This is perhaps an area small businesses can excel. It is not uncommon for “customer service” to be cited as a benefit of using a small business and you, as the owner, have ultimate control over the delivery of your service of course. It is also an area where lessons can be learned when corporate organizations do it well.

Recently I came across an example from one of the ultimate corporate bodies, Starbucks. It is east to critique this organization for delivering the same experience the world over, and the fact that the coffee can be pricey. However there is no denying the quality of that consistency and success of the brand in delivering what it sets out to do.

This success sometimes leads to a busy store of course. The other day I was waiting in line while the staff rushed to complete everyone’s order quickly and correctly. I did have to wait, but not for long. The longest wait was to pay, so much so that my coffee was ready before I was first in line to pay.
I was handed the coffee and told it was “on the house”. What is my feeling towards Starbucks as a result? Hugely positive. All the more so because it is unexpected. There is an assumption (at least there was for me) that this didn’t happen here. The cost to the organization was minimal in overall terms. It isn’t something that happens all the time and isn’t giving away huge amounts of profit. The goodwill generated however is priceless.

This happened many months ago and I still tell people about it. This is outstanding customer service, truly give to get even if I never go back to that particular coffee shop. What can you do in your small business to generate such good feelings in your prospects and clients?

For some businesses, this is critical information. When you are a retailer, or a salon for example, it is very important people know where to find you. However, let’s be honest, for a great many endeavours, where they are physically located isn’t that important. Even when location is a major factor, it probably isn’t of sufficient relevance to be the first thing you tell others.

Why? There are a few reasons this isn’t where you should start:

• It isn’t very relevant – your office is administrative, so where it lies doesn’t affect the service you provide
• It is about YOU – it’s your stuff. Making your message about the issues and challenges faced by your target market is all important. Your location doesn’t tick that box
• Everyone says it – as mentioned above, it is a common tactic. It is safe, certainly not likely to offend, but therefore bland as well. When everyone says the same thing, it loses a huge amount of impact
• It wastes time – you don’t have long to grab attention!

Eliminating this approach will give you time to focus on a more attractive message. That message is much more effective when based in the problems, issues and challenged your target market is dealing with. Unless your location addresses those issues, best to leave it out!

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It’s not going to do you a whole lot of good if you produce a bunch of great marketing material but nobody ever views, reads or hears it. And, it’s pretty hard to keep the ball rolling if someone hears about you once and then you disappear after that.

Lots of small businesses are “getting the word out there.” You’re working hard to get that all important first visibility through networking, doing presentations, handing out business cards, and even getting a visit to the web site. But too often, there’s no way to maintain the contact.

The best way I’ve found to maintain this kind of visibility is with a “stay in-touch” strategy. A stay in-touch strategy is designed to keep you top of mind with clients and potential prospects.

Keep in touch with your clients and prospects over time, and you’ll build more mutually beneficial relationships.

And, the key to making this work – ignored by virtually all small businesses – is to focus on providing information of value. Simply calling every four to six weeks just to “check in” and “see how things are going” won’t get it done. You want to stay visible, you just don’t want to become a pest.

It’s Easier Than You Think.

• Start a blog,
• Start a newsletter,
• Start an email eZine,
• Start a YouTube channel,
• Or start sharing hints and tips with your clients and prospects.

You can get started today!

You don’t even necessarily have to be the creator of all that valuable information. You could simply be the provider to stay top of mind with your clients, prospects, referral sources, and alliance partners.

Stay in touch to stay visible in your small business marketing.

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What do you do with that information? Obviously success is something you want to repeat, whereas less beneficial activities may need to be curtailed or at least tweaked to improve their effectiveness. This is where the fine line comes in! How do you know when to cut something short, when to change something, or when to abandon it altogether? Obviously measurement is key to that decision, but there are other forces in play.

