Make Work-Life Balance a Priority Over The Holidays

Christmas is my favourite time of the year.  Cooking, baking and wrapping presents with my family are experiences I will remember forever.  But as an entrepreneur, a wife and a mom, I sometimes don’t feel like I have enough hours in the day.  Now that my kids are home from school for the holidays it really becomes a balancing act of priorities.

Business owners all across the country struggle with the juggling act every day.  But I’ve started to look at things from a different perspective lately.  I used to get stressed out easily trying to be too many things to too many people.  Then I suddenly had a “light bulb moment” and realized that I was trying to please everyone else, but I was miserable.  I started to take stock of the things that were absolute priorities in my life.  I did some de-cluttering of my life and really made a conscious effort to focus on only the things that were really important to me.

For me that means raising my children the best that I can, loving my husband just the way he is, growing my business through dedicated daily effort, surrounding myself with people who are loving and supportive, and being the best friend I can be to the people who genuinely mean the most to me.

So, as you can see my business is a major priority for me.  But it’s not my only priority.  As we soon head into the New Year I have a clearer focus on my future now that I have gotten rid of the clutter.  I have discovered that when I make myself happy, I am less stressed out which in turn make the other people around me happy.  As an entrepreneur you never stop thinking about your business but over the next few days, take the time to put business thoughts aside for a while and really focus on the people in your life.

Merry Christmas everyone!

In memory of Allen Wayne Latham (1947-2001)

How to Increase Your Sales This Week

I often hear people say that Christmas has become too commercialized and that it’s not about the true meaning of the holiday anymore.  But no matter what your thoughts are on this, this weekend is the busiest shopping week of the year.  In fact, according the 2012 BMO Holiday Spending Outlook, it is estimated that Canadians will spend an average of $1610 per person this holiday season.  That’s a lot of money! 

Having worked as a store manager, area manager, and regional manager in the retail industry for over 10 years I know firsthand what it takes to operate a successful retail location.  As a retailer you can capitalize on consumers’ spending this week to increase the amount customers spend in your store (instead of your competitors’ store!) with a few simple sales tactics that really work.

·         Encourage multiple unit sales (UPT’s) – Set a UPT goal and hold a contest among your staff to see who can get the most units in one sale.

·         Increase your average total transaction dollar amount – Encourage your staff to make each sale a minimum amount, for example $50 per sale.

·         Show complimentary items. Don’t just tell customers about the other items in your store.  Show them!  And present them with items they already want to purchase.

·         Put items near the cash so customers will see them when they already have their money in their hand.  These are referred to as Point-of-Purchase items (or POP’s) for a good reason.  Often customers will pick up one of these items just out of curiosity while you’re entering their other items into the cash.  Train your staff well on providing exceptional customer service and selling these items will just come naturally to them.

·         Create displays that tell a story.  People purchase benefits not products.  When they can see themselves using a particular product that’s when they will buy it.  Get creative with your displays, but don’t overdo it.  You don’t want it to be so busy that the customer gets overwhelmed and walks away.

Try these tricks in your store and you’ll reap the rewards of having more sales in your cash and you'll be able to say that you helped put more money into the economy.  But amidst all the craziness, don’t forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.  Happy selling!

Creating a Positive Company Image During the Holidays

The holiday season is upon us in full force.  Santa is at the shopping malls and in parades all across the country and people are lining up outside stores to get the best deals on gifts.  But lately over the past several years, I’ve noticed a difference in how people approach the holiday season.  Have people gotten more lazy, less thoughtful, less considerate,  andless respectful over the years?  Or am I just getting old and expect some good old-fashioned manners?

Maybe when I was younger I just didn’t notice, but it seems that people are now a lot less thoughtful.  I realize we’re all busy, trying to do too much to make Christmas a wonderful experience for everyone we love.  But imagine that every time you step out your front door that you are a representative of your company.  No matter what position you hold in that company, whether you are the CEO or the stock boy, you represent that company every time you talk to someone.  You may not be talking business, but the image you project will be remembered by the people you spoke to.

 

Marketing is about creating a positive image in the minds of your customers.  And there are lots of marketing communications tools to do that with.  But have you ever given much thought as to how your personal image reflects on your business?

Remember that no matter who you’re talking to, that person could someday be a potential client or may refer you to a friend who could give you your next big break.  I know we’re all busy, but this season when you’re out running around, take the time to say please and thank you to the sales associates helping you, be considerate of the other shoppers, help someone just because.  These are not only good business practices but they are things that should be in everyone’s daily repertoire anyway.  

