We all know the saying, you can't see the forest for the trees. That adage applies to your marketing strategy. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the micro details, the bigger picture gets lost. Stripping down your marketing plan to its basics can help you see what's working, and where you're going wrong.
WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?
The single biggest mistake made by businesses in regards to their marketing strategy is marketing to themselves. Marketing is all about having a conversation with prospective customers. Look at it like a dinner party—if you're the person who spends the evening talking about what you like, what you're comfortable with, and what appeals to you, you will lose your audience. Who is your customer? Are there new customers out there you're not hitting? What do they want to talk about?
IT TAKES MONEY AND TIME
No matter what you do in regards to marketing, you will be spending money. Often lots of money. A large percentage of what you spend won't have a direct cost-value relationship. Brand building, the type of marketing that gets your name in front of your potential customers without selling a particular product or service, is long-term. You didn't build your reputation with your current customers overnight. You won't do it with new customers in that timeframe, either. This is called "top-of-mind recognition". You need to be the first company your potential customer thinks of. Brand building is measured in months and years. Targeted marketing, things like sales or events or promotions, have a more immediate return. Keep in mind, however, that a sale involves a loss-leader product or service. An event involves expenses you might not foresee. All businesses, markets and strategies are unique—however, a good ratio of branding versus targeted marketing is 5:1. You want to build your reputation at least 5 times more often than you want to have a sale.
WHAT ELSE DOES YOUR CUSTOMER DO?
Knowing your customer, and your prospective customer, allows you to speak to them on their terms, and in the places where they are. Things like social media, television, radio, movie theater advertising, gas station pump advertising, newspaper, magazine, bus sign advertising, etc., all have value only if your customer sees them. What does a typical day look like for your customer? A typical month? What are their habits? We paint with a broad brush in marketing. Each element of your strategy should work together. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, unless your customer dictates that. Follow your customer and you can't go wrong.
HAVE A ROAD MAP
If you don't know where you're going, you can't get there. If your goal is to increase sales of Product X by Y%, simply blasting your message out to the world without a plan and without measurable metrics is a waste of your time and money. Set your goals and build a map to get there.
STAY THE COURSE
When you've developed your plan, stick to it. Review it regularly, make necessary course changes, but don't scrap it without good reason. An effective, well-developed strategic plan will be a combination of quality customer intel and solid market knowledge. Make media buys that work for you and your customer, not what works for the media company. Newspaper advertising is ideal for certain demographics, a waste of money for others. The same goes for television, radio, and all other venues. If you've done your homework, your customer will tell you where to advertise.
Marketing is a marriage between the science nerd and the trendy art student. Understanding the strategy behind it, and building the creative element to support that strategy, will help your company grow.
Marketing your business comes down to a single question - what does your customer need you to do? Award winning marketing and design expert Jeff Rosenplot offers practical, in-the-trenches advice for businesses of any size, and budgets to match.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Get A Second Opinion
When you get a diagnosis from a physician, it's always a good idea to get a second opinion. The same holds true for your business. In the vernacular of marketing, we call this a "marketing assessment".
A marketing assessment is a detailed report from an outside source looking in on your business. Think of it as an impartial opinion on what your business is doing right, doing wrong, and areas where you can improve. This blog's purpose is to help business owners see their business from their customer's perspective. A marketing assessment does the same thing.
Let's face it—you're too close to your business to give it an objective review. You know how things are supposed to work, and, being human, you have a blind spot to failings. Consequently, you can be hyper-critical of things that have little or no bearing on your overall success. You're in business for a reason. Your product or service is unique, desirable and appealing. If not, the free market would have taken care of closing your business already. The fact that you're still in business even after terrific struggles is testament to your success. But you can do better. Billy Joel said that sometimes just surviving is a noble fight, but you're probably not interested in just surviving.
A marketing assessment is akin to planning a trip. You have a destination in mind—perhaps a sales goal, perhaps a new product or service launch—but without a plan to promote it, you're heading out on the road with no direction. A marketing assessment is a little different than a true market assessment, although a complete marketing assessment will include information about the market at large and your place in it. A marketing assessment addresses how your business currently operates and how it's perceived from a customer's point of view. After all, isn't that the most important perspective?
Here are the things to look for in a useful marketing assessment:
1. CURRENT CLIMATE. What is the position of your business in your market? What is your current client base? Who is your competition? What marketing initiatives have you undertaken in the past 6 months? What has been the success of each? Where do you stand in sales volume from comparable months, either the previous year or previous months? What are your best selling products? Lowest selling products? What does your web traffic look like? Do you regularly have repeat customers?
2. LOW-HANGING FRUIT. What are the top ten things your business isn't doing that it should be doing right now? What items have the lowest outlay of funds or time, with the highest potential return? How's your infrastructure? Are there any long-term investments you haven't made that can be made? Are there issues with order placement or fulfillment that need to be addressed? Are there quality control issues? Is your business operating past its capacity? Do you have personnel issues? Are there too many decision makers, or too few?
3. SHORT-TERM SOLUTIONS. With infrastructure, personnel, capacity, quality and low-hanging fruit addressed, what are the top ten things your business can do in the short-term to increase traffic? What is a reasonable traffic increase to expect, and how do you measure it? What are the best venues (traditional and non-traditional) to get your message out? Is your business prepared to handle a sudden increase? Does your current brand effectively tell your story? Is your brand too broad or too narrow? Are there any potential customers to whom you're not speaking?
4. LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS. Does your marketing strategy allow for new products or services to be added on a modular basis? Does your brand have staying power or is it transitory? How will you handle new competition, both locally and on the web? How well will your business handle another downturn in the economy? Or an upswing? What is your long-term marketing strategy? How will you continue to build your brand?
