Business Networking & Client Referrals — The Red-Headed Stepchild?

Posted by John Park on Dec 4th, 2008
2008
Dec 4

Business Networking

 
It’s that time of the year again.  I am not referring to the holiday season.  If you own a business, now is the time to consider your advertising options for 2009.  This process is typically called ad planning.
 
As you consider your advertising and marketing options for 2009 and as you make decisions on what to keep and what to axe, I want you to consider a few line items that aren’t traditionally listed on ad planning budgets.  These “red-headed stepchild” line items are Business Networking and Customer Referrals.  If your organization has been around for at least a few years, chances are a certain percentage of your revenues in 2008 were a direct result of Networking and Referrals.  And yet, most businesses will not budget for these two key revenue generating tools in their annual advertising and marketing budgets.


Ad planning in this economic recession is all about stopping what’s not working and doing more of what is.  In 2009, many businesses will not have the luxury of testing new advertising or marketing initiatives.  Therefore, business owners should pay special attention to how much revenues were the direct result of their business networking and client referrals.  If more than 15% of your revenues were derived from these timeless sources, it is highly advisable to make them line items on your 2009 budget.
 
Here are some specific line items you might want to include as part of your advertising and marketing budget.
 
 
( NETWORKING - Budget Examples )
 
1)  Association or Club Dues
2)  Event Participation Costs
3)  Weekly or Monthly Lunch Dates w/Clients, Partners and/or Prospects
4)  Networking Collateral (could be something as simple as a business brochure)
 
 
( REFERRALS - Budget Examples )
 
1)  Proper Holiday Greetings (not too late for 2008)
2)  Proper Client Thank You Gifts
3)  Proper Client Referral Thank You Gifts
4)  Referral Collateral (could be something as simple as adding a line to your e-mail signature)
5)  Client Appreciation Events (ask them to bring another business owner for networking)
 
 
As I have always stated before, you know your business best.  Only you can determine if a $500 expenditure on a Client Appreciation Happy Hour will generate more business than an advertisement at the same cost.  My point is to make sure you don’t dismiss these key revenue-generating tools as just “add-on” business.  Generating revenues through Business Networking and Client Referrals are just as important as any ad you might budget for next year.  In this economy, many will argue that it might be much more important.
 
I leave you today with the following statement.  It is often printed on the back of business cards in the Real Estate Industry.  There is much we can learn in the most remote and simple places.
 
“I invest 100% of my time providing superior service to my clients because I believe in cultivating lifelong relationships.  My goal is to provide you with extraordinary service so that you won’t hesitate in referring family, friends and colleagues to me.  A referral and your trust is the highest compliment I can receive.”
 
 

You are as old as you Tech — Stop Acting Your Biz Tech Age!

Posted by John Park on Nov 22nd, 2008
2008
Nov 22

Basic Business Technology

 
I’ve been working with business owners for over 15 years now and during that time, I’ve met many business owner types.  I’ve come across the big egos, the endless analyzers, the frugal and I’ve even met a few dictators along the way.  After meeting and working with so many personalities and leadership styles, there is no business owner type that frustrates me more than the “I am not a techie” owner.
 
The reason for my frustration is because I have a unique vantage point of seeing for myself how street-smart and courageous most small business owners are.  Because of this observation, it makes me wonder why these business owners won’t take on the challenge of learning some basic technology skills to advance and grow their businesses.
 
The bottom line is that your small business will FAIL if you do not embrace modern business technology.  It doesn’t matter if your business has been around for 20 years and you’ve never relied on anything but “word of mouth”.  The entire landscape of doing business is changing rapidly and it will move on without your business if you do not learn how to utilize technology to your advantage.
 
 
Are you a “I am not a techie” business owner?  Here are some signs.
 
1)  You’ve repeated the phrase “I am not really a technical person” more than 5 times this year.
 
2)  You blame your age constantly for not being on top of business technology.
 
3)  You are constantly seeking help from anyone inside and outside the firm for basic technical assistance.
 
4)  Your children are your technical support.
 
