I recently read an article(1) about how the economy will likely not get better until 2021 after it gets much, much worse. It says that the current form of government in the US, controlled by the wealthiest members of society has to completely collapse before a new, more equitable form of government takes over. You don’t have to believe this theory to wonder what your life will be like if it’s going to be this tough to stay afloat for 8 more years.

A New Economy is Forming

Remember in the 90’s when everyone worried that computer technology would finally take over so many jobs, that too many people would be out of work? And we were delighted in the following ten years that it didn’t happen? Well, it has happened now. Not by computers taking over all the secretarial jobs in the business world, and taking over all the factory jobs like we thought would happen. We managed to transition that displaced workforce to new positions in medical and high-tech jobs. But it has happened by spreading the wealth around the world, giving those basic service and manufacturing jobs to people in other countries like India, China, and Korea. Isn’t that nice of us?

Technology Will Separate Winners from Losers

You can hate technology for spreading our wealth across the globe. And you can hate it for enabling and accelerating the bad behavior in the under-regulated stock market, causing the current recession. But you also need to seriously think about this shift in wealth happening around you, and how technology can give you a competitive advantage.

As the old saying goes, information is power. And today, that is more true than ever. And now you and your business have access to more information about how to compete successfully in a global market than you’ve ever had in your life. Instead of being overwhelmed by the overwhelming amount of business advice and services on the web today, embrace it! Spend less of your time making the same self-defeating mistakes over and over again, and more of it dedicated to researching and learning how you can improve your offerings for your customers, reach new customers more cost efficiently, and expand your business.

I hear so many small business owners and managers complaining about how they don’t want to spend a lot of time working on their Facebook pages, or their websites, or their newsletters. In my mind I’m just hearing, “I don’t want to move my business into the new information economy and become more competitive. I want everything to stay the same, so I can work hard, not smart.” Is that you?

10 Reasons Why Online Marketing Will Make or Break Your Business

With the explosive introduction of so many new internet and communication technologies comes a unique opportunity for your business to make huge leaps ahead of your competition with relatively little effort compared to the old paradigm of costly print media, local-only reach vehicles, and limited word-of-mouth marketing avenues.  No more than ever small businesses have the capabilities and know-how to look big and deliver big value to a bigger and bigger audience. Here are some specific reasons why you should strike now while the iron is hot:

1. Transparency Rules – Today’s customers want to meet the ‘real people’ behind the products and services they buy, instead of simply trusting in a multinational brand with unknown operators.
2. Telling Stories Gets Results – Now that we have a two-way communication model when speaking with our customers, we’re learning that they want to hear about how products and services are being used by other customers, not just about the features and benefits.
3. Word-of-Mouth is Booming - Finally it has become easy for consumers and businesses to share with each other what products and services they are using, what they like most, and what they are shying away from.
4. Facebook is the New Website – Now instead of customers having to figure out the navigation of each website they visit, and search the site for the more recent, interesting information, Facebook is forcing businesses to keep it simple, stay fresh, and be responsive to what customers actually want.
5. LinkedIn & Twitter Get You Connected with the Right People – Who you know is still more important that what you know in today’s world of fast-paced changes in markets and consumer behavior. Now you can find a handful of key researchers and influences to keep track of so you can stay ahead without wasting time on out-of-date books and costly seminars.
6. Individuals Can More Mountains – If you have a topic you’re really interested in, and you spend time regularly reading about it, you can become and ‘expert’ on that topic and even impact major trends in a matter of year by simply blogging about it, staying active on social media, and getting expose through article writing, public speaking, and publishing e-books.
7. Your Competitive Advantage Is Gaining Leverage – Winning third-party praise or awards in your industry for customer service, or for a superior offering, goes much farther now that it did five years ago.  Customers today are less influenced by the big brands, and more interested in seeking apples-to-apples comparisons when seeking the product or service they want. If you can show them you really are the best at what you do, convincing them to try you out is much, much easier.
8. Distribution Channel Partners are Losing Power – In the ‘good old days’ of marketing consumer and business products, channel partners had as much, of not more influence over what your customers ultimately saw during the search, and what they bought. Now you can stay in contact with, and manage the entire purchase cycle for, your prospects as they move through the decision phases of: awareness, consideration, comparison, and purchase.
9. Customers Want Advice, Not Price Lists – Now that we can write as much as we want about our products and services on the internet, we can give our customers and prospects the gift of knowledge about how they can solve tough problems, and assemble new solutions that include our products as well as other. Through the use of whitepapers, blogs, newsletters, solution-specific email marketing campaigns (e.g., Constant Contact), and social media It’s much easier to recommend a complete solution to your customers now, than just offering one component of what they need.  And recommending other products and services to your customers mean other partners will likely want to return the favor.
10. Multimedia Has Come Into Its Own – There is no comparison between how motivating and engaging a video is over a block of text.  And today is extremely easy to create, edit, and post a video for your customers to view. Now big companies you compete with don’t have an advantage over you because they can afford multimillion dollar TV commercials and celebrity endorsements.  A simple three-minute demonstration of your product is likely all you need to win the approval, and purchases, or the customers evaluating your offer.  Customer testimonials are also hugely impactful when prospects are looking for a reason to say, “that’s me!” I.e., self-identifying with what they really need.

