O MANNY's

Life, and business are pretty much the same. You, and only you decide your standards. You either strive for average existence, good existence, or great existence. A great existence involves a commitment to living, conducting and developing a personal self that never weavers to nothing less. It really isn’t an easy task however it’s never too late. The following might be of help.

For some reason November 19th is Women's Entrepreneurship Day an initiative I believe started by Wendy Diamond, founder of WED initiative. to celebrate, empower, and support women entrepreneurs worldwide.


However I have some thoughts to share about women & men and welcome your thoughts.

I woke up this morning to see my email inbox filled with relevant and irrelevant ads ---‘Hey, buy from me’, or ‘promote us and get a free laptop+ tablet’ or ‘one month free service’. Every single website I’ve visited today has an AD by a major online retailer trying to get me to click their ad and buy something. I don’t remember the last time I clicked on an online ad. Unless if I’m curious & trust the link.However founders would appreciate some coping tips for this crazy thanksgiving, holiday time and other times.

It’s almost that time of the year to celebrate the great blessings in our lives. All around the world some would be in a festive mood and while others would have other reasons to celebrate. Either way, every global Small Medium Business wants to know how they can compete with the giants of the world without getting killed this holiday season or anytime?

In the early days of some religions, especially Christianity, a lot of pagan people had to convert or face death by beheading. Today, consumers are faced with endless marketing, there’s always a brand trying to pull them towards their “club”. For example, PC vs Mac, iPhone iOS & Android, BMW VS AUDI VS Mercedes VS Cadillac VS Lincoln, Pepsi & Coke, etc. The consequence of picking the wrong brand can be less costly however consumers need to know that they’ve made an informed decision. And knowing you’ve Incorporated best ethical conversion tactics is something your business should be proud of.

Truth be told, many startups are afraid of marketing. While they have no problem spending money on product development and sales, marketing is regarded as a necessary evil.

1. Who is your audience?

How To Measure The ROI Of Your Social Media Marketing image measuring the roi of social media marketing

The importance of good branding - Brand new No business today can afford to rest on its laurels. Your business may be keeping up with economic and market changes but is your brand keeping pace? Sookie S.

How to decide if your business needs a re-brand.

Start ups, b2b, professional service providers it’s time for a marketing wake-up call. Many of you are in a desperate need of a marketing makeover. A lot of times what pass for tech-start up, smb, b2b, professional service provider marketing is try a bunch s@%#^ and see what works and really never understanding why it worked so you can repeat it. And a bunch of time you just don’t have the time to execute your marketing strategy. So we decide to share marketing insights while you considered your makeover.

This marketing plan kit is not meant to be a formal document. This is a pen to paper quick and dirty way for startups, small & medium business owners to develop their marketing plans fast. And it’s a tool meant to help us help our clients and prospects.

Deciding to outsource some or all of your marketing efforts is a big decision that requires several steps. Taking the time to embrace the process of finding and selecting a marketing partner will ensure your partnership is a successful one.

Everyone and anyone can sell products but what can differentiate your product is brand DNA.  I’ve been to many hackathons, datathons, businessthons, pickupthons, communithons, etc to know how easy it is to develop a rough product concept.  Tech entrepreneurs and some early adopters, glowing with excitement, gravitate to the prototype like kids on Christmas Day. In a matter of months, start: building the cart, building around a cart, before getting the horse.  The horse is every aspect of business strategy that will help increase your success.  So before beta product launch or any business stage, get your beta brand strategy.

You guys know how to sell success too well......read on

Secretly,  I hate and love you at the same time. Sort of like sex, I hate whom I’m f$%#^& but the pleasure is just so damn great. (laugh)...when you bring her home, you take off her blouse slowly , stroke her front to back like a brand new car,  pressing all her buttons, the urge to go in grows with anticipation, OMG!!!....the screeeeeen saver on my Treo Smartphone is soooo cooooool.

