November 18, 2009
- 060 The Invisible Touch – The Number One Mistake
The Third Key: Packaging
I have a friend who often says when coaching clients on the telephone, "If you're excited about this, why don't you tell your voice!!"
If You're Excited, Show People!
You can't expect others to get excited about you if YOU aren't excited. They won't care about your business unless YOU care. They won't spend money ON your business unless YOU do.
I used to do LOT of interviewing for Tufts University, my undergrad Alma Mater. And for those kids I was really strongly behind, I would tell them this:
Everyone wants to be wanted. If you want to get into Tufts, TELL them that. No university wants to admit someone who looks like s/he applied "for the heck of it.
They want RAVING fans to join them because they know that Raving Fan Students turn into Raving Fan Alumni.
The same goes for your business.
What Does Your Bathroom Look Like?
Two of my favorite local businesses have let their bathrooms go.
Cracked ties, dirty/stained floors, light bulbs often not working, soap and towels in short supply.
What does this say to those of us who USE these bathrooms?
I'll tell you: this business doesn't care or they're hurting for enough money to keep their bathrooms looking nice or both.
And if that's all the better they can care for their bathrooms, how well can they care for me?
Do you see what I mean?
Businesses spend money on getting clients but often neglect some of the easiest things to do when it comes to HOLDING clients.
"How Are You Today?"
If you're answer isn't "I'm terrific" then you'd better find a way to MAKE it terrific.
Do you really think that visitors CARE how you are? Do they really NEED your problems on top of their own.
Or how about "Hey, how's business?"
If you can't say, "It's terrific" then you'd better find a way to MAKE it terrific.
Do you really think that visitors CARE how you are and how your business are – and do you think they want to do business with a loser instead of someone who is doing terrifically?
Nawwwwww… they don't!
Be enthusiastic. Keep a eye on details. Make your clients and customers happy… your life (your BUSINESS life) depends on it!
Read more on 060 The Invisible Touch – The Number One Mistake…
November 17, 2009
- 059 The Invisible Touch – The Purist's Prejudice
The Third Key: Packaging
The "Purist" says that only education, service, what we can do for our clients is what matters.
Maybe it SHOULD be that way, but let's face it: it's not!
Your words make things beautiful. Your attitude and the way you carry yourself adds to your beauty. The materials you use to package your presentations all add up to a more beautiful package for you.
Think about a fancy restaurant where the starched table cloths and contrasting napkins really look GREAT when you enter the banquet hall. You have NO idea what's going on in the kitchen or the pedigree of the chef, but if things LOOK great, you feel they WILL be great.
Right?
And when the chef comes out of the kitchen, does her clothing matter to you? Does his tall hat tell you something about him?
I have a friend who attends one of the monthly business meetings I go to. I've mentioned attorney Virgie Vakil before. When she first walks into a room, you just KNOW that she is quality. Her hair is coiffed, her clothing impeccable, the way she carries herself with head held high and posture upbeat tells you a LOT even before you have a chance to speak with her.
That's her personal packaging… and it WORKS.
So forget about not judging the book by its cover – we ALL do it (even unconsciously) and it's really important to our thinking.
Are you doing the same for your own materials?
Read more on 059 The Invisible Touch – The Purist's Prejudice…
November 16, 2009
- 058 The Invisible Touch – Beauty Trumps Quality
The Third Key: Packaging
Beauty's in the eye of the beholder… and most of us want to behold real beauty.
Beautiful women. Great looking guys. Terrific-looking houses with curb appeal you can see for blocks.
Cars, book covers, bouquets of flower, diamond rings, a smile with pearly whites.
All of those things are beautiful.
The Cars I've Owned
Maybe you'll stop reading this article after you find out some of the cars I've owned:
My BMW 320 tii was a beautiful car. Tight, compact, smooth, jet black – until the construction workers of a new home of mine accidentally poured acid onto the hood and destroyed the look. (Their insurance covered it, and after a few weeks, the car looked great again.)
My Cadillac Catera was not as beautiful a car, but it was still pretty hot looking. And after I traded it in for my Escape, my kids kept telling me how they missed the smooth, soft leather interior.
But I've also owned a Gremlin and a Pacer.
If you have ever seen either of these cars, you know they are QUIRKY, not beautiful (and that may be kind!).
Even my Ford Contour was a bit quirky, but it drove TERRICALLY – one of the best driving cars I've owned. It was MUCH better in the snow than my Mercedes 300 was (I used to leave that car in the garage after one flake of snow, but not the Contour – it would start snowing and out I'd go… just to see how great its traction control was in the snow – even 8 inches one time!).
But somehow Beauty trumps Quality.
Taller, Better Looking People Get Paid More
So… who gets paid more: the really smart and well-trained but homely person OR the tall, gorgeous guy or girl.
Yep – you guessed it.
Studies have shown for YEARS that beautiful people get paid (on average) more than shorter, less attractive people.
So think about that for your products and the packaging of your services.
Make them attractive. Watch what colors you use – see what other folks use but be sure they are people who sell MILLIONS so that you know the colors they choose have been tested to pay them the most possible.
"IBM Blue" or the blues of Facebook and Microsoft are chosen for a reason. Are you paying attention to this?
