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Connecting with your audience isn’t complicated. The movie American Beauty, which won an academy award, earned a decent amount for its investors and gained the adulation of movie goers, was a calculated attempt at capturing the audiences’ and critics’ imagination. The writers, producers and creatives behind the production used a set scheme of symbols to invoke the reaction the movie received.
By playing on themes of vulnerability, overcoming vulnerability and the frailty of human existence American Beauty captured the imaginations of movie goers, satisfied its investors and convinced the Academy of its effectiveness in motivating culture.
Your Self Perception
So if it’s that mathematical why all the confusion?
The problem isn’t what you’re putting out, the problem is what you see when you look in. We like to see ourselves as independent, rational creatures; unfortunately this is simply not true. Divesting yourself of this illusion is one of the first steps towards becoming effective in business.
1 + 1 = x
If you trust that you are unmoved by the mathematics of marketing then you’ll flounder about trying to find some magic key, but admit you’re deeply affected and you’ll find ample market analysis in your own reactions.
If you solidly apply yourself to learning the very basic ideas behind projecting motivation through common cultural cues you’ll find success isn’t so hard to achieve after all. Production cost was an excuse prior to the availability of digital tools. Now the only thing holding you back is your vision of what is possible and your honesty about where you stand.
From 2003 – 2005 Google only had one electrical engineer designing its servers . If you’ve heard of the massive data center operation Google runs this might come as a surprise. It also might be surprising that this single engineer helped design one of the most energy efficient and stable data center operations in existence.
Small and medium size businesses often find themselves in situations where it seems there’s just too much to do and too few hands, heads and hammers to do it. There always seems to be something getting in the way or slowing down crucial projects.
If this sounds like where you’re at there might be something in those last two sentences you read over too quickly… the word “seems”.
Tear Out the “Seems”
It doesn’t take an army to run a business even if it “seems” that way. As we’re fond of pointing out, with today’s technologies all it takes is a clear head and a solid plan to operate an internationally relevant SMB.
The illustrator/consultant Hugh McCleod is developing the idea of “global micro-brands” to provide a model for this way of thinking and he’s just one of many discovering what Google discovered in 2003…even if it “seems” impossible, sometimes all it takes is one person.
Don’t mozy through the “seemingly” impossible day to day tasks of running a business, tear the “seems” out of your thinking and put your effort into the real task of stitching up a successful business.
Ask yourself, what’s makes the task seem impossible?
Are you focusing on something other than completing your current task? Prioritize what you are doing. It’s ok to be distracted, but be honest about being distracted and organize yourself accordingly.
Are you really working towards another goal? Don’t waste effort moving in one direction when you really want to be going somewhere else. Be honest about what you want and what you are willing to do to get it. Don’t try to eat the whole cow when you only want a burger.
Are you confident in your plans? Things move forward quickly when they’re motivated by confidence. Even if doubts linger it’s better to move forward confident in your actions than to stumble half hearted into failure.
Are you a dreamer or a doer? Some people like to read books about foreign countries, others like to travel them. The French poet Gerard de Nerval, upon visiting Egypt, remarked to an artist he knew “It is better that you stayed in Paris, there is nothing here of the Egypt we know, only the modern world…” Point being, it may be that you’d rather talk about success than work towards achieving it.
Have you applied what you’ve learned? We read up on best practices, go to seminars, networking events, webinars, the whole gamut of preparatory actions, but rarely do we put into practice the core lessons. Make sure you’re getting some ROI out of all that training and not just overlaying new words on old habits.
Social media and what MIT’s Henry Jenkins describes as the “Media Convergence” are playing a decisive role in today’s entrepreneurial arsenal. For SMB’s the tools to connect with their communities and other local businesses are becoming easier and more accessible every day.
One of the biggest questions with all of these new technologies is how to fit them into a solid and actionable strategic plan. Thankfully it seems as the dust gets shaken from the system this question is finding an answer on its own.
The answer? It seems that the best strategy is to get out, participate, add value and realize that the results are reciprocal.
