Grow your small business with these marketing tactics.

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Mellisa Apte

If you don’t feel up to speed with these marketing methods, here’s a quick guide to help you get started:

Email Marketing

It’s a tried and true marketing channel – but how can you cut through the inbox clutter, and increase the likelihood that your email will get opened and acted upon?

1. Test your email content. Use different subject lines, try a few different calls to action and measure what works best – then switch to the higher performing version and introduce another test. Rinse and repeat!

2. Spell out how your business, product or service will make an impact on the reader’s day. How do you solve an urgent problem in their life? It’s even more powerful if you can help readers make an emotional connection to your solution, eg they will be happier, less stressed or have more time to spend with their family.

3. Personalise! Make your email marketing more effective by tailoring the content to your reader’s preferences and behaviours. Certain email apps can pull customer data from your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to make this easy and seamless.

4. Mobile Friendly? More and more of your customers are reading emails on their smartphones or tablets. Certain email apps like ExactTarget Marketing Cloud provide mobile-optimised email templates, and allow you to preview how that email will appear on mobile devices vs desktops.

5. Reality check. Would you click on it? Or respond to it? Be honest with yourself – if it’s too long, or the next step isn’t clear, then start again with a new draft.

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest… Businesses of all sizes struggle to make effective use of social media channels, and it can be daunting for SMEs – but your customers are on there, so it could represent a fantastic opportunity for your business.

1. Start with a plan. Outline your goals and business objectives, so you clearly understand what you want to achieve. Then work out how to measure progress towards those goals – don’t waste time tracking numbers you don’t care about.

2. Next – find your audience. Define exactly who you want to reach – they’re probably similar to your current customers. So ask a handful of your customers which social networks they use, and see what is – or isn’t – working for your competitors on their social profiles. You don’t have to be on every form of social media – start where the biggest potential audience is for your business.

3. Make sure it’s resourced. It’s unlikely that you need a dedicated person to manage your social media presence – but clearly identify who owns this in your business, and ensure they have the right skills to post, monitor, manage and respond.

4. Finally, don’t forget that social media is also a customer service channel – be ready to address all feedback, good and bad. Consider how a social customer service app like desk.com could help you centrally manage and track customer inquiries from social media.

Lead Management

Successfully converting leads to new customers is the lifeblood of most small businesses. Here are some best practices to help you increase prospects and focus on the right leads.

1. Define the perfect lead, so you can hone in on your target – what are their problems, their interests, their role in the buying process, their preferred method of communication? This way, everyone in sales and marketing (which can include everyone in your business!) knows what they’re looking for – and what to expect.

2. Keep your data clean! Make sure all the information on your leads and customers is kept in one place, like a CRM application. Everyone in your business should refer to – and update – that system, rather than keeping details on emails or worse, Post-It notes!

3. Share feedback. Remember that winning or losing a deal is not the final step. To keep improving lead management in your business, you should ask questions of your team and share insights. Why was the lead initially hesitant to buy? How did you overcome their hesitations? How many interactions does it usually take to convert a lead to a customer?

For step-by-step instructions on how you can put each of these tactics to use in your business, download our free eBook.

About the Author

Melissa Apte works at salesforce.com as a Senior Marketing Manager, where she gets to combine her passions for marketing, small business and technology

Problems with Small Business Web Sites - Infographic

Problems with Small Business Web Sites

by my case

Business Principles to Live By

Hi my friends,

In business it can be a positive path, with a clear goal, a sound action plan and reviews along the way -or it can be chaos like a pin ball machine moving from achievement and challenge along the way until something happens.

However both can be positive to achieve your overall life achievement if you have underlying principles to live by.

Below are 8 of those principles that can create a foundation for your business life, these are from Jeff Hayden.

These are the foundations for a good business - same as you need the foundations for a good garden.

I have had some great achievements and a few setbacks, but I have seen that I need more information and now finishing off a MBA - and loving it.

If you want assistance in any of these, contact me - Tony Park at the businessgardener.com.au - I can assist you to make your business GREAT.

