Marketing… Promote Your Offer in a New Way…

Have you noticed that if you drive through McDonalds lately the voice on the other end of the speaker/microphone welcomes you then asks if you would like to try there “New Menu Item” and they say it by name? Have you noticed when you call certain restaurant delivery businesses they will suggest a menu item before you begin to order? Or even going to the store they are asking if you would like stamps before you check out?

Well they are not doing it for YOUR benefit – they are making sure they “plant the seed” and possibly up-sale you and get you to purchase more than you set out to buy! Now you can do this and not be obnoxious – when you answer your company line you can try something like “Hello (company name) this is (your name) ask me about our (holiday discount?), how may I help you?

You can create some promotional items with your company name on them and the statement “Ask me about our ???” You can even do some shirts that promote this way as well – having a strong “Ask Me” statement does entice people to ASK – attention, awareness, and visibility is an awesome marketing plan and all of these suggestions can be done pretty inexpensively….

Step Up Speak Up Create a Buzz!

Who is GOOGLE pt 2, Google Alerts

First you might ask, “what is a Google alert?” This is a service that Google offers for free, it allows you to set up an account, choose topics that you would like to get alerted about when there is info on the web written about them. It is a great tool to have if you specialize in an area and want to keep up on what is going on out there about it and if you write content for a newsletter or blog! You can sign up for different variations of alerts, News, Web, Blog, Comprehensive, Videos and Groups: once you choose your variations then you niche it down even more by key words you want them to look for! It is a GREAT way to stay on top of things. The variations breakdown like this:
• News – the latest news articles that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top 10 results of the Google news search
• Web – the latest web pages that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top 20 results in a Google web search
• Blogs – the latest blog posts that contain the search terms of your choice and would appear in the top 10 results in your Google blog search
• Comprehensive – combines your results from the News, Web, and Blog on your search terms into one email alert
• Video – the latest videos that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top 10 results of a Google video search
• Groups – the latest “posts” in groups that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top 50 results from a Google group search

If you have a Google account you just activate the Google Alerts and set it up – if you do not have a Google account get one today, it is free and you don’t have to use Gmail because you sign up for one – you can register for your Google Account using your primary email addy as the registration email address. I highly recommend you try this out! When you set up your Google Alerts, be sure to do a comprehensive alert for your name and your company name – it is great to be informed of what people are saying about you… Be on the watch for next week and I will go over the new Google Buzz tool out there!

Who is GOOGLE?

In this Google series my goal is to make you more aware of tools out there you can use for free to help your visibility. Google is the King of the Internet for sure! Now you might ask why and how can Google offer all of these tools for free, even a phone number, well trust me it is not just out of the kindness of its “heart”. Google is an advertising monster! That is what it is! So by the more of us that list on it – they have more content to offer people when searching for things.

Google History: Google began in 1996 as a research project by two Stanford students. They were exploring the mathematical properties of the World Wide Web – and the web-crawler made its debut. They then created the page rank algorithm that we all strive to be at the top of even today!! Talk about a home-based business – they registered the domain Google.com in 1997 and was working out of a friends garage into 1998. Fun Fact: Google is actually from a misspelling of “googol” – which is represented by 1 and one hundred zeros following it. In 1999 the company moved into offices in Palo Alto and called their complex “googleplex” a play on the word “googolplex” which is represented by a 1 followed by googol of zeros. In 2006 bought their property for $319 million dollars! What a growth! Also in 2006 Google was added to the Merriam Webster & Oxford English dictionaries.

Check back for more on Google Tools offered to us all!

The BIG Debate, Picture or Not!

I wanted to discuss the BIG DEBATE going on at some “open” networking events. Your Picture on your business card – should it be there? Yes or No? I have run into people that support both sides of this argument. I have to say YES in my opinion… In this world of networking, facebooking, twittering and so on we rely on visual reminders – if all I have is a name I run the risk of not recognizing someone I have done business with, chatted with or just met before. I changed my business cards mainly for that reason. I know my logo has become very visible and when people learn what company I am with they go “oh you are the one with that great card” but they did not connect the two right off the top. I want it to be easy to recognize me while I am out in the community or re-visiting different chambers and meetings – adding my picture will help in this.

So that is where I stand on the debate! Check out your business cards you are bringing to events and look at all of your “marketing” materials together – do they the information they should: Biz Name, Your Name, Address, Phone Number, Fax, email address, website address, tag line and your pic? Do they tell everyone exactly who you are and give them something to remember you by?
Personal touches are so important – remember we are building “relationships” with our clients!

How Big is Your Bowl?

I know when I ask that question and everyone thinks of the size of their candy bowl they had for Halloween that is not what I am referring to. I am referring to your “life, experience and business” bowl! Take a plant for instance, you purchase plants to decorate your home or office with from stores like Home Depot and they are in 2 inch pots. It is recommended for it to continue to grow that you change out the pot and replant it in a slightly bigger one and then do it again for the plant to be able to grow bigger and bigger. OK, see the similarities? The plant (and fish are the same way) need a change of surroundings along with a bigger location to continue to grow. It cannot grow to its full size if you keep it cooped up in the same small habitat! Now relate this analogy to you and your business. Are you networking in the same groups you have been for years? Are you holding onto all of the “needed to be done” tasks for yourself to do? Open up your bowl size… reach out to new groups whether it be social networking on the internet with Facebook, LinkedIn and so on or meeting with a new networking group – find a 5 Minute Networking event – they are great! For those tasks that are holding you back from getting more work because you cannot keep up with what you have, hire an assistant whether it be in your office or a virtual assistant. The cost of paying an assistant will be more than covered when you have opened your bowl up for growth and more business comes in!