Each of these questions are tip-of-the-iceberg things. A marketing assessment will address each of these impartially and with market knowledge. This is certainly not a DIY project. It's important to get an outside opinion, and to listen to it.
A marketing assessment is a detailed report from an outside source looking in on your business. Think of it as an impartial opinion on what your business is doing right, doing wrong, and areas where you can improve. This blog's purpose is to help business owners see their business from their customer's perspective. A marketing assessment does the same thing.
Let's face it—you're too close to your business to give it an objective review. You know how things are supposed to work, and, being human, you have a blind spot to failings. Consequently, you can be hyper-critical of things that have little or no bearing on your overall success. You're in business for a reason. Your product or service is unique, desirable and appealing. If not, the free market would have taken care of closing your business already. The fact that you're still in business even after terrific struggles is testament to your success. But you can do better. Billy Joel said that sometimes just surviving is a noble fight, but you're probably not interested in just surviving.
A marketing assessment is akin to planning a trip. You have a destination in mind—perhaps a sales goal, perhaps a new product or service launch—but without a plan to promote it, you're heading out on the road with no direction. A marketing assessment is a little different than a true market assessment, although a complete marketing assessment will include information about the market at large and your place in it. A marketing assessment addresses how your business currently operates and how it's perceived from a customer's point of view. After all, isn't that the most important perspective?
Here are the things to look for in a useful marketing assessment:
1. CURRENT CLIMATE. What is the position of your business in your market? What is your current client base? Who is your competition? What marketing initiatives have you undertaken in the past 6 months? What has been the success of each? Where do you stand in sales volume from comparable months, either the previous year or previous months? What are your best selling products? Lowest selling products? What does your web traffic look like? Do you regularly have repeat customers?
2. LOW-HANGING FRUIT. What are the top ten things your business isn't doing that it should be doing right now? What items have the lowest outlay of funds or time, with the highest potential return? How's your infrastructure? Are there any long-term investments you haven't made that can be made? Are there issues with order placement or fulfillment that need to be addressed? Are there quality control issues? Is your business operating past its capacity? Do you have personnel issues? Are there too many decision makers, or too few?
3. SHORT-TERM SOLUTIONS. With infrastructure, personnel, capacity, quality and low-hanging fruit addressed, what are the top ten things your business can do in the short-term to increase traffic? What is a reasonable traffic increase to expect, and how do you measure it? What are the best venues (traditional and non-traditional) to get your message out? Is your business prepared to handle a sudden increase? Does your current brand effectively tell your story? Is your brand too broad or too narrow? Are there any potential customers to whom you're not speaking?
4. LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS. Does your marketing strategy allow for new products or services to be added on a modular basis? Does your brand have staying power or is it transitory? How will you handle new competition, both locally and on the web? How well will your business handle another downturn in the economy? Or an upswing? What is your long-term marketing strategy? How will you continue to build your brand?
Each of these questions are tip-of-the-iceberg things. A marketing assessment will address each of these impartially and with market knowledge. This is certainly not a DIY project. It's important to get an outside opinion, and to listen to it.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
When To Lawyer Up
The old joke goes; "What do you call a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start." That might give you some indication of my bias when it comes to the question of litigation. The way I run my business doesn't tend to lend itself well to suing people. If I sue my clients, they don't come back. The thought of it makes me uncomfortable, because I'm a firm believer in trying to work things out amicably.
I've discovered, as you likely have, that this doesn't always work out in business. There are times when something happens, either through no fault of your own or by some accident, that you come face-to-face with civil law. Maybe it's debt collection, maybe it's contract enforcement, maybe it's something you built or produced that didn't work as expected. Whatever the reason, there's a time and a place to lawyer up.
I've known some business people whose first reaction to any situation is to come with both barrels blazing. I've known others who just roll over at the first sign of confrontation. Both extremes don't solve the problem. Perhaps you're wondering why a marketing blog is talking about lawyers and litigation. Simple. All customer interaction is marketing. Any type of litigation usually means you've exhausted your other options, and the client in question will no longer be doing business with you. There are dangers in jumping the legal gun, just as there are dangers in doing nothing. There are certain key areas from a marketing perspective that demand litigation as a last resort.
DEBT COLLECTION
Marketing? Really? Look at it this way. If you don't have cash flow, you don't have anything to market. Your cash flow directly affects how you run your business, from payroll to inventory to whether or not you make a profit. Suing someone for uncollected debt is a process with multiple, time-consuming steps with no guarantee of success. It's also public. There are many ways to mitigate legal action, most of which start with a good plan at the beginning of the relationship. Like a prenuptial agreement, a strong contract with expectations clearly spelled out, timelines set and remedies specified will show a prospective client that you are a serious business person. Drafting a contract is one thing lawyers do very well. This is an expense that will pay for itself many times over. More often than not, tardy or aggressive clients will back down with a strong contract on your side. The more solid your footing, the more easily you'll be able to collect money or solve client misunderstanding. If there's a benefit to you, consider offering an early payment discount. Add penalties for late payment. As with everything in your initial pre-nup, state it clearly. When you are faced with a slow or non-paying client, consider first the amount, the reason, and the length of the relationship. What percentage of your business does this client represent? Is an invoice for $100 worth jeopardizing your $100,000 client? And remember that you get farther with a gentle nudge than a swift kick. Invoices get lost, payables get delayed. Sometimes being the persistent squeaky wheel will move something forward. Using the legal system to collect debt should be your last resort. If everything else fails, this is the second time to contact your lawyer. An overwhelming majority of a lawyer's work is drafting documents, not actually suing people. The threat of legal action will often prompt clients to pay. Keep in mind that this will likely sever your relationship with the client. Use it wisely.