Seriously, you guys lurer bright and dumb people with dreams into your nets.  A tiny percentage  become whales, some become tuna, most become fishes, and a few become scums.  You guys know how to sell success too well. The reality is that not every young entrepreneur seems to fully understand  or can handle your aggressive rosy picture responsibly.  For an example,

Your prospective clients look for the benefits your service provides, including problem solving, getting objective expert advice and the ability to identify and capitalize on new market opportunities. Because the client often cannot evaluate the quality of your service, particularly before services are rendered, your firm must promote the benefits it hopes to deliver. Your services should have one ultimate goal: improve the client’s bottom line.

Because of the wide variety of benefits and services different professional firms deliver, they can have very varied fee levels and pricing structures. Whatever your area of expertise, your service firm should stress the improved value it delivers to clients over time, be it in enhanced productivity, more complex and complete information, better representation, entry into fresh markets or new product development.

How do you know if it’s time to ditch (or switch) your niche?
(From a financial adviser perspective)

You’re not getting referred.If you’re not receiving several high-quality referrals per month, you might not have an effective niche.

One of the key factors of a successful niche is that members of the group actively talk to one another. Members of your niche should share some special interest that lead to networking opportunities. If you’re not seeing the benefits of that community connection, it’s time to re-evaluate. A true niche naturally congregates and communicates.

***Share your thoughts or why what you are working on is a great opportunity.
Who ever thought people would pay $100 for earphones?  Earphones have been around for years yet no thought to create a whole new category. Now headphone brand, beats by Dr. Dre, owns 70% of the premium headphones market.

Everyday as I try to dissect the beats success, I sometimes wonder why others never saw this 5years or 10years ago.

Consider the following 7 reasons why your business may not be growing.

Chasing whales. 

If we learned anything from Captain Ahab and Moby Dick, it was don’t let the pursuit of the whale drag you under.While on paper a big contract looks very appealing, the energy and resources required to attract, win and keep those once-in-a-blue-moon opportunities could put your entire company at risk.
Instead of having your livelihood hinge on a few large pieces of business, why not focus on servicing a smaller, steady base of clients? With small businesses making up 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms according to the SBA, know that there’s plenty of opportunity to go around.

I believe if certain groups don’t stepup their confidence and assert themselves, they are going to miss out on the digital revolution. There’s wearable, VR, the internet of things, augmented reality, lifestyle technology, fashion technology, health, entertainment, social innovations, sexuality, community planning, engineering, space exploration, that are all just dieing for diverse perspective, solutions, and leadership. So in my opinion, stop having pity parties and go bold .

I’m sure many of you have desires but have you ever noticed the more determined you are to achieve something the more nervous you become.  So heres what it means when  you are not nervous:

It’s so competitive in the world that market leaders can never get comfortable. Companies like Samsung need to find ways to market differently from Apple. They have  to cater to the same market however they must differentiate their products. So when it comes to SMB companies and startups that are under pressure to differentiate themselves from the crowd. 

1) Don’t underestimate women’s intelligence. Ads that assume they know nothing
about cars, sports, or finances are marketing poison.

***originally written by different author
For professional service marketers, LinkedIn provides numerous ways to connect with key decision makers, showcase your firm’s expertise, build a personal brand, conduct market research and gather competitive intelligence. It helps to:

Telling stories isn't hard. In fact, it can be simple in many cases. Below are a few tried and true tips to getting your stories found (e.g. in Google search results), friended (e.g. a Facebook like), followed (e.g. followed on Twitter), and forwarded (e.g. shared).

Keys to Engaging Storytelling: 

Authenticity and Transparency
Create and Expand Opportunities For Your Target to Share Stories Find, Curate, and Amplify Content That's Already Been Published Keys to Getting Found: Make your content "SEO-Friendly" and follow best-practices for SEO.

Encourage linking to your content from other sites. Measure the organic traffic your content is getting from search engines. To the extent you can understand the keywords people are using to find your content, do so.

Track the traffic from organic search all the way through to conversions and revenue on your site.

Understand which content and stories are the ones that are driving the greatest engagement, conversions, and revenue.

Keys to Getting Friended and Followed: 

Make commenting, liking, and following part of the story you're telling.

