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!
Please click here to leave your comments. (And then scroll down to the comments section on the bottom of the page)
Marketing You: Do Prospects Trust You?
May 31, 2010
I had a couple of experiences this week that I wanted to write about but struggled with how to tie them into one subject. Then I attended a Bay Area Consultants’ Networking (BACN) meeting and had the pleasure of hearing Jeff Slayter and Kane Minkus speak about the “7 Attributes of Highly Successful Consultants”. One attribute they talked about is Congruency and how, as business owners being congruent in our actions is essential for getting prospects to trust us enough to want to buy from us.
Do Your Actions Match Your Words?
Congruency is about matching. And in terms of marketing and business success it’s about our words matching our actions and behaviors. We’ve all heard that only about 7% of communication is the words that we speak, so the rest is how we say it (tone), our facial expressions, eye contact, how we sit or stand (i.e.: whether or not we fidget (I’m guilty of this one) or stand or sit solidly), and dozens of other physical actions.
So now, armed with this new re-learned term – “congruency” – I can share with you my experiences and let you decide – do these business owners display a sense of trust? Are they exhibiting congruency?
1. I was at a local restaurant with an entrepreneur who sells water filtrations devices for your home. His marketing strategy is to enlighten people about the dangers of city water: it’s full of chemicals and contaminants that cause a plethora of horrible diseases and it’s completely horrible and unhealthy and we’d be better off drinking lead paint than unfiltered city water. I noticed that during our meeting he drank 2 cups of coffee and half a glass of water – tap water. Hmmmm, how bad is our city water again??? I felt like offering him a bite of my Phthalates –rich handbag to wash it all down.
2. I received an email from another local entrepreneur who claims to be an internet marketing expert. The intent of the email was to ask if I’d give feedback on an upcoming ezine he’s publishing about how to use internet marketing to grow our businesses and make more money. A few details about the email: a) it was addressed to “dear friend”; b) the first line of the email read, “you are receiving this because we met at a networking event, we’ve done business together, or have partnered in some way; c) and the kicker – every single recipient of this email was listed in the “To” field- so much for privacy! As a marketer I was embarrassed for this person. This email broke every rule of effective email marketing.
3. Another business owner stood in front of a group of about 50 consultants to announce an upcoming social media class. She said, “Our next class starts in June. There is a waiting list, but we have a few seats left.” Wait a minute… if you have a waiting list, how can there be seats left? Well, this incongruence happened to be by yours truly. 
And what I said isn’t what I meant and I’m sure that little inconsistency came across as dishonest to some.
Trust = Consisitency
So, what’s my point? My point is that besides being entrepreneurs, businesses and brands, we’re human. And being human, we’re full of inconsistencies and contradictions; some are minor blunders, slips of the tongue, some are a bit more deliberate and manageable.
These experiences, the lesson on congruency and my own lack of it really got me thinking: how often am I sending the wrong message to prospects and customers? When are my actions not matching my words? I’m taking a hard look at how I interact with prospects and customers to make sure my integrity, passion and honest desire to help is what is conveyed, not only in everything I say but more importantly, in everything IDO.
Where are your incongruence’s? Have you noticed them in others and if so, what kind of impression did it leave on you about their credibility?
I look forward to hearing from you. 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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