Author Archive

I'm reading John Jantsch's new book, The Referral Engine, and once again, as he did with his first book Duct Tape Marketing,  John makes something as complex as marketing very simple to understand.

In the first chapter of the book, which hits bookstore shelves on May 13, John talks about how a tiny part of our brain, the hypothalamus, triggers a need for us to make referrals.  John writes,

The hypothalamus likes validation — it registers pleasure in doing good and being recognized for it, and it's the home to the need to belong to something greater than ourselves.

John says there are five realities of referral marketing:

1. People make referrals because they need to
2. All business involves risk
3. Nobody talks about boring businesses
4. Consistency builds trust
5. Marketing is a system

Want to learn more about these five realities? Download a sneak preview of Chapter One of The Referral Engine.  Your hypothalamus will be glad you did.

Want to stimulate your brain with more great referral marketing ideas?  John will be at St. Edward's Professional Education Center in Austin on May 5 to talk about his new book.  Visit smallbizmarketingpro.com to learn more and register.  We're giving away John's new book free to the first 100 people to register online.

Enter the discount code "getmoxie" to save $5 on your ticket.

I'm thrilled to announce that Duct Tape Marketing Founder and small business marketing expert John Jantsch is coming to Austin on Wed. May 5. Moxie Marketing is partnering with St. Edward's Professional Education Center to host "An Evening with John Jantsch: Teach Your Business How to Market itself." The program begins at 7pm at St. Ed's PEC campus in North Austin.  Here's the cool part. The first 100 people to register online will get a free copy of John's new book, Referral Engine, before it hits the market on May 13. Click on the box at the left to register. Tickets are $25. John will do a book-signing after the event. 

This is John's second book. His first book, Duct Tape Marketing, has helped thousands of small businesses around the world get customers to "know, like and trust them," which is John's definition of marketing.   The new book is already getting good pre-release reviews. For a sneak peak, click here to download the first chapter free. Visit www.referralenginebook.com for more info. Here's a short video about the book from that site.

The Referral Engine from John Jantsch on Vimeo.

See you May 5!

I cracked up watching this Joel Bauer video on YouTube.  It is way over the top in a scary, creepy way.  But he makes a great point.  

You don't have to take 25 years to design a card.  But take a little time to be sure your card is compelling and memorable.  Use the back to describe your guarantee, unique difference, or special offer that draws people to your web site or into your store or office (free evaluation, special discount, etc.) Put your social media links there.  And yes, quality counts but with so many affordable options at online printing or local printing companies, you can spend a little to get a lot.   Use color, a nice coated stock, rounded corners. Anything tasteful and professional that makes people notice you.

I like Social Media Blogger Chris Brogan's post "What Sponsors Want." When considering whether to recruit sponsors for your marketing activity or content (an event, seminar, training session, conference, your blog, etc.) those sponsors will want access to your mailing list, attendees or members in exchange, and vice versa. Conversely, when you have an opportunity to become a sponsoring partner, think it through because it's your brand and good name. Make sure that both parties offer desirable content.

Chris writes:

Your Audience Wants Good Content

Whether you’re a blogger, a conference, a TV show, or some other kind of media, the people you’ve gathered around you most often come to you for entertainment and education. If you’re Hanley Wood, you’re educating people in the building and construction world (for instance). You’re attracting contractors, builders, architects, and other related professionals to an event with information and opportunities that they won’t find elsewhere. If you’re Mark Horvath’s Invisible People, you’re attracting people who want to know what the world of homeless people is like, and want to hear stories that compel them to give.

Your audience wants the best of what you can put out, and they want to know that you’ll protect them from scummy people. For instance, if I go to a conference, and my inbox suddenly fills up with spammy emails from exhibitors I’ve yet to meet or signal that I want more information, I probably won’t go to that show again, and I’ll probably raise holy hell until my name is off every list, etc. Your audience never wants to feel sold out. They want your best, and they want your protection.

So solicit or choose your sponsor-partners wisely. Those relationships can bear fruit for both parties if your audiences share similar wants, needs and interests. For example, when I did some pro bono work for a non profit event in exchange for a sponsoring partner mention, I got permission to contact other vendors to provide a free marketing workshop. At the event I introduced myself to each vendor. Then, I asked the partner to review my workshop offer letter and they sent it for me as a free gift to their partners. Much more powerful as a referral than anything "spammy" from me.

