Purple Diamond Marketing Blog

Blog Blog Blog is it Blah Blah Blah? Do you really need to blog? If your company  does, are you blogging consistently or do you find yourself with limited time and no staff to help you market your business with blogging?  And, if you do blog consistently is your target market finding your blog? With businesses scrambling to end 2010 with as many sales as possible and looking ahead to 2011 to see what marketing efforts worked and what needs to be added for the New Year, I look at the Purple Diamond Marketing Blog to see if this was a productive use of my time.

My objective when starting my Purple Diamond Marketing Blog was to learn more about the process of blogging and see where it would benefit my clients.  This objective was successful in that I not only learned how to set-up a blog, maintain and improve my site, collect data and analyze  stats to determine the best times of day to post blogs,  but it also gave me insights to the number of hours necessary to produce and promote a blog.  All of this information I was able to pass on to my clients, use it to assist them with their own blogging, and also use as a revenue source with speaking engagements for Purple Diamond.

This is all great for my company, but can YOUR business benefit with blogging consistently? I answer this question with a question……do you have something of value to offer a targeted audience?  If you say no and do not believe you have a message to share about your business or product, then the New Year might be the year to contact a professional to help you determine if your business is viable in today’s market.  Beyond the obvious mechanical plus to blogging that you will be noticed more by search engines with a site that is constantly updating and adding new content,  blogging is a powerful way to reach your potential targeted market with a message they are choosing to hear over being bombarded with cold calls, email blasts, advertisements and other attempts to get them to notice your company or product.  If you consistently write and promote your blog to your targeted audience, the process of selling prospects your services or products gets easier.  Even if you call on a potential prospect that has never followed your blog, referring them to the blog and having them see a site that has numerous articles and positive comments about the content will increase your chances of landing the account.  You are able to offer detailed information as to why your product or service is the best choice.

New technology offers new ways to market your business.  As you plan the New Year and your marketing strategy for 2011 and beyond, it is really important that your business considers the new ways to market your message using this technology and what may have worked in the past.  So, my New Year’s advice to businesses that are not having the sales they wished they had, look closely at what is working and what you still need to add to your marketing mix!

This past year when I attended a business networking event in October the host requested we wear costumes and I was voted to have the “Most Original Costume” that night.  Though I was flattered to have been voted “Most Original”, only a handful of attendees at that event dressed in costumes. The room was filled with business owners who came to the event to network with other business owners and help their businesses stand out, but only 5% actually dressed in costumes.  What does this have to do with having the most original marketing for your business? EVERYTHING!  If you want to have the “Most Original Marketing” you have to participate 100% and be willing to standout and be noticed. You can’t be voted “Most Original” if you choose to do nothing.

Not all business owners like to have the spotlight shined on them, but they do know that in today’s competitive market your business depends on having creative marketing that gets you noticed in a positive way.  If you were the person in high school who rarely raised your hand in class and always wanted to blend in with the crowd, you will have to hire a top marketing specialist or work with a consultant to help your business get noticed in a positive way that leads to exceptional sales.   You will also need to be ready to listen to their ideas and empower them to take actions on behalf of your business.  “Original” marketing is called that because it is not something that your competitors are currently doing so it requires stepping outside your comfort zone and trying new ideas that may feel strange and awkward.   The key to success is to do something extraordinary and if you never try anything new with your business you will not discover what real potential your business has.

Beyond hiring specialists in the field of marketing, another tip to help you on your way to having effective marketing and advertising is to spend an hour a day reading marketing books, articles,  and blogs and attending seminars that will help you to stay current on what the trends are now and what forecasters are seeing for the future in your field.  Knowledge has always been key and one of the many reasons why the most successful companies require employees to attend educational trainings every year in their field so that they remain current in the tools and technology available to them.  Start the New Year off with a great marketing team that will help you create the most original marketing campaigns  and achieve the success you need right now!

All my best to your success~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

How do small businesses compete with the larger box stores during the holiday season? Easy….create a “Shop Local” campaign in your community and enlist the local  Chamber of Commerce and surrounding businesses to work together to help promote the positive side of shopping locally in your community! Finding a common message among businesses so that resources can be joined is a smart marketing strategy.  If you are in a community that does not have a strong Chamber to help you promote the message for the entire city, consider working with the other businesses in your business complex or neighborhood.  Years ago, I created a TV campaign for several businesses in the small town of Rockport, MA. These business owners knew that this coastal tourist community was not a place that locals shopped regularly so they joined their advertising dollars and did a TV campaign to reach out to the local area and get more than just the tourist traffic to shop in Rockport.