SLANDER, LIBEL, DEFAMATION
We live in an age where anybody can say anything about anyone, anywhere at any time. The web makes these types of negative comments permanent and nearly impossible to get rid of. Most of us have to shrug off a lot of these types of negative comments. Where the line is drawn legally is when slander, libel, or defamation take place. The trick is proving these have taken place. In the broadest possible terms, defamation is something about you or your business that is untrue and has the potential to cause damage. Slander is telling someone, libel is writing it down. Now, as any good lawyer would advise me (and you), I'm not a lawyer. Consult with one if you believe you or your business are a victim of this. From a marketing point of view, defamation and its two cousins are potentially devastating. It's important to monitor any information shared about you or your company on a regular basis. Monitor your social media, as well as your competitors'. If you believe defamation of some sort has occurred, and can pinpoint the source, this is time to lawyer up. The first step is usually a "cease and desist" letter. Most of the time, this does the trick. A letter from a lawyer can be scary. If it doesn't stop the offensive action, your lawyer will be able to recommend an appropriate course of action. From a marketing point of view, keep the end in mind. Will going after someone who is venting worth any sort of negative publicity your company will receive?
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
This one is potentially the most damaging to your business. If you produce something unique, it's in your best interest to ensure no one copies it. Lawyers can help with copyright and patent registration, which is preventative medicine. Trademark your logo and your tagline. Place copyright notices on key marketing pieces such as your website, print collateral and signage. And don't be afraid of suing on this one. This is the only such infringement I would suggest running, not walking to a courtroom. Your business depends on your proprietary information. Defend it vigorously.
TRADE SECRETS
The same holds true for business processes, trade secrets and any type of information or documents unique to your business, that are essential for your business to remain competitive. Keep this type of information as close to the chest as you can. If employees need to know this information, having a confidentiality agreement (created by a lawyer) is your best prevention should someone become disgruntled and spill the beans.
Your business is sometimes like a battle. You have an arsenal of weaponry at your disposal. Using the appropriate weapon at the appropriate time will ensure the public's perception of you remains positive. If you have the reputation of throwing lawsuits around like a petulant child, you'll likely scare off potential customers. If you roll over and play dead, your business will tend to attract bottom feeders. A good lawyer is like a homeowners insurance policy - you'll likely never need it, but when you do, you'll be really glad you had it.
I've discovered, as you likely have, that this doesn't always work out in business. There are times when something happens, either through no fault of your own or by some accident, that you come face-to-face with civil law. Maybe it's debt collection, maybe it's contract enforcement, maybe it's something you built or produced that didn't work as expected. Whatever the reason, there's a time and a place to lawyer up.
I've known some business people whose first reaction to any situation is to come with both barrels blazing. I've known others who just roll over at the first sign of confrontation. Both extremes don't solve the problem. Perhaps you're wondering why a marketing blog is talking about lawyers and litigation. Simple. All customer interaction is marketing. Any type of litigation usually means you've exhausted your other options, and the client in question will no longer be doing business with you. There are dangers in jumping the legal gun, just as there are dangers in doing nothing. There are certain key areas from a marketing perspective that demand litigation as a last resort.
DEBT COLLECTION
Marketing? Really? Look at it this way. If you don't have cash flow, you don't have anything to market. Your cash flow directly affects how you run your business, from payroll to inventory to whether or not you make a profit. Suing someone for uncollected debt is a process with multiple, time-consuming steps with no guarantee of success. It's also public. There are many ways to mitigate legal action, most of which start with a good plan at the beginning of the relationship. Like a prenuptial agreement, a strong contract with expectations clearly spelled out, timelines set and remedies specified will show a prospective client that you are a serious business person. Drafting a contract is one thing lawyers do very well. This is an expense that will pay for itself many times over. More often than not, tardy or aggressive clients will back down with a strong contract on your side. The more solid your footing, the more easily you'll be able to collect money or solve client misunderstanding. If there's a benefit to you, consider offering an early payment discount. Add penalties for late payment. As with everything in your initial pre-nup, state it clearly. When you are faced with a slow or non-paying client, consider first the amount, the reason, and the length of the relationship. What percentage of your business does this client represent? Is an invoice for $100 worth jeopardizing your $100,000 client? And remember that you get farther with a gentle nudge than a swift kick. Invoices get lost, payables get delayed. Sometimes being the persistent squeaky wheel will move something forward. Using the legal system to collect debt should be your last resort. If everything else fails, this is the second time to contact your lawyer. An overwhelming majority of a lawyer's work is drafting documents, not actually suing people. The threat of legal action will often prompt clients to pay. Keep in mind that this will likely sever your relationship with the client. Use it wisely.
SLANDER, LIBEL, DEFAMATION
We live in an age where anybody can say anything about anyone, anywhere at any time. The web makes these types of negative comments permanent and nearly impossible to get rid of. Most of us have to shrug off a lot of these types of negative comments. Where the line is drawn legally is when slander, libel, or defamation take place. The trick is proving these have taken place. In the broadest possible terms, defamation is something about you or your business that is untrue and has the potential to cause damage. Slander is telling someone, libel is writing it down. Now, as any good lawyer would advise me (and you), I'm not a lawyer. Consult with one if you believe you or your business are a victim of this. From a marketing point of view, defamation and its two cousins are potentially devastating. It's important to monitor any information shared about you or your company on a regular basis. Monitor your social media, as well as your competitors'. If you believe defamation of some sort has occurred, and can pinpoint the source, this is time to lawyer up. The first step is usually a "cease and desist" letter. Most of the time, this does the trick. A letter from a lawyer can be scary. If it doesn't stop the offensive action, your lawyer will be able to recommend an appropriate course of action. From a marketing point of view, keep the end in mind. Will going after someone who is venting worth any sort of negative publicity your company will receive?
