The Marketing Advantage

Connecting You with Your Customers

Soup, or Why I Became an Entrepreneur

Posted by advantagemarketing on May 16, 2013

I’ve been part of a Mastermind Group since 2012. A recent homework assignment was to write “our” story. Since I’m not one to be satisfied with a standard bio, here’s what I wrote:

Why I became a consultant - entrepreneurI’m not a Soup Nazi, but lately I’ve become obsessed with soup. Now soup may seem like a simple thing: you open a can of Campbell’s – or if you’re fitness obsessed, Progresso Lite – and then pour it into a pot and heat. But when you make soup from scratch, it becomes a whole ‘nother ballgame. It is fresh with a deep flavor that’s way better than the canned stuff.

When I was new to soup making, I followed recipes.  I followed Rachel Ray’s, for instance, because she is known for easy ones: sauté garlic and onion, add 2 cups of water; 2 cups crushed tomatoes; one teaspoon oregano and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook it down, add some light cream, simmer, and you have a nice tomato soup.

Well, I got bored with that. I wanted to choose the ingredients; I wanted it to be my soup. If I was inspired by the fresh tomatoes at the farmers market, I wanted to use them. Sometimes I wanted to slow simmer it; other times I wanted to throw something together quickly. I just didn’t want to follow someone else’s recipes. And what I found was that when I created my own soups, they were the best ones – and my boys would actually eat them and ask for seconds.

Soup is a good metaphor for my life as an entrepreneur and consultant. I got bored with “canned” corporate life: it lacked flavor and richness. When I left corporate, I found entrepreneurial recipes to follow. I bought every how-to book I could find and built my consulting firm around “best practices.”

Over time, I learned what works well, and I began straying from the recipes and adding new ingredients – services and capabilities to keep things fresh.

Today, while best practices and recipes are still important – how else will I master social media? Or vichyssoise? – It’s when I riff on them or create my own, that I find I’m doing my best, most creative work. Just as my kids appreciate my soup, I believe that those I serve as an entrepreneur and consultant appreciate and value my work.

So I’m not sure how this soup story will end. Will I write a cookbook? Pass my knowledge down to my kids? I think I’ll let that one simmer for awhile…

Posted in Business, career, Entrepreneur, small business, Traditional marketing | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Insights from the Career Corner

Posted by advantagemarketing on April 17, 2013

As a gift to my readers, I’m sharing the Career Corner columns I’m writing for Chemical Engineering Progress magazine.

These articles are great resources, whether you are a young professional or are a mid-career expert. Business owners will find useful insights as well.

Career Corner

My bimonthly Career Corner column in Chemical Engineering Progress magazine explores issues common to professionals and business owners alike.

For Managing Your Career Transition, I interviewed Lisa Silvershein, founder of Ark Career Coaching and a certified behavioral coach who helps professionals in transition. Lisa offered terrific insights into how to manage a career change.

In Creating Work-Life Harmony, I get answers from certified professional coach Mary T. Scott on how to take control of that tricky balance between work and life – and not burn dinner while answering client emails. It’s not, I learned, about working harder.

Upcoming columns will feature interviews with senior executive coach Mike Martorella, in which we discuss making the transition from expert to manager, and from manager to senior leadership. Stay tuned!

Posted in Business, career | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Building Your Company’s Brand

Posted by advantagemarketing on March 8, 2013

brandingI recently had a conversation with a sales director of a New Jersey-based emerging tech firm. He asked me whether or not the company should be paying attention to branding. Here’s what I told him:

Branding is a distillation – and often a visualization (think: logos) – of what your clients value about working with you. A good brand sets you apart from the crowd in your prospects’ minds (this is also known as your brand’s strategic positioning).

There are several components to having a successful brand. The first is knowing who your ideal customer is, and what THEY want – not what you want to sell them. Check out my ideal customer blog post for a quick overview and 6 questions you can ask to uncover who your ideal customer really is.  When you’re going through this discovery process, it helps to have input from your current customers. Read Letting Your Customers Have Their Say for more on this.  Your sales team should also have input – but recognize this feedback has some bias to it.

You then need to distill all this information and create a compelling core message – one that will resonate with your ideal clients because it addresses their pain points and motivations. You can learn more about core messages in the post: Powerful Marketing Tactics: Creating a Compelling Core Message.

