Archive for WIIFM
New business secrets to increase revenue
Posted by: | Comments
So the carbon tax was in the news again yesterday – this time because it’s likely not to be the huge cost (revenue earner) business (government) thought it might be. But the sad truth is that businesses have incurred higher bills for all sorts of things since its introduction – despite warnings and prosecutions from the ACCC regarding price gouging.
And when costs go up almost everyone starts wanting to drop costs. But let’s face it, there are only so many costs you can reasonably trim, before you lose the ability to actually run your business properly. So if you’ve gotten to the end of your cost-cutting rope – what else can you do?
What about increasing your revenue via new business?
Yes, even in tough(ish) times there’s always more new business to be found. Regardless of good times, tough times, GFCs, etc there’s always someone doing well.
But, if there’s so much new business out there, why then, do so many business owners hate ‘doing’ new business?
Business owners hate being rejected
The reason, research tells us, is because most of us fear being rejected. Yep, me too.
And we give up too quickly. Actually the statistics on how quickly sales people and business owners responsible for new business give up are alarming, but I digress.
One of the biggest reasons we’ve all had miserable experiences with new business in the past is because we’ve focussed on the wrong thing – getting our customer to buy what we’re selling; not selling what the customer wants. Yes, it’s a fine distinction, but it’s a really important one.
It’s not that your product or service isn’t the best in the world – it’s just that your customer, isn’t really that interested.
Customers aren’t interest except in themselves and WIIFM
So if they’re not interested in your product or service – what are they interested in? How do you build new business?
That’s easy – your customers are interested in themselves. Your job as a business owner/service provider is to answer their most critical question – “what’s in it for me?” or WIIFM. If you get your answer to that question right, you’ll have no shortage of new business opportunities.
Next blog post we’ll look at how to put the WIIFM principle to work for your business.
If we can help you better address your customer’s WIIFM needs and build your new buisness portfolio, we’d be delighted to help.
2013 marketing predictions debunked
Posted by: | CommentsI’m just reading through Hubspot’s 2013 marketing predictions. I got to number two – Inbound marketing to business grows enterprise wide and had to write this. This is NOT a prediction. It is something that smart business owners and good marketers have known for an incredibly long time. Let me explain.
According to the prediction – marketing will no longer sustain its own department. Um, yes it will – someone (call it marketing, communications, PR, sales) has to do a lot of the work, ensure that the messaging is correct and consistent and have a plan in place to keep the effort going, which is key to the success of all marketing efforts.
BUT they are right in that good marketing is organisation wide. Ie: it doesn’t matter what the folks in marketing or sales do or how good your website or systems are, if;
- anyone in the service or customer support chain doesn’t care about the customer or is having a bad day or
- the shopfront or office ‘feel’ is off or
- the product or service doesn’t live up to expectation or
- the after service support either doesn’t exist or is painful for the customer (or someone else in the chain if you’re a manufacturer).
If your customer is experiencing either pain or even just a disconnect anywhere in your touchpoint process, very likely there are choppy waters ahead (and there’s a solid prediction for you).
Hubspot say this prediction is being driven by the customer being in control. Nope that’s not right either. The customer shouldn’t control your business (it is after all YOUR business) – BUT they should be at the very heart of all things that you do. And smart marketing people and business owners have known that for a very long time too.
To be fabulously successful (whatever that means to you), your business needs to revolve around WIIFM or the 5 most important words in the English language – What’s in it for me? from your customers’ perspectives – through every step of a customer’s interaction with you (from materials, websites, forms, reception, sales, media stories, product/services, customer service, after-care). If it does, you can pat yourself on the back for apparently ‘being ahead of your time’. If you’ve been doing it for a decade or longer – no doubt you’re running a spectacularly successful business.
It is however, harder to get WIIFM right than it might seem on the surface. Lots of clients have told us that they find it hard to get out of their own way enough to see what dealing with the business is like from a customer perspective. And let’s face it, when you’re writing materials, designing your interior or talking about your wonderful product or service, you want to spending time on your favourite subject – you (and that’s okay by the way – everyone does, but it’s not what your customers/clients need to feel/see/experience).
That’s where an external marketing agency can help – they’ll be able to see things you might not and/or that you might have been willfully blind to in the past. You might also consider going down the path of using a mystery shopper service too (especially if you’re a volume business like travel, tourism, childcare, gyms, retail or healthcare). Both bring different strengths to the table and both can highlight places where you might be losing new sales or losing longer-term customers. And getting and keeping customers makes for stronger businesses.
So if you’re looking for better 2013 marketing predictions for your business or you’d like to answer WIIFM better or your business needs a customer-focussed marketing makeover, we’d be delighted to talk to you. Feel free to get in contact or join us on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter.
