Tag: marketing

    Conditioning Your Prospects and Customers

    When you have prospects and customers, it’s important to stay in touch as often as possible. Get them on your email lists, segmented according to where they are in the buying cycle so that you can target your messages accordingly.

    * Tell Them What to Expect – When someone buys from you or signs up for one of your email lists, send a thank you note with an explanation of what to expect from you in the future. How often will they hear from you? What about? Make some promises and assurances to them.

    * Do What You Say You’ll Do – It’s very important that you do whatever you said you’d do. For example if you say you will send them a newsletter every Friday, send them a newsletter every single Friday. If you skip days or switch the days, they may be confused. A lot of people actually forget they signed up for a list and when you don’t stay active they will report you for spamming them.

    * Remind Them of What You Said – Periodically, within other messages, be sure to remind your prospects and customers about your previous promises and assurances. This will help them remember who you are, and what you said. It will build more trust.

    * Let Them Know When You Follow Through – When you do something you said you would do, tell them. “I told you I would send you an update on my xyz product, as promised, here it is.” This again, reinforces the point that you stick to your word and can be trusted.

    * Ask Them for Input and Opinions – Once in a while invite your prospects and customers to submit their ideas and input. If you have a new product idea, tell them about it. Ask them what they think. Ask them what they’d pay for such a product or service. Ask them if they would like to see something from you that you’ve not delivered.

    * Tease Them about New Products – Never pass up an opportunity to give them some hints and small bits of information about a new product, service or event. As you hint about it, make them really want it by explaining what’s in it for them.

    * Thank Them for Buying – When someone buys something from you (or answers any call to action), be sure to thank them. The thank you is always a nice thing to do, plus it gives you just that little bit more real estate to give them more information about you and your products and/or services.

    * Follow Up Regularly – Even after someone has purchased, and you’ve thanked them, it’s not over. It costs a lot less to create a repeat buyer than to turn a lead into a buyer. Cultivate your relationship with buyers even more consistently than you do leads and prospects.

    Using the pattern of telling them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them will do wonders for all your marketing. Most people need to hear things multiple times before it sinks in. The more you stick to your word and the more value you can provide your audience, the more they’ll look forward to whatever you offer them.

    Categories: Marketing Tags: Tags:

    Ask Your Audience What They Would Like to See

    Generating topics for videos is something you will need to do if you’re going to produce regular videos for your audience. The best way to accomplish this is to ask your audience for ideas about the types of videos and what subjects they want you to cover. There are different ways you can ask or find out what your audience wants to see.

    * Warm Them Up – Most audiences are used to the one-way communication that most people provide to them. They get emails, they sit and watch a presentation, and they read blog posts. But they aren’t used to real engagement. You need to start small, warming them up by always ending every blog post, every social media post and so forth with a short question.

    * Encourage Interaction – Reward people who engage with you by thanking them, and by acting excited about their contribution. Give them a prize or a percent off coupon for coming up with such a great idea or question.

    * Send an Email – Use your email list to your advantage. When you are trying to come up with ideas, shoot them an email to ask for their input. Make it fun for them to respond by inviting them to a free Facebook brainstorming group, or offering points toward products and services for good ideas.

    * Stalk Discussion Groups – Remember that your audience lives in other places besides only on your lists, your groups, and your discussion boards. Go to other places where they like to hang out and read the discussions. Any question they ask can become fodder for a new video.

    * Conduct a Survey – A really good way to ask questions of your audience is to send a survey. With a short survey you can also get a little extra information about the group, plus input into what types of videos they’d like to see. Make it worth their while by promising and delivering a surprise at the end of the survey.

    * Ask on Social Media – Go straight to your social media accounts to ask questions of your audience. You can also send a poll via social media, or you can post an infographic with information and a question such as: “What is the next video you’d like me to make?” If you can give them a couple of choices to choose from, you’ll be more likely to get more answers.

    * Have a Contest – Let the audience pick the topic by giving five topics you want to talk about, then let them vote on which one they’d like to see most. The winning topic gets made, and the ones who voted on the winning topic get invite to submit more questions and maybe ask a question live at the event.

    * Frame the Question Right – You want to lead the choices in a certain direction so that you know you can make a video about the topic. For example, maybe you are confused about two different options; post only those two options. Or maybe you know the topic, but you want to know what they need to know about the topic; approach it that way instead.

