Archive for Marketing Basics
Marketing Is Not a Task, It’s a Way of Doing Business
Posted by: | CommentsRecently I was reading Unmarketing by Scott Stratton. In the introduction he says:
Marketing is not a task.
Marketing is not a department.
Marketing is not a job.
Marketing happens every time you engage (or not) with your past, present, and potential customers.
Just like branding is not your logo, marketing is not something you do only when you need to get more customers. Marketing is about building relationships with people. It’s about giving them a chance to get to know, like, and trust you so that when the time comes for them to purchase what you sell, you’re the only person they think of.
So when you post a link to your sales page on Twitter and Facebook that’s marketing. But even better marketing is when you reply to somebody based on what they’ve said. Having a professional looking website is marketing, but so is taking the time to congratulate a past customer on winning an award. Returning phone calls promptly is marketing. Replying to e-mails is marketing. Giving great customer service is marketing.
I live in a small town where people like to do business with people they know. Word-of-mouth is key, and reputation is everything. Tools like Facebook and Twitter turn the online world into a small town. So we need to remember to act like it.
If you own a small business, particularly a service-based businesses, then in all likelihood you and your business are pretty interchangeable; it’s hard to tell where one stops and the other starts. In that case marketing is every interaction you have with a customer or potential customer. Treat them all like they’re your best customer.
Have you claimed your Google Profile?
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s a nice short video from personal branding expert Lethia Owens about how to claim your Google profile. This is helpful if people are likely to search for you by name and there are others in the world who share your name. When you’re online for business, you can’t be in too many places. When someone searches for you, should should appear all over Google.
I’m Boring or How to market yourself without being controversial
Posted by: | CommentsThis past week I was on vacation at the in-laws cottage. My son brought a friend and the two of them spent much of the week listening to music by the Arrogant Worms. They listened so much that every time I woke in the middle of the night I’d have one of their songs running through my head.
One song has stuck with me, for a reason other than the sheer repetition. “I’m boring” is about a nerd who talks too much about boring topics so people run away from him.
While there was some joking around that this was about my husband who does like to talk about science a little too much, it does have a marketing connotation.
You may have noticed some online superstars – you know, the ones with thousands, if not millions of followers.
Many of them became popular because they are controversial. They say over-the-top things that get the online world buzzing. People reply, people argue about them, people visit their sites to see what all the fuss is about. They’re not boring!
One colleague of mine recently rebranded herself to be a little more “in-your-face”. She’s being more blunt and less polite all in an effort to be “more authentic”. This revamped version seems to be working for her.
And yes, being authentic online is essential, particularly if you’re using social media. And being controversial helps. If you can get people arguing about you and your ideas, well, as they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
But what if your authentic self is, well … boring? Read More→
Are Large Corporations Beating Small Business At Social Media?
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes I feel like I’m living a slightly schizophrenic life. As a marketing consultant specializing in social media, I spend a large chuck of my life immersed in the online 
World. I’m connecting with other online experts, and using each of the tools. I’m looking at how other businesses are marketing themselves online. I’m online for hours a day. And even when I’m not talking to other marketing experts, I’m dealing with online business people who know what they’re doing.
But occasionally I need to get off my ass and actually leave my office. When talking to business owners in the real world, I see an entirely different perspective. In the last several weeks I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with business owners were still trying to decide whether or not they need to bother with a website, never mind things like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
These two extremes in my life, have got me to thinking. One of the big rallying cries around social media is that it levels the playing field. Because most of these tools are basically free (as in no cash is needed to use them) it meant that solopreneurs and small business owners could easily compete with large corporations.
And on the surface this is true. After all, we can all create a Facebook account and set up a fan page, but only major corporations can run a television spot during the Superbowl.
However, when we dig deeper I believe social media is actually widening the gap between large corporations and micro business. Read More→
Your brand is not for everyone
Posted by: | CommentsThe title of today’s blog post is actually a quote from Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation. He goes on to say:
“Just like in marketing, it takes a certain type of person to drive a BWM, and that may not be the same kind of person who likes retro country funk music. The point is not to try to be all things to all people.”
This is a hard concept for business owners – particularly new business owners. Your first instinct is to try to serve everyone. But while in most cases I think a person’s first instinct is usually right, in this case it’s dead wrong.
Not everyone is going to be your customer. Not everyone should be your customer. Even people who are about to purchase what you offer are not an ideal fit. Nor should they be. You have your own personality, your own style, your own brand. He might be a BMW while you are an off-road SUV. Nothing wrong with that. You just need to learn to attract other off-road SUVs.
Let me tell you a story that explains what I mean.
I know a woman who does consulting. She is also a Read More→