Networking that builds new business
Posted by: | Comments
Now BNI* gets a bit of a tough wrap. Yes, it’s a bit old school – some might even say ‘blokey’. Yes, it’s pretty formal and you have to play by their rules. Yes, it requires a serious time commitment. Yes, it costs a bit of cash to join.
BUT…
Done properly, it can also deliver some very significant benefits to your business.
As business people, and even as consumers, we prefer to do business with people – not brands, businesses, products, etc. And we have to know, like and trust those people in order for us to usually give them our business.
I was a bit grumpy when my old group (called a chapter) closed back in February after only 7 months of membership. I even complained to the founder in the US, Ivan Misner – who to his credit – engaged in some fairly robust conversation about some of the politicking that had gone on in the closing process – as did the Australian Director.
At the time, I felt like I was losing my ‘business family’. A bunch of men and women that I’d been having breakfast with each week for 7 months. They knew me and they were getting to know what my business could do for them. And they’d started to give me referrals to other business people they knew.
It worked. Even after the group was closed down, I still continued to receive referrals to qualified leads (Ie: people who wanted to do business with me, based on the strength of their relationship with the referrer and who were more or less ready to start their projects) from my former group members.
A bit of searching was required to find a new BNI group to call home. Some groups would have been great, but the marketing seat was already occupied and other groups seemed not to ‘fit’ what I was really looking for. Maybe that’s a chic thing, but for me ‘fit’ was critical. How could I do business with people I didn’t warm to, much less had to like and trust?
I also belong to a women’s business club She Business – which is an altogether different kettle of fish. We all joined to get new business, but what we actually got from our She membership was a business education, a bunch of like-minded women – the same ones we see on a regular monthly basis and we partner with each other to hold ourselves accountable for moving ourselves and our businesses forward. In other words, we’ve developed business friends.
That’s not to say that you can’t build a business without joining a BNI group or She Business – absolutely you can and many people do. But, if you want your business building to be a bit easier and maybe even a bit more fun, find yourself a group of like-minded people who meet regularly, commit to getting to know them and be open to what happens. Be patient – the business will come.
* For those of you who’ve never heard of BNI, it’s a business networking club where only one person per profession/trade can join. Most run at breakfast time and you’re pretty much required to go once a week, bring referrals and meet up with at least one other member a week outside the breakfast meeting. Onerous maybe, but it works. My ROI has been spectacular around 20x my paid investment in my first 9 months (and many of those clients have become ongoing clients).
Kristin Austin is a marketing & communication strategist and trainer who’s been doing the marketing ‘do’ for almost 20 years. She loves creating content and campaigns that drive engagement (using WIIFM) and capturing customers for her really lovely clients. She can be found hanging out in social media-land – for her clients’ benefit of course when she’s not working on client campaigns, strategy or writing them content. You can follow her @glitteratichic or connect on LinkedIn. If you’re not on social media and still want to connect - she’s happy to talk marketing and business boosting over coffee.
17 questions to ask when using images
Posted by: | Comments
Cautioning against a Triffid perhaps?
We all know that a picture paints a thousand words, but few people really stop and think what those words are really saying when selecting an image for their marketing materials.
Using unchanged stock photography is usually a no go. By all means use it to be inspired or to bang up on a blog post, but these days, everyone’s got access to stock shots and you really don’t want to look like everyone else, so consider chaning it up a little. You might crop the shot, change the colour or add a layer, maybe even turn a couple of photos into a photo montage.
Using a good designer might cost you a little more, but your materials will then jump out from the sea of sameness. There are lots of people who know how to use design software (and call themselves a designer), but lots fewer understand design elements and the power of design as a communication tool. Ask to see examples of their work and have them talk to you about why they chose to use the elements or colour they did – you’ll see who knows their stuff pretty quickly.
Regardless of whether you’re using stock shots, your own photography, sketches, etc or images that have been especially created for you, ask yourself these questions before using or posting your next image to make sure you’re using the right ones that deliver the right 1000 words.
- What message are we trying to send with this piece of marketing material?
- What message does this photo/image convey?
- Do 1 & 2 match?
- Would a cartoon, graph, real-life customer/user/insert image of something else grab our customer’s attention better?
- Are the concepts behind the materials and photo in keeping with each other or do they fight each other?
- What’s the hero (or centre of attention) in the shot?
- Is this image about us or our customers – remembering the WIIFM principle is the most powerful of all
- Does it really reflect our brand?
- Have we defaced/obsured or in any other way altered our brand?
- Does the image fit with our brand essence and values?