Read more on 058 The Invisible Touch – Beauty Trumps Quality…
- 10 Article Templates to Overcome Writer’s Block Fast So You Can Write Your Articles in 30 Minutes
Charlie Seymour Jr presents a Guest Article By Eric Gruber. And as always on this website, while there is MUCH great free information available on this website, if you purchase something by following a link, Charlie and/or his guest writers can be paid a small commission.
10 Article Templates to Overcome Writer’s Block Fast So You Can Write Your Articles in 30 Minutes
I am a natural born writer, so writing has always come easy to me. But, when I had to start writing articles everyday for my blog, for my newsletter and for article submission – I quickly ran out of article topics.
Then one day as I was reviewing all of my articles, I realized that there was a structure and a formula behind each article I wrote. By recognizing these formulas I’m able to write an unlimited amount of articles – and write them in record time.
If you want to overcome writer’s block and start writing articles faster, then you want to model proven article writing formats, such as those found in my “Complete Instant Article Writing Templates Kit”
Here Are 10 Different Article Writing Templates That Will Help You Overcome Writer’s Block So You Can Write Articles Faster…
1. Myth Buster Article Template — With this template, you crush your prospects’ preconceived thoughts and notions about a subject. Take 3 myths people have about your industry. Explain to people why it’s a myth. And, then show them what can happen if they clear this myth from their mind.
2. Top 10 Article Template – Have you ever seen a Jay Leno, David Letterman or any other late night television show that doesn’t have a “Top 10” segment? Well, neither have I! It’s because people love top 10 lists. So give readers and prospects what they want.
3. How-To Article Template – It’s no secret that “how-to” articles and blog posts are some of the most sought after, linked to and bookmarked content online. People want useful information and they’ll reward you by promoting it to others when you provide it. It’s also one of the easiest articles to write.
4. Step-by-Step Article Template – If you think writing a how-to article is easy especially if you’re using article templates, then you’ll think the step-by-step article template is a cinch. In how-to articles I start off with the problem or pain that my prospects are experiencing. Then I give them a solution and end with the results. In a step-by-step article, I like to sell the dream. I want to instantly connect with my prospects’ desires, wishes and needs. So, I explain the results up front that can happen if you follow my advice that I give in the article.
5. Quiz Article Template – Why do you think magazines publish quizzes all the time? Why do you think the quizzes you find on Facebook are so popular? It’s because people love taking quizzes, unless it’s a pop quiz in school. So, why not use a quiz format for your articles that will enable you to do a soft, pre-sell for your products and services. When readers answer “NO” to your questions, you’re implanting thoughts of “Maybe, we should be doing this.”
Read more on 10 Article Templates to Overcome Writer’s Block Fast So You Can Write Your Articles in 30 Minutes…
November 13, 2009
- 057 The Invisible Touch – Oranges and Greens
The Third Key: Packaging
The title of this section, as defined by Harry Beckwith, refers to the color of the citrus fruit of the same name and color of the putting surfaces on a golf course.
People assume that oranges that are a deep orange or greens that are a darker green are better.
And don't you think the same thing?
What about redder apples, yellower bananas, and whiter teeth? Don't we assume that each of them is better too?
Do you know that nearly all the bananas come into the USA in the hull of a ship and they're green when they do?
My wife, Pam, used to do computer-aided design work for a banana-ripening company (I know: who ever HEARD of such a company!). These bananas are stored in temperature-controled rooms, fed certain gases at exact amounts, and then when a nice yellow, they are removed and sent on to your store.
At least they don't "paint" bananas yellow the way they spray paint oranges orange – they just let the gases do the work.
But since people DO judge a book by its cover, YOU just be sure that whatever you show a client, tell a client, and how you are dressed when seeing a client tells the story you want told.
People see what they look for, and they are looking for a great person to work with. Be sure that is YOU!
November 12, 2009
- 056 The Invisible Touch – The Blue Fox Revisited
The Third Key: Packaging
We return to the Blue Fox of 028 – The More It Costs The Better It Seems. Remember the example of the Folgers Crystals replacing the fine coffee of this upscale restaurant?
People believed the coffee was great because of the brand projected by the restaurant.
And… they believed it was great because once inside the restaurant, the decor, the table cloths, the way the serving staff was dressed: EVERYTHING added to the atmosphere that THIS was a swanky place, deserving of high prices. And you can think of this "EVERYTHING" as its "packaging."
Look around the room at your next business meeting: who looks more professional, more compitent, more like someone YOU want to do business with: the young kid with the sloppy hair and unshaven face who is wearing jeans OR the snazzy businesswoman whose understated, neatly-pressed suit attracts your attention as soon as she walks into the room?
Can't tell a book by its cover? Oh, sure you can… or at least sure you DO.
HOW you present yourself and your company is as important to getting business as how educated you are and how high a level your quality is.
Remember the "Packaging" when you present yourself and your work: it ALL counts!
Read more on 056 The Invisible Touch – The Blue Fox Revisited…
November 11, 2009
- 055 The Invisible Touch – Today's Best Battle of the Brands
The Second Key: Brand
To understand the irony of Harry Beckwith's section with this same title, you have to look at the copyright date.
The book was first published in 1976 and updated in 2000. If there's a more current version of THIS book (he has several other terrific books too), I'm not aware of it.