So, like I was saying it’s a busy time of year.  People are rushed and tired and sometimes in a grumpy mood and we’ve all seen people at the grocery store in their pyjama bottoms.  Think about this before you leave the house… you never know who you’re going to meet throughout the day.  I doubt you’d want your first meeting with a potential client to happen in your jammies!  I'm not saying you need to go shopping in a business suit, but getting dressed is a good first step.  And, remember that Santa’s watching… so you might want to make sure you’re on the “nice” list and not on the “naughty” list!

How to Leverage Customer Service to Avoid Negative Business Reviews

Later this week I will be attending a luncheon hosted by our local Chamber of Commerce.  The guest speaker is my personal friend and social media celebrity Dave Carroll.  Dave’s a musician who has used his talents to raise awareness of customer service in this country.  For anyone who hasn’t heard of him, you can visit his website at www.davecarrollmusic.com for the full story.

So since we’re only 3 weeks away from Christmas I thought this would be a fitting time to talk about the most important thing to a business… customers!  One of the most important parts of the marketing plan is your personal selling activities.  The customer experience is what people talk about when they talk about your business.  Do you want people giving rave reviews about your business or do you want people telling their friends to never shop in your store?

This is the time of year where you need to put aside your ego and pride, just buckle down and do whatever needs to be done.  Whatever the customer wants, you make it happen.  I would hope that you’re doing that all year long, but at this time of the year, when you have 10 times more people in your store than usual, it really is a challenge to stay on top of every customer.  But I can guarantee you that if you can just focus on providing exceptional service to each and every customer they will remember and appreciate it.

For many years I was a retail sales manager, first for a telecommunications company, then for a clothing retailer.  Each store that I managed achieved sales results that surpassed the competition and the other store locations within the company.  And I truly believe it was primarily because our customers felt appreciated in our store and kept coming back… and bringing their friends with them.

Here are some tips to help you provide the best possible customer experience.

·         Treat your customers like they are guests in your home.

·         Brace yourself for the craziness.  You know it’s going to be crazy busy so just go with the flow.  No point in stressing out over it.  Customers are already stressed out as it is trying to complete their shopping.  They don’t need you to be all frazzled too.

·         Anticipate your customers’ needs and order enough product to have on hand.  Not having enough product leaves you with unhappy customers and lost sales.

·         Train your staff well.  Staff need to be trained in customer service and they need to know how to multi-task.

·         Drop everything when a customer enters your store.  Stop chatting with your co-workers, put down the new shipment of product you just received, tell the Purolator guy he’ll have to wait a second, and make your customer your number one focus.

·         Conversations that are private in nature need to held in a staff room where customers can’t hear you.  I once walked into a store where a manager was reprimanding an employee for being late, completely oblivious that a customer had just walked into the store.  That just makes the whole shopping experience very uncomfortable.

So, unless you want to end up like United Air Lines as the subject of a viral YouTube video bringing their terrible customer service to light, give your customers everything they want and you just might be the subject of a viral YouTube video praising your amazing company instead.

Happy selling!!

Five Questions to Ask a Marketing Consultant

In our last blog I told you about some of the things you need to have prepared before hiring a marketing consultant. But something else you need to have prepared is a list of questions that you will want to ask a marketing consultant before you sign any contracts.

People are sometimes skeptical of marketer, associated marketing with pushy advertisements.  But marketing is not just advertising so please don’t think of us like a slick, used-car salesman.  It’s very rare that you will encounter a consultant who is greedy and just out to screw you over.  Highly skilled, quality marketers adhere to very strict policies and procedures.

But just to make sure you’re comfortable with the working relationship here is a list of questions you will want to ask.

1.       How will you direct my marketing only to prospective clients so I don’t waste money on reaching the wrong people?

The marketing consultant should ask you what type of customers you want to attract.  You should have a general idea of your target market but the consultant should be able to help you refine it.  With this information the consultant should be able to give you some ideas on how to best reach these people.  Any knowledgeable consultant will give you some ideas during your initial interview but will let you know that your overall communications plan will develop over time, with a plan and a strategy created before any communications are implemented.

