Engage in Conversation

Have you ever commented on someone’s blog and checked back day after day, never to see a response? Frustrating, isn’t it? I challenge professionals to examine their motivation for starting a blog. If your blog is motivated by SEO….because your marketing consultant advised you that blogging can improve your search engine page rank then you are likely to fall into the trap of the one-way blog syndrome. One way blogging is like going to a party with a tape recorder and turning it on all night. People will avoid the noise….instead of a blog, you’ve created a Blah Blah Blahg. Conversion (converting website visitors to clients) depends upon development of a relationship, which is fueled by two-way conversation. So take your blog to the next level. Find ways to engage your audience, by acknowledging comments and responding to questions.

One caution. Spammers love to comment on blogs to gain back-links, so beware of giving credence to vacuous compliments….manage the comments and respond only to those who are truly engaging in a conversation about the topic. SEO is poison to the internet….and often works against the honest professional and misleads by giving undue but temporary standing to spammers. Those Google folks are geniuses though and the spammers will soon be banished. Don’t be one of them.

Here's my website QR

I try not to rant on this blog, but I’m goin’ all “Lewis Black” on you today. I just have to vent. My Shop Rite circular today includes a QR code with a “Learn More.” message. How cool is that? I think that’s what many businesses are expecting as the consumer reaction. But are they trying to communicate or just trying to be cool?

Here’s my take. If they are trying to communicate with customers and prospects, then we can assume they are communicating to all of those out there that have smart phones with QR readers, that they all know how to use them, and that they all work. True or false?

Now, no one disputes the importance of appealing to mobile phone/smart phone users who went from spending 32 minutes per day using their mobile phones in 2008 to 65 minutes per day in 2011. And even the elderly are getting on board. According to the Arbitron-Edison media study, 19% of people ages 55-64 have smart phones.

But all this tech usage is no excuse for tech snobbery. When businesses ASSUME that everyone knows the latest mobile phone app and everyone uses it equally, they prove how out of touch they are with their clients and prospects. I’m not saying that vendors and professionals shouldn’t use new technology, but for goodness sake, please respect the differences and the learning curve. Be cool, yes, but don’t forget about the uncool. The uninformed or to some, the “uncool” may want to “learn more” about your products and services also. And really, what does it take to add a short line explaining: “This is a QR (Quick Response) code. If you have a mobile phone, you can use this code to get more information or you can visit our website at www.coolbusinessdude.com. With this kind of footnote, at least you provide some help until the majority of your clients and customers are users of the technology feature and understand the benefit.

And what if you don’t provide help? Just think about the “gotcha” factors: QR codes can include computer viruses. All mobile phone apps are not standard and some may not have built in QR readers. Not everyone has internet access on their cell phone. Not everyone even knows how to “download” stuff. Some under-educated, under-privileged, or disadvantaged may not be able to afford the technology and will feel they are being left out and ignored. If any of this is true, your marketing cool tool has now created frustration, resentment, and alienation.  Nice going!

So, here’s the end of my rant. Please be sensitive to the fact that technology may be new or unavailable to some of your best and most valuable prospects and stop making them feel bad about it.

To end on a lighter note: Here’s a good video on QR code uses that may amuse you.

Should I have a Google+ account?

Hey folks, it doesn’t surprise me that Google is finding new and amazing ways to be profitable while continuing to delight their customers with fast and furious relevant results to searches. And don’t forget their rivalry with Facebook. All my clients are asking, should I have a Google + account?

Did anyone doubt that Google would become a social media player? Did anyone doubt that this fireball of a company would change the game with better social media integration and search? So what does it all mean for professionals marketing online? A lot or nada, depending on your strategy. Remember that powerhouses like Microsoft and Google are competing by being the best at serving up quality information and quality results. My advice? BE the quality content they NEED to connect their users to and you’ll rule. Serve up “me-too” or boring or irrelevant content or very little content, and others will win page rank, no matter how many key words you stuff into your pages. Trust me, this is going to get harder. Stick to your knitting and do great work, then share your knowledge, and they will come.

My membership in NJAWBO, the NJ Association of Women in Business, Sussex/Warren Chapter, is barely a few months old and I’m impressed with the business acumen of the members and the openness and willingness to embrace new members and ideas. For the holiday meeting in December, I introduced the idea of a “Gift of Marketing” to replace their usual gift exchange and it was very favorably received. Comment on this post if you’d like more information about the program. Hey NJAWBO members, send me your questions—I’m sure your participation in this program has surfaced some new online experiences for you! And my secret santa gift recipient is Dorinne S. Davis of The Davis Center. Dorinne, MA, CCC-A, FAAA, RCTC, BARA is a World Leading Sound Based Therapist. Please visit thedaviscenter.com for more information on how these therapies can bring quality of life to those suffering from disorders like autism or down syndrome to those afflicted with disabilities due to aging or various illnesses. Happy New Year Dorinne!

