Roundpeg | Small Business Marketing | Indianapolis » Marketing

Grow Your Business By Turning Away Customers

Lorraine — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:11:06 +0000

In the Indianapolis metropolitan area, there are 65,000 companies with sales under $1 million. 65,000! The reality is I can’t serve all these small businesses.

To use my time well, and do the right thing for my clients, sometimes the best thing to do is to turn the project over to a competitor. I know that sounds crazy, giving up a project especially, in a tough economy, but when it isn’t a fit, I have learned it is better to walk away.

Seth Godin had a great post recently on this topic. He argued passing a project to someone else better prepared to handle it will actually raise your image with that client. He said:

This is when you earn the right to be seen as a trusted adviser, not a self-interested shill. Two months or two years from now, when you interact with that person or organization again, he’ll remember that you were the one who spoke up on behalf of the competition, the one who helped us find a better fit, the clearly disinterested adviser who helped us choose between the two remaining good choices.

To make good suggestions, I work hard to get to know my competitors. I understand their weakness and their strengths so I can pick the best candidate for my client. I have good working relationships with companies like SpinWeb, Miles Design, and Deep Ripples. Each of these companies are best in class, and beyond their skills, I know they will treat my prospect the way I would have .

I am in this business for the long haul. So if I miss one sale, but in doing so, I establish my self as a trusted adviser I know it will be worth it in the long run.

Social Media: Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

Lorraine — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:38:11 +0000

At BlogIndiana I heard an interesting statistic : Approximately 75% of the visitors to your blog or website are first time visitors. This didn’t sound right, surely people were coming back again and again. But I checked my own statistics and sure enough, 72% of my guests were first timers.

All that new content I was generating, was it going to waste? If I just wrote the same post over and over again, who would know? Well I believe it isn’t going to waste, because every post builds SEO bait. At the same time, the practice is improving my writing skills.

The fact that 3/4 of my audience is new every day presents an interesting challenge. If his is the first time you have arrived here, I want you to know a bit about us. – At Roundpeg, we are focused on small business. We write about marketing, social media, pr, web design, and business planning. Occasionally we show off samples of our work, and link to projects we do for our small business clients. Look around, we hope you will enjoy your stay, and maybe come back and become part of the other 25%

However, if you are part of my regular audience. I am glad you are back.. On this visit, I hope you will take the time to share some of your thoughts. What keeps you coming back?

Want to Boost Sales? Give Stuff Away!

Lorraine — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:22:13 +0000

Whenever I go to the mall, and walk by the food court, there is always that guy, handing out samples of the Chinese chicken. Why? Because if you don’t know what you are hungry for, very often a little taste is enough to convince you to buy an entire plate.

That same try before you buy strategy works in many industries, particularly when the product or service is really unique or radically different from competing products.

For example networking: Today, after more than eight years in the market place, most people are familiar with Rainmakers. That was not the case, eight years ago. Our model was so different, it was almost impossible to explain on paper or on-line. It is one of those things you had to experience to understand. To overcome the low understanding of our model, we started offering “free passes” to our events.

The result of our free trial program – We lost some revenue at the door, since guests no longer had to pay the first time they attended, but we had significantly more guests. the average event had an increase in guest count from 5 to 15. Since our closing percentage (guests who became members) remained the same, we tripled the number of new members each month.

That’s the key.. use free trials to introduce the product, build a loyal fan base, and offer an option for more services of a reasonable fee. It the value is there, you wil have no trouble earning the fee.

FREE TRIALS! Have you figured out how to use them in your business?

Warm Up Cold Calls with Power Teams

Lorraine — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:52:45 +0000

I have been a student of Matt Nettleton’s at TrustPointe for almost a year now. Almost every week he mentions, suggests, or commands that we make phone calls. While I have never learned to love them, I have learned to make to them.

But whenever possible, I try to make warm calls instead. I try to rely on my referral network, and power team to make connections to the people I need to meet.

Who are my Power Team? This is a loose group of business professionals who offer complementary services to my target customers. I schedule one-on-one conversations over coffee and lunch. As we talk about projects and customers, opportunities arise: without directly soliciting a referral directly, things happen!

Do you have a your own Power Team? Here are a few tips on how to build one.

Start with your customer.

Regardless of whether your product or service is for an individual or a business, your target customer has needs beyond what you can provide. Think about other products and services your customers could or would purchase on a regular basis. For example if you are an electrician, then a plumber, roofer, or landscape company would be a potential Power Team members.

As you attend networking events, be on the look out for great Power Team members. While customers are always nice, a great Power Team member will create more opportunities for you in the long run!

Be Selective

It takes time to build an effective partnership, one which brings value to both companies. Don’t rush the process. The closer you work with this strategic partner, the more your image and theirs become entwined together in the mind of potential clients. Carefully evaluate potential partners; selecting companies which will they treat your clients the way you do. Build relationships with companies you will be proud to send your best customer to.

