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Small Business Success Index 5

Index Score*   Grade
SBSI INDEX 73 C- marginal
Capital Access 67 D+
Marketing & Innovation 65 D
Workforce 76 C
Customer Service 88 B+
Computer Technology 75 C
Compliance 92 A-
*Index score is calculated on a 1-100 scale.
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For Start-up Businesses, CRM Software is Not the Answer

October 9th, 2009 ::

Instead, it is the question.  Small businesses, new businesses, unintentional businesses are still looking for the answers.  When you are still concocting the winning sales strategy, determining the right pricing structure, exploring service channels and developing your company’s voice, you can’t plug a handful of purchased leads into a preexisting  sales pipeline and expect a reliable return.  When your business is growing  1 or 10 or maybe  100 customers at a time, you need to be able to follow each relationship where the customer leads it.  Not where the software dictates it go.

At this stage of the game you need to understand your customers including who they are, why they buy your product, how much they can afford to pay for it, when they like to use it and why they tell their friends about it.  Then you can start determining some sales and marketing strategies.  If you are selling kids clothing online, you might see your mommy customers spreading the word on Twitter. If you are selling live bait to seasonal  tourists, Twitter might not be the way to go . There are no magic growing beans for new businesses.  The fun part is figuring it out as you go.

With this in mind I have a few suggestions for building a small business CRM (customer relationship management) tool  that will grow with your business:

-          Collect as much information as you can about your customers.  At every point of contact reach out to them and be sure to save every nugget of information they are willing to give.  Have an e-mail list sign-up in your retail shop. Keep detailed records of all purchases and decisions behind them (how they found you, what they bought etc).  If they send an e-mail to your support team, add their signature data (phone number, address, company web site etc.) into your CRM as part of the  logging process.

-          Ask for their personal or business web site address.  Or glean it from any e-mail messages sent in to your sales or support teams.

-          Periodically surf the web sites of your best customers and collect any information that might be helpful market research (their business type, location, personal interests, etc.). Save it all in your CRM system so that you will start to notice trends (my 9:00 AM coffee clients are apparently all chess players, all our customers in Australia are service businesses, etc.)

-          If they include any information about social media profiles, capture that in your CRM.  Look for a link to any blogs they contribute to, their Twitter account, their LinkedIn account, etc. You may not be networking in social media, yet, but when you do it will be nice to have some friends there to reach out to. And it is a great way to learn more about the things your customers want you to know about them.

-          Periodically survey your customers or potential customers about your product or service.  Limit the demographic questions to 1 or 2 short questions (i.e., “what type of business”, “annual sales”, “number of customers”, etc.) and have the rest of the questions focus on ways that you can help them (ie feedback on your product, pain points they are experiencing, ideas for new features, etc.).

-          Keep your data clean.  Right now it might be easy to scan an excel spreadsheet and read through the business categories your survey respondents typed in themselves.  But if you make that field a multi-select form (rather than a text field) in your web form then you will be able to more easily spot trends over time as you slice and dice your data with custom reports and graphs.

-          Integrate your CRM with as many of your other applications as possible – with your mobile phone, your e-mail software, your invoicing software, your web forms, your shopping cart software, etc. You do not have time to do double, triple, quintuple entries for your growing network. And it is helpful to know that John Doe bought one of your products, but the real insight comes when you see that he has bought the same product every quarter for 3 years, always pays promptly, has recommended it to his friends on Facebook, always reads your newsletter and rarely needs customer support.

I’m Pamela O’Hara (@pmohara on Twitter) the co-founder and owner of BatchBlue Software, the maker of BatchBook small business CRM product and host of #SBBuzz, a weekly Twitter chat discussing small business technology.  We’ve designed our  CRM product to be as flexible and agile as the entrepreneurial businesses that are using it. We understand the importance of a CRM solution that helps you ask the right questions and manage the answers.

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Posted in Business Development, Entrepreneurs, Marketing, sales process, small business, social media, Technology | 8 Comments »

Eight things to keep in mind on during your project

October 8th, 2009 ::

It’s time for another excited edition of “Mike Dougherty’s Eight Things”. In other posts in this series, I’ve gone over things to have figured out before you meet your designer, things to help you choose your next marketing piece, and things to think about before you start your logo. I’ll get back to other things about different pieces, like websites and such, but for now we’re going to talk about things to keep in mind during the project.

