Small business marketing toolbox

Michael Port on the Coaching Excellence Series

2008-06-13T21:22:00Z

Make sure to tune into the June Session of the Duct Tape Marketing Coaching Excellence Series.

My guest will by Michael Port, fabulous speaker and author of Book Yourself Solid and Beyond Booked Solid. I think the thing I love so much about Michael’s work is that he not only helps people focus on getting more business, he does it a way that also helps them focus on getting more life, flow and balance.

Come hear me interview him live - Tuesday June 17th at 2pm CDT - enroll here

The Best Way to Start Blogging

2008-06-04T20:26:00Z

Since you’re reading this on a blog, you may not be the exact target I have in mind for this message so, feel free to pass it along to someone you know who might need to hear it. I’ve been on a speaking and workshop binge this past 60 days and I am still finding the need to evangelize blogging as a small business marketing tool.

One of the most common questions I receive is “how do I get started blogging?” Some might find it a bit odd that I suggest a three step approach and the first two steps don’t have much to do with directly working on your own blog. No, I think you get started blogging by working on your blogging mindset and blogging presence. So, here’s my 3-step blogging start-up plan.

1) Monitor - Spend a couple hours one day finding blogs in your industry, competitors, journalists who cover your industry and other related and relevant content. You can find them by cruising Bloglines, Ask.com, Google Blogs or Blog Pulse. Figure out how to subscribe to some of them using an RSS readers such as Bloglines or Google Reader and then start reading or scaning them on a daily basis. This is a great way to learn how to blog and how to develop your unique niche or voice

2) Participate - Start leaving relevant comments on your list of blogs above. Relevant, not spam - don’t put links to your site in your comments, just make very smart conversation - it’s okay to disagree with the point being made by the blogger, just don’t be a tool about it. (Many blogs publish an RSS feed for comments too so you can add these to your RSS reader and know when a comment stream gets pretty hot and jump in.)

3) Blog - Okay grasshopper now and only now should you start blogging. Here is where I would recommend you take a good hard look at WordPress. I know that there are lots of other options such as TypePad, Blogger and even Wordpress.com, but I’m going to push you toward one way that I know works on all the levels you want to blog for.

Small Business Blog Contest from HP

2008-02-27T12:00:00Z

HP ran a little blog contest on its SMB Community Wiki and let readers pick the top their favorite blog posts arranged in the categories of marketing, entrepreneurship, innovation and management, and productivity.

After the votes were tallied the top three posts were chosen and presented as an ebook on the site. You can download all four ebooks free of charge. They also put together some very nice Powerpoint templates and made them available for you to create your own ebooks.

I’ve written about the idea of repackaging your content before and downloadable ebooks, created from a collection of previously published articles or blogs posts, is a great example of this in action.

The Microsoft Small Business Summit

2008-01-25T15:33:00Z

Mark your calendar. Entering its third year, the Microsoft Small Business Summit, a nationwide, online event that runs for four days is coming. This year it runs from March 24 through March 27. Summit registrants can participate online from home or office.

I have been asked to kick the summit off with a session on small business marketing so I hope that lots of Duct Tape Marketing readers will be joining me live online on March 24th at 9am PDT!

The summit offers advice from entrepreneurial peers and small business experts on topics ranging from sales, marketing, productivity, mobility, security, financial management and startups.

Over the four days, a variety of panelists will speak, including Cheryl Broussard, financial advisor and author of Sister CEO; Duct Tape Marketing’s John Jantsch; Louis Barajas, author of Latino Journey to Financial Greatness and Small Business, Big Life.

The summit is free and registration is open now. Make sure to register even if you can’t make the live events as you will get access to the archived recordings months after the event.

Audio interviews with expert authors

2007-12-13T14:41:00Z

As part of an ongoing monthly series sponsored by the Duct Tape Marketing Coach network I have been conducting some fascinating interviews.

I started off with Guy Kawasaki talking about how and why he created Truemors, talked Search with John Battelle and Awakening the Entrepreneur Within recently with Michael Gerber.

The interviews, each containing their own great stuff, can be found on the Coaching Excellence Series page. Go have a listen and enroll in the series so you will hear about future live sessions with the likes of Tim Ferriss, 4-hour Workweek and David Allen, Getting Things Done.

2008 - the year of the personalized social business network

2007-12-13T14:38:00Z

Look, I don’t really think that the mySpaces and Facebooks of the world are that important for the typical small business as they stand today. There may be very practical business reasons for some to actually use these and other social networks, like LinkedIn, for business gain, but most people that have jumped on the social network bandwagon have found themselves left with a “is this all there is” kind of feeling.