    Asking your audience directly is one of the best ways to choose a topic for your next video. Don’t be afraid to ask them. It doesn’t mean you don’t know anything, but it does mean that you care about what your audience needs. They’ll appreciate being included.

    Categories: Marketing Tags: Tags:

    Twitter Engagement

    Twitter – who wants to bother? who has the time?

    The Twitter may scroll quickly through your life but it is worth participating in Twitter to get engagement and potential awareness for your brand.  Also, you can connect with others who you might want to partner with when you converse on Twitter.

    According to this Twitter study in 2014 by Stone Temple Consulting, you can get engagement!

    If you are a well-known authority in your field, it will be easier for you to get followers.

    It is true that image attached to a tweet will increase re-tweets and “favorited.”

    Increasing hashtags in a tweet doesn’t make a significant difference.

    Most interesting is that the time of day didn’t affect how much engagement was given.

    As you can see, Twitter is worth sending out your messages in and there is training in The Business of At Home Business membership. 

     

     

    Please include attribution to www.stonetemple.com with this graphic.

     

    Study

     

     

    Categories: Twitter Tags: Tags: , ,

    Testimonials, do you do them?

    [svpVideo v=1]

    Testimonials for companies that you work with and you are happy with the customer service and the information that you learned, do you do them?

    Do you ask for testimonials from your customers when the work or service you did for them is complete?

    No.

    Then you are missing out on the best form of lead generation for your business.

    I did this testimonial for www.hangoutmarketingu.com as I was asked and I was very happy with what I learned about Hangouts On Air in the program.  When I am asked how I learned to do Hangouts On Air, you can bet I will be referring them on to Hangoutmarketing because I was pleased with everything I learned for doing the lessons.

    Is there a  better way to get free leads back to your business with happy customers telling everyone they know about your service?  No!

    In the  structural engineering business with my husband, we do absolutely no advertising other than a listing in the Yellow Pages.  Remember the Yellow Pages!  We get all our customers from referrals. Whether it is from customers who we did work for before and their neighbour wants some advice on a good engineer or it is a local contractor who wants to make his new customer happy with good service, we get ALL our leads from referrals.

    Customer referral marketing is one of the marketing strategies that is rarely talked about, especially online.

    Does your customer give you any feedback after they receive your service or product about how happy or what was missing that made them unhappy? Do you ask?

    Does your customer get a request from you for a testimonial if they were pleased with your service?   Do you follow-up and see if there is a quick way you can get them to submit something?  It could be a quick interview on video; it could be a survey to quickly fill in or a written testimonial.

    I always use Consumer Reports when I am buying an expensive item for the house like a T.V. or car.  Why wouldn’t people want to know what other people got out of your service or product before they purchase!

    Customer service is key to a successful business whether offline or online and this is what we talk about, as well as other topics, in the Business of At Home Business membership!  Check it out here.

     

    Categories: Run a Home Business Tags: Tags: , ,

    Youtube Card

     

    socialmedia

    Before Youtube Cards were implemented by Youtube, when you created a video, you had to put a link as a visual link in the end of your video.
    Now, Youtube has realized that there was a need by their customers to have a Call to Action in their videos so they created the Youtube Card.

    In the Youtube Card, you can have a link to your website or thumbnails of your other videos that a viewer can click on to watch more videos.
    I am creating some trainings on how to setup and marketing using various social media platforms from Facebook to Twitter to Youtube so I will have more information on these trainings later. Have a look at this Google post on what a Youtube Card is!


     

    Categories: Youtube Tags: Tags: ,

    Ultimate Guide to the Business Card

    a smiling businesswoman holding empty card

    With people connecting instantly by Facebook, LinkedIN and Twitter and searching for contacts and business through Google search, you would think there wouldn’t be a need for business cards.

    However people still want to meet face to face. There will always be a need to interact personally because first impressions of a person can not be read over the internet.  In the end, whether you will trust and do business with someone can only be ultimately done face to face and business cards reflect who you are and what is your business if you get business card design done right.

    In this ultimate guide to the business card, we will look at:

    1. The History of the business card. 
    2.  What is the psychology behind networking with business cards.
    3.  What are some of the guidelines for the best business card design. 
    4.  What is some of the new, innovative designs in business cards.

     

    The History of the Business Card  

    Before business cards there were calling cards. As early as the 15th century, calling cards (called Meishi) were in common use in China. Meishi were sent to communicate your intention to meet with someone. They also doubled up as a form of personal identification to gain access to private homes or exclusive events. 

