1. Do your research
Every business has important principals. If you do not know their names, they will dismiss you. Learn their names and look them up on- line. Understand what you can offer them. It is not just about what they can do for you.
2. Make it all about their needs
Everyone has needs. You must tailor your pitch to specific needs. If you approach a real estate titan, they will want to know why they should spend even a minute of their time with you. Important people get pitched to all the time and have learned to weed out those wasting their time. Don’t be that person.
3. Approach people without hesitation
Smile and look friendly. Your body language speaks volumes. Point your toes towards people and have your hands relaxed. Don’t stare anyone down like a territorial dog. People don’t like to be dominated and in the business world people will find this particularly egregious. Be polite and shake hands firmly.
4. If there is already an ongoing conversation, try to hover and not intrude
A networking event is not a reality show. You cannot talk over anyone. If something pricks your ear, stand nearby and ease into an opening. Most events will have name tags and people will be open to speaking with you as long as you are not pushy.
5. Don’t spend too much time with one person
Networking events are a numbers game. You must talk to as many people as possible. Leaving a bit to talk about will make people want to connect to continue the conversation.
6. Avoid vampires
There will always be someone who wants to squeeze everything out of you. These vampires start by asking questions and then do not stop. They will scare others away and dominate your time. Be firm and say they can set up a consultation. Otherwise, you will waste the opportunity to network. If you allow the vampires to overpower you, they will.
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A keyword is what you type into Google or any other search engine to find your desired service or product. There are two types of keywords: long tail and short tail. The best way to think of these types of keywords is through a siren. The head of the beautiful mermaid (short tail) gets all the attention while the tail (long tail) is largely not noticed in preference to the face. Short tail keywords are generalized words to get the bang of the search. Many companies bid on the most popular keywords because this will drive traffic to a site. However, quantity and quality traffic are not the same. Some companies use the flashier keywords to hike interest, even if it is a stretch to use them for their products or services. You can get them in the door with short tails, but they may not stay.
On the other hand, long tail keywords are expanded keywords crucial to your SEO and retaining warm leads. Case in point, when a customer is close to the point of sale, they tend to get more specific. They already have done their research, know exactly what they want, and are looking to buy. Long tails key words can help you get a sale instead of increased traffic short tails can bring.
The typical buying cycle for a customer is as follows:
1. Potential client has become aware of a product or service.
2. Potential client begins researching the product to see if it fits into their pain points.
3. Potential client seeks alternatives within the product range such as pricing and features.
4. Potential client begins to ready themselves to make a purchase and pulls out their debit or credit card.
5. Potential client receives goods and decides whether to initiate a return.
Let’s say you have a small business offers content creation like Siren Publications does. If you were to have the short tail keywords of content, then you would be competing with content mills. You will have a harder sell if you are not more specific with long tails. Consider a real world difference between long and short tails:
Content writer SEO 6,910,000 results
Content writer 129,000,000 results
Miami content writer SEO 513,000 results
Miami content writer fashion 13,200 results
As you can see above, the various keywords yield different results. The more detailed your keywords are, the better. You can use short tail keywords, but you would be going up to bat with the big boys. Now the great news is long tail keywords are cheaper than short tails. Long tails target your potential clients who are closer to the point of purchase alongside being easier to rank.
This all goes back to the idea of quality traffic. You may have more visitors with short tails, which does not always covert to sales. Long tails are highly targeted leading to buyers. Another plus is that highly selective markets can turn into niches. Small sales from these communities can lead to big profits. To explore your long tail options go to http://www.wordstream.com/keywords and explore your options with long tails.
Most people admire the face, but the tail drives business forward.
Marketing costs money. You must have a realistic budget and stick with it.
Research your current finances
You need to understand your current financial to create a budget. Estimates can vary. Consider your revenue information. Businesses can be feast or famine, particularly if you are in your first year or are a freelancer. Whatever you make in famine mode should be what you count on as your revenue. Feasting can be unpredictable and, therefore, should not be counted. Some businesses combine the profits from feast and famine and divide by two. This is not realistic, as you cannot rely on feasting. To reframe this, famine sets you will practical expectations for what you can truly afford during leaner months. When times are tough, marketing is usually the first cut when the opposite should occur. Leaner times should be the time to amp up marketing. By focusing on famine, you will never have to trim your budget thereby making your presence consistent. Also, any extra money can be put away for the unexpected and growth spurts. If you sell unique shoes, some celebrity or person of note my buy your product and spread the word. You will then by cut short if you do not have resources to meet the demand.
