Happy New Year!  May 2013 be happy and prosperous!

The 8 Marketing Tips To Attracting A Never Ending Supply Of Dream Clients For Your Business

·         Know who your dream client actually is. Sounds obvious but few people have this part thought out. Most folk define their dream client by default as being - well, anyone who wants to pay me. Na-uh. Get clear.

·         Make a list of 20 -100 companies or people who would be your dream clients.

·         Brainstorm how you could create the dream experience for your clients. Put yourself in their shoes. If it was you writing them the check, instead of the other way around, what would be the absolute ultimate, rave worthy experience if anything was possible. Now you have your new gold standard.

·         Hold a focus group of your best clients. Take them out to dinner and ask them what you could better. You will be amazed at what they tell you and how much they appreciate you asking their opinion

·         Become a marketing nut. Marketing is the life blood of your business. Period. Remember that it's not the best company who wins, it's the best marketing. Make it your business to learn everything you can about real world marketing that has been tried, tested and proven in the battlegrounds of real life. Not crummy marketing theory that should work in principal but is unproven.

·         Create a monthly and weekly marketing plan for your business. Then implement it. Separate your marketing into 3 sections: 1) your lead generation, 2) what you do to convert a prospect into a paying customer, and 3) what you do to keep a customer so they buy from you again and again.

·         Make marketing your daily fix. Just like ordering your cup of coffee or having a lunch break. Spend a little time every single day working on your marketing. Don't make your marketing a series of sporadic, haphazard events that happen in reaction to cash flow issues or "when you get the time." Without marketing, you don't have a business. So put it at the top of your list.

·         Be remarkable at what you do. Give more than your clients expect. Follow up with them. Care about their success.

Blue Dog Marketing has a new client that uses flyers a lot in their business.  We've reviewed their flyers and have some great ideas to make them more effective.  I recently read an article on Ezinearticles.com that has some great ideas about the use of flyers for marketing your business.  Here's a link to the article:

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Things-You-Shouldnt-Do-When-Printing-Flyers&id=7432068

Remember to include a call-to-action on your flyer.  You want the recipient to do something....call you, buy your product, check out your website, make an appointment for your service...whatever it is, you want to include the call-to-action.

Merry Christmas to all our family, friends and clients! 

Converting Fans to Customers

Converting customers through social media doesn't have to be difficult.  We use Facebook to engage our audience.  When they "like" us, it's a virtual high-five.  They aren't a captive audience, so you must engage them in conversations and give them a call-to-action.  A call-to-action gives them a compelling reason to buy.  Drive your prospects to your Facebook page with promotions and compelling content which gives them the reason to convert to customers.

I read a great article on Ezinearticles.com, entitled "7 Elements of an Effective Marketing System" and I thought I'd share it with you. 

http://EzineArticles.com/7421994

Don't Be Pushy!

No one likes a hard sell.  So, when posting content about your business on Facebook, consider posting other relevant topics or ideas - anything that excites you.  If you're passionate, you'll attract followers.  Skip taboo topics (politics, religion), but share what ignites your passion.

If you're passionate about your business, talk about new ideas in your industry.  Post about what's happening in your community, what organizations you belong to, what charity events you participate in as a business. 

Also, post pictures of events, either community, charity or those happening in your establishment.  But keep your profile picture constant.  Your profile picture should remain the same for at least a year at a time.

Remain personable and friendly and your customers will be eager to see your next post.

Kingdom Ventures: Products with a Purpose

On Wednesday, my business partner, Mary Sperr, and I attended a Women Business Owners (WBO-ROC) Power Connect breakfast sponsored by Kingdom Ventures.  What an amazing company!  Rebecca Fadner and her husband, Glenn, run this business which sells handmade goods produced by women in impoverished third-world countries.  They help women all over the world create better lives for themselves and help them truly become artisans.  Rebecca told us about her trip to Thailand last April to visit a group of women that weave placemats for Kingdom Ventures.  She shared her stories and pictures from the trip.  Rebecca loves what she does and it comes through when she talks about her business. 

We all had the opportunity to shop (such a trial...but somebody has to do it! ).  Rebecca and Glenn stock an amazing selection of jewelery, purses, scarves, placemats, and much more.  If you’re looking for great holiday gifts and want to support a good cause, please check out Kingdom Ventures.   http://www.kingdom-ventures.com/

Which Social Media Site is Best for Small Businesses?

Today, a small business needs to have a social media presence.  If your potential customers are on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, then it makes sense for you to be in those places to reach them.