CEO's should focus on their business, not the stock market.

In his book, Fixing The Game, former strategist and now business school Dean, Roger Martin www.rogerlmartin.com, compares the two distinct markets at play in the NFL and the business world —the real market and the expectations market. The expectations market is gambling. In the real market, real football players make real plays and there are real winners and losers. In the expectations market bets are balanced on a point spread. In this book, Martin compares this point spread in football to the stock market in American capitalism. There’s a lot to this analogy so you’ll want to read the book to understand it all, but in a nutshell, Martin applauds the NFL for understanding how important it is for the players to focus on the game, and therefore they prohibited betting by players. Not so in business. CEO’s are compensated on shareholder value, making their focus clearly on the expectations game. And the NFL remains strong, while American capitalism goes from crisis to crisis. Martin says, “fix the game.” That means fix whatever is wrong with your business.  Become stronger, leaner, smarter. Become introspective…..polish your internal processes and client service, be the best professional you can be….gain more knowledge, certifications, and if you are a lawyer, win more cases. Focus on perfecting that which really fuels business development—-operating on sound business principles of customer value and client satisfaction, and future profits will result. Focus on the wrong things….like stock prices, website hits, visits and Google placement, and you could fail miserably. Mr. Martin, what insight!!

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Let’s discuss what professionals should or shouldn’t tweet about.

What should professionals tweet?

A great article addressing this topic is a November 2, 2011 post by Am Law Daily staff reporter Sara Randazzo on the AmLawDaily.com website. Here’s the link: “The Tweet That Roared: Lawyers and Law Firms Navigate Social Media Land Mines”

After reading Ms. Randazzo’s stories about all of the social media wrecks that resulted from attorney’s who mis-posted, I’ve come to some of my own conclusions.

Time and time again we’ve seen that professional and personal lives and reputations overlap.  In a world where everyone is watching, can professionals afford to risk reputation ruin through social media?  Firms may seek to exert control over associates’ tweeting and blogging, but the bottom line is….for a professional….communications of all kinds conducted through all media are under constant scrutiny.  So I think that all the rules of propriety for professionals that may apply to communications at a cocktail party also apply to communications on Twitter. Those who have shared too much after a few drinks at a party are having morning after regrets.  The difference in this phenomenon on Twitter is the viral factor.

After a cocktail party memories fade, everyone sobers up and aside from the obsessions of a few gossips, the indiscretions are soon forgotten.  An embarrassing moment shared on Twitter or an inappropriate slip of the keyboard on a professional blog can last forever in the world-wide web!  Oh what an appropriate name for this media!  It’s worldwide, and it’s a web of connections that enables messages and images to spread feverishly and to last forever.

A guide to tweeting is needed for professionals.  To start, as you may do in any marketing effort, is to decide on the purpose of the Twitter account and who is the target audience.  Although your message goes out the world of followers, deciding first with which followers you really want to encourage conversations will form the basis of your strategy.  Simply put, if you are tweeting to obtain new clients, speak to that audience directly.  In order to do that, you need to determine who your best prospects are, and you need to know everything about them.  Who said this would be easy?

Credentials as Critical Success Factors

What are your firm’s critical success factors?  Please share your metrics here. For each type of firm— and each business within each type: law, financial, healthcare, non-profit, etc.— the CSF or critical success factors can be quite unique.  Rather than take on industry-standard metrics, you might want to evaluate your current level of success.  What has brought you to this point, what may have changed, what still works? What is no longer working?

Success factors such as client, referral source and vendor relationships as well as community involvement and leadership might be the hallmark of success for legacy firms.  For newer firms or start-ups, creativity, flexibility and social networking may be part of the formula.

Consider the extent to which you inform or educate your “publics.”

Another factor may be the quality or nature of your marketing “message,” positioning, and the media and technology you use to communicate your value and connect/converse with your various target audiences.

Targeting is a key factor for success in this very individualized society in which we currently live and work. How relevant are your offers, pricing and services to your target audiences and how accurate is your targeting?  How profitable is the market you chose?

Competency is a good one. Your firm’s dedication to associate education, certification and recognition is quite important in developing a long-term reputation within your competitive arena, especially for professionals.

And even your location… the client comfort and convenience you afford your clients when they meet with you.  What does your office say about your practice?

Customization can be key. How specialized are your services and how flexible are your terms and agreements in meeting the changing needs of clients and prospects?

Client feedback and testimonials can fuel your success.  When was the last time you asked your clients what they think of you?  Be prepared.  The jewels are in the negative comments.  Compliments can be used as testimonials and to identify differentiators, but criticisms will tell you how to improve.

As for me, my critical success factors include my gobs of years of experience in both corporate and entrepreneurial roles and the relationship with my clients. Whether the relationship is positive or strained, the learning process helps me to leverage my strengths and improve or eliminate my weaknesses.  What are your critical success factors?

Master the technology, conquer your market.