2.       What qualifications do you have in marketing and business?

College or university courses alone will not create a competent marketing person.  But it’s at least a step in the right direction.  I personally have both a college diploma in Business Management and a university degree in Marketing Communications.  However, real world experience allows the consultant the opportunity to apply what they learned in school to real situations and to learn what works and what doesn’t.  Your consultant should be able to provide you with a portfolio of work they have completed, including clients you can call for a reference.

3.       Have you ever worked in sales?

Working in sales is the best way to learn how people make buying decisions.  I actually started working when I was 15 years old and almost all of my jobs have been in some sort of sales role.  I have over 20 years of experience in the retail industry, having been a sales associate, a store manager, an area manager and a regional manager.  I have won several awards over the years for my selling and management skills and in the process I learned a lot about people; how they think, how they solve problems and how they make buying decisions.  Hiring a marketing consultant who has an extensive understanding of sales, the selling process and the buying process as well as insight into consumer behaviour is a huge advantage to you when developing your marketing plan.

4.       What is your marketing background?

There are lots of people out there who claim to be a “marketing consultant” or “marketing service provider”.  But let’s make something very clear here.  Marketing is not advertising.  It’s not just about writing a press release or creating a logo.  Nor is it about creating a website or writing a blog.  It’s about developing an overall marketing strategy to work to deliver your core message to your specific intended target market.  Many people understand methods of communication or are very creative and talented in their own industry.  But marketing relies on both the method of communication AND the message.  The most powerful methods are of no value if they deliver a poor marketing message.  So, make sure the consultant you hire has in-depth experience in marketing, not just design.

5.       Besides marketing, in what areas do you consult?

None.  In fact I limit my consulting to a specific type of marketing, a specific type of client and a specific type of relationship.  I specialize in working with small businesses, but not all small businesses.  The clients I help are small business owners with companies that employ less than 100 people and are located in off-the-beaten-path, rural areas of the country.  My clients have very specific needs that are unique to them because of their proximity to (or lack thereof) services often only available in large urban centres.

Marketing has branched out into dozens of sub-specialties.  When looking for a marketing consultant you need to determine if their specialty is right for you.  There are some marketing consultants who say they do it all.  However, they generally have experience working with many types of clients but often not many of any one type.

Asking these few questions will give you a feeling about whether or not this will be a good working relationship.  Remember that when you’re hiring a marketing consultant, this is a relationship you will want to nurture over a long period of time.  As your business grows and changes, your marketing needs will also change, so having a consultant you can trust is vital to the success of your business.

 

Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Marketing Consultant

Have you ever watched the show Dragons Den?  Or the American version, Shark Tank?  I’m addicted to watching those shows every week.  There are a few of the Dragons and Sharks that I would love to partner with in business and some that I could do without.  Some of the Dragons and Sharks have changed over the seasons and some have made a big impact on my own business decisions. 

I think what’s really amazing to me when I watch Dragons Den or Shark Tank is the sheer number of people who come on the show completely clueless about doing business.  Time and time again, people have spent countless hours and money developing a new product.  But they obviously have not done their research first.  People go out there on national television absolutely, solidly believing in their product but it’s clear that the market doesn’t want or need it.  Their valuations are often ridiculous too, usually because they have valued their company at a million dollars or some other crazy number but they haven’t made any sales yet.  But what really gets me (and I think it’s because I’m a marketer) is the people who go out there and have no clue who their customer is.  They go into this dramatic sales spiel about their product but then one of the dragons cuts them off and says, “But who’s going to buy it?”  It amazes me that they often can’t answer that question.

Whether you’re going on Dragons Den or Shark Tank to pitch a product or you’re approaching a consultant to help you move your business forward, there are things you need to do to prepare for this meeting.  So, here are some thoughts about what you need to know before hiring a marketing firm.

·         Do you have a business plan?  If you don’t have one that’s an issue because it shows me that you haven’t taken the time to do your research.  And if you wrote a business plan 5 years ago and haven’t looked at it since, you need to do that and update it.

·         Do you know your numbers?  You need to know how much it costs to produce the product, how much to sell it for, what your expenses are, what your profit will be and an accurate sales forecast for the next 12 months.  You also need to know how much you will be allocating to marketing expenses.  I can help you with that, but you need to come in prepared.

·         What are your marketing objectives?  Many clients come to me and say, “I need help with my marketing.”  Well, that encompasses a lot of things, so what exactly do you want help with?  What are your goals and how do you think various marketing activities will help achieve those goals?