Tony Park

8 Business Principles that Last a Lifetime

October 17, 2013in

Some business tenets tend to come and go. A company I worked for started a number of "game-changing" transformational programs only to quickly airbrush them out of our corporate history like a disgraced Politburo member so we could start yet another "business-critical" program.

We went from TQM to 5S to, shoot, I don't even remember. What I do know is that each was based on sound principles... but those principles tended to die with the program.

Fortunately I found some business principles I can follow forever. These are some of my favorites:

1. Focus on collecting knowledge...

Competing is a fact of professional life: with other businesses, other products, other people. (Business isn't a zero sum game, but it is a game we all try to win.)

Smart people win.

Smarter people win even more often.

Continually striving to gain more experience, more experience, and more knowledge is the second-best way to succeed. The best way?

2. ...And focus more on collecting knowledgeable people.

You can't know everything. But you can know enough smart people so together you know almost everything. And, together, you can do almost anything.

Work hard on getting smarter. Work harder on getting smart people on your side.

How?

3. Give before receiving.

The goal of networking is to connect with people who can provide a referral, help make a sale, share important information, serve as a mentor, etc. When we network, we wantsomething.

But, especially at first, never ask for what you want. Forget about what you want and focus on what you can give. Giving is the only way to establish a real relationship and a lasting connection. Focus solely on what you can get out of the connection and you will never make meaningful, mutually beneficial connections. (If it's not mutually beneficial it's not a connection; it's a relationship where someone is getting used.)

Approach networking as if it's all about them and not about you, and you will soon build a network that feels the same way. Then you'll make more than just contacts.

You'll make friends.

4. Look past the messenger and focus on the message.

When people speak from a position of position of power or authority or fame, it's tempting to place greater emphasis on their input, advice, and ideas. Warren Buffett? Yep, gotta listen to him. Sheryl Sandberg? Yes. Richard Branson? Absolutely.

That approach works to a point--but only to a point. Really smart people strip away all the framing that comes with the source--both positive and negative--and evaluate information, advice, and input idea based solely on its merits.

When Branson says, "Screw it; just do it and get on with it," that's powerful. When the guy who delivers your lunch says it, shouldn't it be just as powerful?

Never discount the message because you discount the messenger. Good advice is good advice--regardless of the source.

5. Always work on next.

It's impossible to predict what will work, much less how well it will work. Some products stick--for a while. Some services flourish--and then don't. Some ventures take off--and flame out. Some careers thrive--and then don't.

You will always need a next: a new product, a new service, a new customer or connection, a new job or even career...

No matter how successful you are today, always have a next in your pipeline. If somehow your current career or business continues to thrive, great: You will still have created a bigger pipeline of potential positions or products or customers.

Always having a "next" is how successful people weather the storm when times are tough... and grow even more successful when business is booming.

6. Eat as many of your words as you can.

When you look back, one of the best things to be is wrong because when you make a mistake you are given the chance to learn. (If you're always right you never really grow.)

Don't worry. Every successful person has failed numerous times. Most have failed more than you--that's why they're so successful today.

Own every mistake, every miscue, and every failure. Say you made a mistake. Say you messed up. Say it to other people, but more importantly, look in the mirror and say it to yourself.

Then commit to making sure that next time you'll make things turn out differently.

7. Always turn ideas into actions.

The word "idea" should be a verb, not a noun, because no idea is real until you turn that inspiration into action.

Ideas without action aren't ideas; they're regrets.

Every day we let hesitation and uncertainty stop us from acting on our ideas. Fear of the unknown and fear of failure are what stop me, and may be what stops you, too. Think about a few of the ideas you've had, whether for a new business, a new career, or even just a part-time job. Many of those ideas would have turned out well if you had given them your best effort.

Trust your analysis, your judgment, and your instincts. Trust them more than you currently do. And definitely trust your willingness to work through challenges and roadblocks.

Granted you won't get it right all of the time... but when you let an idea stay an idea, you almost always get it wrong.