New Weinmann Marketing Website, www.weinmark.com

With the summer doldrums upon us, we’ve finally found time to revise and revitalize our website design. And what an energizer! Creating a new website is like buying a new suit. It fits better, it make you look like a million bucks, and it attracts attention.  If professionally created, it can command respect. I don’t know if we accomplished all of these objectives with our new website at www.weinmark.com, but I do feel good about it. All feedback is welcome of course.

Lessons Learned:

Every time I create a website, from an existing design or from scratch, I learn something new. For this internal development effort, I learned that less is more. It’s better to launch with complete pages and add later, then to publish any pages that are incomplete. Sounds obvious, but the tendency is to add lots of sub-menus before you have sub-menu content.

I also learned that integration is elegant. Now that we’ve integrated our WordPress blog with the site (without using frames), I feel like I’ve “mastered that technology,” in some small way. Great praise  goes out to freelancer, James Rose from Nottingham, UK of Lunar Website Design, who did a tremendous job in programming the blog page and accomplishing many other magical technical feats to make it all work well. Thank you James!

And lastly, I learned that cross-browser support is messy, and most necessary, especially for multi-media. Just because your video plays in Firefox 6.0 doesn’t mean it will play in Explorer 8. It’s not always possible to find a design that is compatible will all browsers, but finding one that will work with the top 3 is do-able. Mobile is another story, for another day.

I hope you’ll visit our new site and sign up for the “Good News” enewsletter, in which we publicize our clients’ news as well as our own.

How many of you clients out there have done business with professionals who made more work for you? Your accountant sends you a form to fill in. He or she uses this form to fill in the blanks on your Income Tax Returns. If the info you provide is wrong, the return is wrong. Garbage in, garbage out.

You go to a doctor. The receptionist gives you a form to fill out…it asks for insurance information yes, then a medical history, then a list of symptoms. You see the doctor for 15 minutes; he prescribes, you take the medication, and hopefully the symptoms go away, you’re cured. And maybe not.

You make an appointment with your lawyer regarding a real estate transaction. He or she asks you for all the relevant information on the properties involved; you might fill out a form; he or she may give you stuff to read. Lots of stuff to read. The transaction doesn’t go smoothly and there are many critical decisions along the way. Your attorney may advise you as to the law, but you make all the decisions. And they are wrong much of the time.

Professionals….examine your client communications and processes. Are you asking your clients to do too much? Are you using all of your professional training and experience to guide your clients’ decisions, or are you leaving them out there to fend for themselves?  Are you depending on their judgement a bit too much? Are your clients’ words, facts and figures always reliable?  Are you making more work for your clients?

Client service is a clear differentiator for professionals.  At a time where fees are being challenged and colleges, universities, medical schools, law schools etc. are turning out record numbers of your current and future competitors, enhancing client service and adding more value to your offer, is a clear winning strategy.

Think about it. Use it. …ask what YOU can do for your clients.

Just a note to all you newbies to email marketing. I recommend that you try it before you buy it. Most online email marketing services offer free trials and each one has its pros and cons. For individual professionals or small firms, many email services are FREE for lists under a certain size.

iContact is free for up to 500 subscribers (your mailing list) but the paid version provides a better selection of templates.  Design is important, but you message is most important, so you might want to make your words a priority.  Pay special attention to your subject line for more action from subscribers.

Mail Chimp allows you to store up to 2,000 subscribers in your list and allows you to send 12,000 emails per month FREE.

Constant Contact offers a 60 day free trial and right now they are offering a $50 gift card with sign-up. Their service starts at $15 per month and there are discounts for non-profits, but I don’t see any free level of service. I’ve never used Constant Contact but I will be using it shortly for a client who has this service and I’ll let you all know how it compares.

I enjoy Mail Chimp because the developers have a great sense of humor and it’s actually fun to use. However, iContact seems to have a broader selection of templates and the server seems to be more responsive. Sometimes the Mail Chimp server can’t keep up with the speed of my keyboard input. What I especially like about Mail Chimp is the intuitive nature of the interface. When you are finished designing your html message, it prompts you to SEND A TEST MESSAGE very clearly. With iContact, I actually had to chat with tech support because I couldn’t find that function. It was hidden in the menu structure. Silly.

What I’m finding is that many professionals don’t use email marketing primarily because they don’t have a easy way to capture all of the email addresses or they have not advertised for subscribers.  If you are having trouble collecting your email addresses into a subscriber list, call me.  MS Outlook has an “export” function and/or you can collect subscribers via an input form on your website.  There are many ways to deal with the “list” issue, as long as you remember the SPAM laws.  You really really want to make sure that you know that  the people to whom you are sending email messages actually want to hear from you, or that the person has OPTED IN to your list in some way.  I send to colleagues, friends, family and clients.  I have had very few people “opt-out,” and that’s a good feeling. 

Anyway, happy emailing! If you have questions Ask Julianne! It’s free with no obligation.