The Whole Package

pieces of the puzzle

I had an interesting discussion with a “digital marketing expert” at an event recently.  He related to me that he had gotten an over twenty percent engagement rate for a Facebook page for one of his clients – a pretty nifty trick given that Facebook themselves will tell you that two percent is more common. However, there was no mention of the action taken from that engagement.

This was followed by a show of utter disdain for my assertions that the purpose of any engagement in social media was to drive traffic to your website, and that email is the glue a business needs to make their marketing framework more effective.  This was at the beginning of the event. As we separated to take our seats he promised we would talk more later. We didn’t, for which I was thankful.

Rather than take offense, I sat down and thought what lessons there were to be learned here. The first is that the desire for that silver bullet: “all I need is tons of likes on Facebook,” is very strong. I think a lot of us, and I will include myself in that group, have, at some point, chased after the newest shiny object, the newest method to “bring in thousands of leads effortlessly,” thinking maybe this is the one. That lesson leads directly into the second: there is no one way to make things happen, rather it is doing a combination of things (but not too many!) well that leads to success.

I’m not known for my love of social media, but I don’t dismiss it as being totally useless, as this “digital marketing expert” seemed to dismiss email or lead capture at the website. Social media or only having a sign up form on your web site isn’t going to be sufficient. People need to know about your page and your website. This awareness can come from speaking, networking, and yes the good old telephone, just to name a few.

It isn’t the one piece that closes the deal, it is the whole package.

 

It Worked Before

Change Vs. SameWe’ve all done it. We do something that works really well once, so we figure we can pull it off again and again. We start to think the gravy train will never end.

One company I know thought it would be a great idea to send out a post card to their existing clients announcing signing on a new client. They felt it would reinforce their credibility and let their clients know they weren’t the only ones who had made the smart choice to work with them.

The first couple of cards were relatively well received – multiple customers called in to congratulate the company, so they figured they would keep doing it for each new client they got. Unfortunately by about the 5th or 6th card, the company started receiving multiple complaints – especially from the customers who were getting multiple cards (the mailing list had duplicates, and no one cleaned it.) Yet, they sent out several more cards, before finally bowing to pressure from several key customers, and protests from employees fielding the complaints. Instead of customers seeing the company as a smart choice, customers saw them as annoying and unprofessional. Pretty much the opposite of the impression they had hoped to make. Imagine the reaction today if that had been email!  The unsubscribes would have shot up, and probably a few spam complaints just for good measure.

This example may sound extreme, but look at what is ending up in your inbox or mailbox every day. How many of the same-old, same-old messages do you just automatically trash without opening? How many of your messages might be meeting the same fate?

“It worked before” is a cousin to “We’ve always done it that way.” It is lazy marketing. Rather than trying to be creative and change things up regularly, we will sometimes look for the easy out. The thing that worked before that won’t require any thought, and especially won’t require any risk. At least no risk until it blows up in our face, or simply stops working. The truly interesting thing is how so many businesses when confronted with the reality that what they are doing has stopped working, blame it on outside forces – some new player with lower prices, or the economy sucks. It couldn’t possibly be what they are doing, after all, it worked before!

Take a look at your marketing. Are you doing the same thing over and over again, hoping that the old magic will suddenly reappear? Maybe it is time to say, “Well it worked before, but it is time to try something new.” Change can be scary, but it can also be incredibly profitable.

 

When is Internet Marketing NOT Internet Marketing?

Internet Marketing

“Watson, I would like you to consider a statement, and tell me what it makes you think,” The Effective Detective wasted no time in starting out the conversation.

“Go ahead, sir, I shall endeavor to do my best,” I replied.

“I’m sure you will Watson,” The Detective said before continuing on. “The statement I would like you to consider is that just because you market on the Internet does not make you an Internet Marketer.’

“Just because you market on the Internet, does not make you an Internet Marketer. My first impression is that it is a contradiction, sir,” I said, giving my honest first impression.

“Just so, Watson, but think a little more on what that statement is saying,” The Detective urged me.

