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I was thinking about marketing tonight. Actually, I think about marketing a lot of the time - but anyway...
I was thinking about how some companies really get it and some just don't. Some companies are lucky enough to be in a well defined space, where it is clear how to market your products, and some are in a new technology or in cross-over or emerging markets and just can't find the right message.
I am thinking about this because I applied for a job at a company that makes solar panels, and I was perusing their website to get more info about their products, markets, etc. After spending a little time navigating their site, I really hope they will talk to me about working there. I really think I could help. Really.
Maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe they are not interested in selling product - just telling people about how cool their technology is and how they make it well. Maybe that is enough to get people to buy these expensive solar panels. Maybe I'm in the minority to think that the best way to sell something like residential and commercial solar panels is to show how someone can be environmentally friendly while not spending their life savings or corporate profits. Perhaps I am alone in thinking that making a financial case to show home owners, contractors, businesses, etc. that it is actually a cost effective move, would be a good marketing strategy. What do I know?
Well, actually, I know quite a bit. I know that new technology, no matter how 'cool' it is, is hard to adopt when it is expensive and has long term implications. I know that even when you want to do the right thing for the environment, you are often only willing to spend a limited amount to do it. I also know that it is hard to buy something when you don't really understand how it works. So, if I were marketing solar panels, I would suggest including this kind of information on the website. Examples of energy cost savings and payback time for the initial outlay. Explanations of how solar ties into your home or business electrical system to keep you 'off grid' so to speak. I would educate and enlighten - and then pitch "now that you know you want it, buy from us because we make it better..."
Anyway, what do I know?!
I spent some time talking to several local retail business owners a while back. A small candy store, a store selling childrens' items from around the world, a wood/pellett stove store and a brand new restaurant, were among the businesses I visited. Each one had a really nice owner, a well maintained store and good inventory. Each one was struggling when I met them.
We met because I was looking for space to start a little business idea that I had at the time. When I put together my first pass at a business plan, I determined that I could not pay too much for rent - so I set out to talk to some local businesses to see how they got started, what rents were like in different areas and, in 2 cases, to see if someone might want to share a space and therefore really keep expenses down (my business idea was related to kids, so may have fit in with the toy or candy lady).
What I found through these discussions was that many of these business owners never really put together a plan. "WHAT?!" - you may gasp. "No business plan?" NOPE.
One woman told me "I wish I had done something like that before I signed this lease". Of course she did! She was actually leaving her space for something more affordable and going to pay both rents for a few months so as not to loose the opportunity to lease the cheaper space (off the beaten path). I heard the exact same story at the international toy store. The stove store owner was regreting his decision to expand to this second location and closed up shop shortly after we met. We had discussed the space next to his that was for lease (he told me to stay away from that building - lousy landlord and more expensive than it was worth). I already knew that - I had done the math.
So, believe it or not, people start businesses without a plan. They don't even put together some basic numbers to see if they are going to be capable of paying their bills. They didn't determine how many dozens of toys and books they would have to sell each day just to cover their costs. They did not make the simple calculations that would tell them how many thousands of chocolates would have to be sold each month just to pay the bills. The restaurant needed to have at least 40 people buy a meal every day, but did not have a plan on how to bring in that many people.
For every one of these, and several others that I have spoken with, a simple calculation would have told them not to sign those pricey leases, to find an alternative or at least think through plans more thoroughly.
As of now, the toy lady closed up shop and sells through homeschool networks. The candy shop is closed too, but sells mail-order. The restaurant is actually doing better, after a really tough couple of years.
So, the lesson here... even if you self-finance and you are excited about your business and you just know you can make it work - do the numbers. Add up your monthly expenses - rent, utilities, insurance, payroll, advertising, etc. Then consider your product costs vs. selling price. Given just those basics, how many items will you have to sell to cover your costs every month? Then translate that to how many each day or week. Now, think about that number carefully - is it reasonable? Is it achievable?Chances are that you could get 10-20 customers to buy every day - but could you get 40? 50? If that is the magic number - re-think your plan. Oh, and don't sign that lease quite yet.
