inside the office

Several years ago, just after I opened my business, I sent out a round of letters to local real estate brokers. These letters were an introdution to the VA working model, and a listing of my services. I dutifully followed up on them by phone the following week, and got absolutely no response. Properly daunted, I moved on to other marketing methods.

Last week, a random email arrived from a local real estate office asking for help in creating a mailing list spreadsheet. Curious, 0i asked the office manager where they heard about me, but she wasn’t sure. When she sent over the hardcopy, she added that her manager had found my letter from way back in 2006 file away – he wasn’t the manager at the time that I sent the letter – and decided to give me a call. Huh; whaddya know.

Marketing sometimes is like sending radio waves out in to space; eventually they land somewhere, and you never know what kind of response you’re going to get.

My letter from almost four years ago has netted exactly two responses, from which I’ve had two long-term clients and this new project. Not great stats but, the return on my investment is definitely worth it.

Go back and think about on of your earlier marketing tactics. How did that work out for you? Is it worth trying again? And what can you learn from the experience? I’m eager to hear from you…

Over the summer, I had the pleasure of attending PodCamp Boston. One of the first presenters that I listened to was Guido Stein, passing on some tips to getting started in podcasting. There are more of the technical than creative vein, but good stuff, nonetheless.

Recording Audio

• GarageBand is great. Sadly, only available for Macs. However, the default file format is MP4. Go to “Share” and change for iTunes/MP3 for best results and most versatility
• Use Levelator to unify audio levels in the recording *before* doing any other editing. This is especially important if you have more than one person on the recording, and are not in the same location.
• Audacity is a pretty good and easy to use editing tool for getting rid of mistakes & deadspots.
• Speaking of mistakes, if you do make a slip up while recording, leave about 5 seconds of silence after, so it will be easy to find while you’re editing

Recording Options

There are many ways to get audio into a file on your computer. The key, though, is getting it the best format possible. I’ve suffered through podcasts that were obviously recorded over the phone or similar, and one person is LOUD and you can hear paper shuffling, sniffling, everything, and the caller is so soft that you want to turn it up to hear him/her, but you’re eardrums get blown out when the first person comes back on.

• Headset – with so much VOIP techonology being used, there are many headsets on the market these days. Find one that comfortable, with good sound quality. I use one that was actually designed for Sony Playstation, but it’s lightweight, comfortable, and delivers pretty good audio quality.
• USB Microphone – the cheap $7 versions probably aren’t going to give you the best quality but if headsets aren’t your deal, try a standalone microphone.
• Digital Recorder – this could be a great option if you plan to be recording your podcast when you’re not at your computer. You can transfer the recorded file to your computer later for leveling & editing.
• VOIP – some VOIP tools like Skype allow you to record a call, which could be an ideal solution if you have multiple people on the recording from different locations. Please remember to run the file through and audio leveling program, through, to be nice to your listeners.
• Another option is a service like drop.io, where (I’m told) you can call in and set it up to automatically post the recording to your podcast. Neat.

To test out a microphone, record something and play it back. Make sure the output levels are satisfactory, and quality is good – no scratchy noises, pop, background noise isn’t too loud, etc.

Next time, I’ll share some of the tips I’ve picked up for how to publish your podcast, and where to get it listed to maximize your exposure.

Until then, I’d love to hear how you currently or plan to record your podcast…

It seems that one of the biggest things that trips up people new to the social networking adventure is the difference between an individual profile and a Fan Page on Facebook. Let’s take a few minutes to try to straighten that out.

When you sign up for Facebook, you create a profile. A profile should only be for an actual human person – not a mascot, dog, cat, iguana, or spiritual being. This is where you connect with people you know – your friends. You share stuff with them, they share stuff with you and everyone’s happy. Here’s my Facebook profile. Now, if you decide you want to be friends with me, please take time to introduce yourself and tell me you stopped by here first, so I know who you are.

If you have a business or volunteer or non-profit group or church (or WoW Guild), and you want it to have a presence on Facebook, then you need to create a Fan Page. For most, the hardest part of creating a Fan Page is figuring out how to get to them. If you look at the bottom of your browser window, just above your Start bar (for PCs) or Dock (for Macs), there’s a little Facebook toolbar. One of the last icons kind of looks like a blue speech bubble on top of a green speech bubble. If you mouse over it, it should say “Ads & Pages” – click it.

