Ad Cat Media - High Potency, Cost Conscious Advertising

You Have 60 Seconds!

Quickly! Tell me everything I need to know about you. What products or services do you offer? What can
you can do for me? Keep it to one minute. 60 seconds. That, my friend, is the art of the “elevator pitch.” Do you have an elevator pitch?

Last week I went to a chapter meeting of Business Network International (BNI) with my friend and client Lyn Mabry. She and I work together on marketing her business, Living Spaces By Lyn. We had just completed a re-do of her website, www.LivingSpacesByLyn.com. Lyn was due for a 10 minute presentation to her BNI chapter. I promised to help her run the presentation on screen.

At the beginning of each BNI meeting, members are asked to present a 1 minute talk on their businesses. I listened in. These guys were really, really good. I left the meeting with a clear understanding of how I might be able to work with several people.

Later in the week, Lyn shared a blog post by Tania Zamorsky, a guest blogger for the site Women On Business. She wrote about “The Art of the Elevator.” If you’re in business, you owe yourself the opportunity to read the article. Click here.

We all meet briefly with other people many times a day. Not just in elevators but at the first face-to-face with a prospective client, at networking meetings, at business meetings, and at public functions. While some of these meetings aren’t appropriate to selling ourselves (I typically don’t pitch my rector or my brother-in-law when I see them), many are great opportunities for us to start a conversation that can ultimately be beneficial for our business. Typically, in this day of the 30-second TV commercial, the flashing block on the website and the tweet, we have just enough time to finish the elevator ride. That’s it.

Elevator pitches are not just for selling. The real advantage of having a good elevator pitch is about defining ourselves. They’re a means to clarify our own understanding about who exactly we are and what we offer in the way of relationships, products, and services. A well thought-out elevator pitch may even help us understand what we offer in the way of a friendship to someone else. When we understand ourselves, we understand what makes us special and what makes what we offer interesting to the other person.

Do you have an effective elevator pitch? Have you heard one recently that’s really, really good? Drop me a line. I’d love to read it.

(Note: If you need someone to stage your home, consult on interior design or to run a restoration project on a home, contact Lyn Mabry of Living Spaces By Lyn. You'll find more about Lyn on her website. Want a website or blog of your own? Drop me a line, too.)

 

 

It Always Pays To Keep In Touch (Part 2)

I have a number of friends and clients who are involved in real estate. That includes my wife (who holds some additional titles beyond “friend” and “client”). On this Sunday past, I came across an article by Alexei Barrionuevo for the New York Times that caught my eye. It’s entitled “Why Brokers Study Chinese” (subtitled “Big Deal – Courting Chinese Buyers”).

It’s an interesting read with some valuable lessons. On the face of it, the article relates to those I know who sell real estate. It’s a story about real estate agents who have prospered during the past few years by finding Chinese clients. These clients, fearful of a real estate bubble in China, are attracted to American properties. The Chinese clients have been a welcome addition since the brokers’ American clients have been sitting on their money waiting to see where the U.S. economy is going.

Beyond the real estate interest, there are some other points on which to focus for more general interests. For instance, it’s a fine example of how entrepreneurial tendencies help any of us in our own businesses to look beyond a momentary downturn and to seek out a new path to prosperity.

I was in Africa for a while last year and ran into any number of people who had their own business, typically in the form of a taxi service, a concession or a concierge business that catered to tourists. So, while my own parochial temptation is to think that Americans have a lock on entrepreneurial activity, I know it ain’t so.

The fact is that being faced with an old way that doesn’t work requires each of us, as entrepreneurs, to find a new way that does work. If Americans aren’t buying property, do brokers close the doors? Nope. They pick up a plane ticket to Beijing. As the article points out, “The old way of doing business is no longer enough, Ms. Field said. ‘We as Americans always expected anyone to adapt to our business style, and they did,’ she said. ‘That is no longer true with the Chinese. There are too many of them, they have too much power. We truly must adapt to their style of business in order to do deals.’” So she travels regularly to China to scout out new clients.

Another point in the article caught my eye. Some brokers the author interviewed don’t go to China and cold call. As one broker is quoted in the article, “I have yet to see how successful those cold approaches and road shows are,” Ms. Wang said. “Chinese, especially on the high end, rely heavily on the circle of their trusted friends and family members and people they have done business with in the past.” Whether our clients are Chinese “on the high end” or anyone else, the importance of maintaining relationships and trust with our customers is essential. We do that with face-to-face contacts, phone calls and, of course, regular email marketing.

As I wrote earlier, "It always pays to keep     in touch."

I can help you with an email marketing plan of your own. Give me a call!