My youngest daughter is a gymnast. I wont get into the details of the US Junior Olympic program, coach drama or the intensity of this sport - but I could do a long blog on all that! We are now at our 4th gym and I have seen a common thread within the business end of gymnastics. This may not be true everywhere, but I am comfortable saying it anyway - gymnastics coaches don't make the best business people.
There, I said it and I sincerely apologize to those gym owners who run their business very well. Really, I'm sorry - but I would love to meet you sometime. Perhaps you could open a gym here in Massachusetts.
So, what is my point? Well, the gyms in question here do not understand their relationship with the customer. They sometimes act like they are doing us a favor by charging us enormous amounts of money to ruin our daughters' joints, make them cry regulary and cause immense stress in our family life. They just don't seem to get it.
I'm not sure they are that different than other smaller (maybe even not so small) businesses/companies that are out there. While working with a client recently, I helped the owner deal with a customer complaint. I was very apologetic on behalf of the company and we quickly made arrangements to fix the problem and get product to her that met her needs. She sent a glowing email, letting us know how impressed she was with the response and how she looked forward to doing more business with the company. Success, right? The owner's private note to me was simply - "Drama Queen!"
This was a disappointing assessment of such a positive event. We had just turned a negative into a positive - the best thing we could hope for with a customer service issue. It reminded me of my recent discussion with the owner of my daughter's current gym. When I tried to express my concern over our favorite coaches leaving and my feeling that the coaches who were left might not be the most effective - the reply was (and I quote here) "Feel free to look around at other gyms". Man - this was before I even got past my initial comment. I was not even in full gripe mode - really! This is an interesting business model: customer complains - screw them.
Well, at least I believe in Darwin and figure that those who don't have what it takes, will eventually die out. In the mean time, we will probably be looking at gyms when the competition season ends and my client may just get a few more orders from the Drama Queen.
The customer is always right - right? Is this your customer service mantra or do you think this is an 'old fashioned' way to think? Has customer service changed over the last 10 years or so? Should it?
I have run a couple of Customer Service Departments over the years and I always stress that if you don't at least start with this basic assumption, things will often not go well. When a customer calls with a question or problem, you simply have to give them the benefit of the doubt. Customer Service personnel should understand that they have the ability to make or break the company's relationship with its customers. You can have the best product, good prices - even fast delivery - but if people don't like you, they will not buy and they certainly will not recommend you.
So, is the customer always right? Of course not. I have actually found that the customer is often not right. Maybe they have the wrong information or caused the problem themselves. Customers can call to complain that their order was really late, but they placed the order a week later than they remembered. Someone may call to return a product that is not working and is 'brand new', but when you look it up, the product is 6 months past its warranty period. Customers are human. We are all customers at some point. Have you ever had a 'senior moment' when ordering something? Maybe you forgot to get your credit card out or changed your mind while ordering because you suddenly realized you did not really need to spend money on this item? Customer Service needs to take all of this in stride, keep their tone positive and work through the issues with the customer. The goal is to make the customer feel satisfied when the conversation (or email trail) is complete - even if they don't end up getting what they asked for!
Years ago, we often saw 'yes' people dealing with customers. "Yes, sir", "Of course, Ma'am" ... Pushing back on the customer was probably more frowned upon than it is today. Modern customer service works just fine with a little push back - but it must be under the premise that the goal is still to make that customer happy. It's ok to say "I'm sorry, but my records indicate that this was ordered in 2009, not last month" - here is the key to diffusing this, continue with - "Could I be missing something or was this ordered by someone else?" When questioning the validily of a customer's issue, always provide them with an out of some sort. Show them you are open to the possibility that you have not found what is needed or that you understand how easy it is to not remember when something was purchased - time flies in our busy world.
Nothing diffuses anger more than someone who is trying to share the blame for a problem and genuinely sounds like they really want to help you. This does not mean the customer will get what they wanted, but they need to feel like they got what they deserved in the end - even if that is simply having been made to understand that there is not really a problem after all!
