Doing Things on the Cheap (DOTC): A Series

Starting today, I’m going to be sharing with you some ideas for things to do when you don’t have a ton of money and/or time to spend on various activities for your business.  I'm calling it "Doing Things On The Cheap (DOTC)".

Why  yes, my ideal customer includes elephants.

This series assumes you know what your budget is – how much you have to spend in operations (on such things as product, equipment, rent, insurance, tax compliance, etc.), and how much you can invest in marketing activities.

You also know how much time you need to spend on your product/service (to make your revenue goals) and how much time you need for other purposes (for example, most people sleep 49-56 hours a week).

You've also identified your ideal customer, crafted your value proposition and your core message, and have a good idea on where they can be found.

Yes?  Cool.

No?  Let's Talk.

Keep an eye out for posts titled "DOTC" and tagged "cheap stuff".  I'll be talking mostly about marketing tools and tactics, but I want to make sure ya'll are aware of the free/cheap business tools out there - and there's TONS.

So here's a quick tip:

I'm going to discuss various services and apps that Google offers in more depth later, but if you have a Gmail account, you have up to 15GB free storage on Google Drive associated to your account.

This is awesome for being able to access your stuff on the go from various computers and devices, or as a backup tool in case your computer gets fried.

I highly recommend anyone with a Gmail account to use this service, as it's very secure and every day you do not back up your important files is a day you are risking a disaster of epic proportions.

Learn more about Google Drive here and read the basic support information here.  I'm a hard core user of Drive, so if you have any questions, drop me a note!

Five Reasons Your Leads Referral Group Sucks (Part 2)

We talked about the first two reasons in Part 1.  Here’s three more - do any of them sound familiar?

3) It’s a Clique

Membership might be easy, and the locked in industries specific and wide open to lots of people, but this kind of group is typically quite small.

New people are not warmly welcomed, they don’t go out of their way to talk to new participants, conversation is entirely self-referential (thus, outsiders don’t know what they are talking about) and any violation of group rules/mores are harshly dealt with (either verbally or with body language - see how many eyes are rolled).

Not a single person approaches you to schedule a one-on-one after the meeting.

This is not a leads referral group.  This is a private social club using the leads referral group technique to write off having breakfast/lunch together legitimately as a business expense.

I've seen it personally once but I've heard of it many times. The only good news I have for you with groups like this is that it’s hard to find one without being invited, especially if Meetup is the main way you find new groups – they’re not typically on Meetup as they want to keep their little group... little.

4) The Leaders Act Like Bosses

Let's talk about your participation
in our charity 5K run ONE MORE TIME.

For me, one of the best things about leaving corporate life and doing my own thing is that I don’t have someone that I report to on a daily basis that’s allowed to yell at me (or rather, sternly talk to I guess – I haven’t worked for many yellers) for any reason.

It’s one of the perks of going on your own, right?  No boss.

But some leads referral groups have a culture where the leadership – either one person, or a committee – feels like it has the right (or goodness gracious me, the duty) to order the membership around.  It seems to be more common in groups that have a pretty steep membership fee, but it’s not just them.

They’ll shame members into activities or hold them to group goals/standards as if they were setting down a business plan in a corporation, and all of their jobs were on the line – and if the goals aren't met, there is hell to pay in a stern talking to, sometimes in a public meeting.

Yes, it’s fine for groups to have goals, standards and rules. But to act like the world will end if it is not met, and we’ll all be fired (especially for goals that are not related to generating leads for members directly) is just crazy.

This is not a leads referral group – this is an old-fashioned J-O-B.

5) No New Blood

This is more about apathy than anything, and it’s really the way to spot a dying group.

There aren’t any new guests to the group in weeks – you’re the only new person they've seen in a while.  And they will tell you this.  And they will latch on to you like a starving man on a half-eaten bison burger from FnG Eats.

This group may be quite friendly and nice, but honestly, if you’re the first new person they've seen in weeks, it’s not a viable group - these guys are not out making new contacts, finding new customers, and trying to grow business.  They are coasting and hoping you, the newbie, will do that work for them.

If you have some free time, and this group works for you for other reasons (such as location/time/target customer), it's okay if you want to get in there and start trying to grow it. I wish you luck.  But make sure you really strongly consider the time/effort investment in a dying or dead group before you go down that path - you will be growing that group all by yourself for a while.