- If it has a caption, does it deliver the same message as the shot?
- Is it in any way divisive or offensive?
- Does its use send a professional message?
- Is this image so popular, our clients will have seen it on every other site
- Have we infringed someone else’s rights (copyright) by using it?
- If it’s a creative commons image, have we given it due credit?
- Have we used the image at the correct resolution for how we’re reproducing it?
Not all of these questions will require answering every time, but asking some of them might just ensure the message you want to convey and the one you do match up nicely (which is important if youwant to avoid confusing your customers).
Kristin Austin is a marketing & communication strategist and trainer who’s been doing the marketing ‘do’ for almost 20 years. She’s loves creating content and campaigns that drive engagement (using WIIFM) and capturing customers for her clients. She can be found hanging out in social media land – for her clients’ benefit of course when she’s not working on client campaigns, strategy or writing them content. You can follow her @glitteratichic or click on the LinkedIn icon on the right handside to connect there. If you’re not on social media and still want to connect - she’s happy to talk marketing and business boosting over coffee.
Image credit – WARNING
© Marilyn Barbone | Dreamstime.com
Social media is NOT your marketing plan
Posted by: | Comments
In a world of immediacy, there is nothing like social media. But let’s be clear here, as much as I might love using it as one of the tools to build my business and that of some of my clients, it is just a tool or a channel. And just one of many at that.
Social media is very far from being ‘the answer’ to every business’ marketing or customer acquisition problem.
I would even go so far as to say, if anyone tells you social media is ‘the’ way to go - RUN! Why? Because there is no ‘the’ tool, channel or answer when it comes to marketing.
To say one way is the best way is incredibily limiting at best and potentially dangerous advice at worst.
Every businesses needs the right tools and unless you know your market (ie: your customer) intimately and the channels they consume (ie: media/mediums) are not completely fragmented like most are, you’re going to need a host of ways to connect with your customers across several touch points.
You might consider the following marketing touch points in your campaign (not in any particular order and the list isn’t exhaustive);
- Direct marketing
- Email marketing
- Events & expos
- Tradeshows
- Competitions
- In-situ, instore, on-pack or on-shelf promotions
- Actual sales calls (yep, remember those)
- Phone calls
- A smile from your receptionist & a reception area that’s not dark, dank or reminiscent of an ’80s gentlemen’s club
- Media/analyst/stakeholder relations
- Thank you cards
- Branded items like umbrellas, squooshy toys, etc even yacht sail branding if you can make a business case for it
- Training or speaking programs
- Advertising (TV, radio, outdoor, location- based , online)
- Your website (and on others via links, comments and
- Networking
- Brochures, flyers or any other printed materials
- Sampling programs
- and social media
What’s most important for marketing success is that you understand who your customer is, what they’re really after – ie – what’s in it (ie: your product or service) for them (WIIFM) and reaching them where the are.
There’s an old saying “fish where the fish are” – true then, true now. There’s no point being on social media if none of your clients (or potential clients) are there. Of course there are many, many people jumping on the social media bandwagon, but if it’s not a key audience for your business, put your energy into something that’s going to build your business. Start with the list above and go from there.
In terms of finding out how to reach those customers? Ask! Especially if your business has been operating for a while, ask your customers where they hang out.
Recently, as part of a rebranding exercise for an accounting firm, we asked their clients if they used social media and what platforms they used. Now, given these clients were business owners, I would have sworn blind that they would all have been on linkedin. But no, they’re all on FaceBook. So that’s where the client set up camp (in addition to a range of other marketing activities) - and their ‘friends’ came to play. Go figure – actually, the partners run an amazing business and their core brand value (as told to us by their customers in research) is friendliness – so being ‘friended’ on FB suits them perfectly. (Just as an aside, they also ranked very highly on professional advice too).
What it really comes down to, is find what works, for your customers, your business and your budget and do that. Map it, measure it and make it better each time. If we can help, we’d love to talk to you.
Kristin Austin is a marketing & communication strategist and trainer who’s been doing the marketing ‘do’ for almost 20 years. She can be found hanging out in social media land – for her clients’ benefit of course. You can follow her @glitteratichic or click on the LinkedIn icon on the right handside to connect there. If you’re not on social media and still want to connect - she’s happy to talk marketing and business boosting over coffee.
7 tips for winning pitches & presentations
Posted by: | Comments
Two nights ago I had the great priviledge of being invited to speak to a bunch of small business owners in Sydney about building a better social media presence for their businesses. Rather than being all theory, we dissected the better things each of them could do on their pages and profiles to encourage people to connect – after all, it’s called social media for a reason and social = building a connection.