Present counters next to these actions as a way to reinforce the idea that yours is a story worth reading/watching/listening to.

Recognize and reward the people that Like, Tweet, Pin, or Follow Your Content. Doesn't have to be big but it should be unique to this audience.

Keys to Getting Forwarded: 

Make sharing a part of the story.
The story gets bigger and better the more people with whom it's shared.
More than 90 percent of the sharing that happens does so through email, SMS, IRC, and other "private" channels. Neglect these sharers at your peril. They should be treated in a manner that is equivalent to your audiences on the major social sites.

Recognize and reward your influencers, the people who are actively referring their friends and followers to your content. There are many ways to do this, but the best are to do so with the development of a long-term, loyal relationship with the influencer in mind. The people are a brand's most valuable audience segment and should be treated as such.

***Originally written by different author
***Shared by BJMANNYST.com

 

Are We in The Era of Annoying Social Media?

Now that both facebook & linkedin & twitter are public companies there’s always more pressure to perform. To please the stock holders with more and more earnings. So what does that pressure on them mean to the millions of social media users? It means these companies will go through great lengths to monetize their success regardless of the impact of the online experience.

I bring this up because linkedin, twitter, facebook are resulting to more intrusive advertising models which personally I find very annoying and many users are irritated by them as well. I wonder if they really know why people use social networks? They use it to socialize and stay connected and informed.

Don’t they know in todays world paid ads and promotion are simply annoying. That most people are now making more decision through the use of influencers and recommendations.

I understand the need to make money but don’t forget not to f#@&^$ with the users, community managers and the group managers. Without a quality experience on your sites, which are created by users, you are nothing. The experience is what keeps users loyal and coming back.

The endless social media emails. Even as a group moderator, I get bombarded by all kinds of email from everywhere. So i’m not immune to the growing annoyance of social media sites. I hope someone at these companines better strike the right balance or else I will find alternatives.

Advantages of Social Media Advertising 

Social media sites are great for building customer relationship and offers an incredible reach and the opportunity to connect with customers in an entirely new way Offers a wide reach, with its potential for viral marketing Traffic generated can be extremely targeted Social media tools are relatively inexpensive 

Disadvantages of Social Media Advertising 

Targeting is so low because of the diversity and breadth of audiences, resulting in low ROI as visitors do not convert Visitors mainly go to social media sites to socialize, and are not interested in advertising Traffic is typically in the learning stage of the buying process; hence it is more important to inform and teach than sell outright Social media can be a hard branding tool for small businesses, and it is not easy to build awareness, create appeal and generate traffic -


Banner Advertising Advantages of Banner Advertising 

Prices (CPM and CPC rates) have gone down through the years With good placement and design, banner ads can deliver above-industry average click through rates Banner ads are good branding tools Easy to track with the available ad serving tools and tracking tools Banner ads can bring in targeted traffic interested in your offerings 

Disadvantages of Banner Advertising 

Some types of banner advertising — e.g. flashing banners, popups, popunders, interstitials — are often seen as annoying and highly intrusive Growing usage of popup and ad blockers that prevents users from seeing the ads Click through rates have significantly declined, due to poor banner design to accumulated bad experiences of web users Oversaturation of banner ads leads to ad blindness

This is what Bill Gates said:
"Software substitution, whether it's for drivers or waiters or nurses … it's progressing. ...
Technology over time will reduce demand for jobs, particularly at the lower end of skill set. ...  20 years from now,
labor demand for lots of skill sets will be substantially lower. I don’t think people have that in their mental model" - Bill Gates



 My statement:
Just thought I'd share this view by Bill Gates & others and maybe learn what skills will be in demand in the future. Like to learn what are the actions currently taken by accountants. As a marketer that engages people from diverse profession and assist business owners and organization. Like to hear your thoughts and maybe start a discusiion.

Hey everyone

I came across an interesting insight from the people at Mastercard. The accuracy of the profile insight I'm not sure but it's interesting from a business and marketer perspective.