So, those are the five reasons your leads referral group sucks.  Are you wasting your precious time/money on groups like this?  Is your favorite group starting to show any of these signs?

Did I miss anything?  Let me know!

Five Reasons Your Leads Referral Group Sucks (Part 1)

I do a lot of leads referral marketing, and I've been to more groups than I can count (and I get invited to new ones all the time – they are, at least in my area, thick on the ground and a key tactic for small businesses in my area).

But sometimes, I run across a group and I’m like, “Wow, this group is just… wow.”

And I do not mean this in a good way.

Here's five things I've seen or heard of in groups that seem to be missing the point - you get two in this post, and three in part two (ooh, a cliffhanger!)

1) It’s too hard to become a member

I understand that you want to only associate with people that are as invested in the purpose of the group as you are.  After all, you don’t want any “free riders” and you want to protect your time and money investment in the group.

But my goodness, the hurdles some groups are asking people to jump over – before they are able to participate long enough to understand if all that effort is even worth it – are ridiculous.

I've heard of groups that require five or more one-on-ones with members (or even just a select group of members – like a “membership committee”), bringing five or more guests not in already “locked in” industries, make five or more referrals (or even worse - sales or bookings), and then the membership (or that committee) votes you in or rejects you, and then you have to also pay a yearly fee.  And you have to do this within a specific time frame or you start all over.

Yikes!  Are you trying to create a leads referral group, or are you creating a country club?  If it’s that hard to get in, aren't you limiting your group to a very small, select group?  How will you get fresh blood – and referral sources – if you make it so hard to join?

2) Industries “Locked In” are too broad

Okay, so, let’s say a group has a graphic artist in the group, and he’s a “locked in” member (no other people can join in his industry).  His name is Sebastian. His main focus is designing logos, print pieces, and signage for businesses, but Sebastian also has a little experience in designing web pages and making online videos.

You're such a jerk, Sebastian.

Rowanne shows up to the group, and Rowanne, while also a graphic designer, is completely focused on building web pages and making online videos.

While yes, Rowanne’s business overlaps Sebastian’s, if the group allows both, they can both specialize and both can work together (and refer to each other).

But in many groups, Sebastian would not “allow” Rowanne into the group, in order to protect his leads (because he might want that web/video business).

This is horrifically short sighted, people, and a sign of a membership that is so afraid that the product/service they offer is so poor it can’t survive without a highly protected leads market.

To me, it smacks of low self-esteem and lack of confidence in yourself and your product.  Groups made up of people like this tend to be full of drama, gossip, and a waste of time.

I'll list the three other reasons in Part 2.  What do you think so far?  Have you encountered groups like this?

If It Hasn’t Been Tested, It’s An Opinion, Not A Fact (Part 2)

Okay, so, you've accepted that your opinion is just an opinion, and you want to know the facts.  What now?

You really should have a written marketing budget and plan, as your channel choices will be constrained by this.  For example, if your ideal customer prefers radio most of all, but you can't afford to run any ads, you'll need to find other less optimal options within your budget OR you'll need to divert other resources into that channel.

Evaluate your current marketing tactics.

1. List all currently active marketing channels and expense on a monthly basis.  Is this something you can or want to do yourself, or do you need or want to pay someone else to do for you?
2. Do these channels match the preferences of my ideal customer (yes/no).  Your channel provider should provide pretty detailed demographic/audience information to you.  If your answer is "no"or "don't know", test phasing out those channels first.
3. Are there any channels you are not using that your ideal customer may prefer (yes/no).  If "yes" or "don't know", consider testing phasing in a new channel that you have a high level of confidence is preferred by your ideal audience.

Wait, how many times do I measure, again?

How do you test?  That’s entirely dependent upon the tactic. There are best practices for each.  Consult with the expert(s) in that channel to do your test (or, you could, y’know, contact me and I’ll point you in the right direction).

Note in point 2 above, I said, " TEST phasing out those channels".  In some cases, it will be obvious that a channel isn't working for you, but sometimes it isn't so clear, and you shouldn't drop a channel outright without testing its effectiveness (with the hypothesis being that the channel provides no lift in sales).

You might have a channel that's actually working for you and it isn't directly obvious without testing, or the combination of a few channels are working, but if you eliminate one, the effectiveness of others suffers.

Always make sure you have an evaluation plan, a hypothesis, and success measures.  For example, "My direct mail campaign is successful if it gives me more than three new customer phone calls a week" is a possible hypothesis and a success measure (assuming three leads is what you need to have a "profit" in sales over the cost of the direct mail campaign).

