Economic Meetings Boost Clients’ Confidence
Yesterday, I attended an early morning meeting hosted by my financial adviser. She’s part of one of the big companies whose name, if I mention it, has instant recognition.
Like the portfolio of many investors, including yours whether managed by you or an adviser, my money has taken a huge hit due to the financial meltdown.
My adviser could have ignored all of her clients, leaving us to wonder if pulling our money out of the market is the best decision. But she went in another, more positive direction.
She decided to connect with us in a series of mini meetings to explain the crisis, the firm’s position, our individual financial strategy, and how to proceed in the short and long term.
It was a calm atmosphere electrified with great conversation and a delicious breakfast assortment. At the end, I was very satisfied with the answers I’d received and ideas on how to turn this crisis into a big windfall in the years ahead.
It’s wonderful to talk with clients in good times, but a savvy, confident, and caring marketer is one that extends a hand to clients when times aren’t so great.
There’s no doubt that some customers will defect. However, being accessible during down times ensures that you not only build better relationships with most customers, it also builds your referral funnel so that your business grows through recommendations from satisfied buyers.
Make sure you reach out to customers now if your industry is currently hit by hard times. They want to hear from you before, during, and after a crisis.
Does Distributing Calendars Market Your Business?
Every year I receive a few of those pocket-sized calendars from firms that make them.
It’s sent to me in hopes that I’ll order some for my clients.
I haven’t used these pint-sized schedulers in years, but since my Palm T3 decided to retire itself, I’m starting to wonder if such a calendar is still a handy tool.
It’s certainly a product that continues to market small and large firms, or it would not be promoted as vigorously as it is each year (at least it seems to be a low-cost, yet effective marketing tool).
You’re familiar with this calendar, right? It markets your business through printing its name, slogan, and telephone number on the front cover so that whoever possesses it is always reminded of who provided them with this convenient date minder.
Will you invest in these calendars this year, handing them out to clients as a Christmas or New Year’s gift?
Your First Marketing Method Didn’t Work? Good!
One of my solo business friends is writing a book for customers who need home ownership solutions.
She hunkered down in a hotel for five days and methodically wrote each chapter.
Before leaving the office for this writing marathon, she created a Web site to sell the book, and she also advertised its availability in U.S. newspapers.
My friend returned to her office the next week, excited that the book’s contents were ready for editing, formatting, and printing. But there was one problem she hoped would not occur.
Just one response arrived to her book’s offer, and that response was from a salesperson wanting some of her advertising dollars.
The newspaper source had been very successful for previous ads promoting her other services. Why didn’t it work this time? Could be:
She mentioned the events to me during our weekly brainstorming session. My first words were, “Good! It’s wonderful that you tried this method and found that it’s not the way to advertise. Now you can move forward and explore other options you would not have considered if this one worked.”
My friend agreed. Thankfully, there wasn’t a big cash outlay for this national advertising source, so she still has plenty of funds to explore other avenues while the book is being printed.
When your first option doesn’t work, sometimes you feel very let down, especially when working alone and you have time to stew over disappointing results. Your mind goes round and round, thinking about wasted money.
Finally, you wake up out of the funk and start going through files, looking at results from other campaigns and recalling where promising referrals were uncovered. Then, after crafting plans B and C, you move forward to find your audience.
It truly is great to bomb the first time. It doesn’t seem so when it’s happening because it’s more efficient to duplicate the same methods. But in this economy, change is the only thing you can count on.
As you create campaigns, be sure to craft several options to get your message across. If the first plan doesn’t work, you’ll smoothly move to the next, and the next, until you find your market.
20 Ways to Put Marketing Time on Your Side
As I collected files yesterday on Elance.com for two new logos just created by a terrific designer, I saw a link to the article, 20 Ways Writers Can Help Your Business.
I encourage you to review it, specifically because you work alone and often need support from talented individuals who will take some of the work off your shoulders for a nominal fee.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve drained the day trying to start a project when all of a sudden, a light bulb goes on over my head as I realize, “I can outsource this!” If the same happens to you, it’s time to think “outsource” so you can concentrate on thriving.
Here are three of the 20 ways that I appreciate.
Website Owners, No. 3 - Blogs
I have no problem populating this space and the others I maintain (GiftBasketBusiness.com, AskTheGiftBasketExpert.com and MoneyCashIncome.com).
Perhaps it’s because I’m an author and rarely have writer’s block. But that may not be true for you. Someone with expertise can help you take a new blog project from simple to snazzy.
Marketers, No. 3 - Ebooks
Some Ebooks are already written thanks to content you created on stage, on a blog, or are storing in a personal library. So why waste time formatting and uploading this content when another person can easily take care of it?
Product & Service Managers, No. 1 - User Guides & Manuals
How many customers ask you for more information or instructions regarding your products and services?
If the data is available in a frequently-asked questions (FAQ) area of your site, the work is done. If it’s not, quick notes will turn your writing into a formal, yet friendly manual for distribution as a bonus, gift, incentive, etc.
I happen to use Elance.com, but perhaps another firm is beneficial for you. Take advantage of the possibilities that expand your business, wherever and whomever it is.
Is Your Next Idea Sitting in a Pile of Papers?
It’s maddening to open my office door and see a bunch of unread newspapers waiting for me to review.
The focus is not that six or eight unopened papers are tossed together, it’s that the next great marketing idea - whether a spark or a full-blown campaign - may be waiting in that pile.
Do you find yourself with this overload, whether from newspapers or magazines that arrive in your mailbox on a daily basis?
Working solo pulls you in every direction. You stay on top of one area while others seem to suffer, and each day you vow to do better because realistically, you know you can.
I’ve just collected and browsed through two of 10 newspapers I’ll review today, and from there I promise myself to spend 15 minutes daily looking at the news the day it arrives.
Knowing what’s happening now and not reading it from the perspective of “what happened last week” is crucial for our personal lives and our business’s success.
Let’s each pledge to stay on top of the news, specifically the information that arrives in our offices. Tomorrow’s profits count on it.