Check out their summary as well as the embed pdf document. Enjoy!
Plus, if BJ Mannyst / FU40 Group can be of service to your organization, contact us.

Mastercard's Summary

Using state-of-the-art techniques, MasterCard has
designed a methodology to gauge global consumer
attitudes regarding the use of personal data in social
and commercial settings. Consumers are by and large
fully aware of how their data is harvested and leveraged
by the sites they visit. Globally, they separate into five
quite clearly defined segments, which MasterCard calls
personas, determined by their online behaviors. These
behaviors are indicative of their attitudes toward their
own data, its value, and, most important, what they go
online to accomplish.

Insight...PDF

So many marketing mediums. So many things to do. So many things competing for our consumers attention. You spend so much time creating campaigns however the constant pressure of marketing ROI, in dollars, always lingers. 


As a marketer, i’m sure your role and responsibility has become overwhelming-demanding. So i put together some insight to provide you a better definition of what modern marketing ROI really looks like and what to expect in the future. 

Next Generation Consumers ROI 

If you haven’t spotted the patterns in the past few years, then I’ll make them clear. In every century or generation, the youth & future adults are the ones shaping everyone else future behaviors. From how we consume information to if we plan to have a driverless car. 


Gen-X had some balance of the analog world and the digital world.The youths born from 1982 - present, Gen-Y, what I call the “Snooki” generation have being immersed in more digital things than any generation. And many have formed their social and economic behaviors from many diverse mediums like the internet. They currently have low social trust, very brand aware, not brand loyal, very tech savvy, expect more brand engagement, are powerful & influential on social media. 


So to sell a generation like this and current consumers, for a monetary or non monetary ROI, there’s very high pressure to be, what I call “pleasure pleasers”. A “pleasure pleasers” every time at every transaction at every interaction. Why? We are all becoming emotionally starved. You just cannot let anyone down. 

Social Media & Content Marketing ROI 

Marketing is no longer about making one investment, but increasingly many diverse investments to consumers. And as you know every investment provides different ROI. According to a poll that was ran on FU40 Group LinkedIn page, majority of members admitted to receiving average ROI from social media. I’m not sure if it’s the difficulty of converting “likes” and engagement to money value? I believe we live in more “selfie” world that seeks pleasing oneself before being of service to others. Take now, give eventually. So my conclusion is align yourself to “pleasing” to increase possible ROI. 


Content is just the same however if your content is of extreme value, monetary ROI is possible think “Good to Great” however if yours is no different from others then ROI is less likely. Consumers absorb content and social media of many influencers to aid in decision making. There are just so many voices and choices and the right trustworthy influencers can help narrow their choices. Chipotle for example took a different approach to content by raising awareness of issues that relate to the brand, rather than developing content specifically for the brand. 

Modern Realities of ROI 

The reality to be the “pleasure pleaser” of the “selfie”, multiple tools are needed to get the job done 24/7. So it’s important to balance and understand our monetary and non-monetary ROI. For example: 

• Community investment and nurturing gets you respect and influence 
• Brand investment gets you awareness 
• Story investment gives you a soul and a heart 
• Leadership investment gives you trust and a personality 
• Innovation, change and product investment keeps consumers interested and supportive 
• Equipment, talent, resources investment enables efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainable growth
• Public relations investment grows traffic and community awareness 

Sure most people crave monetary ROI however you must understand that any ROI is a combination of the tangible as well as the intangible. 

Delayed ROI

 All effort will be made by you and your team to get immediate ROI. It is the right thinking however current consumers will engage and interact but have the power to delay monetary or non-monetary action unless you have a very compelling offer that has more value than its cost. It’s like if you want to have sex today but your girlfriend just wants to cuddle for the next 6 months. You have to make the case for sex today. What works is a foot rub 

Atomization Overuse & Technology ROI 

Technology is not your ROI savior. Good old fashion business fundamentals is your answer. Everyone is in this APP instanity that many forget human are likely to use at least 10 apps on a daily and regular basis. And a automation end user cannot control is a big turnoff. 

