EXPO is the Place to Be

MISSISSIPPI
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY EXPO – MS TRADE MART, JANUARY 17th & 18th. This event is Mississippi’s Largest Business to Business Marketing & Networking Event – Presented by Comcast Business Class, the Mississippi Business Journal, plus over 20 other great sponsors!

Join thousands of other professionals at the Trade Mart! The ideal place to get answers for your operational and marketing needs, the EXPO will feature free seminars every hour (DRAWING for 2 free Southwest Airlines
tickets to seminar attendees only). See Seminar schedule at www.msbusiness.com/specialevents – there are topics from me teaching my 12 Steps seminar and another customer retention seminar. In addition, my friend Gay Saxon will be motivating and equipping you with all sorts of operational, team building and personal business skills. My personal favorite is the session on digital photography – this great piece of technology is something we could all learn to use better – and use better in our businesses!

In addition, there will be 200 quality exhibits and the Comcast CyberCafe. Golf Pro Bob Ford analyzes
golf swings; Belk’s presents Estee Lauder. There will be Clinique Cosmetic makeovers, Chimneyville
Craftsmen’s Guild of MS, Networking in the Neighborhood with SPEED NETWORKING
sessions and cooking demos by top area chefs all day (details at
www.mylocalhotspots.com) Plus CONSTRUCTION AISLE, TECHNOLOGY CLUSTERS,
TOURISM AISLE, and other terrific exhibitors.

For more information, visit the Mississippi Business Journal’s web site for more information.

Yesterday, I received the fourth annual compilation of Uncle Mark’s Gift Guide & Almanac. It’s author, Mark Hurst, is one of my favorite marketers. He operates www.goodexperience.com, the GEL Conference, and www.thisisbroken.com – all interesting and compelling ways to sell the need for great customer experiences to America’s businesses. Small business should take note of Mark’s expertise – at least by receiving his e-newsletter and the prolific examples on his "This is Broken" blog.

But, now we come to Holiday Season 2006 and Uncle Mark’s Gift Guide. Mark apparently is a cool uncle and as a tech-type, he gets a lot of those questions from Great Uncle Joe and Cousin Jane about which gift or camera or computer they should buy. So, he compiled the answers into a frank, funny, direct and useful guide. And he spread it far and wide. In this guide, we see the usefulness of authentic communication, the providing of value, and the leadership he exudes by listing only ONE recommendation per category. Small businesses should note that the old adage that "It is better to give than to receive" still holds true. Give of your knowledge, your time and your insight; give TO your customers and your prospects and your circle of influence. Giving will create buzz about your business, general goodwill and a reputation of value and selflessness that is a reward useful year-round.

By the way, this guide really is useful for those of you with holiday shopping still in front of you.

Dove has started the Campaign for Real Beauty – in case you haven’t noticed. I noticed the first time I watched the TV commercial and made an about-face to see the gray hair and wrinkles, the young and middle-aged all displayed as beautiful. I loved it – I related to it. It’s been a long time since I related to a TV commercial.

Dove has released an intriguing commercial on Canadian TV – you can watch the link here and read some other comments about the campaign.

http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2006/10/dove_does_it_again_canadian_tv.html

Small businesses take note: Dove is marketing a message that is authentic – it relates the the customer. They have started a non-profit organization to actually educate young girls about "real beauty" in light of the "evolution" problem they demonstrate in their video. They have created a real connection with customers in a virtual way – their customer experience is genuine and real – they understand and they get it. And by doing all of that – wow, have they created a buzz…women’s beauty issues are all the rage again – and skinny models are once again under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The word of mouth is loud – and it’s making Dove products move. Dove gets us – and so they get our business. What can your small business do to market in such a way that you connect with customers – it should be much easier for you than it was for Dove. Quit trying to copy the national advertisers and their big budget campaigns and start connecting in an authentic, real way.