I furrowed my brow and turned the phrase over in my head before I felt a sudden flash of inspiration. “Wait! I think I see what you are saying. Just because say, a brick and mortar store that sells confections sends out an email occasionally to its customers and has a website, does not make them an Internet Marketer – they are not truly trying to make a living from selling on the Internet, yet they are using the Internet to market!”

“Precisely Watson.  Why do you think this distinction might be of some consequence in our dealings with small businesses?” asked The Detective.

I thought for a minute, but at last had to admit that I was stumped. “I am not sure sir, the distinction is plain once you give some thought to it, but I am not sure I see what use it is beyond that.”

“Ah, Watson, we need to work on your skills a bit yet. You are thinking merely of the words instead of the what the words imply,” The Detective began.

“Imply sir?” I interrupted.

“Hush Watson, let me continue. You see you are merely looking at a play on words, I am thinking what is involved to actually be one of these two marketers.

“The key here is the tools and methodologies. When I review my daily bombardment of emails from the various lists I am on, I tend to see some common threads. One common one is using a funnel. In Internet marketing the end destination of the funnel is almost always the sale. However, if I am a consultant, I may want my end destination to be a complimentary analysis. The focus on an end sale tends to distort how to make use of the tool.

“I find it interesting that so many jump on a particular Internet Marketing bandwagon, only to jump off when they realize the tool doesn’t fit their situation. The shame of it is that in many cases some minor tweaks to the process might actually yield the results they desire, but they don’t look beyond the seemingly broken promise of purchases that don’t require the hard work of actually speaking with a prospect.

“Alternatively, a brick and mortar store misses out on the opportunity to use email because they know for their market email doesn’t work well as a direct sales tool, but completely forget that the backbone of their business is the true rapport they develop with their customers; a rapport that cannot be replaced by email, but can be supplemented by it,” The Detective paused briefly, and I decided to get in my usual interjection.

“So you feel people need to be more creative in using the tools that are out there, rather than blindly following a guru, who uses the tool a certain way that works well for them,” I ventured.

“Very good Watson! The secret is to not try to be an Internet Marketer if your business is not suited to it – which is really moving into a new business area, but to use the Internet and the various tools and methodologies in a way that suits your marketing style and market. Look to the Internet Marketing  experts for interesting techniques, but beware following them exactly if it doesn’t fit your market. At the same time, don’t discount the methodology if you can tweak it to fit your needs,” The Detective concluded.

“Excellent sir, I take it we should move on then?” I asked, letting The Detective have the last word.

“Quite so Watson, quite so.”

 

The Big Lie About Networking and Referrals

Fingers Crossed

“It’s all a lie, Watson”

I was slightly taken aback by this rather abrupt greeting from The Effective Detective. However, I recovered quickly and decided to play the game.

“To what are you referring to sir? Surely not all of life?”

“Clever Watson. Your sarcasm is noted. No, of course not all of life, merely a marketing technique that is pushed by pretty much everyone – networking and referrals,” The Detective answered, shooting me a sidelong look.

“Are you saying that networking and referrals are not actually good marketing techniques sir?” I asked, a sense of panic starting to grow.

“Have I alarmed you Watson?” The Detective smiled, and I realized that once again I had fallen into one of his verbal traps.

“A bit sir,” admitting that yes, once again he had tricked me.

“You may relax now Watson. I won’t destroy all of your beliefs. However, there is still a lie to be discussed here. This lie is one of omission. While networking and referrals are excellent sources of business – there is an IF there that I will mention in a bit – they are rarely immediate sources of business. They are long-term marketing tactics that require thought and a strategy, not randomly going out to networking events and hoping to bring home business, or calling up long-lost acquaintances and expecting them to toss business our way,” The Detective barely missed a beat before continuing on.

“If you network within your market, and if your goal is to develop relationships that might be leveraged at a later date, you stand a good chance at getting business via networking. If you carefully nurture relationships with people you meet that have connections within your market, keep them appraised of what you are up to, and ‘give before you receive’, you have a good chance at getting business via referrals,” The Detective paused at this point and I could not resist interrupting.

“But sir, what you describe could take forever!”

The Detective paused and gave me a withering look. Usually he welcomed my interruptions, but I seemed to have jumped in too soon on this one.