From this page, you have the option to create a new Fan Page for your business/organization/guild. Choose the name carefully, as you can’t change it once it’s been chosen. From there, just enter the basic information that’s requested and upload a picture. Then, tell all your friends (or, at least, those that might be interested) about this fabulous new page so that they can become Fans of it, as well.

Stay tuned for more info on how to use & love you Facebook Fan Page. Got a specific question about Facebook or other social networks? Leave me a comment and let me know…

When was the last time that you experienced GREAT customer service? It seems that over the last decade or so, many businesses have adopted a model of striving to provide only adequate or good customer service. Most of the time, clerks and cashiers in stores barely smile or acknowledge you when you are at the register, and employees that you encounter randomly in the store seem to be hoping that you won’t ask them for help. I dread having to call customer service for most companies and if I am in the unfortunate position of needing to contact technical support, I make sure that I have drinks and snacks and get comfortable for what is likely to be a lengthy phone call.

I have, in the last several months, had many occasions to contact (or be contact by) customer service for several companies. Earlier this year, the car adapter for my Microsoft Zune MP3 stopped working just a few short weeks after I purchased it, I was not looking forward to contacting the company about this. The big box store that I had purchased it at wouldn’t help me without a receipt, which I could not locate. The product, however, was still under the manufacturer’s 90-day warranty. I called, explained what had happened, and the astonishingly nice gentleman on the phone said that he would have a free replacement sent to me the next day. That’s it. I didn’t have to jump through hoops, cut through any redtape, or kiss a frog to make it happen. Two days later, my new adapter showed up and works great.

Just a few weeks ago, I was having some issues with the speaker in my Blackberry. Basically, I could no longer hear my phone ring because the speaker was not working. So, after I put my daughter to bed, I grabbed a drink and some snacks and called customer service for my wireless company. The rep that answered my call was very pleasant and, after verifying that my device was still covered under warranty, arranged to send me a replacement device. While waiting for the system to process everything, he and I even had a nice little chat about how nice it was to find a pleasant person on the other end of the phone.

On the other hand, I happened to be around when a client was dealing with an overnight shipping company today. They had requested a package pickup at a specific building. Someone in the client’s office spoke with a rep from the company who said that she would contact the driver and relay the request to them. The driver either did not get the message or did not follow through with the request, and the package did not get picked up on time. When my client called the company to request a credit, she encountered a rude customer service rep who insisted that my client was mistaken and that no live person had spoken with my client’s colleague, that the mistake was my client’s fault, and they would not be credited. I have had similar unpleasant experiences with the same company looking for packages that were not delivered on time or were lost in transit and somehow ended up several states away for no apparent reason. How difficult would it have been for this company to apologize for the mistake and issue a credit in the interest of continuing a potentially lucrative relationship with my client?

When dealing with your clients, remember that every contact that you have with your client – on the phone, by mail, email, blog, social media, and even your voice mail message – is an opportunity to leave them with a GREAT customer service experience. Most consumers will tell up to 10 people when they have a bad experience with a business, but will only tell up to four people when they have had a good experience. At the very least, that should be enough reason to strive to give good customer service (so your customers aren’t telling 10 people about their bad experience). And, when you can provide a GREAT customer service experience, you just might shock your customer into telling people about the experience. They might even blog about it!

So, when was the last time you had a GREAT customer service experience? I invite you to share you experience below…

I love when I hear conversations about social media that contain complaints about a lack of response to marketing messages. Too often, it seems, people tend to focus on marketing and not the social part of it all.

Social media is about building communities and developing relationships. Yes, there is currently a large commercial component to social networking but, that doesn’t mean that the expected elements of social communication are irrelevant in these web based arenas.

Think about this scenario: you’re at a networking event and someone who you’ve never met and knows nothing about you comes up to you and shoves their business card in your hand, and then walks away. How likely are you to want to work with that person, even if you need or want what they are selling? Most people would be more likely to toss that card in the nearest trash can and move on.

Networking is not (or, at least, shouldn’t be) about closing the sale and moving on; it’s about creating and developing relationships with those that might be interested in your services or are connected to and influencers of others that would be interested. People want to do business with people they know, like and trust.

If you were to just jump on the nearest social network, bombard all of your contacts with spammy sales messages and have no interaction with them, you’re not really behaving any differently than the guy that shoves a business card at you. Let your contacts get to know you, share information with them, join into their conversations (when you have something relevant to say), develop a relationship so that they trust you, and let them know that you’re there to help them.