A project is much more than just figuring out what you want and hiring a designer. You have a place, and a job to do, in the project as well. Without any further ado, here are eight things to keep in mind during your project.

  1. Home Runs aren’t common. As a designer, there are reasons we do comps (mock-ups of the possible project design) and ask a lot of questions. It happens, but very rarely, that a designer will nail the exact nuances of a project on the first try. The main reason for that is we, designers, are not mind readers. We’re more like detectives trying to figure out what the final image will be by asking you for your input. We’re more like archeologists of imagination. We keep working till we find that magical, mysterious beast that is your project.
  2. The Milestones of your project. There are steps, in any project, that deliverables and notes are required. Make sure you, and your team if you have one, are keeping on schedule so that when it’s time for your approval, or notes, the window of time for response doesn’t turn into a gaping hole.
  3. Your approval process. It is critical for you to be fully, mentally and physically, present for the approval process. If you sign off on a design know now that you have just completed that portion of the project. Going back to make changes, because you didn’t invest the full amount of time you needed to make it right…is going to cost you time and money. Before you put your pen to paper to approve…see #8 of this list.
  4. That your scope isn’t being “creeped”. You, and your designer, agreed to a list of certain items, and tasks, that would make up this project. Adding things, after the project has been agreed upon and started, will cost you time and money as well. Rather than go on about it here, read my previous post “It’s called a SCOPE of work, you CREEP” here on GrowSmartBusiness.
  5. Your friends won’t live your choices.  I’ve seen, time and time again, people take the comps, the designer gave them to approve, to their friends for feedback. Bottom line, you have to live with this design…not your friends. Very rarely will your friends be brutally honest with you. More often than not they will not want to hurt your feelings. A better source of feedback is your current, or prospective, clients. If you are unsure yourself it might mean that you aren’t happy with the design and can’t articulate why…which is ok, but work with your designer to see what you can do to get you to #8.
  6. The designers’ time is just as valuable as yours. When it comes time to meet with your designer, for the first time or on Milestone steps, make sure you dedicate that time to your designer. They cleared their schedule for you, and your project, the least you could do is do the same. Let the phone go to voicemail or someone else get it. The emails will be there after the meeting to be addressed. And for, Pete’s sake, do not try to close a sale while your designer is present. Yes, all of these things have happened in my presence and I’ve actually had to say, “If this project, and my time, is not important to you…then maybe we should put this on hold”.
  7. If you want to add more…it’s a new project. I know you love your designer and you two have become friends. Or you think you’re designer is such cool frood who knows where his towel is (if you get that reference award yourself 20 geek points…I’m keeping track), but anything beyond what was agreed upon, I hate to say this, is a new project and will add time and money (gee…do I sense a theme) to your project. Take a minute, if you haven’t already, and review the eight things to help you choose your next marketing piece. These could help ensure that you, and your designer, successfully get you to #8.
  8. You have to be happy with the results. This process takes time, but at the end of the day you, the client, ultimately have to be happy with the results. It’s partially your job to make sure you are. You need to be so excited about your marketing piece that you want to tell it to the mountains. If you aren’t, keep working with your designer to get there…as long as it is within the agreed scope of the project of course.I, personally, don’t believe in the “these are your only three choices to pick from” game that some designers play. I know that’s going to make me very unpopular, but ultimately we’re providing a service. IF your designer wants to keep you in a “only three choices” box that only allows you so much room…get a new designer, but know that you have to respect #6 to get to #8.

I want to know if there’s anything you think I’ve missed. Who knows, you could inspire another “Eight Things” list, which you would be credited for.

You can always reach me on Twitter by sending a message to @wickedjava, or on Facebook at facebook.com/mcdougherty.

As always dear reader, thank you for reading and stay wicked.

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Posted in Branding, Marketing, Thought Leadership, Web Design | No Comments »

Eight things to help you choose your next marketing piece

September 17th, 2009 ::

After some exchanges with a few readers of my previous post “Eight Things to Have Figured Out Before You Meet Your Designer”, I’ve been seduced by the list style blog. I know I’ve written that I don’t understand them, but, well, I’ve had a change of heart because they have said it helps them make a bit more sense of the process, something I love.

So with that in mind, I am going to start a periodical series of blogs called “Eight Things”. I am going to try to break down, either, the information you need to know or the steps you should follow to accomplish a task in your marketing goals.

I am going to assume you have your logo, business card, and a basic website, but you’re finding you need to make that next marketing choice. I am going to begin here with “Eight things to help you choose your next marketing piece”.