Image building, branding, messaging - all so important to your business, but one of the most vague marketing concepts in my book. There are so many ways to say something, so many ways to design a logo and a look for your business. What looks great to you may seem odd or out of date to me - or vice versa. How do you know if what you are doing is right?
You can look at a few things and ask a few key questions to make sure you are at least on the right path. So, first and foremost - do no harm! If you do only one thing - make sure your web site, company look, email campaigns, Social Media and anything else you put out there, do not make you look bad in anyone's eyes. Check that nothing you do could be considered inappropriate, insulting, or just plain sound stupid. Make sure you have good grammar, no typos and nothing that is just plain wrong.
Once you have done this, decide what your message is going to be and what company image you want to build. Everything you do should then revolve around these ideas. Check yourself often by asking if what you are doing fits into this message. For instance, are you trying to be a market leader, a low price solution, high quality/high price, the innovator - what is your value proposition? Then, what is your image (based, at least in part, on your target market)- modern/young, older and established, very corporate, kind of funky, artsy, on the cutting edge? Define your image with 2 or 3 adjectives and use those when evaluating design choices for your materials.
Now that you have determined your value proposition and your positioning, build your image around them. Start with your company name/logo and any tag line you may use. Do they fit the parameters you have just determined? Do they need to be adjusted? Will adding a tag line help? Is this a good time to design or re-design your logo? Choose colors for your logo that will extend into other areas like your website, printed materials, email marketing pieces, social media pages, etc.
Next, look at your web site. Does your home page tell the visitor what your value proposition is? Does it at least answer the question - "What does this company do?" in the first 5-8 seconds? Would you use your company "adjectives" to describe this site? Is it 'funky' or 'corporate' or 'young' looking? Is it visually appealing and does it look like your company? And, most of all, is it correct! Does everything link properly? Enough people will come and go, don't give them a reason (like poor design) to leave.
This is just the tip of the image building iceberg, but I hope this gives you something to think about.
There are a lot of things that can kill a smaller sized business - cash flow issues, poor quality, supply issues and so much more. I think that one of the worse things that can happen to a small company is a bad case of indecision - perhaps accompanied with a side of wishy-washyness.
OK, a little word play fun, but seriously - if you can't make decisions and you keep re-visiting and adjusting everything, how can you ever move forward? I think this can lead to a slow and painful death.
So, let's examine the possible causes of these ailments. Why is it difficult for some people to make decisions? In many cases, it is the fear of being wrong. Sometimes it stems from trying to keep certain employees from getting upset (yes, this does happen). It often takes work to make a decision - collecting information in order to determine the right course of action. Those people are just lazy. Some like to avoid any conflict, some just procrastinate by nature, some are simply foolish.
I know I have written this before, but it is worth repeating. There is nothing worse (ok, there are some things that are worse, but you get the idea) than having things just happen through no conscious decision - just happening by chance. You lose all control when this happens and can't easily look back to determine what went wrong. A wrong decision is better than no decision.
The other piece that can wreak havoc is constantly changing your decisions. Of course it is important to regularly re-evaluate plans, review products, procedures, assignments, etc. and make adjustments along the way. But, that does not mean changing objectives, targets, assignments or strategy often is a good thing. Plans need to be given a little time to play out - see what happens. Measurement and review needs to collect enough information to provide a good basis for making changes and enough information to help guide what that change should be. Don't change your pricing scheme after 1 down sales month. Don't re-vamp your successful web site after 2 weeks of reduced site activity. Don't re-assign tasks or people because of 1 complaint.
Although the dinosaurs of old school business should be dead for SMB, and changes should not involve years of study and review, a little moderation and consideration in planning and decision making is an important business concept.
For many companies, the social media craze is something for others to do - it's not really for them. Does this sound familiar? Are you ignoring this trend in hopes that it will just blow over? Did you think email was just a fad too?!
Well, its time to get over it. Social media is here to stay. It's time to get past the discomfort and start doing something. Unless you sell to the over 55 set only, it's time to start tuning in and participating - your competitors surely are.
So, let's start with the basics. Register with Twitter and set up an account. Choose one person to be in charge of twitter in the beginning - this will keep your messaging consistent. Try to choose a twitter name that allows people to find you. If your actual business name is available, take it. If that is not possible, choose a spelling or abbreviation that is logical and allows you to keep at least part of your real name in tact.