 
I know what you’re thinking.  This post is a bit harsh.  The straight talk is needed.  Keep in mind that I’ve dedicated a big portion of my adult life in the pursuit of advancing small businesses.  Believe it or not, I am trying to help by kicking you in the you-know-what.  Many of you will also believe that this blog is geared towards older business owners.  On the contrary, I’ve found that age has very little to do with this problem.  In fact, according to the latest AARP surveys, one of the fastest growing technology usage groups are people over the age of 55.
 
 
So, how can you fix this problem?  Here are some suggestions.
 
1)  Change your state of mind about technology.  Without this paradigm shift of thinking, you won’t be able to move forward.  Are you the “throw my hands up” type?  If you own a business, I know you’re not.
 
2)  Take the time and put forth the effort to learn basic computer usage skills.  Do you know how to save files, create folders, save photos, cut and paste, install software and etc?
 
3)  Take the time and put forth the effort to learn basic e-mail usage skills.  Do you know how to attach files, create folders, auto-respond, add a signature and etc?
 
4)  Take the time and put forth the effort to learn basic Internet usage skills.  Do you know how to search, add to favorites, organize favorites, download files, shop/buy online and etc?
 
5)  Invest in some resources to train yourself and the staff if need be.  You might even want to consider an in-house one day training for your entire staff.  A full day dedicated to learning and training on how available basic technology can help your business, would that be a good investment?
 
 
If you follow some of my suggestions, you will feel incredibly empowered and a sense of rejuvenation will fill your business.  Take full advantage of ALL that technology has to offer small businesses and be an insider in the 21st Century.  This is my hope.
 
 

SEO: Do it yourself web site copywriting tip.

Posted by John Park on Nov 7th, 2008
2008
Nov 7

seo copywriting

Recently, I heard an interesting comment from a business owner in VA who had just launched a new web site.  He said “This is so frustrating.  I spend all this money and when I type in HOME REMODELING IN VIRGINIA at Google, I don’t come up at all.”

 

That’s when I asked him “Does it say HOME REMODELING IN VIRGINIA anywhere on your web site?”  There was a pause on the phone.  He eventually answered “No, I guess it doesn’t.”  I didn’t need to go any further.  He already knew what I would say.

 

How can Google, Yahoo or MSN find the phrase your prospects are typing in if they do not exist on your web site?  So much of SEO (search engine optimization) relies on common sense.  It is this kind of simple logic that is often abandoned just because it’s the “Internet.”

 

This event gives me a good reason to offer a tangible SEO tactic you can implement yourself.  As a follow-up to my earlier post “SEO is not an event.  It is a strategy“, here is one powerful search engine optimization (SEO) tool you can implement yourself.

 

Writing for a web site is very different than writing for a brochure or some other kind of traditional marketing collateral.  In fact, if you read a well written SEO’ed web site, your initial reaction might be to suggest word changes, omissions and maybe even complete rewrites.

 

( SEO Do It Yourself Tool - Effective SEO Copywriting )

STEP 1:  Identity a list of keywords or phrases you would most likely type in to find your type of business at a search engine.  Create this list and prioritize them in order.  This list should be no longer than 10 keywords or phrases.

 

STEP 2:  As you write copy for your web site, utilize these keywords as much as you can without sounding grammatically incorrect or ridiculous because of overkill.  The artform is writing it in a way so that most readers will not notice your overt SEO attempts.

STEP 3:  As you implement step 2, be sure to prioritize the quantity of use by the prioritizing you completed in Step 1.  For example, you should try and use your top 3 keywords or phrases much more than you would use the last 3 keywords on your list.

 

More to come about SEO in future posts…

If you’re not a subscriber already to Biz Crusader, you can receive my posts via e-mail by clicking here.