·         What makes your product so different and special?  I can help you further define your differentiating factors and help you align those with the right target market, but you need to be able to clearly tell me why this is such a fabulous product and why anyone would buy this from you as opposed to buying it from a competitor.

Marketing is one of the most time consuming and expensive aspects to operating a business and it is absolutely crucial to any business.  But you can’t expect to sit back and just let it happen.  You need to do your homework first.  Here is also a list of questions to ask your marketing consultant before signing any contracts with a marketing firm.

Reaching Life's Milestones

Reaching important milestones is a big part of life.  Now that the kids are back in school and focused on their school work and activities it’s time for us to refocus, to set goals and to reach for some of our own milestones in life.  About a month ago, I celebrated a very big milestone in my career.  My company, Small Business Marketing Solutions celebrated its first birthday!! 

Over the past year in business I have learned a lot about myself and what I’m capable of achieving.  And anyone who has a dream but doesn’t think they have what it takes should read these lessons learned and know that you can absolutely achieve anything you set your mid to.

1.       Don’t let anyone stand in your way.  A year ago there was a person in our community who was hell-bent on destroying me.  Because my career hinges on my reputation, I was terrified of what other people thought of me, especially those that had never met me.  I soon learned that the vast majority of people actually wanted me to succeed.  I had given way too much power to this one person and I needed to regain that power back.  So, as scary as it was, with my head held high I mustered up the courage to make some really key phone calls and I walked into meetings and networking events with confidence.

2.       Believe in yourself and others will too.  When you believe in your abilities and what you have to offer, you will attract other like-minded, positive people.  If you honestly believe that you are capable of providing an exceptional product or service, don’t be afraid to share that with everyone.  But there is a difference between having confidence and being full of yourself.  Confident people just exude that confidence and positive people are drawn to them.  They don’t go looking for admiration from anyone who will give it to them. 

3.       Persevere when things get tough.  I knew that going into this business was not going to be easy.  Having kids to take care of and bills to pay along with juggling work responsibilities is part of the world we live in today where the vast majority of women work outside the home.  I’m not going to say it’s easy to balance it all, but keep your goals in mind in everything you do.  Just keep plugging through, giving 100% in everything you do, whether it be your business, your finances, your family, or your friendships.

4.       Stay focused on your goals.  Sometimes it’s difficult to remember why you started this venture in the first place.  I knew that going into this I was opening the only marketing communications consulting firm north of Sudbury.  My goal was to give small businesses throughout northern Ontario the opportunity to adequately plan their marketing strategies with the assistance of a local marketing firm who understood their needs.  Just because we’re a little off the beaten path doesn’t mean that businesses in this area shouldn’t have access to the same resources as businesses in other areas of the country.  Keeping that focus top of mind throughout the year has helped me stay on track as to why I chose to start this company.

 

5.       Don’t settle for less.  Don’t sell yourself short.  Setting goals and achieving them is what keeps me motivated to do more.  I may not have achieved all of my goals by the timeframe I had originally set out but that doesn’t mean I’ll never reach them.  It may just take a little longer to do that.  I know what I want to achieve in my life, my career and my business.  And there is no way I’m going to settle for anything less.  I have goals set, but more importantly I have a plan of action to achieve those goals.

6.       Build a strong support system.  This may sound harsh, but there are people in your life right now that are weighing you down.  Surround yourself with people who genuinely care about your success, people who you can bounce ideas off of, people who will share in your big moments and be there to listen when things start going south.  I’ve had to part ways with “Negative Nellies” and I’ve been fortunate to have found people in the business community who have become real champions of my business.  The friends I have are people who genuinely like me for who I am and want to be friends with me.  I don’t hide my emotions well, so I don’t have patience for phony people.  But the one person I know that is always backing me up is my husband.  Having been together for 12 years, our marriage has been through a lot of good and a lot of not so good.  I don’t do this job (or anything else for that matter) for the recognition, but it’s nice to know that at the end of the day, someone is proud of me.

I once had someone tell me that they admired me for having the guts to start my own business.  I never really looked at it as having the guts to do something that other people may be afraid to do.  But it really does take a certain personality to run a successful business.  Not everyone is cut out for it, nor do they want to.  But if you’re anything like me and you want to make a contribution to business community in any way, just go for it. 

