 |
Network Effectively for Great Results
By Maureen Condon and Susan LaPlante-Dube
One of the most effective and inexpensive marketing tools is looking at you in the bathroom mirror each morning. That’s right – you. What better way for people to get to know your business than to get to know you? Three main types of networking can reap real rewards for today’s business owner, and it’s important to incorporate all three into your marketing program.
1. Networking for professional development.
Attend events within your industry, take classes to expand your expertise, or learn a new skill that will help your business. Attending a seminar not only enhances your professional development, but also creates the opportunity to build and nurture business relationships.
2. Networking for business development.
Attend events that are designed for building business. Most Chamber of Commerce events fit this bill, as do Business Networking International (www.bni.com) chapter meetings. For maximum return on your time, make sure you understand the protocol and network appropriately. Keep your expectations realistic: If you make just one or two connections that lead to a follow-up lunch or coffee, consider it a success.
3. Networking for personal development.
As a business owner, you’ll find you relate well to fellow entrepreneurs. An organization in which you meet other business owners and share successes and challenges is a great avenue for personal development. Create an advisory board of fellow business owners that meets regularly to support each other as entrepreneurs.
Spreading goodwill will come back to you in many ways. In networking success be a giver, not a taker. Find out how you can help your contacts, listen more than you speak and ask lots of questions. And always remember to thank anyone who helps you in your business. These things don’t cost a dime, and they’re incredible business boosters.
Relationship Marketing - Fun and $$$
Q: Why does relationship marketing matter?
A: Simple math. You can reach out to 80 people on your own and develop a relationship with 10 of them. Those 10 people they have the potential to reach another 100 people each and potentially refer you. Now you are suddenly connected to 1,000 people. Research shows that each person knows at least 200 to 250 people. Reaching out to 50 potential clients is a lot more work than reaching 10 people who can reach five people each – getting the word about your business to 50 people.
Q: How is it different than straight sales?
A: It turns the straight sales structure upside down. The traditional sales funnel is large at the top and small at the bottom. You market to 2,000 people so that you can get your message to 20, and turn one of them into a client. A referral marketing funnel, on the other hand, is narrow at the top, bows out, and stay wide at the bottom. You meet 10 people who introduce/recommend you to 50 people. Because of the personal and trusted nature of a direct referral, 48 of them will probably turn into clients.
Q: What is the goal of relationship marketing?
A: Your goal is to educate people about your product or service, not necessarily to sell to them. There are three critical elements to relationship marketing success.
- Identify and nurture. Identify the right referral sources and nurture those relationships. Think about who knows the type of clients you need. Network with those people and keep in touch with them.
- Ask. You’ll never get what you don’t ask for. Ask for what you need and be specific. (“Please let your clients know that I specialize in tax preparation for pet care professionals.”)
- Follow up. Strike while the iron is hot. Follow up with the referral as soon as you receive it, and with the person who gave you the referral. Let he or she know what happens and be sure to say thank you!
Remember that all the fancy sales and marketing plans come back to the same place – you and our business. When working out your marketing and sales plans, don’t forget networking and relationship marketing.
Maureen Condon and Susan LaPlante-Dube are principals of Precision Marketing Group, LLC (www.precisionmarketinggroup.com) and NEWBO Board members. They can be reached at 508-969-9581 or via email at Maureen@precisionmarketinggroup.com or Susan@precisionmarketinggroup.com.
Social Media – 4 Things You Can Do Right Now
By Todd Van Hoosear
If you have teenage kids, you probably know all about social networking sites like Facebook (www.facebook.com) and MySpace (www.myspace.com). If you enjoy reading your favorite newspapers or magazines online, you've probably seen the RSS icons floating around. If you visit the web sites for popular television networks or programs, you've seen online video. If you own an iPod and listen to NPR or other radio programs, you may have tried to listen to a podcast. If you've ever used Google (www.google.com) to look up a definition for a word, phrase or technology, you've probably come across the most famous wiki of them all: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.com/wiki). If you've ever wanted to vent or rave about a particular product, travel or dining experience, you've probably visited Epinions (www.epinions.com), TripAvisor (www.tripadvisor.com) or Yelp (www.yelp.com).
If you're in marketing, you've probably written a press release--but have you heard of the social media press release (www.socialmediarelease.org)? If you surf the web, you've probably bookmarked a favorite web page--but have you heard of social bookmarking (e.g., www.digg.com, del.icio.us)? If you have a digital camera, you probably have checked out online photo printing and sharing software--but have you ever tried to share any of your photos publicly with Flickr? Most of us have a hard enough time dealing with our first lives, but have you created an avatar on Second Life yet?
Most people who regularly use the Internet today also regularly read blogs--but many of us don't even know it's a blog. Some of us have even thought about creating a blog, but fear the amount of work involved--even though new microblogging tools exist (like Twitter - www.twitter.com) that make it even easier to share your thoughts (and article links) with your key audiences.
All of these technologies fall under the sphere of social media, which, according to Wikipedia, is comprised of "the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences and perspectives with each other." That's a lot to take in at once, so how do you, as a business owner, decide whether you should care about any of this, and if so, maximize and prioritize your involvement in it?