I’m pledging to make a referral to a business I want to help as part of a national campaign to make 1000 referrals March 8-12. What a great small business stimulus plan – won’t you join me?

Make a Referral Week is an entrepreneurial approach to stimulating the small business economy one referred business at a time. The goal for the week is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the impact of a simple action that could blossom into millions of dollars in new business. Small business is the lifeblood and job-creating engine of the economy and merits the positive attention so often saved for corporate bailout stories.

The  goal of the week long event – in its second year – is simple: To provide 1,000 referrals to 1,000 deserving small businesses across the country. And yes, the event hit its goal last year.

Do your part to stimulate the economy by telling your world about making referrals and Make a Referral Week – you’ll be in good company.  

Here's the cool part.  Tell the world about your referral, and be sure the company you're referring does the same for you.

Check out the latest edition of the Marketing Maxims Newsletter for more tips and resources.  

While speaking to groups and clients about the value of blogging for business to draw prospects to their web site, there is always a point in the conversation when about half of the audience suddenly gets a look of panic or fear on their face — or their eyes simply begin to glaze over. It's not that they don't get the value of blogging, or understand how to technically get a blog article posted, or realize that search engine spiders love information-packed blogs.  

The yellow blog stripe they feel crawling up their back is being fueled by fear. Fear that they'll never be able to write something that people will actually want to read.  The invisible thought bubbles above their heads are practically shouting, "What will I say? Who will care? I don't have time for that. Can't I pay someone to do that for me?" The answer to that last question is, yes you can.  But if you're the owner or top manager of a small business, you're missing an opportunity to engage your customers in a way that was never possible back in the days before the Internet.  

So, what to do? There are countless articles on how to write effective blog content. It can be daunting just sifting through blog posts about writing blogs. It's a blog world gone crazy. I finally found an article on the Small Business Trends Blog that made sense. But before you click here to read it, consider this: God didn't give everyone the gift of writing. And there is a lot of great content already out there that you can comment on and share with your readers. Just like I just did by including that link. You're an expert in your field. If you're not feeling inspired to write, search other blogs in your industry and post a comment there. Link and comment about them on your blog too. Rave or rant. Start a conversation. Your readers will probably jump right in, and before you know it, you'll have blog post with more than 350 words like I do right now.  There.  See?  I'm done with my blog!

Are you having any fun in your work life? Home life? Married life? Single life? Have you heard about the Eight Irresistable Principles of Fun?  Click on the image on the right and watch the movie. It'll take a few minutes but you'll feel refreshed after you watch it.  Working on your marketing plan or a project right now and feeling stuck or overwhelmed? Stressed or tired?  

Feed your brain.  Relax.  Have fun. You'll be more creative and people will like you better.  

What's your favorite principle? I like number 8. 

Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty | Source: New York TimesSteve Jobs unveiled the much-anticipated iPad today, basically an iPhone on steroids. It's sleek. It's cool and it's not as expensive as some people expected. Woo hoo!

The early reviews from gadget-heads are mixed. Check out this review from Gadget Hound Ben Peterson. While the opinions of techno-prognosticators will matter to Apple and it's marketing efforts, for small business owners the most telling and important "quote of the day" (according to Time Magazine) comes from Apple's Steve Jobs, "It's phenomenal to hold the Internet in your hands."

So whether or not you run out to buy one of these hot new gadgets to run your business, the important takeaway from a marketing perspective is that now more than ever, you need an internet marketing strategy. Think of this device as a Yellow Pages for George Jetson. No more paper. The world will be at your customers' fingertips where ever they go and I expect that the iPad will spawn many competitors.

Need to find a reputable financial planner?  There's an app for that. Looking for advice on how to get approved for a loan?  There's an app for that. Need a plumber?  There's an app for that.

Yes, the digital information age has arrived and what you say about your company on your website matters now more than ever. It's about content. Your website can no longer be a pretty digital brochure with flattering pictures and descriptions of your product or service.  Frankly, no one cares about your product or service. They care about what it does for them or their business. For customer's to find you on the iPad, you'll need dynamic content that targets your niche market and explains what makes your business unique – and a social media strategy to get found – from a blog to Facebook, Twitter and more.