Look What Happens When Brand Doesn't Equal Quality
Mr. Beckwith's example of great branding in THIS section of his book is Yahoo! the search engine company. He regales us with stories about how great the branding is, even though its search results are not as quick or thorough as Dogpile, Excite, or Alta Vista.
HUH?
Right: Who the heck are they?
If you've been on a computer as long as I have (bought my first PC in 1983) and on the Internet as long as I have (gosh I'm sounding SO old – but the Internet hasn't been around that long… but do you remember when CompuServe, AOL, and bulletin boards were about all we had?), you remember these search engines and more. Once they were strong, not they're hardly even here (if at all).
Yahoo! was MUCH bigger than any of the others even though it was slower and would freeze.
And you learn, when using multiple search engines, that in fact they are NOT all the same.
Google admits to indexing about a trillion pages and it knows that it's just scratching the surface. There is NO WAY that it can keep up with all the information pouring into just the World Wide Web every day (to say nothing about the rest of the Internet).
So, what happens when Brand is all smoke and mirrors or hundreds of millions of dollars poured into institutional advertising to build a brand? When the next big brand comes along and can do things better AND can build a huge name for itself, a company like Yahoo! goes under.
Look What Google Is Doing Today
Google is By Far the largest search engine (but so was Yahoo!). People use the word as a noun AND as a verb, such as "I googled it." It gets 66% of the searches and business uses it almost exclusively.
But YouTube is a search engine for what IT has. And eBay is its own search engine too. And look at all the people who aren't using search engines to find things: they are going much more directly when they use their cell phone apps and go directly to the results, bypassing Google.
So what is Google doing? Coming out with its OWN phone (DROID) running on its own software. And from what I read, Garman may be put out of business since the Google Maps feature will allow driving directions right from the Google phone.
Google – one smart company that has a HUGE brand recognition but which is also building quality even more quickly than it builds its brand name.
Don't be lulled into thinking that the largest brand will always be there: what about Sears and KMart – you think Walmart is invincible, think again and you'll understand why Wallmart works so hard to maintain its dominant position.
And How Can You Relate This To YOU In Your Service Business?
Figure out what YOU do best and build around that. Get the word out and make raving fans of those who know, like, and trust you.
Niche down so that you aren't perceived as all things to all people (translation: not strong enough in any area but a generalist in many).
Find what you are passionate about and great at and build that as your business (once you've done some research to determine there is a market for what you will be offering).
Just like a huge cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, large companies have difficulty changing course as quickly as a nimble entrepreneur. Find what you want to work on and pursue it with vengeance… others won't know what hit them until it's too late.
Read more on 055 The Invisible Touch – Today's Best Battle of the Brands…
November 10, 2009
- 054 The Invisible Touch – The Fallacy of Quality
The Second Key: Brand
There are SO many examples which bear out the truth of this article that I had trouble selecting which ones I'd use.
Which was better: VHS or Beta? Dell or some no-name-brand computer? Your work or someone better known to the prospect?
Quality doesn't win: the brand best known and the one the client or customer FEELS most comfortable with wins.
For years, people said that the Beta form of video taping was superior to the lost-quality version known as VHS. But VHS won out. (8-tracks may have been superior to cassettes too, but I don't have the studies on that – my wife, Pam, even had an 8-track in her car when I met her – and I haven't seen many of those!).
And take present-day computers. Is Dell the BEST? Definitely not. Dell even has bragged that it lets others build systems and then it finds ways to do it cheaper. Their theory is that pioneers are the ones with arrows in their backs, and they'd rather cut out the middleperons, find parts that work nearly as well, and then sell them at a reduced price (while they still make a bundle).
It seems to be working for Dell! I own several!
And what about YOU?
Are you spending all your time improving your business a small percentage but not getting the word out about what you're doing?
Tell me this: who discovered the Americas? Was it Christopher Columbus or someone else?
Seems to me people were here when he got here! The Vikings certainly make noise that THEY were here first and who knows about others.
But Columbus TOLD people about it. He's the guy who "wrote the book" on it, so he gets the credit.
Believe me: I will NEVER recommend that you present shoddy or poor-quality work.
But get it to the level where you are comfortable that it's superior to others and then keep telling people about what you're doing.
Your image, your story, your activities in the community, yes – even your "brand" – will always out do someone else who has superior quality but who isn't known.
Get out there – tell people. And get those clients coming to you!
Read more on 054 The Invisible Touch – The Fallacy of Quality…
November 9, 2009
- 053 The Invisible Touch – Brands and Performance
The Second Key: Brand
Nearly every study about branding deals with products.
Coke, Pepsi, Ford, Mercedes, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, Gillette, Schick, Dove, Dial, Hershey's, Mars – OK, so those are the brand names and not specific products, but you get the idea.
But since my work is with service providers (even those who sell products as part of their service), let's understand why services are not usually in those studies: Services are often Local vs National or International; Services are linked indelibly to the individual providing them.
Services Are Often Local vs National or International
OK… I can hear you now: what about huge law firms or accountants that have offices all over the world.
They do indeed have a brand idendification.
But think deeper: do you (or others) go to that firm because of what it is OR go to it because you have made a connection with someone there? Maybe your first connection was because of the firm's name or maybe when you met the individual you work with, having the firm's brand name attached helped attract you to him or her. But…
People work with People, period. That's what make service businesses successful, though so many people forget that.
