Hot Ideas & Hot Air

I know that many of you are new to business blogging.  So - for all you “newbie” business bloggers, I want give you some advice on creating compelling business blog content. 

When I tell my Tornado Marketing clients they can’t just pitch product and services, they’re often stumped. “Then what will we talk about?”  Chris Brogan wrote a great post “Blog Topics for Business to Business” about topics that are appealing - and yet not overboard on sales hype. Bookmark his site for easy reference.  And while you’re at it, head over to Copyblogger, which is filled to the brim with tips for better business blogging.

When you are blogging for business, you are blogging to promote your business, but your blog will go NOWHERE if you are just pitching product. If you don’t believe me, believe David Meerman Scott, who talks about this mistake in his post “The Top 5 Corporate Blogging Mistakes”.  Item #2 is:

Write excessively about their company’s products and services

Many marketers steeped in the tradition of product advertising naturally feel drawn to start a blog to prattle on and on about their damn products and services. But I have news for you. Nobody cares about your products and services (except you). When I visit a product-oriented blog, I immediately leave. And judging from the lack of comments on these blogs, most everyone else leaves too.

You must resist the urge to blog about what your company offers. Instead blog about a subject of interest to the people you are trying to reach. What problems do your buyer have that you can write about? How can you create content that informs and educates and entertains?

Read the rest of David Meerman’s post here: Top 5 Corporate Blogging Mistakes.

The point of business blogging is to STOP the “sell, sell, sell” push marketing mentality, and instead naturally attract people to your business by educating and informing them.   

And while I want you to understand that your content must be compelling and non-pitchy, I also want you to see that I didn’t have to come up with all the content for this blog post on my own.  I’ve surrounded myself with smart people who’ve already written the content I want to share with my blog readers.  So instead of trying to improve on the wisdom of social media superstars like David Meerman Scott, Chris Brogan and Brian Clark (a.k.a. Copyblogger), I can send you to their blogs - or with proper attribution and a link back to their site, I can re-publish a snippet of their content on my business blog. 

You can use this technique too.  The key is to find experts or business leaders who you admire.  Share their knowledge.  You’re creating a win-win-win scenario. 

Your business blog will be filled with compelling content.
Your readers will be happy because they’re getting value. 
Your expert sources will get new readers. 

It’s a beautiful new media world.  Group hug?

With the economy and the election all that people seem to be able to talk about, I thought I’d provide a moment of light-hearted levity.   Can you believe these ads?  I think in some cases here there’s a little TOO MUCH truth in advertising - and in other ads, no truth at all.  

That beauty micrometer looks painful.   And who knew Lysol could create such a happy marriage?  Now where does that Lysol go?  WHAT?  Not on the floors or appliances?  Oh my….

http://www.weirdomatic.com/creepy-ads.html 

Enjoy.  Focus on the positive.  Control what you can control.  And stay tuned. Subscribe to my workshops newsletter if you haven’t already.  I’m putting together a session, “The 7 Secrets to Small Business Advertising.”  And though I admit my session won’t be nearly as funny as these ads are, you will see big mistakes current day small businesses make all the time. 

It’s been an exhausting, exciting, seemingly endless week, and I admit I have fallen behind.  Please forgive me, my dear clients and precious prospects, I promise I will make it up to you.  I’m not sure that you even noticed, but I did. 

I could tell you all the “hiccups” that happened coming back after my week out of the office, how late I worked or how hard I tried, but the details aren’t that interesting.  In the end I just couldn’t get everything accomplished that I felt needed to be done.

I share my story with you because I’m sure there are times when you had to play catch-up from a trip, missed deadlines, made a mistake, or had to deal with unforeseen problems that set you back.  My “Inner Adrianne” is very harsh - she wants me to be perfect 100% of the time.  But apparently that’s not realistic.  So how did I handle it this week?  Were there things I could have done better?  You decide. This is what I did (to the best of my ability).

1. Prioritize. Marketing is not brain surgery, but there are times when missing a deadline can have a big negative impact. When everything seems both urgent and important, get it all out on paper. A master schedule helps you filter your must-do-right-away (pay bills) from your must-do-but-next-week-will-have-to-do (finish case study) to nice-to-do (write blog post).

2. Let a few things slide. My desk looks like a tornado hit it, my email has been pecked through to pick out the important messages only, and I’ve run my kids through Subway three times this week. But everyone has been fed, the bills are paid, and the rest can be cleaned up this weekend. Right?

