Is Your Website Like a Bad Date?
June 15, 2010
I’ve seen a lot of articles lately about website design. One of the best was by Jonathan Kranz on MarketingProfs entitled “5 Things to Think About Before You Launch Your Next Website”. I really liked this one because it addresses what I believe are the 5 main things everyone should consider before building a website. 
I especially love his 5th point, “It’s Not All About You”. One of my biggest pet peeves about websites is that so many are all about the company and so little about the customer. When I land on a website and it’s “I this” and “we that” I’m left feeling like I’m on a bad date listening to another self-involved bore.
Would you walk into a meeting with a new prospect and immediately start rattling off how long you’ve been in business, where you’re located, your education, experience and how great you are? Of course you wouldn’t. So why are you doing that on your website?
A website should first and foremost tell me – immediately – that you understand my problem. Then it should demonstrate how you are going to solve my problem and make my life better. The first rule of engagement – it’s all about me (the customer) – not you. FIRST demonstrate that you get me by addressing my problem, then how you can help me, and last- give me a way to find out more about you if I choose to even get that far (“About Us” are a great way to do that without the entire website being about you).
Jonathan’s article does a great job of addressing this issue and 4 others. So if you’re thinking about a new website – or even if you aren’t – you should definitely check it out – “Five Things to Think About Before You Launch Your Next Website”.
Does Marketing Scare You?
June 7, 2010
I recently ran across a blog by a fellow Duct Tape marketing coach at Glue Marketing entitled “Why taking marketing risks shouldn’t scare you.” In this blog they talk about how some marketing risks aren’t really risks at all, but just a move outside of one’s comfort zone.
Risky Marketing?
They cited the following example: “a marketing risk can be a tax consultant writing a short e-book and posting it as a free download on their website. Initially, the consultant might cry, “My intellectual property!” However, think of the incredible exposure to this consultant’s expertise that’s gained with every download. People will also love the freebie and appreciate the consultant’s willingness to help. Who do you think will be top of mind next time tax season rolls around?”
Get out of that Box!
Glue Marketing made some really great points in this blog making me think about how complacent some small businesses get and how fear-driven many of their marketing and business strategies become. What if you stepped outside of your comfort zone for a minute? What’s the worst thing that could happen? What if, instead of running that same ad in the Breeze that you’ve been running for years, you try something new? What if you offered a crazy money back guarantee, or you call your customers to follow up on a sale instead of sending a post card?
I encourage you to read the rest of the Glue Ed’s article, “Why taking marketing risks shouldn’t scare you” to see some great examples of Marketing “risks” that paid off big (Hint: Apple users are going to love one of them!).
Then I dare you to stir the pot – do something outrageous!
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5 Reasons to Build a Word of Mouth Marketing System
May 16, 2010
I constantly hear things like “most of my business comes from referrals”, “word of mouth is the only marketing I need”. But when I ask these business owners, “So, how’s business?” I hear, “slow”, “things are tough right now” or “I don’t have enough customers”. 
By far, word of mouth– or referral – marketing is the best kind of marketing there is. But what I usually see is a passive approach to referral marketing as opposed to an “active” approach. Most business owners have no real system in place to drive referrals on a consistent and regular basis; they just show up to their networking events and referral groups, cross their fingers, and hope someone will have a hot lead for them. This type of referral almost happens by chance, doesn’t it? Yet, I constantly hear – “Word of mouth is all I need - 90% of my business comes that way ”. But my question to them is this; is 90% of “not enough” enough?
What if you could be more proactive about referral marketing and actually put a system in place to improve the number, quality and consistency of referrals you get? What if you could have more control over when and how they come?
In his new book, The Referral Engine, John Jantsch gives 5 great reasons to take the time to build a systematic approach to referral marketing:
- People love to give referrals – People love to help other people and they like to appear smart and in the “in”. If someone can offer a tip to a friend, family member or colleague about a great product, service or business, it makes them feel (and look) good. So, don’t be shy about asking for referrals, you’re actually doing them a favor!
- Greater ROI (Return on Investment) – Good referral marketing isn’t usually free. There are costs associated with joining networking groups, printed materials and maybe incentives. But compared to some of the other forms of marketing (print, radio, television, etc.) the potential for return –when done correctly – can be huge.
- More Qualified Prospects and Customers – When you “train” your referral sources, i.e.: meticulously describe to them your best customer, the quality of prospects and customers you get will be better.
- Built-In Credibility and Trust – People like to work with people and companies they trust. It’s hard to trust someone you’ve never met face to face. But it’s easy to trust a friend, family member or colleague- so if someone who has already gained the trust of the prospect refers you; you’ve already achieved a level of credibility and trust.
- Fewer Issues Regarding Price- your referral source did the selling for you! They already told the prospect how great you are and the value you deliver so you don’t have to compete on price.
Would you like a free preview of John Jantsch’s new bestselling book, The Referral Engine? Click here to download a free chapter.
What do you think?! Please click here to leave your comments. (And then scroll down to the comments section on the bottom of the page)
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