“No Watson, not forever,” The Detective sighed. “Simply not today in general. One might always by chance come across someone ready to buy, or who will refer you without knowing you or your product well, but in general networking and referral techniques are not ways to jumpstart your business. Unless of course you have spent the past few years building up a network of fans. But in general that is not something you will hear networking and referral gurus discussing.  Unless you have been a lifetime networker, and your network corresponds nicely to your current target market, you will most likely not generate large amounts of business initially through networking and referrals.” The Detective paused again, and I saw from his look, that I was now expected to jump into the conversation.

“Is there any way to accelerate the process?” I asked.

“If you are willing to take a chance and being the first in the relationship to offer help, especially if you don’t know the person well,  the need to reciprocate your good deed might overcome caution. Remember though Watson, when one gives a referral, one is putting their reputation on the line. You are asking a lot of this person, so I would still not rely on an overwhelming response,” The Detective concluded.

“So one shouldn’t abandon the technique, merely incorporate it in with others, realizing you may not reap the harvest for a bit,” I ventured.

“You are turning poet in your old age Watson. Bravo! Shall we return to our work?” The Detective clapped his hands smiling.

“Of course, sir,” I replied, getting the last word in – a most unusual turn of events.

 

When Technology Fails

woman-with-laptop-laughingAs I entered I was astounded to see The Effective Detective quietly laughing. I could not allow this rare occurrence to go without some comment.

“Sir, are you feeling alright?” I asked

“Eh? Watson, what would cause you to ask such a question?” The Detective replied to my question with another question.

“I rarely see you in such a jovial mood. I deduced there must be something strange afoot,” I answered his question directly, albeit with a slight smile on my face.

“I see Watson. You are mocking me. No matter. Watson, are you familiar with the concept of personalization in email?” The Detective, still smiling, shot back.

“Of course sir. It is similar to using the mail merge function of Microsoft Word to include contact information in the subject and or content of the email. For example first name. It is designed to make the email more personal and friendly. However, I fail to see anything humorous in that choice of email tactics,” I replied, now feeling a bit puzzled.

“Correct Watson, there is nothing inherently humorous in the use of personalization. Where the humor enters is when the technology used to implement it occasionally goes south,” answered The Detective, who actually seemed to be stifling a laugh.

“Sorry, sir. I am still not following.”

“Observe Watson,” The Detective said as he repositioned his laptop so I could see the screen. “Check out the salutation on the first message.”

“‘Hey blank field’,” I read. “What the blazes?”

“And this one Watson?” The Detective opened another message.

“#FName# you need to check this out!” Now I began laughing.

“Precisely Watson, technology is often hailed as a panacea to all of a business’s marketing woes, but sometimes, the technology fails, and at least in these cases, hilarity ensues,” The Detective, still smiling began his explanation. “There is of course a dark side to this too. A member of your list could assume your technology’s failure is yours as well and abandon you as a potential vendor. However I feel that most would react as I did, with laughter and a shared sense of the risks of completely relying on technology,” The Detective took his customary pause to allow me to interject my thoughts.

“Shouldn’t they report it as a bug to the software manufacturer sir?” I asked, unsure of my mentor’s lackadaisical attitude to the problem.

“Rubbish, Watson. You have no idea if this was truly the software’s error. The data might have been coded incorrectly, who knows? Why would you waste your time and the vendor’s time on chasing down a ghost. Of course there will be some literal-minded jerks out there who believes that even such a minor issue that could have happened for multiple reasons, is a reflection on the  competence of the creator. If we all reacted like that, we would never get anything out the door, we would be obsessing over the table alignment on a page until the wee hours of the morn, and never launching. No thank you,” The Detective looked at me expectantly to deliver the closing observation.

“So you are saying it is OK to laugh, but not OK to judge, criticise or obsess over it. Just let it go, and understand that the best of us or even machines cannot avoid all mistakes. Who knows, it might even make you seem more human,” I replied after a few seconds of contemplation.

“Excellent Watson! Lets move on to less humorous work, shall we?” exclaimed The Detective, ending the conversation.

You’re Famous!

Everybody loves you!“Watson, I have recently realized that I am famous!” The Effective Detective exclaimed at me as I entered the room.

