I still run across people who do not see value in investing time into social media. They say things like:

“I just don’t see any value in it.”

“It is not worth my time.”

“I started a blog yesterday. But I haven’t gotten any business yet. It clearly doesn’t work.”

“I need to focus on REAL marketing.”

“I don’t have time for fads.”

“My market doesn’t spend time in that space, so I don’t need to…”

In fact, the percentage of sales and small business folks NOT using social media is still pretty staggering. And I will continue to do my part to help educate these good folks on the possibilities. Before I continue that mission, here are a few things that have happened to me, ONLY because of my participation in blogging and the social web:

1. I’ve been approached about writing a book.

2. I’ve been asked to contribute bits to other’s books.

3. I’ve had my blog posts picked up by other blogs, exposing me and my writing to thousands of new readers.

4. I’ve met some amazing people, people I would not have met otherwise.

5. I’ve learned so much. Each day, I get exposed to new blogs, opening up a whole new world and opportunity for learning.

6. I have reconnected with old friends, people that I had thought were lost forever.

7. It enabled me to co-host a TweetUp that had 200 people in attendance, including people from five states and Canada! I’ve always been a connector – social media scaled it big time.

8. It has allowed me to connect with someone like Tom Peters.

9. I have been asked to guest blog. Often.

10. I have been able to strengthen my personal brand. Because in addition to my business writing, it has also given me an outlet to write about things I am passionate about, such at this and this.

11. And most importantly, from a business perspective, I have found and engaged new clients.

Key takeaway from this post: If I can do this, ANYONE can do this.

Seriously. Here is how it happened for me:

> I am not a particularly good writer, but I have been a pretty steady blogger since 2008. As a result, I do think my writing has improved.

> I make a real effort to share the work of others. And I plan to get better at this.

> I make an effort, by monitoring blogs I care about on my RSS reader, to comment on the published posts of others. I can do better at this too. And not a day passes where someone doesn’t express sincere gratitude for this, which, I don’t have to tell you, deepens the relationship…

> I am not worried about the raw numbers of followers. I used to worry about this, but I have forced myself to focus on the actual relationships. The impact of this change in thinking has been powerful.

> I am NO guru. Or expert. Or Jedi Master. I am still learning. Every day. And realize, every day, that I have MUCH more to learn.

> I have become a much better listener.

> I have been able to help A LOT more people.

> My sphere of influence is small compared to many others. But, the point is, I have a sphere of influence.

> This whole world of the social web is evolving. Constantly. The sooner you recognize this, the faster you will evolve with it. What works today, probably won’t work tomorrow.

> But that said, the importance of building relationships will NEVER change. Just the means of doing so. As soon as you understand this? I mean, really understand this? Social media will make sense to you.

I am just a guy, working from home, with a manageable book of clients, running a small little business. If someone like me can see real results from this investment, anyone can!

Agree? Disagree? Let me know…

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[cartoon by @gapingvoid]

So, I am going to play a little game…

I wrote the other day about my 30th Foursquare check-in at my local Publix supermarket. Comments I’ve received ranged from “I can’t believe a man has actually checked-in to a grocery store 30 times” to “you sure go to the store a lot.”

So, anyway… I am the Foursquare Mayor there. Which means, well, I can do and say anything I want [not really].

But I will be honest. I cannot believe there is a public, transparent online record that someone has been to a store 31 times – and this person has never been contacted. Even to say a simple “Thanks!”

So here is what I am going to do. I will write a short post for every Publix check-in of mine, until I finally get acknowledged. This isn’t meant to be mean-spirited. Rather, it is meant to educate and teach people about the possibilities with geolocation apps like Foursquare. As a demonstration of my goodwill, I will offer a free tip about how an enterprise like Publix can use Foursquare. I welcome input from the community about other ideas they may have.

This might be fun. We should learn a lot. And, well, I may be writing a lot of blog posts on this project…

Todd’s Publix Tip of the Day: One thing a store like Publix can do, is drive traffic to purchase a certain type of inventory. Let’s say you want to help people eat more healthy. For instance, you could offer people who check-in to Publix for the FIRST time on Foursquare, a free piece of fruit….

