Quality, Service, and Expertise Do Not Matter

I am currently in a sales training class at Trustpointe, a Sandler Sales Company, who I highly recommend  to anyone looking for sales training and expertise. We were talking about the idea of quality, service, and expertise not mattering when involved in marketing communications. I have been wrestling with that concept over the past 48 hours and decided… who best to ask?

I have been under the assumption that it is absolutely idiotic to use “best customer service” in marketing communications. I’m still convinced that you have to be a little more creative  to gain the attention of a consumer base when using traditional marketing… even more when using social media marketing.

Plain and simple… everyone has quality, service, and expertise. What makes you different from everyone in your industry? If I get hit with marketing that says “Best Quality since 1889
“… Do I really care? No. I don’t.

I care about how you personally take care of your customers. I care about how you go about your daily routine.

Seth Godin has always said that people have come to expect that you have quality, service, and expertise… you do not have to keep telling us… show us.

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Sell by Educating Through Social Media

Seth Godin had a great blog post yesterday talking about the fear of apples and the top two reasons people are not buying your product:

1. They don’t know about it.

2. They’re afraid of it.

Haven’t we been dealing with fear quite a bit this year? If you are a sales person (which most small business owners are) you may have seen the effects of this fear on your bottom line. The down economy has been killing the “risk-taking” gene of many professionals from corporate level employee to small business owner. The “risk-taking” gene is that diamond in the rough that allows for business to exist… to flourish. It reminds me on the William Shedd quote: A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.

Are your clients clamming up? Are potential customers not buying because they do not know about your product or service…. or they are just… afraid?

Companies that use social media for lead generation and product information have a huge advantage over the companies that do not use the tools. Social media gives you the ability to inform your potential clients on products with stories! What better way to inform?

Be honest with me… would you rather read a story or boring product/service information?

I would rather read a story… every… single… time.

What stories are you telling your clients?What about your potential clients? Do you have a blog where you are writing your business stories? The marketing for your business should read like a book… a book of stories… a book where your potential leads learn about your company.

When the time comes to buy on a product or service… who do you think they are going to call? You or the business who doesn’t care about educating through stories?

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The Power of a Decision. Be A Risk Taker!

There are times when I stumble through Seth Godin’s blog and he rocks my life into oblivion… this morning it happened again. Seth has a post about decision making and the power of making a decision in the world of business growth… as many decisions as possible. Interesting thought right?

From Seth’s blog:

No decision is a decision as well, the decision not to decide. Not deciding is usually the wrong decision. If you are the go-to person, the one who can decide, you’ll make more of a difference. It doesn’t matter so much that you’re right, it matters that you decided.

Don’t you feel like standing up and singing hallelujah? Don’t you feel like making some strategic decisions? I know I do.

What is keeping you from moving to the next step of business growth? Is it a marketing initiative? Is it jumping into social media (God forbid)? Are you letting yourself make decisions that might have a negative effect on your bottom line… that is key. Successful businesses take risks and live to tell about it.

And if you don’t live to tell about it…

At least you can say you tried your best and gave it your all. If you don’t make risky decisions and adapt to the changing world… you may be dusting off that resume.

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25 Reasons Why Your Company is Boring

(This was sparked from a Seth Godin post called You’re Boring. It was brilliant. I had to write about it.)

You know you a boring business if..

1. You have a tri-fold brochure with little business cards that you hand out to everyone you see… and I do mean EVERYONE.

2. You designed the tri-fold in Publisher.

3. You are using a type-font called Arial, Times New Roman, or Courier for your logo… and you made the logo in Microsoft Word.

4. You decide not to blog because “I just don’t have the time.” Your potential customers don’t have the time to read it anyway.

5. You use your initials for your company name. (This is a give or take depending on your initials)

6. Yellow Pages is the only marketing for your business because you have been doing it for a decade. Why change a good thing? (ha)

7. You attend networking events and take as many business cards as possible but never help another business professional.

8. If your website says “Copyright 2002″ or anytime before 2007.

9. All your collateral material looks different… different colors… old logos… better yet… no logo.

10. You refuse to think outside the box and go out on a limb (marketing or anything else).

11. You get up after 9am.

12. If you photo-copy a flier and hand it out. Spend the extra money and get full color. Better yet, don’t use a flier. Doesn’t everyone?

13. You have an individual answering your phone that sounds like they just woke up from a nap or smoked a bowl.

14. YOU USE AN EMAIL THAT Ends with a phone or cable company: AOL, SBCGLOBAL, or the like.

15. You refuse to act on ideas until they are safe or your competitor does it. Ready, Fire, Aim. Fail.

16. You do not attend networking events because you have “better ways to spend your time.” You will be spending your time closing your business account at the bank.

17. You never have a new idea. You just copy others.

18. Social Media is scary to you. So you do the next best thing… you ignore it.

19. You hard sell EVERYONE. Nobody cares. Put away your product or service. Can I get to know you first? I don’t give a crap if you can save me 20%.

