Business Development 2.0
CEO Best Practices
Too Many To Handle
Jun 16th
Sometimes it feels like there are simply too many people doing what you do, and many have been doing it longer and (possibly) better than you are.
Pluggio, one of the tools that we utilize for social media, has a “friend suggestions” feature that will provide potential people to follow based on keywords, location, etc. I noticed today as I was perusing my suggestions that there are an awful lot of “consultants,” and “social media enthusiasts” marketing themselves on Twitter. Honestly, it’s a bit overbearing to see just how many people there are in the same markets as Smeester & Associates.
I got to thinking… One of Seth Godin’s books, Purple Cow, explores the analogy to being on a road trip and seeing countless cows, but if you were to see a purple cow you would probably stop and take a picture. Today it is so very clear to me what being a purple cow means.
Regardless of what your business is, there is somebody else out there offering something similar and/or competitive. So how do we combat this? The answer is very simply in being authentic and unique. No matter how special we are, it is important to constantly revisit the concept of being that purple cow and standing out from our peers and competitors. The most successful businesses and business people are usually ‘crushing it’ by embracing their niche and working hard to articulate the invaluable traits that make them and their products so unique from the rest.
Many people might be intimidated, sad, or disheartened when faced with the realization of how much competition there really is out there. But, true success will follow those that take the revelation and use that to focus, energize, and drive their professional position. The most important thing to remember is sticking with your goals and dreams; good things will come to those that work hard and maintain persistence.
Smeester & Associates helps businesses rediscover what makes them professionally purple. Contact us for more information.
Fish Tacos and Social Media
Jun 2nd
While enjoying some delicious fish tacos (arguably the most genius dish ever created), I saw the table centerpiece advertising a Facebook fan page, and I knew that I needed to write about it today.
After a Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce group meeting today, Scott and I spotted a Wahoo’s Fish Taco restaurant right by where we had parked. We added a few quarters to the meter and I offered to treat my good friend to a little piece of flavor heaven. We ordered our tacos (also had a charming short conversation with the cash register operator), and waited for them to be brought to our table. As we sat down I immediately noticed the displayed information standing in the center of the table, it read “FREE STUFF FOR FACEBOOK FANS.”
As soon as we got back to the office I looked them up on Facebook; I was happy with what I found. I thought to myself, this company is really “getting it”. The Facebook fan page had exclusive offers (out of day mother’s day coupon), Colorado locations, menus, summer food suggestions, catering information, and more!
Businesses that use social media can take a page out of Wahoo’s Fish Tacos’ book when it comes to Facebook. Sure, I would like to see some more social media (they could benefit from YouTube like their parent site), but all-in-all they are positioning themselves well to start crushing it even more. Above all they seem to realize the how-to and the why of leveraging social media right now. Good work!
Smeester & Associates offers professional solutions for businesses to engage in using and leveraging social media. Contact us for more information about understanding social media and how it can benefit your business.
Social Media Marketing 101: Setting Social Media Goals (part 2: Creating Goals)
May 13th
After critically assessing specific questions regarding social media goals, it is time to take action and actually create them.
Creating tangible and realistic marketing goals can sometimes be difficult for businesses due to the nature of marketing, however this is an important step along the process of promoting your professional brand and (ultimately) closing sales. Here are a few examples of appropriate and manageable goals that can and should be a part of your social media marketing goals:
Increased Sales
- For business owners this is the number 1 goal for most endeavors. Higher sales results in more money, and despite the best intentions money is important and provides more opportunities to do more business. Digital marketing is valuable to businesses because it is so easy to monitor demographics relating to your business. Using social media is a great and (often) low cost way to market which should result in higher sales. Through social media marketing companies can promote products, services, discounts, deals, and more.
Increased Traffic
- Digital commerce flourishes based on traffic. Social media provides a strong outlet to drive traffic of relative and pertinent potential customers. Quality content, great products, positive experiences, and more all play into the numbers game of converting online traffic into sales. Increasing traffic to your company website should be a goal because better traffic simply results in higher conversions.
Increased Awareness
- Brand recognition is one of the most important pieces in business, and it always has been. With brand recognition comes customer loyalty, and in the on-line world that we live in being recognized as a credible and rational source is a powerful tool. Brand recognition and digital identity are developed through creating strong and credible content; when people begin to recognize you and your company as top sources of information or quality product producers, sales increase.