Moving With the Current
Jenkins’ work has shown that effective grass roots efforts quickly catch the attention of more established media outlets through the natural life cycle of social media. The various channels of mediated (public, private, corporate and governmental) reciprocity are being merged together, through 3rd party applications as well as the simple fact that the users themselves provide centralized nodes in the communications network.
This give and take goes for B2B communications as well. If there is a drawback to this convergence, as Jenkins points out, it’s only that each participant is now expected to act responsibly and effectively to bring value to the system. It’s up to entrepreneurs and business owners to be proactive with their own campaigns in order to reach the potential audience of collaborators that exist in the mediated web.
While Others Worry
While industry journalists worry us with tales of lost revenue, proactive SMB’s across the country are experiencing positive growth through their new media marketing efforts and the simple realization that honest and direct relationships really do matter.
The ability for small and medium sized businesses to remain maneuverable, and quickly scale their operations, works perfectly with the immediate feedback loop that these technologies provide. For whatever failings exist within the social media sphere, as soon as more effective means are found SMB’s can change course and correct themselves immediately.
Caution is a sensible reaction to change, but what are you doing as a business owner to turn your caution into a proactive plan?
Are you saving yourself from a fast fading trend or missing the bend in the road?
Here’s a helpful set of articles from CIO Magazine outlining ideas for how businesses can better utilize Twitter to help increase brand awareness, customer communication and marketing: CIO Magazine’s Twitter Bible.
It’s hard to imagine with all those tweets, FaceBook posts, LinkedIn status updates, emails and blog posts that the little mistakes really make a difference. What’s a few grammar errors, factual flubs or poorly worded paragraphs amidst the noise, right?
If you find yourself thinking this, it might be time to step back and reconsider your marketing plan. What exactly are you going for if the small details don’t matter?
Neil Armstrong’s famous words weren’t just an off the cuff remark, they were a well planned strategy to set the media stage for U.S. dominance of space during the cold war. When the public (and the international media) heard him announce “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” some were puzzled by what seems to be a redundant statement.
There was something missing, a little ‘A’ which would have helped the message make sense.
Radio Glitches
All it took was a radio glitch to turn a well placed media mark into a 40 year grammatical gaff. Everyone still remembers the line, but four decades of snarky grammar comments could have been averted with just a little more care.
This is a great lesson for businesses that use social media, if you’re spending time pushing content into the social media sphere why not keep an eye on the quality of what you’re putting out there.
A Few Helpful Reminders to Keep in Mind
• Matsuo Basho, 17th century poet and Haiku master, said that every letter should be written as if it were meant to last through the ages. This may be a high mark to set for your Tweets, but it’s better to keep it in mind than to forget it and end up regretting one of your 140 character outbursts.
• Editing is easy before you send something out, dealing with mistakes after the fact isn’t. This is something that’s been repeated so often it’s surprising there’s still a problem (I admit I’m not perfect in this regard either).
• Make sure your links work. I received an email invitation from a PR firm for a webinar on pitching that contained broken links and obvious editorial mistakes (half sentences that were probably meant to be cut). How likely am I to pay to attend this seminar?
• Remember relevance. It’s one thing to lighten your content from time to time; it’s another to float off into space. Keep things moored on solid ground and you’ll give people a place to go rather than an opportunity to miss you while they look at the stars.
• Context is more important than ever. When there is so much information streaming across the internet it’s easy to lose site of the past, don’t add to this problem by missing an opportunity to add valuable historical context to your social media efforts.
Earlier today I received a phone call from a local company with whom I’m quite familiar. The salesperson opened by saying, “I saw you opened our email today, what interested you in the email?” The message I had read was advertising a seminar series the company has been aggressively pushing.
Admittedly, I was taken aback. I felt like I was being watched. I also felt that if I had been interested in the email, I would have signed up for the seminar or responded with questions myself. All in all, my feelings were equal parts 1) creeped out, 2) mildly annoyed and 3) strangely intrigued that this is how they were still marketing after all of these years.