20. You have goals. Wait. Well, you HAD goals but you didn’t write them down so…

21. You look down your nose at everyone who is younger or less experienced. You never pay them but want to share services.

22. You actually cut your marketing budget because sales are down.

23. Your Twitter account has no interaction… just a broadcast message.

24. You send an Auto-DM on Twitter. Period.

25. You cut your business cards yourself and left the tattered edges.

The best things about having a boring business is that you can change. You can turn into the vibrant and growing company that will be the pride and joy of your life. Well, other than your children or significant other.

Top 5 Reasons B2B PR Practitioners Should Embrace Social Media

Today’s guest post is by Paige Holden of BlissPR. Bliss PR specializes in creating and promoting thought leadership, using a variety of public relations and marketing communications techniques. They help their clients develop points of view, predictions, trend commentary and insights, positioning them as experts in the media and category leaders in their markets.

Top 5 Reasons B2B PR Practitioners Should Embrace Social Media

If you’ve seen any B2B public relations professionals recently, you may want to give them a gift certificate to a spa treatment or at least a pat on the back.  They’re feeling more than a little shell shocked.

I was, too.  Social Media is just beginning to hit B2B PR and our industry is scrambling to find our footing and help our clients. But it’s time to stop stalling and start learning.  Here’s why:

Traditional media is dying. It’s not a secret that traditional media is either dying or going online. This presents a slew of new challenges for public relations practitioners who rely on the media to help communicate clients’ messages. In our firm, we don’t throw splashy events or launch exciting new products. We clarify and refine complex stories for niche audiences. With business publications folding, our small universe is getting smaller and, unless we find new ways to communicate, we won’t be sustainable.

Know the news before it breaks. News breaks faster online than anywhere else. When the plane crashed in the Hudson River, the story was discussed ad nauseum on Twitter before it even hit television. Monitoring breaking news for my experts is a huge part of my job. I find that Twitter, and other networks, keeps me ahead of the media time curve.

Networking online is more efficient. PR is an industry fueled by networking, but who has time to go to out every night? Between Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs, there is no excuse to be a stranger. Every day I touch base with peers, thought leaders and the media which helps me not only develop stronger relationships, but also become a smarter professional.

Social media belongs in the PR bucket. Public relations professionals have an opportunity to learn it, embrace it and start building services around it before another industry steals it. There has been some debate over which “bucket” social media should fall into, but I adamantly believe public relations should own it. Sure, the implementation is different, and it does get “techy” at times, but social media is first and foremost a communications vehicle. The principles inherent in using social media – creativity, transparency and responsiveness – are the same philosophies that we use in PR every day.

“Tribes” have replaced traditional audiences: As Seth Godin explains in his new book, the online community is actually composed of millions of smaller groups of “tribes” – people who are passionately devoted to their own interests. Whether it’s shoes, personal finance or accounting law, there is a group of people waiting to be found and activated. Understanding how to serve these new communities must be part of every PR professional’s “tool kit.”

Counseling nervous clients. Clients see social media as a PR tool, so they will ask you about it.  Because clients are likely nervous about social media, it’s important to “get” it before you sell it. Unfortunately, market demand for social media has incented people into selling it as a service before they are ready, which is not only dishonest, but it can also yield poor results that will send clients packing. Surely let your clients know that social media is all about testing and learning, but you shouldn’t be mastering the basics on their dime.

What do you think…what’s holding you back from using social media tools? Or do you have some “getting started” lessons you can share with us?

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Never Settle For Good Content. Go Great.

Sometimes I take on an envious quality that I am not overly proud of… Sometimes I wish I was someone else… That someone is usually.. Seth Godin. Yesterday was just another one of the envy days.

Seth had an April Fools post that didn’t have much content. He went on to describe the reasons for not posting his April Fool’s post. He had it written and decided.. ehhh.. it’s not that great. Because of the quasi-good content, Seth decided to post nothing.

The funny thing about this is…despite the fact he “thinks” he posted nothing.. there was a TON of value in the post. The valuable nugget of information? When you are writing your blog, tweet, or anything having to do with communicating online make you add as much quality as possible to your content.

If you are not secure with a post… don’t post it. If you are not proud of the content… write something else. Don’t stress out completely, just try again in a couple of hours.

Great content is a quantum leap over “good” content. Always.

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Use Your Highlight Reel to Build Your Story

I should just start a blog called, “Seth Godin Strikes Again!” because he is constantly reminding me of GREAT concepts in marketing. He has a post called, Which parts are you skipping? The concept of the post is to remind marketers that it is important to build a foundation to your story, make the good parts of the story easy to find and the beauty of the entire process… not just a piece.

This is an important concept, especially for the small business owner who is looking to establish a strategy in social media marketing. It is extremely important to build out a strategy (a foundation) before you begin using the hundreds of tools at your fingertips in the world of social media.

Every tool you use, whether it is Facebook, Vimeo, or your personal blog, is a highlight of the overall picture: You and Your Business. Social media marketing is a small piece of the overall puzzle but it does help you develop small highlight reels that build brand development.