Last week, I had the opportunity to do a brainstorming session with a new client. In our initial session, we lay the groundwork for the planning to come. I ask detailed questions and seek to find out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – the hidden business or owner skeletons and the silent vision or dreams of the client. However, with this particular client, this "vision session" took a turn. The client questioned this process (after they had in fact hired me to conduct it, of course). They said something like – "I thought we were here to develop a marketing plan." In their minds, we were there to discuss specific advertising venues or other traditional marketing efforts.

Last night, I spent at least 30 minutes on the phone with a close friend who is building a house. She described her frustrating relationship with her banker and the many levels of miscommunication (to put it kindly) that has been extended her during the process. New information has been revealed at every turn of the project – none of it in my friend’s favor – a friend who has ample means to be undertaking her home construction project. She laughed and told how the banker continually asks about her final closing loan and is eager to get that business. I bet they don’t get it.

What do these two stories have in common? It is the common misconception that many businesses have: that marketing is advertising – simply a method of outreach to bring customers in the front door. This is so WRONG.

These businesses lose focus and forget how important it is for the customers to have a good experience, to be given reasons to return and experiences worth talking about. It is important to continually educate customers, so they can tell others about your business. It is important to keep customers from going out the back door faster than they come in the front. And that is just what many business owners and executives forget.

Small business marketing tip: Why spend big budgets to bring them in the front door and forget to invest in what really matters – keeping the customer for life.

Late last week, I saw a TV ad for Cowboy Maloney‘s Electric City, a locally owned electronics superstore with several locations in the area. Of course, they compete head to head with national big box names like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. and while they are successful, I would consider them a small business success story.

The TV ad was nothing out of the ordinary – at first glance. One of the store owners was strolling through the store pointing out the great deals and quoting prices on items like refrigerators, cooktops and washers and dryers. That’s when the ordinary ended. After a series of comments like "Whirlpool frost-free freezers as low as $329 and Amana dishwashers starting at just $137" the owner paused and ended his commercial like this: "…Ahem, and…the new whirlpool washer and dryer set…for…(slight cough)…only $8000!"

My husband asked me later that evening if I had seen the commercial. At a dinner party this weekend it was a topic for conversation – and we didn’t bring it up. At church last night, small talk centered around the outrageous $8000 washer and dryer set at Cowboy Maloney’s.

You see, Cowboy Maloney successfully created a remarkable piece of advertising. It was worth talking about. The word of mouth factor for this ad is off the charts – and beyond valuable. What I took away from this remarkable ad was that Cowboy Maloney has the best prices, the best selection – and anything that I could dream or imagine of wanting in my home. He has it all – from cheapest to most expensive – you can find it at Cowboy Maloney’s. And it was such a strong statement that we’re all talking about it on Monday morning – that’s successful word of mouth marketing. If you insist on using traditional media to promote your small business (or even if you don’t), your aim with marketing such be to accomplish nothing short of remarkable.

Mark Hurst’s Good Experience e-mail yesterday caught my eye. It started with this:

I recently received an unforgettable fax from my
bank. The bank’s logo was in the upper-left of the page, visible and
clear, but that was just about the only thing on the page that I
understood.

Just below the logo, in bold letters – the only bold text on the page – read the following:

ACH Rules require that you make the changes specified in the NOC within six banking days or face possible fine. (The full article: http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/000997.php)

How many times have all of us received one of THOSE letters. We didn’t do something right. Or regulations changed, and we missed the news release? Heaven forbid we not be proactive in taking action.

It happens most regularly in highly regulated businesses – financial services, legal, property, etc. We got the "notice" written in gibberish and out of fear call to respond.

What if one of those highly regulated businesses turned the status quo on its head? What if one, just one, thought about how the customer might feel. What if the memo was written in language that the average person could understand or even made the correspondence more personal to help alleviate fear? What if these institutions took ques from other industries and added luxury and real customer-centric practices to their standard customer service systems?