Networking… Don’t Miss The Opportunities

It’s all in the relationship! Networking is a way of life today for Entrepreneurs. You can work for a company or be a solo-preneur and have a need to network. With the downturn in the economy people are turning to those who “care”, those who have “time”, those that “follow-up” and those who “offer a resolution to a need”. Is that you? Network – Network – Network You never know who someone else might know and by networking you get your name and services out there in the running for work. Also in turn, by networking you might find a person that fits a need you might have! It is a win win situation. There is an art to networking, the main key is to be authentic and be YOU! We all know that when you network you should be there to get to know the others you are meeting and not just “sell” yourself. Practice that! We have some great networking groups here in Santa Clarita that meet weekly or monthly. There are networking groups that have affiliations outside of our little valley if your services are not just for local customers. There is a fun website – www.meetup.com that lists every kind of “Meet Up” group you can think of from personal self-care to hardcore business people. Look into, join and get notices – the most important part is NETWORK!!! Build Relationships!! You never know who and what you might find! Good luck and Have a GREAT Time!

Be a Marketing Pal…

Marketing is every businesses challenge… how about trying to be a “Marketing Pal” with a complimentary company/product/service provider.

By combining your marketing efforts AND cross promoting to both databases will increase your (and their) visibility. By combining your marketing efforts you will also share the costs! Connect with a company/product producer/service provider that is not your competitor but has something that will compliment what you have to offer…. When each company shares the same message you all are exposed over and over again!!

Marketing plans can be one or even better several ways of reaching out to the community – print ads, flyers, direct mailers, greeting cards, post cards and so on…

Some examples might be – A Promotional Products Company connecting with a sign/banner company, maybe a florist connecting with different “facilities” or of course event planners. How about a clothing store connecting with a salon offering a whole new look! Reach out and experiment – see what works for you both. Be sure to get a solid strategy that works for both of you, put the plan and agreement in writing but most important DO IT.

SPAM and I Am Not Talking Canned Meat!

Today I want to talk a little about SPAM – “Self Promotional Advertising Message” – we have all been affected by SPAM and SPAMMERS! If you have not been inundated in your inbox (and mailboxes) with “Viagra” , “work from home”, “You Won” mailings YOU ARE LUCKY! But in reality most of us have and do deal with this on a daily basis…. Because of people that send out unsolicited mass mailings to people “emailing laws” have gotten a lot stricter! This has not affected EVERY MARKETER out there…
In 1999 Washing State started the ball rolling on regulations making it illegal if the following existed:
• Has a misleading subject line
• Has false routing information
• Sends an unsolicited having a third party domain name without their permission

Later other states came onboard with the “rules”. George Bush signed the CAN-SPAM act into law – and violators can be fined up to $16,000 and also be convicted of other criminal charges! It has not stopped the “con artists” or “hackers” too much from scamming people or overloading our email systems BUT what it has done is made it extremely difficult for “authentic” marketers to reach their target market – double opt ins, spam check messages, servers blocking delivery from certain mail companies, and the list goes on! We all know the story – “One Bad Seed Ruined It for the Apple”!

My advice to you is as you build your “list” make sure you keep records of the people wanting to be on your list – like biz cards noted where you met them and date if you ever go under a “List Review” from an email broadcast company you will need to prove those ARE your contacts.

Winning the “Bid”

Bids, most of the companies create bids in order to secure an account. As a VA we speak with our potential clients, evaluate their needs and put together a proposal bid, not unlike most service businesses. Here are some quick tips for “winning the bid”
1) Target the correct company for you and your services. Make sure they are a perfect fit with your company and same the other way around. You do not want to be putting in a bid on a job just because and then do the job poorly.
2) If you are a “smaller” company think about working with larger service suppler companies! This allows you the opportunity to work with clients you might have never had the chance to work with before. 3) Get certified! For a lot of the smaller service based companies you can look to be certified in different service arenas. Organizations like Women’s Business Enterprise National Council www.wbenc.org offer certifications and this shows larger companies you are serious! Get out there and check out the opportunities, they are everywhere!

Delegation… a Lost Art Part Two

Do you find yourself thinking I don’t even have the time in my day to delegate a task to someone… This is a pitfall many of us fall into. The truth is you don’t have the time NOT to delegate.

As a business owner your calendar is probably your most valuable tool. Notice I called it a TOOL – you need to use it that way. Schedule everything you have to do on the calendar that includes shopping, paying bills not just business meetings and networking! You will get a clear picture of the REAL amount of time you have in a day. Now while you are scheduling things – schedule in a block of time for delegating tasks, the beginning or end of the day is always best!

During this time you will focus on tasks you can hand out to others to complete type up an instruction email, include all attachments and don’t forget to include a date you expect this task to be completed – send it and consider that task completed! Your support team will get it done! It is important to make time work for you not you rush around trying to keep up with time!

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