Services are linked indelibly to the individual providing them
Are all the people who work there the same? Do they each have the same knowledge? Do they each deliver the same client service
Hell no.
When, in my photography business, some of the large "factory-type" photographers (those with multiple photographers) would sell against me by putting fear in the mind of the bride and groom: "what if he gets SICK – we have a photographer waiting to work with you if that happens to one of OUR photographers," it was NOT an effective strategy.
WHAT? REALLY!!? They have someone just sitting around (being paid) in case one of their photographers got sick and couldn't fulfill the contract? And what if TWO of their photographers were sick – do they have TWO others just sitting around.
And what about the QUALITY of those substitute photographers… how do they compare with the one that you hire.
Oops, I forgot: most of those "factory-type" photography houses don't even tell you who their photographer IS until you are close to your event. WHAT kind of customer service is THAT? Will every photographer give the same kind of attention, produce the same quality of work, capture all the special images that the bride and groom are looking for?
Not a chance.
And that's why those photographers seldom won an Agreement away from me… unless they were selling only on PRICE: and then I didn't want the client anyway.
So… when thinking about your service, remember that Branding is all about WHO you are and WHAT you do. Be consistent, offer superior work, tell your story, get people to notice you.
You're not a can of Coke – but you can still tell your story through the images (branding) you create.
Read more on 053 The Invisible Touch – Brands and Performance…
- Tips for Increasing Online Sales – The Questions You Need to Answer to Get More Customers Now
Charlie Seymour Jr presents a Guest Article By Eric Gruber. And as always on this website, while there is MUCH great free information available on this website, if you purchase something by following a link, Charlie and/or his guest writers can be paid a small commission.
Tips for Increasing Online Sales
I’m going to let you in on a very dirty secret:
There is one question that is being dodged by experts in EVERY market. Answer that question and you’ll corner the market, be worshipped forever and get more customers and sales.
If it was that easy, why aren’t other experts answering these questions?
It’s because they fear an informed audience. That’s outright silly! But, we’re not going to tell them that. While your competitors run scared, you’ll be getting more sales since you’re going to follow the steps I outline in the article below. You will educate your targeted audiences, get more website traffic, teach people how to buy from you and increase your sales.
Now, are you ready?
Step 1: Find the questions that are being dodged by other experts in your industry.
I can’t tell you what these questions are. It will vary from industry to industry. . So, how do you find these golden questions to answer?
• Go to Yahoo Answers and type in your keyword. Examine the questions carefully and see which ones keep popping up. If people are asking the same questions, that means that people have the same questions. There’s a need that’s NOT being fulfilled.
• Go to forums and watch what your audience is discussing
• Survey your clients, customers and list of prospects
Step 2: Answer the questions in as many formats as possible
Read more on Tips for Increasing Online Sales – The Questions You Need to Answer to Get More Customers Now…
November 6, 2009
- 052 The Invisible Touch – What's Too Much In A Name?
The Second Key: Brand
Harry Beckwith and I will disagree on this one (but I have a feeling it's because I'm thinking about the entrepreneur who uses direct response marketing and not the large company with advertising dollars to burn).
Do you remember what IBM stands for? Sure: International Business Machines… but the company IBM stands for MUCH more than that these days.
How about Apple: that USED to be Apple Computer but when the iPod and all the other "i" products hit the marketing, taking out the "Computer" part of the name made a lot of sense.
How about FedEx – Sure, that was Federal Express: "When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight." That phrase MADE that company!
How about PCS?
OK… so that one is unfair: that is The Players Club of Swarthmore. They have now added Theater to the end (because some people thought they might be playing cards instead of producing stage shows) so it's either The Players Club of Swarthmore Theater OR PCSTheater (or PCSTheater.org).
For you see, PCS doesn't have the millions of dollars in advertising to build the brand the way Apple, FedEx, and IBM have done.
Small companies never do.
So while keeping a company name short and memorable is nice, sometimes it can work against you when people have NO idea what the name means!
Here's another one that I worked for: Jackson-Cross Company. In Philadelphia, PA USA, that was the name of a large commercial real estate firm. People forgot about Mr. Jackson and Mr. Cross, they just knew those of us who were successful in sales, leasing, management, appraisal – so WE were the company they thought about. Outside the region, the name meant little or nothing. But again, this firm didn't have millions to spend on institutional advertising.
So take this one lesson away – Give your company a name and then build up what the name MEANS. If the words themselves can mean something about what you do: GREAT. If not, know you have some work ahead of you!
Read more on 052 The Invisible Touch – What's Too Much In A Name?…
November 5, 2009
- 051 The Invisible Touch – Choose A Name, Not A Paragraph
The Second Key: Brand
Many of my friends in the service business, especially where partnerships are created, have problems with their company names.
I'll pick on one of my friends (my attorney) and at the same time give her some publicity.
They Work Hard And Want Their Name On The Door
My friend's name is Virgie Vakil. Her law firm name is Kelly Grimes Pietrangelo & Vakil
Can you imagine what it sounds like to a new person when she gets up in a meeting and introduces herself as "Virgie Vakil, Kelly Grimes Pietrangelo & Vakil"? By the time she has said the whole name, people have forgotten HER name.