Once you have gone through this thinking process and you know who your ideal clients are, and what your core messages are, then you can do the fun, creative things like tag line and logo development. At that point, you may also want to run some image-building ads. And you certainly want to build the messaging into your current marketing and sales efforts.

How are you building your company’s brand? Share your ideas in our Comments section.

Posted in Traditional marketing, Marketing Strategy, B2B marketing, Marketing, Business, small business | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Join Us for “Turn Your Business into a Customer Magnet” Webinar

Posted by advantagemarketing on February 26, 2013

marketing webinarLoraine Kasprzak, Advantage Marketing’s managing director, is teaming with Above and Beyond to present the popular webinar, “Turn Your Business into a Customer Magnet” on March 20, 2013.

The hour-long webinar will offer tips, resources and marketing secrets that will help you propel your business growth.

This complimentary webinar is for you if you’re…

  • A new business owner trying to get your first customers;
  • An existing business owner with a stagnant customer base who wants to get out of that rut;
  • A business owner who is spinning your wheels, working hard but business is not at the level you want it to be.

Turn Your Business into a Customer Magnet is loaded with valuable marketing secrets, tips, and freebies that business owners can use on their website, Facebook page – or even in their personal networking – to get more customers.

Event details:

Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Time: 12:00pm EST

Duration: 1 hour

Click here to register

Posted in B2B marketing, Business, Marketing, small business | Tagged: , , , | 6 Comments »

23 Sales & Marketing Ideas for 2013

Posted by advantagemarketing on December 18, 2012

sales and marketing ideas

Here’s how some NJ business owners will be boosting their sales & marketing in 2013

At a recent Executive Exchange Inc. meeting, business owners talked about how they will boost their sales and marketing efforts in 2013. Here are some ideas that were discussed:

  1. Post-Sandy, come up with a special “after the storm” offer – tie it into your business offerings and what your prospects need.
  2. If you don’t have a web presence, you don’t exist in the prospect’s eyes. If you want prospects to find you, you need to have your website optimized for search engines. And then you need to have on your website information that the prospect really values and can use. You need to come up with a way to capture the prospect’s information. Your site also needs to be set up so it can be read easily from a mobile device.
  3. Consider running Google ads and/or LinkedIn ads, depending on where your prospects are. Ads should be based on keywords that are relevant to what you do.
  4. Market smarter: customers want value – give it to them, but don’t give away the store. Stop chasing shiny things (i.e., things that look good, but will have little real impact on your sales efforts). Get input from current clients to help you build value.
  5. Consider adding public speaking to your marketing mix. Think about what your call-to-action would be for the speaking engagement.
  6. Networking is still a great way to get referrals, especially repeat ones.
  7. When you’re hiring a new salesperson, you need them to be good at cold calling, as well as personable. They should also be trainable, and not just “order takers”.
  8. Woo your existing customers – they can be sources of new business as well as refer you to new business. Reach out to your current customers on a routine basis.
  9. Do something memorable to stick in the mind of the end buyer. A couple examples: parking a Porsche in a great neighborhood; setting up a barbeque for the neighborhood in front of an open house. Participate in trade shows that are relevant to your end customers.
  10. Physical cold calling works. For example, when you’re in an office building, plan time around your appointments so that you can knock on other doors.
  11. Get in front of the right potential client – not the gatekeeper or junior person.
  12. Have a competition for your sales people. Whoever brings in the most new business gets a Starbucks gift card as an award.
  13. Expand your own education, so that you can talk knowledgeably about related areas.
  14. Offer referral incentives to existing customers.
  15. Consider using Patch.com – a local online news source – to advertise, post info about your company, and run ads. Also consider advertising in the local papers. More about hyper-local media.
  16. Consider street fairs, email blasts, and coupons as a way to get the word out about your business.
  17. Send a bi-monthly newsletter to current and past clients.
  18. Build a close relationship with those in related businesses, who can refer business to you.  A limo company, for instance, gets referrals from AAA, catering halls, and travel agents.
  19. Consider contributing to online discussion boards to get your name known.
  20. Sign up for Google Alerts – a great way to stay current on what customers and prospects are doing, as well as industry trends.
  21. Invite all your clients to dinner. They may just end up doing business with each other, and you look like a hero.
  22. Use Craig’s List to find a cold caller. Sweet Grandmother-types often make good cold callers – who would hang up on their Grandma?
  23. Join professional associations not directly related to your area of expertise. For example, a website technology company owner joined the NJ Builders Association, and was able to connect with builders who needed websites.