Research
Awareness is perhaps the best quality in an entrepreneur. Research helps in the process to enlightenment. Once you are comfortable with your budget, you must investigate past failures and successes. For example, if you took out an ad in the hippest magazine and it yielded nothing but prank calls, then you know you did not correctly target your audience. Afterwards, you may have sponsored a local event that was a smashing success. Targeting takes research and time. You may know going into your business what you want to attract, but life is surprising. As mentioned in an earlier post, a cereal bar wanted college kids but had the surprise audience of elementary school kids. They advertised on the college radio station, took out ads in the college paper, and handed out coupons. It did not work. Had they researched further, they would have discovered their marketing dollars would have been better spent on sponsoring a youth sports team and opportunities centered on the younger than expected target. Make yourself aware through research.
Monitor
You must have metrics in place. This is a requirement. If you expect to pour money into a strategy and have it work without paying attention, you are throwing away money. Pay attention! Analyze whether revenue has increased as a result of your efforts. Make allowances for seasonality and weather events. It is also important to note that you must also monitor yourself. Being realistic about money should cross over into how realistic you are about how much time you will spend on research, monitoring, and managing expectations.
It may sound foolish to invest more in tough economic times, but it the best time to make money. Customers will tighten their belt and do more intense research before making any purchase. Spend your money wisely during these times to increase visibility and market share. Every cent that goes into marketing is an investment. During the Great Depression Proctor and Gamble made a killing with Ivory Soap. They had an annual competition for soap carving.
This contest was an amazing distraction from the doom and gloom of the headlines. Proctor and Gamble knew what they were doing because how else could one become a master carver, but to practice on multiple bars of soap? Needless to say, the soap company thrived in the 1920s and 30s using this one clever marketing strategy. There is an opportunity with every market all the time.
However, you will not find high ROI if you do not invest your marketing funds where they will deliver the most return. Set a structured budget, but be flexible in fund allocation. Shifts in market environments alongside growth potential among brands or geographies are ignored. Throwing money at the problem does not change history; learn to tap smartly into potential.
This article applies to restaurants. A longer article on Pinterest with be posted later on once the changes underway are solidified.
Prices almost as much as quality is what your patrons consider when selecting your establishment(s) to dine in. When raising your prices carefully consider what is currently on the menu. Now would be the time to eliminate items that may not sell well or are not cost effective to produce. Any change to the menu will invite closer scrutiny. Therefore, prices reflect your location, demand and expertise. No one would consider buying a $25 bean burrito if the restaurant is in a dangerous location made by a cook with no credentials. Conversely, if you have an exclusive location with a Michelin star chef creating the dish, then there might be a line down the block.
Keep in mind prices should be balanced between the status of your restaurant at the moment and where you would like it to be in the future.
1. Be Accurate
Patrons understand that food prices fluctuate. However, most are also aware of which restaurants have ridiculous expectations for pricing. This is where you should sit down and consider all areas of food production. Know your costs before setting a price. On average food costs should account for 33% of the menu. Certain items such as entrees will take larger percentages while items such as soups and sauces will take less. Be aware of your percentages when setting new prices. Food cost margins weigh the real cost of the food plus profit. A lobster bisque soup can take $8.00 to make, but can sell for $12 with $4 profit.
After considering your costs and margins, ask what the patrons will be will to spend on each item and then test the new prices on a select group of clients. This can be an exclusive dining experience where members of your email lists might jump at the chance to be asked their opinion. If prices are deemed too high or too low, then make the appropriate changes.
2. Know Your Competition
Every business knows they have competitors. More importantly, patrons know there are dozens of other restaurants like yours. They can quickly compare establishments and decide which one to eat at based on a number of factors. Most will go based on price alone. You may think that researching their online menu will be enough, but it will not be. Go in person and order similar dishes as you offer. Perhaps their giveaways such as unlimited bread or refills are giving them the edge over you. By going in person, you can understand how patrons measure your competing restaurant. If their prices hover around the same price points as you before or after raising the prices, carefully consider if a patron would pay more based on value alone.
