We all know people who have lots of contacts in their phones or diary, but do they really know which one’s bring in the business or raise their profile?

The following article by Andy Lopata, Business Networking Strategist, which really struck a cord and I wanted to share it with you:

We all know the phrase ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. Networking, however, does not thrive by that maxim. A culture has developed where success at a networking event is defined by the number of business cards you collect and the strength of a profile online is measured by the number of ‘Friends’, ‘Followers’ or ‘Connections’.

This culture is both short-sighted and misguided. The author and entrepreneur Seth Godin put it well when he said “Networking is always important when it’s real and it’s always a useless distraction when it’s fake.” Mass connections with no interaction lead to ‘fake’ networking and a distraction from what you are doing, click to read the rest of the article

Most businesses I talk to tell me that when it comes to marketing, they feel overwhelmed.    So many decisions, options and tools to use.  Which one will work, which one will not cost much, which one will take up the least of my time??

With so many options and decisions to make, fear creeps in and this then stops a business in its tracks when it comes to their marketing.

To be truthfully, working on your marketing is one of the most important tasks you need to do in order to be successful. I want to share with you 10 tips that have been tried and test over the years with my clients that you can use today, to build your marketing plan and reach more potential clients.

1. Give them what they want. Most businesses market what they deliver. The key point is to find out what your clients really need. Understanding people will unlock potential profit doors for you. What you do is the solution, find the problem.
2. Emotionally engage your audience. You need to keep them interested and coming back for more. Story telling is an age old success story, look at the success of Hollywood and TV. Find out what their questions are and answer them, provide them with tips, advice and back up with case studies and testimonials.
3. Competition. Look at the marketing methods used by the companies in your field that you look up to. What are they doing? What can you copy. Analyze their techniques and apply them to your own business?
4. Action.  Simply knowing the right business model or the right techniques will not give you the edge. It takes more than just knowing what to do in your business to achieve extraordinary results. You have to take Action!
5. Dig deeper. Find out what it really is that makes your business unique. I can assure you, you will be very surprised. Make this the focus for your marketing. Don’t get into the routine of just doing marketing for the sake of checking off boxes on your “to do” list.
6. Personal. Uncover your story, what’s your background and history. People buy from people.
7. Transparency. Tell the truth. Become the expert. Reveal things about your business and include the problems and weaknesses you have overcome. This really adds to your marketing.
8. Keep it simple. I client I started working with late last year, started calling his clients and picked up additional work. Simple!
9. Don’t be afraid. As you engage people, there will be some who are going to like you and some who don’t. This is just a fact in business. The truth is that if you engage people you can sell more. It is easier to sell to someone who likes you then someone who does!
10. Change.  Remember that things change.  Find what works for your business, implemented and keep going back to your customers to find out what they want.  As their needs change, look to see if you can adapt to their needs.  Great if you can, if not, you need to find new clients.

You don’t have to do all the steps above. Start off with one and take it from there. The key is to focus on the steps. They will help you develop a winning marketing plan.

If you have any questions, drop me a comment and I will get back to you

A  very good colleageue of mine, Gareth Morgan from Liberty Marketing sent out this article today in his newsletter on SEO Tips for Twitter.

If you use Twitter or you are just getting into Twitter, check out Gareth’s 5 SEO Tips to tweet your way up the Search Engines.

If you like the article, sign up for his newsletter – where do you think I get my ideas from….. lol

Pick up one of your leaflets or our company brochure and have a look at the words you are using to promote your business. My bet is there is a lot “we” words i.e. “we” are good at, “we” have been in business for…

Don’t worry you are not alone, over 80% of marketing and sales literature, start off taking about how “we” are good at!

Unfortunately, customers are only really interested in “what is in it for them”. They want to know how you can help them. The magic key is to use the word “you” or “your” as much as humanly possible in your messages.

Start to connect with your customesr and let them know today, how you can help them.