You’ve Got the Tools You Need – Now Use Them!

Embrace the new online marketing technologies available today! Get ahead of your competition! Spend more time learning about content marketing and interactive engagement models, so you can spend more time a year from now sleeping in, or going to the beach, while the money rolls in! Make an effort to keep up with all the new Facebook applications coming out every day. Take time out to do research for your customers and send them weekly or bi-weekly newsletters about topics they’re interested in. Make the effort to add videos of customer testimonials to your website so your potential customers can have a really good reason to buy from you. Learn a little about SEO every week so more people can find you and spread the word.

I promise you, your efforts will be richly rewarded. And you’ll be able to stay on the right side of the economic avalanche that is tearing so many businesses apart, and turning so many lives upside down. The tools and information you need are available, and many are free. You just need to step up to the plate, and take charge of your future.

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1. Our Decade From Hell Will Get Worse in 2011 (Dec. 13, 2011), by Paul B. Farrell, the Wall Street Journal Market Watch

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Maggie Barr is a small business marketing consultant, author, and speaker in Boulder Creek. Her agency, Maggie Barr & Associates, is dedicated to helping small businesses develop and implement strategic, targeted marketing campaigns that will make the most efficient use of their marketing budget and expand their business. If you would like a free, introductory consultation with Maggie Barr, you can contact her at maggie.anne.barr@gmail.com, or 408-454-6488.

1. Offer Interesting Content

You want to have a good page for yourself that has a combination of impressive business information and good humor on it. Content that shows you’re both a very talented person and enjoyable to work with. If it’s too serious and “professional”, it will blend in with all the other LinkedIn pages.  Use the “Network Updates – What are you working on now?“ comment feature weekly to say something interesting about what’s going on in your personal or professional life.  Add links to content that talks about how successful your business is, what awards you’ve won, and recept press you’ve received.  Update your links every month or so, so people want to come back and visit your site often. You can also add the “SlideShare” application offered by LinkedIn, then go to SlideShare.com and pick out presentations that will educate and inform your visitors on hot topics in your industry.

2. Show Your Personality

Whether you own a store, provide a service, create products, being a successful small business owner means you want people to trust you with their business and their money.  You want potential clients visiting your page to find you open, honest, and fun-loving. They’ll also be impressed if they see you’re a member of a handful of interesting LinkedIn Groups too.  Alumni groups look good if they are reputable companies or schools. Non-profits show your softer side. Trade associations look good too. Just be really careful that the groups you join are run by credible people – look up the owners profile to be sure. There are some oddballs out there that have managed to build huge LinkedIn groups somehow that provide little valuable content or discussions.