  1. Do you have a project in mind – Starting a project just for the sake of it is the sure fire way to end up with costly marketing piece lining your closet. Bounce ideas off of a designer, marketer, or someone who can give advice but without being bias. Take their comments as suggestions and not criticism. Sometimes what we think will be great, might only be worthwhile to us.
  2. What can your budget withstand – You’ve read me going over this before. And I’ve been victim of it early on, but make sure this project is not going to break the bank. Unless you are taking an EXTREMELY calculated risk with your finances, don’t create a piece that isn’t going to provide you a good Return On Investment.  I personally feel that you should be able to see a $2 gained for $1 spent for each marketing piece over the course of one year. For example, if your business cards cost $500 and in the course of one year they bring you $1,000 in a sale, or sales, then they are a success.
  3. Who is your intended audience – Marketing skateboarding to the elderly, or happy purple dinosaurs talking about safety to the corporate sales force, may not be the best audiences for these strategies. Know who will get the most value out of your marketing piece and tailor your piece to them. It might reduce the amount of pieces you create, but by focusing on your target you increase your chances of success.
  4. Do you have a plan to measure success –You should be able to track a sale or potential customer touch back to each piece you create. You can drive people to a specific web page, a specific phone number, or ask them to say a certain phrase. While there are some things you can’t measure, there are things you can with simple questions like “How did you hear about this [insert marketing campaign drive from your marketing piece]?” Keep this in the front of your mind as you’re creating your piece.
  5. What is the added incentive to contact you – Is it a discount code, a limited time offer, something for free if purchased, or simple…humor. Don’t forget that sometimes what you give might be a chuckle. Countless times I have been driven to learn more about a company from an entertaining advert, an emotion provoking commercial, or the incentive to get something more than what is being offered. Don’t limit yourself to needing to have more if you can give something of value for free.
  6. When do you plan on rolling this out – Timing can be everything. If you are targeting college students to do something during the school year…reaching them in the summer might not be the best time. Remember that the desire on your end to move NOW could be driven by the possible outcome you see this marketing piece giving you. A little patience could be the difference between success and a closet full of brochures.
  7. Will all of your current pieces have to be updated, even minimally – If you’re budget can’t withstand it, creating a marketing piece that completely redesigns your logo (so it also needs to be redone on your business card, website,etc.) might not be the best strategy. If your marketing piece does require a global marketing piece change, do a limited run of the effort and plan that in. It might mean you do less pieces initially or it might mean a complete re-branding of your company, but that’s up to you.
  8. How are you going to get this piece to the people – This is just as critical a step as any of the ones above and often the one most ignored. You’ve got the design, how your going to measure it, have your plan for when this will go live, but…how is it going to get in the hands of the masses? You need to come up with a plan on how each piece will get in the hands of those who need it. There are tons of ways to get it out there. Just choose one and stick with it until they are all gone.

I hope these eight small nuggets of advice give you some assistance when it comes time to start your next marketing piece. While some of these are assumed to be common knowledge, it’s been proven time and time again that sometimes common knowledge…isn’t so common.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this and see if there is anything you think I missed. You never know, your comments might make it’s way to being one of the “Eight Things” in a future post. Of course credit will be given where it’s due.

You can leave a comment here, reach me on Twitter by sending a message to @wickedjava, or on Facebook at facebook.com/mcdougherty.

As all ways, if you have been reading, thank you and stay wicked.

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Posted in Generational Marketing, Marketing, small business | 9 Comments »

Customer Service Through Marketing

September 15th, 2009 ::

I recently came home from a convention with some of the best, and worst, examples of customer service through marketing I have ever seen.  Let me preface this with the fact that I won’t name names, but I will give examples of both. I also want to clarify what I mean by Customer Service through Marketing, but before that, so we are on the same page, let me explain what Customer Service is as defined by, the great, Wikipedia:

According to Jamier L. Scott. (2002)[1], “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service)

When you provide a marketing piece that requires the user to follow an action, or call out, and somewhere on that marketing piece you provide clear, and helpful, instructions or tips…to me you’ve provided Customer Service through Marketing.

Personally, I believe that your marketing pieces, both physical and digital, have the ability go transcend the elevator speech type format they are traditionally used for.  When those geniuses of marketing decided to turn those pieces into a way to do more for the person holding them then just a sales pitch…they have gold. When they try too hard, and reach for the sun too soon, they end up leaving a bad taste in the potential clients’ mouth that ends up resulting in…well, you know, negative press. And unless you’re all ready a star…bad press is bad press.