    In 17th century, under the reign of Louis XIV, ‘Viste Bielets’ gained popularity amongst French aristocracy. A calling card was sent, servant to servant, to announce the impending arrival of a particularly big wig.

    from   A brief history of the business card

    Victorian Calling Card

    Around the same time, trade cards were becoming popular, and were used by the merchant class in London. Businessmen would engrave them with information, like maps to their stores, and hand them out as advertising before or after a trade. Colour printing and elaborate designs helped the tradesmen stand out, and became an early example of brand identity according to A Short History of the Business Card. 

     

    In the 20th century, the business card developed from the calling card to be a standard size card of  2″ high x 3 1/2″ long with  information about your business, your authority status (your university degrees) or your status within a business (last name, senior vice president) so it could fit into a Rolodex and kept for reference to contact a person at a later date. 

    Rolodexhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

    The Rolodex, invented in 1956, was an improvement to an earlier design called Wheeldex. 

     

    wheeldexCreative Commons 2.0 license, by CALoynd

     In order for business cards to fit into the standard Rolodex, they had to be the standard size. So, the only way to make your business card standout was through colour, text, taglines or quality of paper. 

    I remember reading the  first Guerilla Marketing book by Jay Conrad Levinson in 1984 and the use and distribution of your business card wherever you are and whatver you are doing was a core guerilla marketing technique.

    Guerilla techniques included making your business card standout by not making it 2″ x 3 1/2″ or making it out of unusual materials like wood or sheetmetal so people would keep your business card even though it didn’t fit within your Rolodex. 

    5709880151 4146300ef4 m

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/popupology/5709880151/

    https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

    Now the business card is a talking point when you meet another person. You’ll never forget the 3-D paper pop up business card at http://www.foldform.co.uk.  

     

    106709219 6c8be9703b m

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/ranh/106709219 

    https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

    Kevin Mitnick of www.mitnicksecurity.com has unique business card tool that is made of metal and when taken apart, it can be used as a lock pick! 

     

    Now with the internet, people say the use of the business card is not needed with the instant connections we can make on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Googleplus. However, according to Statistics Brain  there are 27 Billion business cards worldwide printed daily. There is a 2.5% increase in sales for every 2000 business cards passed out in statistics given. 

     

    What is the psychology behind networking with business cards

    So, why are business cards still being used in business?  

    Authority 

    They are being more for one on one meetings between business people. What you say about your business and yourself is important on your business card. Listing your university degrees or your level of your authority in the business needs to be recognized on your business card. It is a simple way to show your experience and authority in your business. 

    Brand 

    The business card is a simple, inexpensive way to show what your brand is all about. It represents you when you meet someone new. Whether you use thin paper or heavy quality watermarked paper will affect how people perceive you when they don’t know you. Your mission or your tag line for your business can speak to people as to who you are if it is on your business card. 

    Trust-building

    According to Business Insider the business card is being used to build trust among business people especially in the Asian countries. 

     They can be a quick way of establishing connections, particularly in Asia, where they are something of an obsession. The Chinese are following the Japanese in treating them as semi-sacred objects. Some businessmen hand out 24-carat gold cards. Nursery-school children sometimes carry cards not only with their own contact details, but also with the job descriptions of their parents and even grandparents.

    My husband went on business to Japan and he had business cards made in the Japanese language as well as English. He knew there was a presentation etiquette for meeting the senior Japanese CEO and he did remember to present his business card face up and he even remembered to look at the Japanese businessman and nod in appreciation however he then put it in his back pocket.

    Exchanging business cards is not just a way of sparking a conversation. It is a way of placing people correctly in the pecking-order without the embarrassment of asking them their formal title. As “wearables” go, this is a killer app according to Business Insider. 

    Business Card Strategy 

    Now when I heard this from Gina Gaudio Graves at www.directionsuniversity.com, I was blown away as I never thought that a business card could be a strategy!  Gina brings boxes of her business cards to any conference she is in. She has a unique business card just for these events with the standard information on the front and on the back there is the word “Notes” and some lines imprinted.  Now anyone else would use this business card to take notes during a presentation on the back of the business card. Gina sees people who are struggling to find paper to write down notes so she will chat with them and hand them several business cards or even boxes of her business card for them to use to take their notes or write down the connections they are making during the conference to remember those peoples email address and phone numbers. These people will then take home her business cards with all their notes and email addresses from their connections that they will keep so she is spreading awareness about her business by helping other people making their connections. Awesome! 

     

    What are some of the guidelines for the best business card design?