Is Your Storefront Customer Friendly?

Lorraine — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:18:20 +0000

I started my professional career in a retail environment; first on the sales floor, then as a buyer. I learned all phases of the sales cycle. How to”

Create advertising which drove people in the door
Arrange displays and signs to capture the attention of shoppers and lead them deeper into the department
Approach shoppers, offer suggestions, upsell,and get the sale
Manage returns and customer satisfaction issues.

Thirty years later (yes it really has been thirty years) I apply all those same skills to web design .

Instead of print and radio I help clients create internet advertising to drive people to the site. Targeted messages, intriguing offers and attractive graphics still move people to action.
Instead of paying attention to displays, I focus on navigation, and page features. Where to place graphics, and how large the graphics should be is an integral part of site design. As a sales manager, I carefully placed items which might sell together next to each other. I use related links to other parts of the site, which bring visitors deeper and deeper into the content
Special offers and conversion forms allow you to connect with customers, identifying specific interests to you can ” find a belt to match their dress” .
Today it is easier then ever to monitor customer opinion, through surveys and feedback forms.

Same skills, different applications, so when I am stumped for an idea to finish out a web project, I simply walk the aisles in a retail shop. Of course, I usually have to buy something too.

What Makes You Exceptional?

Lorraine — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:06:47 +0000

According to Seth Godin, what was once conidered incredible, is now run of the mill. The challenge to small business owners in finding new ways to surprise and delight your customers, particularly in competitive markets.

My favorite eye doctor, Dr. Jeremy Ciano at Revolution-Eyes always has fresh coffee and Godiva Chocolate. He has a play area for kids and computers in each exam room so you can check your email while you wait for him. I go to Dr. Ciano because he is the best at what he does; a contact lens specialist, he is routinely the first in the city to offer new treatments and products.

I value his expertise, but it is his service which I talk about. .

What do you do that is exceptional?

Sep. 15-From Random Strangers to Raving Fans Workshop

Lorraine — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:14:07 +0000

I’m excited to be team-teaching a course with my sales coach, Matt Nettleton of Sandler Training Trustpointe. The class is called “From Random Strangers to Raving Fans: Using a system to create the right messages for the right people at the right time.”

We’re going to talk about how important it is that your sales and marketing support each other. After all, the best marketing plan in the world won’t help you if you can’t seal the deal, and the best sales strategy won’t help you if you don’t have leads in the first place!

Check out the details below. Hope to see you there!

September 15, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Sandler Training Trustpointe Offices, 6666 East 75th Street, Indianapolis

Fee: $29.99 Seating is limited, so be sure to register soon. Click here

Seven Link Challege Day Seven – What I Learned

Lorraine — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:04:22 +0000

Over the last few weeks, I have written seveval posts ( six to be exact) which were comprised primarily of links to other posts with a common theme. My goal was to introduce my readers to great content, on roundpeg, and other blogs, which they may have missed.

The results have been fun to watch. Many of my favorite posts, have gotten new exposure, lots of traffic and some positive comments.

While I can’t do it very often, with more than 1,000 posts in this blog, there is certainly a wealth of great content worth sharing a second time.

This is a good strategy for any blogger, who has a significant amount of content, and wants to take a little time to rechage their batteries. it is also a good way to see what people really like!

Try the seven link challenge, even if you don’t do it for seven days, and tell me how it works for you!

Social Media Survey: Final Results

Lorraine — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:40:38 +0000

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been revealing the results of our social media survey. We had a great response and lots of interesting insight into how small businesses are making use of social media in their businesses. Now, we’ve compiled all of the results into one in-depth white paper.

Fill out the form below to download your FREE copy, and we’ll also enroll you in Social Media 101. (You can opt out of the online course at any time.)

Thanks to everyone who participated in this survey–there are more on the way, so stay tuned!

It takes a few minutes for the PDF to load after you hit the submit button, so please be patient.

Aug 26 – Marketing by the Numbers

Lorraine — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:02:16 +0000

Howard Cox of Somerset CPA’s and I will be teaching Marketing by the Numbers with once again on Aug. 26. If you missed this program last time, you have another chance.

One of the reasons I am so excited about team teaching with Howard is that I have always felt good marketing is all about the numbers. While the creative execution is emotionally based, the decisions of how much, when and where should be financially based. In this lively session we look at how to set a marketing budget based on the Lifetime Value of a Customer and your existing referral base.

When we were putting together the program last winter, he and I recorded a brief podcast which you can listen to here :Click here to listen to the interview.

And if you would like to experience it in person, sign up on the form below. The program is from 7:30 – 9:00 at the offices of Sommerset CPA’s. There is no cost to attend, but we would love to know you are coming so we have enough coffee!

When you register you will also be given an opportunity to download our LifeTime Value of a Customer worksheet.