A David Creation

Although it is an excellent idea to put on your email signature, letterhead and other marketing communications that you love getting referrals, today is just a simple reminder to ask for a referral. Many of us don’t get a steady flow of referrals because we don’t ask.

Teach your employees to do the same thing. They know when a customer is pleased with their work. If they can be shown the benefits of asking, they’ll do it. When they finish a project, they should simply ask, “Can you think of a friend or neighbor who needs their house painted?” or Who do you know in the next few weeks that could benefit from my service?” If they can’t think of someone right then and there, ask if it is ok to trigger their thinking in the near future.

Anyone have a good way they currently ask for referrals? Love to hear your success!

Monday Marketing Tip

My marketing tip today is a no-brainer for most of us business owners, but it is something that is often overlooked by our sales staff. It is as simple as this:  look at your feet!  Do your socks and shoes match and go well with your pants and shirt? Are your shoes polished and/or clean?

But don’t stop there.  Yes, as the owner you should set the trend for your staff personally, but you should also see that your sales staff take that same downward glance. I am blown away by how many salesmen dress well from neck to ankles, and then find the most appalling pairs of shoes and socks to wear.

If your business tends to serve an upscale clientele, you really want to pay attention to the shoes your staff wears. Have you ever stepped into a customer’s closet during an estimate to measure it for new cabinets, a remodel or a paint job?  As an estimator, I always observed dozens of expensive, high-quality shoes.

A potential customer sizes up your sales staff just as much as your salesman evaluates the prospect. They are looking for a company that will pay close attention to making the details of their house look professional, and the personal appearance of your staff will give them clues they are looking for.  A salesperson can give a potential client the wrong signals with things like unkempt hair or untidy clothes.  And yes, some customers will even write off a salesman—and the company he represents—for his shoes.

It is important to give your potential customers an image of all-around professionalism as part of a good marketing plan.  Remember the tip: look down!  Don’t let a sale slip through your fingers (or toes!) because of unkempt, cheap, or non-matching shoes.

P.S. Shoes are a place to start, but they’re not all! To read more about the proper ways to dress, visit this blog post: Twenty Things Men Should Know.

Blogging is hard work! It takes discipline, diligence, initiative and the willpower to keep on going. Why? Because blogging does not typically give immediate marketing results. It is easy to get discouraged when you don’t see many followers, subscribers or people leaving their comments. When this happens you tend to get either “writer’s block” or simply give up. Giving up may not be that you never write a blog again. Instead you fall back to thinking you simply don’t have the time to blog. In other words, it becomes unimportant.

If you can put away the head trash and consider blogging as one of the most important marketing decisions you can make, you’ll make the time. Good and consistent blogging will increase your search engine optimization and credibility, and it really does not cost anything but your time. We always have the time to do the things we know are good, important and of course, make us money. So in 2011, start blogging. Make it interesting! Put it down on your calendar and DON’T move the “event.” Noticed I called it an event because it is!

Two articles that you must read are:

1. 7 Ways to Stop Staring and Start Writing

2. 100 Blog Articles in Less Than 10 Minutes

Never Forget.  In the past 9 years, this short phrase has become the marketing and branding for 9/11.  It is very effective, and I am 100% supportive of the effort.  Like many of you, I will never forget.  But today, I want to talk about how these powerful two words relate to this holiday season. My convictions and beliefs are who I am, and they influence every part of my life, including my business.  I want to use this space today to open up some of what is in my heart this time of year.

Never forget! What is my hope this Christmas season? That you will never forget the true meaning of Christmas. What started as the story and celebration of the Christ child has now become the most marketed event in history. It’s an industry in itself, and the in many ways the anticipation and preparation for Christmas takes up almost 10% of the year—all for one day! 24 hours! 1440 minutes, and all the hustle and bustle of shopping, eating, decorating and gift giving will pass away.

Dominated by images of Santa, elves and snowflakes, Christmas is less religious than ever before—it’s a family holiday event.  Now, before you label me a religious Grinch, know this: I decorate my house, sport a Santa hat, decorate a Christmas tree, give gifts and host a “Reindeer Antler Party” each year. But every year, I also stop and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. As a Christian I can get lost in the bustle of the holidays, and I must pause to ask myself, “Why am I doing all these things? What is the purpose? Backing away from all the festive and fun Christmas activities, I need to reflect on how this day actually started.

Christmas is ultimately about one major event: the most controversial event in history and the most mind boggling idea to ever enter the hearts of mankind. The Christmas Story, The Event is this: God became man. That’s it. That one thing has baffled the minds of scholars and simple folks for centuries. How could God become man, and why all the excitement?