    Think about what is the outcome for your business card before you design it.

    Do you want to make a lasting first impression with a new client?

    Do you want to spread your business card here and there to advertise your business?  

    Do you want it to be your “Calling Card” ? 

    If you look at the outcome of using your business cards that will help you decide. Though as www.medianovak.com mentions here….. 

    Do try to keep the design of your cards clean and simple, and avoid visual overload or clutter at all costs. Consider using the back of the card or create a folded business card if you need more space for additional information. However, make sure you keep the practicality of your card in mind. How often will people see the back of your business card? from Business Card Design Essentials | 5 Things You Have To …

     If you want a business card idea you will never forget, go check out this one at Clever Business Card Features A ‘Striking’ Surface, Lets You Start A Fire

    To create a lasting impression for their new company, Canadian event agency Wildfire Experiential and Events included a clever feature in their business cards that lets you start a fire. Designed by Vancouver-based integrated marketing firm Cossette, the new visual brand identity was based on a simple design brief: “Spark conversation.”

    Just way-out there business cards that are memorable but do they really reflect that person’s business  at The 31 Greatest Business Cards In The History Of All Business

    The infographic from AllBusinessCard  below is a great summary of what to consider for your business card….

    Business Card Must Haves For Effective Networking

    Categories: Business Card Tags: Tags: , , ,

    Content Marketing on Social Media into your Marketing Plan

    As a business, why do you have to spend time creating and sharing content on social media? You want to spend your time selling and developing product or service to your customers! You don’t want to tweet, friend or google?! 

    Well, 

    1. It increases your followers for your social media platform,  whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Linkedin, Instagram or Pinterest or any other platform that your audience hangs out, which increases your reach. 

              According to +Belle Beth Cooper of +Buffer in https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-secrets-to-finding-and-sharing-better-content-on-social-media

               they “found that the optimal number of tweets to engage your followers is 1-4 per hour, and for Facebook it’s no more than 1 per day. ” 

              So, by doing the social media strategically by:

                a: deciding where your audience hangs out

               b: creating a presence on that platform with your business 

               c: finding out what social media posts they like on that platform 

              d: create an editorial calendar for creating the posts and how many you need and when to post them

          You can increase your followers (or in business terms, your prospects) for your business. 

        2. Sharing content increases your authority in your field.

           Whether you share your own content about your business topic or you curate other authority sites and add your comments, you can be seen as someone who is knowledgable and “top of your game”. 

     

        3. Your followers expect more content from you and if they are trained to open, they get more value from your content. 

        4.  If you consistently post on a regular basis, good value content whether yours or you curate others content, your followers expect to see it and it becomes a habit for them to open and learn from you.  Being a teacher in your field for others and giving them posts of value with tips and knowledge they can use, this increases your credibility too.

    5. Your followers see you as a thought leader and your credibility rises which means your customers develop the habit of buying what you are selling as they see you as an authority. 

        As your followers expect your content in social media and you give them value and you become an authority in the field, your relationship with your followers (prospects) becomes closer especially if you reply to any comments about your post or you add some personal posts during this process.  

    People will get to know, like and trust you all through social media.  Content marketing on social media is well worth doing as it is a free form of accessing people throughtout the world spreading information about you and your business! 

    For more discussion on social media, subscribe to our newsletter at www.thebusinessofathomebusiness.com/newsletter. 

    Categories: social media Tags: Tags: , ,

    Mobile Marketing is here!

    According to +Think with Google Study, there are myths about how Mobile Marketing is working right now. 

    Google, Ipsos MediaCT and Sterling Brands research study from March to May 2014. Survey conducted among 6,000 smartphone users aged 18–54 who have influence in the purchase decision-making process of retail, CPG or tech products and have used the internet to look for shopping-related information.

     +Think with Google , Google and Ipsos Media survey found that there are certain myths how people are using smartphones to shop.
    Over 50% of people surveyed would check in Google Search on phone for:
    1. Price of item in store
    2.Availability of item in store
    3. Closest store with item in stock
    4. Check out what other items are in the store where item is available!
    Hello! Looks like people are searching while in the Store so make sure you have lots of information about your specials, product availablity, store hours, location and map. As people are making decision whether to come to your store on phone and when they are in your store, they are looking for more things to buy!

    Good lesson for businesses online or offline, if you aren’t mobile responsive and mobile ready, you are losing unknown business!

     

     


    Categories: mobile Tags: Tags: , ,