 

 

Marketing So Absurd, It Becomes Memorable

Posted by John Park on Oct 27th, 2008
2008
Oct 27

marketingchickenstock

 
Because Halloween is just around the corner, there are some really creative advertisements on TV, Radio and the Internet.  I heard an interesting one on my drive home today.  The ad was promoting chicken stock.  You’re probably thinking “how do you make chicken stock interesting?”  Well, this particular advertiser’s suggestion was to give out chicken stock instead of candy this year for Halloween.  The whole premise was that candy is so “yesterday” and if you really wanted to be cool and be part of the “in-crowd”, you would give out cans of chicken stock to the kids as they enthusiastically say “trick or treat”.
 
As I was listening, I had a grin on my face because I had recognized their strategy.  Now, we all know what would happen if you actually did what they suggest.  You would be removing rotten egg and apple debris from your front door for at least a few days after Halloween.   The marketing angle is so absurd, it becomes memorable.  Of course, they don’t expect for you to actually follow through.  They just wanted you to get a good laugh because it is such a ridiculously absurd idea.  And, if they really get their wish, some people might even blog about it.  Can you imagine if you were given the task of advertising chicken stock?  Well, whoever thought of this angle was up to the challenge and hit it out of the ballpark.
 
Executing this marketing angle is not easy because humor and absurdity has to work well together.  But if you can hit the right note, the advertisement will become incredibly memorable and many people will become your unpaid ambassadors.  And because of this absurd radio ad, I will always know that this place has great chicken stock.
 
If you’ve read more than a few of my posts, you know that I like to point out marketing homeruns whenever I come across them.  The advertiser I am praising is Trader Joe’s, a specialty neighborhood grocery store with 250 locations nationwide.  KUDOS!
 
 

Saying Thank You The Old Fashioned Business Way

Posted by John Park on Oct 15th, 2008
2008
Oct 15

Business Thank You

 
Believe it or not, my little business blog has logged over 18,000 page views and just under 1,000 unique visitors in the first 3 months.  In the big world of the WWW, these stats are not that big of a deal but nevertheless, I am very pleased to see that so many of you are enjoying my posts.  If you’ve read more than a few of my rants, you already know that I have somewhat of an “inner conflict” about technology.  In many cases, use of technology will make your business better but there are times when it will encourage you to abandon the basics.  This post is about one of those times when it can hurt your business.
 
Don’t forget to say Thank You.  If you have kids, this phrase is probably very familiar to you.  I must utter these words at least once a week to our 5 year old.  After saying it again today, I thought it would be a perfect topic for discussion with my business owners.
 
In today’s fast-paced world of the Internet, e-mails and instant everything; many business owners are abandoning traditional business basics.  The bottom line is that it’s just too easy to send an e-mail or leave a VM when more is required.  Saying thanks in a proper way is a basic business etiquette that should be practiced no matter what the circumstances or economic conditions.  The good news is that so few business owners send proper thank yous these days that it will be much easier for your business to stand out above the crowd.  Unfortunately, it has become all too common for customers to spend thousands of dollars and not get so much as a thank you card in the mail.  In most cases, they might not even get an e-mail thank you.
 
 
Saying THANK YOU matters because of a few reasons.
 
1)  You will immediately elevate the positive perception of your business in your prospects’ or customers’ minds.
 
2)  You will immediately separate your business from the competition.  And by doing so, you will give your prospects and your customers a reason to remember you.
 
3)  Give your prospects and customers a positive memorable experience and watch them turn in to your business ambassadors. 
 
4)  Your closing ratios will increase.  Your repeat sales will increase.  Your referral business will increase.
 
 
Times to say THANK YOU via USPS mail
 
1)  After meeting a prospect.
 
2)  Upon securing a sale or contract.
 
3)  When a customer has referred you to someone.
 
4)  Periodically with long term customers.
 
NOTE:  NEVER use form letters.  They are worthless and you might as well not send them.  Handwritten cards and notes are best.
 
 
Like all worthwhile efforts, implementing a proper THANK YOU program for your business will take a commitment by you, the business owner.  As an example, when my sales representatives secured a deal, I would not allow the processing of that order until he or she handed in a hand-written thank you card with the sales order.  It was one way to implement the policy.  Remember, when it comes to these kinds of basic business principles and practices, easier for you does not mean it is better for your business.
 
 

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