And her name is unusual enough.
How many Virgies do you know? Believe me, this is ONE CLASSY WOMAN – when you meet her, you'll remember her! And you might remember her last name too: Vakil (va KEEL).
And Virgie has a terrific background – she was a nurse and now specializes in family law. Don't you just feel that her "caring level" will be much higher than a lot of other lawyers? Believe me, it is.
She pairs her legal knowledge with the "bedside manner" she learned as a nurse and is one sharp, empathetic person… even though her partnership name is more like a paragraph than a name.
But I defy anyone meeting her for the first time to remember her name and the name of her practice when she gets in front of a room to introduce herself.
When Introducing Yourself, Your Company Name Often Means Nothing
Truth be told, when we introduce ourselves in public or in writing, our names and our company names mean almost nothing.
Get people interested in YOU and then they'll be begging for your name.
(OK… if you said you were from Disney or Microsoft or Apple or the Pew Foundation, THOSE names might mean something… but usually our own name and our company names mean little or nothing – at first.)
Sometimes I go the other direction – I'm so enthusiastic about what I'm saying when I introduce myself that I FORGET to say my name, which I almost ALWAYS leave for the end. I want to say WHO I am and WHAT I'm doing and THEN tell them my name.
And "Charlie" is enough – I want to give them enough information so they can find me across the crowded room and know what to call me when they ask me for more information.
And though my full name is Charles F. Seymour Jr, I dropped the middle initial except for legal documents. My theory is this: people can remember THREE things: Sammy Davis Jr, Robert Downey Jr, Charlie Seymour Jr… add one more thing to remember, and they'll say Sammy F Davis or Robert F Downey or Charles F Seymour (and that's my Dad, not ME!).
So… while you'll want to select a good name for your company, use it sparingly – let it mean something to other people before you start leading with it. Use a good headline, ask some good questions, get involved with solving someone's challenges and THEN use your company name – you'll get more business that way!
Read more on 051 The Invisible Touch – Choose A Name, Not A Paragraph…
- Marketing Ideas – 50 Simple Marketing Ideas You Can Use To Grow Your Business
Grow Your Business Online And From Home
Work-at-home entrepreneurs have many choices when it comes to marketing. Below you'll find 50 simple ideas that you can adapt to your own needs.
Some ideas are geared toward online audiences while some target your neighborhood and involve getting to know local businesspeople.
It's a good idea to choose a few methods from each category and make them work for your own business. Give each one a try to see which works best for you and your business.
Online Marketing Ideas
1. Start a Blog and write 2 – 3 times a week. Start simply at WordPress.com or Blogger.com.
2. Post articles online that others can use with your byline and signature information – visit EzineArticles.com.
3. Regularly comment on blogs that relate to your business – you can find some great examples at AllTop.com (which list the top blogs in the world and divides them into categories for easy searching). (In fact, look for my RaisingGreatFamilies.com blog there! We're proud to have it listed.)
4. Visit Meetup.com and instigate a gathering relevant to your line of work OR join an existing group.
5. Check out Podcamp.org or Barcamp.org to see if they work well for your business.
6. Create your own Facebook profile.
7. Join groups on Facebook that relate to your business and post regularly.
8. Create your own Facebook PAGE and use it like a mini website to promote your business.
9. Become a source on HelpAReporterOut.com.
10. Suggest a story about work-at-home entrepreneurs to a blogger or offer a post for other people’s website by joining BloggerLinkUp.com.
11. Write an ebook and offer it for free on your own website or Facebook Page.
12. Send a press release about your business to PRWeb.com or PRLeap.com.
13. Reply to questions on Wiki.Answers.com and similar sites.
14. Open a Twitter account and send 2-3 tweets a day about what you are doing in your business.
15. Distribute monthly eNewsletters to your clients (having captured their names on your website or Facebook Page).
16. Put your business in both online and print directories.
17. Use Google to search for forums that are in your niche (use your keyword followed by the work “forum” to find these) and become involved with the chatter on the forum (NEVER “sell” on these – participate and leave your name with your contact information below it).
18. Write pieces for other companies' eNewsletters.
19. Keep in touch with classmates through Facebook.
20. Search Twitter for people who tweet about your type business and begin to tweet back and forth with them (find them using keywords at Search.Twitter.com).
21. Optimize your blog by using keywords in the titles of your posts.
22. Videotape short weekly talks and publish them online.
23. See if Affiliate Marketing is right for you – search Clickbank.com.
24. Trade blog ads with other work-at-home entrepreneurs.
Neighborhood Marketing Ideas
Read more on Marketing Ideas – 50 Simple Marketing Ideas You Can Use To Grow Your Business…
November 4, 2009
- 050 The Invisible Touch – Sounds Like Trouble
The Second Key: Brand
When I write a talk, I always practice it out loud before I present it. Anything that doesn't roll off my tongue easily or anything that sounds weird has to be changed.
But remember – I'm the author AND the one delivering it.
What if I were only the author and someone else had to deliver it?
What words would THEN have to be changed?
Did you ever notice that the planet Uranus has had its pronunciation changed? It USED to be "your A nuss" when I was a kids (and boy did we giggle when we said it in science class) but now it's taught as "YOUR in us."
Let's face it: the change has been for only ONE reason – how it sounds.