Apple knows this. This product will make people feel smarter, cooler and more productive.  It will entertain them and their friends.  

Are you and your business ready?  Do you have an app for that?

I gave a marketing workshop this morning to a group of small business owners and one of our topics was how to identify an "ideal customer." I asked the group to describe what they think is their ideal customer. "Well, they're kind of like me," Deanna Mueller of Fetch! Pet Care in Austin said.  "I mean, they like what I like, they think like me. They are kind of like a best friend." What a great perspective!

So, should a customer be your BFF — your " best friend forever?" Within the context of a business relationship, absolutely!  You want customers to know, like and trust you, right?  If you're delivering a great product and high quality service — if you're helping your customer succeed in their business, meet a need or solve a problem, it's natural that you'll connect with them on some sort of BFF level. If you're a man reading this, don't worry; I'm not talking about going shopping with your customers.  But if you are focusing on getting more ideal customers, it will help to think about them like a close friend. You know what makes them tick.  You have an honest conversation with them. You laugh. You cry. You send a kind note, share a new discovery or just listen to their problems. You even ignore some of their annoying character traits because you know they're not perfect — no one is.

In my last post, I encouraged you to take a client inventory to see who you might fire and to identify your ideal clients and "hire" more like them.  So go through that list again.  Look for potential BFFs and create a profile that describes them. List their type of business, their demographics and what they like and value. That's a target market you should grow. But don't stop there. A BFF relationship involves giving and receiving. Your BFF is very likely to tell others about you, so ask them to be a referral partner.

Give them talking points about your target market, your unique difference and any special offer you might have. Print up some customized promotional cards they can hand to their clients, or create a custom landing page on your website to which they can refer their customers. It should offer something of value — a free consultation or a discount that will make them look good too. It can say something like "As a valued customer, we're pleased to offer you this special program to help improve your business." 

If you don't have any BFF-like clients on your customer list, what can you change about the way you treat your customers to get some?  

This is the time of year that most people take to reflect and look back on the year gone by and resolve to do something better in the new year.  It's also a very slow time for business.

You're not likely to close any sales this week, so why not take a few minutes to take a close look at your customer list and see if you should fire any of them?

Take stock in your customer relationships over the past year.  Are there any that have turned out to be disappointing, annoying, or cause you to lose money? Do they always pay you late? Do you find that they don't appreciate you or your business – that you regularly have to work harder to please them? Unless you can identify something you've done to make them unhappy, pull a Donald Trump and say, "You're fired." Why? You want customers that know, like and trust you, right? The kind that will refer business to you and value your product or service. Unless their receivables are essential to keeping your doors open, you'll be better off in the long run to let them go. You might not be able to do this right away but you can work towards it by getting more "ideal customers." 

So, who's your ideal customer?  Go down your current list of customers and look for the ones that appreciate you and regularly refer you. Check out their demographics. Are they in a market segment that has a need you can fill? What do you know about their attitudes and values?  Importantly can you find more like them? Use this week to think about ways to narrow and focus your target market and make a plan to develop that market in 2010. As you think more about that ideal customer and that target market, you'll probably be more willing to fire those customers that don't fit the profile.

Now that you have a few ideal customers in mind, dig a little deeper and ask them why they like you. Get a testimonial you can use in your marketing materials and on your web site. Does that make you a little nervous? You should get over that. Most people feel honored when you ask them for a testimonial or recommendation. It makes them feel smart that they've chosen to work with a person or company that helps them grow their business. It doesn't have to be anything formal or well-written. You're not asking for a big case study. The next time you see them, ask them to do you a little favor and jot a few sentences on the back of their business card about why they like doing business with you.  It will help them keep their comments short and do it right away. I like to use Linked In to ask people for a testimonial. It can be done quickly and allows people some flexibility in finding a moment to recommend you.  Go to your LinkedIn profile page and find the "Get Recommended" section.  See this tutorial from LinkedIn.  If you're not on LinkedIn, you should be. You can get connected with more ideal clients and prospects there.

Oh, and if you find the client on LinkedIn that you need to fire, it'll be best to avoid asking them to "join your network." Duh.