Internet Marketing is HOT!

We all know the Internet has changed the dynamics of the business world. At my program last Friday Nov 7th, I bought together 3 experts in the field to share new, exciting information. BTW, thanks guys, the feedback from the attendees was awesome! John Miles, Integritive, talked about how to drive traffic to your site. www.integritive.com , Trevor Lohrbeer, Lab Escape, talked about the world of social networking and in particular LinkedIN, THE business social networking site, www.labescape.com , Bryon Freeborn, Top Floor Studio, talked about what things to know and ask when hiring a website designer. www.topfloorstudio.com

FYI, if you think social networking is a waste of time, I can tell you it is worth all the effort. In the last 3 weeks, I obtained a new client directly from LinkedIN. Go for it, have fun- the possibilities are endless!

Letting Go.

How many times have you made a good decision, did everything you could to make it a success and still it wasn't going well? It's hard to let go but sometimes that is the best decision of all. The dog we adopted last month, that I mentioned in an earlier blog, came to display some serious aggressive behavior and even with training, it was not meant to be.

Did we invest money? oh yes. Did we invest lots of time? oh yes. Did we get attached to her? You bet!

Just like with a project,employee or vendor, at some point it is better to admit "this is not working" and the best decision is to let go and move on. Is there anything not working in your business you need to let go of and start fresh? Think about it.

Stop Being Afraid To Sell

It’s easy to think that if your audience loves you, all that love will translate automatically into paying customers. It just isn’t so. Building relationships is key to gaining new business but you also have to connect with willing buyers. They need to be in the market to buy. Ask probing questions and be quiet. Probing questions persuade your audience to explicitly tell you what it would take to get them to buy. Then wrap your message up with a strong call to action and a fair price.

To learn more, click here and go to LBM seminars and articles.

You don’t need to be able to sell ice to Eskimos to use these techniques. Use empathy, respect and natural conversation—tools you use every day.

Economic Woes Got You Down?

DON'T PANIC!

The economic news has most people pretty freaked out right now. Abrupt interruption to your cash flow or having your 401K lose half its value are real and significant problems, but the biggest problem in any kind of crisis is mindset. Panic makes things worse. Fear is the enemy of good decisions, and panic simply makes them impossible.

I believe this time of great stress is also an opportunity to create new ideas. When you look at solving problems as your key to success and cultivating your own optimism, you’ll see your business in a new way. This is a time to re-evaluate everything in your business- financial, operational, human resources, marketing and sales- and look for efficiencies as well as new growth opportunities. Tear apart all the pieces, look at them in a different light and begin to re-position the building blocks to survive and thrive in this mess. Be realistic, this mess is going to be around for at least 18- 24 months. Take your anxious energy and direct it in a positive way for you, your business and your employees.

Are you working on a new marketing project?

It's Friday and the weather is absolutely gorgeous. I love living in Asheville! Last week I met such wonderful, ambitious, aspiring entrepreneurs at the Carolina Connect Conference put on by Advantage West. I highly recommend you call Pam Lewis at (828) 687-7234 to get on the mailing list to attend next year's event.

Now to a new project analogy. My yellow lab passed away in July and Max, my choc. lab has been very lonely. SO we adopted a 9 month old mutt from the Asheville Humane Society this past weekend. Oh what a project! She is sweet, loving and fun but like any new project, it takes a lot of time. See, we wanted a new dog so we knew upfront what the time commitment was and patience it would take.

Just like any new project you take on, know your goals upfront, know the investment it will take in money and labor, have the passion to take action and commitment and patience to seeing it through to successful results. It takes all of these factors when taking on a BIG NEW project but it is worth it.

New Website Launched

My new website is launched! Hurrah! Check it out and let me know what you think. Website development is an on going process and the content, design and capabilities need to be updated and kept fresh. The online world is changing daily and depending how you use your website, it needs to get attention, keep people engaged and motivate them to take action in your favor.

Just like my chocolate lab who is smart, loving, and fun, he needs daily attention, food, water and exercise. Some days I can take him on a long hike in the woods but other days there is just enough time for a sweet pat on the head. None the less, he gets daily attention. So should the important marketing tools you use to maintain and grow your business. Remember, marketing is done daily!

This Thursday, I'm off to the Carolina Connect Conference to "connect" with start up companies. I'm introducing a special branding package for new companies. Call me if you are interested to learn more.

Are your sales way down?!?

What should you do in terms of marketing to bring in more business? I get asked this question frequently, so, I've decided to do a seminar at the Asheville Chamber on August 19, 2008- "How to Attract Business in a Down Economy". I'll talk about THE "M" FACTORS to success that I have used many times with local small businesses. You'll, also,learn about low cost direct marketing techniques to use right now AND have an opportunity to participate in a special targeted program for the fall and holiday season. Call me at 828.687.1456 for more information.

Now, more than ever, every dollar spent needs to have an impact in your favor on the people most likely to buy from you. Remember, if you stop advertising, out of sight, out of mind!

Is Marketing Bad for Business?

Owners must think that these days in this down economy. I've talked to more people who say business is down and they have cut their marketing budgets drastically. WHY? Sure, logic tells me money is tight but how do you now plan to get sales? Are you sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring by magic? Are you standing in your store and wondering why no one is coming in? It is because you have stopped putting your name out there. People easily forget and out of site usually means out of mind. Now is actually the best time to market. Media costs are down because they are hungry for business, clutter is down because so many have stopped advertising AND believe it, people are still spending money on stuff. Even though they may be spending less, you still want to get a piece of the pie they are spending vs your competition. Have an awesome sales day and keep marketing.