David Stewart

It Always Pays To Keep In Touch

When I was small, I rode the bus with my grandfather. As a reticent child, I was content to watch the passage of the cityscape outside the window. My grandfather spent the trip talking with people on the bus. Even at that early age I was impressed that he approached someone, started a conversation, listened to them and came away having discovered a common link. Maybe a place. Maybe another person. But when we stepped off the bus, he was linked to the people he talked with on the bus. He had earned a relationship. It was my earliest example of networking.

As an adult, the very word instantly conjures in my mind a bunch of people in a crowded room. A Chamber meeting. A leads group meeting for breakfast. A Sales Club gathered for inspiration from a speaker. When I remember those trips with my grandfather, it’s a reminder that networking goes way, way beyond that. Meeting anyone anywhere provides the potential for networking. It can include someone who shares an elevator, someone at church or the guy wandering down the sidewalk looking as though he is lost. It can include a customer when they pay out.

Networking is seen by some people I know as an exchange of business cards. Go to an event and come away with a fist full. The effort actually must go far beyond collecting cards. It’s the beginning of a relationship. That relationship may generate an immediate sale but most of us aren’t that fortunate. Over the long run, by maintaining and nurturing a relationship, the chances become better and better for a sale or a referral. Once the pipeline is filled, you can then anticipate regular sales success.

Nurturing many relationships at one time requires real effort. While my grandfather met people and heard stories, he didn’t keep up with the people. He had the gift of remembering names. Years later, when he saw someone he had met even just once, he could continue the conversation where they had left off.

On a professional basis, any business relationship has to be nurtured regularly or people forget what you do and how you might help them. They forget why it’s important to know you. Visiting face-to-face or making phone calls are important ways to nurture relationships. But as your prospect list grows, that can become unwieldy.

That’s the entire point of email marketing. I have clients who sell houses. I have others who sell furniture. And some who sell material handling machinery or security services. Think about it. None of those products and services fit the “grocery and gas” model where someone buys almost every day. If you buy a home, it may be a number of years before you are in the market for a house again. You get the picture. In the meantime, you want them to remember you.

My wife wrote the newsletter for a local affiliate of Weight Watchers® early in her business career. A very wise woman named Margie worked with her. Margie reminded my wife to touch base with someone. She said, “It always pays to keep in touch.”

So how do you keep in touch? The most obvious, cost effective way to keep in touch with large numbers of people on a regular basis is with email marketing. In terms of the most bang-for-your-buck, regular email marketing is hard to beat. It is really, really hard to beat. Each time your company’s name pops up in someone’s in-box they think of you. Each time they see your subject line, they are reminded that they have a business relationship with you.

I can show you how easy it is to get started with email marketing. I can show you how cost effective it is. I can show you why you might be missing an opportunity.

Give me a call. Or drop me a line...

David Stewart - Ad Cat Media

(502) - 235-1628 - dstewart@adcatmedia.com

 

 

 

You? Me? It's About Us.

I've been at managing companies, parts of companies and people in companies for lot of years. Early on in my career, management was taught to me as a very autocratic discipline. With the responsibility to make sure things went right it was essential to make sure people did things right. I demanded that people do as I said. It was a rule-based environment with praise for people who followed the rules and special-step guidance procedures for those who did not.

Over time, I learned better. I learned I had to create an atmosphere where people could thrive, not just work. That was harder to do than just make sure people followed the rules. I had to help them understand that there was something in the success of the effort for them, not just for me or someone higher up or the “Company.” And I had to insure that there really was something in the success of the effort for them. How? By being really and truly interested in them as individuals and by my willingness to learn from them about my own effectiveness. I had to do my part to develop a firm, trusting relationship.

Recently I came across an interview ("Defensive? It Leads To Destructive") with Bob Brennan, CEO of Iron Mountain. In it he discusses the importance of setting the tone at a company. He emphasizes the importance of attracting, hiring and keeping the people that make it possible for a company to excel in the competitive environment in which all of us work. He defines “the biggest organizational challenge” for companies as being defensiveness.

“It's a natural, reptilian kind of response. That defensiveness over-amps corporate cultures. So you try to get it out of the system so people focus on achieving, learning and bonding. The point is, can I really take an interest in you, and you in me, because it's meant to drive out the defensiveness...”

The interview did for me what all good business reading should do. First of all, it makes it obvious why Mr. Brennan is where he is. It also made me reflect on my own skills and approaches to helping companies, and the company's people, thrive. And it reminded me how important it is, if a company is going to be successful, for people to get the most from their company as well. Each employee has to be assured that will really happen at the end of the day.

My jobs these days tend to be as a consultant, not as someone who has organizational chart power within a company. It becomes even more important for me to get the buy-in from the company's people. If they don't see me as relevant to their needs in particular and not just the company's needs, I can't do what I'm hired to do. So what I do has to been understood, by everyone, as being done for all of us. And whether I went back to managing a department or a company or a division, my managerial approach would have to be in the same vein.