So let me get the bad out of the way first. The hotel I was staying at recently touted that they had a fast internet connection in every room. They had signage at the front desk, in the room, when you turned on their TV, and on every marketing piece I got my hands on. After all this I’m seriously excited because, since it’s a hotel, I am expecting an experience greater than I get at home.

Now it doesn’t matter much to me that they didn’t offer wifi, paid or not. It also wasn’t that big of a hassle to reach in the cramped desk drawer push past their additional marketing pieces, and religious paraphernalia, to find the cable to connect my laptop to their…well…router.

Where they earned a Customer Service through Marketing FAIL was in their log in screen to sign up for the internet service. I try to log in and I’m having difficulty because the “Discount Code” they offer me for staying in the room, not that I would actually have access to their internet services outside the room, wasn’t working. Their Sign In screen offered a “Live Chat” service for help. I opened it and typed my concern. What came back was clearly automated. How do I know? After getting frustrated at the clearly pre-scripted as I began to type anything from “How did the chicken cross the road” to “Why can’t you help me” and the response back was “I don’t know the answer to your question. Please retype your inquiry”. The only thing “Live” about it was the human being sitting on my side of the laptop getting ready to rip the Ethernet cord out of the wall and run down the hall screaming to find a local Starbucks (located in their hotel lobby that does offer limited free wifi).

Clearly they assumed an automated FAQ cleverly disguised as a chat feature was more than enough Customer Service, because their front desk was even less help giving me the same responses that the automated prompt gave.

The hero of Customer Service through Marketing ironically the airline I flew home on. This airline was offering new in-flight wifi, at a cost, but they were offering the first use free. I was met at the gate by a young lady wearing a t-shirt with the phrase “Ask me about free wifi on your flight”.

I followed the first activity, in a series, that the airline hoped would enhance the experience enough that I would to engage their product. Their hope paid off, because the attendant informed me about the new service. Once I said I would give it a try, she gave me a card, the size of a business card, which had all the information of the service on one side and the complete instructions, including discount code, which would allow me to use their service on the other.

Once we were in the air, I tested out the service. I was more than impressed to know that their instructions were more than crystal clear. The wifi service even had a chat based Customer Service feature that, surprise, had a human being on the other end. I got all of my questions answered about which flights carried wifi, terms of service, and, since I am not a regular flier, a list of their payment plans which ranged from per flight to monthly basis. Needless to say, but I will be using their service again once I fly out on that airline.

The main reason, if not obvious, that I chose these two to talk about is that they are polar opposite examples, of the same service, of Customer Service through Marketing. One showed that they were only willing to go so far to increase the level of customer satisfaction that their service offers. While the other showed they valued their customer every step of the way.

The question I leave you with is this, dear reader, do each of your marketing pieces increase the level of engagement, and satisfaction, that your customers have with your product, service, or brand? Or are you simply providing just enough information to get by.

As all ways, thank you for reading and stay wicked.

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, Generational Marketing, Marketing, Resources, small business, social media | No Comments »

Eight Things to Have Figured Out Before You Meet Your Designer

September 8th, 2009 ::

I was talking with Steven Fisher about a few projects we’ve been working on.  We realized that most people who start projects haven’t fully planned out what they might need before sitting down with a designer. This, inevitably, ends in the client, the designer, or both frustrated and annoyed with the process/project. This also usually results in the client not jazzed enough about the final product to want to market it effectively or the final product not being the best it could.

Now there are a ton of reasons why this doesn’t happen, but the most consistent, from what I can see, is just lack of education on the process. To elevate that, I’ve come up with the eight things I’ve seen that clients can think about prior to starting a project. Having most of these prepared, or planned for, a client and designer might find that they both get everything they need from the project.