Odd sounding names or names which might bring up other less desirable names shouldn't be used for your company's name.
Avoid Awkward Sounding OR Looking Names
Any word that could be mistaken for a part of the human body needs to be avoided. I'll spare you all those possibilities because I'm sure you can come up with a few juicy ones yourself.
Use Camel Case in your web addresses if your name is confusing. (Camel Case – Not all caps, just capital letters where a new word starts.)
Which is easier to read:
ultimateworkathomedads.com OR UltimateWorkAtHomeDads.com
Any part of a web address BEFORE the dot com can be in upper, lower, all cap, or Camel Case. Anything AFTER the dot com (and usually after a slash "/") is Case Sensitive, so be careful.
Here's one of my own web addresses which doesn't SOUND bad but might be confusing in writing:
RaisingGreatFamilies.com
Notice the double "g" in the name? This is even MORE confusing when written raisinggreatfamilies.com.
So… just to be safe, I own BOTH web addresses and send all the traffic from the one with ONE g (RaisinGreatFamilies) to the one with TWO g's (RaisingGreatFamilies).
I have that same problem with my own name: Charles Seymour Jr – double S's in there, so when it's a login name (CharlesSeymourJr) it can confuse some folks.
Make Up A Name If You Have To
I don't recall all the details, but when Esso Oil and Gas went global, it had to change its name because the word Esso (I forget in which language) didn't mean something very good. Thus the work EXXON was invented – no other words with double "x" was found in any other language, so they knew they were safe.
Advice: Be careful – read your name AND listen carefully to it. Then check the spelling in other languages to be sure you aren't calling someone a bad name every time your company name is mentioned.
November 3, 2009
- 049 The Invisible Touch – Ordinary Name, Ordinary Company
The Second Key: Brand
Take the Sunday newspaper in your area, open to the real estate section, hold it at arm's length, and squint just a bit so the page blurs.
What do you see?
Everything looks exactly the same, right? NOTHING stands out.
We need to stand out. What we DO needs to be different, the way we approach our marketing needs to be different, and our company name need to be different.
OK… I can hear you now: what about IBM or Dell… THOSE names aren't different, extraordinary, unusual.
You're right: but they have millions of dollars in institutional advertising to throw at the public to get their name known.
Don't let your company name be CONFUSING or funny or childish… but set yourself apart from others.
Think what it takes to set you apart, to get people to notice you, to get them to remember your name.
Then hold it out at arms length to be sure it's different, interesting, catchy.
"You can't tell a book by its cover," people often say… and that's because that's EXACTLY what people do!
Be sure YOUR cover attracts people and keeps them paying attention to you.
Read more on 049 The Invisible Touch – Ordinary Name, Ordinary Company…
November 2, 2009
- 048 The Invisible Touch – Why You Are Not Opium Or Froot Loops
The Second Key: Brand
Products and services are different – we all know that.
And NAMING them is different too.
Harry Beckwith has three major points:
Products Are Tangible; Services Are Not
When we purchase a product – tube of toothpaste, a box of cereal, a computer, a camera, etc – we get something tangible: something we can hold in our hands or use or drive. But it's something we OWN.
When we purchase a service – accounting, photography, legal, doctor, consulting, etc – we don't possess it, we can't hold or touch it, and once we use it, it's gone until we purchase it again.
The Dell computers and Crocs shoes I own I use over and over again. The doctor I go to, the accountant who gives me advice, the hairdresser my wife, Pam, goes to all want additional compensation to be used again.
And while the shirts I purchase from Polo and the cars I've driven over the years carry recognized symbols on them to tell my friends and neighbors what product I'm using, services almost never do.
Oh, sure… as a photographer, I brand myself and people attending a wedding know who I am (by word of mouth or my cards that are available), but no one knows which doctors I go to, who gives me legal advice, who provides my insurance.
In fact, we have laws PROTECTING us so that people don't find out those things we don't want them to know. Those services remain hidden where the products I use are right out front and labeled (my car, my camera, even the pens and pencils I use in meetings).
We Control Our Products – Services Often Control Us
When I leave my dentist, my doctor, my insurance broker, I'ms given an appointment for when I'm to return. Oh, sure… I can delay that appointment or even cancel it, but doesn't it seem that those service providers have much of the control?
But the products I use, I DECIDE WHEN to use them. I get into my car, I type here on my computer, I use my toothpaste twice a day.
If you're like me, you really want control. Not that I have to be IN CHARGE all the time (being on a committee or helping others is often very rewarding), but I want to decide WHEN I do something.
And we want to know that WHEN we decide to use a service, it will be delivered at the same high quality as we expect.
When is the last time you worried that your toothpaste or laundry detergent would be the same quality as the last time you purchased it? But I can assure you that wedding couples worry all the time that the band, the DJ, the photographer, the caterer will deliver the TOP quality they expect, especially when there is only ONE chance to receive their service.
Though SOMETIMES the new car we purchase is a lemon, we still feel more control with a product delivering equal quality from one to the other versus a service. And those services we use, we want a healthy track record of superior quality before we are comfortable enough to choose it.