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
This one is potentially the most damaging to your business. If you produce something unique, it's in your best interest to ensure no one copies it. Lawyers can help with copyright and patent registration, which is preventative medicine. Trademark your logo and your tagline. Place copyright notices on key marketing pieces such as your website, print collateral and signage. And don't be afraid of suing on this one. This is the only such infringement I would suggest running, not walking to a courtroom. Your business depends on your proprietary information. Defend it vigorously.
TRADE SECRETS
The same holds true for business processes, trade secrets and any type of information or documents unique to your business, that are essential for your business to remain competitive. Keep this type of information as close to the chest as you can. If employees need to know this information, having a confidentiality agreement (created by a lawyer) is your best prevention should someone become disgruntled and spill the beans.
Your business is sometimes like a battle. You have an arsenal of weaponry at your disposal. Using the appropriate weapon at the appropriate time will ensure the public's perception of you remains positive. If you have the reputation of throwing lawsuits around like a petulant child, you'll likely scare off potential customers. If you roll over and play dead, your business will tend to attract bottom feeders. A good lawyer is like a homeowners insurance policy - you'll likely never need it, but when you do, you'll be really glad you had it.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Help! I've Got A Negative Review
A question I often hear is how do I eliminate negative information about my company on the Internet? That's one of those questions that has many answers, but there a few general concepts we can address here.
There are usually 3 types of negative information that appear on the Web about companies.
The first is a legitimate complaint. No one's perfect. No matter how hard you try, sometimes you or your staff mess up. Maybe your product or service didn't work properly. People are more likely to complain online than to you directly. It's human nature - anonymity emboldens us. Road rage is a great example of this.
Legitimate complaints can actually be the most beneficial for your company. These are things you can act on. If someone has a complaint, solve it. Go above and beyond. And make it public. For instance, let's say you own a restaurant. Your staff was having an off day, the service wasn't up to par, and someone wrote a negative review. Instead of letting it go, follow up with this customer through the same online venue they complained through. Give them a gift certificate, or offer to buy their next meal. Take a specific action to rectify the situation. Don't make excuses - make it right. And do it in the public square. Many people now rely exclusively on online reviews to make a buying decision. If they see a complaint and a solution, they'll know you are a business owner who actually cares and listens. You're willing to do the right thing. And don't argue. A free meal to a disgruntled client is going to cost you a lot less than proving your point. The customer, after all, is always right. Especially when they're wrong.
Don't let legitimate complaints fester. The faster you solve them, the better the outcome. Consider posting your Facebook or Twitter address in your business and encouraging customers to share their experience, positive or negative. This can seem counterintuitive to a business owner, but airing your dirty laundry in public can allow you to take situations that would otherwise fester and turn them into positive, customer-building opportunities.
The second type of negative information that appears is the dreaded anonymous complaint. Someone has a bad experience with your company, or has an axe to grind with you personally (or one of your employees) and writes terrible things. The dark side of the Internet is that everything is essentially permanent. There are exceptions, and it's possible to remove derogatory comments, but it's a difficult and lengthy process. It's similar in scope to identity fraud. There are companies that promote reputation fixing services, but there are limits to these processes, and the cost can be quite high.
In these cases, the best defense is a good offense. Most reviews that have any meaning to potential customers are weighted. Negative reviews can be overwhelmed by positive reviews. People are more likely to take action when they're complaining rather than when they've had a positive experience. Anger is a more actionable emotion than happiness. However, many people will write positive reviews if you ask them. Use your social media venues, signs in your physical location(s), printed notes on receipts and invoices, etc. to ask people to create positive reviews. You can incentivize this, as well, by offering something for your customers to do this. Depending on your industry, you will need to be aware of any restrictions that exists (health care, government, etc.), but giving people who write positive reviews a small reward will often motivate them. Keep in mind that people will usually do a great deal for very little - you don't have to give them a car. Something small, something they'll use, will motivate them to take the ten minutes they'll need to write a review. Enough of these will, over time, virtually eliminate negative reviews. It's a time consuming process, but it is effective.
The third type of negative information found on the Web are comments from former and current employees. These can range from ridiculous comments that are essentially blowing off steam, to the divulging of company trade secrets. It's important to weigh the severity of information being shared. If the comments are coming from a disgruntled worker, it might be best to let the comments go. If you've fired this person, they'll likely want to vent. You fired them for a reason, and this will only reinforce why you did. The more dangerous types of former employee comments come when they share private company information online. There are specific laws that govern this type of information and, depending on the data and the implications, you have the option of taking legal action. Keep in mind that the punishment should match the crime - there will often be repercussions beyond the scope of a simple web post if you decide to pursue legal action. Social media postings as they relate to current or former employers is an emerging area of the law and, although several cases have sided with employers recently, you should weigh the fact that you'll be helping set legal precedent, and can receive more negative attention via the news media than you ever would by letting the online comment(s) go. Every situation is unique, and only you as the business owner know what's at stake. Keep in mind it's not personal, it's business.
There isn't a magic bullet for eliminating negative comments online. And this information is the tip of the iceberg. Keep in mind that some people are complainers. That's their nature, that's how they find pleasure in their lives. No matter what you do, you won't make them happy. But if the negative comments are legitimate, act on them. You can use these negatives to grow as a business. They may also give you insight into how your company is perceived in the public. That kind of wake-up call can be a game-changer, if you look at it honestly.