But this post isn’t about social media per se. Rather last night got me thinking about what constitutes a good presentation. One that people engage in as opposed to sitting there bored to tears (we’ve all been there!). So here are some of the rules that I play by when doing a preso whether that’s to a single business prospect, in a formal business pitch or to a room full of people.
- Understand what your audience is expecting. Are they expecting information, how-tos, pricing, practice? Deliver that and add some value just for good measure.
- Make it all about them. Even if it’s a pitch, it’s still all about them. That means starting with their problem (or if you don’t know their exact problem, start with common problems). From there you can talk about how you’d go about fixing it if you were them. Talk about research, your own or industry research – that’s how you prove your smarts. If you start with you, what you do, how long you’ve been doing it, some case studies, how smart you are, etc – you’ve pretty well bored them right up front (and you’ve got fidget central).
- Ask them questions. And be quiet. Let them know that this is a conversation, not a speech and you expect them to come along for the ride and participate.
- Use the names of those in the room. If you’ve got lots of people in the room for an event, talk to a few people beforehand, remember a handful of names and talk to those people and about their industries).
- Ignore powerpoint if you can. And if you must use it,
- Please DON’T READ off the screen. People in your audience can do that for themselves (and they’re done before you’re even half way through – more fidgeting).
- If you’re using powerpoint or keynote or whatever technology – have pictures up and talk to those. Pictures say 1000 words
- Don’t be tempted to put up more than 6 lines of text And shrinking your text to less than a font size of 28 to squish it all in isn’t on either. 4-6 words a line is ample
- If you must use words, use them as punctuation
- Be on! No-one cares what happened earlier in your day or how bad traffic was. You’re there to entertain them (even if it’s a serious pitch). Muster all the energy that you have and take them on the journey with you.
- Have some kind of call to action at the end (yes, it’s almost always a sales call of some description), so encourage them to ‘do’ something as a result of your time together.
And above all, have fun. People engage more with the people they can see are enjoying themselves and are clearly engaged by what they’re doing.
Kristin is a marketing & communication strategist and trainer who’s been doing the marketing ‘do’ for almost 20 years. She can be found hanging out in social media land – for her clients’ benefit of course. You can follow her @glitteratichic or click on the LinkedIn icon on the right handside to connect there.
7 ways to tell if your marketing guru knows their stuff
Posted by: | Comments
- Do you really want a rock star?
There are a myriad of people out there offering their services as marketers, content writers, web designers, social media gurus, etc. How do you know who’s the real deal and who’s not? Here are 7 ways to tell.
- The first giveaway is they call themselves a guru – or it might be an expert or a rockstar, superstar or something similar that shows you they have no idea. Because if they did, they’d know their business isn’t all about them, it’s all about you (their customer). Real marketers know the value of WIIFM or ‘what’s in it for me?’ from their customers’ perspective.
- You can check them out on linked in. If they don’t have 10 years of experience doing what it is that you’re hiring them for – be alert, not alarmed and find someone else.
- If you’re hiring someone to do your marketing or PR or content or social media – they must have a website and a blog and some serious social media stuff going on, preferably with some good testimonials to go with. They can still be bad and have some of this stuff, but they’re not going to be great without it. You might also want to check how they treat their staffers. Happy staffers are productive staffers. And really, you don’t want some poor intern’s blood on your hands, um I mean, project.
- Check their level of real expertise – real expertise is rounded. People with solid experience haven’t only ever worked in the social media arena. Or video (unless they’re film-maker) or websites (unless they’re a developer – in which case good luck because true web developers are creatures unto themselves and aren’t very people friendly – big kisses to all webdevs). Good marketers have created integrated campaigns using all the tools available to them. Not just one or two. They understand the core concepts of marketing, not just the tools.
- You’re told social media (or insert whatever technology is currently sexy) is all you need. Nope – that’s rather like one of those diets where they only let you eat meat or one type of fruit for weeks on end. Marketing, just like bodies, functions a whole lot better when there’s a variety of opportunities to get what you need. If someone spins this to you, run – in the other direction.
- If the term strategy means ‘doing stuff’ and they reel off a long list of actions they’re going to take – it shows a serious lack of understanding around strategic thinking. A good marketer seeks first to understand and goes from there – not seeks to figure it out as they go along. A good marketer has a tried and trusted process they’ll lead you through.
- They fling designs and colours at you without explaining why they’ve chosen that colour or picture – as it relates to your business’ brand essence (sounds wanky, but there’s method in the madness).
I’m sure there are lots of other ways you can tell – feel free to share below. And if we can help with your marketing efforts, call us (after checking linkedin of course) 