We Seldom PLAY With Services
Read more on 048 The Invisible Touch – Why You Are Not Opium Or Froot Loops…
- Article Writing Secrets & Strategies – 5 Ways to Never Run Out of Stuff to Say in Your Articles
Charlie Seymour Jr presents a Guest Article By Eric Gruber. And as always on this website, while there is MUCH great free information available on this website, if you purchase something by following a link, Charlie and/or his guest writers can be paid a small commission.
Article Writing Secrets & Strategies
You know that article writing and article marketing is the best way to get more online publicity, more prospects and more profits. But yet, you refuse to write.
Is it because you often find yourself staring at a blank screen or a blank sheet of paper when you’re supposed to be writing articles for your blog, for your ezine or newsletter and for article submission so you can promote your books, products or services?
Yes, our imaginations run thin every now and then, and no, it isn't easy to come up with article ideas. But, I promise you no matter what your expertise lies in, you can always generate new and interesting ideas for articles IF you follow these guidelines…
5 Ways to Never Run Out of Article Ideas
1) Get inspiration from magazines covers.
Find a magazine that is as close as you can get to your niche and look at the titles on the magazine cover. Look at the titles that jump out at you and make you say, "That looks like it would be a good article–I want to read that!" Can you convert that title to apply to something in your specific niche?
2) Don't forget about the newbies.
When we're writing on our area of expertise, sometimes we can overlook the obvious. We want to write helpful, educational articles, and our minds quite often go to topics that are more advanced. Have you ever considered that someone reading your article might not even understand the basics of what you're talking about?
Think about it–although our articles are not supposed to be sales oriented, when we educate our readers on some aspect of our niche, we are increasing the likelihood that they will become our future customers.
So, try to think back to kinds of questions you had when you were first starting out. Think about what confused you. Think about the very basic things that you wish someone had explained to you before you became the expert. Now, write about it!
3) Think about: "What are the 10 questions that my customers (or potential customers) most frequently ask me?"
Read more on Article Writing Secrets & Strategies – 5 Ways to Never Run Out of Stuff to Say in Your Articles…
October 30, 2009
- 047 The Invisible Touch – The Name Game
The Second Key: Brand
While I believe that an effective name can be very helpful to a company, its importance has been WAY over played, in my estimation.
I believe a great Headline is more important than a company name. Most clients of entrepreneurs don't even THINK about the name, they think about the person delivering the service or providing the product.
Joe's Bar And Grille
Seriously, if I started off my marketing piece with that name, would it mean much to you?
No… and neither does YOUR company name mean much to others.
And take names like IBM, FedEx, or Jackson-Cross.
Do you even remember that IBM stands for International Business Machines? IBM by itself means nothing – it's what we ASSOCIATE with it that means a lot.
FedEx was the popular short-speak people used (rather than saying the longer, full name: FederalExpress) but wasn't their "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight" headline MUCH more important than their name?
I'm going to guess that you don't even KNOW the name Jackson-Cross Company. There was a Mr. Jackson and a Mr. Cross. One started his own company in the late 1800s and then merged it with the other. The name by itself means NOTHING to most people, but if you had been in Center City Philadelphia (PA USA) in the 1980s and 1990s, Jackson-Cross Company was the largest, most-trusted real estate firm around. To say I was a Vice President of Investment Sales (as well as Manager of Corporate Marketing and Corporate Planning) for Jackson-Cross Company really carried weight around the city. But the name took on the results that those of us working for it achieved. By itself, it meant nothing.
So while I believe a good company name can take on importance, everything leading up to the MEANING of that name is much more important.
Should You Use Your OWN Name?
When I started my still photography business I used the name Special Life Moments Photography. I was capturing images at those special times of life: weddings, family portraits, and Bat Mitzvahs and Bar Mitzvahs.
So not only did I have to sell the name Special Life Moments Photography, I then had to sell the name Charles Seymour Jr who was CAPTURING all those Special Life Moments through photographs.
My marketing job was that much more difficult.
However, when I changed it to Charles Seymour Jr, Photographer, I THEN only had ONE name to sell.
And now all the testimonials that were said about me as being a great photographer, helping with their special moments, pass right on to my consulting and blogging businesses (at least to some degree).
IF you have plans for creating a large company with lots of people working for you, then using your own name may not be a good idea (since people will always want to work with YOU… and YOU want them to work with all the OTHER people so you can get your marketing completed).
But if you want to earn lots of money as a solopreneur, then consider your own name.
It just might help get your marketing message across.
Read more on 047 The Invisible Touch – The Name Game…
October 29, 2009
- 046 The Invisible Touch – The Physics Of A Brand
The Second Key: Brand
Harry Beckwith, in his most-recently updated version of The Invisible Touch (2000) used Apple as an example for this section of his book.
Little could he know how far and how fast this company would go.
Our Memories Are Often Very Short
When a company experiences a "tipping point" of acceptance and is about to skyrocket in success, lots of people want to jump onto the bandwagon. The same is NOT true when the company is in decline. Though still above the success mark when the upward-movement tipping point occurred, people want to steer clear of the downward-movement tipping point and NOT support a company in decline.
People's memories are short. I'm not talking about my going down to the kitchen for something and completely forgetting why I went there (oops… I HOPE it's just because I'm so busy and NOT because of age!).
Rather, I'm talking about people's memories when it comes to the success (or lack there of) of companies.
Remember Toyota when it first came into the USA with its cars? They were crap (pardon my French). We owned two of them.
