Read more about : (matching categories Lets Talk Marketing ) Posted by Kristina Hill,July 3rd, 2009
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I love to read. I’m especially drawn to books dealing with various facets of marketing. One book that recently made my reading list in this category is “Now Is Gone” by marketing strategist Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis , principal of the PR agency FutureWorks. I heard a lot about the book a few months back and finally had a chance to dig into it.
"Now Is Gone" serves as a beginner’s course for executives and entrepreneurs looking to add social media to their marketing mix. Even with all of the blogging, tweeting, and Facebooking going on, there still are a lot of people who fall into this category. If this is the case, or even if you need a social media refresher course, I recommend "Now Is Gone" as a good read for three primary reasons:
* The book provides practical, relatable insights about what social media is, and tips on how to enter and succeed in social media in a way that’s right for your business.
* The book features a number of real-life, practical case studies from small and large businesses who are succeeding with social media.
* The book is a quick, easy read. This is especially important since the words “social media” still ignites fear in some people. No matter the level, you will be able to glean information from this book.
Also a treat were interviews taken from Livingston’s Buzz Bin Blog with marketing experts such as Todd Defren, Laura Ries, and others. If you consider yourself a social media pro, this book may not be for you. But, if you are a newbie in this space or are curious as to what others are saying about and doing with social media, "Now is Gone" is a good place to start this journey.
Visit www.nowisgone.com to find out more about this book. And don’t leave the site without checking out a few of the social media marketing case studies.
Kristina Hill is the owner of MarComm Creative Group, LLC, a marketing communications business that helps small-and-mid-sized companies tell their story.
Read more about : (matching categories The Best Damn Sales Blog ) Posted by Ian Farmer,June 30th, 2009
In the current climate all of us are looking to generate more leads, make more sales and lower operating costs. The thought of doing your sales and business development via an indirect sales channel operation suddenly becomes very appealing - lots of sales people, who you don’t have to employ, out there selling for you.
Problem is you still have all the responsibility for the numbers but no authority to back it up. Your own sales guy does not perform you can put them on a plan or even fire them. The channel guys don’t perform - you’ve got a problem but little authority to sort it out.
So you want to set up a channel sales program? Here are some tips based on my channel experience that goes back to 1983!.
1. Work with your channel partners helping them to write a plan for the business they are going to do for you - nothing complicated, you can use a template to guide you.
2. Do your margin analysis early not as an after thought, your channel needs to earn enough margin points to sell your products, you neeed to earn enough to be able to let them.
3. Select your channel manager carefully, you need skill to run a channel but above all else you need experience because you need credibility.
4. Make sure you are planning for managing channel conflict - there WILL be some, either with your own sales team or with other channel partners.
5. Make sure you get the pricing strategy right and be careful about how you “publish” it, you don’t want the end user to think they can play you all off against each other - further eroding revenue and margins.
The bottom line? Channel sales is not an instant panacea for winning new sales without the cost of a sales force, it needs thinking through, planning and controlling. We would always advise get some experienced help writing the plan and training your people.
Channel sales is the way to go so long as its by design and not by accident.
Read more about : (matching categories Lets Talk Marketing ) Posted by Kristina Hill,June 22nd, 2009
Even in the age of social media, press releases are still a great way to generate news about your business among the media and general public. Another plus about press releases is that you also can use these documents to generate content for other communication vehicles as well. Here are four tips that will help you stretch the content in your next press release.
Expanded Focus : Most press releases cover the basics of your news topic: who, what, when, where, and why. Add some spice to your release and transform it into a short feature story for your next print or e-newsletter or e-zine submission.
Social Media : Turn your press release into a blog post or break it up into short bursts of information and tweet about it on Twitter.
Web Content : Fresh Web content is always a plus. Depending on your press release topic, you can turn your release into a Web Q & A with a key figure, a tip sheet, or even a free case study.
Refresh Sales & Marketing Kits : It’s always worthwhile to let your customers and prospects know that your business is evolving. Add your releases to print and online sales and marketing kits to help tell your business’ story and to generate conversation that leads to sales.
These are just a few ways to add more bang to your press releases. Feel free to add to the list. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
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About Kristina Hill
Kristina Hill is the owner of MarComm Creative Group, LLC, a marketing communications business that helps small-and-mid-sized companies tell their story.
Read more about : (matching categories Lets Talk Marketing ) Posted by Kristina Hill,June 13th, 2009
Almost a year ago, I wrote a post called "Do You Twitter," which trumpeted the use of the then-new micro-blogging platform. The basic premise of this writing was that companies of all sizes and backgrounds were using Twitter to promote their products and services and engage their customers. It’s funny to look back and think that this was just the beginning of the Twitter phenomenon. Since then, the popularity of the platform has exploded. I found some stats stating that Twitter attracts nearly 14 million visitors in the U.S. alone and 6 million registered users. There also have been countless articles on the site (check these out here and here ). Amazing.