Posted in B2B marketing, Marketing, sales and marketing, small business, Traditional marketing | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Use Small Business Saturday to Get Your Business Going Again

Posted by advantagemarketing on November 9, 2012

WebUndies is participating in Small Business Saturday

This sign for Cranford-based WebUndies.com is an example of the free tools offered by American Express for Small Business Saturday on November 24.

With so many NJ small businesses knocked flat by Hurricane Sandy, it’s easy for owners whose businesses are still up and running to forget that the holiday shopping season is on our doorstep. American Express is once again promoting Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on what is typically one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

Why not use this event to get your business focused back on sales?

Small Business Saturday is November 24. Take advantage of AMEX’s free promotional tools which include:

  • Free in-store signage which can be customized with your company name and details of an in-store offer. This year, you can get two pieces of your Small Business Saturday signage printed for free at FedEx Office.
  • Free personalized ad  for which American Express will give you free geo-targeted online advertising to drive traffic to your company website or Facebook page.
  • Sample emails to send to customers and employees about your company’s participation.
  • Sample blog, Facebook and Twitter posts that you can use to send out before and after the event to talk up your participation.
  • Online banners that can be posted on your website.
  • Small Business Saturday and Shop Small logos in formats suitable for both print and online materials.
  • Success stories from last year’s participants to motivate you and give you fresh ideas.

Use the day to create a special offer or experience for your customers. Here are some ideas:

  • Feature holiday merchandise.
  • Provide a flat discount or gift with a purchase.
  • Offer special services such as free gift wrapping.
  • Host a guest appearance from a designer, author, or other guest.

You can also let your customers know that American Express is offering a special incentive for Cardmembers: a $25 statement credit for Cardmembers who register their card and spend $25 or more at any qualifying small business that accepts AMEX.

Put Small Business Saturday to work for you. It’s the day when the community comes together to show its support for you, the small business owner, and to give you exposure during the holiday shopping season.

As always, our thoughts are with those in our community and state who have been impacted by the devastation.

Posted in Business, Marketing, small business, Traditional marketing | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

Superstorm Sandy Relief Efforts for New Jersey’s Small Business

Posted by advantagemarketing on November 7, 2012

Join the 11/8 conference call to learn about the relief efforts for NJ’s small businesses.

Hurricane Sandy has devastated New Jersey’s small businesses. Many of Advantage Marketing’s small business clients have been affected, so I wanted to share this information about a conference call on Thursday, November 8 that will provide updates on NJ’s relief efforts for small businesses. Please tune in if you have been impacted!

Conference Call 11/8: Superstorm Sandy Relief Efforts for Small Business

If your business was impacted by Sandy, Governor Chris Christie is offering small business owners the opportunity to join Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and New Jersey Business Action Center senior officials for a conference call on the federal and state government’s efforts to help small businesses and homeowners recover from Hurricane Sandy.

Officials will provide updates and answer questions about assistance and support to states affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, ensuring the federal family and its public and private partners continue to provide all available resources to support state, local, territorial and tribal communities in affected areas.

WHAT: New Jersey Economic Development Authority, FEMA, SBA and New Jersey Business Action Center senior officials update call with local, small business owners and officials on Sandy relief efforts.

WHEN: Thursday, November 8 at 2 p.m. ET

DIAL IN: Dial-in: 1-888-621-9649; Event number: 411483

Special thanks to our friend Donna Miller at Above & Beyond for sharing this information. As a virtual office staff, Above & Beyond has worked hard these past two weeks to help small businesses impacted by Sandy. If you are in need of office facilities – a warm, dry workspace, power, Internet, etc. – check out Above & Beyond’s offerings. Call Donna at 973-509-4632 or visit the Above & Beyond website.

Posted in Business, small business | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

Tips for Building Your Email Subscriber List

Posted by advantagemarketing on October 18, 2012

Grow an email marketing subscriber list responsibly

Follow these tips and grow your email marketing subscriber list responsibly.

In 5 Email Marketing Traps to Avoid, I talked about the five ways you can mess up your email marketing. But what are some of the steps you need to take to get it right?

The first thing you need to do is to grow your email subscriber list. There are many ways to collect subscribers, and you’ll want to be creative in building your list. But, as I pointed out in 5 Traps, not every email address that comes across your desk represents someone asking to be subscribed to your list.

