The Evolving Internet Marketer

Marketing Sherpa provides great information and guidance on what works, and doesn’t, in all aspects of marketing.

They recently published a chart reflecting the results of a poll conducted with webinar attendees. The results, if you’re a vendor, should be eye opening.

Why do you lose business? Why does your customer loyalty stink? The lie we tell ourselves is that our competitors offered a superior price. The truth? Our service sucks.

If you’re into pain, take a look at the following chart and link through to Marketing Sherpa’s analysis (but be forewarned, they only make these results publicly available for a limited time…):

Source: Marketing Sherpa - Customers & Vendors Disagree on Loyalty

Marketing Sherpa’s Analyis: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?id=30719

At my physical therapist’s recently working on rehabbing my knee after a partial meniscectomy, I asked him if he knew the folks at the Runners Roost shoe store across the street. He said he hadn’t met them but he’d probably sent 40 people over their because they’re about the best around when it comes to fitting your feet to the right running shoes.

I asked him if he didn’t think that there might be a reciprocal marketing relationship there? After all, people go to a high end running shoe store for two reasons, in my opinion:

1. They’ve got bad feet; arches are flat, they overpronate, etc. and/or
2. They’re really serious about running and they need a custom fit…

In either case, it’s likely that a certain percentage might need physical therapy. My wife, for example, has an alignment problem that orthotics haven’t helped but physical therapy might.

And if a guy comes in and introduces himself as the fellow who’s referred 40 potential customers, a store owner might just want to return the favor by

• Referring customers with PT needs
• Organizing an in store seminar where said physical therapist - a very nice guy and extremely competent PT named Jason Cherry of Belmar Physical Therapy, P.C. - might talk to the Runners Roost’s clientele about avoiding injury while running, etc.
• Placing a link on their website to Jason’s
• Buying Jason a beer or all of the above.

The point of all of this? There are always businesses whose customer base overlaps with yours but with whom you do not compete. Look for opportunities to partner with them in a way that mutually increases your opportunites, sales and profits while adding value to your customer’s experience. Apart from word of mouth and referals this is one of the most powerful marketing strategies around!

Don’t you find that it’s easy to recall the seminal images of your life…

• Giggling at the altar during your wedding ceremony
• The birth of your first child
• The Daisy Ad from the 1964 Presidential Campaign

You know the Daisy Ad. Ran once and pulled because it was too controversial. Child counting daisy petals as she plucks them supplanted by count down to nuclear explosion followed by ominous voice over? Cool News of the Day reminded me of the power of media in general and advertising in specific to create an image and preserve a message over generations.

I was 7 years old but I can still story board the Daisy Ad even after all of these years.

What kind of impression do you leave? Do people remember you? Your products? Your services? Or are you merely a momentary marketer leaving as lasting an impression as footprints in a desert sandstorm?

—-

PS - imagine the even greater power of the Daisy Ad if YouTube had been around in 1964!

Worth repeating (from the American Marketing Association newsletter)…

A two-percent increase in customer retention has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10 percent.¹

—
1 Business Gain from How You Retain, CMO Council with CSC, IBM and Dun & Bradstreet, April 2008

Whether you sell products or services you can steal a page from OpenTable.com’s approach on how to follow up with your customers.

OpenTable is the leader in providing online restaurant reservations. They do an excellent job on the front end whether you know where you want to dine or are looking for suggestions.

We had an opportunity to use them to book reservations for Fathers’ Day brunch. After the event they did something that all of us who use the web to promote and sell our stuff should do … they followed-up!

A day after our reservation I received an email asking about our experience with the restaurant we dined at (Duo in the Highlands area of Denver - I highly recommend it!). Such a simple idea but too often overlooked. When you sell a customer a product or provide a service how about inviting their comments and feedback after they’ve had an opportunity to use the product or once the service has been delivered. Why? Well for one, your customers appreciate it. It sets you apart as too few vendors ever take the time to do this. Second, it allows you to be a hero instead of a zero. (My friend and client, Mark Sanborn, talks about the hero/zero choice in a November 2007 post at his blog.) You’re a hero when you find out that your customer’s experience with your product or service was less than stellar and you take the necessary steps to positively resolve their issues.

Third, and the final piece in the OpenTable follow up experience, is that you have an opportunity to ask for more business. In OpenTable’s case once you’ve provided your feedback they send you to a thank you page that has a list of restaurants that other Duo patrons dine at with the call to action to make your next reservation now. Hmmm. Great idea, don’t you think? After all if your customer liked the gadget they bought from you don’t you think they’d be receptive to more of the same?

So here’s the methodology 1. Sell something 2. Follow up 3. Sell something else. 4. Repeat. Simple, isn’t it?

Time magazine (June 16, 2008) has an interesting article about a fast food restaurant in Russia which, in the last 10 years, has grown to be the 4th largest fast food chain in the country and the only home-grown entry on the list. The chain is called Teremok and they’ve grown by focusing on blinis - the traditional Russian thin pancakes (think crepes). They serve them with everything from butter to smoked herring and caviar.

What captured my attention in the article was the founder’s, Mikhail Goncharov, approach to problem solving. The article states:

…All of it is learning by doing. “When I see a problem, ” Goncharov says, “we buy books on the topic, then we read, then we decide.”

Wow, how simple can you get and, by following this approach, Teremok has grown to $110 million in revenue (including a huge increase of $47 million over last year). So here’s the methodology - 1. Identify the problem –> 2. Search for solutions –> 3. Investigate the solution –> 4. Decide on a course of action and –> 5. Implement the solution.

With 400,000 books published last year and millions (billions?) of blog postings on every topic imaginable, you think that you might be able to find the answer to the problems you face in your business.