I’m still excited about Twitter, and its marketing potential for small and medium-sized businesses in particular. In fact, today I worked with one of my clients, Mert’s Heart and Soul restaurant, to launch the business on Twitter. I gave a basic Twitter presentation to the "Mert’s tweet staff" and they were happy to have another vehicle to connect with current and potential customers. Twitter also will give the Mert’s team a real-time marketing tool to promote activities ranging from special offers to recipes. I look forward to seeing the Mert’s brand grow on Twitter. This should be fun.
I’ll be blogging periodically throughout this journey to offer tips, lessons, and insights that can help other small businesses who are poised to launch on Twitter, too. If you want to launch your business or Twitter but have not made the leap yet, here are a few tips to help:
Research : There are countless online articles about Twitter. Use this library of information to familiarize yourself with the platform. Also, if you know of people and businesses who use Twitter, ask them for advice or jump on the site to see what they are tweeting about.
Strategy : Develop a clear strategy for why you are bringing your business to Twitter before you join. Twitter is essentially another marketing communications engagement tool, and you want to bring real, meaningful conversation to your community of followers.
Training : Train your staff on how Twitter will be used for your business and the appropriate etiquette, especially if they will be charged with posting tweets.
Think Value, Value, Value : Think about what value you want to deliver through the platform. What are some things that your customers/followers need and expect to hear from you? How can you extend your brand promise to the Twitter platform?
Have you recently launched your business on Twitter? If so, are there any insights that you can share from your experience? We’d love to hear from you.
Kristina Hill is the owner of MarComm Creative Group, LLC, a marketing communications business that helps small and mid-sized companies tell their story.
Read more about : (matching categories The Best Damn Sales Blog ) Posted by Ian Farmer,June 12th, 2009
When we ask salespeople to list their strengths most include - rapport and relationship building, getting on with people and listening. When we then ask the customers to list what they dislike about salespeople they usually include - they are over-familiar, they don’t listen, they are complacent, they only call us when THEY want something.
This is interesting because when you then analyse what sales people count on to win they will tell you product, price, brand and relationships. But - we have all had the best solution at the lowest price but lost the deal - we were outsold because we built relationships poorly and/or with the wrong people - contrary to what we initially thought.
When it comes to building relationships and rapport - are you really as good as you think you are? Ask your self:-
Do I actually listen when I am on a sales call?
Do I prove / show I am listening?
Do I display empathy?
Do I get on the same wavelength as the customer?
Do I show interest in them, their company, their situation?
Do I talk “with” the customer or “at” the customer?
Do I communicate in a way that the customer likes and is at ease with - too many statistics - not enough statistics, to quick fire - too slow, not detailed enough - too pedantic, too formal - too informal?
Building good rapport is not just about being friendly, buying lunch, playing golf, asking about the family. Its about communicating effectively and in style the customer prefers. Building rapport is about proactively making it happen not reactively letting it happen.
Read more about : (matching categories The Best Damn Sales Blog ) Posted by Ian Farmer,June 1st, 2009
WHAT IS A PARTNERSHIP?
A venture created by contract, a co-operative relationship…….
People or groups who agree to share responsibility for achieving some specific goal…..
A contract / agreement between two or more persons who agree to pool talent and money and share profits or losses…….
WHAT THE CUSTOMER REALLY MEANS!
Many customers claim to want a partnership with their key suppliers but this is often no more than “customer speak” for better pricing.
Never be concerned about challenging a customer, reseller, dealer, channel partner about what they mean by a partnership.
In any partnership there are 4 elements all of which should be shared by both parties.
REWARD
The customer gets lots of attention, dedicated support, favourable pricing, they commit to work only with you or certainly with fewer suppliers. The vendor gets a fair profit on sales, has a closer relationship with, and access to, the customer which lowers the cost of sale. The customer probably purchases in bulk and so admin costs are lowered too.
RISK
Of course you are asking the customer to become more dependent upon you, they may consider it a risk to commit to using less suppliers. You may not always have what they want, when they want it. You will be putting in a lot of effort for a single customer, this will reduce your ability and options of finding new customers, suppose you put in a lot of effort and they don’t purchase?
ACCOUNTABILITY
Things will go wrong – that’s life! When they do you do not expect the customer to be on the telephone screaming, you will not be going into hiding or passing the buck, blaming others. You and the customer will be sitting around the table discussing options and working together on solutions.
