Category: Business Owner

How to Choose a Marketing Consultant

7/13/2019

Marketing consultants can be important to the success of small businesses. They offer an unbiased, fresh perspective on your business, growth opportunities, and preferred target customers. The right marketing consultant can identify, develop and implement strategies that can successfully grow your business by:

Increasing market presence in your current market through new approaches.
Introducing your business into new, profitable market sectors.
Improving marketing effectiveness and increase return on your marketing investment

Selecting and building a relationship with the right marketing consultant is a key step to achieving success for your business.

At this point, you might be wondering, “What can I realistically expect from a skilled marketing consultant?” An effective consultant takes the time and works with you to understand the unique nuances of your business. They can create a detailed marketing plan, facilitate the creation of branding/messaging, and identify the appropriate marketing mix to effectively get the message out to potential customers. They can also partner with you to implement the plan, making any needed adjustments as it is rolled out. Finally, they monitor, measure and adjust your marketing strategy as the business grows and prospers.

Before hiring a marketing consultant, it is a good idea to review your business goals -- both short and longer term.
In addition, clarify what kind of relationship and personality you are looking for in partnering with your consultant. If you do this, it will make it much easier to identify the consultant with the competencies, experience and communication style that most closely matches your needs.

Six questions to ask when choosing your Marketing Consultant:

1)Tell me about your expertise -- what is your background?
This may seem obvious, but there are many self-proclaimed “marketing gurus” out there, so beware. A solid education in Business is a must and an MBA / Masters in Marketing a big plus. Marketing affects other areas of the business and the consultant should be able to grasp the whole picture before recommending marketing plans.

Marketing consultants develop different skills and specialties throughout their careers. Look for a consultant with a skills profile that matches your requirements. For example, if you need to develop a strategy for growth, ask about the consultant’s strategic capabilities. If your target market is local, you’ll want the consultant to understand the opportunities in the area.

2)Have you worked with small businesses?
Experience owning and/or working with small business is a BIG plus. Small businesses have many unique challenges larger established companies do not. Understanding those challenges takes “time in the trenches” to fully appreciate. Just as important, your marketing consultant must be able to demonstrate experience and success in solving the types of challenges your company faces.

3) What tools or processes do you use in your work?
Consultants often use business models and other tools. Understanding their approach to gathering information and working through a project may help you determine if it’s appropriate for your situation. It will also show you if the consultant follows a process, versus falling back on "canned" solutions that worked for one firm but may not work for yours.

4) Am I comfortable working with this person?
The working relationship between you, your key partners/employees and the marketing consultant is extremely important. Your consultant’s communication style, personal branding/business values and level of commitment should be compatible with yours and your company’s. Do they use words implying themselves as telling and selling or partnering, creating and facilitating? Assess if they are a “hands-on” partner during implementation or more consultative. These are extremely critical expectations that you and your consultant need to understand and agree upon before the relationship begins.

5) Does the consultant have time for me?
Understanding the consultant’s resources/network and client load is a consideration for you. How many clients do they have? Do they have specialists they can call on when needed? Having many clients often sounds good but is not necessarily better for small business owners. A consultant that is a dedicated partner to a few clients can spend more time understanding and focusing on your business and is always there quickly when needed.

6) Can I talk with references?
Last but not least, ask for references and call them. Check out their LinkedIn profile for recommendations. These references can give you insight into the consultant’s capabilities, working style and character.

Choosing the right marketing consultant for you and your business can be one of the most critical and rewarding decisions you make. Asking the questions outlined above while talking with potential marketing consultants will help to ensure a productive successful partnership.

Thanks for reading! If you have questions on working with a marketing consultant, please contact us!

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How much should you spend on a new business website?

5/17/2019

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When considering marketing options for new business, owners often ask about websites.
Questions like Do I really need a website? or How much will I have to spend? are frequently on their minds. There is a good reason for this – a website is a major investment of time and resources.
So if this is something that you've been thinking about, keep reading! We've compiled the following considerations, recommendations, and cost estimates to help you.

Question 1 -- Do you need a website?
Yes. A website is a recommended investment in the success of your business.
A well-developed website:

Helps legitimize your business -- most prospective customers will check websites and reviews before contacting a business.
Can function as your online brochure, showcasing the products or services your offer and why they would want to do business with you.
Can function as the “hub” of your marketing efforts, helping bring in leads, educating and engaging current and prospective customers.
Can help clarify your vision for the business. The process of developing the website, especially the home and about pages, will help the business owner clarify their values, target audiences and differentiators.