There are usually 3 types of negative information that appear on the Web about companies.
The first is a legitimate complaint. No one's perfect. No matter how hard you try, sometimes you or your staff mess up. Maybe your product or service didn't work properly. People are more likely to complain online than to you directly. It's human nature - anonymity emboldens us. Road rage is a great example of this.
Legitimate complaints can actually be the most beneficial for your company. These are things you can act on. If someone has a complaint, solve it. Go above and beyond. And make it public. For instance, let's say you own a restaurant. Your staff was having an off day, the service wasn't up to par, and someone wrote a negative review. Instead of letting it go, follow up with this customer through the same online venue they complained through. Give them a gift certificate, or offer to buy their next meal. Take a specific action to rectify the situation. Don't make excuses - make it right. And do it in the public square. Many people now rely exclusively on online reviews to make a buying decision. If they see a complaint and a solution, they'll know you are a business owner who actually cares and listens. You're willing to do the right thing. And don't argue. A free meal to a disgruntled client is going to cost you a lot less than proving your point. The customer, after all, is always right. Especially when they're wrong.
Don't let legitimate complaints fester. The faster you solve them, the better the outcome. Consider posting your Facebook or Twitter address in your business and encouraging customers to share their experience, positive or negative. This can seem counterintuitive to a business owner, but airing your dirty laundry in public can allow you to take situations that would otherwise fester and turn them into positive, customer-building opportunities.
The second type of negative information that appears is the dreaded anonymous complaint. Someone has a bad experience with your company, or has an axe to grind with you personally (or one of your employees) and writes terrible things. The dark side of the Internet is that everything is essentially permanent. There are exceptions, and it's possible to remove derogatory comments, but it's a difficult and lengthy process. It's similar in scope to identity fraud. There are companies that promote reputation fixing services, but there are limits to these processes, and the cost can be quite high.
In these cases, the best defense is a good offense. Most reviews that have any meaning to potential customers are weighted. Negative reviews can be overwhelmed by positive reviews. People are more likely to take action when they're complaining rather than when they've had a positive experience. Anger is a more actionable emotion than happiness. However, many people will write positive reviews if you ask them. Use your social media venues, signs in your physical location(s), printed notes on receipts and invoices, etc. to ask people to create positive reviews. You can incentivize this, as well, by offering something for your customers to do this. Depending on your industry, you will need to be aware of any restrictions that exists (health care, government, etc.), but giving people who write positive reviews a small reward will often motivate them. Keep in mind that people will usually do a great deal for very little - you don't have to give them a car. Something small, something they'll use, will motivate them to take the ten minutes they'll need to write a review. Enough of these will, over time, virtually eliminate negative reviews. It's a time consuming process, but it is effective.
The third type of negative information found on the Web are comments from former and current employees. These can range from ridiculous comments that are essentially blowing off steam, to the divulging of company trade secrets. It's important to weigh the severity of information being shared. If the comments are coming from a disgruntled worker, it might be best to let the comments go. If you've fired this person, they'll likely want to vent. You fired them for a reason, and this will only reinforce why you did. The more dangerous types of former employee comments come when they share private company information online. There are specific laws that govern this type of information and, depending on the data and the implications, you have the option of taking legal action. Keep in mind that the punishment should match the crime - there will often be repercussions beyond the scope of a simple web post if you decide to pursue legal action. Social media postings as they relate to current or former employers is an emerging area of the law and, although several cases have sided with employers recently, you should weigh the fact that you'll be helping set legal precedent, and can receive more negative attention via the news media than you ever would by letting the online comment(s) go. Every situation is unique, and only you as the business owner know what's at stake. Keep in mind it's not personal, it's business.
There isn't a magic bullet for eliminating negative comments online. And this information is the tip of the iceberg. Keep in mind that some people are complainers. That's their nature, that's how they find pleasure in their lives. No matter what you do, you won't make them happy. But if the negative comments are legitimate, act on them. You can use these negatives to grow as a business. They may also give you insight into how your company is perceived in the public. That kind of wake-up call can be a game-changer, if you look at it honestly.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Change Is Good
For many businesses, change can be a four-letter word. If you're a business owner, you had a clear idea of what you wanted to do when you started your business. You had a vision and you expected potential clients would beat down your door as soon as you started. No matter how much preparation went into your business plan, however, there are always factors that don't play nicely. Things like the economic climate, competition, public awareness, outdated technology and even staffing issues can potentially derail the best laid plans. As a business owner or the manager of a business division, you need to be able to turn on a dime. And you need to be able to keep the core values and business focus in mind when you make these turns.
There's a time when sticking to your guns no matter what is effective - and there's a time when it's necessary to throw the whole works up in the air. Embracing change is often the determining factor in the success of any business. So where do you start? Change for change sake is reckless - change that is dictated by quality intel is what will set your business apart. Start with processes. These are things that you control and are designed to make your entire business run smoothly. If your answer to the question, "why do we do this" is "because we've always done it that way", that's the first thing to target. Don't hold on to outdated processes simply because they've always been there. Consequently, don't abandon processes that actually work. The point with the "because we've always done it that way" question is to actively understand why your business does what it does. There can be a perfectly valid reason why process X is done - process Y and Z may depend on it. If so, that's a good process. But if process X exists simply because it seemed like a good idea at the time, try something else. Start by eliminating this process. Does work still get done? Does it get done better?