Make Your Brand Story Resonate With Your Customers

Everyone has a story.  Every company, every product, every community, every industry has a story.  Think about your own story for a moment.  If you were to write your biography, how would it go?  What would it say about you?  Everyone, no matter how young or old, has gone through experiences both good and bad.  These experiences may have been experiences that others have also lived through.  But everyone views these experiences differently.  What might have seemed to be traumatic and life-altering to one person can seem like just a bump in the road of life to someone else.  Now, in writing your personal story, remember that not everyone really cares to hear it.  But some people, the key people in your life, will want to know every juicy detail.

What's your story?

Now relate that to your business.  Your business also has a story to tell.  Whether your business has only been in operation for 3 months or for 25 years it still has a history.  And, just like your personal story, not everyone cares to hear about your business.  Only a few key people really want to know who you are.  Your story is the basis of your brand.  You can’t develop a brand until you know the whole story.  So, think about what you want people to know about you.  Being authentic is the key to developing trust with people.  Be upfront about your shortcomings.  Let people in.  We’ve all made mistakes.  We’ve all done things we wish we could go back and change.  But life moves on and going back to change something that’s already happened isn’t possible.  The bigger your company gets, the more you are under the microscope.  I hate to say it, but there are people out there who want to see you fail.  Most people genuinely want to see you succeed, but some don’t.  But those aren’t the people you need to be concerned with.  When you remain authentic and conduct your business with professionalism and respect, and handle mistakes swiftly and with dignity, you will make a name for yourself that people remember in a positive way.  Those naysayers who want to bring you down won’t be able to. 

Who are the people you most want to attract?  You may very well have more than one target market, but don’t try to be everything to everybody.  Like I said, some people are not people you need to be targeting to.  So, think about how your target market wants to communicate with you.  What do they want and why do they want it.  People want to feel a sense of belonging, a connection, a feeling of being understood.  Last year, Shania Twain published her autobiography.  I went through an experience very similar to one she had gone through and as I was reading her feelings about it, I felt like, “she gets it”, she’s someone I could totally sit down with and talk about this and we could totally relate to each other.  She is one person who automatically comes to mind when I say “personal brand”.  Like Madonna or Cher, Shania only needs one word for people to know who she is and what she’s about.

Company brands are no different from personal brands in that they create an image in the minds of their customers.  That brand is developed through trust, by being true to who they are and marketing to like-minded consumers.  People develop a loyalty to a brand because of the feeling of understanding and connection.

So, whether you are developing a brand for your company or a personal brand for yourself, keep these tips in mind.

·         Stay true to who you are

·         Don’t apologize for who you are

·         Own up to past mistakes but don’t dwell on them.

·         Market your message to the right market

You’ll know when your brand story has resonated with the right market.  Your ideal customers will become repeat customers and become the biggest ambassadors for your brand.  So, what is your story? 

Mind Your Ps and Qs When Sending Out Business Communications

Building a brand requires a lot of work and consistency in every single way you communicate to the public.  I’ve said this over and over in previous blog posts, but I want to reinforce this one more time.  The brand that you develop for your company is the unique vision that the public has of you.

The way you communicate with your customers is absolutely vital in developing that positive impression.  Think about all the levels of communication you distribute throughout the day.  You post on your business Facebook wall, you send out emails to current clients and to prospects, you send out email newsletters.  Have you ever given much thought as to how your communication sounds and looks?  In this blog I want to give you some tips on how to improve your electronic communication.

Let’s start with emails. 

How many emails do you send in a day?  Probably more than you'd like to, right?  Here are some of things you need to consider before sending your next email:

1.       Grammar and Spelling – One of my biggest pet peeves is poor grammar and spelling.  Spell check is there as a guide to help you correct mistakes on the fly.  However, you can’t fully rely on it.  If you don’t know the difference between there, their, and they’re or to, too, and two, please find a dictionary to get it right!  Spelling is also vitally important when it comes to spelling someone’s name.  Please double and triple check the spelling before sending out the email.  It's just respectful.

2.       Tone – Sometimes in written forms of communication, the tone you intend to project doesn’t quite get across the way you wanted it to.  When composing emails, especially emails that you might be all fired up about, write it but don’t send it right away.  Go back to it a short while later (after you've cooled off!) to re-read it and adjust it accordingly.  The last thing you want to do is to inadvertently make somebody angry.