So, you may be asking why a web developer is writing about Business Plans and Marketing Plans. To put it simply, I have a vested interest in my clients – current & future – clearly knowing how their business is doing, where they want it to go, and how it’s going to get there.

Developing a marketing plan will help you keep on track to achieve your goals, and the plan should be your step-by-step guide to getting there.

1. Target Market
   Refer to your Business Plan for this information. Your target market are the people who’s problems you’re going to solve. Knowing their location, education level, income level, pain points and strengths will help you to tailor your marketing message to be the most effective.
   If you find that you have more than one target market, or that there are extreme difference among segments of your market, consider developing different marketing messages to appeal to each of these segments.
2. Marketing Goal(s)
   What do you want to accomplish over the next year? Make sure your goals are specific and measurable. A goal of “get more clients”  or “increase sales” is not enough. Without specific, quantifiable goals, it can be easy to give up to quickly, or for goals to seem too daunting to be realistic.
   Doesn’t something like “get 10 more clients” or “increase sales 25%” sound much more attainable?
3. Strategies & Tactics
   A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. Tactics are the specific actions taken to get there. You’ve identified your goals and your target market. You know what you want to do and who you want to help. How are you going to get your message to them?
   Be sure to include all media that you plan to employ, such as direct mail, your website, email marketing and social media marketing in this section.
4. Cost & Budget
   Now that you know what to do, figure out how much it’s going to cos and is this cost within your budget? You can come up with greatest marketing plan or campaign that’s ever been conceived for your industry but, if your business can’t handle the expense, it’s not going to do you any good.

A business plan is one of those things that many people try to avoid when starting a business. When you try to research why you should have one or how to write one, you’ll most likely get results that make a business plan sound complicated, tedious, and unnecessary unless you’re looking for financing or investors. However, a business plan is a great asset to anyone serious about being successful in their business ventures.
Unless you are applying for financing, a business plan doesn’t have to be a long, polished document. It could just as easily be done in bullet points on index cards or the notes program on your BlackBerry. Most of the value of a business plan to you, the business owner, is in the research and thought work that goes into drafting it. Below are some of the basic components you’ll want to have in your business plan.

Mission

What is the purpose of your company? Who do you plan to help with your products or services? What is the problem that you are providing a solution for? How will you be helping this target market?

Vision

Think about where you want your company and your brand to be in three, five, and 10 years. How much sales volume will you be doing? Will you have expanded market share, market reach, or products or services? How will your company have grown or changed to accomodate or influence this growth? How does the change affect you and your personal life?
There’s a concept know as te law of attraction. Visualizing where you want to be in the future and reading over this, internalizing it, making it part of your routine can have amazing power to influence things to help you achieve the vision that you have created., whether you realize it or not. I’ve experienced this first hand in my business and it’s truly amazing.

Financial Assessment & Predictions

Take stock of the current state of your finances. What are you assets vs. Liabilities? Profits vs. Loss? Are you in debt? What is your project income over the next one, three and five years?
Think about the vision that you have just completed. What will it take to get you there? Will your current sales get you there, or will you need to increase sales volume? Will your current staffing situation get you there, or will you need to consider hiring employees or freelancers?

Market Analysis

Think of your target market – the people who’s problems you’re going to solve, based on your mission statement. Where are they (location)? Who are they (demographics)? Who are your competitors? What are their strengths? What are your (or your products’) weaknesses?

Marketing Strategy

Now that you’ve identified who your customers and target market are, when, how and how often will you contact them? Will you see them in person at networking events or industry meeting? Will you send them newsletters and postcards?
How often will you send press releases to the media? What criteria will determine if an event is worthy of a press release? Who will you send releases to? Have you identified a media contact list? Do you have a media kit ready if someone asks for it?

I know this seems like a lot, but each topic builds on the previous one. If you approach it step by step, you’ll likely find youself finishing quickly and with a clearer understanding of where you are, where you’re going, and how to get there.

The web used to be a great land of “build it and they will come” options. However, the proliferation of websites for every business venture means that your customers have many more options than ever before. A simple search for the topic of choice will direct an interested party to hundreds of websites. If yours is on the list, what is it about your site that will encourage users to stay longer, to look around more and, possibly, to buy your products or engage your services. Below are a few things that you can do with your website to make your website more user-friendly, and increase your odds of visitors hanging around a bit longer.