The Store: Publix Supermarket
[Store # 00033]
3605 Sandy Plains Road
Suite 200
Marietta GA 30066
770.578.6000

What prompted this post? I am the Mayor of my local Publix on Foursquare. Last night was my 30th check-in. 30th. Yes, 30 of them. But have I heard from them? No. In fact, it is so silent, you can hear the crickets chirping.

If you had a customer walk in the doors of your joint 30 times, wouldn’t you want to at least acknowledge them? [Answer: you better.] Hell, at this point, I’d love a message from the Publix manager saying, well, how about “thanks for your business – we appreciate you!”

I am spending time exploring Foursquare. I see value in it for my clients. And that’s largely why I spend time on the app, so that I can learn how to execute a geolocation strategy on their behalf.

For those still unsure about the personal value of this technology? Here is Todd’s preliminary list:

1. You can see what others have said about a place you are about to check-in to. Is the restaurant good? Is the service good? What should you buy? What should you avoid? What staffer should you ask for?

2. And obviously, more and more places are offering discounts and specials for their foursquared fans…

3. If you are lost in the middle of nowhere, or a visitor to a new town, you can initiate the check-in process on your smart phone, and see what’s nearby (then use #1 above and see what the locals are saying about it).

4. For me, the most important use of Foursquare is that it serves as an easy conversation starter. For instance, I also checked-in last night at the non-profit where I serve on the Board of Directors. Now, if someone wants to do business with me, they would go a long way towards establishing trust with me if they inquired and asked about my non-profit.

5. And lastly? I will admit, I like knowing what the people in my network are doing. It helps me keep a pulse on what’s happening in my community. And I like knowing what my friends are doing, and what they are interested in.

I say this is my preliminary list. Because I am sure I will uncover others.

But let’s get back to my local Publix. It boggles my mind that they wouldn’t acknowledge someone who has checked-in 30 times. And, honestly, I am not looking for some special or discount [hint: wine specials please!]

What I do think is important is some outreach –> “Thanks for your business! How can we serve you better? What are other ways to make this store more valuable to you? How can we win people over who are currently shopping at the Kroger across the street?”

That said, I do think rewarding loyal customers is important. Stripped down, Foursquare is a game. You compete for points, for badges, and for the title of Mayor. This spirit of competition could and should be fun. And memorable. And something to talk about…

And also, an important driver of business.

But you may ask, “well, since you have been there 30 times recently, do they really need to work to keep you coming back? You have already proven to be a good customer.” If I have to really answer that question…

“But there are only a million people on Foursquare…” Yes, and it is growing much faster than Twitter was at this stage of their development…so like Twitter, this geolocation concept is going to change the game.

“But not everyone has a smartphone…” Yeah, and nobody thought cars would sell, or motion pictures, or planes (who would want to fly across the country?), or televisions (and who on earth would ever have more than one television), or websites would be for everyone, or that email would be used as THE communication tool, and thank God I have all those long-playing records, cassettes, and compact discs in a box in my basement…

The point is, technology like geolocation is changing the game. Slowly perhaps, but surely. It is time to get in the game and figure out how to use it…

…or those crickets will be chirping permanently at your place of business.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

[cartoon by @gapingvoid]

You don’t need another damn blog post about…

…focusing on the little things.

…being remarkable.

…making your customers say “wow!”

Oh sure, I got inspired to write this post because of a “little thing that was a big deal” kinda thing at my local Starbucks. And true enough, it was the kind of little thing that shouldn’t be a big thing, but because OUTSTANDING customer service is so rare, it became a big thing…and a blog post.

Thinking on this topic, I realized just how complacent most employees in joints like a coffee shop can get. Just people, doing their job, watching the clock. They aren’t responsible for the marketing, you see, so they don’t really care.

That’s not to say they aren’t nice people, who I am sure, more often than not, put in a good, hard day’s work. But they are complacent. They are prematurely satisfied. Just because.

And this is what leads to mediocrity. This is what separates most small businesses from the truly great, remarkable, “talked about by everyone” kind of enterprises…

So, I put together a short list of 5 things every business should do, every day, to fight off and kill complacency dead, dead, dead:

1. Ask at least one customer, each day, what you can do to make the customer experience better.

2. Thank a customer in a public way, each day. Do this on Twitter, your Facebook fan page, your blog…just do it somewhere public.