This Sunday, our pastor preached on Luke 1:39-56, which is the story of Mary visiting her cousin Elisabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Our pastor discussed all the extraordinary events that took place at the first Christmas. Angels appear to priests and shepherds, virgins and carpenters. A young woman becomes pregnant while remaining a virgin, Elizabeth’s baby leaps in the womb when the he hears the voice of Jesus’ mother, Zachariah is not able to speak for 9 months until his promised son, John, is born, and kings show up out of nowhere bringing kingly gifts because of a new star.  None of these supernatural and extraordinary events were common two thousand years ago. This was all weird and unbelievable then, and it is still just as much so today!  Many people thought the story was the stupidest fairy tale ever told in those days, and many continue to say so now.  How on earth can God become man! Impossible. Well, as God’s angel said to Mary, “With God, nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:37). I guess it truly is a story received by faith.

So my hope and prayer for all who might stumble upon this blog is this: That you will stop and reflect on your life. Why are you doing social media, blogging, or growing a business? Why are you running a business or working for someone? Why do you strive to be the best in your field of work? Why do you celebrate Christmas—or why don’t you? What do you believe about God? Read the Christmas story slowly this week…slow down and never forget! If you don’t believe in God, read the story in the Gospel of Luke 1 and 2 anyways. Maybe you’ll understand a little more about God and what HIStory is all about.

As I stop and reflect this day, all I can do is thank God for His provision. He has blessed me with a great business, awesome customers and a wonderful family! I am thankful for all the support I’ve received since starting my own business in 2009. God is good, and I’m so excited to celebrate the day when Christ was born—that he came for the sole purpose of rescuing sinners like me from their sins.

Social Media Christmas – Mary and Joseph on Facebook

Instead of spending your online advertising dollars on big sites like the Yellow Pages, a local News station and so on, look for popular blogs written primarily by stay at home moms. Thousands of moms are getting connected these days by writing blogs and using Twitter to promote their blogs. Spend some time looking at who follows these blogs and determine if it is a good place for you to place an ad. I think you’ll find a very loyal audience. I’d suggest not only a small ad but also asking if you can be a guest blogger too.

So stop spending money on the big guys and go to a more targeted audience. Just make sure that when you place an ad that the majority of the subscribers, followers and visitors are local to you…not nationwide. Nationwide does not mean you should not place an ad, but just don’t spend too much.

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

1. Example 1

2. Example 2

3. Example 3

I’ve been on the soap box for months now telling my contractor clients to start recording, producing and publishing/sharing videos NOW. Videos online are also called “video blogging.” Why? Because videos can be optimized for search engines, just like a blog. The videos don’t have to be a hollywood production either. All you need is a good high quality Flip Cam, Smartphone or HD Camcorder, editing software such as iMovie or MovieMaker and a YouTube account to get started. YouTube is free and owned by Google, so it is a great place to begin. Once you start seeing some fruit from your labors, you can upgrade to some of the more powerful video hosting sites: Viddler, Squidoo and Vimeo to name a few.

What Kind of Videos Should I Be Producing?

You can produce many types of videos. To start things off, publish a few how to videos and a few before and after videos of jobs you are doing. Keep them short 1-3 minutes as visitors get bored after 3 minutes. The only way you can get away with a longer video is if you are doing more of a “Webcast” educating folks live. Oh and don’t be afraid of How To Videos. If you have not figured it out by now, the web is public, very public. If you post something online, your competitors might see it. You just have to be the leader, the company people look to as the experts in remodeling, painting, HVAC, and so on. Post those How To Videos: the more the better! Also, consumers like them. You might get a few people looking to do things themselves, but many consumers use the web to research and educate themselves so they don’t look like an idiot when they talk to a contractor. Think about it, how many times have you been in a prospects home discussing their kitchen remodel or paint colors and the homeowner seems to know a lot about the latest products, appliances or paint brands? The web is making people appear smarter. So give them what they want. You’ll become their education source. Your goal is that they will bookmark your website, Youtube Channel and/or share with their friends.

One final piece of advice about videos: make sure they are halfway decent and that you are proud of your work. I’ve seen a few videos online recently that were done well but the work was not so hot. Videos can help or hurt your brand, so choose your videos wisely. If you want to learn more about why videos are good for promoting your business and getting leads, read or listen to Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk.

A few videos done by BIG companies (there is a reason they are investing in videos…so watch and do likewise)

Customer Feedback by Outback Steakhouse

Product Success Video & Case Study (Toro)

Behind the Scenes Look at Designing a Car (Ford Motor Company)

Fiesta Product Demonstration (Branding to The Right Audience) This one was funny

How To Remove Acoustic Ceilings

No Ugly Doors (Good How Tos)

Facebook: What´s the Big Deal?

Six years ago, Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg began Facebook—a website for Ivy League students to connect and interact online.  Gradually, the site opened up to new groups of users until anyone over the age of 13 can have a profile.  Now, the 1,400 employee company boasts 500 million active users, and suddenly “facebooking” and “friending” are verbs!

But the landscape is changing at the world´s largest social networking site: though youths are using facebook from their phones during classes, church services, and while driving, there are now more Facebook users over the age of 35 than under.  In the age 65+ category, the number of users has doubled in the last 12 months.  Facebook is growing up!