8. Check out squirrel nests.

Yeah, we're hyper-focused. Yeah, we've got our head down and our blinders on. Yeah, we're 24/7, take no prisoners, failure is not an option gals and guys.

But occasionally we all need to lighten up.

Take me. There are acres of woods behind our house. It's like squirrel paradise. They're always leaping from tree to tree and scampering across the deck.

When the leaves fall their nests are visible high up in the trees. I've seen nests for years and wondered what they're made of (besides leaves) and how many squirrels share a nest. One day I stopped wondering and took a break to check it out.

Kinda dopey? Sure. But it was a fun five minutes that made me appreciate my squirrel friends a little more--and sent me back to work with a little extra oomph.

Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Explore. Take occasional breaks and indulge a curiosity. Once in a while, take the time to learn a little about whatever your "squirrel nests" might be.

It's fun... and we can always use a little more of that.

What principles of your own will you always follow?

Jeff Hayden

(photo courtesy flickr user Victor1558)

Value of winning an Award.

I have won a few awards in my time in Tourism in Tasmania, National and even International awards - Most Outstanding National President of the World for Junior Chamber International, all assisted me to develop brand values for me personally and my business.Below is some information that may assist you to see the value of winning an award.
For assistance in your award submission, contact me at tony@businessgardener.com.au Tony Park.

What is the ROI of winning an award?

Some people ask why we charge for awards. Surprise! It takes money to put on a contest. So here are some examples and lessons learned of why you should depart with your hard earned cash.

The ROI of Winning an Award Can Be Hard to Measure…For Some.

We often get asked about the value of winning a business award and it is hard to quantify for many people but an article was just published in Belinda Smart in the My Small Business section of The Age that seeks to measure the ROI of winning an award.

The article and the quotes from award winners focus on a few main themes that resonate with the anecdotal feedback we have gotten from previous winners.

Looking Deep and Standing Up

Companies often focus on the external focus that results in winning awards, yet much of the ROI of winning awards has to do with the fact that for the first time in a long time, writing a nomination forces you to review your current progress toward goals and document what is working and what is not. This simple act can give you tremendous insight on your company so that you can better manage it in the future.

“Even without winning, you look at your business, or a certain aspect of your business, in a way you hadn’t before. This regularly leads to new ideas and new approaches, which can result in market innovation and leadership.” Vuki Vujasinovic,Click PR

“I probably spent around 20 hours on the 2012 application and it really allowed me to reflect on the business.” Carolyn Creswell, founder,Carman Foods

Word of Mouth Works

Marketing experts agree that word of mouth advertising is the best because your customers are telling others about the positive experiences with your business. So when we seek the ROI of winning awards we have to look at how our customers will now talk about us.

No one likes to buy from a loser, so winning awards allows your customers to have positive facts about your product or brand in their pre- and post-sale conversations. Imagine your customer talking, “They are great, in fact I think they just won a big award.”

“Our business is well established with a good level of word of mouth referrals, but the quality of people finding their way to us has increased.” Michelle Tate-Lovery, managing director, Unified Financial Services

Immediate Credibility and Differentiation

When buyers are seeking products and services one of the major factors considered in the buying process is the credibility of your company. Regardless of the size or age of your organizations, everyone needs to be more credible. Imagine buying thousands of dollars of widgets from a company that has no experience, no online presence and no known leadership. You can’t, right?

The ROI of winning an award has to include a major dose of credibility. Customers have a checklist of factors that have to be met in order to move forward. They have to know that you won’t let them down and that your product or company is different that the other guys….otherwise why not buy from them?

“In our industry, where the consumer is unsure about what the financial planning process can do for them and where to go, we’re finding being a multiple award-winning firm fosters trust and credibility straight away.” Michelle Tate-Lovery, managing director, Unified Financial Services

“It works extremely well when we use it as a differentiator when pitching to customers. It helps us to create creditability about our innovation skills.” James Eling, managing director, Extreme Networks

These are just a few reasons nominating your organization, products and people makes sense. Tell us if you think of a few more!

Images courtesy of emiliokuffer, newsbiew pix and mikebaird via Flickr. 

