How to make your website really work for you

How to make your website really work for you

Dec 7, 2016 | Communication, Small business, Social Media

A friend of mine recently drafted a website for a product he is launching, and asked me to have a look before publishing it. Not a great thing to be doing, as by the time I had finished commenting, he had tuned out. There was just too much bad news.

There are millions of websites out there, so the question  now is not just how to get your website seen by those to whom it is targeted, but how do you then get them to take some sort of action, without which, it all has little point.

A few simple rules

Clarity of purpose. Ensure it is crystal clear what you do, in essence why the site exists. The simpler the better, remove all the detail, all the jargon and fancy words, opting instead for simple statements and graphics that illustrate why you are there.

What problem do you solve. Customers buy solutions to problems, not products. The purchase of everything from the groceries to expensive luxuries are in some way connected to a problem, real or perceived that the customer has. Tell them which one you are solving, how, and why they should buy from you.

They are not interested in you. Almost every site has an ‘About us’ page. It is useful to give some background, demonstration of expertise, and how you care deeply about the ‘bilbies’, but less is more. People are interested in you only to the extent that it confirms their decision to purchase from you. The fact that your grandfather who founded the business was apprentice of the year in 1935 is supremely irrelevant, as are the awards you may have won in 2000.

Demonstrate that your solution works. This can take many forms from testimonials to statistics and demonstrations, but is an important component of building trust and credibility.

Have a designer design. The look of a site says a lot about you, and it is a designers job to interpret the important things visually. The choice of images, layout, use of white space, location of icons of various types are all done better by a pro. It does not have to cost a lot, and most of those who design websites who may be good technically are not necessarily good at visual and creative design. The bit of extra investment is almost always well worth it.

Tell them what to do now. Ask for the action you want a visitor to your site to take. Download something, watch a video, follow a link, whatever it may be, make it clear, easy to do, and ask.

My friend was sorry he asked, but a week or so later, showed me a way better version that will now be published as a part of his product launch in a few months.

Rethinking the 6 challenges of local advertising.

Rethinking the 6 challenges of local advertising.

Sep 5, 2016 | Marketing, Small business

Local businesses only need local advertising.

Right?

Usually.

So the choice is then between local analogue adverting and digital or a mix. How do you make the choices when you are a small local business with a small marketing budget. (The reality is that every business no matter what their size faces the same choices, it is only the scale that differs.)

Local analogue advertising includes everything off line, billboards, local sponsorships, letterbox drops,  and many others. In most cases, digital becomes  a choice between Facebook and Google AdWords . Often I see business owners make a series of compromises that dilute the effectiveness of their efforts by spreading it too far, and further they do not adequately consider the varying strengths and weaknesses of  the platform choices they are making.

Creating a simple framework against which to ‘score’ the alternatives against your   objectives is useful, but there are two critical questions to be answered first:

  • What is  the objective of the marketing spend. Without a clear objective, the rest becomes a potentially costly academic exercise, so lets assume you have that one nailed.
  • Who is my ideal customer. Being able to refine your communication in whatever form it is to attract the people you want to attract is key. No point wasting communication money reaching those who do not want, or cannot afford whatever it is you are selling. In addition  understanding the behaviour so you can refine the channels you use to communicate is a benefit that   is delivered by digital tools, but that knowledge is transferrable to analogue. Recently I saw an ad in a bus on a route in the north shore of Sydney for a specialist self managed superannuation provider. Firstly adverting such a service on a bus is perhaps not the best channel, and secondly the advertiser was located in Stanmore, so any ‘local’ advantage was lost.

Following are 6 simple things to consider that may assist the choices:

Longevity.

The sponsorship of a local sporting team lasts the period of the sponsorship, perhaps longer as the kids wear the jerseys running around the park. A Facebook ad that attracts page likes can be used and reused to the same presumably interested audience,  a Google ad is gone once the budget is spent on clicks, which may be from a potential customer, a competitor consuming your budget, or a bot in the Philippines.

Remarketing.

This has become flavour of the month as digital has made it seemingly easier, by providing tools that do it on autopilot. Google offers remarketing tools that can be remarkably effective, but they can also be remarkably annoying when you are chased around the web after a casual look at a website for any one of a number of reasons not necessarily associated with a purchase. However, it is an old idea, one that effective analogue advertising has been using for  ever, often called ‘leverage’. When you spend some money sponsoring the local kids soccer team, putting your businesses on the back of their jerseys, there is nothing stopping you giving out a voucher to visit your restaurant, shop, or for a discount on your services at the games where the kids are playing, displaying your sponsorship. This is simply leveraging the investment made in the sponsorship, ‘remarketing’ to the digital mavens.

Data.