3. Put clients first. My email newsletter system decided it didn’t want to play with Skype, so it retaliated by sending out emails with gobblety-gook code. (Thank you Carol Stewart for alerting me to the problem!) Instead of doing follow up with all the people I met at recent speaking engagements, I’ve been spending my time fixing the newsletters. I remind myself that I will have ample time to work with new clients, as soon as I catch up from being out of the office and dealing with these administrative hassles, but I owe my first allegiance to my customers.

4. Be Honest. By 4:00 on Thursday I was exhausted and I still had a long night ahead of me. (I was scheduled to speak at the Orange County Entrepreneurs Center meeting at 7:00 p.m.) Rather than pushing forward to teach a client social media marketing strategy, I just told him straight out that I was not on my A-game, and suggested we reschedule for Monday. It turned out the reschedule was better for him, and he appreciated that my intention was to give him his money’s worth of great advice.

5. Communicate. Before missing a deadline or a meeting, let people know you need a time extension. Sometimes you’re working with an artificial deadline anyway - and will get yourself all tied up in knots about something that’s unimportant to the client. (Thanks Diane Gasal for reminding me of that!) Sometimes the deadline is important, and you can work with the client to find another way to accomplish the objective. Just don’t let yourself think you can “squeeze it in” - that’s foolishness. (And believe me, I’ve been a fool at times.)

6. Seize the Moment. Some opportunities only knock once. This week I was interviewed by Referral Key for their radio show. http://www.referralkey.com/business-networking/blog/ and I was honored to be the guest speaker for the Orange County Entrepreneur’s Center. Some moments just can’t be Tivo’ed.

7. Apologize. I was late to two client meetings this week. I wanted to unwind the clock so badly, but all I could do was sincerely apologize. Sorry guys! Thanks for being so nice about it!! 

8. Breathe. It’s true that “the hurriedier I go, the behinder I get.” Sometimes just 10 deep breaths or time to walk the dog is all I need to replenish my spirit, and re-boot my brain.

9. Give 100%, then give yourself a break. I always give my best, but sometimes my best at that moment is not “my best.” Even Babe Ruth couldn’t hit it out of the ballpark every day.

Professional services are never “perfect” - they’re relationships that need to balanced and nurtured - like all relationships.  Most of us are 100 times harder on ourselves than we are on others.  I know I had moments of greatness this week, and moments of great stress.  I’m lucky to work with such good clients.  Thank you for letting me be human.  I’ll gladly return the favor - anytime.

You know I’m a fan of online social networking, but I am also a HUGE fan of the good-old-fashioned in-person real-life shaking-hands type of networking.  

Before Twitter or Facebook or any of the ‘new media” sites, I built my business (and several previous employers’ businesses) by getting out there and meeting people face-to-face.  Networking is one of the lowest-cost, highest-impact and most-sustainable marketing efforts you can do on a consistent basis.  Are you doing enough real-life networking?  Or are you hiding behind your computer, waiting for business to come to you?  I encourage you to get out there - and I have just the place in mind.

If you are a small business owner and live in or around Orange County, California, I want you to come out and meet me this Thursday, October 2nd from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.! Not only will you get an opportunity to mingle with other new and accomplished entrepreneurs from the Orange County Entrepreneur’s Center, but I’ll be sharing with you the 7 steps you need to take to create affordable, effective marketing programs for your small business.   The event is FREE if you are an Orange County Entrepreneur’s Center Member, and only $20 if you’re not. 

REGISTER HERE!  http://www.ocentrepreneurs.com/networking/ 

Yes, I know it’s Thursday night, which means it’s must-see-TV on NBC, but you have Tivo or Cox’s DVR service, don’t you?

I thought this YouTube video did a great job of showing the disconnect between advertisers and consumers - and how social media marketing can bridge the gap.  Businesses large and small need to COMMUNICATE with their audience not just throw information at them, hoping something will stick.  Enjoy!

I think social media marketing is an extremely cost effective way for small businesses to attract and retain customers.  So…what did you think?

With all the talk about the economy and the bailout, I thought it would be perfect timing to re-post John Jantsch’s 7 Recession Proof Small Business Marketing Tips.  If you aren’t already following John’s Duct Tape Marketing blog, you can find it over at:  Duct Tape Marketing Blog.

John says:

It’s times like these that send many small business owners on a quest for the magic recession fighting marketing tip. Today I would like to share my top seven quick fix marketing strategies with the caveat that you understand nothing beats building a marketing system based on a narrowly defined ideal customer and core message of differentiation.

Being the practical guy I am though, I also know that sometimes you need to hear about ways to start getting out of a hole before you can really listen to the message of long term fix. The good news is that these seven strategies, applied effectively, can help you make your business recession proof and unswayed by the various and inevitable cycles in the economy.