Higher Search Rankings
- With an ever-increasing amount of websites offering products and services that may be similar to what your business produces, it’s often a mystery of how people will actually be able to find your company website. Social media is currently the most effective way to affect the variables in search engine algorithms. Using social media expands your “digital real estate” which broadens the net to catch potential customers.
Monitoring “The Conversation”
- Social media allows different interactive tools and applications to keep an eye out for what people are saying. Companies can watch what customers are saying about products and services; companies can monitor relative conversations about relative topics to their brand and products. Setting this as a goal allows for tracking the interactions that you have regarding conversations that are happening in real time about content that your company and expertise may assist.
Getting started in the world of social media can seem intimidating, but articulating the desired outcomes of your marketing strategy will assist in determining which social media vehicles are right for your business.
Smeester & Associates offers several solutions for social media marketing, including creating a social media marketing strategy. Contact us for more information.
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Social Media Marketing 101: Setting Social Media Goals (part 1: Asking Questions)
May 12th
“Everybody says that my business needs to use social media, but I don’t know where to start…”
Setting goals should be the cornerstone of any marketing campaign. Marketing goals help us to articulate why to use specific tools, who is the target market, and how to reach specific markets while promoting a message. Social media should not take the place of traditional marketing campaigns, but should definitely be included as a piece of the greater puzzle. For people new to social media, the first step of setting social media goals is asking questions; through appropriate questions you can develop campaigns to market your business and your message.
If you plan on developing a social media strategy, take a few minutes to articulate answers to the following questions:
Basic:
- What message do I want to promote?
- Who do I want to reach with my content?
- What do I want to be known for/as?
- How is the competition marketing (is it effective)?
- How are clients and potential clients finding my business now?
Advanced:
- What is my “brand awareness” right now?
- How is my digital reputation (if it exists at all)?
- What kind of services/tools does my specific audience use?
- What do I have in common with my specific and targeted audience?
- Is my brand/business currently being talked about? How so?
Hard:
- What objectives are relative and pertinent to my marketing campaign?
- What does success look like for your business (in 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year)?
- What will I offer through social media to track and monitor my ROI?
Responses to the above questions, as well as similar questions, should affect how your company leverages social media. New business owners, entrepreneurs, and more would be making a wise choice to critically assess their current situation as well as where they would like to be in specific time increments. Be aware, however, that most “experts” agree that it takes 3-6 months (at least) to develop a strong online presence and begin seeing a return on the investment of time and energy.
Check this article out for more information about developing social media marketing goals (part 2)
Smeester & Associates offers diverse solutions for cultivating your business. Social Media Marketing is only one way that we can assist in the development of businesses. Contact us for more information.
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Social Media Marketing 101: Make The Most of Meetup.com
May 6th
“Ugh. I don’t want to join another online community…”
Hello - My Name Is: SUCCESS
In the age of social media, there are so many options for how people can interact digitally. Sometimes it can be frustrating to determine which web-based services will be right for you and your business with so many possibilities. Without a doubt, Meetup.com is something that everybody can and should use. Meetup is exceptional in the online world because it is absolutely about face to face human interaction and providing a forum for real people to connect.
Here are a few ideas for how to utilize Meetup.com to increase sales and business:
Networking
Do a search for your city (25 mile radius) with the word ‘business.’ If you live in a reasonably populated area, you should be finding at least a few business related groups of actual people (example: 394 groups have tagged themselves with ‘business’ in the Denver, CO area). Use these groups as an opportunity to get to know other business owners, professionals, and people of similar interests in your community.
Even though commerce is becoming increasingly more digital, face to face interaction and business will never go away. Meetup.com provides a new way to connect with other businesses and that, in-and-of-itself, is an incredibly valuable tool.
Sponsoring
With 180,000 “meetups” happening every month, many need places to gather. Businesses that have meeting spaces (offices with conference rooms, restaurants, etc.) would be wise to offer manageably sized groups a place to gather. Restaurants and bars would be especially wise to offer a discount to group members during the time of their meeting. It has been said that 50% of each deal is ‘showing up,’ and this is a fine opportunity to get people to ‘show up’ at your place of business.
