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This week was a busy week for me. I truthfully ran out of time. There were many people I needed to follow-up with, but because of my time constraints I had to make a determination on which marketing relationships I needed to nurture and how to go about it.

I was reminded that it is important to build relationships with the right people and companies regardless of their buying time. I think we forget this at times. If a potential clients doesn’t buy today we unfortunately drop them like a hot potato rather than continue to nurture that relationships into fruition. Am I the only one guilty of doing this? I’ve read your emails, so I don’t think so.

To nurture these relationships until the point of sale, I’d like to give you five tips that work. I promise you they don’t take much time, but they do get results.

• Tip 1. Companies don’t buy the people do. Have you lost your human touch? If so, it’s time to get it back. Make a phone call, send a card or take just a few moments to send an email to see how they are.

• Tip 2. Be an advisor not a salesperson. A trusted advisor will always win more sales than a hard-core salesperson.

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\\ tags: Business, Marketing, Sales Tips, Sales Training

Your company name should have a common thread that leads to the core of the business. When this isn’t taken into consideration often mistakes are made. The same marketing energy that you use to develop your business name needs to flow throughout all integral parts of your business.

Your business name means everything when it comes to marketing your business, it could make or break your business, so do not take this part of planning lightly. A business name automatically contains a marketing element; your job is to choose a name that will help your marketing efforts. It’s not as difficult as it sounds, but you do want to spend some time doing it. I’ve listed some questions below that will get your creative juices flowing andjumpstart your thinking, so that you can begin developing ideas for your business name.

• Write down a description of your target audience.
• What problems does your business help them solve?
• Make a list of words and phrases that appeal to them.
• List three to five benefits that you offer to your customers.
• List out the names of 4 of your competitors.
• Make a list of characteristics that differentiate you from the competition.

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\\ tags: Business, Marketing

I know what you are thinking “what does a tip have do with marketing and sales?” More than you think. The wait staff that we encounter in a dining establishment is an extension of the marketing of that establishment. It can be negative or positive and it can determine whether or not you ever return. On the flip side this could also be the first encounter a person has in a sales career. A waitress or waiter is a true picture of the sales cycle and the success or disaster that can come out of a selling and service transaction.

Last week I had the pleasure of dining with my colleagues on Friday afternoon. We received poor service and when questioned the menu was brought to my attention. I think it read something like this:

Parties of six or more will be put on one ticket and an 18% gratuity will be charged

I understand that most large parties don’t tip an adequate amount, so I understand the disclaimer put in the menu.

However, I had to ask myself does this in fact allow the wait staff to expect the gratuity rather than earn it?

I’ve never been a waitress, but that does not mean that I don’t understand the difficulty in their job. With that being said I also look at the wait staff has having to have a certain degree of a sales mentality in order to make a decent living in their choice of a career. What does that mean?

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\\ tags: Business, Marketing, Sales Tips

Companies hear a lot about public relations; often times PR is the popular buzzword in marketing and advertising. Although most know it’s important the benefits are not always understood, so I want to share with you the true benefits of public relations and why it should be important to you.

Public relations seems so glamorous, after all what company doesn’t want to say we just hired a PR firm? Public relations if done right can reach a large audience without the expensive cost of traditional advertising and marketing.

A few of the significant public relations benefits include:

• Economical way to reach your target audience in masses
• Stimulates awareness of, and the demand for your company’s products or services
• Strengthens your company image and perception
• Paints the picture of a company that is active and innovative
• Creates more credibility that traditional advertising
• Creates an advantage of your competitors that are not utilizing PR effectively
• Increase search engine visibility and organic results

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\\ tags: Business, Marketing

The beginners guide to the art of search optimization
It goes without saying that those that write/read books sing their praises and those that blog know that their way is best and forum hounds know that is the way. Each format has it’s evangelists.

You should consider exploring each of these avenues and more to truly get the most out of your path to understanding search engine optimization. Some methods are more appropriate for enthusiasts and others for those looking to become SEO professionals some day…. Obviously experience is the best teacher, but what other ways are there these days?

We all learn in our own way….

While there is no end to the SEO advice that permeates the web marketing world, it can often be very difficult to sort out exactly how one should research and where one should turn to learn about SEO. In a follow up to a post I made a year ago, I thought an updated look might be a good idea.

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\\ tags: learn SEO, Seo

You will often find that many people confuse marketing with advertising or vice versa. While both components are important they are very different. Knowing the difference and doing your market research can put your company on the path to substantial growth.