In addition to sharing in the cost of creating a TV campaign and/or video to share out via YouTube and other on-line sites, local merchants can create their own “One Stop Local Shop Event”.  Much like  a “Trunk Sale” or “Trade Show”, the merchants secure a location that is centrally located in their community with plenty of parking like a Hotel or Banquet Facility in which they welcome the community to one location to shop for the holidays.  They each have a table or booth and share in the costs of rental space and advertisement for the one day sale event.  Adding entertainment like the high school band or chorus to perform, along with refreshments, babysitting service and a gift wrapping will help to make the event a success.

Holiday sales are often what makes or breaks small businesses so do not sit quietly in your store and think that business will magically follow.  Use creative ideas  to reach your potential clients, price your products or services in-line with your market, and be sure that you are creating a marketing message that clearly states why your product is the perfect gift! Finally, be sure to reach out to a marketing professional or advertising agency to help guide you to create the most effective marketing campaign and secure the best rates for your advertising dollars!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Thanksgiving is over and businesses are in the home stretch for additional sales to end the year with their best effort for 2010, but this is also the time you need to review your marketing and advertising efforts and consider what you need to change and what efforts will be repeated and or improved.  Do you know your numbers? Have you looked closely at your existing client list and determined which ones are your top 20% key accounts? Do you know which clients are using up the most man hours with the least gain? Have you created a strong marketing strategy for the New Year which will assist you in reaching at least 50% of your 2011 annual sales goals by April 1st?

A successful year in sales depends on you  knowing where you have been, what worked or didn’t work, who your key accounts are, and what plan you need to launch to get you to the goal you desire.  This task is easy if you have kept detailed records of your business with active and inactive client accounts, detailed records of your marketing and advertising costs and performance, and continued to read blogs and published white papers about your industry and where it is trending towards.  If you are not using a business CRM system to help you keep this essential sales information for your business up to date and easily accessible, it is time to invest in the tools to help you be successful with your business.  And, if you are constantly losing files or wasting time looking for things in your office consider hiring a professional organizer to get your office space ready for the New Year!

After you have gathered all your information it is time to put it on paper so that it is easier to map-out a strategy for the New Year. Consider the core values and beliefs of your company and list these at the top of the  paper so that you do not lose the focus of why you are in business.   After that, start with a SWOT analysis. List 3-5 of your businesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities  and threats in 2010? After that, list your client accounts based on revenue generated starting from the top key account to the ones that produce very little return, but require the most time invested to service. Finally, look at the marketing efforts and actions your company employed in 2010 and list which months these were applied and rate each on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest in terms of generating results that led to sales.  After you have everything down on paper spend a few days really with your marketing and sales team analyzing what worked and didn’t work in 2010 and if the time you spent with lower level clients might have been better served with your key accounts.  Creating a successful strategic plan for  2011 will be easier after you have completed this annual review and really have a complete knowledge of what you did right and what could have changed in 2010.  Do you need to add a blog or expand your social media marketing? Have you considered if it is time to spend more of your advertising budget with a visual form of advertising like TV or the use of video on your website and on YouTube? Are you being seen as a leader in your field and getting regular speaking engagements to talk about your industry? Are you offering the best customer service to your clients and getting regular referrals from them?  Have you considered additional revenue sources that could come from adding additional products or services?  Do you have strong strategic alliances in place that will bring you growth in the future? And, have you hired a marketing coach or advertising agency to help your business get the best ROI.  Make sure that by the New Year your business is positioned for success!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

We have all heard of personal trainers, life coaches, career coach specialists , real estate agents who coach you on buying or selling your home, and business consultant/coaches, but do you understand what a  marketing coach is and if you need one?  First, a marketing coach will offer help in key areas of marketing.  They will help to establish realistic marketing and sales objectives for your company’s future, help to establish the identity of your company, coach you in determining your target market and point out possible threats along the way to making you more profitable.  The coach helps you to create a strategic marketing plan on the level that works best for your business, but beyond the plan, a marketing coach helps you to stay focused, on task, and to achieve success for your business.  So, how do you know if you need a marketing coach? The answer to that is if your company is growing at the pace you have set as a goal.  Are your sales strong and are you comfortable that you are using the marketing tools that best suits your business to achieve the most success?

When I first approached a local business with the idea of hiring me as their marketing coach I spent more time helping them to understand what a marketing coach was and how we differ from a business coach.  The economy had cut away at so many marketing departments and many local business owners were left to juggle a long list of responsibilities and marketing was one of the first to be neglected.  When I would start to talk about Facebook, Twitter or Blogging they would shake their heads and say they just didn’t have the time or desire to know more.  That was a couple of years ago, but today I am paid to speak to various business groups about social media and I work one-on-one with CEO’s who have seen their competitors using this marketing tool to gain more exposure, increase sales and reduce expenses for marketing and now they want to know more.  Seeing the landscape of what is working for marketing in real time and what your business should be focusing on is part of what a good marketing coach will offer.