So what does this mean for the future of Facebook, and for businesses?  Two things are very likely:

1. Facebook will begin targeting their site more towards businesses and adults, because that is where more money is found.  They have already started down this road by creating Facebook Places: whenever a Facebook user enters a location or business registerd as a Facebook Place, the user can instantly announce to all his or her friends where they are.  Users can find friends while out on the town, and businesses get a free name-drop!  Also, business “fan pages” are multiplying rapidly, and new applications are being developed that make company websites almost unnecessary.  Imagine your business fan page with the tabs of your choice: Customer Reviews, Portfolios, Signup Forms, Surveys, and much more, all for free!  As companies sign up, Facebook will increase its services that cater to businesses and consumers.
2. For business and social reasons, adults are learning the language and mapping out the terrain of Facebook.  As this trend grows, young users will begin looking for a new place where parents can´t monitor them so closely.  I think it likely that the younger generation will begin to drift away from Facebook and back towards texting and instant messaging until a new company comes along with a social site just for teens or college students.

Who Gives a Tweet?

I commonly hear the complaints, “Argh!  I hate Twitter!  It is so annoying.” and “I just don´t get Twitter!”   Yes, Twitter can be aggravating, but the site has gained 100 million users in four years, and it´s not likely to disappear.  In fact, if you aren´t connecting with clients through Twitter, a competitor probably is.

Twitter is a site that lets users become “authors,” posting short messages that are automatically displayed to all of their “followers.”  Casual users use it to find out what their friends are thinking and doing, as well as to post their own thoughts and doings.  More strategic users, such as politicians, non-profit organizations, and businesses, use Twitter to grow a list of followers who enjoy reading their short updates.

Let´s look at a Hollywood example:  The actor Ashton Kutcher currently has 5.7 million followers on Twitter, and a similar amount on Facebook.  These fans read his updates to feel connected, and to “know the inside story.”  Now imagine Kutcher is in a new movie, and it´s not one he´s really proud of—it´s a bit of a flop.  If he mentions the movie on Twitter, even if only half of the people who read the post go to the movie, at $10 per ticket, it would make at least $28 million!  On top of that, his Facebook users are an eager audience to his subtle advertisement, and any of these followers and fans might also end up bringing a date along!  Clearly, the business potential is there.

It´s easy to look at those numbers and be discouraged, but you don´t need to be rich, famous, and handsome to make Twitter profitable.  Research shows that 64% of Twitter users are over age 35, and the median user age is 39.  With so many users out there, many of them would be interested in your business.  Even if you just have five followers, that´s OK—just make those five followers love you!  They´ll tell five of their friends about you, and you´ll be up to 25, and so it goes.  Share expert tips, interesting articles, news updates, trends in your field, and anything new happening in your business.

Many followers look at Twitter the same way people scan the Highlight section on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.  It gives a quick overview of the main content in the paper, and if something catches your eye, you open to it.  An interesting Twitter post will draw visits to your site in the same way.

What now?

You don´t have to love Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or whatever´s next, but you do have to know that these social networking sites are growing, and many of your customers are on them.  Put away your shield and dagger, and ask your clients what they do online.  Many clients are embarrassed to admit just how much time they spend on those sites—especially on Facebook. Some of your customers use Facebook religiously (some even in church!), while others hate it.  Others are using Linkedin and still more visit Amazon.com, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, a community forum or even Grandparents.com to stay connected and research purchases.  Once you find out how your clients are using social media sites, you can plan and budget the strategy you need to reach them.

If you really want a great gift idea, you need to check out this LEGO Jewelry website! The owner and designer is my wife’s Uncle, Damien Howard. This guy is incredibly creative. He started a business a few years ago creating Jewelry using only LEGOS. He designs earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Each piece is designed and created on the Eastern Shores of Maryland, by Damien himself. What a great business idea. Tell your friends and spread the word.

Check out their online LEGO Jewelry Store

How many times have you sat on an airplane and listened to the safety message that typically sounds like this, “Blah blah blah?” One words crosses my mind, “boring.” Companies are always marketing…remember that! When you have a boring old safety talk, that is marketing. How you greet a client, write a blog, paint a house, remodel a kitchen, it is all marketing. So how do you make your marketing different? Be creative! Very creative if possible. Air New Zealand has done just that. They wanted their customers to have a more pleasant experience when it came time for the boring old safety talk.

Watch the video below and keep thinking how you can do something remarkable that will make your customers come back to you and tell their friends.

Special Thanks to David Meerman Scott for sharing this video on his site.

Below is a recent article by the Wall Street Journal entitled “Author to Bypass Publisher for Fans.” This is a must read article. Traditional marketing has never seen so much change the last 1-2 years thanks to the online and social networking communities such as Facebook, Twitter, and many others. Social networking sites have made inbound marketing popular! Now “fans” and “customers” get to decide what they like . A consumer can follow who they want, when they want and even comment and share info in seconds. Seth Godin has a cult following. His fans tell him what they want, and he realized it is time to take action. Read the full article of Author to Bypass Publisher for Fans and consider how your business can do something similar.