Bigger is not always better in your business garden

Size is not everything.

Over my time in owning and managing business across a large number of sectors - big and small, I have fallen into a trap of many business owners that size is everything.

True, a larger business should be in a better position to with stand the ebb and flow of business success, especially in small markets like Tasmania and even Australia, however it does depend on the type of your cost base.

If you have too large a fixed cost base, you are exposing yourself to changes in the business environment that you have no control over.

It is easy to get excited in the good times, see that that extra piece of plant or building will be able to allow an increase in production or output - the good times however do come to an end.

This also includes the manner in which you employ people.

The natural thing is to try to employ people in real jobs, full time with all the benefits, however this is an asset that is also fixed as compared to a variable asset as a part time or casual worker.

The huge increase in casual and part time workers across Australia I feel is due to the wider cyclical nature of the business environment and businesses have to manage this, rather than employers trying to rip off workers.

As an employee who at times had over 120 workers as team members - and truly good employers do see people working with them as team members, you want the best for them, so they will look after the business.

So in the excitement of building a BIG business, many business owners see expansion to be BIG becomes important, rather than the business and personal goals that you had set your self when you started the business.

Back to the garden it is like having a small garden patch to feed your self or a couple of chooks for a few eggs and then planting a couple of acres of peas or carrots because they grew so well in your small patch or suddenly having a couple batches of chickens and you have heaps of eggs to get rid off.

Today, August 21, 2013 there is a report on a Tasmanian company TASSAL who has a huge increase in profit by changing its business from a fish farming business to supply predominately International Market, to ONLY supplying the domestic market.

The company has failed twice before pushing growth and seeing that it could only happen into the International Market - mainly Japan, but only 12 months ago with the huge increase again of the Australian dollar, took the decision to only supply the domestic market.

Changing back to its core of making money for the investors and shareholders, rather than looking to be the worlds largest fish producer has seen this business be successful once again, while other similar business in this sector are struggling on that International stage.

What is success in your garden.

Tony Park
Head Gardener
Business Gardener
www.businessgardener.com.au

Before the Dawn

The Garden
Before the Dawn, is to try to understand those things that you need to do before you start to think of a garden.

• What sort of garden, 
• Where to place it
• How you manage the grow process

Are all STAGE 2 thought processes and are the things that people  focus on when they think of what they need to do first. They think of the process, the management, the vision of the result, before they really look at the first question ;

• Why you want a garden.

Do you want a garden to grow flowers because you love to control fresh flowers, do you want to have your own vegetables to eat or share with people or do you want to have enough to sell and try to make some extra money.

Why not just buy your vegetables from the supermarket or flowers from florists, why muck about with a garden, with weeding, watering, etc... to get a result, when you can just buy what you want so much easier.

 It's the same in business.Why not have a job working with someone, why have the stress and hassle of running a business.

You may be a great electrician, plumber, accountant or whatever, however you need skills to make the business work that is a different skill to being the electrician plumber or accountant.

There needs to be an understanding why you want to be in business before you look at all those things that will make it successful, without this understanding you will never know if you are travelling the right path or even when you have reached the result that you want.

When you climb a mountain, first you need to see and understand the mountain. Understand what you want to do - climb the mountain, find a path, learn how to climb etc... But also to understand what you want to achieve - to stand on the mountain , to be part of a team to get to the mountain, to engage and show others as you climb - its your success and you need to be clear what you want.

All the rest is process, but people tend to just see this process as the most important part and forget what they want to achieve and the final goals they want to achieve.

Without the thought process before the dawn, then inputs like sun, water, soil, seed and whatever will not mean anything and your garden will not grow to achieve the reasons that you started it.

Same with your business, you need to feel why you want to be in business, then the process will be created so you can achieve it.

Tony Park


PS     Its always colder before the dawn but was always the best time for armed forces to attack - same for you to start your journey to create your success. New information coming soon to www.businessgardener.com.au so you can create your future !


PPS   Next Blog is some "learning" opportunities that I have had along the way, for you to learn from.