New World Marketing Newsflash. It Isn't All About the Internet.

Whenever I talk with small businesses about marketing in today's environment, the conversation always turns more or less immediately to Facebook.  "I know Jim," a local restauranteur said to me one day, "we've got to get on the Facebook. That's where everybody is these days."

I laughed.  The answer is a little more complex than that.  Yes, everybody is on "the Facebook" (or most are), but everybody is also in your restaurant or your small business.  Every encounter is an opportunity to foster connection and every time this connection is not fostered is an opportunity missed.  This is probably the biggest thing that people don't understand about marketing in the new world.

We live in a culture that has changed dramatically over the last ten years.  We are online more.  We have hundreds of 'friends' in our social media portals.  If we choose to, we can literally chat with different people all day long.  This connectedness has not driven people away from each other as some early sociologists suspected it would.  In fact, if anything it has created a deeper need for real connection and businesses that learn to respond to this need are finding real success and growth (and in surprising ways, a much more rewarding experience then the simple monetary success measures of the past).

The real idea isn't to create an online billboard that someone might see.  It is to provide opportunities for people to connect.  While these opportunities may be extended online, in most situations they start in person.  Savvy businesses are using these opportunities as ways to increase the connection with their clients and in this day and age, connected clients quickly become interested evangelists for the business.

Have I lost you yet?  Here are some examples of some of these kinds of opportunities.

1. A local restaurant that is typically closed on Monday nights has special dinners for regulars only (by invitation) exploring new dishes, wines, etc., about once every three months.  The customers pay to attend, these are not free, although the restaurant's goal is to break even as opposed to turning a profit.  The managers, owners and key wait staff are more free to chat with their customers (and often, even eat with them) and the chef or "wine guy" gets a chance to be out from behind the counter or bar to answer questions, chat about ideas, etc.  The customers who attend feel special and they naturally post their thoughts about these events online.
2. A friend who is a CPA hosts an evening of wine and cheese for his clients at a local hotel and uses the evening to walk through changes in tax law, healthcare, investing, etc.  Giving his clients a deeper understanding of their options and preparing them in advance for what is ahead.
3. A quilting service in a small town in Wisconsin hosts events where local enthusiasts can come to the shop to compare notes and techniques with others in their area.
4. An Alabama based photographer hosts evenings or weekends for clients with cameras, teaching them how to take better pictures.

Wait, what?  Doesn't that last one drive that customer away from the business?  I mean, they'll start taking pictures of their own and decide they don't need the business anymore.  That's crazy talk.

But it's not.  In each of these cases the business is creating opportunities that personalize the interaction between the business and its customers.  This personalization is connection and carrying that connection into online interaction is really effortless, in whatever medium works best.  This is rewarding because these 'customers' are no longer just customers.  They're truly friends.

So effective new world marketing isn't simply a process of establishing a social media presence.  It is a process of giving old, new and regular customers chances to connect with the people in the business and then knowing that with the ease of social media access these connections will naturally turn into advertisement in its purest form, endorsement.

Why Your Business is Dying and What to Do About It.

“I don’t get it Jim.  I’m just not getting the business I used to.  I don’t know if it’s the recession or what but the phone’s just not ringing as much.  I may have to shut down my business.  (and the problem with that is that I just have no idea what I would do next!)”

Over the course of the last four months I’ve heard quotes and comments like this more than I’ve ever heard them before.  Once thriving small businesses are dying.  Proprietors are trying all of the tricks, but nothing seems to work.  Is the business dead, or is there something they haven’t tried?  Can I help?

The first thing I say in any of these situations is pretty simple.  Business is business.  It has to start and end there.  I know, for many, it’s not as simple as that.  Their business isn’t just their business, it’s their life.  Their dream was to pass it on to their kids.  It is their endowment to their world.  The thing is that while it may feel that way to you, to most of the folks who walk through the door it’s a business.  The first step to the next step is to take a deep breath and see the business through their eyes.  The stunning realization that comes after that is, sometimes, that the business in its original form is dead.  The world moved on.  The business did not.  It’s time to move on.  

More often though, to borrow a line from “The Princess Bride,” the business isn’t actually dead, it’s “only mostly dead,”  and as Billy Crystal put it, “there is a big difference!”  Sadly, there isn’t a gigantic pill to swallow to bring it back, but if you had the energy to start the business in the first place, chances are, you’ll have the energy to bring it back.  You just have to be prepared to change.

The most common mistake small businesses make is stagnancy.  The business is started and the founder/owner puts all of their creative energy into growing it and making it a success. Adjustments are made to tailor the business to customers’ needs and wishes.  The business begins to succeed.  The founder/owner continues to serve customers with passion.  It’s fun, a dream fulfilled.

Then one day the business owner realizes that profits are down.  When the world outside is complaining about recession it’s easy to assume that’s the problem.  Of course profits are down.  “It’s the economy stupid.”  But what if it’s not?

In these cases there are two critical things the owner must do to revive their business.  The most important is to interact with customers.  Get in touch with the regulars, or the regulars of the past.  Take them to coffee.  Ask them what they think about the business.  Listen.  Be ready to change.  That all small businesses get the lion’s share of their new customers via word of mouth is axiomatic.  If your ‘regulars’ aren’t excited about your business, you can bet they won’t be talking about it.  If they aren’t excited now, what would they be excited about?  How can you make the business more convenient, more relevant, more inline with what is needed today?  No better person to ask than a customer.  When they begin to see changes, they’ll tell their friends.