• Planning and commitment – essential activities both. When you know why you pursuing a particular tactic, the results you are looking for and how that particular approach fits into your overall business plan, you will be far more likely to commit time and effort to it
• How long? – realistically, how long do you give a marketing tool to begin to bear fruit? This will vary. You may well get an idea of how effective direct mail is proving as soon as the first mailing arrives. However in many cases (depending on your business niche) significant results may take longer – what is the normal lead time for your service? Tactics like networking are essentially long term commitments and you need to understand that at the outset
• You can’t do everything – and nor should you try. There arr thousands of tools and tactics from which to choose. There will always be a new thing to try, one that may seem cooler than what you are doing now. There are countless examples of businesses changing to something new when there existing tactic was working well. This leads us to the point of this post…..

When it works, keep doing it, indeed do more of it. That may sound too simple to require stating, but the siren call of new and exciting tactics, the special offer etc. can be all too tempting. Remember the reason for marketing your business in the first place – essentially to get a steady stream of qualified clients into that business.

When you find something that works, that goal is much closer to being realized. We are talking about things that WORK here. Of course, when something is failing there is no future in blindly following that path downward, but success needs to be recognized and built upon.

You will figure this out. There is plenty of advice and support available to help you choose the appropriate tactics. There is also a lot of guidance to help you make the most of any activity you decide to implement and it is certainly worth taking full advantage. However, the same cautionary note applies. Keep the advice in context for your business. Avoid the temptation to throw out what is proven to work because a new approach has been introduced that someone told you was great.

This is where the line is drawn, although it isn’t a firm line! It is always worth investigating new ideas to see if they could work for you. Sticking to the same format because “that’s what we have always done” is a route to stagnation. But sticking to a tactic that works, whilst always looking to enhance and develop it, perhaps ADDING but not replacing, will put you on a much more consistent path to success.

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I was reading an article the other day about the ability to engage in small talk. This is most of what’s going to take place in holiday networking scenarios. If you’re going to get the most from networking, you have to accept that small talk is part of the game.

Some people seem to come by it naturally. Others just figure it’s not in their DNA. “I just don’t have the gift of gab,” you might say. If the second description defines you, don’t discourage because you can improve on this.

Understanding and appreciating the value of small talk will help. Small talk is really just a way of breaking the ice to find things in common. Whether it’s a casual conversation or the beginning of a lifelong friendship or business relationship, most conversations start with small talk.

There are two primary reasons most never master the art of professional networking.

1. One reason is not disciplining yourself to think proactively about what you want and need.
2. The other reason is not having the courage and desire to establish new connections. Translation – find a way to get really good at small talk.

Not sure what to talk about? The holiday networking season might be the easiest for generating small talk because of the multitude of topics you could choose from.

Here’s a list of topics. Be prepared to start or participate in small talk on any of the following:

Holiday Topics:

• Have any travel plans for the upcoming holidays?
• Does your family have any holiday traditions?
• Do you have big plans for the holidays?
• Are you a winter person or more of a summer person?

End of Year Topics (Each could be started with “Wow, the year is almost over…”):

• Did you see any really great movies this past year?
• Did you read any really good books this past year?
• What do you think the experts will say was the most significant event of this past year?

Ready to talk business a little bit? Try these starters:

• How did you get started in your business?
• So, any great success stories from this past year?
• What are your big plans for next year?

I’m sure you could brainstorm lots of other potential topics. You don’t have to try and change your personality to become super outgoing. But, with some preparation you can get better at small talk.

Have the confidence to walk up to someone and start a conversation. Just introduce yourself and pick a small talk topic to get started. The personal and business rewards can be enormous.

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Don’t Do It!

Take advantage of all the small business marketing opportunities the season has to offer. The greatest of those marketing opportunities is holiday networking. If you’re like most, you’ll see more people in the next two or three weeks than you do all year.

Be prepared to take advantage of holiday networking.

The holidays are a great time to network. Gatherings are abundant and all of them represent potential opportunities to make great connections.

Here are just a few thoughts and ideas to keep in mind for the holiday networking season.