Run the test, evaluate the results, and implement the result.  Be aware that some things you believe to be true with all of your heart will turn out to be untrue, and be willing to implement the result, no matter what they are.

Because things constantly change, plan to do this process every so often – it may be a regular schedule, or, it may be if certain business indicators (such as the number of leads you get in a month from that channel) seem to be not growing (holding steady or declining).

That how you convert opinions into facts.  You want to operate your business based on the facts.

If you need help working through this process, I'd be happy to lend a hand.  Contact me and let's get started!

If It Hasn't Been Tested, It’s An Opinion, Not A Fact (Part 1)

Ever heard this (or said this) before?

“[x] doesn't work.  I've done this for years and I know this to be true.  Experience (or conventional wisdom, or experts, or whatever authority you want to pick) says so.”

The thing is, sometimes that statement is absolutely true. And sometimes, well, not so much.

As we've discussed, your gut could be lying to you.  Or maybe a mentor might have implanted this opinion in your brain a decade ago and you've held it as a core belief ever since.  You might have heard someone trying [x] with disastrous results (or did it yourself, even).

Here’s the thing: unless you verify that [x] “doesn't work” – how do you really know?

Without verification and testing, all you have is an opinion. Yes, it could be an informed opinion.  And yes, it’s not always possible to test every idea the way you’d like, for a variety of reasons, and you can’t hold up everything you do because it hasn't been tested.

100% unadulterated marketing savvy!

But don’t let your opinion become the barrier to your success.  Be open to trying – and testing – new things.  You might find the old ways no longer apply – and things that didn't work, might work now.

How do you test?  How do you get the “facts”?

Let’s assume that [x] – the thing that does or does not work based on your opinion - is any given marketing tactic.

It could be social media, newspaper ads, yellow page ads, radio and television, search engine optimization, direct mail, email, online advertising, door hangers, trade shows, sponsorship, customer service, existing customer referral programs… the list of marketing tactics are longer than your arm and change constantly as new channels come online and old ones die off.

Before we move on, can you articulate who your ideal customer is?  Do you have your message in mind?  No? Contact me NOW!

Yes?  Good, now let’s consider tactics and testing... in Part 2.

Image: © Prometeus Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Your Gut LIES (Part 2)

As noted in Your Gut LIES (part 1), we like to project what we believe and feel on those around us.  How does this lead you astray in your business?

You have to remember: your business is not about you.

Once again:  YOUR BUSINESS IS NOT ABOUT YOU.

It’s about your ideal customer, and what they want – no more, no less.

Do NOT make the mistake of assuming that your customers or potential customers agree with you!

If you are aiming at your ideal customer, you need to be pretty well versed in what they need and want from you.  Don’t be totally focused on what you want from them – serve their needs, and you’ll get what you need naturally.

So how do you know what customers want?  Here’s some ways:

•  Ask outright!  A few ways to do this are: ask them in person, via email or postcard, or via anonymous surveys (free survey tool with basic response analysis here: Survey Monkey)
• Consult studies and white papers.  There are numerous free/inexpensive resources out there to help you understand certain customers and business segments, but it takes some time and some Google-fu to find it.
• Test different ideas/offers/messages and observe the behavior in response over time.

Mmm, Sacred Business Cow.

Make your decisions based upon data and objective facts as best you can. Be open to the notion that your most sacred business cows might need to be slaughtered, slathered in delicious Gate's Barbecue Sauce and eaten because they are not serving your customers’ needs or best interest.

Always keep in mind that you may be making decisions based upon faulty information.  We can’t always have perfect information for every decision we make; just realize that new information might require you to adjust your plan and viewpoint. Be ready to adapt and change.

Because that gut feeling you have just might be lying to you.

Your Gut LIES (Part 1)

What we call “gut feeling” is usually a combination of wishful thinking, conventional wisdom, personal experience, half-remembered true information, and projecting our own preferences upon everyone around us.

It’s an easy – and human – thing to do; to project your own experience, opinion and beliefs on everyone around us.  We all do it, all the time.

Have you ever heard someone express an opinion completely the opposite of yours, and wonder to yourself how any “normal” person could think that way?  Was that person a friend, and did it change how you thought or felt about that person? 

LALALA! I'm not listening!

