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.

6 strategies to build a brand on a shoestring

6 strategies to build a brand on a shoestring

Aug 15, 2016 | Branding, Small business

Small businesses everywhere suffer from the unequal access to the marketing funding they have compared to their larger competitors. Some complain about it, others get on and short circuit the system by turning it on its head.

Large companies overrun  with so called marketers do things in a pretty standard sequence.

Advertise to build awareness,

Generate some customer trial,

Build on trial for repeat purchase.

Small businesses need to find a way to get people to trial their product without all the mass advertising, they need to be able to target their ideal customer specifically, without the investment of mass media, and these days, paid social media which has replaced much of the mass media, but still needs to be managed.

Following are 5 strategies that have worked for my clients, often in tandem.

Sampling. 

If for example, you run a restaurant, stand outside at lunchtime and give samples of your signature dish to passers  by who match the profile of your ideal customer. Don’t waste money on advertising in the local paper, or sponsoring the local footie team (although that may be a good thing to do for other reasons)

Amazon allows you to sample the books on their lists in a number of ways. You can look inside most books, typically you are shown the contents page and often the first chapter. Sometimes you can download a sample chapter, and from time to time there are deals for a limited time on one book in a series, and of course there are the recommendations tailored on your search and purchase history, and reader reviews. All sampling.

Meadow Lea, a brand icon built through the late 70’s and into the eighties had a hugely effective media persona, ‘You ought to be congratulated’, but was supported with an extensive program of sampling in supermarkets that continued for   many years. Getting consumers to sample the product on a bit of bread in store, where the purchases are made was a hugely effective, but low key, slow burn, strategy

Identify your ideal customer.

Identify the most profitable market, by identifying your ideal customer, not just the ones who say they like you, but those who put their money where their mouth is. It amazes me how often a target market turns out to be other than the most profitable market when you do some data digging.

If you are an architect, the most profitable market is unlikely to be first home  buyers, far more likely to be successful 40 plus professionals. They might be harder to find, and sell, but way more likely to be able to spend the necessary money to get what they want.

Differentiate yourself.

Create some sort of differentiation that has some emotional component, so it is likely to be something personal.

I drive an old Mercedes, love it to bits. Whenever it gets a service, the car comes back cleaned, not something I ask for or pay for, (at least not directly) but very nice. Last time I picked it up after a service, there was also a matchbox car of the same model as mine, and a note “for your new grandson” on the passenger seat. In casual conversation when I dropped the car off, I had shown a picture of my new grandson. Think anyone else would ever get to service my Merc?, probably cost them 10 bucks for the toy to ensure I never went anywhere else.

Use direct response techniques.

Direct response advertising provides a huge portfolio of ideas and techniques to learn from, and from long experience, we know direct response works. Even after social media has destroyed much of the advertising industry as we knew it a few years ago, direct response has adapted and thrived. Virtually every offer you receive in your inbox has been crafted with the disciplines of direct response that originated and were refined in the back half of the 20th century. Always have a call to action in an ad, an email, or piece of copy if the reader does not know what to do next, they will wander off.

Direct response advertising is absolutely  and immediately measurable, you know what you get, and can test varying treatments, so being able to calculate an ROI on your investment is now a reality.

Create or highlight a problem, then solve it with your product.

Purchases are made for a reason, and while  the reasons vary from the rational response to a problem, to the emotional solution to an imagined one, the rules are the same. If your product can deliver the solution better  than the alternatives, you will be successful.

Colgate used variations of this technique from the mid 70’s with the Mrs Marsh series of ads, which is to my mind the best example around. However, you do nit need to have Colgate-like budgets to use the same formula. Almost every  ad for weight loss products, gym membership, and a myriad of other things uses the same formula, varied in a range of ways.

Fix your website.

Most businesses these days have websites, and most websites I see are just bloody awful, at least they are if their objective is to build business. If the objective is to stand around and do nothing, then they are fine. There is tonne of advice out there on how to make your site more effective, and this is not about SEO, although that cannot hurt, it is about making the site more ‘sticky’ for when people visit.