The second critical thing is to gain an understanding of how the new world of marketing works.  Wait - don’t jump ship.  This doesn’t mean you have to establish a Pinterest page or learn to tweet (though you may), but it does mean that if you are still relying on that yellow pages ad then you’re in trouble, even if it comes with a “free web listing” and “listings on all of the major search engines.”  The new world of marketing isn’t about the internet.  The internet is just a tool.  The new world of marketing is about connection.  There are many ways that you can drive connection without ever logging on.  

Let’s talk about that tomorrow.

Using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to Grow Your Small Business

Understanding the options and uses of the various social media channels is a challenge for any small business.  In this area pretty much anyone from my generation (those over 35 to be sure) would strongly agree that younger folks have an advantage.   Those (damn) kids grew up with Facebook so they know how to use it.  For anyone who’s a little older, no matter how long we’ve been on we always feel a little like we’re visitors in a foreign land.  (this is actually good, and I’ll get to why in a minute).  Here’s the thing.  The biggest mistake any small business can make is to ignore this important new channel.

If the bridge to success in new world marketing is connection with customers, social media channels are the elements on which these bridges are built and sustained.  Most of today’s small businesses get this.  The problem is figuring out how to pull the strings to get the results you seek.  Many make the mistake of simply putting up a quasi promotional Facebook fan page and establishing a pithy twitter ID and then wonder why no one cares.  

The biggest thing to understand is that the connection that occurs when social media is used best is not a connection between a customer and a business.  It is a connection between people.  Businesses post quasi advertisements on Twitter all the time promoting specials, new products, etc.  While in very rare cases these announcements may have an impact, in most they won’t and so the business decides that Twitter doesn’t work.  That’s a little like deciding a cordless drill doesn’t work when you try to use it with a dead battery.  You did nothing to ‘charge’ the audience and so the audience doesn’t respond when you attempt to connect.

To build an initial following it is a much better idea to enlist highly connected customers as your allies.  If you are releasing a new product, release it to them first.  Get them to tweet about it if they love it and then re-tweet their love for your product.  These ‘tweets’ (after while you get used to the vocabulary) will inevitably spawn questions from others and the power of your social web increases dramatically if you are vigilant and transparent in responding to those tweets, not as THE COMPANY, but as an individual connected with the company.

Some restaurants are beginning to learn how to use this to their advantage.  Imagine a customer’s surprise and pleasure when after tweeting that they are headed to the restaurant that night for dinner, the restaurant responds and lets them know that their favorite table has been reserved for them.  (and imagine what that says to everyone who follows either the restaurant or the individual).  The same can be managed in a connected world of Facebook where an image of a newly purchased pair of shoes from a local store can be followed up with a comment from the store letting the customer know how much they loved seeing the customer.  

Note that in neither case would I recommend following up the initial comment with a promotional offer of any kind. Doing so is a pretty major violation of the unwritten etiquette of social media.  You are essentially hijacking their comment and that’s a no no.  However, dropping them a note on their thread as any friend might changes the dynamic of your relationship.  You are no longer a faceless business.  You are their friend.  It is on these connections that social media gains its real strength.

In my next post I’ll give you some tips on effective ways to manage all of this (so you have time to actually run your business).

Social Media for Business. Demystifying a Powerful Channel

There are a lot of folks who purport to be experts in new world advertising.  There are few who really are.  The reason for this is simple.  Saying that you’re an expert can get you paid a lot of money by people who are trying to figure it out, and, no one has really ‘figured it out’ yet.

There is no question that for any business the process of getting your message across has become a much more complicated thing than it used to be.  When I first started in marketing, advertising was a pretty simple equation.  We used variables of reach, frequency and CPM to determine whether our message was getting to the people we wanted to hear it and we used tracking variables such as unique phone numbers, promo codes and sales incentives to determine whether the people we wanted to hear the message were moved by the message.  On that basis we could pretty easily determine whether we were making money or losing money on our advertising dollars.

Then came the internet and then came social media.  The internet by itself didn’t change much.  In fact, for savvy users it made things even easier.  I no longer had to rely on consumer behavior to know if my adds were working, I could track clicks.  And then came social media.

Personal recommendation is the true power of social media and engagement is the fuel that drives the bus.  The trick is that in most cases the way engagement is driven must be subtle and active.  Consumers should be invited to participate but they should never feel forced to participate and any sense of manipulation is death.

In order for social media to truly work, companies must establish an online personality and they must interact with consumers in their (this is to say, the consumer's) chosen media.  When a consumer complains about poor service via twitter, respond.  When a consumer posts an image of a favored product on Instagram, respond.  Encourage consumer information sharing and story telling via heavier media such as blogs.  

The real key to engagement is a sense of connection.  Connection is fed by acts of transparency.  Transparency is fueled by authenticity.  Trust is built through consistency.  For these reasons it is just as important for companies to “fess up when they mess up” as it is to celebrate when something is great.  Frankly, it’s MORE important.  What is really interesting about the emerging communications marketplace is that consumers understand that companies are going to mess up.  They’re even willing to forgive when it occurs.  In my experience, companies give consumers too little credit. So it isn’t whether or not you are perfect, it is how you engage when you are not.  I was always fascinated by the fact that I gained far more twitter followers when things weren’t well than I did when things were good.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting a series of social media oriented how to’s designed to help small businesses understand the value, nature, and use of today’s media channels.  Please feel free to ask questions, debate, etc., directly on my blog.  After all, that’s engagement, right?