On line you  can track everything, and generate an explicit ROI on your marketing expenditure, using the numbers to refine and focus the investment. This is way harder to do using analogue media, but there is no reason you would  not be able to track the redemption of the vouchers given out at the match noted above, and steadily refining the offers you made. It is just a bit more work, and nobody ever thinks of doing it. However, the value of  the data generated by digital media is huge, so long as you make the further investment in collecting, analysing, generating the insights, then actually using the insights to direct your efforts. Most local businesses in my experience fall down in this cause and effect chain.

Collaboration.

Local businesses have a significant opportunity to collaborate way more than they do. The dress shop with the shoe shop, real estate agent with the interior decorator, restaurant with local grog shop, the list goes on. Digital media makes this a bit easier, but only a bit, you still have to agree the terms, timing and nature of the offer, and how the costs and benefits are to be shared irrespective of the media.

Generating and using lists.

Analogue channels are not good at inexpensive list building, but it can be done, and has been done forever. However, the building and leveraging of lists, either by email, targeted digital adverting, or indeed  the combination of a list with old fashioned snail mail is a channel  where digital has the goods on analogue. However, many local businesses fail to build lists and the technology to leverage them although now well known and pretty simple eludes many, leaving money on the table.

Attention & impact.

Finally, perhaps the most important parameter  for which it is hard to have some tick on a list, is the impact of your communication. Paying for an ad or offer that is not sufficiently memorable or impactful to generate an action of some sort as a result of the ad is a total waste of money irrespective of the medium. Small businesses do not spend anywhere near enough time, effort or expertise considering this vital element.

When you need a bit of assistance with all this stuff, call someone you trust, and who has the experience, as  the cost will be greatly outweighed by the benefits

 

This post was inspired by another of Hugh McLeod’s insightful cartoons that popped into my inbox, and I used it in the header for this post as well. Thanks Hugh.

8 rules for successful networking

8 rules for successful networking

Sep 2, 2016 | Small business

Networking has become a ‘must-do’ for those in small business. As a group we have bought into the value of networking, being able to meet those with whom you may have something in common on neutral round, have a conversation, build a rapport, and perhaps do some business.

I go to a few groups, and see some consistent mistakes being made.

Never ask for something until you have given first.

To successfully use personal networking as a marketing tool requires that you are prepared to put yourself out for others, to share what you know freely, and be seen to be doing so, otherwise, why should any others do anything for you. You need to put stuff into the bucket before you take anything out. Be generous with your knowledge and time.

It takes time.

Networking is a human activity, being impatient never works, unless you get lucky, and run  into some one who has a problem for which you have a specific solution.

Take the initiative.

Leaving a meeting hoping that your ideal customer that you have just met will call you as you suggested should they ever need you is silly, pick up the phone, connect on LinkedIn, send an email, send them an article, whatever you do, take the initiative somehow.

Do not be a ‘card-ninja’.

As a kid there was a Japanese Samurai show on TV,  (I even remember his name, Shintaro) badly dubbed into English. The playground game of the day was mimicking the throwing of  the star knives the Samurai in the show used to deadly effect. I am often reminded of this when someone I have never met before approaches at a network event, says hi, forces a business card into my hand, and moves of to the next victim. Needless to say, they all get the round file treatment.

Do not ask for referrals too soon.

When I give a referral, implicit in that referral is the assurance that I would do business with the person I am referring should the appropriate circumstances arise. Therefore my credibility is at stake, and so I will be very careful about who I refer, and to whom I refer them. I certainly will not refer someone I do not know well, and in whom I do not have absolute confidence.

Do  not ‘landscape”.

How did you feel when talking to someone who does not look you in the eye, and does not give you their attention? rather they look over your shoulder seeking someone more interesting, obviously seeking to move on? You do  not like it, and you will avoid them in the future, so why do you allow yourself to do it to them?

Be yourself.

Trying to be someone you are not will get you found out very quickly indeed,  and forever labelled as  a fake. Not a useful outcome. Not everybody will like you, relate to you, or even be vaguely interested in what you have too say, so there is no point in wasting time trying to be someone you are not. Humans have a very well developed social instinct, work with it, not against it.

Apply common courtesy .

This is almost a catch-all of the above, but the little things count, such as being punctual, remembering names, welcoming new members, and just simply offering a smile. A member of one group I am in is consistently late. While it is a little thing, him almost always coming in late is disruptive to the meeting flow, and is a poor recommendation of his personal habits, and I would never refer him as a result.

Networking is a powerful and pleasant way for small business owners to not just build revenue, but find others with whom they share common challenges, and learn. However, like any commercial activity, it should be undertaken with due regard to the objectives you have, and the costs involved. perhaps most importantly, the owners of small businesses are usually pretty time poor, so reflecting on the productivity of the time you spend networking will pay off.

The most important question to ask yourself

The most important question to ask yourself

Aug 31, 2016 | Management, Small business

Working with clients to develop a sustainable, robust and commercially viable strategy is usually not just a walk in the park that leverages my 40 years of doing this stuff.