3. Over the course of any given day, you perform a multitude of administrative tasks. As you are doing them, examine them closely, and determine if there are ways to do them better, do them more efficiently, and do them faster, to save time…time that now can be focused on improving the customer experience.

4. Walk around your place of business. Is it presentable and clean? It is one thing to be unorganized to the point of charming. It is quite another to be dirty. New places are clean and shiny. Remarkable places STAY clean and shiny. Complacent places get dirty and run down…

5. Empower employees to do surprising things for customers. This, of course, makes the customer’s day. This also, of course, makes the employee’s day…

5.5. Don’t know any innovative ways to empower your employees? Let them come up with ideas. And reward them for being creative. And if they do something on the spot to wow a customer and haven’t necessarily cleared it with you beforehand? Don’t punish them. You will kill their spirit.

Just a few ideas. To be executed daily. What do you think? What did I miss?

[image by @gapingvoid]

We’ve all experienced it.

You went to a website, but didn’t take action. You read a sales brochure, but tossed it aside when you finished reading. Or you said “Let me get back to you!” after a sales person pitched you.

Why didn’t you take any action? Why didn’t you buy?

Well, there could be dozens of reasons. But one common reason might be the message – and message delivery – was too complicated. And you didn’t know how to proceed.

This happens all the time…

1. The potential buyer can’t find the “Buy Now” button on the website. There was too much crap on the website.
2. There isn’t an easily identifiable “call to action” on the brochure. All the “Pulitzer” prize-winning copy and photos, and design elements look great. But it is all clutter.
3. The seller didn’t make the simple ask. Oh sure, the seller said a lot of cool stuff, used a lot of big words, but never actually asked for the sale…

My co-host Stone Payton and I had Theo Jamison on our High Velocity Radio Show recently. She was speaking about some simple, yet profound and meaningful, actions a business could take that would have a dramatic and positive impact on their customer experience. I mean, seriously, these were simple and inexpensive ideas…

Stone said something like “and I bet the business said it was too simple to work, right? Only complicated solutions could possibly work.”

He’s right. Why do we make things so complicated in business? Process can be simple. Design can be simple. Systems can be simple. Sales can be simple.

We have a tendency to think that fancy design, bells + whistles, and flowing flowery language are impressive and make potential customers say “ohhhhhhh.”

But most of the time it clutters and confuses.

You have something to sell. It is something that people need. It can make their life better, their business better. So why do we insist on making it harder – and more complicated – for people to buy?

Minimalists strip away the clutter to focus on what matters, on what is most important. So, strip away all the clutter so that your customer can buy from you. Without having to crawl through a complicated maze of words, pics, buttons, ads, graphics and platitudes to do what they really want to do – become your customer.

What do you think?

[my original Minimalist Marketing post]
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[pic from borderfilms on flickr]

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Have you ever attended a networking session, and encountered this scenario? Say a mechanic gets up to speak, and he says “A good lead for me today is anyone you know who owns a car or truck.”

What the?

Hearing this is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I have a feeling this guy is thinking this is good for him, in that he is casting a wide net to catch ALL fish.

But sadly, this is a sign of a completely LAZY marketer. Someone taking the easy way out. And my guess is his business is struggling. I mean, seriously. What does he think I am going to do, give him my entire rolodex?

In fact, this mechanic is doing the exact opposite of what he should do to grow his business, and find MORE customers. He needs to do what will feel quite counter-intuitive to him – laser focus on one specific niche.

What happens when you cast too wide a net? You find very few clients.  And what happens then? You take on TOO MANY of the wrong clients. And then you are overwhelmed with too much “bad” work, and probably for too small a fee.

Either way, applying some minimalist principles to your targeting process will pay big dividends to your marketing program.

Focus on ONE type of prospect. Just one. In the case of the mechanic? Don’t narrow your focus to Fords. Narrow your focus to Ford pick-ups.