3.       Spam – I get emails sent to my main business email address all the time from companies all over the world claiming to be an expert who can help me with my business.  If I need an SEO expert or a graphic design artist, I’m not going to contact some guy in Cambodia!!  So, make sure the emails you send are going to people who actually want them, to people who have specifically opted in to receive your content.

4.       Timing – Don’t bombard people with tons of emails on a daily basis.  Just because they have opted-in to receive emails from you doesn’t mean you can fill their inboxes with info.  Sometimes you might have an urgent situation that needs to be dealt with.  Picking up the phone and calling that person is going to be a lot more effective than sending them an email every 20 minutes until they respond!!  That goes back to the spam point made earlier.  Too much of a good thing is not good.

Social Media:

Social media is extremely important to your company image.  But of course it’s different from emails and newsletters.  Posting on Facebook is a great way to interact with customers.  But just remember that whatever you put on Facebook is there forever.  It’s great to get into a discussion, even a debate, but before you post anything, please take a moment to think before you type.  Then after you’ve typed it and before you hit “Comment”, please read it a few times to make sure it makes sense, your tone is appropriate and things are spelled correctly.

Be sure to create a business Facebook page and post content on there that is valuable to your audience.  Also, remember that you are an extension of your business, so even though you may be posting business appropriate stuff on your business page your personal page needs to reflect a positive image too.  Like I said earlier, once it's out there, it's out there forever.

Now, Twitter is a whole other ballgame.  Like text messaging, you only have 140 characters to get your point across.  Twitter is also a great way to interact with customers.  However, when you're adding @ and # to your messages, the message can sometimes sound a little odd.  Please proofread it before you hit ‘Tweet’ to make sure it makes sense.  And although you can (and should) post to Twitter more often than other social media sites, don't post stuff just for the sake of posting it.  Make sure it's something actually valuable to your audience.  If it isn't, after awhile they won't read your posts any more or they'll just 'unfollow' you altogether.

Linkedin is a social media site that allows you to connect with other professionals, showcase your expertise, and search for job opportunities.  This is not where you need to tell the world about your weekend plans or what you made for dinner.  Your objectives here are very different than on other social media sites, so take that into consideration when you're posting on there.  Consider the audience and what they want to see.

All I’m saying here is that you need to keep in mind what kind of image you are trying to project.  So, the key takeaways I want you to get from this post are: 

• Be consistent, but not spammy. 
• Consider your audience and your objectives.
• Proofread.  Then proofread again.  And again.
• Keep your professional image in mind with everything you write and post.

The last thing you want is for your potential customers to get the impression that either you don’t know how to spell or that you’re too lazy to take the time to correct it.  Not quite the impression you want to leave in a prospects mind!

Social Media Communication - How to Make it Work for You

This past weekend was our high school reunion.   As part of the celebrations we had the honour of a performance by two of our alumni, Don and Dave Carroll, also known as Sons of Maxwell.

I’ve known Dave personally since our high school days so I always look forward to getting a chance to talk to him whenever he and Don come home.  This year, I didn’t have a chance to talk to him because he was so busy selling his new book, aptly called “United Breaks Guitars”.  Dave’s musical career got an unexpected boost in 2009 when communication between him and United Airlines prompted him to communicate in a new and different way.  This story has been told thousands of times, but I’ll just do a quick recap.  In 2008, Don and Dave and their band mates were travelling to Nebraska for a performance via United Airlines.  United Airlines subsequently broke Dave’s beloved Taylor guitar but refused to help him in any way.  After months of arguing with them, he did what he know how to do best.  He wrote a song.  In fact he wrote 3 songs.  He produced a video for the first one and put it on Youtube.  Not expecting much to happen with it, he was shocked to see how quickly the video (which incidentally had been produced on an almost non-existent budget) was gaining attention.  With the promise to United Airlines that he would write 3 songs, Dave wrote and produced the final 2 songs and posted them on Youtube within several months of the original video.  Since that time, the videos have had 12,310,382 hits, 1,533,940 hits and 533,663 hits respectively.  For the whole story in Dave’s words, visit his website at http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/music/ubg/story/.

Youtube is the most widely used search engine in the world.  Owned by Google, Youtube generates in excess of 2 billion hits every day!!  So, you can only image how Youtube videos can have an impact on your business.  Of course, a lot of Youtube videos are funny animals or babies doing silly things, kind of like “America’s Funniest Home Videos”.  And you do hear of the occasional “discovery” like Justin Bieber, but that’s very rare.  However, it really is possible to use Youtube along with other social media to create a buzz around your company. 