To those I say this, the value of the current public social networks for business folks is not what you can get out of them for gain today, but what you can learn by using them for practical gain tomorrow. That’s why SpacebookedIn makes sense for you now

The Facebooks of the world are busy teaching millions and millions of business folks how social networks work, how social networking works, how shared applications can be viral and ever-present. The real payoff in my opinion is that the wave to come after the Facebook bubble bursts is the “personalized business network.” Once everyone of your customers and prospects knows how to use what are easily replicatable social networking tools, like building profiles, sharing video and connecting based on mutual interests, your job of building your own social business network around your own very specific community of niche will get a whole lot easier.

2008 will be the year of the personalized social business network - that’s my prediction!

Think of mySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook as your labs - get in there and experiment for the future. then start planning your own personalized social business network.

Don't lose your prospects as hello

2007-12-02T15:23:00Z

No one likes to be sold, but everyone likes to buy. Most of what passes for marketing materials and copy is doomed from that start - it loses the interest of the prospect at “hello - I’m hear to sell you something.”

Your marketing materials should be designed in such a way that your prospects are guided logically along a path of education, trust building and relationship development.

In the beginning your prospects believe that your firm is pretty much like any other firm that does what you do. And, on the surface they are right. If you are an electrical contractor, you probably do wire a ceiling fan the same way every other electrician does. The difference though is in the way you provide the service, the way you clean up after the project, the way you communicate, your professionalism, your training, your 27-point safety checklist, and your personal story.

That’s the stuff they need to hear about. That’s the stuff that will make them say, “This is someone I can trust to come into my home, this is someone I would refer to a friend.” Don’t turn your prospect off right from the beginning with the typical sales copy.

I have created a new small business marketing product that addresses this very topic. The program is called Magnificent Marketing Materials. Have a look.

SCORE some help from these counselors

2007-12-02T15:21:00Z

I had a chance to visit with Ken Yancey, CEO of SCORE for this episode of the the Duct Tape Marketing podcast.

SCORE is an underutilized resource for small business owners who are just starting and want to get some help from a season, often retired, business owner or executive. And did I mention it’s free!

What is/Who is SCORE? From the website

SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

SCORE has 389 chapters in locations throughout the United States and its territories, with 10,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors. SCORE was founded in 1964.

The thing that many small business owners may not know however is that you can find a local chapter and work with a local counselor or you can get matched up to a counselor, nationwide, that may have the exact experience you are looking for. The first step is to locate a local chapter and then dig in and find out all the ways they can help you start and grow your business.

On a related note, SCORE recently partnered with OPEN from American Express to create the “Small Business Speed Coaching Test Drive,” a multi-city seminar tour designed to support small business growth and trigger success through complimentary educational and mentorship programs. The first event, held Nov 8th in Orlando sold out. Future events are planned for Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta and Chicago. Details are forthcoming here

Pre-Write Your Email Responses

2007-12-02T15:19:00Z

Email is awfully invasive, no way around it these days, but it’s also awfully effective for all types of communication and response.

One of the ways that I’ve found to get a little bit of control over the beast, while also making sure that my responses are well crafted, is to pre-write email responses to many of the common requests I receive. The idea here is to write emails that contain powerful marketing messages while you have the time and mindset to do so and not in a quick response. These types of marketing messages can allow you to send consistently well-written messages without the temptation to drop in to shorthand. (nbd;) is only acceptable if you are a teenager marketing to another teenager.)

Product or service information
Guarantee and warranty information
Sales terms and pricing
Special offers and bonus offerings
Glad to meet you at the networking event
I would like to introduce you to a strategic partner
Please consider a joint venture
I’m looking for one more great salesperson

The list could go on and on dependent upon the types of emails you write most often.(I get asked for certain links to resources all the time, so I automate those replies.) There are lots of options for autoresponder types of campaigns that send out emails in response to a question, but in this case, I’m talking about more of the 1-to-1 communication that you do all day long. These emails are not robotic cut and paste marketing messages as much as they are meant to be templates that you can start with knowing that you have a well-written message that only needs a little tweak here and there to personalize and send.

I use a little scripting automation program called Quickeys to program pre-written text into key combination shortcuts - so my “thanks for doing so and so” email is completed in response to ctrl+d or some combination of shortcuts you assign. There is a Mac and PC version available.

Marketing isn't just for customers

2007-10-26T10:35:00Z

Let’s face it, the best and brightest aren’t as a attracted to companies they have never heard of, that don’t have buzz and that don’t seem to have a clear mission or passion for serving a narrowly defined target customer. If you don’t have a strong brand, clear marketing message and active voice in your market you will be left to try to convince people to come to work for you based on price - or in this case salary. Price competition is no fun for customers or employees.

Practicing effective marketing tactics is just as essential for attracting employees as it is for attracting customers.

Consistently communicating a core message that differentiates is essential for attracting strong employees
Publishing marketing materials that educate is essential for attracting strong employees
Effectively creating a web presence is essential for attracting strong employees
Generating favorable media coverage is essential for attracting strong employees
Educating your entire staff on the elements of your marketing plan is essential for attracting strong employees
Constantly reselling your best customers on what a good decision they’ve made to stay loyal is essential for attracting strong employees

So, does any of that sound like effective marketing tactics to you?