Note: There are a very few small businesses that can survive totally on word of mouth or by having a great location. But for the vast majority of businesses, prospective customers will use the website as a verification that you are a real business.

Question 2 – how much should you expect to spend?
The answer depends on your business situation - the type of business, the profile of preferred customers and the marketing strategy to attract them.

Do people typically conduct online searches for your type business? Will you depend on search results to bring in new business? If so, then expect to spend more for a website and search engine optimization (SEO).
What customization do you need? If your business needs special features, like a secure customer portal, then that will add to the cost. Do you expect to sell products? Then it will be important to invest in ecommerce features that optimize the buyer experience.
Do you have a vision for exactly how you want it to look, function, and communicate your brand? To achieve this, a custom website may be the way to go. On the other hand, if you’re a new business or feel a unique design isn’t a high priority, a template-based site might be the answer as it will guide you to fill in certain spaces and pages.
What resources do you have? If you know a good website developer or marketing agency, use them. If not, ask around business networks and check their references. But there are other options. If you are starting out with a very limited budget or just testing the market, you can experiment with template-based sites like Wix, Weebly and Squarespace. These sites are user friendly and when well thought out, can look very professional. One drawback is their SEO capability, but they are trying to improve that. In fact, Wix is currently hosting a contest for marketing agencies to try to convince them or their to their improved SEO capability.
What is your total marketing budget? A small business working with a web developer or design firm can expect to pay between $2K to $9K for a website (depending on number of pages and complexity) and $5K + for e-commerce capabilities. Be aware, you should not spend all your total budget on your website as you’ll need a combination of marketing tactics to attract visitors and convert them into customers. For example, If SEO is important to your business, you may want to jumpstart your optimization efforts with Google/Bing Ads. But winning the SEO battle takes a continued and diversified effort so you’ll not want to put all your eggs in the SEO basket, so to speak.

Effectively launching or reinvigorating a business goes beyond creating a website and includes developing a marketing strategy with more than one way to attract customers. So how much you should spend depends on several factors -- look for options that fit your business goals and budget.

Thanks for reading! For questions on websites or marketing strategies to grow your business, contact us.

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5 Tips to get more people to read your blog

1/21/2019

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Do you feel like no one is reading the content you've so carefully composed, edited and maybe even sweated over?

If so, you have a good deal of company -- there are many blogs out there and very few business owners start with a large following! To help you get more readers, here are some tips from Neil Patel (who should know, as he averages 37,000+ visitors to his blog) :

Quote people you admire and link to them. Then, send them a note to thank them and let them know you've shared their expertise. You might add that you'd be thrilled if they would share your blog! :)
Share your post on all of your social networks, but don't just share the link, add a brief introduction. And don't share just once -- not everyone sees what you share the first time. But space out the shares so you aren't boring people -- for example, plan to share a post 6 times a year, or every two months.
If you get comments -- great, repond! That helps your reach and engagement score (part of most social media platforms algorithms) Be sure to respond (politely) to the comments and if you can, ask them another question! (To encourage even more engagement).
Send out to your list quickly after publishing and encourage your readers to share the content if they like it. Don't have a list? Add a form so they can subscribe and start building one.
Look at your website analytics for top posts. Which posts attracted the most visitors from last year? Take some time and if appropriate, update them so they have fresh content.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if any of these work for you. :)
If you need more ideas, go to the link for Neil's original post -- you can find it between post 902 and 903.

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Does your website have the five things B2B buyers are looking for?

1/18/2019

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Whether you are an established business or just starting out, your website is an important vehicle for prospective clients to find and become interested in your services. It should be a great representative of your brand and the expertise you offer.

Does your site contain the information your prospects need to consider your firm?

Let's start with some facts. According to a recent survey conducted by the Society for Marketing Professional Services, SMPS, there are five types of information prospective buyers look for:

What B2B Buyers are looking for on your website

#1 Expertise /Project Descriptions -- Prospects check for expertise to see if the firm has successful experience with projects that are similar to the one that they are looking to hire an outside firm to help with.
#2 Firm profile/history -- Prospects visit this section to learn about a firm’s size, longevity and priorities to see if they should contact them. They might also look for credentials, methodology, value or techniques/process. For example, for Architecture and Engineering firms, they may check for an ACASS rating (rating from the Federal Government) or professional memberships.
#3 Services provided -- This section helps prospective clients verify that the firm can provide the types of service(s) that they need. Examples can help illustrate expertise and this information could be on the same page as the project descriptions.
#4 Client lists -- The fourth most visited area is client lists. Viewing a client list gives a prospect the confidence knowing the firm has worked for others in their industry. Testimonials are also helpful.
#5 Staff info -- While this area was only visited by 24% of respondents of the survey, when asked about what things they would have liked to check that they did not find on websites, they answered staff information, especially qualifications and certifications in the biographies of the staff.