Music really can make or break an advert, according to a survey carried out by The C0-operative with YouGov, which found that 47 per cent of Brits said they might buy music heard in an advert if they liked it.  While 32 per cent admitted they would change the channel if an advert came on TW with music they did not like

1. Shelia’s Wheels Car Insurance – “For bonza car insurance deals”
2. Halifax – “Who gives you extra”
3. Shake ‘n’ Vac Carpet Cleaner – “Shake and vac to put the freshness back”
4. DFS – “Rockstar”
5. Wall’s Cornetto – “Just one Cornetto, give it to me”

Source: The-Cooperative

Jingle Facts

1. Jingles Rock: music legends have dabbled in the jingle business, including The Police and David Bowie
2. Selling Out?:Moby’s Play album was the first to have every one of its tracks licensed for commercial use
3. Ask the Audience:Pringles set up a competition for consumers to come up with their own “Jingle for Pringles”, with singer Roy Wood, of I wish it could be Christmas everyday fame, as ambassador
4. It’s an oral tradition: jingles are the oldest form of advertising, tracking their heritage back to the hollering street traders of yore.
5. Got a jingle jangling your nerves?:Put it to good use by testing your jingle recall at www.123facts.com/play-quiz/Commercial-Jingles-2481.html

Let me know what you favourite jingles is?

I hear it all the time… business is slow, times are changing and the economy is affecting my business.

When a client or a potential client utters these words, the first thing I tell them is great! Use this time to really get to know your customers. The often look at me in bewilderment.

If you want to sell more then you really need to get to know your customers. I can assure you that the reasons you think they are buying from you are very different from their reasons.

My two tips for today are:

1. Talk to Them – ask them what their problems are and what they are looking for. It is only then at you will be able to explain the benefits of what you do and how it can help make their lives better today.
2. Ownership – Let your clients feel what their live is like when they have your product/services. Wait a few minutes then take it away from them. Remind them they have to own it first.

The last one sounds cruel, but it is very effective.

Let me know how you get on and most importantly, what you learnt when you really got to know your customers.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the Apprentice.  But last nights epsiode was a train crash and I for one will not be watching anymore epsiodes.  

When is  marketing going to get the same respect as the sales function in Sir Alan’s organisation.

The Apprentice makes good TV, but in the really business world a business built on sales alone will not survive, especially in this climate.  What most people would have picked up from last nights programme is get the sales right and nothing else matter!

So what about the customer and their experience of the product.  I am sure that anyone who bought the honey product, wouldn’t be running back to buy again!

The losing team, had a better product and ticked more marketing boxes i.e. promotion, packaging, place, people  and physical evidence, but the project manager was let down by the price.   They even got their sales strategy right.  

Ben was given the task of helping with costs and did absolutely nothing, but complain.  Which is what he normally does. He was clearly given a task and did absolutely nothing to contribute on the cost front.  Plus he is rude and doesn’t even shut up when told to by Sir Alan!  For this reason alone, he should have been fired.

The winning team’s project maanger, had no idea what he was doing.  I would be embrassed to be associated with such an awful product.  

But in the boardrooom that didn’t matter.  The winning team made the most money! The product was awful, they had no pricing structure, no plan for distribution and only won at the last minute because they were giving the product away.  If this was a really company, it would have been interesting to see how many complaints they would have received the following day/week about their product!

If I had bought their product in Camden I would have complained.

Yes the team that lost did really messy up on the costings and price. Costs are important, but they were working as a team and the Project Manager made it very clear that she need help… where was that help?  If it wasn’t for Nick no one would have known about the huge mistake they made with the oils.

There were other people in that Boardroom who should have been fired! 

What a twist it would have been if the winning team where called back in and asked to explain they mistakes and one of them was fired!

Business is about sales, but if you don’t get the marketing right where are the customers going to come from.  It isnt’ just about Sales.

Last nights episode was a train crash.  I can’t believe that some of the people who messed up on last nights task are still in with a chance to work for Sir Alan on a six figure salary.

This isn’t what being in business is about.