An important exercise many businesses engage in is what's called a "process walk". If it's done properly, it's a time consuming thing. But the value to your business can be monumental. Start with the beginning of your business process - is it manufacturing? Retail delivery? Client order? Using Post-It notes and a wall, document each step of your business process. For complex areas, break it down into simple, single line descriptions. If you can't describe the process in a single line, that means it's a complex process and has steps you'll need to document. Color code like items - is there a decision point? A client interaction point? A vendor contact point? Walk through your entire business process. Involve as many members of your team as is necessary. The more robust the organization, the more compartmentalized it can become. The process walk can serve also to illuminate and educate your staff on what actually goes on. Remember that you hired the staff you did because you wanted their input. The more brains you have involved, the more likely you are to start thinking outside the box. And that's what the process walk is all about.
When you stand back and look at your wall of Post-It notes, take a look for duplication. That's the low-hanging fruit you can eliminate. Then look for other ways to streamline. Does the physical location of staff isolate them from each other? Can different departments merge? Can functions from one department migrate to another?
Look at the Post-It notes in another way. Where does your product or service get bogged down? Is it slow vendors? Are you waiting on customer approvals? External sources of delay are harder to address, but not impossible. Consider incentivizing early approvals. Offering a small discount if a project is moved forward more quickly may initially cut into your bottom line, but the idea is you'll be able to move more projects forward faster. A minimal discount can allow you to produce and invoice more within a shorter period of time.
The process walk is a commitment. It will take time and it will take staff away from their specific duties. The impact of this, however, can be a game changer. By simply knowing each step of your business process, you can clearly see opportunities to tighten and, in some cases, eliminate processes altogether. A week of your staff's time could save your company a ridiculous amount of money, and can eliminate huge amounts of waste.
Change is good. Smart change is the difference between growth and stagnation.
There's a time when sticking to your guns no matter what is effective - and there's a time when it's necessary to throw the whole works up in the air. Embracing change is often the determining factor in the success of any business. So where do you start? Change for change sake is reckless - change that is dictated by quality intel is what will set your business apart. Start with processes. These are things that you control and are designed to make your entire business run smoothly. If your answer to the question, "why do we do this" is "because we've always done it that way", that's the first thing to target. Don't hold on to outdated processes simply because they've always been there. Consequently, don't abandon processes that actually work. The point with the "because we've always done it that way" question is to actively understand why your business does what it does. There can be a perfectly valid reason why process X is done - process Y and Z may depend on it. If so, that's a good process. But if process X exists simply because it seemed like a good idea at the time, try something else. Start by eliminating this process. Does work still get done? Does it get done better?
An important exercise many businesses engage in is what's called a "process walk". If it's done properly, it's a time consuming thing. But the value to your business can be monumental. Start with the beginning of your business process - is it manufacturing? Retail delivery? Client order? Using Post-It notes and a wall, document each step of your business process. For complex areas, break it down into simple, single line descriptions. If you can't describe the process in a single line, that means it's a complex process and has steps you'll need to document. Color code like items - is there a decision point? A client interaction point? A vendor contact point? Walk through your entire business process. Involve as many members of your team as is necessary. The more robust the organization, the more compartmentalized it can become. The process walk can serve also to illuminate and educate your staff on what actually goes on. Remember that you hired the staff you did because you wanted their input. The more brains you have involved, the more likely you are to start thinking outside the box. And that's what the process walk is all about.
When you stand back and look at your wall of Post-It notes, take a look for duplication. That's the low-hanging fruit you can eliminate. Then look for other ways to streamline. Does the physical location of staff isolate them from each other? Can different departments merge? Can functions from one department migrate to another?
Look at the Post-It notes in another way. Where does your product or service get bogged down? Is it slow vendors? Are you waiting on customer approvals? External sources of delay are harder to address, but not impossible. Consider incentivizing early approvals. Offering a small discount if a project is moved forward more quickly may initially cut into your bottom line, but the idea is you'll be able to move more projects forward faster. A minimal discount can allow you to produce and invoice more within a shorter period of time.
The process walk is a commitment. It will take time and it will take staff away from their specific duties. The impact of this, however, can be a game changer. By simply knowing each step of your business process, you can clearly see opportunities to tighten and, in some cases, eliminate processes altogether. A week of your staff's time could save your company a ridiculous amount of money, and can eliminate huge amounts of waste.
Change is good. Smart change is the difference between growth and stagnation.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
What's In A Name? Ask BOTOX®.
We're all familiar with BOTOX®. The magic injection that makes us look instantly younger. BOTOX® itself has become a word similar to Kleenex® or Xerox®, a brand name used to broadly identify its product category. There are many other uses for BOTOX® than the most commonly prescribed, but it's the very fact of the BOTOX® omnipotence that makes it such a marketing success story.
The name BOTOX® seems innocent enough. But BOTOX® is short for Botulinum Toxin, or botulism. Botulism, among its other traits, paralyzes you. Food-borne botulism is contracted due to poor hygiene (usually involving canning or food packaging).
And yet BOTOX® is one of the most popular elective medical treatments on the market. It's also one of the most impressive marketing success stories out there. Imagine if you were the agency in charge of introducing Botulinum toxin to the general public - the pitch meeting would go something like this:
"What's the new product?"
"Botulism."
"Botulism like the deadly botulism?"
"No, this is perfectly safe."
"What makes it safe?"
"You inject it into your face."
"Why?"
"It gets rid of wrinkles for a while."
"But it's botulism."
"Aside from the name, it's a great idea."
