O MANNY's

We all have personal and business challenges that we haven’t the time, energy, and patience to solve. For example, You may want to change and improve your service business performance and yet you just don’t know where to start. I and the BJ Mannyst team are always looking for interesting service business (the occasional product business) challenges from North America tech companies to non-tech companies that just need another look or a fix. 

You could email us [info(at)foundersunder40.com  / info(at)bjmannyst.com ]for a free quick suggestion and if you need further assistance, consider our Test-Drive offer which is a more in depth discussion which is sometimes a PAY-WHAT-IT-IS-WORTH price package. 

In the moment, here are some tips (sponsored by BJMANNYST.COM):

If you are going to be kicking ass in marketing post 2020, you’ve got to be agile and fast.

You are going to need to be agile and fast adapting operation. Even if you have mastered a tool, tactic, etc there are new innovations, platforms, rules that can change your role in the market.

You can be very big or still starting out your service business. You are going to need analysis, strategies, marketing tools a.k.a marketing stacks to do a good job.

 if you haven’t still figure out your ideal client for your business that might be a cause for concern. If you have no idea how to reach them, maybe start with some basics like city, industry, number of employees, etc

If you haven’t figure out the purpose of content marketing, maybe get some help. The content you produce and share are ways potential buyers today decide whether to consider your business or not. 

Simply advertising with google adwords or radio is not enough. B2B content needs to be crafted, SEO, relevent, distributed to the right channels. We can take a look at that for you. Just remember content is just a way to get a sit at the table.

If you haven’t figure out social media or other social platforms, that’s okay. You can still get in however like I said it’s just gets you a sit at the table. Meaning every business or consumer expect you to have a presence there but it doesn't necessarily guarantee any monetary ROI.

If you are not staying up to that, I would suggest you do or find someone that can keep you informed. It’s just impossible to stay in business today if you are not paying attention to the world. You know what I do, I use Google Alerts tool or use the FlipBoard app. They are tools that will bring aggregated information to me - - relevant information related to a keyword.

If you’re struggling to get a better ROI for all that marketing, remind yourself you are not alone. Getting better ROI is crucial for any business. There are many ways to assess what’s working and what needs to change. Plus, don’t blame everything on your CMO because their job is not getting easier.
If you are doubting investing in marketing, I would say just invest in it because not investing in marketing is like hoping to win a marathon without shoes. Marketing is not perfect however it can make a huge difference between mediocre or exceptional.

If you have out grown a lot of processes and methods, then you need to find better processes. Company cultures changes, people change, messages changes, etc. Look at it as an opportunity to look into solutions or best practices or hire better people or etc.

If you are still figuring out how to organize your teams, you are not alone. There are so many skills and functions to run a great sales and marketing department / sections. The answer is you have to figure out what works best for you and your team. My suggestion is hire people who can be good generalist or good specialist. Today marketing requires whole lot of specialist tasks like event planner as well as a generalist like digital marketer. Also, it is important to remember that Marketing is a multi-faceted function. Marketing comes in a variety of flavors.

If you’re not customer driven, you are dead meat. You need to build that mindset into your team 24/7 because if you aren’t satisfying them they will simply go else where. So create feedback, complaint, troubleshooting, feature suggestions loops. The key is to be pragmatic and remain focused on identifying and addressing the true needs of customers and prospects.

If it’s a marketing budget issue, think tangible and non-tangible ROI.
When I say ROI it’s not just monetary ROI. It can be awareness, partnerships, hiring, etc. Budget should be better allocation of it. This is where data and assessment comes into play.  You've got to see what's working and what's not. Maybe double down on the things that work.

Also remember to use SMART.

• Specific: focus on a single goal
• Measurable: include milestones to track your success
• Achievable: set objectives that feel reasonable to your team
• Realistic: bear in mind the limitations of your staff, technology, and other factors
• Timed: set a time period for your strategy to begin and end

When it comes to conversions it will likely get harder over time due to more competition for attention. [The greatest difficulties tend to fall between lead generation and lead nurturing. As more brands enter the picture, offering their own content, it becomes harder to make an impact.] I believe it becomes more important to create high-quality content that your target wants to consume.  Try to create content that addresses problems, future, tactics, trends, inspiration, intrigue, warnings, etc


If you are marketing in a sea of options, then take good care of your current customers. [To stand out as the best choice in a sea of options, marketers need to meet, or even exceed, their customers’ expectations. To do this, you need to understand consumers.]
 