The technique I usually employ in conversation is what I call hindsight planning, a process that develops a picture of what success looks like, then works backwards to examine and understand the drivers of that ‘success’. A common affliction of those in business for themselves is that they have too much to do, and too little time. Finding a way to easily enable them to leverage their time to get the best return possible is a core part of the business improvement process.

During the prioritisation and optimisation process I find myself consistently asking the same question;

‘Why does that matter’

Asking this simple question often serves to stop the flow of words, and brings the conversation back to the things that will really add value, and lead to business success while giving back the owner some of their life.

As a result, it can also be very confronting.

Some time ago I worked with a book-keeper on his sales pitch. He is a bloke who is very good at keeping the books of his range of SME clients, but struggled to get new ones in a pretty competitive market.

The conversation when I asked him how he added value to his clients went something like this;

Him. ‘I make sure all the entries are made, and bank recs are done’

Me. ‘Why does that matter?

Him. ‘So they always have a clear view of their financial position’

Me. ‘Why does that matter?

Him. It removes a source of great worry, and frees up a lot of time

Me. Why does that matter?

Him. It means that my clients have  more time to do things that are important to them

Me. Why does that matter

Him. My clients all want to work to live, to enjoy their lives, but keeping the books is a huge barrier to that outcome.

I ran into him recently, and he has refined his elevator pitch. Even further to: ‘Would more sex be a nice idea…… get your book-keeping  done to free up the time to enjoy your life.

He told me the uptake was ‘enthusiastic’

 

 

Shoe-string marketing for SME’s

Shoe-string marketing for SME’s

Aug 22, 2016 | Marketing, Small business

All small and medium sized businesses struggle with the problem of not enough marketing budget. They have come, or perhaps been led to the conclusion that marketing must be expensive, and often it is,  but a bit of creativity goes a long way.

You do not have to spend a fortune to get a result, but you need to be focussed, disciplined and creative.

Some of the simple things that  every small business should have down pat

Community. Small businesses are local, part of a community, and we are herd animals that like to look after our own, so long as it does not compromise us, so be local, engage in local activities and causes, make a contribution to the social and cultural fabric of your community.

Elevator pitch. It is amazing to me how many people cannot describe the value their businesses  bring to those who do business with them in 30 seconds or less. Taking the time to craft a good elevator pitch is worth every minute.

Be vocal. Many people are uncomfortable being vocal, making speeches and presentations, but they are a great way to build profile, acceptance, and loyalty,  all of which delivers new customers to you. Being controversial can be dangerous, but we all relate to the rebels, those who have the guts and presence to say what they think, and make a noise about it, respectfully and with wit and wisdom, but nevertheless a noise. The added benefit is that when you do it well others pick up on it and spread. Nothing spreads as easily and widely as a good idea.

Collaboration. Scale is power, and can be easily built. Often mutually beneficial collaborations are relatively easily managed on a local level that are challenging on a wider scale, and they offer all sorts of benefits. If you run a fashion retailer, why on earth would you not want to collaborate with the fashion shoe retailer two doors down?

Networking. Networking works, but takes considerable  time and effort, and it not for free. Nobody likes being sold to, and while that may be the objective, going into a networking conversation with the attitude that you need to give before you earn the right to receive is always a good move. Rather than opening a conversation with the usual “What do you do..?” ask instead, ‘how can I help you?’ and see the difference. Networking enables you to build relationships, and trust.The reality is that we do business as far as we can with those we know, like and trust, and that does not happen immediately, it evolves over time based on behavior and performance.

Referrals. When you have someone else recommending you to their networks, it is the most powerful marketing you can do. Therefore not be backward is asking for referrals from those to whom you have given. Usually they will be delighted to repay some of the value you have delivered to them. Referrals however can be complicated. As the number of networking groups has exploded, the value of the referral has diminished, as there is a ‘sort of’ obligation to refer as a part of the network group process. Tied up in the referral is your own credibility. Each time you give one, you should ask yourself, ‘Would I use this person to solve this problem?”  If the answer is anything less than an emphatic ‘Yes” my view is that you should not give the referral as it is a compromise of your own credibility.

Use tools for leverage. All of the above are enabled and enhanced by the digital tools now available, but they are just tools, the principals of marketing have not changed just because someone invested a fancy digital tool. Understand how  the tool is best used, use it yourself, or if your time is better spent elsewhere, and normally it is, find an expert who can maximize the leverage the tools can deliver.

None of this costs much money, but it does take time, commitment, and importantly, a plan that is executed, measured, and improved.

Do not be bamboozled by the notion that marketing is all about branding, it is not.

Building a brand is a key part of marketing success, the foundations of a brand make for marketing success, but the communication  processes to build a brand, which is what everyone thinks about, are nevertheless just a part of the more holistic process of marketing.

