By Judy Kirkland

Concerned that it seemed to be getting harder and harder to win new business, the owner of a mid-size IT company asked us to look at the marketing efforts she was using.  In doing the assessment, we discovered a real problem: while the IT company itself came up in searches, our client herself was completely invisible to Google and every other search engine we tried.

There was nothing about her on the company’s Web site. She didn’t appear on LinkedIn. She didn’t come up on Facebook.  But another person with her same unusual name did come up on Facebook — complete with bar photos of friends, including a tattooed friend sticking his pierced tongue out at the camera.

Imagine a prospective client doing a routine search on your name and coming up with bar photos!  Even if those aren’t your photos, it leaves a bad impression — especially if there is no other online information to counter it.

I asked my client why she didn’t put a profile on her Web site. She said she was concerned about privacy. For the same reason, she didn’t have a profile on any of the social networking sites.  I absolutely get the privacy issue.  But these days, everyone Googles before doing business with someone. Being totally invisible online sends a damaging message about you and your company: “I’m not plugged into what’s new, I’m not well connected, I’m nobody in my industry or community, and I may even have something to hide.”   That’s lousy messaging if you’re trying to build credibility for your company — or close deals.

So here’s some advice:

1.If you have a Web site, post something about yourself. No need to pour out personal details about your kids or the year you graduated from college. Just focus on your experience and enough details to show prospective clients you’re a real person with valuable skills and a passion for what you do.

2. Sign on with at least two social networks. LinkedIn and Facebook are good starting points.

3. Keep information current, and professional. Don’t display private information or inappropriate content.  “Duh,” you say, but you’d be amazed at what I’ve come across Googling otherwise brilliant business people — including one person who touted his TOP GOVERNMENT SECURITY CLEARANCE on his Web site, but poured out lurid details of a messy relationship right there in his publicly available Facebook profile.  Yikes — and yuk!

Remember that whatever you post can stick around the Internet forever. To paraphrase my grandmother: Live your life [online] in a way that would let you give the family parrot to the village gossip.

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Great quote from hockey legend Wayne Gretsky!  And what’s true for hockey is true for business.  Yet so many businesses don’t take shots — and not just because of the economy.

Entrepreneurs lack the time or staff to put new “shots” into play. A services provider, for example, had a great idea for using a whitepaper to establish his firm as the expert in a particular niche.  But by the time he got around to writing it, the opportunity had vanished. He missed 100% of that new business potential.

Large organizations miss out by focusing only on the game, not the shot. For instance, an Association’s training revenues were falling as more and more members were choosing lower-priced training packages from competitors. Instead of taking a shot — like creating a stand-alone landing page — decision-makers folded the training issue in with their bigger-picture “game” of redesigning the entire Association website.  The delay cost the Association revenues from 100% of the members who went elsewhere for training.

For mid-size businesses, indecision is often the “shot stopper.” At one business, for example, growth began to slow and the marketing manager determined that the company’s future lay in expanding into two vertical markets. He talked to EchoPoint about one of our Strategy & Tactics Roadmaps. His objectives and budget were clear and from sales scripts and online marketing, to phasing in website improvements, the plan would have had him “taking shots” almost immediately.  But then he hesitated: what if he could rev up existing markets without risking money trying to enter new ones?  Months later, however, he hasn’t committed to either direction, growth has stopped dead, and competitors have already moved into those vertical markets he’d intended to target.

Bottom line: Don’t take “wild throws” with poor quality materials, off-base tactics or bad messaging.  But do find a way to get more shots off.  If you don’t have a plan, get one.  If you don’t have a budget, set one – even if it’s small. If you don’t have time, contract with a marketing project manager. And most of all, do it now — before opportunities vanish and competitors move in.

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We’ve got one of the toughest economies in half a century. No one really knows what’s ahead. So let’s take a look at what you do know:

1. You’ve got to keep marketing, otherwise your customers will disappear.

2. You’ve got an incredibly tight budget.

3. You’ve got to show results for every dollar you spend.

How can you make sure you ONLY invest only in your absolute “biggest bang” tactics? Continue reading Secrets of Recession Marketing: Get “On Message”

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We were talking with a prospective client the other day – sales director of a handyman franchise.  The franchise has a terrific concept, solid business model, great Web site and they’ve invested in terrific branding.  Even so, they’re having a tough time getting call-backs on franchise inquiries. 

“It’s the housing crash,” the sales director said.  “Prospects don’t want to be in a market they perceive as stagnant.  It’s tough to show promise when existing franchisees are getting slammed.”

Remember the saying that when a door slams, a window opens?  Well, after our conversation with the franchise sales manager, we went looking for one.

What we found was a New York Times article: Contractors Are Kept Busy Maintaining Abandoned Homes.  Hmmmmmmm.  Maybe a handyman business could move into the abandoned-home upkeep market … maybe they could also maintain properties that homeowners are renting until the market improves and they can find buyers … maybe franchisees could forge links with referrers like realtors and “hub” customers like lenders … in fact, maybe the national franchise could make these links … now that could be a double win for the franchise in attracting new franchisees and in seeing better revenues from existing ones.  Hmmmmmmm.

That may or may not prove to be the right window for that particular franchise.   The point is that even if it’s not, it may lead to one. Just flipping your perspective could reveal an all-new value proposition that literally sends ideas about being “stagnant” out the window! 

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By Judy Kirkland

Maybe we should all pay as much attention to our internal communications as we do to marketing messaging … especially if we care about profits!

I was chatting on the phone with a young friend of mine who works for a mid-sized company.  “Gotta go,” she said. “Our ‘leader’ has called us all into a big meeting to us get up to speed on some new customer service strategy.” 

About 5 minutes later, she forwarded me a note from her Blackberry.  It was a lusciously tempting HTML email from The Cheesecake Factory offering a special — just $1.50 a slice.  When I scrolled through the chain of people who’d forwarded the email, I saw at least four people I knew were also attending that meeting.  Yikes!    At least 25% of ‘Our Leader’s” audience was out to lunch – and actively thinking about dessert.

“Pay attention!” I texted.

“Can’t,” she texted back.  “This PowerPoint’s pure valium.” Wow. That’s a wake-up call – literally! 

That marketing message from The Cheesecake Factory was carefully targeted, beautifully crafted and had one heck of a good value proposition.  No such investment had been made in the internal communication because it was “just for employees.”

That’s common, yet it’s also alarming.  After all, what was at stake in that presentation was the company’s ability to engage employees to improve customer satisfaction, retention, and repeat business.   

Afterwards, I asked my friend what the customer service strategy was. Her answer, “We’re supposed to pretend we’re interested in customers.”  Oh gosh! That’s not at all what “Our Leader” wants.  He wants employees to be proactive, helpful, cheerful, resourceful … and really interested in customers. 

What was the disconnect?  There was no value proposition:  Why does taking an interest in customers matter? Well, maybe it will help the company grow (so staff can enjoy better salaries and advancement opportunities). Maybe the company will give the staff free vacation time for a 30% increase in customer retention. Maybe it will take away stress and help staff get home on time and in a better mood.  The point is, if you’re trying to engage any audience – even a captive one – you need the right value proposition.  And the sweeter you make it, the faster you see results.

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