“Sir,” I began desperately trying to reply without piercing The Detective’s ego, and perhaps starting a major argument, “while I believe we are well received in certain pockets of the Internet, I am hesitant to say that rises to the level of a Seth Godin or a Frank Kern.”

The Detective cast a baleful eye at me as he answered, “Watson, must you be so literal? I’m quite aware that I or even we do not rise to the level of the luminaries you mention. But the fact remains that I am famous, and you should include yourself in that statement.”

“Sir, I am confused. How can you or I be famous, yet by your own admission we do not rise to the level of a Seth Godin, who as a matter of record is famous,” I answered back, actually quite confused.

“Watson, you are confusing the size of the audience with the very existence of an audience, and thus limiting your effectiveness to said audience,” The Detective said, sitting back in his chair to await my reaction.

Unfortunately for me, I was quite dumbfounded by what he had said and just sat there staring with my mouth slightly open.

The Detective took my silence as encouragement to continue and so, did.

“Watson, please close your mouth, you look like a fish. While your ability to have quite brilliant insights has been improving, I see this point has escaped you. Let me explain. A common lamentation I have heard from business people struggling to be noticed is when they look at someone like a Seth Godin or a Frank Kern, they think ‘Well this stuff is easy for them, they are famous!’ The point the complainers miss, and I admit to falling into this trap occasionally myself, is that Seth and Frank weren’t always so famous. They built their audience over time. But, one thing was certain, they were always superstars to the people who agreed to join their audience. Within that group, they were famous! Over time they have grown their tribe, and achieved a high level of celebrity. But the point is as soon as you start to develop an audience to your point of view, you are famous within that group,” The Detective stopped to let me absorb what he had just said.

“Ah, I see your point sir. You can be famous – a celebrity of sorts within a group no matter the size, but how does that make a difference for the smaller marketer?” A thought began to coalesce, but I thought it safe to allow The Detective to finish this discussion. Just in case.

“Think Watson, fame is self-perpetuating – if you allow it to be. If you recognize your fame within a select group, through word of mouth and the tendency of we humans to want to belong to groups we think are worth joining, you can grow that fame. Not only that, but within the group of your fans the ability to do business increases. After all you are a celebrity to them. You need to act like one, and I don’t mean in a rude or insensitive way, but rather an appreciative way. Your fans, followers, whatever you wish to call them, have given you something precious: their attention. Reward them with what they signed up for, you and your wisdom, experience, point of view, whatever it is that makes you, you. Of course where it is appropriate, you can, and indeed should, sell products or services that allow your tribe to leverage even more of what you offer,” The Detective stopped and this looked at me expectantly with his slight smile.

“I think I see sir, I guess not only are we famous, but many of our readers are as well!” I obliged his expectations.

“Precisely, Watson, well said! Now they just need to go out and leverage their fame, one fan at a time,” The Detective agreed and ended the conversation for the day.

Take Advantage Of A Networking Fail

Smiling friendly business man. Isolated over white.“Sir, may I relate a story for your consideration, because frankly it baffles me,” I said, taking the initiative to start this latest conversation between me and The Effective Detective.

“Of course, Watson, relate away,” he returned, smiling in an actually friendly way, versus the smile I associated with the hammer coming down on a point he was making.

“I attended a meeting of a group, and the purpose of this meeting was actually recruitment for the group. There were a goodly number of visitors, which made it a worthwhile function in terms of meeting new people, but I was a little shocked by one thing,” I paused for a second, and The Detective jumped in.

“I think I know where this is going, but I’ll be cautious,” The Detective’s smile grew bigger, “so please carry on Watson,”

“None of the members or leaders of this group went out of their way to welcome any of the guests, or engage them! They were nice enough if you yourself stepped up and introduced yourself, but many of them seemed more intent on engaging other members than the guests. This struck me as odd, since the whole purpose of the meeting was to recruit new members, wouldn’t it make sense to engage as many of the guests as possible?” I ended with the question, hoping The Detective would again, jump in.