Other items that impact prospect perceptions include:
Quality of the site itself – typos, difficult navigation, or outdated web design were sited as items that reflected negatively on the quality of the firm.
Inconsistent Branding - images, content and graphics that do not reflect the companies values, culture and offerings.
Contact information – it is important that there is a way to contact the firm on each page.

Does your website provide the key information listed above a way that supports your brand and business development efforts? If you are not sure if it does, please contact us to schedule a website review.

Other blogs on this topic:
http://www.broadreachmarketingservices.com/blog/do-you-really-need-a-new-website

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How to Perk Up Your Social Media Efforts

10/14/2018

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Are you posting more but getting less from your efforts? As a small business marketer or owner, you only have so much time and resources. Explore the eight questions below to see how you can increase your social media impact.

Eight Questions you should ask

1) What is your goal for your Social Media efforts?
Take a step back (or grab a cup of coffee) and remember why you started doing social media in the first place.
What did you want to accomplish? For example, a new healthcare practice might be trying to grow awareness and interest. An established service business may be more interested in engaging existing customers for referrals and repeat business.
Your goals could include:

Building awareness
Generating Leads
Converting more leads to sales
Quickly responding to customer questions
Engaging existing customers
Creating upsell opportunities

Tip: It is better to focus on one or two goals and do them very well than to dilute your efforts by trying to do too much.

2) Do you know how well you are doing?
If you already have metrics in place, review how well you’ve done so far and make the needed adjustments. If not, here are a few example measures that might be helpful:

3) Are you reaching the right people?
The businesses that experience the most success with social media have a clearly defined target market. Think about who your ideal customers are and what would interest them. For example, a gift shop surveyed their customers and found that they were interested in the locations where the products are made. The shop began posting fun facts, short videos of landmarks, interesting places and the people they met on their buying trips. The result - likes and sharing increased.

The key is to build followers that are truly interested in your product or brand. It helps to have someone in mind and feel like you are talking to them when creating posts.

4) Do you have a content plan?
Don’t have a content strategy or plan? Planning your themes, channels and posts for the next six months is well worth the time.
Planning and gathering ideas and images in one place will save time when creating posts. In addition, checking the month to month calendar will make sure you don’t miss important seasonal or holiday activities. There are many fun but little known holidays and it’s hard to keep track of them unless you have it on your plan.
In addition to regular holidays, there are lesser known, specialized, and sometimes even wacky days. For example, the fourth Saturday in October is Make a Difference Day. Seems like a great day to celebrate if your organization does good work for the community.

If your plan feels overwhelming, check to see how your channels are working for you.
Which channels are the best fit for both your ideal customer and your business?
Maybe you need to try a new channel to better connect -- and delete those that aren't working. If you haven’t posted on Instagram or Twitter in three months, think about why and determine whether you should continue.

You do not have to be everywhere. Formulate a plan and use what works best for you and your business.

5) Have you offered to guest post?
This is a way to get your name/brand out and extend your reach to people beyond your normal circle. It is also a way to set up "backlinks" that help with search engine optimization.
It's a popular tactic, but it takes work. Before you ask for the opportunity to post on someone’s blog, do your research to make your addition relevant, advantageous and complementary to the blog host's businesses. And be prepared to follow through on the opportunity if they agree.

6)Are you engaging?
Are you asking questions? See what types of questions your target market responds to. Facebook has made it harder for business pages, but engagement still is key to extending your reach and having more people see your posts.
Listen -- if you get comments, reward them with a reply!
Keep experimenting to see what works best. Monitor which posts and topics get the most shares and likes and use them as a model to create more like them.

7) Can you create “Evergreen” content?
Evergreen content is not tied to trends and can be reused or repurposed on multiple channels.
Examples of evergreen content include:

Answers to frequently asked questions from your customers or followers
Industry tips, "how to" explanations or advice (like back to school tips or how to change a tire)
Explanations of common industry concepts that may be confusing for readers (customer success vs customer service)
Here is an example from our blog

8) Can you add a fun factor?
Show that your company or brand is made of real people. Tell stories, show what’s behind the scenes and seek to connect on an emotional level. One way to do this is by describing any unusual traditions, people or company celebrations.

