What a few weeks we’ve had. What a few months. First we had Brexit, now we have a new President-elect in the US.
I thought I’d wait a few days, let the dust settle and write a post that helps you immunise yourself from world affairs. Donald Trump WILL be elected President of the US in January. Brexit WILL begin next year – muted for March but with the recent courtcase has thrown something on that.
And you WILL remain chief of staff in your business…through good times and uncertain times.
So I thought I’d give you 5 tools or tips to immunise your business that you can do right now to give your business a push.
5 World Affairs Immunisation Strategies
1. Re-engage with your Clients
Just last week I was asked to join a petrol loyalty card scheme. Companies are focused on customer loyalty, even if it’s in the form of a card. And while many of us have umpteen ‘loyalty’ cards in our bag, it does show that we have a propensity to shop with favourite suppliers.
You should throw a fence around your customers and clients. You’ve already done the hard work getting the clients. You should do everything you can to keep your customers, so that they don’t go anywhere else.
And how do you that?
Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
If you’re a service based business, communicate regularly. Give them useful information, share your knowledge gladly with them and try not to constantly ask them to buy stuff from you.
Have you considered sending a newsletter, by email and print to your customers?
Do you know what I’ve learned over the years? Your clients and customers will buy when they’re ready. You just need to keep yourself in their vision so when they’re ready to buy, you’re there to sell.
2. Get Better at Marketing
If you’re a business owner, then you’re a marketer. It’s not just me that’s the marketer. You are too.
Marketing is the process of attracting, converting and engaging customers and clients. That means, everything you do falls under one of those three categories. I call it my ‘ACE model of marketing’.
If you are doing some thing that is not either attracting, converting or engaging prospects and clients, then you need to stop and re-prioritise your activities.
What do I mean by that? Take social media for example. Social media needs planning, don’t go online with no specific reason. You will get sucked down a rabbit hole of Trump stories, funny dogs and cute cat videos. An hour goes by and then it might take another 30 minutes to get back to productivity.
Go onto your favourite platform and engage with people who engage with you, retweet interesting comments and share information. But then get off again, turn off notifications and set about doing marketing tasks that produce value.
And of course, don’t forget to bookmark or RSS feed my blog for marketing information and tips.
3. Get Clear on your Message
I’ve said it for a while now – a confused mind never buys. If someone doesn’t know the difference between you and a competitor, then they won’t buy from you. Or they will bargain you down in terms of price.
In the absence of any other attributes, a prospect will decide your value on it’s price. You need to create a category of one in the mind of your prospect. Forget the 10% difference, it’s 100% difference that you should be aiming for.
And again, how do you do that? Well you get clear on your message, your market and the words you use. Don’t be a samey-samey as your competitor – you don’t know that its working for them. Look at you, your process, your product or service, your personality, your location, your results.
All of these help you figure out what truly makes you different. People are already buying from you – go ask them. But just be super clear on your message.
4. Use your Website
A lot of business owners have tended not to use their website to update news of their business. It’s so easy to post a quick post on social media, a quick thought-leadership comment from your smart phone or tablet. It seems so cumbersome to login to a wordpress or other CMS and create a new page. You have to create a visual aswell and then add alt tags and SEO the post or page. So you mean to do it later but then later never comes.
I’d like you to start using your website a bit more. It’s your storefront. I feel like I’m saying that for years now (in fact, I have..my first online marketing advisory campaign was aimed at travel agents moving online in 2000). But it remains true.
Google keeps changing its algorithm so you need to stay relevant online. Which means centring your business on your website and supporting it with social and digital media.
You need to drive people to your site (attract) and when there, convert them into paying customers or leads (using lead magnet or shopping cart).
So think about your website and plan three things to do differently in the next week.
5. Test small and test often
The toughest number in marketing is one. I know, for years I just networked as a means to marketing. It worked out really well at the beginning, it’s how I started my business. I dabbled in email marketing. But when 2009 came around, I realised that you need more than one method of marketing. So I began testing one different method every month that year. I tested small, measured the results and either did a bit more or dropped it.
I don’t really like risk if truth be told so that’s why it’s good to test – test Pay per click ads, Facebook ads, a small postal campaign, an email newsletter, a printed newsletter, networking in a niche area, video marketing, local PR…the list is endless. Use all my copywriting tips that I share with you to write compelling, clear and engaging content on each method you choose.
The beauty of testing small and often is that you’re probably doing more than your competitors. If you are only doing 1 or 3 things, then chances are they are too. So imagine your results if you try 6 new methods.
Right – lets recap all five steps
1. Re-engage with your Clients
2. Get Better at Marketing
3. Get Clear on your Message
4. Use your Website
5. Test small and test often
These five steps will put you in control of your business. You are the chief of staff in your business so don’t let the uncertainty control you. You control your business future.
If you want to take action straightaway, why not book a complimentary call with me? I’d love you to immunise your business. Click HERE and tell me your name, number, a small bit about you. Share some times that you’re available and I’ll call you.