The key to using social media is remembering that you are still communicating with customers.  Social media is not a one-way street.  Our current generation uses social media and text messaging to communicate.  A generation ago, it was the telephone.  Before that it was written letters and telegrams. I’m sure I’m going to offend some people here by saying this, so I apologize in advance.  But here’s my opinion on people who say they are “social media experts”.  That is like saying you’re a “telephone expert”.   Social media is a form of communication and you need to have proper etiquette in that forum the same way you do on the telephone. 

So, when using social media,

·         Be polite
·         Develop 2-way dialogue with your customers and communicate regularly but not to the point of being a pest.  Nobody wants to get overloaded with stuff online the same way people don’t want to get a hundred phone calls from you in a week. 
·         Use appropriate social media sites.  There are so many sites out there but if your customers aren’t using them, why bother?
·         Allow people to get to know you. Show your personality. Dave’s videos show his personality.  Let your personality come through and you too will build a fan base of your own.

We may not all have the YouTube success that Dave Carroll has had, but that doesn’t mean social media won’t work for your business.  Follow the tips I’ve given you and watch your fanbase grow too.

Olympic Style Training for Business

Once again, the Olympics are upon us.  Hopes and dreams of hundreds of athletes are either achieved or shattered.  And all it takes is one mistake or one flawless performance.  Think about how much time and effort these athletes have put into their chosen sport, how dedicated they are, but how unbelievably rewarding it is in the end.

The same can be said about your business.  You can’t expect your business to be successful right out of the gate.  A lot of small business owners start their business with a grandiose idea of what their sales forecast will be for year 1, 2, and 3.  Rarely are those numbers realistic.  Why?  Because as a new business owner, you are absolutely determined that your product or service is the best and everyone needs it. 

Put that into perspective of the Olympic athlete.  When a 10 year competitive athlete says they’re going to make the Olympics one day, they’re generally just brushed off as having a “dream”.  Lots of kids have dreams of making it to the Olympics (that’s their grandiose sales forecast of life), but only a very select few will ever achieve that goal.  But, you can be one of those “kids” who grows up to be an Olympian in your own sport.

You have a business concept that you know is good, just like the kid who know he has an athletic gift.  But what you do with it will determine how far you can take it.  So, what do you need to do?

·         Dedication – If you want to make a name for yourself, dedication is paramount.  How hard are you willing to work?  Olympic athletes train 5+ hours a day, 6 days a week, with a solid focus on the goal they have set for themselves.  You can’t expect to compete in the OIympics by watching from the sidelines.  Nor can you expect to be successful by just sitting around waiting for customers.

·         Key Partnerships – Athletes have built relationships with the top coaches and doctors in the country to ensure that they are in the best possible shape.  Partnerships with carefully selected sponsors helps to fund all the training and travelling involved.  As a business owner, you need to make some very key connections as well.  Develop cross-promotion opportunities with other businesses, practice your communication skills to help you establish connections at networking events, reach out to your customers in a way that makes them feel like you really care.

 

·         Patience and Persistence – Any athlete who has been training for 15+ years has dealt with numerous set-backs.  If you expect to beat out the competition, you’ll need to have lots of patience, knowing that there will inevitably be set-backs and hurdles to deal with.  How you handle those will determine your future.  Handle difficulties with class and patience instead of getting upset and giving up.

So, use the Olympic athletes as inspiration.  Find that Olympian inside you and give it your all.  In time, you will also be basking in the glory of a very successful business.

Brand Loyalty: Marketing the New Kids on the Block, Then and Now

Anybody remember the New Kids on the Block?  You know, the boy band from the ‘80s?  Many people remember them as a manufactured, over-marketed group of teenagers calling themselves a “band”, a boy band to be exact.  In the late ‘80s you couldn’t escape them.  They were on every magazine cover, every talk show and every radio station.  You could buy everything from bed sheets to lip gloss to action figures, not to mention the vast array of posters that so many teenage girls plastered their bedroom walls with.

