It Can’t Always be about Business
March 28, 2010
I lost my best friend yesterday, completely and suddenly and out of the blue. When I left the house in the morning he was laying on the floor in the middle of the hallway like he always does – all 100 lbs of his furry self – totally in the way. Like many mornings, I had to step over him every time I wanted to get into my bedroom or the kitchen and he just laid there looking up at me with his big ole puppy-dog eyes every time I did.
I smiled at him, promising not to step on him and vowed to take him for a walk after my conference. But when I got home 8 hours later I found him lying in his favorite spot on the side of the house in the sun; lifeless, breathless and stiff. He was gone. Just like that - no goodbyes, no explanation. Just gone.
For 7 years he was my friend, my companion, my protector. My big old Rottweiler and Chow mix. I was never afraid as long as he was by my side. He was loyal, caring, and loving; he was my best friend. I’d often look at him and wonder how I could love a four-legged ball of fur so much. But he was always there for me. For 7 years he made me smile, he made me laugh, he made me love.
I have been working so much lately and didn’t spend all the time with him I wanted. I was going to take him for a walk when I got home yesterday and take him to the lake today for a swim. But it’s too late now. So today my blog is not about marketing or growing your business; it is about reminding us all to take the time to nurture the parts of our lives that don’t revolve around work. I spend a lot of time talking about investing in yourself and your business in order to succeed. But today I want to remind you to also take the time to nurture your life; your loved ones; the things that matter most to you. Play with your kids, take your dog to the park, take a moment to ask your neighbor how they’re doing today, call your mother, stop for a moment and just hold your spouse; because you just never know when it will be too late.
I miss my dog today and can only reflect in the irony: it took him dying for me to take the day off.
Small Business Owners: Are You Living The Dream?
March 21, 2010
One of the things I talk a lot about in my small business marketing seminars is setting goals for your business. This is a crucial step toward achieving success and living “The Dream” of entreprenurship: pride of business ownership; flexibility; profits; control over their personal and professional lives, etc. However, I meet small business owners every day who just don’t quite seem to be living “The Dream”. So, I’ve been wondering: what were the goals and dreams these entreprenuers had when they set out? What was it that drove them to leave a regular paycheck, health insurance and stability behind and go it alone? Are these business owners living their dreams and achieving their goals? Or have they gotten lost along the way in the daily grind of running a business? Have they forgotten they once had dreams, goals and ideas for their business and their lives?
As a marketer – and someone who wants to help small businesses grow and thrive – I sometimes have to face the fact that not all small business owners want my help. Where I may see huge potential for growth, popularity and profits some are quite content to stay where they are. I don’t always understand it; but then I don’t walk in their shoes. So I’m really curious about this and I want to hear from you – the entrepreneur, the small business owner, the president/founder/CEO of your own company.
- Why did you take that leap into self-employment?
- What did you hope to achieve? Was it fame and fortune? Or was it something a little less… let’s say, grandiose.
- Were you just sick of working for others and saw an opportunity to work for yourself? Or was it something else?
- Have you achieved everything you set out to?
- If not why and what are you doing, if anything to work toward your goals and your dreams?
I want to devote this week’s blog to all of you- and I want to hear your stories. I’m sure others do too – this is how we learn. I look forward to reading your comments! Please click here to tell your story. (And then scroll down to the comments section on the bottom of the page)
Why Direct Mail Doesn’t Work for Small Business
March 14, 2010
Here is a paraphrased summary of three different conversations I had with business owners this week:
Business Owner (B.O.): “Marketing doesn’t work, I tried it.”
Me: “Really? Tell me more about that.”
B.O.: “I sent out a bunch of post cards and didn’t get a single response!”
Me: “Hmmm.. A ‘bunch’ you say? How many is a bunch?”
B.O.: “Two hundred and fifty!”
Me: “Ok… and how many times did you mail this group of two hundred and fifty?”
B.O.: “Well, just once, why would I do it again if it doesn’t work?” (Silly me…)
Nothing comes Easy: Especially Success in Business
Nothing in life is easy. You’ve heard that right? Everything worth having requires a lot of hard work, a ton of persistence and loads of patience: Everything from our educatio
n to our careers and even our relationships. Did you expect to just go to a single class to earn your degree? Of course you didn’t- it took years of going to classes and studying! Did you expect to just show up at work for one day and earn a paycheck for the rest of your life? Sure that would be nice, but no. Did you woo your spouse, shower him or her with loads of attention and compliments while you were dating and then completely ignore him or her afterwards? Ummm, I certainly hope not!
So then why do you expect marketing your business to be any different? Why do so many small business owners expect marketing to be single quick-and-easy event? Place an ad and get rich! Yay!!!! Send out a postcard and make the phones ring off the hook! Wahoo! One ad, one postcard, one networking group and I’m set for life!!! It Does Not Work That Way! I’m sorry.
A Little About Advertising and Response Rates
I guess for someone who hasn’t been in sales and marketing as long as I have, mailing out 250 cards to anyone and everyone with a “10% OFF” offer and not getting a single call may seem like an earth shattering failure… but trust me, it isn’t. Now, if you sent out 250 post cards to your target market with an extremely amazing and compelling offer using a 2 step approach and didn’t get a single response, then I might be a bit more surprised.
The chances of getting any response from a single ad, postcard, email, etc are going to be pretty slim. Factor in the quality of your content/message (was it compelling?), your audience (did you target?) and your tracking methods (how do you know if you got a response or not?) and it can be nearly nonexistent.
Think about it: you are presumptuously putting your company/brand/message in front of the faces of anyone who might at some point in their lives buy your products or services; assuming they are 1) your target market, 2) they have made the decision to buy, 3) they have allocated the resources to buy, 4) there are no obstacles to them making the move to buy, and 5) they know like and trust YOU enough to want to buy from you. Holy cow with all of those variables it’s amazing we ever sell anything at all from an ad, isn’t it?
Marketing is about Consistency and Repetition
That is why a consistent and repetitive approach is key to effective marketing. For one thing- studies show that consumers don’t even “see” an ad until they’ve been exposed to it like seven or ten times or something… You are never going to build a business by sending out one postcard or email or placing one ad serendipitously here and there. That just isn’t how it works- it isn’t how we humans work. It takes time to build trust; it takes time for us to make decisions to move forward.
But besides the whole “does advertising work or not” argument: Do you even know who your best prospect is? What their buying cycle is? What their triggers are? If not don’t even waste your time and money on another post card or magazine ad. Really.
I have an idea: the next time you want to spend some money on a postcard, an ad or an email blast without knowing the 3 things I outlined above, go to the nearest casino instead- you’ll have a better chance of getting a return on your money…. Or better yet, hire a Duct Tape Marketing Coach!
Please click here to leave your comments. (And then scroll down to the comments section on the bottom of the page)
-
- THE BEST FREE MARKETING ADVICE YOU CAN GET!!!
Get Great Images!
Let's Get Social!
-
+Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company
- Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses get the customers they need to sell more, increase profits and achieve all of their business and personal goals. We do this by implementing and managing marketing systems based on data and strategy - there is no guess work. For more information visit us at: FortuneMarketingCompany.com. We'd be glad to help!
Free Report: 7 Easy Steps to Small Business Marketing Success