Holiday email campaigns - Now is the time to get started! (FREE)

There are two things that people often don't realize about email campaigns.

First, they're an essential part of keeping in touch with customers. They must be a part of your media mix.

Second, they simply are not difficult to make up and send out. Simply follow the basics.

 

Ad Cat Media focuses on email campaigns for small businesses, individuals and non-profits.

• Business to Consumer

• Business to Business

• Non-profits to Community

 What do you do with email campaigns?

• Use email to build relationships. Don't just promote specials or events. Success with email requires that you engage readers and build trust. The consistency of your message, including getting it out regularly, is essential.

• Emails must provide value for those people who aren't ready to buy. Especially if you're in a business sector involving long buying cycles, you want to keep your audience's interest. Don't concentrate only on special offers, donation requests or product features.

• Keep it simple. Put your main idea into the first panel that pops up on the customer's screen when the email is opened. Put other details in the scroll-down but do the attention gathering in the first part of your email.

None of what I've described above is difficult, is it?

What kinds of email campaigns should you consider?

• Business to Consumer

  • How To's

  • Thank you cards

  • Drip campaigns

  • Case studies

  • Product / Service reviews

• Business to Business

  • Advice

  • Case studies

  • Drip campaigns

  • Selling points for prospects

•   Non-profits to Community
  

  • Re-engage with recent success stories

  • Fund raising

  • Activism

  • Sense of community

What is the common denominator? My grandmother's wisdom prevails. “It pays to keep in touch.”

The Holidays are upon us. Time is short to maximize your bottom line for the Holiday Season. It's easy to get started on an email campaign. Sign up to try Email Marketing for free (FREE Trial - Email Marketing) with Ad Cat Media and Constant Contact. Through the middle of December, I'll offer this. Give it a try (FREE) and I will help you set up your first email (FREE). What is the ROI on (FREE)? Call me. We can talk.

The Holidays Are Coming! Are You Where You Think You Are?

It's often easy to get rolling with a successful email campaign and not stop down the road to see if the results are still acceptable. The campaign was designed, implemented and continued because it worked. But now, due to changes in your product line, the time of year, a “worn message,” the expectations of your customers, or a range of other possibilities the results are now not what you want. That's the crux of the matter; is what you are doing with your email campaign bringing people, and money, in the door?

A recent article by Tara Natanson* brought up some interesting points to consider as you get your upcoming Holiday messages ready. She presents four recommendations to keep your email subscribers engaged:

Avoid an image-only message: Your campaign should be made up of a combination of text and images, not just one big image. What does this have to do with open rates? Well, campaigns that are a single-image message often have the worst deliverability rates because this is often what spammers do. Not to mention that a user who has images off by default may not choose to download your image if there isn't some text telling them what the message is about.

It's not all selling: Every message to your list should not be a sales pitch. Remember to keep your audience engaged by offering tips, advice, and other content they can use. Get them interacting with you by including a poll question or ask for feedback using an online survey. You want people opening, reading, and clicking on your messages, so give them a reason to do just that.

Use a good subject line: Your “Subject Line” (and "From" address) should be engaging and clear, making it easy for the recipient to identify who you are. For instance, having your business name in the subject line identifies the email as being from you, making it instantly recognizable to recipients. This also makes it easy to search for and find previous issues a subscriber might have saved for later reading. Plus, if customers really want to read your messages, they will set up a filter to ensure they see your latest campaign. An easily identifiable (and consistent) subject line makes setting up that filter easy.

Things to avoid in your subject line: While trying to be engaging with your subject line, it's important not to be misleading in the process. If you put the words "free gift" in your subject line and the deal within is really "free gift with purchase," that is misleading and will lead to complaints. It's a best practice to avoid "free" and "sale" in your subject line along with any other words commonly used by spammers. You want to look like the legitimate marketer that you are, not a spammer.

These are all good points by Natanson. Keeping your subscribers engaged is absolutely essential. However, the really important issue I want to leave with you is this...Review the situation with your email advertising regularly. It always pays to stop periodically, examine what you're doing, and insure you are getting the expected results. Too often the press of day-to-day business means we don't do the thinking, strategizing and implementation necessary to keep the business growing. Want to have some help looking at your email advertising situation? Give me a call...

*Tara Natanson is Manager of ISP Relations at Constant Contact. She focuses on increasing email deliverability and staying current with email best practices. With more than 10 years of email industry experience, she is a member of the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG), and collaborates with other email service providers and ISPs to reduce network abuse. Tara works hard to make sure the email industry continues to have a place for small businesses.