competitors

The 17 Rules of Bootstrap Marketing

by Paul Joseph July 28, 2011 Featured

Too many people in the small business world believe in the saying, “It takes money to make money.”  While it would be nice to have a huge ad budget, the truth is that most of us don’t start out with a big startup fund – and in some cases nothing at all. Going without any marketing though, is out of the question. The good news is that marketing can be done effectively on a very low budget. There have always been “guerilla marketing” techniques that any business owner could use, and thanks to the Internet, there are more ways to market for free or almost free than ever. But marketing must, above all, be effective, no matter how much or how little it costs. Below are seventeen characteristics of bootstrap marketing that will help you to grow a successful business without having to spend a fortune. Effective Bootstrap Marketing is marketing that’s… 1. Cost Effective. This is of course the first rule of bootstrap marketing! And as mentioned above, with the internet at our fingertips, there are more low-cost marketing options available to business owners today than there have ever been. It has become easier and easier to grow a successful small business on a very small budget. Think Social Media, comment marketing, blogging, guest blogging, forum posts, email marketing, and the list goes on. 2. Unwavering. If you want your marketing to be truly successful, you will need to be dedicated to seeing it through. Giving up in the early stages of your business is simply not an option when success is the goal. Have patience, because most marketing methods take time to produce results. Stick with it, and you’ll reap the benefits. 3. Branded. Providing your customers with a clear understanding of who you are and how your product or service can assist them is a must. Make sure your brand message is carried through in all your marketing. A post or profile on one site should be recognizable as being tied to your other posts and profiles. 4. Consistent. Your marketing campaign will be the life of your business, and needs to become part of your daily business routine. This is part of sticking with it, but it also means making a commitment to working your marketing every day, and for the long haul. 5. Focused on Customers. Your job will be to recognize any problems that your prospective customers have and offer them clear-cut solutions to these problems. Appealing to potential buyers by solving a problem or easing pain is the best way to make your marketing pay off. 6. Directed at Your Target Market. It’s imperative that you know precisely who is in need of your product or service. There was once a place for mass marketing, but that time has passed. Not only is mass marketing expensive, but it’s also a “shotgun” approach that doesn’t target potential customers in a focused way. Make sure you’re speaking to your niche. 7. Trust- and Confidence-Building. Increase the level of trust and confidence that your customers have in you and your business by creating experiences that will cause them to naturally feel more confident and trust in you. Consumers are much more likely to buy from people they trust and like. So make sure your marketing isn’t salesy or cheesy. Let go of gimmicks and be more direct and upfront. 8. A Boost to Your Visibility. Your prospective customers are bombarded by ads every single day. Utilize as many different marketing tools as possible. The more your prospective customers come across you, the more likely they will be to use your product or service. 9. Repetitious. Statistics prove that an average person will need to encounter a business in some capacity from seven to twelve times before they’ll be willing to purchase from it. With that being said, putting yourself out there as much as possible – in as many venues as possible – will result in real results. 10. Simple. You will easily confuse your prospective customers if any part of your business or marketing seems too complicated. If a person is confused, they won’t take the time to try and figure it out, and they won’t spend their money with you. Keep things as simple and straight forward as possible. 11. All About the Wow Factor. Are you doing everything in your power to get noticed? How do your tactics differ from those of your competitors? The fastest way to fail with your business is to blend in too well with the rest. Build marketing programs that are unique and communicate your brand’s personality in an interesting way. 12. Reassuring. The quality of your products and services is obviously of prime importance. And communicating that quality in your marketing is just as important. Reassure your potential buyers by providing warrantees, guarantees, and testimonials. Let people know it’s safe to go with your company. 13. Educational. Present yourself as an expert and take the time to educate your prospective customers so that they will understand why your business can offer them a solution to their problem. This is especially effective when using comments, forums, and social media for your bootstrap marketing efforts. 14. Personal. Create genuine relationships with your prospective customers. Answer any questions they may have, offer solutions to their problems, and help them if they find themselves in a bind. Showing your prospective customers that there is a real person behind your business will help you to build on your business relationships. And it doesn’t typically cost you anything! 15. Customer Nurturing. Attracting new buyers is important, but marketing to those who have used your company already is essential. Statistically speaking, over twenty percent of your current customers will purchase from you again, because they already know you. This makes the cost of acquisition of an existing customer far less than that of a new customer. Create new and different ways to bring your customers back and keep them happy. 16. Trackable. Knowing what works well and what doesn’t with your marketing campaign is crucial. How else will you know if your time is paying off? It can be difficult to track some forms of bootstrap marketing, but in many cases, link tracking software can be very helpful; especially if you’re sure to include a link in your social media posts. 17. Flexible. You never know when things will change, so you’ve got to be ready to adapt to those changes. Stay on top of the newest marketing methods, and when a new marketing platform pops up give it a try. Don’t jump all over the place, but add and alter marketing methods as soon as it makes sense. The more flexible you are with your marketing, the further ahead you will stay from your competitors. Following the rules above when implementing your bootstrap marketing plan will ensure that whatever you’re doing to get the word out, it’s as effective as possible. What other suggestions do you have for rules of marketing? Share with us in the comments!