Remember to focus on the overall strategy and use your highlight reel to pull people into the story.

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Social Media? Networking? Good For Small Business?

Ricardo Bueno has an excellent post at Ribeezie called Social Networking: Is It Good For Small Business?  He piggbacks off of a Seth Godin quote from the Amex’s Open Forum:

“Networking is always important when it’s real and it’s always a useless distraction when it’s fake. What the internet has allowed is an enormous amount of fake networking to take place.”

This quote hit me simply because I have been debating on how to make social media more effective in a marketing environment.  The small business marketing world in Indianapolis is a buzz with the concept of using social media marketing to drive revenue. So how do we go about using social media to drive revenue? Brand development? Pure enjoyment?

Ricardo and Seth hit it right on the head: Genuine Relationships.

When using social media it is extremely important to take time in developing your network on a personal level. The concept is the same with Offline Networking in a group like Rainmakers Marketing Group. Offline and Online networking are extremely similar in many aspects when it comes to mutual respect between individuals.

Respect me. I will respect you.

Add in a personal thing or two. Do you have kids? What do you enjoy most out of life?

I would rather not have posts constantly talking about your new blog post or new product offering. Tell me something that makes it personal.

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Social Media Failure: Get Up and Dust Off Your…

Image via Wikipedia

On occasion I will write a post regarding something Seth Godin has written on his blog (this is an understatement). A couple of days ago Seth wrote a post entitled Failure As An Event. In the post he talks about some of the big failures in his life and the lessons he learned from them.

After reading the post, I started thinking about the concept of getting back up after you have been knocked down. The concept of never-ending strength in driving toward specific goals in life is extremely important to long term success. This is especially true for all of the “social media junkies” or “soon to be junkies” out there.

There will be times when you fail in the blogging arena. You may write a bad post. You may miss your personal or company deadline for a post. Heck, you may even forget to write for a couple of days! Or experience a huge decline in readership despite your best writing (or so you thought).

This also applies to taking the time and being persistent in social media. Everything you do online should be mapped out and organized. Do you want to post 10 times a week? Do it and try to do it consistently. When you miss a date…keep going forward.

It takes time to see any type of return in the social media world. Set out ambitious goals for yourself in regards to your social media use. Mix it in with some traditional marketing. Figure out how it fits in your overall strategy for world domination!

And if you fail…

Get up. Reevaluate. Try again.

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3 Ways To Help Face the FEAR of Social Media

Thank you to Brad Ward at SquaredPeg for his post entitled, Resistance. In his post, Brad quotes Seth Godin:

“It’s easy to be against something that you are afraid of.

And it’s easy to be afraid of something that you don’t understand.”

As social media evangelists, many of us run into road blocks when it comes to usage of social media with coworkers or clients. Honestly, I can tell you that the majority of the push back has been from the church sector where we have been marketing social networks for membership building and community development.

Fear has kept many people away from this wonderful tool because of a misunderstanding, or better yet, a lack of understanding. Every person on the planet has had to deal with fear in at least one point of their lives.  Maybe minus my FriendFeed acquaintance Duncan Riley, who seems to have no fear. Period.

Kyle. We get the point. People have fear of something they don’t understand. This fear keeps them from opening up and becoming involved in something that could help them in the long run. So what? Why do we care? Should we care?

Absolutely we should care! It is our job as social media users convince the fearful among us to embrace this medium. Shouldn’t we tout and spread the word on something we love so much?

How do we help the non-believers face their fear of Social Media? I have 3 points to help you along your way. Please Pass GO and give me your $200.

1. Put It Into Their Context

An employee of our company, Brady Wood,  was recently on a conference call with 60-70 pastors from the Church Multiplication Association. He was trying to explain to them the concept of a NING Network to help with the facilitation of training for new and current pastors. Needless to say, there was some push back. No one was at fault for this. It was new territory and it was our job to explain it to them.

Brady decided to explain the community network in terms of the conference call the pastors were currently on. He proceeded to liken an online community dialogue with that of the conference call. The sharing of ideas between people to create one solid idea that care be shared by a community of “believers.” Needless to say… they got it.

2. Throw Them Into The Water

There is no better way to experience something than to throw yourself into it head first and learn on the way down. It may not be the easiest way to face fears and shift paradigms but it will work all the same. There are times when I am consulting with a client and I will tell them, “Maybe you should take a couple of weeks and just try your hand at LinkedIN and Plaxo? I want you to write 5 blog posts and link them. When you are done with that… email me.”

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. You have to judge the personality of the person you are helping and plan accordingly.

3. Hold Their Hand (In Public)

Sometimes the only thing a person needs is to be taught how to use a platform. I’m not talking a word document that has the necessary step by step actions to add a picture to Facebook. I’m talking about sitting down with someone and physically walking them through the steps of a social network.

I have found that once you teach someone one network it doesn’t take long for them to grasp the other networks. It only takes one network to get rid of the fear and headtrash. After that one thing, you have created another evangelist.