In our professional life, we do the same thing – we make the assumption that our preferences and beliefs are held by the people we want to do business with.  Much of the time, it's because we either couldn't or wouldn't take the time figure out our business from the customer's point of view.

Do you have in place a way to "represent" the customer?  Check out how HubSpot does it here:  Your Customers Are Not Ignorant, Selfish Control Freaks

Here's the thing: when you run your business by your "gut", you're allowing your business to be run to your personal satisfaction, not to the satisfaction of your customers.  Remember, it's the customers who pay the bills, so their preferences are of prime importance.

When our customers state a completely different preference from one we hold dear, we’re baffled – how could they think this way? What is wrong with them?

There’s nothing wrong with them, they’re just not you.  Your "gut" is outright lying to you, 

More on how your gut lies (and what to do about it) in Part 2.

Customer Service is your Best Marketing Tactic (Part 2)

Continuing the discussion from Part 1.

Ok, so, you’re a small business.  Your resources are very limited and you have to make the most of every marketing dollar spent.  You've decided to integrate excellent customer service as a key part of your marketing tactics.

So, how do you get started?

Man with a plan - do you have one?

I think the place you have to begin is by identifying your ideal customer and build your customer service process around them.  You've done this, in your marketing plan, right?  If not, contact me and let's get to work on that.

Next, you must understand that ideal customer.  What are their expectations and needs? Build a process and a culture (even if it’s just you, it’s still a culture) that meets or exceed those expectations and needs every time that customer comes in contact with you in any way.

Don't make the mistake of assuming they need and want what you need and want.  Do your research and find out what they say - either directly (by asking) or indirectly (by tracking purchasing behavior) or ideally, both.

The details of how to deliver this - and thus, what excellent customer service looks like - vary from company to company and industry to industry.  Consider not only the standard in your own industry, but also the standards of those industries that are recognized as tops in customer service.  This would usually be personal services (like spas as mentioned in part 1) but also think about high end hotels, casinos, and any business you frequent yourself that you think does an excellent job in delivering customer service.

Here's a few tips I think are generally universal:

• Smile when you are talking on the phone
• If you make a commitment, follow through on that promise
• Use honesty and own the situation when things go wrong

There's one tip you can integrate immediately into your daily process, and it’s been around for a long time (and you don’t have to be religious at all to agree with the sentiment):

Philippians 2:3-4

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

3 Do nothing [a]from [b]selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2%3A3-4&version=NASB

 It sounds simple, but takes practice, process, and work.  I can help you with that.

Customer Service is your Best Marketing Tactic (Part 1)

The goals of marketing, greatly simplified, fall into three basic categories:

•  Generating new customer leads
• Retaining and growing existing customers
•  Reactivating inactive/lapsed customers

People don’t usually think of customer service as a marketing tactic, but I argue that it’s a tactic that is well put to use in category 1 and 2 (category 3 is trickier and I’ll talk about that another time, or, you can contact me and I’ll talk your ear off about it).

Most of our time/energy is spent on the first category - new leads.  I don't think you should ignore this, but you must make sure you are spending a lot of time addressing the second category (retention and growth of existing customers).

How many companies have you interacted with that had huge marketing budgets and slick facilities, but when you dealt with them, it was obvious they didn't care much about you as a person, but only how much money you could give them at the moment?

  

Do you think she just got
back from the spa or the airport?

Companies with that point of view need to have "captive" customers with few options other than to deal with them (examples would be the United States Postal Service, airlines, and cable/dish tv companies) or they depend on tactics that drive a LOT of new customers so they can “afford” to lose more of them later.

In my opinion, the airline industry is the perfect example of this.  Check out the American Customer Satisfaction Index satisfaction scores by industry, and sure enough, airlines are usually in the bottom five every year.  ASCI by Industry.

Look at the personal services industries, such as spas - wouldn't it be great if your airline treated you as if you were a spa customer at a spa?  Yeah, I won't hold my breath on that one, either!

For you, however, here's why you need to always like a spa (no matter what your business offers) and not like an airline: your customers generally will NOT be captive and will have plenty of options to acquire your product/service via other means.  Most small businesses can't afford to "fill that funnel" with new customers to overcome the loss of existing customers due to poor customer relationships.

Here's one key thing to keep in mind: acquiring new customers is almost always more expensive and more difficult than retaining and growing existing customers.

As a small business person, you need to acquire new customers always, but once you have acquired them, you need to keep them.  And one of the most cost-effective is to deliver excellent customer service.

More on that in part 2.