It didn’t stop there, however. My limp response to his dead-on-arrival opener behind us, he kept firing:
“Can I interest you in a free ebook?”
“What’s the e-book about?”
“Secrets of Success”
“Sure.”
“Can I also interest you in a free coaching session?”
Waaaait-a-minute!
Here’s where I should have asked, kindly, “What’s the catch?” instead of “no, thank you.” Given how the call had already gone, in retrospect I’d have loved to hear him describe the coaching session.
Their entire dialogue and approach to initiating and nurturing a relationship was broken from the very beginning. He was all about features, saying nothing about how I would benefit from reading his email, his e-book, or attending his coaching session.
Email marketing is an excellent, cost-effective way to nurture relationships that turn into leads. The analytics that come with most all email marketing platforms give you very useful information about who is reading what you write and sharing it with their friends. You can use this information to grow your business, however, it’s best not to creep out your prospect in the process.
So, what can you learn from today’s awkward call?
Here are three better ways you can handle calls to your targeted email lists:
Give a legitimate and non-creepy reason for your call. After first asking your prospect if you’ve caught them at a good time, mention something your company is doing that’s of immediate value, and communicate that value immediately. “Next week we’re hosting a seminar on helping sell more widgets. People who went to last year’s seminar tell us they’ve more than doubled their widget sales after putting into practice our techniques.” Now you have my attention, and you’re leading with value, not a hook.
If you’re calling a web lead, only offer one premium. This salesperson’s two eager offers; the vaguely-titled e-book and the equally mysterious “free coaching session,” screamed desperation. Though they were determined to hook me with something, they didn’t believe in it (or me) enough to tell me how I would benefit from any of it.
Instead of tiptoeing around your point, tell the prospect what’s in it for you while communicating value to them. This can be easily accomplished by filling them in some context. Something like this:
“Of the 200 professionals we coached last year, those who stuck with the program the entire year doubled their businesses in 12 months while building systems that allowed them to work on average 25% fewer hours. Could I interest you in a complimentary session with one of our executive coaches to discuss your objectives and how coaching can help you reach them?”
Do you have an example of an exceptional sales call you’ve received? An exceptionally poor one? If so, please leave a comment below, we’d love to hear it!
Last December, Matt Linderman from 37signals came to our offices with a camera crew to talk to us about how we’ve used their CRM tool Highrise to manage XNet’s sales pipeline and existing customers. We jumped at the opportunity to go on camera as we’re big fans of their simple, straightforward approach to software. Since early 2007, Highrise has been our tool of choice to manage the day-to-day contact we have from the moment we identify someone as a prospect through the lifecycle of the customer relationship. It helps us stay on top of myriad details, track activities, and keep oriented toward the next step.
Have fun watching Arthur and Tim talk about how we use Highrise at XNet! If you are looking at a CRM and want to talk with us in-depth about Highrise versus others CRMs we’ve looked at and their plusses and minuses, don’t hesitate to call.
(Wow, what a great idea! Where did that one come from?)
As easy as it sounds, being thankful is easy to forget. We get trapped in planning, cooking, traveling, seeing our relatives, and eating. In the middle of it all, here’s a small challenge for you:
Whether you’re a business owner, manager, or employee, go out this week and thank as many people as you can. Don’t just do lip service by saying “thanks,” give a sincere reason why you are thanking them — even if you think it’s for something small or insignificant.
You’ll be surprised at the reactions you get. Very surprised.
It’s easy to forget to do this, everyone (including me!) should do it more often. Sincere gratitude is powerful.
“It’s almost like [your competitors] don’t even care.” -XNet Prospect
This summer, a potential customer walked in to meet with us and tour our facilities. They commented on how other data centers they had visited had boxes strewn throughout and machines in disarray … and that evidence of personal service was sparse. While these comments were a huge compliment to us and validated our efforts, they were also a sad commentary on our industry.
Does your industry resemble this picture? Do you take pains to partner with your customers and give service because you care and you take pride in delivering value … only to see others in your industry coasting and resting on their laurels? Maybe they rely on empty buzzwords. Whatever they do, it leaves you wondering “Where’s the beef?”