Obliging me, The Detective took a breath and started to answer, “It would make sense Watson, and it would have helped their cause immensely, but unfortunately you are dealing with humans, and this kind of thing happens all too often. Especially when you have a group hosting guests. The members of the group are of course uncomfortable meeting new people, as are most of the guests, but they have an advantage over their guests. They already know a large percentage of the group. The natural social tendency is to associate with those you know. The guests have no choice, they have volunteered to step into a group where they may not know too many people, so they either retreat to a wall somewhere, or they bravely extend their hand and start engaging.”

“But sir, if the purpose is to build membership…” I floundered a bit, not sure I had made my point.

“Yes, yes Watson, you are absolutely correct. However, assuming this is a volunteer organization, no one is going to ‘lose their job’ for not being forward,” The Detective helpfully answered my partial question. “However, it is hard to go against human nature. The guests are outsiders, I’m sure if they join the organization they will be brought into the fold, but at a meeting like you describe, they are on their turf and want to be comfortable.”

“But sir,” I answered, a thought forming, “wouldn’t the people who went out of their comfort zone and introduced themselves to the guests be way ahead of the game? They would be perceived as the leaders in the group. In terms of business they would be the ones starting strong know, like, and trust relationships whether the person they engaged joined or not.”

“Watson, I see our discussions are having a beneficial effect on you. That was a brilliant observation! Keep that in mind next time a group you are a part of has a recruitment meeting,” The Detective exclaimed. “Shall we continue on with other issues?”

“Lets!” I agreed.

Sales Funnels – What You Might Be Missing

salesfunnelThe Effective Detective was lounging back in his chair examining a funnel of the type used to possibly fill a car with oil, when I entered the room. I assumed that this was the topic of the day, and unable to conceive of anything else that might be a better topic, I played along.

“Planning on changing your oil sometime today sir?” I asked innocently.

“Eh? What? Oh Watson, don’t be silly. You know I would never risk damaging my car by attempting to change the oil myself. That is work – at least in my case – best left to professionals. Actually what an interesting segue to today’s topic. Which, as you might of guessed is about sales funnels.” The Detective replied.

“I had a feeling, sir. However, I am intrigued how changing the oil in your car is a segue into the topic of sales funnels,” I responded back, a little puzzled at this turn of the conversation.

“Not the process of changing the oil itself, Watson – please don’t pretend to be so dense – but rather the funnel itself. You see Watson, many of us were trained to look at the sales funnel as a metaphor, not a process. It merely represented how the number of prospects are reduced as they move through the sales cycle. You start off with a large number of prospects – a number that shrinks as information is provided and contacts made. That however misses the point of what is currently described as a funnel truly is,” as was customary, The Detective paused giving me an opportunity to interject, or to simply request he continue.

“I’m confused sir. How does it miss the point? What else is a funnel sales or otherwise?” I asked, knowing this would trigger the explanation The Detective was so obviously hoping to provide.

“Ah Watson, a modern sales funnel, one that would be used by marketers such as ourselves, is far more complex, perhaps even more elegant. In the past, this funnel represented advertising to some prospects to get them interested, calling them to gauge their interest, sending them sales literature – brochures and the like, calling them again to make a trial close, then finally going after the final close, so that a few clients would drop out the end of the funnel.

“Today’s sales funnel would be more like a fun house maze. If you take a certain action, you may go in a completely different direction. It is not a straight path. How you respond to your prospect is totally dependent on how they respond to you. Did they open that email? Did they watch that video? A real sales funnel has multiple paths to get to the final destination – a sale. The beauty of it all? The tools to do it are all there for us to make this happen!” The Detective finished with a flourish.

“Fascinating, sir! I don’t believe I have ever thought of it that way,” I responded quite pleased with the way this had ended.

“Quite, Watson,” The Detective said, ending today’s discussion.

 

It’s all in the follow up

vector contact us icon“You seem quite busy today sir,” I began our weekly conversation with The Effective Detective, noticing that he was scrambling around almost frantically versus his usual cool collected, and seated demeanor.

“Watson, for heaven’s sake have you forgotten we have a seminar to give tomorrow?” The Detective exclaimed, the exasperation in his voice quite obvious.