The folks at AWeber.com offer these tips for growing your list:

Be sure you have specific permission. Make sure that whether you are adding subscribers or they are adding themselves, it is quite clear to them that they’re giving you permission for you to send them email marketing messages.

Set up a website form. This allows people who visit your website to enter their email addresses to get the specific information that you’re going to be sending.

Talk up your emails. If you’re at a networking meeting or giving a speech, mention your email campaign and why it’d be useful to the person or group you’re speaking to. You might say, for example, “A great way to learn more about this service is my email newsletter. I send my clients and associates monthly messages with expert advice and special prices. Would you also like to receive them?” If there are particular incentives for signing up (e.g., special prices for subscribers), mention them also.

Set up a fishbowl.  If you’re working a trade show or have a store front, set up a fishbowl to collect business cards for people to subscribe to your newsletter. You can sweeten the offer, for example, by stating that each month one new subscriber will win a free lunch or t-shirt. Act promptly with these addresses. The longer you wait to start delivering value to them through your messages, the less likely they are to remember who you are, and to stay on your list.

Ask your social media followers. Ask the people who follow your company on Facebook, for example, if they’d like to get your email newsletter, and direct them to a form on your website to sign up. You can also mention your newsletter on your blog.

Run ads in print publications. Choose a publication with readership that fits your business’ niche, rather than a general interest publication. Run an ad that uses a few enticing words to hook the reader so that they want to know more. Instruct the reader to sign up for your email campaign and direct them to the form on your website.

Use confirmed opt-in. This protects your sender reputation and ensures that only people who want to receive your information are subscribed to your list.

These are two practices that you’ll definitely want to avoid, says AWeber:

Buying a list. Emailing to a list of “business opportunity seekers,” “fresh opt-in leads,” or any other type of purchased list is out-and-out spamming. Trying to send messages to addresses you acquired this way will get your email marketing account closed faster than you can say “and we won’t give you a refund, either,” says AWeber. (Note: this is true for most other legitimate email service providers.)

Ripping off an attendance list. Whether it’s from a trade show, networking meeting or conference, this is another big NO-NO. If people haven’t requested information from you, don’t add them to your list, regardless of where you met them.

For more help with your email marketing, register for a complementary marketing assessment from the experts at Advantage Marketing Consulting Services.

Tell us! What are some tactics you’ve used to build an effective email subscriber list?

Posted in B2B marketing, Business, Email marketing, Facebook, Marketing, Professional service firm marketing, small business | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

5 Email Marketing Traps You Must Avoid

Posted by advantagemarketing on October 2, 2012

Email Inbox

Your customers already get too many emails. Make sure they want to receive yours by avoiding these 5 email marketing traps.

My email was taking forever to download the other day, and then a newbie business owner’s 9MB email marketing newsletter – the equivalent of 215 typical email messages – slogged its way into my Inbox.

I hit the “delete” key on that email faster than you could say “SPAM.”

If you own a small business or run a professional service firm, and you’re using email as part of your marketing strategy – get it right. Or else you risk annoying prospective customers and having your email blacklisted – which means Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will block every email you send.

Here are the 5 major traps you must avoid in email marketing:

1. Sending without permission. Just because I met you at a networking event or we connect on LinkedIn, doesn’t mean I want your email newsletter showing up in my Inbox. You must ask permission to send it. And this isn’t just me being picky. Legitimate email service providers such as AWeber require that you ask specific permission to send, or that individuals sign up for your newsletter – on your website, for example. This is so that they – and you – stay on the right side of Anti-SPAM laws and in the ISPs’ good graces.

2. Using Outlook to send email newsletters. Anti-SPAM laws also say that your emails must allow people to opt out of receiving your marketing communications. Outlook does not provide this capability. Forcing the recipient to send you a separate email with “unsubscribe” in the subject line just annoys them – you’re creating extra work for them. Also, if your marketing communication contains photos and graphics, you’ll create a bloated monster, because Outlook is not designed for this purpose. This is the trap the newbie business owner fell into with her 9MB newsletter.

3. Boring your reader. I may be mildly interested in what you did on your summer vacation, but I don’t need 1,000 words about it. I’d much rather read how your company is going to help me solve a problem, or what your views are on the latest business or legal trend. Like most others, I skim content, so write simply and well. Use bullet points and some bolding, so I can process your message quickly. For more about writing well, read 15 Tips for Writing Engaging Content.