  1. Be realistic about your goals, budget, and intentions BEFORE you get a designer. Just because you “think” you need, or are ready for, a brochure, website, or whatever, doesn’t mean you should just jump in without thought or planning. Just showing up and expecting the designer to have all the answers about your project is a sure fire way to have this fail. As far as your budget…be realistic. Just like the time you are taking away from your clients/projects, they are doing the same. You can’t get a Porsche for the price of a Honda without something wrong with it. You get what you pay for so treat your project as an investment.
  2. Be clear about your ideas UP FRONT in your initial meeting. Before I go into this, let’s start by promising me you will remove the phrase “I don’t know what I want, but I’ll know it when I see it” from your lexicon immediately. If you feel that you are getting talked into, overly pressured by your boss or staff, or see that other people in your industry have the marketing piece and you aren’t sure, or feel it isn’t right for you right now, stop where you are until you know YOU are ready and it makes some amount of sense to YOU. This is your marketing piece after all.If you know you need a marketing piece, but aren’t sure what it will look like…this is the opportunity for your designer to get creative and they love that. But you need to have some idea of what you are looking for, even in the most general sense. The best way to do this is to find some examples of other companies’ materials that you like and bring them to the meeting. This will help give the designer a visual idea of what you are looking for.
  3. Listen to what the designer tells you is, and isn’t, possible based on your goals, budget, and intentions. Unless your designer is as new to the process as you are, which may be cheaper but has major downsides, the designer you higher probably knows more about how to create the best possible outcome for your project. This might mean that your idea doesn’t fit your budget, but there are some creative solutions that designers can bring to the table if you are clear, up front, about what you want to do. Do you see a pattern?
  4. Make sure you understand what you are getting before you sign. I know this might seem like common sense. You’d be surprised how many people agree to a website, brochure, and etc. then realize what they signed up for was either more, or less, than what they needed. Just be sure that when you are ready to get started that you’ve asked all the questions you needed to. That’s your time to make sure you’ve got your I’s dotted and T’s crossed…on more than just paper.
  5. Just because it seems simple…if it’s not in your agreement don’t ask. What may seem like a “simple” change to you could actually be more labor intensive than you think. Often people will ask “That seems pretty easy for you. You can just add it in quickly right?” That, my friends, is the beginnings of scope creep. When you sat down with your designer and went over your contract things should have been pretty specific as to what you’ll get. Anything beyond that is a new project or an addendum. I went over Scope Creep in a previous post, which I encourage you to read, but here is a good question for you.If you go into a grocery store and, as the cashier is ringing up all of your items, you say, “You know it seems pretty easy for you to just add this other item into my bag without paying for it,” what do you think the reaction will be?A better question is, would you accept that from one of your customers?
  6. Be involved in the process from the beginning. All too often a project gets started and the client doesn’t give much focus or attention to it until it get’s close to the end or things are running behind. In those times, clients will really start taking a hard look at what they are getting and want to make changes because they “didn’t notice that before” or “were too busy to give it some thought” (actual things said to me).This is your companies marketing pieces. You need to be invested, from the beginning, so that the project isn’t delayed by changes like this, derailed by an over zealous designer or sales person, and stays on track…before it’s too late. Ask as many questions as you like. This is your time to make sure your marketing pieces turn out the best they can.
  7. Be sure you’re 100% happy before you sign off on the design. Long after the designer is gone, the project is completed, and the last payment clears…you are left with the piece you had designed. If you were negligent on any of the steps above, you probably aren’t too happy with your piece OR you got really lucky and your designer hit a home run without much input, or feedback, from you.If you were, you had every opportunity to walk away from the project, unless you got cramped for time and backed into a corner, because sometimes clients and designers don’t see eye to eye. That’s ok if you don’t. You don’t have to accept the first designer you see because you need something.If you are unhappy with a marketing piece, and you can honestly say you weren’t involved, clear on your intentions, or didn’t understand what was going on from the beginning, let me be blunt and honest, part of that is your fault. Before you fully lay all the blame on the designer, take a look at what you could have done from the beginning and do that next time.

    If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been expressing a great sense of ownership on the clients’ part to this project. This is the marketing piece YOU are paying for after all to market YOUR company. Shouldn’t you want to be involved?

  8. Remember the marketing piece ultimately isn’t about you. Last, but not least, when working with a designer, remember who your target audience is. You aren’t buying your own services so just because you love it…doesn’t mean your clients will. It’s ok to have a different style than your clients, but if you are a Dentist and you love the designs of Horror flick posters…you can see where I’m going with this.Go to your local networking group, current valued customers, or people you explicitly trust to be brutally honest with you, and create your own mini focus group. Share the design with them and get their feedback, but make sure that you aren’t abusing the review time you and the designer agreed upon in the contract. If you do…you can’t blame the designer if the project goes beyond your expected completion date.