Tagged as: business, competitors, customers, daily, entrepreneur, internet, life, marketing, marketing-strategies, product, small-business, social

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Is Good Ever Good Enough When It Comes to Your Small Business?

by Paul Joseph July 22, 2011 Featured

Starting a small business takes work and resources – specifically, your most limited of assets: time and money. You invest a great deal in something you believe in, but are still uncertain if it will succeed. Nobody likes to fail, but too often people settle so they don’t have to. Being hard on yourself means pushing yourself to do your best, and of course this comes at a price. Constant stress, priority above your family and friends, or that feeling of “good, but not quite good enough” are all tell-tale symptoms – or results – of pushing yourself too hard. This can leave you feeling tired and down on yourself, and ultimately make it difficult to give 100%. It’s said that you should give 100% to the things you care about, but how do you give your all to all things? I think that’s a challenge many of us face every day. Striking a Balance It comes down to balancing what is important to you and giving your very best to what’s at hand. So, is good ever good enough? Do you find yourself working tirelessly to make more money, out-do your competitors, to feel accomplished? The truth is, as has always been said – it’s not about quantity, but quality. You could work twenty-four hours each day but would be worn-down very quickly and unable to commit much energy. Or, you could work hard for half or even a third of that and see much more of a difference. Getting Your Priorities Straight The trick is prioritizing key projects and initiatives. It can be easy to get wrapped up in trying to complete the laundry-list of tasks, but following the 80/20 rule really allows you to focus on the things that will drive the most business value. The other important piece of advice worth learning is allowing yourself to feel good about your accomplishments; give yourself a pat on the back every now and then. Good is not good enough if you’re settling, but if you’re doing your best, isn’t that all you can do? Life is too short to run yourself ragged, and too long to do something you’re not passionate about. So what’s your motto on work/life balance? How do you measure what’s good or good enough for you and your business? Lisa Promise is the founder of Promise Consulting Group, a full-service marketing, advertising, and communications consulting company for small businesses. Read more about Lisa here .

Tagged as: business, competitors, entrepreneur

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75 Takeaways and Tips from OME May Workshop: Web Marketing for Startups

by Paul Joseph June 5, 2011 Featured

Research Research and gather information about You, Your Competitors, Your Brand and your Industry using tools Google alerts :   www.google.com/alerts Google Insights: www.google.com/insights Google Trends:  www.google.com/trends Back Type – [ Lets you monitor keywords in comments]: www.backtype.com Google Keyword research tool: http://bit.ly/9FqW8F Research keywords: Think of what users… (Visit Yourstory.in for full news, other content, and much more!)