There are so many great reasons to have your own Marketing Coach, but the biggest reason is that it will help you to maximize your potential and keep you motivated towards achieving the success you desire!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

“Facebook…facebook….facebook….do I really need to use this social media service to help my business?”  That depends on YOU!  Being a business owner offers you a choice of what you want to do for getting the word out about your product and/or services.  However, with over 300 million users on Facebook and a growing number of  businesses using social media services like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Blogging daily, it is hard to not reply with a loud YES to that question!

“But does anyone REALLY get clients from having a profile set-up?”  This is a mixed answer and for anyone who actively uses Facebook or multi social media services they understand why.  A profile is just a place holder.  It is like a name card that sits on a table at a wedding reception in front of an empty seat…without the guest physically showing up at the event and conversing with the other guests they are not seen.  Building your contacts, posting daily updates and interacting with the people you have on your  personal page and posting content to your business page is what will bring business to your door providing your product or service satisfies the needs of the targeted group and is at a price they are willing to purchase it at.  Social media marketing only works if you work at it!  There is no exact science to how many posts or comments you need to make in a day, week or month to attract business, but if you do nothing it has no chance to work.  Today, I mentioned a friend’s book on my personal Facebook page and included a photo of her and I got an email through Facebook from another friend saying she bought the book on-line after seeing my update.  And, last week I bought tickets to a concert because I saw it on Facebook.

The holidays are coming and right now people are on Facebook more than during the summer months when the weather is so nice. Be sure you are, too!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Networking these days goes beyond attending a Chamber event or Trade Show.  Today’s businesses need to recognize that the marketing and sales process extends beyond attending networking events.  The key is to not only connect with potential clients at events in your geographical area, but to reinforce and build a relationship with these same people on-line through Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and your own Blog.

Creating a strategy of what Business Events and Networking opportunities work best for your business is the first step to being an effective net-worker.  Time is the most valuable resource you have as a business owner and to waste it will cost you money and potential sales.  Consider if the people who attend the event are good prospects for your business or if there are better opportunities that put you in a room of potential key accounts.  The second thing to consider is what is the right number of events per week for you as a business owner.  This will vary depending on the type of business and the time you have to attend networking events which includes follow-up time with the new prospects you meet.  If you are out every night and spend zero time with follow-up calls, one on one meetings with the people you meet and extending invites on Linkedin and Facebook and other on-line social media sites this time was not well spent.  And, if you are someone who never ventures out of your office and you are not getting as many clients as you would like, then it is time to join a few groups in your area and get more involved.

So, after you have made a strategy for what networking events you wish to attend be sure to go with a positive attitude and a clear thought of what you wish to achieve for the time spent and wear a name badge with your company logo clearly displayed [have one made up and handy for all events].  If you can find out who will be attending ahead of time be sure to check out their company website so that when you connect with them you can make a great impression and possibly secure a follow-up meeting all within the same 5 to 10 minutes.  Make sure you have your business cards handy and your smart phone ready with your calendar if the person happens to want to schedule a time right there.  The key for the night is to connect and leave a positive impression on all those you meet.  Do NOT revert to the “pushy salesperson” approach since that is the quickest way to watch people leave to go get a drink or visit the restroom, but allow the conversation to open opportunities for asking if they are on Linkedin or Facebook or if you can call them later in the week to go for coffee.  Be sure to come to the event already fed because if your hands are occupied with food you will not be able to shake hands and give or take a business card.  The time for eating is before or after the event, but standing near the food table does offer you a chance to connect with people since most people will go directly for food or coffee at these events.  Look for the people in the room who attract others to them and find out who they are and when possible introduce yourself to them and see if they are a good potential client.  These people are usually well respected and often influence others within the group so  by securing their business you can quickly be recognized by others within that networking group as someone worth doing business with.  Make them your target for future networking events, add them to your on-line social media accounts and this on-line networking application to keep your relationship with them current by reading their updated profiles and posting on-line to them daily.

Finally, following up with every key person you have met at the event…this is the most important part of why you attend networking groups.  You want to change the contacts or prospects you have made to sales and that requires building the relationship and helping the people you meet know why your product or service would be the right fit for their business and asking for the sale!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

The Purple Diamond Marketing Blog was launched a year ago, Oct. 6, 2009.   It started as my own experiment to see how time intensive blogging would be for a small business with limited staff and if it actually generates new business.  Ninety-six articles published in a year on this Blog and our stats were strong with a significant following for a small business that goes after a local market.  Purple Diamond’s blog  started off with 5 marketing posts per  week last October, but dropped off to once a week as business grew tremendously as a result of my own marketing efforts on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and attending local business networking groups and being a speaker at several events.  The average time for writing the blog post and then promoting it on other sites directly after was estimated at 35 minutes to one hour with most articles being a couple paragraphs in length.  And, posting the blog articles on weekdays in the morning seemed to get more attention.  So, what can I offer about Blogging for Business to someone reading this and considering launching a Blog for their own business right now? Create a Marketing Blog Plan and understand that you need patience and willingness for the process to work!