• Don’t waste the opportunity when you meet someone new. Don’t hesitate because you think it’s a holiday party and people aren’t there to do business. The most asked question you’ll get is still likely to be, “What do you do?” Be prepared with your attention getting message – your 10-second WOW! You just never know who you might be meeting.
• Always remember all of your networking etiquette. Practice your networking skills and know-how. Go prepared to ask good questions, listen actively, share valuable information, and know what kinds of connections could be useful to you and your business.
• You don’t have to be all business all the time. Go ahead and ask people if they have any favorite holiday traditions or what they think the best movie or book was this past year. It’s ok to ask people how their business is going as long as you’re willing to talk about other things if they don’t want to go there.
• Be a connector of people. Holiday gatherings are often a time when multiple groups of people end up in the same place at the same time. Introduce clients to each other. Introduce referral sources to each other. Introduce family and friend to these groups of people as well. The connections you help make will be appreciated and remembered.
• Think through your follow-up and stay in-touch plan. It would be a shame to make a great connection and then not see that person again until you both attend the same party or open house next year. Be prepared to share resources of value that help you turn initial attention into building up of interest, credibility and trust.

Enjoy the holidays! And, be productive in your marketing and networking efforts.

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It has been said there are only four reasons people buy:

1. To avoid pain NOW - this is the most powerful driver. Your prospect is dealing with an issue or challenge right now, and they are very interested in resolving that pain. They may not be aware of it until you bring it up, or at least may not be aware that there is a solution available. Think about a frustration or challenge you are seeking to resolve in your business or personal life right now. Are you interested in someone who understands that and offers a solution? An example might be a prospect who has just discovered a leak in their roof and needs it fixed cost effectively right away.
2. To avoid pain LATER – in other words, take action now to avoid a problem down the line. Insurance is an example, retirement saving is another. Your prospect wants to do something in anticipation of a problem at a later date – again, they may not even be aware of this at the moment.
3. To gain pleasure NOW – in short, buying something makes their life better NOW. This is often where retail businesses operate,especially the day after Thanksgiving! Making that purchase is pleasurable, and is a driver to purchase.
4. To gain pleasure LATER – deferred gratification. Saving money to spend later is a good example – savings planning. In the expectation of getting something good later, people will spend some money now.

So what does this have to do with marketing? With the possible switching of items 2 and 3, this is basically the order of priority people go through when deciding how to spend their money. Note that all these are very much focused on THE PROSPECT THEMSELVES. Nowhere here is there some sort of altruistic desire to simply give money to a service based business.

The implication is pretty clear. Your marketing message will be hugely more effective when it plugs into one of these four desires. The most powerful expression of all is when it talks to issues of pain the prospect is dealing with NOW. Here is the good news – you know these pain points. They are what you set your business up to solve. It is the problems your greatest clients overcome when they work with you.

Make sure you are always focussed on the issues and challenges faced by your prospects. When you get into a conversation with them about hiring you, you will have ample time to expand on your service offering but that isn’t the place to start – remember your prospects are looking at one of the 4 areas outlines above, they don’t care about your stuff unless and until you demonstrate you understand them at the level they are dealing with those issues.

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Everything in marketing starts with writing… Or, at least it should. There’s really no way around it.

• You write your marketing materials,
• You write your brochure,
• You write your ads,
• You write your web site copy,
• You write articles, special reports, tip sheets, talks and presentations,
• You write post card mailers,
• You write ezines or blog posts,
• You write proposals and sales letters, etc.

It all starts with writing. Effective writing is a key skill to success in marketing your business.

Don’t panic – we’re not talking about Pulitzer Prize winning literature here. It’s about writing in a way that informs and educates your target market of the value you offer. It’s about writing in a compelling way that gets your target market to take action.

When you write about your business and the services you offer, you will actually gain clarity that hasn’t existed before. Writing about what you do for clients and what they get from your services strengthens your marketing message. You’re able to begin conveying your message more authentically and persuasively.