Practical Considerations
First, the good news: it's easier than ever to engage yourself and your business in social media. But just because it's easy (and often relatively inexpensive) doesn't mean it's a good idea. Investigating and implementing a social media strategy takes time and often requires rethinking a company's overall marketing strategy. With that in mind, I would like to suggest four social media tactics you can adopt right now, and then provide a framework for exploring more social media technologies.
Four Things You Should Do Now
There's no reason, time-wise, risk-wise or money-wise, why you shouldn't immediately investigate and execute the following tactics:
1. Join a Social Network. If you're not already on a professional or personal online social network, join one. They can often be as useful as face-to-face networking events. Start with the LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) professional network, then consider using Facebook (www.facebook.com) for a personal network. Then watch how fast the lines start to blur! These tools are relatively easy (Facebook has a steeper learning curve, but most people figure it out quickly), and extremely powerful.
2. Use an RSS Reader. RSS is a very easy way to publish content in a way that makes it easy to read and republish. Each RSS "feed" has it's own unique web address, making it easy to find and monitor content. You can use an RSS aggregator (or RSS reader) to read news from hundreds of thousands of sources--anyplace you see the RSS icon.
RSS aggregators exist in four forms: built in to your favorite web browser (like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox), personal web portals (like My.Yahoo.com or iGoogle.com), or downloadable applications (like FeedDemon).
3. Publish Your Press Releases on RSS. If you regularly issue press releases or other marketing content, make it available via an RSS feed. The easiest way to do this is use a free blog service (www.blogger.com or www.typepad.com) -- create a new "blog" for the content, then publish your press releases or other content like you would a blog post. (I put "blog" in quotes because, although we're using blog technology, we're not really treating the content like a traditional blog.) Find the RSS feed for the content (all blog software is RSS-compatible and should make it easy to find the feed URL), then use a tool like FeedBurner (www.feedburner.com) to publicize, track and even monetize the content. This makes it easy for customers, journalists, partners and other interested parties to keep up-to-date on your company.
4. Make Your Newsletter Content Available Online. Small and medium-sized businesses rely heavily on email to reach out to their customer base. If people like what they read in your newsletter, you should make it easy for them to share their thoughts and help you promote your business. Make your newsletter content available online as well, with individual URLs (web addresses) for each article. That allows bloggers and other online outlets to link back to your newsletter and can dramatically increase your web visibility.
What's the best way to do this? Start a separate "blog" for your newsletter content, and follow the steps outlined above. Now you'll have a web address for each article, as well as an RSS feed for your newsletter, allowing your content to be available in multiple formats.
While it's impossible to tackle every implication or technology in one article, the tactics above should help you at least get started in the powerful, exciting but also dangerous world of social media.
Todd Van Hoosear heads the Buzz Media and Online Communications (BMOC) practice at Woburn-based Topaz Partners (www.topazpartners.com), a technology public relations agency. He can be reached at 781-404-2400 or tvhoosear@topazpartners.com.
Managing by the Numbers
By Myrna Stacey
Owning and running a business can certainly be demanding. Whether you work alone or have employees, sell goods or services, doing what you do best is only a piece of the operation. Managing the operation that provides the service is a whole other ball game. Statistics show that most small businesses do not fail because their products or services fail. More often than not they fail because providing their service is all they do well. Unfortunately, it takes more. One key piece is the financial piece. A proactive accounting system can help any size company navigate through a good and bad economy by providing information and information, is, power.
Get a bookkeeping system in place
No matter what volume of activity you have, having a record keeping system that keeps the data up to date can be crucial. Having actual numbers available for analysis can help manage the business. There are several low end accounting packages that allow you to produce invoices and pay bills easily. If you do your books by hand, these same packages can be used to summarize your activity monthly. Waiting until the end of the year and then sending your books to the accountant will only tell you what you did last year. Using your information on an ongoing basis can help you get to where you want to go. If you don’t have time to do this yourself, this is one business function that can be easily outsourced to a bookkeeper. Remember, it’s the signing of the checks that gives you the control of your business, not writing them out.
Know your costs
If you know what it costs you to provide your services (or sell your products) you are in a good position to negotiate prices. What we charge our customers should cover all our costs and include some profit. Knowing your costs can tell you how many customers you need to see, how many products to sell or how many hours to bill in order to reach your goals. It also arms you with enough information to know if you can give a discount and still come out ahead.
Understand the story
Believe it or not, financial reports tell us a story. They tell us about the financial health and well-being of the business. They tell us how many cents out of every dollar we bring in goes out the door and what it pays for. They tell us how good we are at pricing, buying and spending. They tell us if we met our expectations and goals. Financial reports used on a monthly basis to monitor the business are a powerful tool. Learn how to understand what they say and use the information they convey.
Managing by the numbers provides the business owner with a real picture of the profitabilitiy and sustainability of the business. It’s not just about generating revenue it’s about making a profit. It’s about fulfilling a dream and supporting a lifestyle. Managing by the numbers can tell you whether it’s working, and whether or not it’s worth it. Knowledge is a powerful thing when we learn how to use it.
Myrna Stacey, CPA, PC (www.mfscpa.com) provides onsite quality bookkeeping, accounting services, and QuickBooks consulting. She can be reached at 508-647-9774 or myrna@mfscpa.com.
|
P.O. Box 67082