Tagged as: competitors, content, frontpage, other-content, research, yourstory-in

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5 Ways to Battle Mediocrity in Your Small Business

by Paul Joseph May 11, 2011 Featured

We all want thriving, successful businesses; and the reasons behind our desire for success vary from person to person. However, there is one thing we all want to avoid – mediocrity. Mediocrity will stall success. Mediocrity will keep the status quo. Mediocrity will manifest itself in struggle. Second rate may get your foot in the door, but it’s unlikely that it will sustain you and your business in the long run in being successful. So how do you fight off mediocrity in our business? 1.  Don’t settle for anything less than exceptional. This may be a tough one as being “exceptional” is subjective. However, if you are giving anything less than 100% in every facet of your business, then rest assured you are not being exceptional. Do you send thank you emails or postcards to customers? Are you listening to the requests of your audience? Are you going above and beyond the call of duty? Are you taking that extra step to provide exceptional customer service? Are you taking accountability for your mistakes and doing something unique to rectify it? There are examples of exceptional businesses all around us. Look at Jet Blue and how they’ve managed to excel in the travel industry. How about how Netflix has managed to corner the market in movie rental by mailing DVD’s to customers when blockbuster wouldn’t. If this is not being exceptional, I don’t know what is! 2. Don’t be a copy cat. We have all learned from others; it’s the natural process. The ‘original thought’ is a rarity. However, knowing that your product, service or information is not original does not mean its okay to be a copy cat. Bring some originality in your ‘un-original’ business. Add a spin to your business that your competitors may not be doing. Are there any additional services you can offer that your competitors are not? Can you add additional features to your product? Can you provide a different twist to your information? Maybe add infographics. In everything you do, ask yourself, how can this product, service, or information set my business apart? 3. Push yourself, your employees, and your business to the extreme. Every week decide what steps you and your employees can take to move your business to the next level. Engage them and get them involved. Set levels of expectations and follow up to see if they are being met. Don’t settle for anything less than exceptional from yourself and your staff and communicate those expectations regularly. Ask your employees to share with you how they plan on being exceptional this week. Acknowledge and reward that behavior. 4. Be consistent with your brand and your message. You may be wondering what branding has to do with mediocrity. Well if you are inconsistent with your brand you are giving your audience mixed messages.  Inconsistencies build mistrust and confusion. If you want your brand message to reflect exceptional customer service yet you are not doing anything in line with providing exceptional customer service, then your brand message is falling flat. Being true to your brand will not only build trust but loyalty as well. This is exceptional behavior because all too often business drop the ball on this. 5. Write your core values and stick to them! Culture is not something you can create – it is something that happens as a by-product of your core values. However, you can create a billboard of what your companies values are, but they won’t mean anything if you don’t put those values into action. So how do you manifest a culture based on your core values? Culture is manifested by establishing consistent behavior. One way is to lead by example. If one of your core values is to produce trust and open communication, than you yourself have to be the driving force in trust and communication. As with setting expectations for your employees, having them be accountable for the day to day operations and having an invested interest in the success of the business, can lead to a powerful culture. How can you find ways incentivize your staff? Is profit sharing an option? How can you enlist them to take pride in their work? How can you be a stand for their greatness in all they do? Even in the mundane tasks? If you are the sole person running your business, how can you manifest a culture that will inspire you to consistently take massive, powerful and intentional actions? These are just several ways to battle mediocrity in your business. Being exceptional is not something you wish for, it is something you create. By taking small, yet powerful actions consistently, you can help set yourself apart from the pack. “High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.” ~Charles Kettering What actions will you take today that will help you battle mediocrity in your business? Michele Welch is a Personal Coach and Online Business Advisor . She shares online business tips with those looking to start their own online business ventures, through her blog.  Read more about Michele here .

Tagged as: competitors, entrepreneurship, online, online-business, travel, work, your-business

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How To Attract More Customer Referrals Through Strategic Relationships & Networking