1. Consistent Navigation – Having consistently placed and ordered navigation on your website makes it easier for visitors to find their way around your site. Navigation that’s always in the same place on your site, and links in the same order allow the user to feel comfortable in their surroundings. Navigating a foreign place is always stressful – eliminate that stress for visitors to your website.
2. Well Organized Information – Most people agonize about the look and layout of their website but many people forget to consider how the information the site will present is organized as well. Also known as Information Architecture, carefully planning the organization and presentation of your site increases the ability for users to find the information they are looking for on your site. Make sure each page has a clear topic – and only one. Trying to fully inform a visitor about several topics on one page may confuse them and encourage them to leave, quickly.
3. Clear Call to Action – Do you know what you want the user to do when they’re on your site? Let them know! And make it easy for them to do what you want them to. Do you want users to sign up for your newsletter? Have the newsletter sign up form located at the top of your page (preferably on the right side). Do you sell products on your website? Make it easy for users to add products to their cart, and easy to checkout.
4. Use Common Terms for Common Actions – If you have a shopping cart, call it that. Or shopping bag or basket, or some other term that the average person will recognize. It may be tempting to come up with some cute or witty name for your shopping cart, newsletter, or other features on your site but if your visitors don’t know what they mean, it doesn’t do you any good.
5. Write with the user in mind – Who is the target audience of your site? When you (or your copywriter) is writing to copy for your site, make sure you keep your audience in mind. What is their technical or educational level? Writing too simply may turn off highly educated or technically skilled visitors, while writing over the heads of less skilled or knowledgeable users could cause frustration and leave them searching for a website they can better understand.

One of the most comment questions that I get from new web development clients is about what kind of information to include on their brand-new website. Specifically, they want to know what pages and information their visitors will expect to be able to find. Here’s the top 5 pages or information areas that I recommend to new clients:

• Contact info:  Your web site should include an easily accessible, comprehensive contact page with a real address and phone number, not just an email address. If you operate your business out of your home and don’t want to give out a home address, obtain a PO box from your local post office, or other places that offer these types of services, such as the UPS Store. Similarly, there are many services where you can obtain a secondary or alternate phone number for your business without the traditional expense of installing a second line in your home of office. (Stay tuned for a post about these services next week.)
• An ‘about us’ page:  You hope that your index page does a good job of explaining your site, but sometimes consumers want to know what ELSE you do.  An about us page gives you a chance to let your visitors know about you and your company, as well as an opportunity to show off additional services and products that may not be relevant to the website if the site is directed to a very targeted audience.
• Security/privacy policy page:  Are you collecting visitor data on your website? Do you have a newsletter sign-up form, or some way for interested visitors to request more information? What about site statistics – do you have a script that tracks information about your visitors, such as location, type of browser, operating system used, and monitor resolution? I’m guessing that the answer to at least one of these is yes.  So, if you’re collecting any sort of consumer data, people want to know how you use it.  Even if they only skim, just the presence of a privacy policy can go a long way towards building trust with your clients.
• FAQ:  Do you find that your visitors and potential clients ask you the same questions over and over? To save your time, and offer better customer service, you should have a “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) page on your site.  Does it have to be called “FAQ”? Well, that’s debatable. If you can address the primary questions, for instance, on your home page, and then link to a page called “Customer Support” or “More Information,” you can win the same customer service points without the sometimes ill-fitting title of FAQ. Don’t forget to update your FAQ (or whatever you call it) if you find you are getting repeated questions from potential customers that aren’t already addressed in this area.
• Site map:  In a perfect world, visitors would have no trouble navigating your site, and will always know exactly which page contains the information they want, and how to click their way there. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. A Site map is a page which lists all of the pages of your site with direct links to access them. Additionally, a well-done, XML-based site map can be submitted to Google for optimal indexing, which can help increase your search engine results. (Look for more information about this in an upcoming post.

“Social” has become a bit of a buzz word over recent times. Social networking. Social media. Social bookmarking. Social marketing. Social responsibility. And the latest that I’ve heard – Social shipping.

Social shipping is a term I first came across on the Smashing Magazine website on the post about their upcoming book. Here’s how they put it:

We want to make the book affordable to everyone and therefore are subsidizing shipment of the book worldwide. However, shipping costs are extremely high to some parts of the world. Please help us minimize these shipping costs for folks who are worse off by voluntarily paying more for the shipping of your copy. This is what we call “social shipping.”

Cool idea, huh? What do you think?