Wherever you are in the marketplace, people and companies like this exist.
Our industry has become a commodity in many ways. Data center marketing focuses on hyping baseline requirements such as redundant Internet connectivity, power, cooling, etc. Those things are all very necessary for mission-critical systems, but features alone don’t define the customer experience. It’s reducing data center marketing to a playground call, “My data center is redundanter than your data center!” In the process of chicken-chesting, they leave off all of the value they could bring to customers by getting to know them and their business and servicing them personally.
Why did that prospect say that?
Our guest walked in and saw that we were accessible and friendly, unlike many larger facilities. They also saw the care we put into our Critical Computing Facility firsthand by how clean and orderly we keep it. Contrasted to others they visited, they concluded that we “actually care,” where the others didn’t. Our facility is completely redundant like the others they saw, but it was the details that put them over the top.
How do you get your prospects to say the same?
Maybe you take pride in delivering an excellent product. Or, perhaps you set yourself apart by pricing your services fairly in an over-inflated industry. Being honest.
Here are some of our suggestions to gain this compliment:
Pick up the phone. Be accessible and be responsive, even when you don’t feel you have to.
Tell the truth. If your service isn’t a fit for them, be up front about it. People will appreciate the honestly and remember you. They’ll be back when they need you, or they’ll become a great referral source.
Be proactive. When a customer T1 line goes down, we often call them first, before they notice and call us. Line outages are mostly outside of our control as the phone companies maintain the physical line. Part of the service we provide is dealing with phone company headaches and service issues so they don’t have to. We show the customer we care by being on top of it.
Be about the details. If you’re in a commodity industry or margins are tight, this goes even more to your benefit. Customers know they can shop elsewhere, so give them a reason to buy from you.
What are you doing right now to set yourself apart and show clients and prospects you care?
Please tell us below. We’d like to know, so we can grow from your experiences too.
While going through the inbox on my desk, where mostly trade pubs and “things to read later” collect, I uncovered this gem of an article from Forbes.com published in late May–the title reads simply “Do your customers trust you?” Even though the article is written towards financial advisers, we can generalize this to all service providers. The most poignant bit is where the author discusses vendor and customer perceptions of the services provided:
The State Street/Wharton survey found that while trust was clearly important to both advisers and their clients, each side had a different take on the building blocks of that trust. Nearly three quarters of both groups cited trust as the most important characteristic of a financial adviser, but the big discrepancies were in performance and cost-per-service. Just 4% of the advisers thought performance was the most important selection criteria, compared with 10% of the clients; only 5% of the advisers voted for cost, versus 12% for clients.
Those differences may have had something to do with the two sides’ perceptions of overall satisfaction. Advisers clearly have a higher opinion of their services than customers do. A whopping 56% of the advisers felt that their clients were “very satisfied,” while only 24% of clients concurred; meanwhile, 6% of advisers felt that clients were “somewhat satisfied,” a far cry from the 28% of clients who felt that way.
Obviously we skew perceptions to favor our position (it’s called Confirmation Bias). We, whatever our role–vendor, client, spouse, friend, student, etc–want to confirm what we believe, or want to believe, about our relationships. What vendor doesn’t want to believe customers love their product or service?
At XNet, though we’ve enjoyed tremendous customer goodwill over our company history, we haven’t been as conscientious as we could be in soliciting customer feedback. So, for all of the XNet customers reading this–do you trust us? Why, or why not? Let us know. And if you aren’t an XNet customer, try asking this of your customer base; if you don’t hear what you want to hear, take it as valuable feedback to help grow your business and an opportunity to deepen client relationships.
Arthur Zards is the President and co-founder of XNet Information Systems. He is passionate about making the customer experience extraordinary. Arthur also enjoys carving Tiki Moai and jumping off of mountains.
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Arthur Zards is the President and co-founder of XNet Information Systems. He is passionate about making the customer experience extraordinary. Arthur also enjoys carving 