Marketers want to believe we are personalizing however we forget there's a person with a soul at the other end. Take sometime to share some TLC into your brand experiences. Figure out when to automate and when to inject a person. 

Finding the Right Partners ROI 

 All efforts should be made to cultivate allies and support within and outside your organization or department. And provide the best incentive for loyalty. The pressure for marketers to produce results both monetary and non-monetary is very high so get all the help you can get. Let your partners know that your time is very valuable so efficient use of time is important. Modern marketing is 24/7 real time. 

Data, Big Data Craze ROI 

 Clearly “Big Data” is a challenging problem that isn’t easy to solve, it requires a close relationship with the IT team, money, talent you need to truly get significant ROI from data, depending on your size. Like anything digital, modest is healty, too much is just suicide. You can know everything about someone or predict their behavior but you cannot make them love you. You dont want your brand to be associated with the word “creepy”. 

Effectiveness & Efficiency is Real Time ROI 

In todays marketing, every person you will need to pivot your message or strategy on the fly should be in the same room. Without that type of daily personal engagement, an organization can’t pivot quick enough to keep up or excel. 

The Best Approach to Better ROI 

 (The following list below were presented and written by a different author) 

“Businesses that are winning in today’s market embrace marketing in a more agile, scrappy, and connected way. To them, marketing is more than planning and communications. “ 

1. Spread customer insights further and wider: One of the best sources of growth comes from customer insights. However, far too often they’re kept within a few departments or business units. Effective marketers are collecting and disseminating this knowledge as widely as possible, making sure it is codified, distributed, and used by the right people, at the right time. They routinely gather intelligence from the sales department—the people who hear most often about customers’ daily struggles—and share it with the organization to learn and adapt faster. The most innovative companies also routinely mine insights from their customers’ customers and bring these insights to their other customers to disrupt traditional buying behaviors. 
2. Start true design partnerships with customers: A global chemical company we work with was doing well in its sales to the automotive market across many business units. But it wanted to find a more effective way to cross-sell and find higher value, comprehensive solutions. To do so, it reimagined itself as a design partner, tuning into its customers changing concerns about sustainability and emissions. Using those new insights, the company created needs-based “platforms” that clearly defined the company’s areas of expertise and focus. This became the marketing narrative that told the company’s story in a more relevant, impactful way. 
3. Give teams the space and permission to collaborate: The companies that are winning more often and finding new sources of growth are intentional about giving their businesses and their people space and support to work together on shared growth opportunities. It’s not easy, though. Even newer B2B companies, like (company name) need to explicitly foster this type of collaboration. 
4. Create a larger marketing vision by selling solutions: When we began working with (company name), it had nearly 40 different P&L centers and some of the most elaborate, independent silos we had ever seen. Many of these business units, although selling diverse technology and equipment, targeted the same end users. Marketing recognized the need to better understand and target their key customers and drive a more comprehensive value proposition. Through careful segmentation, the company clarified its three best markets, which covered some 60 percent of its business. That freed (company name) to create more unified messaging, center its research innovation on bigger bets, and spark new conversations with new customers.

 

****We welcome your own insight on ROI on
 how to get it, measure it,

1. Arrange a one-to-one meeting. 

Meeting a referral source in person is an excellent opportunity to learn more about his or her business and interests. Prepare questions in advance so that the conversation flows smoothly. Be ready to give an update on your business and to ask lots of questions about your source’s interests.

After you’ve met at least once, you may also consider inviting him or her to participate in some type of recreational activity, such as a golf outing, fishing trip, concert or play. This can be a good opportunity to let your referral source see a different side of you in an informal setting.

2. Send a thank-you card. 

A handwritten thank-you card makes a great impression, especially in this age of electronic communication. Be sure to write a personalized note that mentions what you’re thanking your referral source for.

3. Send a gift. 

Like a thank-you card, a gift -- however small or inexpensive -- can help build visibility and credibility with your referral source. Try to find out what his or her likes are (such as favorite foods, hobbies, etc.), and send a gift that is personalized.

