by tradesmeninsights | Dec 5, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
No matter what business we’re in, we’re all in the communicating business. I think sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day that we forget some simple pointers.
Today we have a guest post by Ryan Franklin, a small business blogger and marketer who writes on behalf of Ordoro. He points out the obvious but sometimes we need to be reminded.
Did you know that the golden rule applies to business, too? That is, treat clients how you would like to be treated. How do you expect to be treated when you have to call into a supplier with a customer service issue? That is how firms and tradesmen expect to be treated when they contact your company. So here are a few key points to communicate with those customers effectively.
Listen to your client. You may be hearing what your customer has to say, but are you listening? Active listening is an essential part to communicating with customers effectively. There is nothing worse than getting on the phone with a service provider to explain your issue with their product or service and realizing that the rep is just not listening – causing you to repeat everything you just said! Pay attention to what your clients are saying; picking up on keywords can assist you in directing the conversation to address the problem.
Do not interrupt your client. Another step to communicating with clients effectively is to avoid interruptions. The last thing your client wants is to be cut off mid-sentence. Show them respect by letting them have a fair chance to speak, and then address the issue carefully. If a client has a complicated issue or is upset about something, it can be helpful to repeat the situation back to them to show that you understand. This is plain common courtesy and good customer service, and clients will appreciate your willingness to listen.
Smile. This may seem a bit ridiculous when you are making calls on the telephone, but this point still applies. Call center representatives across the nation are taught to smile when they speak because it conveys a friendly demeanor between the rep and the customer. How do you feel when you clearly reach a customer service representative that obviously does not want to be at work that day? Customer service agents should always smile and make the customer feel like they care. This will ensure return customers and high client satisfaction.
Make small talk. Avoid dead air even if you are researching an issue for the customer. If you must put a client on hold, be diligent in checking back with them every 60-80 seconds. Even a minute can feel like an eternity when you are placed on hold. Every customer feels like their issue is of great importance and that’s how you should make them feel. Without your clients, you don’t have a job; treat each one of them like they are the only one you have. At that moment, they are.
Again, communicating with customers can be as simple as treating them as you would want to be treated. Train your representatives to think the same way.
by tradesmeninsights | Dec 4, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Content Marketing is developing useful information to various questions a potential customer might have about your product or application. When someone goes to Google and types in a question, hopefully you already have an answer waiting on page 1 of the search results.
If not, you’ll be missing a big opportunity. If you haven’t capitalized on things like case studies, white papers, newsletters and blogging, you should consider trying some of them. They are content rich and will help you gain credibility.
So the question arises, what do I write about or how do I know what they want? Here’s a way to start. Ask your sales force, customer service, engineering and product management what are the top 10 issues you continually get asked. That should be a start.
Ask the question on some of your social media sites, like groups on LinkedIn. You might be surprised at the feedback you get. If you have the opportunity to visit customers or go to trade shows, ask the same type of questions. Then when you have all the questions, answer them!
The key to content marketing is how you present your info. Storytelling is one of the best ways.
I read a post by Heidi Cohen, How to Create B2B Content Marketing That Sells that highlights ways you get to tell your stories. Here are some highlights:
- Use show and tell – use photos or videos to show products and features.
- Become a teacher – offer training by providing them info on why to buy or use it more effectively.
- Answer questions – this will give your responses more life.
- Interview others in your organization that might not think they have valuable info to contribute, and then you write it.
- Interview existing customers – get their perspective (good and bad) and address them.
- Offer insights from senior management – on industry trends or issues.
Content is king and we need to do everything we can to make sure that we get GOOD content out. If we do, you’ll be surprised at who will find it.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 28, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
We spend money generating leads, but most of us do a poor job when it comes to leading them through the sales funnel since not all leads are ready to buy. I think we would all agree that if we had a process, chances are we would increase the number of leads that turn into new business.
According to Forrester Research, companies that excel in lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% of the cost. This is especially true when it comes to dealing with social media leads. How is your marketing department handing off leads?
What is Lead Nurturing?