BOTOX® had a name problem. There was no way in the world they could market their product, no matter how effective it was, by calling it by its real name. It would be like introducing a new cereal called "Plague Flakes". So they came up with BOTOX®, a softer, gentler version of its key ingredient. Two syllables, rolls off the tongue, has no negative connotations, and is completely ambiguous. Millions of BOTOX® injections later, the name has done the trick.
It works the same way with your business. Sometimes calling yourself "Jones & Son" works. Sometimes it doesn't. If you run a mom-and-pop operation that builds relationships on a micro level, "Jones & Son" works. You have a small operation, your customers are usually dealing with either Jones or his son, and the business is designed to be small. For a larger organization, "Jones & Son" doesn't work. The more faces a customer has the potential to see means the company has a broader scope. Something like "Andrew Jones Incorporated" works if the name is well known - but a broader name, a less specific name, allows the company to have its own identity separate from the original owner.
If you are weighing the balance between having the name mean something and having the name sound good rolling off the tongue, rolling off the tongue wins. Look at "Google". Or "Yahoo." Or "Bing." Sometimes simply having a name that is unique will be the thing that gets you remembered.
There are benefits to having a simple, meaningful name. "Rosenplot Design", for instance, is purposely named because I establish personal relationships with my clients. My name is my company. My reputation is tied into it. As my business expands, it is quite possible my company name would change to reflect the broader influence of new partners. Another benefit of my name being the name of my business is that Rosenplot is an uncommon name. "Jones & Son" doesn't carry the same uniqueness as "Rosenplot Design".
Your name should also be dependent on your industry. The name of a technology company will and should be very different from a bakery, or a moving company, or a Realtor®. Keep in mind the vernacular of your market. What are your customers expecting? A bakery called "MotorGears" or a moving and storage company called "Fluffy Puppies" probably wouldn't connect with their customers. Choosing a name that's both unique and appropriate allows you to tap into the cultural references and language of your customers.
Take a lesson from BOTOX®. Sometimes a name is more than just a name.
The name BOTOX® seems innocent enough. But BOTOX® is short for Botulinum Toxin, or botulism. Botulism, among its other traits, paralyzes you. Food-borne botulism is contracted due to poor hygiene (usually involving canning or food packaging).
And yet BOTOX® is one of the most popular elective medical treatments on the market. It's also one of the most impressive marketing success stories out there. Imagine if you were the agency in charge of introducing Botulinum toxin to the general public - the pitch meeting would go something like this:
"What's the new product?"
"Botulism."
"Botulism like the deadly botulism?"
"No, this is perfectly safe."
"What makes it safe?"
"You inject it into your face."
"Why?"
"It gets rid of wrinkles for a while."
"But it's botulism."
"Aside from the name, it's a great idea."
BOTOX® had a name problem. There was no way in the world they could market their product, no matter how effective it was, by calling it by its real name. It would be like introducing a new cereal called "Plague Flakes". So they came up with BOTOX®, a softer, gentler version of its key ingredient. Two syllables, rolls off the tongue, has no negative connotations, and is completely ambiguous. Millions of BOTOX® injections later, the name has done the trick.
It works the same way with your business. Sometimes calling yourself "Jones & Son" works. Sometimes it doesn't. If you run a mom-and-pop operation that builds relationships on a micro level, "Jones & Son" works. You have a small operation, your customers are usually dealing with either Jones or his son, and the business is designed to be small. For a larger organization, "Jones & Son" doesn't work. The more faces a customer has the potential to see means the company has a broader scope. Something like "Andrew Jones Incorporated" works if the name is well known - but a broader name, a less specific name, allows the company to have its own identity separate from the original owner.
If you are weighing the balance between having the name mean something and having the name sound good rolling off the tongue, rolling off the tongue wins. Look at "Google". Or "Yahoo." Or "Bing." Sometimes simply having a name that is unique will be the thing that gets you remembered.
There are benefits to having a simple, meaningful name. "Rosenplot Design", for instance, is purposely named because I establish personal relationships with my clients. My name is my company. My reputation is tied into it. As my business expands, it is quite possible my company name would change to reflect the broader influence of new partners. Another benefit of my name being the name of my business is that Rosenplot is an uncommon name. "Jones & Son" doesn't carry the same uniqueness as "Rosenplot Design".
Your name should also be dependent on your industry. The name of a technology company will and should be very different from a bakery, or a moving company, or a Realtor®. Keep in mind the vernacular of your market. What are your customers expecting? A bakery called "MotorGears" or a moving and storage company called "Fluffy Puppies" probably wouldn't connect with their customers. Choosing a name that's both unique and appropriate allows you to tap into the cultural references and language of your customers.
Take a lesson from BOTOX®. Sometimes a name is more than just a name.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Patience, Grasshopper
When you begin any marketing or brand awareness campaign, patience is not always foremost in your mind. Your product or service or company is the best ever and simply opening the doors will leave you flooded with customers. As anyone who's ever introduced a product or started a company understands, that is not the case. Brand awareness takes time. Lots of time. And during that time, you'll be forced to spend gobs of money that you can't afford on media that looks great when the salesperson is in your office but shows absolutely no signs of life once your campaign begins.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way around this. Introducing something new is very difficult. Even if you don't have direct competition, you have perceived competition. If you're the only Italian restaurant in town, for instance, you may think you've got a corner on the market. But you're competing against a finite number of customers who are either not aware of your restaurant, not in the mood for your style of food, want to eat somewhere tried and true, have a coupon, don't want to hassle with parking ... the list goes on. You may be the only one of your kind, but you are certainly not immune to competition. Your food may be incredible and your service out of this world, but if you aren't "top of mind", you will lose business.
So how do you become top of mind? The answer? With lots and lots of patience.