“Actually sir, You have a seminar to give tomorrow, in case you have forgotten I am your virtual assistant. I am going nowhere,” I replied, perhaps a bit too smugly.

“Quite right Watson! In my rush I had quite forgotten. Since you are here, I wish to relate an important lesson I learned in organizing tomorrow’s event,” The Detective smiled as he realized his mistake.

“I am always interested in lessons sir,” giving him his break to being speaking.

“Watson, when planning was begun for this event, we made the mistake of not looking too closely at the calendar and realized we had left very little time for marketing after the holidays. This required a reevaluation of our plan. We did manage to get some marketing out into the social media realm, and some interest was expressed. However, at the time we had few sign ups, and only a week and a half remaining,” The Detective took a breath, which I used as an excuse to interject – with just a tiny bit of sarcasm.

“Heaven’s sir! What did you do?”

The Detective looked askance at me for a brief moment, but shrugging it off, he continued. “Thank you for asking Watson! Actually, your sarcasm aside, that is an excellent question. I got on the phone and started calling. Actually often calling multiple times. You see Watson, people always have the best of intentions, however, when confronted with real life, niceties such as a seminar – even one that could be quite useful to them – get lost in the shuffle. A simple phone call making the offer again was extremely effective. People that were originally interested signed up, and a good number of people who were wavering were convinced to sign up as well… unfortunately not all… you can’t win them all after all Watson.”

“Interesting sir, but I am feeling a tad dense today sir. What is exactly the point?” I asked feeling slightly perplexed.

“Follow up Watson, follow-up! Many of those calls were not sales calls, they were simply confirmation calls. They were interested, but needed to get through the haze caused by our busy days. The other thing of note Watson, was the phone was far more effective than email. A short conversation explaining the seminar and the benefits were all that were needed. Yet, how often do we just expect people to see our brilliance or the value. They fail to note that their product/service/seminar is not the only thing going on in their prospects’ lives. Follow up is needed, and the phone is simply the single most effective of follow-up there is,” The Detective finished and looked at me expectantly.

“So one of the lessons here is don’t be afraid to pick up the phone, your success level will be much higher!” I exclaimed, understanding the point now.

“Well put Watson. Well put.”

The Power of Your List

Composite image of blonde businesswoman standing with hands on hipsI noticed that The Effective Detective looked particularly contemplative, and more out of curiosity than concern, I asked about it. “Sir, you look very thoughtful. Is there a particular insight you are considering?”

“Eh? Oh Watson, sorry. A particular insight yes, but interestingly it is coming from a discussion I had today that taken at face value, could have been considered quite depressing. A friend and colleague was feeling rather cynical today. The trajectory of their business life was not quite what they had hoped for. In particular they have found themselves rebuilding once again,” The Detective began.

“That does sound rather depressing sir,” I agreed.

“Yet from that dreary beginning came a rather illuminating insight Watson. You see, they had started reaching out to connections, and even at this time of the year, when most people are not thinking much about business, had arranged some meetings to discuss some new opportunities,” The Detective continued.

“During the holiday season and so close to the end of the year sir? That is quite surprising,” I interjected.

“Quite so Watson, but the true insight comes from the phrase reaching out to connections. There is an old quote attributed to Andrew Carnegie, I am not sure of the exact wording but the basic idea is that even if everything is taken from you, if you still have a list of contacts, you can rebuild it all. My colleague down in the dumps as they might be, is leveraging their contacts to rebuild. How easy it is for us to forget the power of our lists, be it a contact list build through years of networking, to a list built through patiently speaking to people, and advertising. If you nurture that list, what you can create from it, no matter what has happened in the past can be astounding. The two keys of course are building and nurturing. It does one no good to sit and wait for people to realize our genius. We must go out and proclaim it to the world, and build a tribe. But then we must nurture that tribe, feed it if you will. Those who are willing to do that, reap amazing rewards,” The Detective concluded.

“Sir, I must admit, I have nothing to add to that,” I replied, surprising the Detective and myself for admitting it.

“Well then Watson, let us pour ourselves drinks, and salute the holiday season, and in particular the new year!” The Detective exclaimed as he smiled at me.

“Happy New Year sir!”