[This doesn't mean the mechanic can't help fix a Chevy should it pull into the garage - it just means his marketing focus should be on Ford pick-ups...ONLY.]

But this only works under two conditions:

One, that you become the best in the market at fixing Ford pick-ups. You should become known as the go-to guy in the event anyone’s Ford pick-up needs servicing. I mean it…the best in your market.

And two, you are going to have to adjust your marketing program to target owners of Ford pick-ups. This is easier than casting a large net, I promise. But it does require some creative thinking, some strategy, and a sustained effort over time to reach out and build real relationships with owners of Ford pick-ups.

The other minimalist impact on your marketing as a result of narrowing your focus? You then also simplify your marketing message. What you say to Ford pick-up owners is different than if you had to speak to ALL car and truck owners. [And if you don't understand this concept...call me. We need to talk.] But if you are targeting too many people, you probably have too many marketing messages. As a result, your message is muddled, and your marketing suffers…

Narrowing your focus to a specific niche simplifies your marketing, and makes it less complicated. Selling is hard enough. Don’t make it more complicated than it has to be.

What do you think?

[See the original post that inspired the Minimalist Marketing series]
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The MacBook Pro (from store.apple.com)

Well, I have finally made the decision. The decision I have NOT made with the last two computer purchases. I am finally switching to a Mac.

A MacBook Pro, in fact. Will probably happen sometime in the next month or two. And I can’t wait.

So I stopped by an Apple store at a crazy-silly-busy-suburban Atlanta mall yesterday with a friend. Not to make the purchase, but to ask some questions and learn as much as we could.

So, we walk into the store, only to see about 1,200 people in there. I almost turned around and left. But we headed in anyway and started looking at machines. And we were overwhelmed, to be honest.

[btw, the last Apple computer I had was an Apple IIc. It did enable graduation from college.]

Eventually we make contact with a gentleman named Matt. Young fellow. Just what you’d expect from an Apple employee (earrings, headset, cool hip Apple clothes, graphic designer by trade).

And if I had my wallet, I would have bought on the spot. He was the most engaging fellow, and man oh man did he know his stuff. Spent an hour with us. Answered every question. Answered every. stoopid. question.

I will just cut to the chase, so allow me to simply list the reasons our interaction with Matt solidified my conversion to a Mac. Pay close attention and apply his tactics to your situation:

1. He cared. He genuinely cared about our (my) stoopid questions. Never once losing patience with the inane crap coming out of my mouth.
2. He actually said “Hey no worries. I have nowhere to be. Let’s take our time!”
3. Being long-time PC users, we are burdened with PC thinking. He spent time explaining that the transitions would be easy ones…
4. But he also walked us through ways to keep as much of the PC experience, in case we needed to.
5. He really knew his stuff. I suppose Apple does a solid job training their people, but I don’t know this for sure. In any event, he knew a lot.
6. He was prepared for – and anticipated – all our (my) stoopid questions, with easy to understand answers and good metaphors to help goofs like me understand.
7. He didn’t upsell. Yeah, he could have sold us on higher priced equipment, but after carefully listening to how we use our machines, made it clear we would do well with less potent machines.
8. He. was. for. real. There was no “fake” in this guy. He sincerely came across as if he would rather be nowhere else.
9. He was passionate about Apple. I asked him about the iPad, curious to see how he’d respond, and wondering if he’d come across lukewarm. And frankly, after his passionate response, I now want one.
10. Apple salesmen do not work on commission. Which was glorious. Whoever decided on that policy ought to be commended. When I asked for Matt’s card, he said “Hey, I don’t work on commission. So remember, anyone here can serve you well.”

But the critical lesson here? He cared about us. He cared that all our questions were answered. And he cared enough to spend an hour of his day helping us learn, KNOWING we were not going to buy that day.

The point is, if you sincerely care about your customers and prospects, you will market yourself well. However that manifests itself…

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Consultant: “How did you do in meeting the goals of your 2009 marketing plan? Did you stay on budget?

Typical small business person: “Wait, what? Marketing plan did you say? Budget? I was supposed to have a budget?

Consultant: “Let’s review your social media plan. Did you accomplish your goals?”

Typical small business person: “What? Social media strategy? You can do that?