You see your knowledge and expertise is valuable. It’s what your prospects are looking for when they’re looking for solutions to address their challenges.

Writing is one of the best ways to express some of that knowledge and expertise in small, manageable quantities. It helps build authority and credibility so prospects will want to know more.

Do you see why small business marketers need to write?

My advice is to go ahead and start writing something at least a couple of times per week. Don’t worry if your writing is not great because it will get better with practice.

Just focus on sharing bits and pieces of your knowledge and expertise Write informative pieces on topics your target market will care about. You’ll end up building up a great little arsenal for promoting your business with tremendous impact.

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Of course you want your marketing to eventually result in new clients for your business. But, that is not the primary goal for marketing.

Great marketing should lead to a steady supply of high-quality leads. Sales conversion then is the process of converting those high-quality leads into new clients.

Having a sales conversion system allows you to seamlessly respond when your marketing actually works. Marketing and sales might be distinct activities, but they need to be built into an integrated system.

Your marketing has worked – now what? It’s amazing, but I’ve found that very few small business owners actually prepare for this reality. You mistakenly think that all you need is more opportunities to get in front of prospects.

True growth and revenue increases are achieved through a focus on your sales process. That statement might sound obvious, but small businesses too often overlook this little bit of knowledge.

Most small business marketing is failing because it’s either trying to make the sale directly or it’s only focused on getting the inquiry. Either way it’s ignoring how to convert the inquiries you actually do receive into clients.

• Define your ideal sales cycle up front. Then develop a follow-up process that will work for your most typical opportunities.
• Develop some basic materials. Make sure the focus of your materials help your prospects understand what they will get and what outcomes you want to create for them with your service.
• Create useful articles or tip sheets. The possibilities are practically endless to offer them prospects to demonstrate your knowledge, experience and credibility to solve their challenges.
• Draft a series of what I call “80% letters.” The focus is to help inform, educate, and move a prospect forward through your sales cycle. Customize the 20% for the specifics of the situation.

There’s no point in being able to generate lots of leads if you don’t convert them into clients. You’ve probably heard that it takes the average prospect seven positive contacts before they say yes. Don’t you think it just makes sense to think through how you might create those positive contacts beforehand?

When your marketing works, be prepared to take the next step. That’s the power of having a sale conversion process to go along with your lead generation process.

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This is patterning. You want to avoid a conversation and just be left to find what you want, or browse at your leisure. To achieve this you have repeated your response so many times it is automatic. That is a good thing most of the time, as it serves you well. It also saves you thinking time. You don’t have to compose a response and can simply move on. However it doesn’t always serve you so well, especially if you do indeed need some help.

In marketing the same patterns can arise. People (including your prospects) are subjected to sales and marketing messages all the time. At networking events they are used to hearing introductions that are very much the same and so they have built in pattern responses. These are generally rote and designed (as in the store example) to avoid the necessity for detailed conversation and perhaps getting talked into something they didn’t want.

Breaking these patterns can really help. You don’t have to contribute to this process. The store sales person simply needs to change the trigger to this patter with a different question, to which you don’t have a rehearsed, standard response. For example: “Have you shopped with us before?” That causes you to think and engage.

In marketing, make sure your response is different from what they typically hear. Do some research at events, or look at advertisements from your competitors. Do they look and sound similar? If so, there is a good chance that learned responses have been built up to that message. A good way to sound different is simply to stop giving that message, which is usually couched in terms of “what we do” such as a list of services, location etc.

Think about your ideal client and the challenges they face, the problems you solve for them. Saying that will be different from what they normally see or hear and they will listen as a result. They don’t have a built in response. Some people are confident enough to do something way out there – dress unusually or deliver the message in a particularly off the wall manner. You don’t have to do that – put yourself in the shoes of your ideal clients and use that to engage with them, you might be surprised how often that yields a positive response!

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