3. Demonstrate Your Expertise

Also consider adding the “WordPress” application so you have blog articles show up on your LinkedIn page. With these articles you can write about current events in your industry, quick how-to articles for your potential clients, anecdotal stories about clients you’ve helped, or interesting uses of you services or products.

4. Add a Friendly Photo

I can’t believe how poor some of the LinkedIn photos are on pages belonging to otherwise very impressive executives and professionals. Instead of a quick pic from your web cam, or something showing you in a suit, add one with you in business casual garb that’s more of a close up with a big smile. You want something that makes people want to meet you and hang out with you. Here are a few examples of LinkedIn photos that are both professional and friendly:

Guys
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/spiezle
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephendayton
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/katzp
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismangold

Gals
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/reenanadkarni
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/lamore
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/auneh
• http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rebecca-becky-carter/6/91/464

5. Consider a Business LinkedIn Page

In addition to sprucing up your personal LinkedIn page, you can create a business page too. Just be careful and use the business-page feature in LinkedIn instead of creating a “personal” page with a business name –> LinkedIn will kill your page if you do that, since it’s a violation of their policies.  Your business page will list your employees who have LinkedIn pages, show stats about your biz, (number of employees, etc.),  and display a text-only description of your business that you can edit. You can’t have “connections” or post a blog on a business site like you can a personal site; but, you can be creative in the company description section. Here are some good examples you can check out:

• Tiny Prints
• LWI.com
• Red and White Fleet
• Green Printer

6. Learn More about LinkedIn and Social Networking

Finally, here are some interesting links about using LinkedIn and similar sites for business use:

• “Content rich profiles on social media sites are imperative” (podcast) – http://whooyouknow.com/strong-profiles-on-social-media-sites-are-imperative
• “Social media marketing – back to basics” (blog article) – http://www.social2b.com/index.php/2009/05/29/social-media-marketing-back-to-basics/comment-page-1/#comment-38
• “LinkedIn: Why you should be using it for Expert Positioning” (blog article) – http://451heat.com/2009/06/05/linkedin-why-you-should-be-using-it-for-%e2%80%9cexpert-positioning%e2%80%9d/
• “Mind Your B2B Social Network, get more business” (blog article) – http://www.marketingfolio.com/the-industrious-marketer/bid/19554/Mind-Your-B2B-Social-Network-Get-More-Business
• “Successful business uses for Facebook & LinkedIn” (presentation and webinar) – http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/4-imu-successful-business-uses-for-facebook-and-linkedin-gf202
• “Social media quickstart guide – 6 tools you can use” (blog article) – http://blog.hotdesign.com/2009/06/social-media-quickstart-guide/

While personal LinkedIn pages are usually just used for making 1:1 connections and displaying resumes, there are lots of great tools offered by LinkedIn you can leverage to turn your page into an information portal for your customers and contacts. With blogs, SlideShare, links, updates, and groups you can demonstrate both your business expertise and your personality in order to stand out from the rest, and drive more interest in your small business.

* What is “social networking”, and do we need to do that?
* What is a “blog”? Do we need one of those too?
* What are “Facebook” and “LinkedIn”, and how can we leverage those?
* How can we drive awareness of our local events using online tools?
* How can we do “virtual fundraising”?
* How much will a virtual fundraising campaign cost?

The answers to these questions will vary based on the type of organization, staff size, funding requirements, and availability of computer resources. Often times their are low-cost partnership opportunities that will have a big impact in the virtual world, for example.

To keep up with the pace of competitors and partners, all non-profits should spend a few days each quarter reviewing their top opportunities, challenges, and on-going strategies with these virtual resources in mind. While time-consuming, these planning workshops are absolutely necessary to ensure the non-profit’s existing activities and program are properly aligned with changing funding, marketing, and client communication requirements.

For more tips on non-profit marketing and communications in the virtual world visit: http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/resources.

For assistance planning a marketing and fundraising strategy session for your organization contact Maggie Barr at Maggie Barr & Associates, maggie.anne.barr@gmail.com, or call 408-454-6488.