For instance, if your company is "Standard Safety Products", StandardSafety would be a good choice. If it is not available, try the entire name. The key is to be found if someone searches for you. Don't make up some crazy abbreviation like Stdsafeprods - even people who know you will not find you easily.
Now, set up the information on your account. Make sure to write a good description in the bio. This is what everyone will see when they go to your page. Make sure your business is described well using key words that, again, will be found in a search.
I also recommend that you customize at least the background of your page. Upload a logo or symbol that represents your company well. Then, choose colors for the sidebar and fonts that complements that background well. Do not choose dark letters on a dark background - no one can read it.
Now, you are set up. Take some time to search for some people to connect with - even before you start posting your own tweets. Look up companies you do business with - customers, vendors, services you use. Then, search for key words and see who is tweeting about subjects that are pertinent to your business. If you make software for the health care market, search on software, health care, patient data, etc. Then look at the profiles of the people posting things on these subjects and click to follow the ones that seem to tweet about things that are in line with your product and market. Pay attention to the tweets you see - what do you like to read? - what don't you like to read? This will give you some ideas about how to compose your posts.
It is important that posts are informational and welcoming. Just tweeting about how great you are and telling people to buy, buy, buy, will not make you a popular site. The initial goal should be to start making a reputation for yourself as a company that has something good to say, some information to offer and perhaps even someone good to converse with. Set a goal to become viewed as an expert in your field and this will help focus your posting efforts.
You now need to start posting your own tweets. Start out with a few things about your business - informational, not hard sell. Post a teaser line and a link to your latest press release. Put in something about a new product or a sales milestone. I like to prepare with good 'go to' reference sites. These are sites that have good information about happenings in your industry. When I need an idea for a useful post, I sometimes check these reference sites to get ideas. Post a link to an interesting technical article or a newspaper story or a blog post about something new in your field.
Although you don't have to spend hours on Twitter every week to be successful with it, you should plan to spend more time in the first couple of weeks. Find good resources, get some regular posts up, re-tweet some people and keep looking for good people to follow. Next thing you know, some people will be following you and clicking into your web site (or onto your blog, etc.). This really should be the short term goal for most small businesses- more traffic. It's hard to tell if sales will result, but more clicks to your web site and finding leads through new followers, is not a bad thing. Remember to check your new followers regularly. Get rid of any spamy looking ones (you can block people from following you), follow up on any that look like a good lead and follow people back.
I too was a non-believer not that long ago. I thought Twitter was a bad idea and something in which I would never find value. I was wrong. I think it is one of many important tools in the marketing arsenal for many small businesses out there - so give it a try.
As we approach 2010, I'm sure big plans are underway for businesses of all types. Sales goals are being doled out, cost reductions are under review, pricing strategies are being evaluated, cost of new development and expenses are being reconsidered, personnel is being looked at and on and on.
I get it. Times are tough out there. Business is slow, prices are falling, competition is crazy, ... You just want to get through this recession and come out the other side.
What a perfect time to take stock in how you do things and to make improvements. I'm talking about evaluating everything you do. What would happen if you made "improvement" a major goal for 2010? Would it help you succeed in this tough economy? Would it make you stronger on the other side? Is it worth spending precious resources on doing this now? I say yes, yes and definitely yes!
When I talk about improving things, I'm talking about processes, procedures - how everyone performs their piece of the business puzzle. Every single company out there can do something better - improving their efficiency, costs, customer service, product performance, yields, ... The things upon which we can improve are almost endless.
I have done this with clients when I did Quality Management work - as part of the journey toward ISO registrations. I worked with each department, meeting with people who understood the way things were currently being done and brainstormed about things that they thought went smoothly and things they thought needed improvement. Then I would bring in people who worked with that department and ask them what worked well and what might be improved upon. You see, no department works in a vacuum - they all interact and provide things for each other. When you do your job well, your department, your internal 'customers' and the company all benefit.