 

 

 

9 reasons to be wary of marketing automation

9 reasons to be wary of marketing automation

Aug 16, 2016 | Governance, Marketing, Small business

Marketing automation is the new game in town, it builds leverage onto marketing investments. Absolutely right, and I am a believer. Scott Brinkers amazing work illustrates just how rapidly it is advancing.

Automation delivers the opportunity for huge leverage when used well.  For small and medium enterprises it offers the opportunity to look and act like their much larger competitors, and win by outmanoeuvring them with their inherent agility.

However, there are risks not being talked about very much, if at, all in the rush into the automated tools.

  1. A tool is not a strategy.

There is so much smoke and mirrors and just plain bullshit being sprayed around by the vendors of many tools that the basics risk being ignored. When you need to drive a nail, the tool you need is a hammer, not an all singing, all dancing, multipurpose expandable screwdriver. Digital tools are all driven by algorithms and logical progressions, based on assumptions. Problem arises when the tool does not accommodate the myriad of behavioural realities that occur in the real world. I am seeing automation seen as a strategy way too often, without due consideration of the context in which the tool will be used, and the outcomes that can reasonably be expected.

2. Ownership delivers leverage.

Those who ‘own’ the tool are able to use the output to further their particular perspective. Outcomes predicted by some tool often takes on a credibility greater than it should simply because somebody has done the number crunching through a tool. These things do not think, they do as they are told, so being constructively critical of outcomes that appear at odds with common sense is usually a pretty good practise. The next time I see a course of action that sits uncomfortably with my instincts being pursued just because it appears justified by some algorithm will not be the first. Getting the balance between the wisdom of experience and domain knowledge and the output of some algorithm wrong is akin to letting the kids loose on a 1000cc racing bike. Great for a while, but destined for a nasty prang.

3. The danger of complication.

Steve Jobs has been credited with the words “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’ which is simply an extension of what we have known for ages. Einstein said (amongst many other insightful strategic observations) ‘Everything should be as complicated  as it need to be, and no more’. Automation has within it the opportunity to overcomplicate, when the simple is all that is needed. I still have (SME) clients to whom Excel pivot tables represent automation of their sales analysis, and sometimes that is all that is needed. Setting out to implement a ‘marketing stack’ in this sort of environment, with this existing level of digital sophistication will only lead to tears.

4. Business is not absolute.

The formulas in a tool are absolute, they do exactly as they are told. As noted, business is not absolute, there are multiple shades of grey all over the place, often confusing and conflicting. Digital algorithms are yet to be able to learn and apply the judgements born of that learning to a situation facing them, and indeed, in analysing adequately the situation confronted.

5. Marketing ROI.

Marketing has long suffered from the accusation, that it is all smoke and mirrors, supposition and judgement along with the long lunches, and too often the accusations have had some merit. “Where are the numbers?’ is a pretty common question when marketing is chasing its slice of the available resource pie, and in their absence, Marketing is the first to be cut in a squeeze. Now there are tools that supposedly, and in fact do deliver an ability to do reliable calculations, they are often grasped like a drowning man will grasp anything that floats by. Pity an attractive lead weight can be tarted up to look like a life jacket.

6. Financial ROI.

Implementation of marketing technology is no cheap exercise, as anyone who has had anything to do with this stuff will attest. The cost of the software is only the beginning, and the time taken to project completion usually confounds even the most pessimistic forecasts made in the blush of the original ‘let’s do it’ decision. In many instances I have seen, taking some of the money thrown away in marketing automation, and putting it against genuine customer oriented activities would generate a far superior ROI.

7. Automation for its own sake.

Automating a crap process just leaves you with automated crap. One of the most common mistakes I see is believing that an implementation will solve a problem, when in my experience, automation just makes an existing problem worse, harder to find, and more expensive to fix. Never automate until the existing processes are working seamlessly, or alternatively, when you automate, throw all existing processes out the window, and start with a completely fresh page. The danger here is that without a rigorous outside intervention those that allowed the former processes to resemble a dog-pile will be the ones writing the new routines. Usually not sensible.

8. Automation is different to decision making.

Automating can deliver information that provides the data required to make informed decisions, but cannot in itself make decisions that require judgement. At best an automated decision tree can be an ‘if that then this’ logic sequence. If ever you needed convincing of this; just look at the May 2010 ‘Flash Crash‘ of the Dow Jones. The decisions surrounding resource allocation are challenging, requiring a multidimensional view of the options that balance the relative outcomes, risks and rewards.

9. It all becomes too easy.

Let’s face it, life is really busy and stressful, so when there is an answer provided that has corporate  credibility, the easy way is to go along with it, not rock the boat, and often not run the gauntlet of questioning the status quo.

 

My thanks to Tom Fishburne for the header cartoon. You continue to demonstrate the power of the cartoon to make a serious point.