First, you should decide on the results you want.  Since there are so many social media outlets, it can be overwhelming trying to decide where to spend your time and energy.  How do you want to interact with your customers?  Do you want to assist them?  Do you want them to buy something?  Do you want them to visit your website?  Do you want to create a relationship, build brand recognition with them? 

By defining what results you want, you can decide which social media site would work best for you.  Just because a social media site has millions of users doesn't mean your business would benefit from being there.  Decide where to spend your social time based on your desired results and the likelihood of payoff.  Check out Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.  Do your research and see if companies similar to you are there and if there is talk about your business already.  People may be tweeting or posting about your business.  Take the time to do a search on the social media sites.

Keeping up with social media can be time consuming.  Don't feel you have to jump in and do it all.  Start where you feel you belong.  But do commit to posting on a regular schedule and engage with your fans/followers. 

If this still feels overwhelming, that's where marketing expertise can help.  A marketing firm, such as Blue Dog, can do the research for you and even maintain your social media presence for you. 

So You Have a Business Facebook Page....Now What?

Great!  You're taking that bold step into social media....you've created your business Facebook page.  Now, what do you do with it?

You want to get you marketing message out, but you don't want to turn your fans off.  Make most of your post fun, funny and educational.  Write about what's happening in your business so you come across as a friendly person, not just a business. 

Here are some suggestions for posts:

• Educate your fans.  Share information about your business or industry that is interesting or informative.
• Post pictures or videos.  Text only posts often aren't that interesting.
• Feature your fans.  Have them up load pictures of themselves using your product.  For instance, if you sell cakes, ask your fans to post pictures of the party and the cake. 
• Include a "call to action".  Include a link to a short survey or allow your fans to download free information.
• Have you read a good blog or tweet?  Share that on your Facebook page.
• Ask questions of your fans.  If you're baking cakes, ask what type of frosting is their favorite or what flavor cake to they like best.  Allow your fans to interact with you.

Most importantly, pay attention to you Facebook page and reply to comments and postings by your fans.  And, yes, post information about your products.  If you're launching a new product or having a sale, keep your fans informed. 

Have fun with Facebook.  Only a couple hours of your time a week will result in great relationships with your customers and potential customers.

Marketing Your Small Business using Facebook:  Do You Like Me?

What motivates someone to "like" your Facebook company page?  According to a poll by CoTweet and ExactTarget, respondents said they like pages for the following reasons:

40% to receive discounts
39% to show support of a company to their friends
36% to get a "freebie"
34% to remain informed about a company
33% for updates about future products
30% for updates on sales

Your corporate social media strategy is vital.  You can lose a customer quickly with the wrong approach on Facebook.  Winning a loyal customer begins with matching a great product or service with a flawless and repeatable customer experience.  The customer experience includes many components.  Here are a couple that I highly recommend:

Personalization:  Are you using the information your customers give you to get to know them as individuals?  What devices to they shop through, what deals are they most interested in, and when they don't complete a purchase, do you know why, so you can fix it the next time?

Devices: Shopping is no longer an in-store or PC-centric experience.  A record number of people are shopping through mobile devices.  Customers demand an experience that isn't just compelling, but consistent across all devices. 

Meeting the needs of your customer puts you in a position to ask them to become a Facebook fan (if they haven't already done so).  You then have a new customer-engagement channel populated with people who you can entice on a daily (or weekly) basis with deals and personalized information.

These fans can evolve into the ultimate marketing prize - brand advocates!  According to Nielson, 90 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations.  That's the type of Facebook fan you should aim for.

Marketing Your Small Business using Facebook:  The Basics

You've probably been hearing about social media this and social media that for almost a decade.  Facebook is a popular form of social media.  You may even have your own Facebook page where you keep in touch with your family and friends.  And you've heard about, or have, a Facebook company page, where your customers can "like" your company. 

Facebook is scheduled to reach one billion users this year.  How can your company benefit from using social media, such as Facebook, to attract, educate, and retain your customers?

An individual can create a personal Facebook page and request other people to be "friends".  Once you're friends, you can share status updates, photos, and your "likes".  A company Facebook page, on the other hand, must wait for "friends" to come along and "like" their page. 

Your reason for having a Facebook page is to increase your business.  But you can't really sell on Facebook....sure, if you're a retailer, you can post sales or coupons...but you can use Facebook to have your customers, and potential customers, get to know your company.  Post information about your new products; educate your customers.  Also show your involvement  in your community.  Write about local events and post items of interest that go beyond your business.

In futue posts, Blue Dog Marketing will talk about what motivates someone to "like" your company Facebook page, your Facebook strategy, and other social media tips for small businesses.