Look at KIA when it first came here – I predict they will be a huge success, but their first Sportage really caught my attention when looking for an SUV, but they were totally UNcomfortable, their safely-rating was poor, and opening the rear door with a heavy tire on it would have made moving my photography equipment around very difficult.
And then there was Apple.
A Company In Decline Is Tough To Turn Around
In 1996, Apple Computer lost $1 Billion. Its sales were plummeting and business magazines were kissing it goodbye (and not "good buy!").
But within a few years, those editors were feeling like those attending Huck Finn's funeral when he showed himself to be alive.
This dying brand was turned around, its name changed from Apple Computer to Apple (to better reflect the breadth of its product line), and Steve Jobs et al performed a huge rebirth of a chic brand.
But even in decline, people still thought of Apple as inventive, artsy, quirky, fun. Though I own a couple of iPods and keep looking at the iPod touch to use as a microcomputer, I'm still a PC guy. Most of my clients over the years have been on PCs and I have so much hardware that I'd be throwing all of that away if I did a wholesale switch to Apple (Mac computers).
But I think highly of the company (as many people do!). The biography of Steve Jobs is one of the biographies I've read (and I admire the risks he took to make his company work).
The more depth you can give your company, the more positive reasons people give for liking what you do, the better off you'll be if/when a difficulty hits you.
Build your brand and build it deep and wide. Know what you want your brand to stand for and then go make that happen in all the materials you publish about yourself and in the way you manage your operations.
Set your targets high and then go achieve them. You'll be glad you did!
Read more on 046 The Invisible Touch – The Physics Of A Brand… - Work At Home: 10 Tips To Create Your Business and Save Your Sanity!
How To Set Up Your Business From Home
So you're thinking of leaving the security and comfort of your day job and voyaging into the world of the self-employed OR you recently started working at home and aren’t sure what steps to take first.
Congratulations! Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment you get from growing your own business from scratch, from taking on the world with nothing but wits and a lot of hard work. I've been working at home since 1983 and haven't regretted it for a moment.
Here are ten tips I've learned along the way to help make your journey a little easier.
Tip Number One: Set a schedule.
Time management can be problematic when you're self-employed.
It's easy to get sidetracked when you're working from home and before you know it, the morning is gone. You probably had to be at your old job at a certain time so do the same thing with your business. Resolve to be at the computer, on the jobsite, or with a client by 7:30 AM (or earlier) and stick to it.
For me, no matter what time I go to sleep the night before, I’m “at it” by 7:30 the next day. Some days I’m walking with my voice recorder creating WalkAbout Marketing podcasts and some days I’m at my desk. But it’s important to get started as soon as you can.
And turn off your email: don’t let it beep every time you get a new message. I literally average 837 emails every day. Most should never see the light of day, though some are important. But nothing is so important that I have to be interrupted twelve times an hour to reply to it. In fact, I only download emails to my computer ever half hour and only look at them a few times each day (when I can reply to several emails in one short stretch of time, and then back to finishing my goals for the day).
Tip Number Two: Tailor your workspace to your personality.
How do you work best? Do you like to work with music in the background or do you like it perfectly quiet? Do you like pictures of family to remind you of your goals (and the reasons you work so hard), or do you prefer motivational posters and superhero action figures to spur you on to greatness? Find out how you work best and set up your space around your preferences.
And speaking of space, I use a spare bedroom for my home office. When we bought this house in 1998, I picked out this space for my office. I can see the driveway when FedEx and UPS show up and it’s at the other end of the hallway from our bedroom. OK, so a 20-foot walk to work isn’t bad, I admit it!
However, when the door is closed, the office is closed and I don't think about work (well, usually – I admit that I work at the kitchen table when Pam and I “watch” TV together. I can always look up for the replay or when a news report catches my ear).
If you aren't able to have a separate space for an office, a room divider or curtains could do the trick. Just find some way to separate your space from the rest of the house and family and to hide your workspace from view so you don't have to look at it all the time (and be reminded of all the work you should be doing).
And let your phone go to messages rather than letting every caller interrupt your work when they have the whim to call you. Batch the messages together, find time twice a day to return calls and make all of them then. AND, better yet, if someone wants to chat with you by phone, SET AN APPOINTMENT – I don’t take phone calls that aren’t prearranged – believe me, your clients will get used to it when you help them see the importance.
Tip Number Three: Market yourself.
Now I don't mean paying for advertising, creating glossy brochures, or doing weekly direct-mail piece.
This website is FILLED with ideas for you so read my blog!
Also, do you have a Facebook account? Keep it up to date and post often. (You can friend me at http://facebook.com/CharlesSeymourJr – be sure to send a note when you friend me: you should ALWAYS send a note, and this way I’ll know why you are asking to friend me.)
Start a blog and use it like a diary. Think of all the things you are doing that clients and customers might be interested in. I post lots of videos to my blog (and to my Facebook profile, which acts like a mini blog for me).
Keep friends and family informed of what you're doing. Word of mouth can be the best advertising and it's free (but you have to give them something to talk about!).
Tip Number Four: Show that professionalism counts.
Read more on Work At Home: 10 Tips To Create Your Business and Save Your Sanity!…
Follow Us In Your Reader
Subscribe to this site's RSS feed.