Take these seven tips and re-energize your marketing today!

1) Partner with other businesses - Proactively creating strategic partnerships is a great way to generate new leads and build long-term momentum. The trick is to do it ways that are win-win and simple for all parties. Number one rule, only seek marketing partnerships with organizations that you would have no problem referring your best customer too. Adhering to that logical rule alone will make this strategy more effective. Creating motivated strategic partners is simple if you can find a way to tap their self-interest. Take them an effective white paper or seminar idea and let them co-brand and co-sponsor it. That way they have a ready made and logical way to partner with you and you’ve done all the work.

2) Reactivate past customers - Where did I put that customer anyway, I know they are around here somewhere. Sad but true, sometimes we don’t bother to communicate with current customers unless they call with an order. By the time they have decided someone else appreciates their business more, it’s too late. Reach out to lapsed customers and make them an apology, promise to never ignore them again, and make them a smoking hot deal to come back.

3) Get out from behind the computer - Building personal relationships is always in style. It’s very tempting to sit and write blog posts and participate on social networking sites, and while these aren’t always bad things - sometimes you need to go out and shake some hands. Make it a point to go to several industry conferences every year. Join an industry or chamber type group and go to events where you can make connections with prospects and partners. Join a referral group such as BNI and participate. Go visit your customers and ask for referrals.

4) Speak at events, hold workshops - Marketing is essentially a trust building game. Few things build trust more efficiently than getting in front of a group of potential customers and sharing your expertise in an educational setting. Go propose to conduct a hot sounding workshop for your bank, accounting firm, law firm and insurance firm. Check local libraries, chambers, and associations for opportunities. Look in your local business papers and see what groups have speakers listed in calendars of events. Get two of your best customers to help conduct peer2peer webinars to discuss best practices and issues with peers you invite.

5) Fix your follow-up - lead generation and conversion is not a one shot deal. By automating your multiple follow-up messages, scheduling routine marketing touches and sending the occasional thank you, hand written note, you can stay top of mind when the buying and referral decisions are made. The longer the sales cycle for your industry or service the better your follow-up needs to be. There is so much that technology can do for you here, let it!

6) Repackage your products and services with offers to act - This goes along with differentiating really, but sometimes you’ve got to give that tired old dog a new look. Find simple ways to relaunch yourself, your people, your products, your services, your packaging, to give yourself a new start in your market. You don’t need to start from scratch, look for innovative ways to repackage, reprice, redeliver, reguarantee and recommunicate about what you do. Make them an offer they can’t refuse, make it so bold they must rehear you.

7) Fix the marketing gaps - In every way, shape, and form that your business comes into contact with your prospects and customers it is performing a marketing function - good or bad. You must look at all of your customer touchpoints and turn them into positive, brand-building opportunities. Tear down the lead generations touches, sales touches, service touches, delivery touches, follow-up touches, transaction touches, and billing touches and make sure that every single one of them is a performing a killer marketing function for your business.

Maybe by now you’ve surmised that all of the items above are good for business, no matter the economy, it’s just that sometimes you need a fix or two to get restarted.

What do bags, shoes and jackets have to do with small business marketing?  Prioritization. 

Like most people, I love to shop, but I have to watch my budget too.  I will spend a disproportionate amount of money on bags, shoes and jackets because (1) they are worn more often (2) have a greater impact on the overall look and (3) when I buy quality, I can keep them longer.  

The marketing equivalent of bags, shoes and jackets are your website, business card, and marketing folder (used to hold your marketing kit materials.)  I’m continually shocked by how much time and effort will be devoted to nit-picking a direct mail piece, when the website looks like it was developed in 1995, and the business card doesn’t even tell me what the company does.  I refresh my business cards about every six months!  Once you have these fundamental marketing pieces in place, THEN you can look for other ways to market your business and generate leads.  These pieces function to generate awareness and leads, while they raise your credibility level. 

Clients and friends are always asking me, “How much of my time and money should be spent online?”  In most cases, I recommend about 75% of a small business’ marketing effort should be invested online - but there are exceptions.  For example, you may have a tradeshow that’s a cornerstone of your marketing plan.  If that tradeshow drives above-average awareness and sales activity, you should be spending more time and money on that tradeshow.  If there’s a magazine that with a long shelf-life that’s avidly read by your target audience, you should be in it.   But in all cases, small businesses need to focus their marketing efforts where they’ll get the biggest bang for their buck.  Make sure your website, business card, and marketing folder look as polished and professional as you do - you’ll quickly reach your goal of getting people to KNOW, LIKE and TRUST you.