TechSmith, the creators of 2 great tools - SnagIt & Camtasia Studios - for capturing and recording screen activity, is very smart when creating positive buzz for their products.

I’d downloaded the trial version of the SnagIt screen capture tool, was impressed, bought it. Not only did TechSmith provide solid support throughout the trial with an informative series of email tips and tutorials but they followed up afterwards asking me to take a brief survey on my experience with the tool. They solicited my feedback on the usefulness of the tool, documentation, support and, oh yeah, did I buy it and would I recommend it. Then, brilliantly enough as I answered yes to both questions (bought/will recommend), they asked me to write a review at Download.com - one of the primary distribution sites for their product trial versions.

To summarize:

1. They provided a brilliant tool
2. They didn’t leave it to me to discover this on my own but fed me a steady stream of how best to use the tool advice
3. Once the trial was over they asked me how it went, was I satisfied, did I buy, would I recommend…
4. Then, they solicited my endorsement to help others make the same ’smart’ decision I did.

Whether you sell a product or service you can and need to employ this kind of follow up response in your marketing and selling cycle. Do this and you, like the folks at SnagIt, will be a category leader.

Tara Kachaturoff, posting at AndyWibbels.com reminded me that one man’s stupid business idea is another’s gateway to that two story colonial on Easy Street in her post on Creative Business Ideas. In it she references a NicheGeek.com blog post on 10 Totally Stupid Online Business Ideas That Made Someone Rich. It reminded me of an idea for running tights that I conceived for a college marketing class years before running tights started showing up in the stores. But my marketing professor panned the idea so I never pursued it only to be bemused and frustrated because, not only did someone else introduce them and make - no doubt - a fortune but I got a stinkin’ C- on my report. (Fred Smith’s idea for FedEx was also panned by his professor; good for him that he didn’t pay attention.)

Point is take a look at the NicheGeeks list and then think about those crazy ideas you’ve had in the middle of the night or when frustrated by one of life’s little stumbling blocks (anyone po’ed like me by top sheets that are always un-tucking themselves - how about ‘Top Pocket® sheets?’; top sheets with a mattress shaped pocket attached to one end … “Never retuck a top sheet again!” Silly idea? Maybe. My wife thinks so anyway but is her opinion standing in the way of my millions?!

Because often that’s the difference between daily drudgery and financial freedom. We don’t have the guts or gumption to pursue our dreams, our crazy ideas, our ‘Spose® - Sport Hose for Athletes’. We let the lack of imagination of friends, colleagues or relatives dampen our own enthusiasm.

So what to do. For starters, reconsider your list of crazy ideas. Or start one to hold all the ideas and opportunities that occur to you. Write ‘em down. Come back to them in a few days or a few weeks, if an idea still resonates then consider what it will take to take them to the next level. And … take … those … steps! What do you have to lose except your negative net worth?

So very cool. Want to know the journey taken by your latest and, no doubt, most brilliant blog posting? Check out The Life Cycle of a Blog Post, From Servers to Spiders to Suits — to You from Wired Magazine…

Joe Sabah is an industry icon. Founder of the Colorado Chapter of the National Speakers Association, Joe is a master of getting guest slots on radio talk shows. If you’ve written a book, developed a new product or have a business idea that you think might be of interest to a radio talk show’s audience then a great resource to turn to is Joe Sabah.

Joe is the author of How to Get On Radio Talk Shows All Across America Without Leaving Your Home or Office and has guested on hundreds of radio programs himself using his methods. He recently sent out a list of practical tips to make your radio interview pay off. I thought they were well worth sharing. I might also add that these tips can be easily adopted for podcasters as well…

Top 10 Telephone Tips to Make Your Radio Talk Show Pay Off Handsomely
— a gift from Joe Sabah

1. Have a glass of water handy (room temperature). When your throat is lubricated it’s easier to talk. Plus the water serves as a “cough button” if needed.

2. Stand while speaking. Pretend you’re presenting a seminar. Your voice will carry further. And you’ll sound more animated.

3. Have a copy of their state map on your wall. Refer to cities in the radio station’s surrounding area. This helps make you feel like you are “one of them.” I once made the mistake of referring to South Bend as “South Bend, Indiana.” The host reminded me that I was talking on a radio station in South Bend, Wisconsin. Oops!

4. Listen to their weather and traffic report. This allows you to personalize your presentation. For example: When I was being interviewed on WHIO in Dayton, Ohio I noticed during the breaks they were referring to their metro area as “the Miami Valley.” So it became a natural for me to say “I believe we can help some folks in “the Miami Valley” get their perfect job this afternoon.” What a difference the right words make.

5. Get your listeners involved. For example, before the last commercial break I ask them to get pencil and paper to write down the three tips I guarantee will turn every job interview into a job offer. Then they have pencil and paper ready when I later give out my 800 number.

6. For those who are driving around without writing tools handy, ask your host if the listeners can call the station for the 800 number. As soon as you’re off the air, you call the station’s receptionist and give her or him your 800 number plus the title of your book.

7. Give the host some quotes from your book to use as segues. I offer quotes like: “Are You Singing The Song You Came To Sing?” And “If You Do What You’ve Always Done, You’ll Get What You’ve Always Gotten. Is That Enough?”

8. After the host uses these Inspirational Postcard Quotes on the air, I also offer them to listeners who order my book. Another bonus to increase orders.

9. Always thank both the host and the producer for the good job they are doing. After the show, also send each of them a handwritten note of thanks and an offer “Let’s do it again.”

10. You may also want to record your show by using a device available at most phone center stores, that will record both sides of the interview. Then listen to your show to see how you can improve the next one. Keep on learning.

Thanks Joe for the great tips! (Check out Joe’s website at www.sabahradioshows.com.)