Today there are over 144 million blogs and many Bloggers quit within 2 years.  Why is a Blog important for your business today even if you are a small business in a local market? Well, it will definitely help to generate exposure for your business if you are also using other social media tools in which you promote it from and it will increase traffic to your website and business and increased search rankings.  You will generate qualified leads because they will know more about your business by your Blog posts and you will stand out in your field if you are the only one who is Blogging.  Business partnerships and connecting with other Bloggers is also a helpful plus for why you might want to have a business Blog.  Finally, my own Blog helped me to recognize what were the hot marketing topics that Business owners were interested in by watching the higher traffic to those articles.  I then used this information to adapt my services and product offering and marketing collateral to include this so that I gained more clients instantly.

It is important to have a strategy for your Blog and a business goal and metrics to measure if you are meeting these goals.  Other key points to consider before you launch your Blog: know your Blog topic or industry well, enjoy writing or have someone on your staff who is a decent writer, keep your Blog active even if it means having shorter Blog posts, use key words that support your marketing strategy and PROOF READ! Finally, be sure to thank those who read your Blog and ask them to share it with others.

Thanks for reading the Purple Diamond Marketing Blog~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

October is here and this past weekend I actually began my Christmas holiday shopping for my in-laws who live in Canada.  Why is this part of my Purple Diamond Marketing Blog?  Because being prepared and launching your holiday sales and marketing campaign early will capture the early shoppers and help brand your products as the holiday solution that potential shoppers are looking for.  This does not mean you need to start playing holiday music in your store or change your entire website to festive holiday colors and graphics, but a business that has products or services to offer that are perfect for gift giving should be including a message about holiday gift buying and specials that are perfect for corporate gifts on their website, email newsletters and strategically placed throughout your retail store or business. In addition, be sure to have your sales staff be proactive in contacting your top clients to give special incentives to have them shop with your company.  End of the year sales are essential to the success and growth of your business.  Do not wait to see if people will choose to shop with your business over contacting them via the phone or with a direct mail piece or an aggressive advertising campaign.  This is the time to ask your marketing staff or advertising agency for creative ideas to help sell more products during the holiday season.

How about businesses that do not have products or services that could be used as holiday gifts?  Can these businesses ignore the 4th quarter for sales?  Of course not….if your business does not  sell a product or service that can be sold to the holiday consumer market then your efforts to close business must be increased 100% to be heard over the noise of the holiday season.  If you sell computer services, financial services, personnel services, legal services, medical services or even products that just don’t often sell during the next 3 months, then I suggest you create incentives for businesses or consumers to do business with you now.  You might wish to offer an added bonus or a discount during this time or an extended warranty. The key is to get businesses or consumers to see the merit in hiring your company now.

Finally, be sure to use the next 3 months to connect with your key accounts. The new year is often a time when businesses reflect on what is working and what needs to be changed.  In years where the economy is sluggish or sales are not as strong as in past years, business owners are quick to make changes of vendors and alter the way they do business.  Do not hesitate to connect with your clients face-to-face and do your own review with them about your service.  Often even a client who was thinking of dropping your service could be saved with the face-to-face meeting that allows them the opportunity to be heard and positive changes made to improve your offerings.

Yes, the holidays are coming and the end of 2010 is less than 90 days away. Are you ready? If you need help please consider calling Purple Diamond!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

When was the last time you read a book or an article that left you inspired or gave you insights in to a subject matter that you knew right away that you wanted to share that literary work with others?  Have you ever considered reaching out to your top clients or prospects with the gift of knowledge or an inspirational story that you know they would enjoy? Consider giving a book or article with a positive message attached and signed by you.  Personal marketing goes a long way with relationship building for your business.  Sending hand written cards and thank you notes, attending events with clients and taking the time to offer them a gift with a nice note attached is a great way to bring your business to the front of the vendor line when it is time for clients to renew contracts or choose who they wish to work with.

Often businesses will have promotional products with their company name and logo imprinted on them to hand-out, but this is just s small part of building a relationship with your key accounts and top prospects.  Standing out from the crowd and being the contact that is elevated from vendor status to friend is what often separates the businesses that just survive in today’s market  or thrive.  Do your top clients or potential “A” list prospects connect with you regularly on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter?  Do they read your blog or even know that you have one? If they were out tonight at a business function and someone asked them about who they most enjoy working with would you be one of the first people they mention? Do their spouses and family know you?  Have you ever been invited socially to go out with them when it wasn’t just business?

Relationship building and personal marketing has to be part of what you do as a business owner.  Consider doing something out of the ordinary for your key accounts and prospects and extend that personal touch. Don’t just wait til the holidays to send a card or gift.  Take the time throughout the year to build a personal relationship with the people you do business with!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”