3. Avoid whole numbers
There is a science behind pricing. We tend to read numbers from left to right. The first number we see is the most critical. This explains why most prices hover around $9.99 or $19.99, it alerts the mind that this is a good deal. One way to up prices is to round to the nearest whole number and then drop a few cents to make the patron feel as if they are getting a great deal. One caveat, however, do not overuse this tactic. If everything on the menu ends in 99 cents, then the patron will grow uneasy with suspicion. Try this for big-ticket items which you would like to be interpreted as a great deal such as choice cuts of meat or specialty items.
4. Plan the Timing
Wait until you have a customer base. If you ever want to introduce a hen into the coop the best time to do this is when the other birds are sleeping and comfortable. They will wake up with the new member without thinking twice about it. If you introduce the change while the creatures are feeding, fights will ensue. Raise prices too early and customers may feel annoyed because they have not gotten used to anything. People prefer to handle changes without noticing or if it is done in intervals. Use this piece of psychology to your advantage.
5. Increase Value
When raising prices make sure to add increased value to your patrons. Consider adding extras that will be perceived as valuable. Throw in extra sauces or offer a complimentary house salad with bigger ticket items. Another way to add value is to create a new fixed price special . The reason fast food chains offer combinations is that the patron perceives it as cost-effective and, therefore, are willing to purchase more. For more upscale restaurants, consider having a prix fixe menu. This is a combination of multiple course food at a fixed price. This could include soup, salad, entrée and a dessert. If the items are carefully chosen by the chef, then this could be quite successful and exude exclusivity as Europeans are big on this type of dining experience.
Newsletters are a great way to stay in touch with your clients and warm leads. Your content must be relevant and answer questions without asking them. Here is a list of questions you might consider reflecting upon when drafting your content.
How does your company uniquely serve and address pain points?
The focus should be on how to serve your clients and how your product/service addresses their pain points. Your business is about other people, not about pitching yourself for the umpteenth time.
Who is your target versus your real audience?
If you look back at my posts on business plans, you will read about a cereal buffet that targeted college students, but their real audience was elementary students. There is a difference between your desired and attainable audience. Know the difference.
How can you promote new products or classic products without pitching?
No one wants to read a newsletter to read long and drawn out pitches. Be relevant by offering solutions to client pain points.
Do you have proof of your expertise such as awards, testimonials, or statistics?
Clients love to hear about how others find your services/products valuable. You can toot your own horn here without sounding pompous.
How can you prove that you listen to your customers?
Every once in a while, dedicate a newsletter to common questions you receive. This will prove you are dedicated to communicating with your clients. Once they feel heard, your clients are more likely to speak up. You can glean their comments and questions for insights in your products/services for improvement.
Any misconceptions or myths it would behoove your clients to clear up?
At the watercooler, when there is silence someone has to fill it with something valuable. Let your business be the topic of conversation.
What are new trends in your industry that would be interesting to know?
Let your clients into your world by being knowledgeable of what is currently going on in your world.
Your newsletter is a monthly (but not daily reminder) that your business is valuable. Go forth and be relevant.
Someone suggested you write a newsletter and now you are stuck coming up with content. Maybe you are wondering exactly what a newsletter is or how it relates to your business. A newsletter is a conversation with clients and to nurture budding connections. Reminders for events, polls, surveys, and relevant content to address their pain points are great starting points. Newsletters should not be an avenue to promote your business. Nothing is more tired than someone tooting their own horn. Most will unsubscribe instantly and the few that stick around are probably related to you.
Newsletters are an acceptable avenue to be informative and relevant. With so much chatter in the digital world, it is easy to forget about your business. Newsletters are a way to stay on the radar. The end goal with each one you send out should be a solid and clear CTA. Unlike social media, you have a nearly guaranteed reach with a newsletter. Don’t waste your potential with pith; make it shareable with solid content. You can be funny like Buzzfeed or informative with numbers, exercises, and the like. Decide on your content and how to balance your relevant content with some promotions thrown in. Readers with understand that a CTA is inevitable, but ceaseless self-promotion is not the point of a newsletter.