DEFINE YOUR GOALS
What are you hoping to achieve? Think both long term and short. Your overall goal may be to franchise your Italian restaurant, but there are many, many steps between here and there. What do you hope to achieve in the next month? The next three months? The next six? Be reasonable. Having seven restaurants in six months is not only very difficult to achieve financially, it's also very difficult to manage. Your first Italian restaurant is where you work out your processes. It's where you fall flat on your face a few times. What's a reasonable goal? It's something achievable. It requires you to stretch, but doesn't require you to break.
POINT YOURSELF IN THAT DIRECTION
Your closest goal is the one you focus on. Your three month goal is to increase dinner reservations by 30%, let's say. Point yourself that way. Focus exclusively on promoting your dinner menu. Invite movers and shakers from the community to dine at a special opening event. Use social media to generate a buzz. You have a Facebook page - enlist your friends. Ask them to enlist their friends. It's a network - that's how it works. Keep in mind that any broad marketing you do will have a very low feedback rate. You're not just starting a restaurant - you're establishing a brand.
Remember to set your baseline. You can't measure success unless you know where you've been.
LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS
You may know the best way to cook lasagna, but if your customers don't like it, you have to change. Your customers will not change, and shame on the business owner who demands that. Your customers will tell you what works and what doesn't. All you need to do is listen.
MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE
Allow your strategy to work. Whatever combination of promotional material, word-of-mouth, social media, etc. you choose to use, let it work. It takes time. There are various environmental factors that can contribute to why people aren't seeking you out. Using our Italian restaurant as an example, it may be that your potential customers have a favorite place and haven't discovered you yet; it may be that it's too hot outside and Italian food seems too heavy; it may be that people are on vacation; there might be something happening on American Idol. The point is, don't throw away your plan simply because you don't have instant gratification. You won't. Branding takes time.
FOCUS ON SHORT TERM CASH FLOW
Most new business owners cut their startup investment very close to the wire. By the time all the expenses have tripled and the marketing budget comes around, business owners are so tired of spending money with no return that they demand something immediate from the marketing. Creating your identity takes time. Most businesses will not see a profit for at least two or three years. How do you mitigate this? Focus on keeping afloat. Working for cost or just above cost will allow you to keep yourself above water long enough for you to catch on. Every day you stay in business is another victory. Celebrate that. Your franchise may be years away, but you will have earned your business by fighting in the trenches. Successful business owners are those who make failure a four-letter word. Failure and falling on your face are two different things. Failure means you don't get back up. Falling on your face means you take your blows and live to fight another day.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way around this. Introducing something new is very difficult. Even if you don't have direct competition, you have perceived competition. If you're the only Italian restaurant in town, for instance, you may think you've got a corner on the market. But you're competing against a finite number of customers who are either not aware of your restaurant, not in the mood for your style of food, want to eat somewhere tried and true, have a coupon, don't want to hassle with parking ... the list goes on. You may be the only one of your kind, but you are certainly not immune to competition. Your food may be incredible and your service out of this world, but if you aren't "top of mind", you will lose business.
So how do you become top of mind? The answer? With lots and lots of patience.
DEFINE YOUR GOALS
What are you hoping to achieve? Think both long term and short. Your overall goal may be to franchise your Italian restaurant, but there are many, many steps between here and there. What do you hope to achieve in the next month? The next three months? The next six? Be reasonable. Having seven restaurants in six months is not only very difficult to achieve financially, it's also very difficult to manage. Your first Italian restaurant is where you work out your processes. It's where you fall flat on your face a few times. What's a reasonable goal? It's something achievable. It requires you to stretch, but doesn't require you to break.
POINT YOURSELF IN THAT DIRECTION
Your closest goal is the one you focus on. Your three month goal is to increase dinner reservations by 30%, let's say. Point yourself that way. Focus exclusively on promoting your dinner menu. Invite movers and shakers from the community to dine at a special opening event. Use social media to generate a buzz. You have a Facebook page - enlist your friends. Ask them to enlist their friends. It's a network - that's how it works. Keep in mind that any broad marketing you do will have a very low feedback rate. You're not just starting a restaurant - you're establishing a brand.
Remember to set your baseline. You can't measure success unless you know where you've been.
LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS
You may know the best way to cook lasagna, but if your customers don't like it, you have to change. Your customers will not change, and shame on the business owner who demands that. Your customers will tell you what works and what doesn't. All you need to do is listen.
MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE
Allow your strategy to work. Whatever combination of promotional material, word-of-mouth, social media, etc. you choose to use, let it work. It takes time. There are various environmental factors that can contribute to why people aren't seeking you out. Using our Italian restaurant as an example, it may be that your potential customers have a favorite place and haven't discovered you yet; it may be that it's too hot outside and Italian food seems too heavy; it may be that people are on vacation; there might be something happening on American Idol. The point is, don't throw away your plan simply because you don't have instant gratification. You won't. Branding takes time.
FOCUS ON SHORT TERM CASH FLOW
Most new business owners cut their startup investment very close to the wire. By the time all the expenses have tripled and the marketing budget comes around, business owners are so tired of spending money with no return that they demand something immediate from the marketing. Creating your identity takes time. Most businesses will not see a profit for at least two or three years. How do you mitigate this? Focus on keeping afloat. Working for cost or just above cost will allow you to keep yourself above water long enough for you to catch on. Every day you stay in business is another victory. Celebrate that. Your franchise may be years away, but you will have earned your business by fighting in the trenches. Successful business owners are those who make failure a four-letter word. Failure and falling on your face are two different things. Failure means you don't get back up. Falling on your face means you take your blows and live to fight another day.
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