Does your company participate or have events that benefit the community? Show how you and/or your employees help make a difference. (Then you can celebrate Make a Difference Day!)
Do you have a fun side? It’s okay to show the lighter aspects of your brand. The days of perfect video are over – you can show outtakes, improvisations and mistakes as well as achievements.

In conclusion, building a social media presence or brand takes time and effort. Through a focused, consistent and discipline approach, social media can be a valuable tool in your marketing toolbox that drives your business towards success. If after giving social media a good try you find that it's not paying dividends, your business might be better served by focusing your marketing resources on more effective tactics. Don't feel bad -- there are many ways to market your business and you can still use social media in support of your other efforts.

If you need help determining which marketing tactics work best for your business, please contact us for a consultation to see how we can assist you.

Thanks for reading!

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36 Small Business Marketing Ideas to Give Your Sales a Boost

8/5/2018

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Are you feeling like you need to step up your marketing efforts?
If that’s the case, here are some ideas to consider. Some may be new, but you may also be reminded of ideas that you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t had time to implement.
For quick reference, we’ve organized the ideas by category. Take a look and see if any of these would help build your business!

Market Planning and Research
1. Update or create a marketing plan for your business. To make sure you get optimal results, your business should have a marketing plan that aligns timing, tactics and implementation with market opportunities.
2. Ask your customers how you’re doing -- revisit or begin customer satisfaction research.
3. Revisit your Value proposition – does it still ring true?
4. Refine your target audience and niche.
5. Explore the advantages of offering a new product or service in combination with your current business. Example - conduct focus groups and get input from your target market.

Check over your Marketing Materials
6. Take a close look at your business cards -- do they still represent the right image and convey key information about your business?
7. Think about printed materials – does your business need to create or update a brochure / sales sheet to leave behind with customers?
8. Evaluate if you need to update your website.
9. Check your online directory listings and get listed in desirable directories.

Person to Person Networking
10. Update your (and your company’s) voice mail message – keep it current, change it when you have new events or specials.
11. Enhance your email signature.
12. Revisit your elevator pitch. Does it still fit? Can you make it better?
13. Introduce yourself to other local business owners – you can do this in person or using Alignable.com. Explore creating a promotion with other local businesses.
14. Find a creative promotional product that fits your business and brand -- give them to prospective customers and referral sources.

Direct Mail
15. Launch a targeted direct mail campaign. Think through your offer and call to action. You can create and test multiple approaches and measure their impact.
16. If you’ve used direct mail before, add tear cards, inserts or attention getting envelops to increase the impact of your mailing.
17. Contact past customers; send them an incentive to refer you or revisit your business.

Consider Advertising
18. If your business appeals to a wide target market, explore radio, billboard or even local TV advertising.
19. Use your car as a billboard – add a magnet, sticker or car wrap. If you have employees, see if they would be willing to add your magnet to their cars.
20. Use a sidewalk sign for specials or to attract walk in traffic.
21. Run a Google AdWords (Google Ads) campaign
22. Create a Groupon to attract new customers or get them to try a new product or service.

Social Media Marketing
23. Experiment with social media for your business – or evaluate the results of your current efforts.
24. Advertise on social media to attract new followers.
25. If your business sells to other businesses, try advertising on LinkedIn.
26. Evaluate starting a business blog.
27. If you already have a blog, try using video – add a video blog, and short video posts for your social media accounts.
28. List your business on Google My Business.
29. Add photos and videos to your Google My Business profile.
30. Create a post for your Google My Business profile.

Email Marketing
31. Add an email opt-in on your website or blog.
32. Create an offer that encourages people to add their email address to your list.
33. Send periodic email campaigns to your list.
34. Measure the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

Less Usual Marketing
35. Create a business mascot to help promote your brand. This can be fun!
36. Take a stance on a hot industry or community topic, one that you have in-depth knowledge of or that aligns with your brand values.

We hope you found this post of value. Did you find some ideas to try?
Please be aware that not all ideas will fit your business --
and the success of many of them depends on having the right messaging and timing.
For help with planning or message development, contact us.

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The Customer Success Mindset - Can Your Business Benefit?

12/18/2017

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You may have heard the term “Customer Success”.

What does it mean to you and your company?
Is it just a new way to say customer satisfaction or customer service? Can any business use this type of thinking?

Customer Success is focused on ensuring your customers achieve their desired outcomes while using your product or service. This focus can improve loyalty and reduce customer churn.

How does it differ from customer service or satisfaction?
Customer Success is proactive, while customer service is reactive. Good customer service increases the chance of customer success by solving problems as they arise, on a case by case basis. Documenting re-occurring problems is important feedback for product/process improvement.