How do you prioritize where to spend your marketing dollars? Are you focusing on the right things?

I just got back from Fargo, ND and I’m reflecting on The Partner Event conference for Microsoft Dynamics partners.   The Partner Channel always does a fabulous job with events.  Even though I was very skeptical about the prom-themed reception (and chose not to wear a prom dress myself) I have to admit I did enjoy seeing everyone else who was brave enough to take “the prom plunge.”  Those pictures will be a worth a fortune in hush money someday.

I want to thank The Partner Channel, The Partner Marketing Group, and especially Cheryl Strege, for inviting me out to present Duct Tape Marketing’s “Seven Steps to Marketing Success.”  Both sessions I ran generated a lively discussion.  Can blogging really be effective?  Is social media even appropriate?  Are CFOs online?  Who will read this stuff?  What great questions!   I could have gone on for another hour, but instead those ideas are forming into becoming a next session. 

For the Partner Day at Microsoft Convergence 2009, I would love to be able to run two sessions just on blogging.  The first session would be on “Business Blogging – Is it right for you?” and another showing people the actual process of setting up a blog – a hands-on how-to-do-it session.  I think the challenge with conference material is that sometimes you learn what you should be doing – but you still have no idea HOW do it.   If Microsoft won’t sponsor it, maybe I’ll see if there are enough people interested in attending a pre-conference session.  Email me or leave a comment below if you are interested!

I truly believe that businesses in general (and Microsoft Dynamics partners in particular) will be making a huge mistake if they choose to ignore this new era of business blogging and social media.  Web 2.0 is a game-changing phenomenon.  Never before has it been so easy, and so affordable to promote a small, regionally based business.  The early adopters will reap the rewards.  Even those who don’t start their own blogs need to learn how to listen in and join the conversation because bloggers might be talking about your firm and the products and services you represent.

To follow the theme Bonnie Robertson set for this conference, Gen Y’ers are leading this push of online social media marketing, but Gen Xers (like myself) are seeing the light, and baby boomers will soon follow suit – simply because they want and need to communicate with us young’uns.  My father-in-law now follows me on Facebook.  My mom text messages me when she wants to reach me.  And my dad is extremely internet and email savvy. He’ll be on Facebook the second his friends show up and he can start an online bridge game.  All are well into their 70’s. 

The Gen Y’ers have shown us how efficient it is to have human interaction without the human voice – and do it in a way that is warm, engaging and useful.  Revolutions always start with the young.  The question is: Will you join the revolution?  Or will you be content as an old dog that refuses to learn new tricks?

Everyone wants to be greener, right?  Wouldn’t you love to know how to help your business go green, AND save money at the same time?

One of the easiest (and most affordable) ways go go green is to minimize your printed marketing collateral. Most companies can do-away-with or significantly reduce the amount of printed marketing materials they use. Most marketing documents have a short shelf life - many end up in the trash before they’re even given to prospects and customers. 

It’s the one phrase I hear ALL the time  when I first meet with people.  “I know we should be doing more, but we just don’t have time for marketing,” they  confess dolefully.  I also hear its variants:

“I know our website hasn’t been updated in 10 years, but….”  

“I know we don’t have any collateral material, but….” 

“I know our logo is still so 1986, but…” 

“I know our materials don’t really reflect what we do, but…”

But what?  Yes you need time to sell, consult, implement, do your accounting, pay taxes, meet, go to the bathroom, grab a bite to eat AND…you need to make time for marketing.  There’s not enough time?  No, there’s always enough time.  Everyone gets the same 24 hours a day.  You get to choose how to spend it.  Many times you shoot yourself in the foot by focusing all your energy on sales - only to lose the deal because your presence (your marketing) didn’t make you a credible competitor.

Recently in John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing blog for small business marketing, John wrote :

Marketing is and must become a habitual activity in your business. You must live by the marketing calendar or die by the lack of time available to complete the greasing of the squeaky wheel. 

Amen, Brother John!  I’m a big fan of Stephen Covey, and live by his quadrant theory of paying attention to those items on your to-do list that are important, but not urgent.  Those items will propel your business forward. That’s where marketing lives.  Marketing means getting people to know, like and trust you — and that’s a lot easier to do if you buid a relationship BEFORE you’re trying desperately to sell them something. 

So what’s the secret to maketing marketing a habit?  The secret is….to make a calendar.  It can be in Excel.  It can be in Marketing Plan Pro.  It can be on a giant whiteboard in your office.  Just do it.  Live it.  Your sales people will thank me later. I promise.