Your Marketing Materials Should Educate

2007-08-24T11:39:00Z

I have created a new small business marketing product that addresses this very topic. The program is called Magnificent Marketing Materials. Have a look.

Are You Making What You're Worth?

2007-08-24T11:36:00Z

If you want to achieve any of your goals and finally start making what you are worth then you’ve got to find a way to stop doing $5/hr work. Period.

As you might have suspected, I believe that every business owner’s highest payoff work or best use of time is any amount of time spent doing effective marketing.

Here’s a little math quiz that I suggest you play with to help drive home this point. Figure out how much money you make annually or, better yet, how much you want or need to make annually to achieve your dreams and goals.

Now, divide that number by 2080. (That’s the number you get if you work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year - I know, I know, you work 80 hours a week but just work with me here.)

The answer you get is what I call your PAY or Personal Average Yield. The idea here is to pin down what your work is worth an hour and realize that if you can hire someone to do any of the things you currently spend your time on for less than that number, you can’t afford to do it yourself - did I mention that you could use the spare time to do some marketing.

So let’s run some numbers. Let’s say that you want to make $150,000 per year. Well, using our little formula that means that you need to be doing work that is worth a little over $72/hr - 8 hours a day.

But guess what…we haven’t even factored in any overhead or costs of doing business. That number might really get big if you’ve got those as well.

This is the point at which many people finally come to understand that they are undercharging for their services…but that’s another issue all together.

So I ask you. Is fiddling with the copier, chatting with the mailman, running to the office supply store, making deliveries, or returning meaningless email paying you $72/hr? For that matter, doesn’t mowing your own grass, washing your own car, cleaning your own windows take you away from marketing your business? I know, now I’m asking you to give up most of the fun things you like to do everyday but hey, if you can get the neighbor kid to mow your grass for anything less than $100/hr, therefore giving you 3 hours to write a killer sales letter - it’s probably a steal

Figure out your PAY number, paint it on the wall in your office, and then go about setting up your business in a way that allows you to focus on the only things that can really pay that kind of money: marketing, innovation, and customer service. – cause everything else is just a cost.

HP to Sponsor Conversational Marketing Summit

2007-07-15T11:53:00Z

From the FM Site:

The Program

The Conversational Marketing Summit brings together leaders in conversational media and marketing for a two-day dialog around the issues, lessons, and opportunities of this emerging medium. Speakers will present actual work from the field, including case studies from:

Brands: Absolut, Cisco, GM, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Nike, Symantec, Virgin
Agencies: Anomaly, Butler Shine, Carat, Ogilvy, OMD, McCann, Starcom
Media: AskANinja, BoingBoing, Digg.com, Duct Tape Marketing, TechCrunch

The attention this event has already drawn from corporate heavyweights like HP, Microsoft, WebEx, and Ask.com demonstrates how far Federated Media has come in the interactive advertising world. The line up of speakers is a virtual who’s who in new media including executives from Digg.com, MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo, Six Apart, YouTube, Fox, HP, AOL and, well, you get the picture.

I’ll be there and suggest that anyone who wants drink from the new media fire hose should join this conversation as well. This event will sell out!

Get Your Customers Involved in Your Business

2007-07-05T13:03:00Z

I read somewhere that Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks and Quicken, have a practice they call “follow me homes” that allow them to go into an actual customer’s home and watch them install their software and get it set-up. They find that often, the way they designed a screen or instruction may not be the way a user actually interacts with it.

It’s pretty easy to see how this kind of user testing could be applied to software, but what about your situation?

This kind of testing could be applied to many aspects of a small business but I’m going to coin the term “Build a Biz” for this approach.

Getting a new logo? Let your best customers have a say
Writing a new brochure? Same thing
Web site? Watch over your customer’s shoulder as they surf around
Product/Service design? Before you role something new out get your client’s feedback
Customer service processes? Let your customer help design them

This could make for a very cool annual or semi-annual community building event. Bring a group of your most passionate customers together for an entire day of “build a biz” and have them rotate from workstation to workstation completing a series of tasks. You could build in networking, learning, and socializing throughout.

Every participant will go away feeling great about being a part of the game, you will have learned a tremendous amount about your business, and, if your best clients just happen to be business owners too, you just might want to take your new game of “build a biz” to them and show them how to get better too. Nothing adds value to your business relationships like this kind of community and value building tool.

How would you bring your clients into this game?

A Great Primer on Blogging Best Practices

2007-04-18T11:16:00Z

Mack Collier, a race engine of a blogger, networker, and evangelist, contributed a great article at Marketing Profs titled - Eight Ideas for Revitalizing Your Blog.

Mack shares simple truths about building and feeding a blog audience. The piece should be required reading for any blogger, seasoned or just getting started.

And on that note - a growing number of Duct Tape Marketing Authorized Coaches have started blogs at my nudging. More great marketing resources for small business owners.