Meetup.com does charge to start and maintain a meetup group, but it is under $20.00 a month. Companies would be wise to pick up the bill for a group once in a while in exchange for recognition and promotion. This is a small investment with a great opportunity for some ROI.
Community Involvement
Several of the available groups focus around community service, spirituality, and other non-business topics. Any good PR person knows that active involvement with the greater community is an important part of business and recognition. Selecting one or more group that focuses on other things than business is a good move to develop personally and ‘get your name out’.
Shameless Self-promotion
If your business is B2C, then it you should be looking for groups in a related focus to your product. This may take some creativity, but it is an awesome idea. Here are a few examples:
- Carpet cleaning companies should look at pet owner groups.
- Companies that sell fabric, sewing supplies, arts and crafts stuff, etc. should be looking at craft-centric groups like quilting, painting, artisans, etc.
- Restaurants would be wise to look at ‘singles’ groups.
Reaching out to groups of people that have relatable business is the first step. Following through, offering discounts, interacting, and promoting are the completion.
Start your own group
For less than $20.00 per month you can start your own group. Meetup.com can work with your Facebook account to promote groups and events; it can also send out emails to your address book. Creating a group would be a wiser choice for people already using the service but are not finding their specific audience or niche.
Read more information about Meetup.com demographics and how to start using it.
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Social Media Marketing 101: Using HARO For Free PR
May 3rd
Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is definitely my favorite tool on the web right now. It is a free system that provides nearly 200 opportunities each day for free press and public relations. Their slogan is that “Everyone is an expert at something;” this is your opportunity to share that with people.
Help A Reporter Out was created 2007 by Peter Shankman as a Facebook group. Now, the service has nearly 30,000 writers/bloggers/journalists/ etc. submitting about 200 queries each day to over 100,000 sources.
For most users, HARO is an email list subscription that provides 3 emails (morning, afternoon, evening) Monday through Friday. By registering for this service users will get opportunities to respond to REAL journalists and bloggers about their questions, and (hopefully) get chosen as a source for upcoming articles. There are a few simple rules and regulations on using HARO, but they ultimately come down to digital respect and using the site for professional purposes.
HARO queries are (usually) simple and direct; most of which also indicate that responses should be the same. Queries range from broad and general human targets like, “ever been poisoned by a bad burger?” to Very specific niche questions like, “Do You Work for or Know of a Company that has Thinly Veiled Gender Targets?” Each query comes with whom is being targeted and a question to be answered.
In 2009 Wired.com submitted a query to the (then) 80,000 sources; it read, ““How has this service worked for you? I welcome any feedback about how this service has or has not been effective.” In the 5.5 hours between publication and “deadline” the query generated 174 separate responses; 86% responded positively, 11% neutral, and only 3% had negative comments.
If you plan on joining or are already using this service please watch this video from the creator, Peter Shankman about responding to HARO queries. The video provides some clear information about how users should be interacting to maximize the likelihood of generating some serious recognition. HARO responses should be quick, timely, relevant, and accurate as those submitting queries are looking for experts rather than those simply promoting their business.
Using HARO can generate more eyes on your company’s website, establish you as a leading and credible source of information, and promote your personal and professional brand; all of these things increase your possibility to increase your Internet real estate and increase your visibility on the web. The slogan at HARO is that “Everyone is an expert at something,” and this is your opportunity to share that with people that want to promote you.
Social Media Marketing 101: 4 Web Tools That You May Not Have Heard Of, But Should Be Using Now!
Apr 30th
Some days I feel like I might be on social media overload!
I Twitter, I blog, I Facebook, I check LinkedIn, I write a few responses, and then I take a big chunk of my day and dedicate it to learning new systems or mastering the things that I am using on a daily basis. Once in a while I find some seriously useful and awesome tools that make my life easier; I also have found some very cool things that can help any/every business. Though these may not be “new” to some people, they can be powerful resources if used correctly and even veterans may want to consider reconnecting with the services. Also, next week I will put together a how-to guide for utilizing and leveraging each of these.
StumbleUpon
Most people are familiar with Pandora.com (internet radio) – a service that plays music based on user feedback (thumbs up vs. thumbs down). StumbleUpon works the same way for internet browsing; users choose from a list of topics that they find interesting and StumbleUpon will direct “stumblers” based on what other users have “liked”. Once “likes” have been established, users can “stumble” by using the installed toolbar at the top of their browser. StumbleUpon will also interact with Facebook accounts (not automated – users must activate this feature) to allow “subscribing” to other stumblers that you know; subscribing to other users increases the frequency in which you “stumble” onto sites that they specifically have liked.