Consultant: “How did the call to action on your marketing collateral work? Did prospects and customers take the steps you wanted to advance the sales process?”

Typical small business person: “I am not sure what you are talking about, but man, my brochures are sure pretty!”

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Consultant: “How did your keywords perform on your website and blog?”

Typical small business person: “I have no idea, but my cousin who designed the site says her friends think the site looks bitchin’!”

Consultant: “So, with your email marketing campaign, did your prospects contact you to learn more or advance the sales process?”

Typical small business person: “No clue, but most of the people I blindly added to my database unsubscribed and gave me lip about ’spam’.”

Consultant: “So, did you try some new things with your marketing? Try any new tactics, new messaging, any new social media tools?”

Typical small business person: “No. I stuck to the same stuff that hasn’t really worked too well before, but you know, I didn’t have any money to try something new that might work.”

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Consultant: “What good marketing books did you read this year? Did you find any great marketing blogs to help you learn new things?”

Typical small business person: “No, but I think I learned some cool advertising stuff watching Mad Men…”

Consultant: “Did you hone your skills at building community and establishing relationships on tools like Twitter and Facebook?”

Typical small business person: “Huh? No, but I passed along my free e-book, the results of my IQ test, an invite to join my mafia family, and the link to my blog to all new followers and friends!”

Consultant: “Have you narrowed your marketing focus down to a highly specific, easily targeted niche?”

Typical small business owner: “Are you nuts? I am not missing out on hitting all those darn people…”

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Consultant: “Have you narrowed your focus to the right networking groups that are in your target market?”

Typical small business person: “Are you nuts? I am not getting many leads from the bunch of groups I am visiting, so clearly I just need to hit as many darn networking groups as I can…”

Consultant: “Tell me about your lead generation and lead incubation system? How do you feed good solid prospects into your pre-purchase experience?”

Typical small business person: “Huh?”

cartoon by @gapingvoid

The point here? Thinking strategically and putting a plan on paper is too important NOT to do. Yet, too many small business people jump into their daily routine without so much as a plan on how to proceed. The questions [by no means a complete list of pertinent questions] above serve one purpose: if you can personally identify with even one of those mini scenarios, you need to pull back, take advantage of the quieter holiday season, and think some things through as you prepare for 2010.

Good luck!

cartoon by @gapingvoid

I was at an event last week, and engaged in a pleasant conversation with a fellow who worked for a local corporation. This gentleman had a decent job and wasn’t worried about losing it. In fact, it was apparent to me that he was very comfortable and almost complacent.

Being the marketing guy I am, I of course asked him about his role in the company’s marketing. His answer? “I don’t have a role in the company’s marketing.”

It amazes me every time I hear that. Sadly, it doesn’t surprise me anymore. Because what I know is that customer service is a very big piece of marketing, and most people, like the corporate gentleman cited above, don’t understand that.

But at this same event I run across a half dozen folks who are solopreneurs, people who do the sales, admin, and the product work – all themselves. These are the sort that do most of their sales and marketing at networking events, and you see them everywhere running the networking circuit. When I ask them the same question, their answer is different, but the same. Although being 100% responsible for their marketing, their answer is usually something like “I just don’t have the time” or “my budget is tight, so I have to cut back on my marketing.”

This too vexes me. But again, I am not surprised. And in their case, they aren’t even thinking about customer service. They are talking about the sales process…

Before I go on, I want to define what I mean by “marketing” when I ask the questions above. I am talking about an intense focus on your prospective and/or current customer. And focusing intensely on their overall experience. And by that I mean their pre and post-purchase experience. Customer service in other words.

Now when I proclaim to them that neither care about customer service, both snap back at me and proclaim “how dare you say that.” But deep inside, you know I am right. Now that said, both do probably care about customer service, but do both really CARE about customer service? We all know exercise is important, but a lot of us sit on the couch and watch old reruns of Seinfeld…

Watch this video of David Meerman Scott. He is describing the corporate guy above:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TxPAC6e7HE]
The point that David is making in this video is that the corporate folks are sitting around in meetings making stuff up and guessing, instead of mixing it up, engaging and getting dirty with real prospects and customers — finding out what they really want and need. [and yes, social media is a great way to get out in the world, ask these questions, and get answers]

What I am getting at here is twofold: One, every member of a larger organization, from the C-Level executive to the receptionist, has an important role in customer service. It’s not just the people answering the customer service hot line — and I will submit a majority of people answering that phone don’t care about customer service either…

And two, the typical solopreneur I run across on a daily basis believes they don’t have the time to focus on customer service, let alone sit back and think about ways to innovate and make it better. I’ve got a message for you: that should be ALL you think about.