4. Bombarding your reader. Like most business owners, I already get too many emails. Unless you have some amazing news – a big sale or you’ve just won a major industry award – don’t send me your marketing communications more than once a month. Even if I like your product or service, I’ll unsubscribe from your emails, just to keep the time I spend weeding my Inbox to manageable levels.

5. Burying your interesting content. I recently received an email with the subject line, “Practical Tips on X,” which I eagerly opened, because I really did need help with “X.” I learned how hot the weather was; what the business owner’s son was doing; and what the owner and her husband were doing. I’m not quite sure where those tips were.  Maybe they were buried way down on the right side panel? Or below the weather report? Impatient and frustrated, I deleted the email.

Email marketing can work, IF you know what your doing. For more help with your email marketing, register for a complementary marketing assessment by the experts at Advantage Marketing.

Tell us! What are the other traps business owners need to avoid in email marketing?

Posted in B2B marketing, Email marketing, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Professional service firm marketing, Traditional marketing | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

7 Marketing Plan Must-Haves

Posted by advantagemarketing on September 20, 2012

7 marketing plan must-haves

Don’t just roll the dice when it comes to your marketing. Put these 7 marketing plan must-haves to work for you.

In last week’s post, I offered my 5 Simple Rules for Building a Marketing Plan for small businesses and professional service firms. This week, I’m sharing the top 7 elements you must include in your written plan, if you expect to be successful.

Must-Have #1: Purpose and goals. Your purpose and goals provide the focus for your marketing efforts. Your goals might include, for instance, building your brand or thought leadership position; reaching out to new prospects; or growing relationships and sales with current customers. Insider tip: The clearer you are on your purpose and goals in your plan, the easier it will be to stop chasing shiny things that don’t pay off with business growth.

Must-Have #2: Target market profile. Not everyone is a good prospect for your product or service. The secret here is to understand your IDEAL CUSTOMERS and what their needs are. When you focus on solving the needs of this specific audience, your opportunities for success will skyrocket.  Read “The Secret to Business Growth: Know Your Ideal Customer” for more insights on targeting your market.

Must-Have #3: Customer benefits.  This marketing plan section discusses what your customer experiences by using your product or service. A key element to include here is how you make your client’s life easier. For instance, if you are an accountant, your detail-oriented bookkeeping services takes burdensome tasks off your client’s to-do list, giving them more time to focus on growing their business. Insider tip: Keep this section of your plan real by including the voice of the customer – quotes and testimonials you’ve gathered from current customers.

Must-Have #4: Product or service offerings. Here’s where you can get really detailed about how you’re going to offer your product or service. As an accountant, for example, you may choose to offer three service levels, from basic bookkeeping at the lowest price point, to full-service accounting at a mid-price point, to the highest priced “CFO-in-a-box” consulting services.

Must-Have #5: Tactics. Start building your tactical plan with three powerful tactics: your core message; attractive offers; and calls to action. Attractive offers can include free or low cost information – such as an ebook or tip sheet – that you plan to share with prospects to help them get to know and trust your expertise. Then as prospects get comfortable with you, you can offer a low-cost product sample, or trial period of service.  Include calls to action at each of these prospect touch points, in which you clearly state what the next step is that the propect can take. Then see 29 marketing tactics to build KNOW, LIKE, TRUST – and TRY for more proven tactics.

Must-Have #6: Marketing calendar. Once you have your tactics lined up, get them on your calendar! Set up monthly and quarterly marketing campaigns in advance, so that when you start to get busy, you don’t have to think, you just have to implement.

Must-Have #7: Budget. A marketing budget is essential to controlling expenses and tracking growth. Start by creating a simple Excel spreadsheet or downloading a marketing budget template so that you can list each tactic and its estimated cost and then track spending. Add it all up, and then take a look at the total. It is not unreasonable to invest up to 15% of sales in your company’s marketing, especially if you are a startup. For more established businesses, 5-8% of sales is the rule of thumb.

A well thought out marketing plan that includes these 7 elements can help your small business or professional service firm achieve the success you and your employees deserve!

Tired of “flying by the seat of your pants” marketing? Take the first step to marketing success by requesting a complimentary marketing assessment  from the experts at Advantage Marketing.

Like what you’re reading? Subscribe and get The Marketing Advantage by email. Just click on the Subscribe today! link in the right sidebar at http://advantage-marketingblog.com.

Posted in B2B marketing, Business, Marketing, Marketing plans, Marketing Strategy, Professional service firm marketing, Traditional marketing | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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