The list above is vague enough to fit both print and web based projects. I know, if we put our collective contractor thinking hats on that we could come up with more than eight, but here’s where I ask for your contributions. What other things do you think need to be thought of before you sit down with a designer?

Thank you for reading and, as all ways, stay wicked.

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, Generational Marketing, Marketing, Resources, small business, Web Design | 9 Comments »

Not Everything That Can Be Counted Counts

September 1st, 2009 ::

Albert Einstein was known to keep, and quote, a sign on his wall: “Not everything that counts can be counted; not everything that can be counted counts.”

This got me thinking about the obsessive search for a Return On Investment, or ROI, in Social Media. This is mainly sought after by either people, or companies, wanting a quick fix to their marketing pains or the executives/manager who only know that you should track every marketing initiative to the Nth Degree.

I have watched as social media halted midway are abandoned and social media tools are abandoned, because there hasn’t been the immediate gratification of a high number of a return. I listen as these seekers of the magical silver bullet of marketing success cry when they only have 100 followers on Twitter, 250 Facebook Page fans, and insert a fairly conservative number of followers with a social media tool and this could go on and on. “Our competitors have [insert number far greater] followers on [insert social media tool]” is often the cry. “How are these tools effective if we can’t amass a large number of followers to do our bidding and pass on our one directional message?” Ok, that last one was overly dramatic, but it’s far more an honest question than the ones that are often asked.

Social media tools, and campaigns, take time to grow organically, because what is truly viral is lightning in a bottle. What those of us who use social media tools want is honesty in your intentions of the tools, a conversation, and to grow to trust your message if we have never heard of you before. If we have heard of you, this is your chance to shine and show us that we can/should believe in your product/services/etc. In my previous post “10 Ways To Get More Followers Using Social Media”, I gave some good tips for using social media tools effectively to get results. I invite you to take a minute and read it.

I come back to Einstein’s sign. Ok, maybe you only have a very small number of followers, but I have a question for you. If you’ve gained passionate small group of followers who believe in your message and want to help you get it out…is that less valuable than four times that many people who don’t care nearly as much about your goal/product/message/service/etc.? Using social media tools, you have the ability to grow long term connections that could reap you great rewards down the road, but may take nurturing and patience before you see the results from traditional media.

Now don’t misread what I’m saying. I am in no way saying you should track your social media tools, but I am asking you to be realistic about what you’re seeing. If you find that you are getting quality results out of a low number of followers then you are having thousands of followers who lurk around your blog, facebook, twitter feed, and etc., but never interact with your brand or share your message…why would you ignore these few, but faithful, followers?

It comes down to the age old question, is it quantity over quality?

I would love to hear which it is for you.

Thank you for reading and, as all ways, stay wicked.

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Posted in Customer Service, Entrepreneurs, Generational Marketing, Marketing, Resources, small business, social media, Technology, Thought Leadership | No Comments »

Just take the black eye with a smile…

August 25th, 2009 ::

I just got out of a “social media” round table discussion with several individuals whose companies are still either new to or on the verge of starting with social media. What I found the most interesting was that they were still trying to fit the square peg of traditional marketing into the round hole of social media. Now don’t get me wrong, the two work hand in hand, but you can’t force one to be the other.

Where does getting a black eye come into all of this?

The biggest concern I heard was “If we open our organization up to these tools then we’ll see all the negative things people say about us.”

Well…duh.

I’ve also got some other really bad news for you if that’s your primary concern for not getting involved in social media…people are going to speak negatively about your
company/organization/product/service whether you like it/want them to or not. Social media doesn’t stop that, but gives the world a more transparent environment to air their grievances. I am strictly going to focus on the social media side of things, but I believe this can translate to the real world as well.

You’ll be surprised to know that most people I have talked to who complain on social media do so in hopes that the person/company/service they are complaining about will actually hear them. Imagine what you could do when the biggest advocate of an issue with your service, becomes your biggest advocate to your solution.

How you handle/react to those negative comments, both in the real world and in the realm of social media, will separate you from the others in your industry, and earn some valued respect and appreciation from clients.

Kermit Pattison, over at nytimes.com, put out an article called “Managing an Online Reputation“* in which he goes over some great advice, but I would like to offer a few of my own.

1) P.T Barnum is famously quoted as saying, “You can’t please all the people all the time.” Recognize that no matter what you do you’re going to get bad comments from someone. Probably for reasons well beyond your control, maybe for something you didn’t even realize would be a cause of pain for someone, but it will happen. I believe it is what you do with that information that will set you apart from your competition.

