you have a list, how are some ways to use it? 

How to work a list –

• When you acquire a new client, you want to send them a thank you note.  You can send an email, but a good old fashion Thank You card sent through snail mail is even better, provided you have their snail mail address.

o   You can also use greeting cards to send them a birthday card, an anniversary card, and about any other type of holiday card.  I recommend sending a totally unexpected card for some unknown holiday at least once a year.  It gets their attention amongst all the junk mail and makes you and your business memorable.

• I mentioned above creating and sending a newsletter on a regular and consistent basis.  Make your newsletters informative about whatever industry you represent.  People love to be informed.
•  Use your social media channels.  When you publish your newsletter, post a link to it on all your social media platforms.  Do the same thing when you publish a new blog.  
•  Use your lists to inform your clients and prospects of sales and specials, however don’t constantly bombard them with only sales and specials or they will unsubscribe because they don’t perceive the value.  Think Givers Gain.  Give them information that is helpful to gain their trust.  They will value that and remember you when they get ready to purchase or have the opportunity to refer you.

If you're not building a list and keeping in touch, someone else is. I hope you found this information of value.  If you need help with newsletters or social media, please contact us.  This is our specialty.

Happy List Making!

Annette

Painted Lady Enterprises

‘Helping You and Your Business Look Good’