For example, a meditation teacher I receive newsletters from is a treat every month as a result of the content. Shaman Char shares insights, gives affirmations, and makes clear observations on life in general. She does not share personal stories or give endless testimonials from clients that would lose her audience. Conversely, Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP newsletter sometimes falls flat as it showcases her enormous wealth with talks of expensive juices and spa treatments. If she were a non-celebrity, her newsletter would be a snooze. Some people subscribe just to trash her and the products she promotes.
The takeaway here is unless you are a celebrity, no one wants to read about your life. Instead offer ways to make your content relevant to them and their pain points. A newsletter must be relevant and informative with just a hint of self-promotion. Take your time with researching what your clients want to read about and focus on them 90% of the time. In return, you may just build a solid readership.
Facebook can be an excellent platform for you and your business. You can set up a business page quite easily and invite your friends to like the page to get the word out there. Many people swear by Facebook ads while others hate them with a passion usually reserved for parking tickets.
In actuality, Facebook is a great place to advertise. All you need to do is research which type of audience you want to target and segment. The more specific your targeting is, the better. For example, you can target 18-25 year olds for your frozen yogurt shop in Miami as Facebook further segments based on age and geographical location primarily. You set the parameters of who you want to reach, set a realistic budget (once you reach your spend, the ads cease), and make your ads relevant.
People in Miami are conscious of their weight, even if some tend to leave the beach to the tourists. A FB ad can address the pain point of wanting something yummy to eat without gaining weight. A tagline can be “Enjoy Foster’s Frozen Yogurt, the most delicious way to lose weight in Miami.”
You can check out the data with their specific metrics and tweak as you go. Insights help you understand the virality of a post and how other members are interacting with your fan page. Perhaps your target prefers videos to text or vice versa. You can unearth the demographics of who likes your page. Maybe you have a fan base of men more than women for your yogurt shop which can revolutionize how you advertise. Instead of focusing on calories, you may include a protein powder to address the perception that frozen yogurt will not help gym-goers get into beast mode.
Knowing your reach translates into how much of your content is actually reaching your fans, the number of people talking about your page, and if they are referring it to others through shares. You can know who is talking about your page (s) and if your content is working by using this social media platform.
Facebook is not for everyone. Do your research to see if it is a match for you and your business.
I am a big proponent of writing an eBook for your business. Your customers want an expert to work with them and writing a book puts you on the path of being an influencer. With all the barking going on in the digital world, it is a relief to have a place where a reader can ask questions and gain new knowledge. Consider whether your targeted audience is other experts, newbies, or somewhere in between. Writing a tome is not just about putting your name out there; it helps you learn more about your business and business in general. Also, excerpts from the book can be chopped into bits for your social media feeds and your blog.
My Twitter feed is snippets from various articles and business books I have written. I can go over a year without writing anything new, and all I need to do is tweak my content a bit to make sure it stays relevant. Once the your book is written, you can relax knowing the content will go on to have several lives. Make sure you hire a qualified ghostwriter or editor. You can give them an outline or whatever you have written.
I wrote a longer post on this particular topic of which I am so very passionate. Please check it out at http://sirenpublications.com/be-the-expert-in-your-field/
Get your expertise out there and write that eBook!
Data allows a business to take action with clarity and vision, more so than ever before. These targeted numbers are everything. They are the driving force in business, particularly with SEO. Data gives you a clearer view of what is going on with your customers and/or operations. Algorithms use collected data to predict or optimize numbers. Numbers have a secret language, and if you can decode it, you will have everything you want to know about your business. The one caveat is, some marketers have learned the manipulate the data to back up and claims they make. If they want the data to reflect a surge in traffic then they can do so; however, the numbers that demonstrate traffic did not result in conversion may be conveniently discarded.
The information is there, learn to decode it and use it to your company’s benefit. Big data marketing is now an exact science. Marketers can understand consumer buying responses to both micro and big markets which enables markets to adjust spend across the variety of channels available from television to Twitter. The best way to go about this is to examine actual sales over a period of time as well as the intensity of activity changes from week to week. Three months is the average length of consumer memory. So the question is whether to focus on short-or long-term efforts. For example, rooted in insights from big data it has been tested that Twitter is useless after three p.m. on Fridays and does not regain steam until Monday morning.
Insights help you not to waste efforts. Learn enough to understand what the metrics and dimensions mean so the wool will not be pulled over your eyes.