4. Call a referral source. 

 An occasional, casual phone call is a good way to keep the relationship strong -- when you take care to call only when it’s least likely to be an unwelcome interruption. It’s also a good idea to have a piece of news or some tidbit of information to pass along that will benefit or interest your source. You can set up a file on your computer or smart phone for holding content that may be of interest to people you would like to be your referral sources. Sending an article, especially one that is pertinent to your source’s current business or personal circumstances, reaffirms that you are thinking about his or her needs.

5. Display a source’s collateral. 

Doing a bit of sales work on behalf of a referral source can only enhance your relationship. If you have a public area for your business, offer to place your source’s materials where your clients can read them.

6. Extend an invitation. 

Invite a referral source to a networking event. Introducing him or her to other businesspeople you know gives your source an opportunity to meet others in your target market. It may also provide new business opportunities for you both.

7. Nominate them for an award. 

Watch for these types of opportunities. Local service and civic organizations often present annual awards recognizing contributions to a particular cause, and local periodicals often sponsor awards contests for business people. Find out which groups and interests your referral source is involved in and check to see if there is a form of recognition associated with them.

8. Include a source in your newsletter. 

Even a brief mention of a referral source in your newsletter can pay dividends down the road, including the opportunity for them to reciprocate the favor in their own newsletter.

9. Arrange a speaking engagement. 

Help your referral source get in front of a group that would be interested in his or her business or area of expertise. Local chapters of service organizations are always looking for good speakers. If you belong to a group that invites people to speak, use your contacts to help your source make the rounds among various chapters.

10. Turn the table. 

Offer your referral source a referral he or she might find useful. It’s often a wonderful way to build your relationship. By helping build your source’s business, you help create a debt of gratitude that will encourage your source to respond in kind.


***Written by a different author and has been edited for clarity and modernize.

Relationships.Building real relationships with real people in the real world will increase your chances of success. 

Here's why relationships are the key to business success: Your most important asset is your network - not your virtual network, your real one. Every successful executive and entrepreneur will tell you, their most important asset is their network, and they don't mean social network. They mean people they actually know and work with in real time because they're the ones that actually get things done.

One real relationship in the real world is worth more than 10,000 social media links, likes or followers. Sales transactions are between two real human beings. Even with ecommerce, most sales transactions are still between two human beings. Think about it. Every significant B2C and B2B transaction involves a buyer and a seller, not to mention all the channel development and pre- and post-sales support. And the best product doesn't necessarily win. Buyer behavior is mostly subjective and relationships are a big factor. In a service business, they're the biggest factor, hands down.

When opportunity knocks, it's always a person knocking ... and answering. As much as we like to fantasize about opportunities just falling in our laps, the truth is, that never happens. Of the thousands of career and business opportunities I've been involved with over the past 30 years, every single one involved a real relationship. Every job, every piece of advice, every business deal, every vendor relationship - there's that word - every single one.

***Written by a different Arthur

 

I believe I've said this many times. If your strength is not marketing, people, sales, business development then either learn it or get it.   Every time I see smb businesses trying to do something like marketing and spending all kinds of money & time that gets them zero return or mediocre branding or terrible marketing.  It personally upsets me.  

In a very competitive world , great marketing is very very hard. 

 

And for a start-up, SMB business it requires a lot of hard work and a lot of relentlessness.

Here are some of the tips BJ Mannyst shares with prospects  to help them get the most out of their marketing. 

Before anything

A few hours of planning can save you time and money. Take sometime to learn how people in the business you are trying to get in operate their business. Learn what it is consumers want and need. Figure out who else will you be competing with. How big is the market. What is buying process?  So plan and educate yourself as much as possible.

What do you want to accomplish

- Through your planning and education you should begin to see what exactly you want.  So set objectives as to what tools or help you’ll need and what returns could I get. So figure out tools (business cards, website, social media, flyers, videos, events, influencers, advisers, seo, strategy, money, partners, store, distributors, etc.) that will work together to achieve your objectives.

Spend time networking

I’m not saying collecting cards and blasting email. I mean start building relationships.  Meet local and global smb business owners and make friends. 