2) Know this isn’t your time to attack back, but your time to listen. If you can source those people/complaints out, source out the reason for their unhappiness, and do your best to resolve it…I believe you are more likely to see an unhappy client/vendor/etc. become someone who looks at your company/services/etc. with a bit more understanding. Just don’t go killing yourself trying to find them. Don’t become so obsessed on trying to find that black eye that you end up giving yourself one by neglecting other areas of your business.

3) Smile. Black eyes hurt, but they aren’t the end of the world. I look at them as learning experiences and sometimes even badges of honor. Don’t live in fear of when or where the black eye is going to come from, but be prepared, when it does, to take it like a champ. Don’t fall back and whine. Get out there and take the next one with an even bigger grin. You are here to server your customers good AND bad. One should not get attention over the other, but one should make you work harder to make sure you/your company/your services are doing everything you can to make sure that misstep won’t happen again.

4) Learn from it damn it! You got the black eye for one reason or another. The worst thing you can do is ignore the reason you got it and act just as surprised the second time around when you get one for the same reason. For Pete’s sake (who says that these days anyway…well…me), take away some knowledge from the experience.

In closing, dear reader, black eyes are going to happen. I’ve had my fair share and probably have more in store in the future.  Some we deserve, some we’re unsure if we earned, and some we know should be someone else’s. In the end, black eyes fade and tomorrow is another day.

Until next time, as always, thank you for reading and stay wicked.

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, Marketing, small business, social media, Web Design | No Comments »

Are Your Marketing Pieces Collecting Dust Or Momentum?

August 20th, 2009 ::

I have to be honest; a pet peeve of mine is walking into someone’s marketing closet and seeing boxes of brochures, t-shirts, and various items of marketing intent collecting in boxes, months, if not years, after they were printed with the intention of promoting the company.

I have seen this scenario happen so often it’s become a mission of mine to be nosey and ask why. Here is just a few of the answers I’ve gotten:

“Well, it cost so much money we only give it out at special occasions. Then we forgot they were there.”

“We figured they’d end up in someone’s trash anyway.”

“What?! Those things? We over ordered.”

“We just made those to shut [insert department] up and they never used them.”

I am honestly floored each time. I want to grab these knuckleheads and ask how their owners of their company feel about them bludgeoning their marketing budget to death with stupidity. If they are the owner I want to smack them with their own ledger.

I am frustrated with the lack of use of these pieces. I am annoyed at the lack of hustle on the part of the company to get these pieces of hard earned marketing dollars in the hands of as many people as possible. I am upset for the loss of marketing dollars that could have gone into something they would have more heart to promote with greater gusto.

I want to rescue these pieces of marketing budget waste discarded to the island of forgotten marketing ideas. They could be in the hands of hopeful clients or advocates for your company instead of in boxes. They could be on display in their front lobby or part of every sales persons pitch. True these pieces could end up in the trashcan at someone else’s shop, but the money has been spent. I’d rather they be somewhere other than the closet of the company that ordered them.

Take stock of your marketing pieces around your office. Does the above describe the state of the marketing pieces in your closet? If so, dust them off, make sure they are relevant, and put them in as many hands as you can. Make it the Fire Sale of your marketing pieces. Everything Must Go.

If your marketing pieces are out of date, or no longer relevant, take them out and give them a proper burial in your trashcan. Always keep one piece for yourself as a reminder of things you’ve done, right and wrong, but it’s time to let those wasted marketing dollars go. It’s also time to look at what was the reason they were created in the fist place.

Before you create your next, what seems like, brilliant marketing piece I want you to think of these questions:

  • Do you honestly intend on putting every single piece of material in the hands of every prospect or client once they are created?
  • Do you know how you are going to make $1 back on ever dollar you spend on your marketing pieces?
  • Why are you creating these marketing pieces to begin with?
  • Do you have the money to waste if you never move a single item?

IF you can answer these questions honestly and with the intent of success then who am I to stop you. What I do want from you is that the minute you open that box of whatever marketing goodness you ordered and PAID FOR that you set the first aside for yourself and then get those pieces out as quickly as possible.

Put them out so many places, and in so many hands, people wonder what is motivating you. After all of your hard work of getting them out the first time you hear “Oh…I saw that [insert location]” I assure you that you will feel proud. Then I fully expect you to take that opportunity and get closer to the sale.