We all need to be aware that today’s consumer has more ability to publicly comment about their customer experience – pro or con – than ever before. As a result, we need to be more attuned and focused on the customer experience than ever before. And I mean INTENSELY FOCUSED. OBSESSIVELY SO.

Every member of an organization, from middle management in a large company, to the one-man shop, needs to focus on the following:

1. Improving the pre-purchase experience
2. Improving the post-purchase experience
3. How to better handle customer problems
4. Better enabling sharing and helping spread the word about you and your service
5. Don’t sell. Serve. Help. Build. Grow.

Yeah, there are other things you could be thinking about. But a focus on the above five will be a strong baseline with which to start. So, get out of that cubicle or conference room, and start really understanding how you can spend time improving on the five items listed above. If you are the solopreneur, shift your paradigm and your thinking on your marketing, execution, and admin to how you can improve on those five things.

To survive in today’s marketplace, you have no choice.

Now, many of you solopreneurs will be angry with me for saying that you aren’t as focused on customer service as you should be. Do you know why I am saying that? Because I am one of you. As much as I talk about it, I need to do a better job of it myself. And I can promise you that increasing my focus on improvements on those five items above will be a MAJOR goal of my 2010 calendar year.

What do you think? Let us know!

Be Intrepid.

cartoon by @gapingvoid

So one of the family vehicles needed an oil change and a new break light. This resulted in a quick trip to Jiffy Lube. Now, I don’t mind admitting that I don’t know squat about vehicles.

And as you would expect, as I am sitting in the waiting room, the gentleman working on my vehicle comes in every few minutes saying I need a wee bit of this, and a wee bit of that.

Sadly, carspeak is so foreign to me that he could be talking about my lawn mower. So, what does this make me? A perfect candidate to be up-sold a lot of stuff. Stuff maybe I don’t need.

It’s a great strategy, actually. If you don’t mind screwing over your customer. But there is this thing called integrity.

Now please note: I am NOT suggesting that Jiffy Lube did anything malicious to me. In fact, I have been going to this joint for years. And will continue to do so.

But I am just saying… There are plenty of folks out there that look for suckers. In fact, when I jokingly tweeted that I was the perfect Jiffy Lube phony up-sell target, I got a bunch of messages back indicating others had been victims of similar experiences.

Point is, we all worry about that.

And as a business person, you should worry about that. And be sure you aren’t doing that to your customers. Because that’s a one way ticket to being called out very publicly on the internet in front of the entire planet. And getting out of business fast.

But up-selling is a critical strategy to growing your business. If you do it right – and with sincere intentions of helping your customer better solve their problems or fulfill their needs.

What is up-selling? Wikipedia says up-selling is a sales technique whereby a salesperson induces the customer to purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons in an attempt to make a more profitable sale.

As I was contemplating this post earlier today, I was watching a little TV. I heard the “nails on a chalkboard” line that drives me nuts: “Wait! There’s More!”

Do you know how many millions and millions of dollars have been spent AFTER hearing this line? There are suckers out there who buy the extra stuff those TV ads are selling. But sometimes, just sometimes, there is real value there.

You really do need to think long and hard about what products or services you can up-sell your customers. Adding this strategy to your marketing effort is a proven way to GROW your business. I think sadly that a lot of serious business people don’t try to up-sell because they are afraid of being lumped into the “Wait! There’s More” category of salesmen.

And if you really are doing it in the spirit of trying to steal a dollar from your customer, you deserve a hard and painful death. But if you sincerely offer additional products or services to further advance the easing of your customer’s pain, it is a great service to them…

…And a way to GROW your business.

Be Intrepid.