Let’s start off by reviewing the formal definitions of each and then I’ll go into the explanation of how marketing and advertising differ from one another:

Advertising: The paid, public, non-personal announcement of a persuasive message by an identified sponsor; the non-personal presentation or promotion by a firm of its products to its existing and potential customers.

Marketing: The systematic planning, implementation and control of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products.

After reading both of the definitions it is easy to understand how the difference can be confusing to the point that people think of them as one-in-the same, so lets break it down a bit.

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\\ tags: Advertising, Business, Marketing

In recent weeks I met with a B2B company to discuss marketing options. The topic of community and social media came up and I was reminded of how difficult it has been for the B2B segment of businesses to grasp a hold of the power in social media when one business is marketing to another. The value has still not been understood. They still view this type of marketing as not relating to them, when in actuality social marketing is becoming one of the most effective ways to market online. in today’s economy B2B companies are decreasing their marketing dollars and spending more online. A recent survey by B2B Magazine revealed that over 48% of those surveyed were increasing their online marketing spend.

Why is there such an effectiveness in social media?

Truth is, so many people are tired of “marketing speak.” Social media allows companies to relate to one another and bypass the fluff.

Let’s take a look at what the online definition of social media, I’ve chosen to use the definition from wikipedia since it is user generated.

Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. Popular social mediums include blogs, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and vlogs.

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\\ tags: Business, Marketing, Media Marketing

When thinking about the importance of referral marketing I’m always reminded of an incident that happened at a fitness center. I had decided to up my fitness regimen by joining a gym.

I was referred to a gym by a friend of mine, so a few of my friends and I called the fitness center to schedule an orientation appointment. After touring the facility we decided to join the gym and agreed to sign up for a membership. The person that had referred us was with us, so obviously being in the sales and marketing business I asked the representative what our friend would get for referring us to them. His response, “I can give her a water bottle.”

This response floored me, I could not believe that this fitness center had no referral program. A water bottle? I can go to a discount store and purchase one for under $5.00 yet this person brought them new business and it cost them no money. They didn’t pay for an advertisement, they hadn’t sent us a mailing, so their outgoing costs for this new business was null. Because of the referral of a current customer they had over $300 laying on the desk and two people signing membership agreements.

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\\ tags: Business, Marketing

Marketing is an unfamiliar concept for many nonprofit organizations. It’s important that these organizations understand that marketing is more than just the old sense of making a sale or obtaining a donation. Marketing is a way to satisfying the consumer and donor needs, but where does the nonprofit organization start? Below are eight steps that will get you started in brainstorming marketing ideas that could make a significant difference in the bottom-line of your organization.

1. Define your target, research similar organizations and associations.

2. Determine the desired outcome of your marketing efforts.

3. Using the information gathered in Step 1 and 2 develop brochures and marketing materials that describe the benefits, services, donation opportunities, and values of your organization.

4. Develop your public relations strategy. Be sure to use the media, other associations that are reaching out to the same target market that you are.

5. Develop and maintain a professional Internet presence by creating a web site. You can use a web site as a great resource to display useful information, news, monthly newsletters, events, create community, share alternatives to donating money, and showcase the benefits of your organization.

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\\ tags: Business, Marketing

This weekend I had a great time going into Missouri Wine Country, we took a 2.5 hour drive to explore a few wineries in Herman, Missouri.

I was reminded that 75% of a sale is experience driven. The first winery we attended took us through a tour and then a quick wine tasting; starting off with the wines that were really not our style. The second we were personally attended to. We were able to select the wines we wanted to taste and each wine was paired with a cracker to bring out the flavor of the wine. The lady behind the counter was attentive and courtesy. We walked out with a list of several wines that hit our favorite list. I believe some of the wines had a better flavor than the first winery we went too, but maybe it’s because we didn’t taste the wines that were of our personal interest? We were bundled in a group and each of us tasting the same wine. When we vocalized that we would prefer to taste the dryer wines the older guy behind the counter joked about confusing him. As a result of that experience we walked out of that winery without purchasing any of the wines we had tasted. The second winery sold us two cases and a few boxes of the cheese straws that they had paired with the wines.

The point of my article this week is not to rave about the Missouri wines, but rather to emphasis the importance of creating the experience for your buyers. By creating the experience you increase your sales rate by 85%.

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\\ tags: Business, Marketing