by Paul Joseph April 25, 2011 Featured

It is one thing having an awesome product or service, but if nobody knows about it, how do you expect to sell it? This realization usually happens just before business owners start to consider self promotion and exposure opportunities. There are a number of ways to go about getting your name out there, and forming relationships and connections with other businesses is one very important way of going about it. Networking I have spoken before about the importance of networking. I built my entire business from networking and a referral base, and I think in this day and age, when people prefer to do business with people they can trust, networking is key . I am a firm believer that networking should be an important part of your marketing and self promotion plan. Networking can be done online, but it’s also important to get out and do some old-fashioned relationship building face-to-face. It is so tempting to write off networking because you don’t feel you need any more clients right at that moment, or because you think that the people who attend the event in question are not exactly the right clientele for you. One weekend I was at the National Speakers Convention in Melbourne, and a very inspiring professional speaker by the name of Kirsty Spraggon explained the incubation concept. Due to her background in the real estate industry, she has built a wealth of relationship building skills, and learned a number of key concepts about how it all works. Something that really stuck with me was what she calls the Incubation Period . The time frame from when you meet someone, and the moment there is a result from that connection, Kirsty mentioned could be anywhere from six months to eighteen months . She calls this the incubation period. During that time, you may have a number of touch points with that person, including emails, phone calls and coffee meetings before there is a tangible result or benefit from the connection. I would like to add here that the tangible result may not necessarily be in the form of that person becoming a client or purchasing from you. That may never happen, but you just don’t know who they know. Many of my clients have resulted as referrals from other people I have met – they have been friends, relatives, clients of theirs, or acquaintances to whom they passed on my details. The key is to nurture the relationships because you never know the return on them.  It may pay off in a way you never expected, at a time when you need it most. Two years ago, I was at a networking lunch and met a woman who runs a PR and branding company. While she sent me a number of referrals during the following months, it took a year before one materialised into a client for me. And he is still with me today. Not only that, but he then in turn referred me to another client, and an additional two people who are great contacts with whom I have formed a beneficial business association. One of them is Yaro! Simply meeting someone is not enough. Maintain and nurture the relationship by making an effort to connect with them regularly – either through your blog, newsletter, or a personal email, phone call or coffee meeting. During this time, I have kept in contact with the woman I mentioned earlier with regular emails, Christmas cards and a gift when her baby was born. And ask yourself what you can do to help them. It’s a two way street, after all. Strategic Relationships Another way I built my business when first starting out, that proved entirely beneficial, was forming strategic alliances with other individuals and businesses that either offered a similar service to mine, or had a similar clientele. Having a public relations businesses, I connected with people who had marketing businesses but didn’t offer services in PR. In some cases they referred clients directly to me for a commission, or I operated as a contractor working under their brand, and they took care of my invoices. While I still accept referrals graciously, I no longer work under another person’s brand, simply because I don’t need to. Also, I found that it can get a bit messy, unless you are on the same page and have a clear agreement. But I am grateful for that opportunity to build up my business and bring in some income when I was first starting out. And these firms and people were happy to offer a value-add to their clients. Find a business that operates similarly and in the same field, and offer your product or service to their clients as a value-add. In most cases, you will be expected to pay a commission for the business if it comes straight to you, or alternatively your service will be provided under the brand of the other business. Other ways you can look at promoting your service or products to their clientele, or generating exposure for it, is by guest blogging or offering guest articles.  There are a lot more opportunities depending on the business and your industry – be creative and open to suggestions . An example of how this can work is when I had a client who wrote and published a book helping first home buyers with practical tips and information. What I did was approach another client of mine – a real estate agency – to bulk order a branded version of the book and offer it as a gift and incentive to her clients. It was a win-win for everyone – the author was able to move a whole load of her books, and the real estate agent could offer something different to her clients that her competitors were not. Form Relationships With Your Competitors Something I have always done that others may consider strange is to form solid relationships and connections with others who can be considered competitors. That is, other individuals with PR and publicity businesses. Why? Because I have received countless referrals from these businesses and individuals of clients they either didn’t have the capacity to service, due to it being outside their area of expertise, or simply because they were too busy at the time. And I do the same now. If I get approached by a potential client who I can’t offer my services to, I refer them on. Make sure you build solid relationships with others in your own area . This is important for more than the reason explained above. It keeps you up to date with what your industry is doing, so you can offer something different and make sure you are not charging too little or too much, and you can also stay on top of changing trends and technology. After all, how can you promote a point of difference when you don’t know what the rest of the businesses in your industry are actually doing? I can’t even begin to give examples of how other PR firms have helped me build my business. There have been so many who have generously provided me referrals of clients they could not take on, or did not specialize in. I firmly believe that there is enough business for everyone. Be generous in business – share your time, knowledge and contacts and you will reap the benefits. This is what building relationships is about after all. So that we can learn and grow from one another within our business community. Kerry McDuling Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: business, competitors, online, person, young

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