Why People Buy

Four reasons people why:

-PRICE. Perfect example- Walmart! Be careful, though, if you build a business based on the lowest price in town. Margins are very low so volume has to be very high in order to stay in business AND most important, will you succeed if a competitor comes in with even a lower price?

-SERVICE. Long after a purchase, people forget the price but they always remember the service. People like spending their money with businesses that are honest, attentive, truly care, and are respectful.

-EXCLUSIVITY. If a person wants a specific hard to find item, ie Rolex, the store that stocks them will get the order.

-CONVENIENCE. Make it easy for someone to buy from you. The internet exploded on this concept because people could buy 24/7/365 and never leave their home/office.

Don't just make the sale, get the customer. Sales are important but success comes from repeat purchases where people spend more money with you more often. Now, go out and get a new customer and stop thinking one-shots..Have a great day.

Researching and Planning Brings Success

I hope you all had a relaxing July 4th weekend. I'm just back from St. Lucia and it is a beautiful island with wonderful people. I highly recommend it. After taking quite awhile to go thru my emails, I found one common theme from the questions I got from potential clients about marketing that strikes a cord. It seems most people market their companies in a haphazard, unfocused way. There is no plan. The message they send, the creative they use, the media vehicles where they spend their money is unstructured and chaotic. Successful marketing takes real intention (Who is my target? What do I want to achieve and why? What is my plan? How will I measure the results of the marketing efforts?) This kind of clarity of intention and focus can produce extraordinary results.

My approach to marketing is to do the proper research before hand, develop an effective plan, implement the plan, track results and make intelligent decisions based on that information to tweak the plan even further. It is like planning a successful vacation. My husband and I spent months researching St. Lucia, wrote out a plan on where to stay, what we wanted to do and see, made adjustments when we finally got there based on weather conditions and had an awesome time experiencing the island, the food, and the people.

Customers are still spending money.

Customers are definitely shifting their priorities. With gas prices and a gallon of milk now over $4.00 each (who would have thought it would ever happen!), people are watching their every dollar. But does that mean consumers are not spending money, actually, no. Folks are buying stuff, just being highly selective and cautious. Impulse buying is on hold for now. When it comes to their online experience, consumers want more for free (free email accounts, free shipping, free return service, free 800 numbers to call, etc.) they want it fast, they want control of their online experience, they want a fair price and they want the company they deal with to be honest in all communications. Make sure you give your target group the above and they will continue to be loyal. Chin up everyone, the good times are just around the corner.

Social media is worth it!

There was alot of talk about social media marketing efforts at the NYC conference. It is hot right now and is proving to be a successful tool to connect with other experts, peer to peer dialogue, show your expertise and attract new customers. The most popular social networks for small business owners is Classmates.com, LinedIn, MySpace and Facebook. Research has shown that people want to connect with other people and these communities are playing a significant and influential role in the decision-making process. Just think of it as word of mouth on hyper-drive! Check them out and start engaging in a dialogue.

Back from the NYC Marketing Conference

The New York City conference was awesome. I met with lots of vendors, participated in discussion groups with bigwigs from major corporations and attended lots of seminars. The major take away point is, as marketers, we all know alot, there is a ton that is rapidly changing the way companies are driving new business and we are all in the same boat trying to figure out what works. The old traditional way of mass marketing is no longer effective. People are more sophisicated and are looking for one-to-one personalized messages that is relevant to them and word of mouth has never been more powerful. The result: social media has exploded and is getting good results for businesses. Over the next few days/weeks, I'll touch on several different topics and what I learned. Have a great day.

Happy spring or should i say summer!

Life is good but it is a little too hot too fast. 90 degrees today, wow! I'm off to the annual marketing conference in NYC next week and will bring back lots of ideas and new information. The advertising landscape is rapidly changing and what use to work in the past is no longer as effective. What do you do now to grow your business? Are you jumping into the unknown territories of social media and internet marketing? Are your dollars and time investment going to bring in sales??? All businesses large and small are facing the same issues. Stay tuned for answers to these questions when i get back.

Networking Creates Sales

It is Friday and I hope everyone has a great weekend. Big tip for next week, get out of the office and go meet people for coffee, lunch, glass of wine after work! We all tend to get bogged down with work that keeps us in front of the computer. It is the connecting with others, building relationships, brainstorming ideas that increases sales. Meet with other business people, buy your best customer lunch, go to a chamber business before/after hours- just get out there, connect, be yourself and it is amazing how sales does follow. I can hear your computer already saying " Yes, stop banging on my keys, go and give me a break." !!

Meet the Print Media

This happened Thur May 22 at the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. We had 7 print editors on the panel and over 80 attendees. The panel discussed how to get your stories and events into the news media, tips to get noticed when sending emails to the press, contact names and email addresses and much more. It was very informative. Watch out for the the Fall Meet the Media for boardcast. Oh, the world of PR- it costs nothing but your time, alot of time but is so worth it if done correctly. Check my website www.lbmarketingservices.com for the contact information of the panel members.

The Beginning

I was the moderator at the Chamber of Commerce Meet the Media event last week where over 80 people attended and a member of the audience stood up and said "If you don't have a blog- you are behind the curve of success already!" Well, business has been so good for me lately I haven't had the time but today I decided to make the time and start my blog. Welcome all. I'll include marketing tips, new ideas, and just plain ole fun a marketing professional has every day. Stay tuned.