I’ve never received a feedback survey from a bank or financial services firm (our household currently does business with four different organizations). I’ve never been profiled or had my needs inventoried; I’m usually just "sold" an existing product or service. I rarely get an appointment with my banker; instead, I wait my turn – in a very public waiting area. I rarely have privacy and confidentiality when I visit the doctor or banker’s office. My records are private, but my presence is not. The list goes on.

If you’re the decision-maker at a highly regulated firm or organization, I challenge you to be the leader and champion a new perspective. I challenge you to look at how other small businesses are succeeding with customer-centric attitudes and adopt similar techniques within your organization. Your leadership might change the way customers view your industry and experience your profession – and change the bottom line of your business.

P.S. Bankers, you better read the Mark Hurst post – and the comments. It’s not flattering for the industry and really drives home the need for change in this industry in particular.

Following is my “two question interview” with Eric Marcoullier, co-founder of MyBlogLog.com, an on-line community for blog readers and authors.

MARIANNA: Eric, why do you think small business owners should blog?

ERIC: Small business owners should blog because it’s a fantastic way to differentiate themselves from their competition.  We live in an over saturated media world and it’s really hard to establish a real connection with potential customers. A 30-second radio spot doesn’t net you much these days; nor does an ad in the paper.  People get hit with so many calls to action that they’ve stopped caring.  The web was supposed to change that.

But have you seen the state of the web?   People are so busy obsessively explaining what makes their special sauce so special that they wind up forgetting to say what they actually *do*.  Here’s one of my current favorites:

"[We are] the leading provider of on-demand web analytics and precision marketing solutions, offering the industry’s only web analytics platform that captures and stores all customer and visitor click stream activity to build LIVE (Lifetime Individual Visitor Experience) Profiles.

Representing the single most accurate and comprehensive source of on-line customer data, LIVE Profiles serve as the foundation for all successful eBusiness initiatives. Leading on-line brands rely on [our] LIVE Profiles to monitor and optimize the performance of multiple marketing campaigns, improve cross sell and multichannel initiatives, and precisely target customers through intelligent marketing campaigns…"

Who goes to a web site, reads that and then says "sign me up"?  This company succeeds because they have a large sales staff that makes cold calls.  And then they begin the long process of developing a relationship with the person on the other end of the phone.

Few of the small business owners I know can afford a sales team.  Small business owners need a site that actively engages their potential customers on a 24/7 basis and a traditional brochure-ware site with tabs labeled "About Us" and "Products" and "Contact Us" isn’t going to cut it.  People don’t want to be sold to any more.

And that’s why small business owners should have blogs.  It’s a conversation with potential and existing customers.  It’s a way of showcasing a small business’s real secret sauce — the people.  "Here’s a cool advertisement that I was inspired by today."  "Why I think we need to reform a relevant tax code."  "My trip to the organic farm that supplies the vegetables in your main dish."  You do this every time you’re on the phone with one of your customers — sharing a bit of yourself in the hopes that it will resonate and they’ll say "I like this person.  I trust this person."

A blog can help you similarly connect with your customers on a much broader basis.

MARIANNA: What opportunities are there to increase the effectiveness of a small business blog by using MyBlogLog?

ERIC: MyBlogLog is all about helping you connect with your blog readers.  When you sign up with us you empower your readers to develop a closer relationship with you and with each other.  After all, who better to promote your business than other satisfied customers?

Who would be a part of your community?  Anyone who has a real interest in what your business is about and feels a connection with what you say in your blog.  MyBlogLog offers your readers a way to become a more active person in the conversation, with you and with each other.  As your customers become more invested in the conversation, they become more emotionally (and hopefully financially) invested in your business.

Additionally, MyBlogLog is the only service of its kind that lets you know what your readers are doing on your site and elsewhere.  With our integrated stats reporting, you get key actionable data about how your readers get to your site and where they go to leave, plus you get insight into what they do elsewhere on the web.

MyBlogLog exists to give you a greater connection to your customers. What could be better for small businesses?

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Join the HALO Business Advisors community at http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/halodesign/ and a big THANKS to Eric for granting this interview – I hope you found it as insightful as I did!