After this series of meetings and brainstorming sessions, we reviewed the practices and procedures followed in each department and made some changes. We documented what we were going to do and went over everything, including expectations, with each employee. We then let the updated system work for a while.
The key to true success with this type of plan is to have management buy-in, to support the implementation and time commitment needed for this. The other key thing is to do a follow-up. It is important to re-group some time after the new procedures have been in effect (6 months maybe) to go over the progress and tweak anything that is still not quite right. This also reaffirms that this is not a passing fad or a management whim. It is a real commitment to change and progress.
Although it is extremely helpful to bring someone in from the outside to facilitate this type of activity, it can be done with your own people. Someone from a different department could take the lead for each area - asking questions, being the 'moderator', noting the good things and the things that are not working well. This person would guide the department toward new objectives and focus on procedural updates that will make each department more effective and efficient.
Why not make IMPROVEMENT an objective for 2010?
I have officially run out of time. I just can't work for a client, write blog posts, tweet something profound, click on (and read) all the links to articles about new marketing ideas and trends, post pictures on facebook, look for new job opportunities on all the job sites, connect with everyone I know on linkedin ... Oh, and eat, sleep and see my family - impossible!
As a consultant, I have a need to keep up with the latest and greatest things happening out there. I have to stay fresh, be up on trends, understand how to implement these for the next client coming around the bend - or the next full time employer. Don't I?
I'm actually starting to wonder. I saw a seminar being offered on social networking - sponsored by our local Chamber of Commerce. The panel was comprised of a few local small business owners who are tweeting, ... Are they experts? Are they going to tell me something I don't know? Maybe - maybe not. How much more do I need to know? Can I be considered an 'expert'? I certainly seem to have as much knowledge as some people out there peddling their seminars and advice.
I approached twitter, linkedin, facebook ... the same way I approach most things - I talked to some people, I observed people/companies already doing it, I read a bunch of articles - until they all started to sound the same. Then I tried it out, slowly but surely putting things there for people to see. Only time will tell if I can be successful with my approach, but I'm starting to feel pretty good so far. I can't say that I am an expert, or know everything there is to know. But, I'm off to a good start and think I can learn new things without spending every spare moment on these activities.
As with most things in life, perhaps moderation is the key to surviving the social media frenzy! So, happy tweeting, blogging, facebooking, linking in, etc ...
For all of you working for mid-sized or larger companies, taking time now to plan for 2010 is part of the process - something that just happens. For millions of small businesses out there, I'm guessing that not much (or certainly not enough) time is spent on planning a marketing strategy for next year.
Here are a few thoughts on what I would consider 'low hanging fruit' - things that may have smaller returns, but are easy and low (or no) cost to implement.
1. Take a look at your overall image and message. Is it what you want it to be? Is it consistant? Is it clear? If everything is good, then move on to something else. If not, decide what needs to be changed or updated and make it happen. Every business can benefit from proper branding and a consistent look and message - customers find comfort in knowing what to expect.
2. Review your web site. Is it still on message? Is site navigation easy and logical? Do pictures look good, is the message clear, are products shown properly? Is it clear what you do, why someone should trust you and how to reach you? Now is the time to fix anything that is not quite right.
3. Should you reach out to customers with social media? Is it time to tweet or to build a facebook page? Should you add a blog? Do you have someone who could start this without spending too much time? Caution here though - if you start, be prepared to keep going. Posting a tweet once or twice a month is going to do nothing good for you. Putting up a facebook page and then leaving it unattended will not impress anyone!
4. Try your hand at email marketing. Sites like Constant Contact, iContact, Vertical Response and many others make it easy and fairly low cost. Gather a mailing list of existing customers, put a sign up link on your web site, sign people up in your store or restaurant, etc and start offering email promotions to attract business. If you have a company that offers services and not product, have your emails be informational newsletters. Become an expert in the eyes of your potential customers.
These are just a few of the things you should consider for your 2010 marketing plans. Get out of your Marketing rut and start planning some new things for next year. You may or may not agree - but image is a key component of success. Do you buy things from businesses that seem shabby, are unknown to you and look like they don't have their act together?
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