Lead nurturing is how your business establishes a relationship with a prospect that is still in the early stages of buying. This type of campaign focuses on creating a beneficial, working relationship so that when it comes time to buy, that lead turns to your business instead of someone else. Lead nurturing is:
- Providing high-quality content that is relevant to where the potential is in the buying cycle
- Establishing and building trust between you and the potential customer
- Finding the most-qualified leads from your generation efforts
Does everyone within your organization understand your different stages in the selling cycle? Most sales funnels were set up for developing traditional leads. A question you must ask yourself is whether social media leads fit into your existing process and if so where? As a rule, social media leads take longer to convert because they are engaging you earlier in the process.
How are you moving social media leads into your sales funnel?
Nurturing social leads needs to be handled differently. This will include decision-making content designed to answer questions, overcome objections and provide opportunities that arise during the purchasing process.
So take some time to identify and implement a lead follow-up process that includes nurturing. You’ll be glad you did.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 27, 2012 | Marketing Tips
It’s a pretty simple statement. It applies in our personal life as well as our business one. I was thinking about this statement, not only how it might relate to social media, but more importantly to everything we do.
Think about the people you deal with on a regular basis. What kind of reaction do you have when salesmen are always selling and not necessarily listening?
I don’t know about you, but I either try to avoid them or spend as little time as necessary with them. On the other hand, who do you like being around? It’s probably someone who listens not only about your work issues but also gets to know something about you, your family and what’s going on in your life.
These types of folks aren’t always looking for a sale. As a matter of a fact, they are probably trying to find out how they might be able to help you. Novel thought! You probably build relationships with these types of people.
Then why is it that lots of people who use social media for business are always pitching and not listening? Aren’t you trying to get someone to react to what you post online?
Don’t you think that by helping people by answering questions on what keeps them up at night would be a better way to engage folks in a conversation instead of telling them five reasons they should buy from you?
Stop pitching and start helping! If you can answer questions or give guidance on how to solve a problem, I guarantee you will start way more conversations online.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 20, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
According to a recent post from B2B online marketing, LinkedIn, Blogging and Facebook are the top 3. This is according to a 2012 social media study of B2B marketers that were asked to choose the most important method they use for social media outreach.
In a study conducted by Social Media Examiner of over 1,900 B2B marketers, results indicate that while B2B marketers are finding success in their social media efforts, they still see room for improvement. Whether you’re a large company or starting a small business, here are a few statistics that show why you should be using social media.
- Over 56% of B2B marketers acquired new business partnerships through social media.
- 53% of B2B marketers found social media helped them develop a loyal fan base.
- Nearly 60% of B2B marketers saw improved search rankings from their social efforts.
Each social media channel is different and should be approached that way. Here are some highlights from the post:
Facebook is more personal. Let them know what your business offers them.
- Create an online community that encourages conversations.
- Use photos and videos to make it more interesting.
- Engage by offering a strong call to action. You want them to start a conversation.
Blogging is a great SEO effort and link building.
- Become a thought leader in your area and gain credibility.
- Target each post to a specific audience for engagement and encourage folks to share your content.
- Use strong key words to improve site’s performance on search engines.
LinkedIn is a great way to connect with other businesses in your industries.
- Be active. Search and connect with individuals and groups that are relevant to you.
- Ask for recommendations from previous and current customers. These short testimonials will help prospects see why people like working with you.
Social media, if used right, can help generate leads, interact with customers and potentials and help you build your thought leadership.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 13, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
Branding is no longer a company logo, tagline and brand colors. Yes, it helps people identify with your company, but it doesn’t necessarily make them want to buy from you. Branding isn’t something that happens overnight. The essence of branding lies in what does it mean. So words play an important part in establishing a brand, and what better way to do that than by creating content.
Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and known as the Godfather of Content Marketing, describes it “as a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience with the objective of driving profitable actions.” Does that sound like something we should be doing?
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google says every two days we create more information as we did from the dawn of civilization up to 2003. We need to create and convince customers and prospects to generate content that mentions our brand.
Frank Strong in a recent post on CopyBlogger talks about the web and its endless 24/7 cycle fed by content and social actions. Shouldn’t you be a part of that?
Here are some things to think about:
- Content is Currency – How are we spending ours? How much do we have to spend?
- You currency becomes more valuable every time it’s shared by someone other than ourselves.
- Your responsibility is to create content that’s worth sharing.
So take advantage of the tools that are out there, from blogs to LinkedIn, YouTube, webinars and the multitude of other options available to you.