Become an expert

Simply means if you are selling cigars you better try to know everything about cigars and convey it passionately.  Sure there are other cigar experts but you must find your own way  of differentiating yourself from the crowd.

 

Marketing and technology has never been so interdependent till the burst of the digital revolution. Everywhere you go technology dependence is at its highest. 

However businesses sometime forget the fundamentals that marketing is less about technology and a lot more about human nature.

“Marketers feel they are unable to maximize the value of their technology due to insufficient skills or a lack of appropriate partnerships or organizational structures,” 

So I came up with some suggestions and thoughts: 

• l SMB businesses need to build their marketing operations around their customers and their core needs. It should be complimenting your marketing plans not the other way.
• l Sure you think you need to mine for data and analyze it but how much data do you really need and which measurement are important to your business?
• l Learn from other companies and how they use technology affectively but come up with systems that best work for your business.
• l Think sustainable and think long term
• l Think flexibility. Think ease of use.
• l Decide your focus: Increasing your followers today or increase the quality of the experience
• l Invest enough time into training

 

Since you went through the trouble of clicking you expect something.  

Well the first is to get a hook like the title. It’s like telling your partner, she’s the only woman you find attractive. 

If you are not laughing then you don’t deserve to read this top secret list.

15 WAYS:

• keep your brand name consistent
• Exploit your underdog status
• Don’t just think local think the universe
• Put some soul into it
• It stands for or its communication tone is
• Develop your strategy and positioning
• Maintain internal and external relationships
• Get a powerful public relations
• Move with a Sense of urgency
• Provide great content & experience
• Offer real added value
• Take care of your customers
• Build a community
• Focus on what the user finds most important about your product.
• Honestly, it does not happen overnight.

 

According to numerous surveys and discussions the greatest issues  small business owners worry about are: finding new customers,  affording employee benefits, keeping their current customers  paying business bills, hiring good workers, competition.

So we at BJ Mannyst thought maybe we can share some helpful tips. 

 

Spend On Marketing

- In some ways marketing can be seen as flushing money down the toilet because the returns are not immediate however its the best investment you can make in your business. The world is very competitive and some how you must figure out how to get others to buy from you instead of your competition down the street. 

So we suggest you set aside an amount that go towards marketing activities: branding, strategy, product development, market research, advertising, social media, etc. (You decide which activity would be best and which you can sustain for long periods)

However, be sure to give your business the room to try out alternative marketing opportunities and ideas to see if they work.

Get Your Appearance Right

-We live in a world where your first impression can really shape the future of your business. So we suggest you build a simple effective website, develop a great social media management strategy, color scheme, logo, etc. Place your business contact information where ever it needs to be on your website  or top of your store. 

However before you begin anything relating to your business image, communication take sometime to think about how you want to be seen as well as consider who your target will be.  What does the competition do. This is something  BJ Mannyst (bjmannyst.com) can help you with.

Find or Hire Someone to Spread the Word

-There are many ways to bring in business however its finding the quality methods among the garbage out there, that’s the challenge.  Most prospects research you and your organization long before they contact you. So put out genuine content , business listings , insights, tips, etc. That would be helpful to your targets.  However before you put out any material make sure you can live up to your standards. 

Keeping Them

-them means customers. The simplest thing is doing the right things right. There are times customers would be upset that your product or service did not live up to their expectation.  So before they run out and tell two people, why not prevent unsatisfied customers or negative reviews. Someway to do that is to be honest with them prior to taking their money. Make sure you know what exactly you can deliver. Make sure customer can vent their complaints to a decision maker. Have policies in place to guide you. Always be listening to your customers.

Build An Engaging Social Media Presence

- Social media is a powerful way to market and engage prospects because there are no middle men. It’s direct interaction with people.  If you are catering to consumers go with Facebook or Twitter. If you are b2b or provide goods or services to business decision makers go with LinkedIn. YouTube is another way to spread the word or provide helpful tips.

However social media activity is not a sit and wait or idle thing. You must make a commitment of some time to it.