Whether you like the New Kids or not, whether you think they have any talent or not, there is no question that the New Kids had a tremendous impact on entertainment marketing.  Their marketing team knew exactly what they were doing.  They knew exactly who their target was, what they wanted and how they wanted it.  Hormonal pre-teen and teenage girls were spending their allowance money on a fantasy.  Although teenage girls have been doing this for years… swooning over actors and singers…with the New Kids, the marketing team now had 5 guys to use instead of just one lonely solo singer.  Each guy had their own image, presumably manufactured to appeal to as many different teenage girls as possible.  Donnie Wahlberg was “the bad boy”, Jordan Knight was “the sexy one”, Joey McIntyre was “the baby” and got the attention of the 8 – 12 year olds, Danny Wood was “the smart one”, and Jonathan Knight was “the shy, quiet one”.  Every girl had their favourite guy and the fans were adamant that these were the true personalities of the guys and there was nothing manufactured.

To many people it might have seemed to be a bit of overkill, but to the fans, they couldn’t get enough.  There is no doubt that the New Kids had a brand that nobody would forget, whether you were a fan or not.

Then, all of a sudden, they disappeared.  No more concerts.  No more albums.  No more screaming, crying girls.   Fast forward 20 years to 2008.  All of these die hard fans are all grown up, with only memories (and maybe a collection of posters, pins, T-shirts and dolls) of their favourite band.  In 2008, the New Kids quietly announced a comeback.  No over the top marketing efforts were needed.  Why?  Because they knew that their target market was a loyal bunch even 20 years later.  They released their first album since 1990 and went back out on a North American tour.  It was no surprise to the fans that the tour was sold out.  The non-fans were now calling them the Old Kids on the Block and joked that they’d be coming on stage with their walkers.  But even if they did, the fans would still be okay with that.

Over the past 4 years, the New Kids haven’t had to do a whole lot of marketing.  But of course what they do now is geared to a different demographic.  Where teenage girls once went crazy for T-shirts and magazines, grown women are now spending hefty sums of money to go on a yearly cruise hosted by the New Kids.  Some of the guys have solo careers as well.  For instance, Jordan Knight recently went on tour to promote his solo album, complete with tickets for his fans to have brunch with him.  His albums would have sold even if he hadn’t gone on tour, but creating that extra connection with his fans is just his way of continuing to feed that brand loyalty.

The New Kids know they have a sure thing in their fans.  It’s cheaper and easier for companies (and boy bands!) to retain existing customers rather than acquire new ones.  When your company is new (like the New Kids were in the mid – 80s) or you’re launching a new product, strong marketing efforts are needed to capture the attention of your target market.  But once you have those loyal customers it is imperative to build relationships with them.  Then, like the New Kids, your fans will still be spending money on you 25 years later.

Advertising Impacts Your Choices More Than You Think

What made you choose to stop at Tim Horton’s this morning? (Yes, I said “choose to” because although you may think it’s just a normal part of your day, it is a choice.)  What made you by that particular box of hair dye or lipstick?  Think for a second about how much advertising really affects your daily purchases without  you even realizing it.

Let’s try an experiment.  Turn off your TV, radio and internet for a month.  Don’t look at a magazine, newspaper or any form of media for that time.  I doubt very many people could that for even a day, let alone a week or a month, or God forbid… a year!!

I’ve been doing a lot of family history research lately and I’m fascinated at how my ancestors lived their lives.  And as my hometown, the City of Timmins celebrates its hundredth anniversary this year, I’ve been interested in how people lived during that time.  A hundred years ago, my grandfather was a 3 year old little boy growing up on a farm just outside of Brodhagen, Ontario.  At that time, he didn’t have a TV, a computer, magazines or video games.  His parents were farmers living away from any sort of “city life” with really only the radio to keep them up to speed with what was going on in the world.

They went into town when it was necessary to buy what they needed.  That was it.  But, of course, once at the store, the manufacturers had their own “advertising”, like packaging to entice you to buy their product over another.  The store owner could have been having a sale, maybe to get rid of old product.  But unless my great-grandparents went into the store in the first place, they weren’t aware of the different products that were available or any sales that might be happening.  And if it wasn’t in the budget, they just didn’t buy it.

My great grandparents were not educated people.  In fact, even my grandfather only had a great eight education.  But even, today, with so many of us being much more highly educated, we’re not even fully aware of all the marketing activities companies do to entice us into buying their products.  That takes me back to our experiment.  If you lived like my great-grandparents did a hundred years ago, with limited access to media, how would your purchase decisions be different from how they are now?  Would you spend less?  Of course, this is only hypothetical because as we all know we can’t fully escape advertising.  But then again, do we even want to?

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