There are some pretty simple things that will help add ‘stickyness’:

  • Understand your Bounce Rate. When a visitor to your site fails to move past the first page, it usually indicates that you have failed to engage them, they ‘bounce’. Experiment with differing treatments on your site, noting those that do not work, and ‘doubling down’ on those that do.
  • Ensure there is a prominent headline that leads to an action, top and centre of the page. As  noted above, problem/solution headlines work well in this context
  • Make it clean and uncluttered, so as  not to distract the visitor from the next thing you want them to do
  • Use video. Up till recently, Video was not a common tool, but as site visitors become more fussy and less likely to stay out of curiosity, and video gets better and cheaper, its use has exploded, as have the expectations of visitors.
  • Have social proof prominent, especially video testimonials prominent on the site. People want to be assured by people they can relate to that you are trustworthy, and will treat your money with the same respect they treat theirs.
  • Collect emails and mobile numbers. The old saying, ‘The money is in the list’ still holds, but in these days of mobile, having mobile numbers is becoming increasingly important, SMS messages have an almost 100% open rate, and is remarkably flexible. For example, if you run a restaurant, and have 20 seats available one evening, and you have mobile phone numbers, send out an SMS offering a bottle of champers with dinner as an offer to fill the seats, tonight. It may be that the average revenue on a table is $150, with marginal costs only for the food of perhaps $25, and you have just given away $20 to get the seat filled. Seems like a good deal, and the those who get the champers will be pleased, and talk about your restaurant.

Finally, and importantly, get stuff done. So often I see the results of procrastination, and self doubt, don’t let it hamstring you, and if you need a nudge, call me.

4 simple measures of Digital Marketing Effectiveness for small business

4 simple measures of Digital Marketing Effectiveness for small business

Aug 4, 2016 | Marketing, Small business

Marketing has always been a bit like juggling. Lots of balls in the air, and everything seems fine until… it isn’t.

Digital has just added significant complication, try juggling on a unicycle.

Many small businesses shy away from measuring the effectiveness of their digital marketing investments, to hard, too small to be bothered, no time. I have heard all the excuses.

Too often they do not even see their marketing expenditure  as investments, they are just table stakes, one of the costs of doing business.

Digital enables measurement of marketing effectiveness as never before.

Why should small businesses miss out? Indeed, their agility is the source of their greatest advantage over their larger rivals, as they can make decisions quickly and act on them immediately, usually before their bigger rivals have finished the first meeting to discuss the situation.

Too often the ease of measurement, lack of real understanding of what the measures mean, and easy availability of pro forma “vanity measures” such as “likes” substitute for meaningful measures that guide decision making and shine a light in the digital corners.

Digital has many paths, many options, and layers, but the common factor in all of it should be the presence of a functional and well maintained website as a focal point of activity.

It makes sense therefore to have a few simple measures of the effectiveness of that focal point.

Following are 4 that I have used effectively for clients

Registration.  It has become common practise to seek email addresses in return for some item of value. In effect this is registration. The registrant is offering you the permission and  opportunity to market to them. The simple measure is the number of visitors divided by the number of registrations. It is in effect the first step in the development of a process that can lead to a transaction, and we have all heard the cliché ‘The money is in the list’.

Activation. This can come in many forms, and is often driven by the reason for registration. For example, how many of those who register for a webinar actually turn up and listen too the whole session. Again this is easily calculated as registrations divided by the activation activity.

Retention. Once activated, how many are retained? In other words, they become active participants in the activities you have on offer. This may be purchasing after a webinar and returning for a further stage, perhaps just turning up for the next webinar, but at some point there needs to be a transaction, often offline.

Referral. How often does an active and retained customer refer others to you? We all understand the most successful marketing tool is a satisfied customer motivated to refer their networks to a product or service. This being the case, measure it.