Customer Success helps companies better understand what the customer is experiencing, how the customers use the product and/or services – from the customer’s perspective. Customer success can use feedback from Customer Service and other sources to see where customers are succeeding and where help is needed.

Customer Success is a vital part of Customer Satisfaction. If the product doesn’t perform to expectations, or the buyer isn’t informed/educated in the proper use, then it’s not likely the customer will be satisfied. But since customers perception is formed through multiple experiences with the company, there are other factors that can also affect overall satisfaction.

What does Customer Success look like in action?
Software companies are leading the effort to implement the customer success mindset. For example, Pendo, located in Raleigh North Carolina, makes software for product managers. They measure the number and frequency of features used in a certain time period. If a customer seems to take longer than average to implement, they follow up with interviews to find out why. They also measure the NPS (Net Promoter Score) which reinforces that customer success is everyone’s job.

So, you might be thinking, this is great for software companies, but what does this mean for my product or service business? It may be easier to implement in a software product (where more feedback is automated) but most businesses can benefit from using the customer success mindset to improve loyalty and reduce churn. You can start by asking “what else can we do to make customers successful” when looking for new product ideas or process innovations. Here are a few keys to implementing Customer Success thinking:

1) First, define:

What does “success” mean to your customer?
How can your product/service enable your customers to achieve that success?
Does that change over time?

2) Test and measure which factors have the greatest impact on customer success – then emphasize them. Identify and interview customers who aren’t achieving success with your product to out find the reasons why.

Where are the pain points? What would help alleviate or bypass them? – For example, are your forms user-friendly? Could communication or explanations be clarified?
What you can do to make your customers more successful. For example, are there items, features, or points of contact that need to be added, modified or removed?
What’s the appropriate timing for engaging and monitoring customers?
Are there media or channels where the customers would prefer to get support information?

3) Get your whole team on board with Customer Success

Make sure the whole team recognizes that they are responsible. A good way to do this is to track the NPS as a main metric. Align your teams, reward systems, and communications to proactively retain customers and strengthen relationships.

The customer success mindset can be applied to a wide variety of products and businesses.
How do you apply the Customer Success mindset to your business? What key metrics do you use?
Feel free to add a comment.

Thanks for reading! Best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a great start to the New Year!

Nancy

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Not sure you need a marketing plan? 5 Reasons Why You Should Create One.

11/8/2017

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Marketing plans aren’t just for big businesses; every organization can benefit from one. But if you are a business owner or part of a small marketing team, it might seem like a luxury - something you’d like to do when you get the time. In fact, only 56% of small businesses with fewer than 50 employees have a marketing plan developed.

Marketing plans aren’t the only thing that organizations are missing -- many admit they don't have specific marketing goals. And outlining specific goals is important -- as the saying goes, if you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to get there?

5 important reasons why you should take the time and effort to develop a marketing plan:

1. It helps you think through your business strategy and align your marketing efforts effectively.
You’ll then formulate marketing objectives that help your business achieve its mission and become successful.

2. It keeps you – and your team -- focused.
There are many marketing tools and opportunities -- it’s easy to become distracted, losing sight of your intended business goals. The marketing planning process helps focus on your priorities so you’re not spending time and resources on activities that won’t help you attain your goals.

3. It formalizes ideas and concepts.
You may have some great ideas for your business you’d like to try – including them in your marketing plan will help you determine how feasible they are. Once they are in the plan, you’ll be focused to work on them.

4. It helps you establish tasks, timelines and milestones.
A good marketing plan includes clearly defined objectives and tactics, outlining these makes it easier to identify the tasks that need to be done, who should do them, and when they need to be done by. This will help you get the most out of promotions and seasonal or local events.

5. It can help you obtain financing.
A business plan is a must if you want to obtain financing, having a well thought out marketing plan shows that you mean business (pun intended)!

So set aside some time to create a sound marketing plan for your business – chances are you’ll be glad you did.

Need help creating your plan? Get your copy of our market planning ebook to help your business grow!

Free e-book

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Marketing Tips for growing businesses

How to Choose a Marketing Consultant

How much should you spend on a new business website?

5 Tips to get more people to read your blog

Does your website have the five things B2B buyers are looking for?

How to Perk Up Your Social Media Efforts

Eight Questions you should ask

36 Small Business Marketing Ideas to Give Your Sales a Boost

The Customer Success Mindset - Can Your Business Benefit?

Not sure you need a marketing plan? 5 Reasons Why You Should Create One.

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