The vast majority of customers rely on the same brands for products and services. For every customer you convert, follow up with a great experience. With appropriate marketing, you can maintain this customer for life. Make sure to be leading with integrity and empathy. Make sure to hire for it if you plan on staying in business.

If your team is having trouble being consistent in messaging or marketing, try this.  [Your brand needs to speak to users in the same voice in every piece of content you create. You can help your team, including any outsourced members, to maintain your voice by developing a style guide and clarifying your brand mission. In every campaign, ensure that your brand is recognizable and that every message reflects your values.]


If your team can't decide what tech tool to use, consider this tip.  [The best way to resolve the problem is to immerse your team in tech, especially marketing automation software, as this can have excellent results for increasing productivity. Allow your employees to find the tools they feel comfortable using and that make their jobs easier. You need to include everyone from the CMO and VP marketing to lower-level marketers in the training. This will ensure your entire team understands tech and the role it has to play in marketing today.]


If your marketing is global, you need global market perspective. [Every aspect of your marketing should adhere to a customer-centric strategy. For instance, if global consumers make up a large part of your audience, you will need to create content with them in mind, rather than directing it primarily to users in your home country. Take into consideration monetary values, units of measure, seasons, holidays, and local references.]


If you can't find the talents to help your marketing, find companies / contract workers / freelancers. [There are only a limited number of professionals who possess the desired wealth of creative and technical skills. To avoid a months-long process of seeking ideal candidates, think about what you need from each employee. It may be impossible to find someone with experience in inbound marketing, social media, SEO, and content creation, but it is definitely possible to find several candidates with expertise in some of your criteria. Alternatively, if you are a business without the means of hiring multiple marketing experts, you can always outsource to an inbound marketing agency.]


If you are not living for a long-term vision, you are just wasting your time. [It is easy to get stuck looking at today’s challenges and forget about tomorrow. For your brand to survive, you need to look at your long-term goals. Every action you take should benefit your business in 2019 and beyond. As you measure inbound metrics, adjust and plan your strategy to ensure that you are able to keep pleasing customers and that you will continue to grow your business and ROI in the foreseeable future.]


If you are not becoming a value to prospects and clients, you are just becoming a commodity they can easily replace. [A service firm must demonstrate value to customers and prospects. Services such as accounting, computer maintenance and insurance are essential to the efficient day-to-day operations of a business. However, services such as marketing, training or consultancy are more peripheral. Service firms have to demonstrate that those services can add value to the customer’s business. ]


if you are having trouble differentiating your service business, that's your chance to differentiate. [Customers can only judge the quality of a service when they have used it. They cannot inspect the service in the same way they can examine a product on a shelf. Service firms must therefore find ways to differentiate themselves from competitors. Accreditation with a recognized body is one way of demonstrating professionalism. Firms aim to build their reputation by publishing authoritative articles or speaking at industry seminars. Specialization can also create a point of difference. The salesperson must create a need for the service by showing examples of how other businesses increased revenues with an advertising campaign.]


If you really want to figure it out, consider this marketing 101 tip. [Strategies that can be employed to overcome some of these challenges include the application of the extended marketing mix which highlights the fact that the traditional 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) of marketing, while sufficient in product marketing are inadequate in successfully marketing a service. Thus an additional 3Ps (People, Physical evidence and Processes) will provide the optimal mix of strategic variables to overcome the challenges of services marketing]  Which basically means. . .you will need your basic tools just as much as your advance tools.

We really hope this resource has been invaluable, if your North American startup or SMB is having some challenges give us a shout...we'll take a look for free or sometimes a PAY-WHAT-IT-IS-WORTH price package.  Email : Account Manager< info[at]bjmannyst.com>  with a clear subject.  Cheers!   

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