What needs are you addressing?
So what’s wrong with this picture? Isn’t it possible to run an ad that addresses everyone you’re trying to sell to? Can you write a brochure that just talks about your service, and doesn’t call out to any specific group of people? The answer, is unfortunately, “no”. You really shouldn’t do this because you have to directly address your customers’ NEEDS in your promotional messages if you want a good response. What pain, problem or desire are you addressing with your product or service? For example, are you allowing people to learn something? Helping them feel better? Helping them meet people? Helping them look better? Help them impress their boss? If you don’t know the needs you’re addressing, then you won’t be as successful as you could be in your marketing efforts. Why? Because people mostly respond to “WIIFM: what’s in it for me?” If your potential customer can’t look at your message and say to themselves, “Hey, their talking about me! That’s what I need!”…. then they won’t respond.  This is why just listing your product features on a brochure or an advertisement won’t work.

Who is your target audience?
So what exactly is the “target market” for your product or service?  The tricky part is, there’s usually more than one!  Before you set out on a new marketing campaign, you first have to look at the product or service you want to sell and figure out which groups of people need that product or service the most. Create groups based on needs, then define that group with demographics, psychographics and geographics. If you can’t narrow it down to something like “married women between 30-40 with children at home living in the SF bay area”, then you don’t have a solid target for your campaign. How do you pick your target? List the needs your product or service addresses, then describe the groups of people with similar needs that would be most likely to respond to your offer. Each marketing campaign you run needs just one target market. You need to make some tough choices. For example, you could see copy payer to moms with kids who shop at drug stores, small home-business owners who read business articles in magazines or on the internet, or Fortune 500 company, central office-supply department, purchasing agents.

What is a targeted message?
Your ideal targeted message should address a specific set of needs your target audience will recognize when they read your campaign message. For example, if you’re trying to sell Microsoft Windows Vista software, you need to either address “people who use their PC for connecting with friends and paying bills at home,”… OR… “CIO executives at fortune 500 companies in the US who are dealing with existing installs of mostly Windows 2003″ … OR…. “4-year college freshmen looking in big-box stores (like Best Buy or Fry’s) for their first notebook computer.”  You need to pick your target audience for your marketing campaign very specifically because the needs and wants you’re addressing for each of these target customer profiles will be drastically different.

How can one product have multiple campaigns strategies to choose from?
Using the Windows Vista example above, for the home bill payers, the message might be “buy a Windows XP PC today from Dell  to get a faster internet connection and easy-to-use multi-media tools so you can stay connected to your world.”  For the CIO the message would be “Upgrade to Windows XP today and reduce your IT costs while securing your network and expanding your employees’ productivity.” For the student the message would be “Buy a Windows XP notebook today for the fastest, most secure and most reliable computing power available.” The idea is to divide all your potential customers up based on their unique needs. Then figure out what you can say to each customer group about specific features and benefits addressing their needs. Then pick the campaign strategy, (i.e., audience/message combination), that will best meet your marketing needs.

Why must I target just one customer group with one campaign that delivers only one targeted message in my campaign?
Because… your marketing efforts just won’t be effective any other way. For any marketing campaign to be successful it must only address one group of people so it can be very specific about the needs your product or service is addressing. For any product or service, (or groups of products or services), there usually are multiple target audiences to choose from. You need to pick just one and invest enough budget in that audience to make the maximum return on your investment. For example, if you’re selling ball bearings, you can either run a campaign addressing bicycle manufacturer parts-department managers, OR conveyor belt manufacturers’ purchasing agents, OR IDEA production purchasing department representatives. Be specific if you want great results from your campaign.

Maggie Barr & Associates

“Targeted Marketing for Small Business “

Our agency specializes in helping businesses develop highly impactful marketing campaigns that meet specific marketing goals. We use the targeted-marketing approach to decide what your marketing message should be, who to direct the message to, where to publish the message, which marketing vehicles to choose from, and how much to invest on each marketing activity in you campaign. For more information on how we can help you, contact Maggie Barr at 408-454-6488, or email maggiebarr@ymail.com.