Save Money & Time by Automating

-Some things in marketing, hr, etc. Can now be automated, meaning you just program a few instructions and it just does it over and over again with little to no human involvement. For a example, you can use some CRM  software to automatically contact a prospect with a particular message once they ask for a quote.

Always Know How Well Your Marketing is Doing

-Sure marketing is important so is monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of your marketing dollars and cents. For more helpful tips & ideas visit: BJMANNYST.COM

 #1 Be True to Your Self 

“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” Oprah Winfrey Oprah has been captivating audiences since she was three years old. Her local church had nicknamed Oprah “The Preacher” for her ability to recite Bible verses. She had a knack for interviewing too. Back then, Oprah’s favorite game was to ask question of her doll and the crows on the fence of her family’s property.

In other words, Winfrey was pretty much born to be a talk show host. If you feel like your job is a round hole and you’re a square peg, it’s time to make a change.

You think marketing is challenging today. In the next few years it will be tricky. We’ll figure out how to communicate, engage, sell, promote better however what we will always encounter is the human nature. For example, sure today everyone likes Apple iPhone but with-time iPhone’s strengths will become a turn off. Think BlackBerry as well.

A lot of times, founders think their business & personal relationship management is great when in fact it’s just average. Our relationships are average because we are dealing with people and people come in different shapes & sizes. So we decided to look up ways founders could improve their relationships and share some tips..

What Relationships Need: To have healthy and mutually beneficial relationships, respect, unselfishness, trust, rapport, some common interest or purpose that binds you & them, healthy consistent contact over time (pace yourself).

Be Helpful: You generally know what you want from work and outside environment. Most times if you help someone get what they want you will eventually get what you want. Remember to give & take responsibly. 

Offer Relevant and Mutually Beneficial Introductions: This is the least expensive ways to maintain relationships. Share insights from credible experts or sources, links to events, share each others blog post or article that’s mutually beneficial. If one party isn’t equally making an effort then you can decide whether to reduce your efforts.

Figure Out What Type of Relationships: Relationships come in different shapes and sizes. First, take the time to know yourself better. Second, no relationship will ever meet all your needs so have some variety. 

• That Fellow - You know each other on a general level, roles however nothing more develops. No one has interest to explore any further relationships.
• Guardian Coach - Someone much experience or older takes time to help others grow. Usually this is a win-win if it is conducted on a healthy & clear purpose. 
• Unconditional Praise - Usually any relationship in this area is simply based on caring & support. They are the ones who will encourage you, council you, defend you, and usually done because they care about you as a person. 
• Look-up To - Someone whose example, action, and achievement has some influence on you. It’s sort of like a close role-model. 
• Knowledgeable - This person is your best listener, best communicator and likely exposed to diverse resources or information. They enjoy sharing information to assist you in growing.
• Friends - Is simply striking the right balance of everything above. You look out for each other.
• Romance - Is simply striking the right balance of everything above. You look out for each other. Plus, the pleasures and pain of sex & love.
• Irritant: Someone who just irritates you some how or whose personality clashes with yours. Some times these relationships help you become a better & stronger person. Sometimes it’s hell. So the best solution is find the good in them, ignore them or get away from them.

 Now that you have a good idea of relationship types, let us remind you that relationships require effort. Some extra ideas for managing relationship.

• Keep people posted about what you are up to and inquire about what they are working on or accomplished. 
• The key is to Stay top of mind always. It’s a lot easier to reconnect with others if you kept up your staying in touch. However not everyone is going to fit into relationship criteria but the best thing is to make sure it’s nothing shallow like whether they are popular or not. 
• Thank God for email. Email can be part of your inexpensive arsenal of staying in touch weapons. 
• Use social media wisely. Talk to them where they frequent , recommend them, endorse them, relevant comment on their discussions,. 
• Find your own ways to be visible. Whether it’s volunteering, sponsorship, donations, promotions, advice, storytelling, listening, online post, etc. 
• Everyone should have a blog if you want to grow personally because it pushes you to keep learning. 

 

What are other ways to build better relationships? We welcome your comments here and on linkedin.