I firmly believe that social bookmarking will grow substantially in the next year as one of the most valuable pieces of the social media puzzle. I have seen this service (used correctly and deliberately) create a 2,700% spike in digital traffic in just one day – which resulted in a steady and consistent growth in daily website visitors.
HARO (Help A Reporter Out)
HARO began as a Facebook group that grew quickly. It is now an independent website connecting REAL authors and journalists to credible “experts” in specific topics. Basically, it was designed to help promote FREE public relations and provide new resources for professional writers. HARO is also still developing and evolving; in the future it will offer even more specified topic lists, a database of published articles linking sources to writers, and more.
Registering for this service as a source of information will generate three custom emails per day with lists of topics to be responded to. Professionals in any field would be absurd not to register for this and start responding to topics relative to their niche. The service currently (4/30/10) has nearly 30,000 authors submitting queries and looking for new sources. HARO can be powerful way to organically drive traffic to your site of interested potential clients and customers – get on this NOW!
Meetup
Many people may argue that business is losing the face-to-face human interaction element as we plow through the web 2.0 era; Meetup.com effectively combats this issue. This service is designed to promote human interaction through live groups in your community. Meetup has over 6 million users in 45,000 cities, and it promotes over 180,000 meetings every month spanning 28,000 topics.
Meetup allows visitors and users to search for groups of people based on topics of interests and/or city (zip code). For example: Searching for Business in Denver yields 390 active groups meeting within 25 miles of Denver, CO. Search results also clearly articulate how many members are in the group, where/when the group meets, and what topics are actively being discussed.
Becoming a member is FREE, so users can search, find, and engage peers in their interests at no cost. However, creating and hosting a group comes with a very reasonable price tag, but it is well-worth the investment.
Pluggio
Most “experts” on the topic of Twitter agree that keeping a steady stream of valuable information is a good practice for businesses that use Twitter. Pluggio is a (paid) service that allows direct linking between RSS feeds and your Twitter stream – it also allows you to manage (and “kind of” automate this interaction). Users can direct several RSS feeds into this service, schedule when to forward articles and blogs into their twitter account, and customize these tweets. Basically, it takes a (usually) three-step process and shortens it to one. It does not violate twitter TOS because users must find articles, select them, and manually click them into the “queue” of tweets. Users can even manage how often and between what hours tweets go out.
Pluggio is very simple and very useful. I recommend personalizing the blogs and articles you are promoting, as it is very easy to seem like a “bot.” Simple notes at the beginning of a tweet that indicate the value of the article to you and/or why it was put into the stream will make a world of difference. Also note that this is not to replace working on twitter to maintain interactions with followers.
Smeester & Associates offers solutions to educate and empower businesses to utilize and leverage social media; we also offer social media management for companies. Contact us for more information.Common Problems with Sales Teams
Apr 29th
If you knew what was wrong, would you
be able to fix it? I’ll bet YOU can!
True of False…
- Your salespeople are capable of selling our products/services at higher margins.
- Not sure how to get my salespeople to sell at higher margins.
- Not doing a good job of competing against the industry giants.
- Not consistently hiring salespeople that can (and will) sell.
- Salespeople aren’t doing the necessary activities to succeed.
- A low percentage of hires actually become sales stars.
- I don’t really have a consistent methodology of recruiting.
- My salespeople don’t close enough business to justify their base salary.
- If my top salesperson resigned, not sure how to replace him/her.
- I don’t know how much it costs to keep non-producers on staff.
- Not sure the cost of hiring a salesperson and getting them up to speed.
- Don’t know how much ex-non-producers are devaluing my company.
- Don’t know how much it costs for each sales call.
- Don’t know each salesperson’s individual weakness.
- Not getting enough quality leads to my salespeople.
- If I had a 90% chance of hiring a star, I would do it.
- No using social networking to benefit my company.
- Our salespeople “wing” it, not following a consistent, reliable sales system.
Smeester & Associates specializes in recruiting and hiring sales teams. For help with your sales team expansion and/or performance issues, contact us.