PHILOSOPHY (GUIDING BELIEFS)
Of course if the customer just wants a big discount, if they think these are not the components in a partnership then its never going to work.
Develop a “what we mean by a partnership” presentation that you are comfortable with and means something to you, your prospects, your markets. You need to own the presentation, you need to deliver it so that the other party sees you really mean and believe it
Read more about : (matching categories Its The New Media ) Posted by John Easton,June 1st, 2009
If you attend a Chamber, networking or other meeting where a guest speaker is presenting or some other important staging is being offered, here is a great way to use your time to drive traffic to your website without having to do any promotion of your own. All you have to do is take detailed notes on the guest speaker’s presentation and make the notes available to meeting attendees as well as to those who could not attend. This tip builds off the fact that most people are inherently lazy and usually will not do what is in their own best interest; so if you can do the work for them, they will visit your website to access the information and you have an opportunity to get these visitors into your sales funnel.
How this works
In your recap take particular note of key presentation points, cited resources (websites, books, reports), and other little gems of knowledge. Bring a digital camera to capture event images to add interest to your recap and to break up the text. To further sweeten your deal; conduct an interview with the speaker and pull additional information not presented during the discussion.
What’s in it for you?
Now that you have your recap completed and uploaded to a landing page on your website, contact the event organizer to let them know about your package and ask the planner to inform members about your recap coverage. They will likely do it because the information is valuable, free and promotes the organization. Be sure to include links to the speaker and event organizer websites; afterall, they are your partners in this and should get some publicity.
In addition to general exposure from the traffic flood headed your way you can and should use this as an opportunity to grow your mailing list. Consider offering a free special report, audio seminar or ebook to incent visitors to join your mailing list.
Stop looking at networking events as business card swap parties and you will win, big time!
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John Easton is a recovering corporate executive turned entrepreneur. Through his company, Eastonsweb Multimedia, John creates video, web and multimedia tools to help businesses turn “Browsers” into “Buyers” . Get a FreeProfit Boost by downloading the special report, The Definitive Guide to Explosive Website Performance (Click Here).
Read more about : (matching categories Lets Talk Marketing ) Posted by Kristina Hill,May 30th, 2009
Internal communications is just as important as external communications. After all, it is employees, board members, and others on the front lines that have the most contact with your customers and other key members of your business’ community – on and offline. Because of this, it is important, as a business owner, to find out if your employees know who you are. And in “knowing,” not just knowing the name of your spouse, kids, etc., but what makes you tick from a business perspective.
Think about it.
Can your employees clearly articulate and act upon the mission and vision you have for your business, and how this is being realized? Do they know what market forces are keeping you up at night? Do they know the long-term plans of your business and how they fit into the equation? If the answer to these questions are no, there are multiple cost-effective tools that you can use to reverse the tide. Here are some suggestions:
Start an internal blog to open up a line of communication with employees. Be transparent with your thoughts and welcome feedback and comments. A blog is an ongoing commitment so once you start, keep going and evolving.
Use an old-fashioned comment box and invite employees to submit to you comments, suggestions, and questions - then follow up with your response.
If you have an internal newsletter, pen a special column that allows you to share your thoughts on various issues.
Start revolving coffee breaks with employees. During this time, let them know that you are a real person and that you value their insights.
If your company is tech savvy, use short video clips to share your thoughts on critical developments and post them on your intranet site.
Make a commitment to hold regular staff meetings. Remember to talk and listen.
I know that it can be tempting to focus all your efforts on external communications and marketing. After all, it is important to continually engage current and potential customers. But your internal staff is critical to retaining long-term, satisfied customers. After all, having employees that know who you are and their role in your business is the best way to accomplish this goal.
Kristina Hill is the owner of MarComm Creative Group, LLC, a marketing communications business that helps small and mid-sized companies tell their story.
I love to read. I’m especially drawn to books dealing with various facets of marketing. One book that recently made my reading list in this category is “Now Is Gone” by marketing strategist Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis , principal of the PR agency FutureWorks. I heard a lot about the book a few months back and finally had a chance to dig into it.
If you attend a Chamber, networking or other meeting where a guest speaker is presenting or some other important staging is being offered, here is a great way to use your time to drive traffic to your website without having to do any promotion of your own. All you have to do is take detailed notes on the guest speaker’s presentation and make the notes available to meeting attendees as well as to those who could not attend. This tip builds off the fact that most people are inherently lazy and usually will not do what is in their own best interest; so if you can do the work for them, they will visit your website to access the information and you have an opportunity to get these visitors into your sales funnel.
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