Don’t get me wrong, these pieces are just the gatekeepers for you. They are your little PR machines at work. It will be up to you to leverage their awareness into the next sale, but please, for the love of Pete don’t let these little gems of your marketing budget go to waste in a closet left to be forgotten.

So, dear reader, take stock of your marketing pieces and ask yourself this… are your marketing pieces collecting dust or momentum?

Until next time, as always, thank you for reading and stay wicked.

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, Generational Marketing, Marketing, Resources, small business, Thought Leadership | 1 Comment »

SUCCESS STORY OF THE WEEK: Real Estate Consultant & Realtor Danilo Bogdanovic Relies on Social Media to Market His Business

August 18th, 2009 ::

This is the second in our series of small business Success Stories that we will be featuring weekly leading up to the inaugural GrowSmallBiz Conference on Tuesday, September 29, in Washington, D.C.

Danilo Bogdanovic has been a residential real estate consultant and realtor for over five years. His northern Virginia small business relied solely on word-of-mouth and personal referrals until three years ago, when he first diversified into the world of social media and quickly found cost-effective marketing success online.

According to recent Small Business Success Index findings, technology usage by small businesses is growing despite the recession, and particularly in the area of social media. Over just the past 6 months, the percentage of small businesses using social media has grown from 12% to 17%. Being a relatively early adopter of social media marketing practices has proved vital to Danilo’s real estate business. He estimates that 75% of his current business can be directly or indirectly attributed to his two blogs (LoudounScene.com and LoudounForeclosures.com) and other social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.

According to Danilo, “I started reading real estate blogs in summer of 2006. I realized that real estate marketing strategies and tactics were changing. Consumers want relevant and hyper-local information immediately and they want it easily accessible which to me meant online. Also, consumers wanted transparency and honesty from real estate agents. What better way to meet the demands of consumers than having an online destination where they could quickly and easily find relevant, honest, and easily digestible information about real estate. That’s how I decided to launch LoudounScene.com.”

“I’d already been using social media like Facebook for fun and personal reasons, but in talking with others in the real estate business and watching how businesses in other industries began to leverage these mediums to interact with customers, I knew I had to incorporate these channels into my marketing strategy. I’ve learned a lot…The social media community is very selfless and incredibly good at sharing information and tips with one another. The general mentality is ‘we’re all in this together’. ”

Today, Danilo’s blogs are his primary marketing channel, allowing him to build business relationships with people he would not have had any other opportunity to connect with, providing him with a digital equivalent of “word-of-mouth referrals.” The blogs provide readers with local real estate information and guidance on the purchase/sales process, allowing Danilo to establish and enhance his credibility as a local real estate expert.

In addition to his blogs, Danilo also uses Facebook and Twitter to communicate with fellow real estate professionals, other colleagues and clients, past and current. Twitter also allows him to provide instant updates on properties he is visiting and to highlight great real estate deals. Danilo says he spends a few hours per day on social media efforts, but because he generates so much business through these tools, he is able to cut back on time doing tasks that many other agents do, including broker office functions, Chamber of Commerce meetings, and preparing print ads.

Danilo’s final advice for small business owners who haven’t yet embraced social media: “If you’re nervous, just try it out you’ll be surprised at how others, even your customers will help you figure it out.”

Now tell us your story! As a small business owner, you put your heart and soul into your work, but that effort often goes largely unnoticed. This is your chance to tell everyone about your company and brag about what you have done to make it a success. We will be publishing one story each week leading up to the big event and giving the business owner a free ticket to the GrowSmartBiz Conference on Tuesday, September 29, in Washington, D.C. The next selection will take place on Monday, August 17.

Please submit all entries to growsmartbiz@networksolutions.com by Monday, September 21, 2009. All entries have a 500-word maximum and should include the challenges you have faced, especially given the recent economic downturn, and innovative ways you have overcome them. The earlier you submit an entry, the more opportunities you have to be chosen! All entrants not selected will receive a discounted admission to the GrowSmartBiz Conference.

Disclaimer: All winners will be informed by a Network Solutions representative prior to their story being published on the GrowSmartBiz Blog. Network Solutions is not responsible for the winners’ travel accommodations. If contest winners are unable to attend the GrowSmartBiz Conference for any reason, tickets are not redeemable for cash, merchandise, or any other item of value. In the event the winner cannot attend, ticket can be transferred to another party.

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, Events, Marketing, social media | 6 Comments »

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