Understanding the Difference Between B2B and B2C Marketing

There is a difference between marketing to a business and marketing to a consumer, believe it or not. Although you are still selling a product to a person experience shows that the difference between these two types of markets runs deep.

When you market to a B2B you will realize these businesses work hard to streamline the buying process in order to save time and money. This often explains why a B2B purchase is based more on logic and why a consumer's purchase is based more on emotion.

It is true that the cost of a sale for the business-to-business market is more expensive and typically higher than the business to consumer market. The easiest way to explain this is that a business-to-business transaction often takes more consideration.

Let me see if I can explain even further.

Marketing to B2B
When you are marketing to a B2B you want to focus on the logic of the product. You do this by focusing on the features of the product. There is little to no personal emotion involved in the purchasing decision. You want to focus on understanding the organizational buyers and how they operate within the confines of their organization's procedures. The B2B market has a thirst for knowledge and they are information seekers. Be more in-depth with your marketing materials. Your most effective marketing message will focus on how your product or service saves them time, money and resources.

Your business-to-business market is more interested in the logic behind your product. They will want to hear more about the features and how it will help them in saving time, money or resources.

Marketing to B2C
When you are marketing to a consumer you want to focus on the benefits of the product. Their decision is more emotional. Consumers are different in that they demand a variety of distribution channels for convenience, not so with the B2B market. Consumers are less likely to be interested in a lengthy marketing message. They will want you to get right to the point. Consumers don't want to work to understand your benefits, instead they will want you to clearly point out the benefits to them. Your most effective marketing strategies will focus on the results and the benefits that your product or service will bring to them.

Your business-to-consumer market purchase more on emotion. They are more interested in the benefit of the product. They will want to hear more about how their product or service helps them and what benefits it brings to them personally.

For example consider this: My product is lotion.

My lotion will moisturize the skin and relieve itching skin.

If I have a B2B client they will be most interested in the feature of the client which is moisturizing the skin. If I have a B2C client they will be most interested in the benefit which is relief of itching skin.

We will be most effective in marketing if we understand what both markets need in order to make a decision.

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What is a Marketing Plan?

Think of a your marketing plan as a roadmap. Your marketing plan outlines specific actions that you will take to market your product or service potential customers. These actions work to persuade these potential customers to purchase your products or services.

Your marketing plan does not need to be long and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money to complete. Marketing plans can be a part of your overall business plan or as a singular document. If you think of it as your "roadmap" that will provide you with detailed directions on how to reach your marketing goals.

It's important to research before completing your marketing plan, by doing so it will help you in staying organized so that you are able to achieve your goals. A thorough marketing plan will detail what you want to accomplish with your marketing strategy and assist you in meeting your goals.

A marketing plan will achieve the following objectives:

* Enables companies to look internally in order to fully understand the impact and the results of past marketing decisions.
* Equips companies to look externally in order to fully understand the market that it targets and the competition in that space.
* Set future goals and provide direction for future marketing initiatives. The goals should be understood and supported by everyone with the company's organization.

Your marketing plan should include the following:

* Summary and Introduction
The summary and introduction is a quick overview of the main points of the plan. It should be a synopsis of what you have done, what you plan to do, and how you are going to get there.

* Marketing Objectives
This section will define your marketing objectives. These objectives should be based on understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and the business environment in which you operate in. They should also be linked to your overall business strategy. It's not uncommon and is often beneficial to focus on specific targeted segments that you will be marketing to.

* Situation Analysis
Your situation analysis details the context for your marketing efforts. In this section you will take a close look at the internal and external factors that will influence your marketing strategy, this is called a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis combines the external and internal analysis to summarize your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

* Target Markets
The concept of target markets is one of the most basic, yet most important aspects of marketing. There is no such thing as the a "one message" fits all marketing message. It is unrealistic to think that you can attract everyone. Defining your target market or segmenting your market helps you decide where to commit resources and what kinds of promotional methods and messages to use.

* Strategies
Strategies are action steps that detail how the marketing variables of product, price, place and promotion are used to attain the marketing plan’s objectives and overall strategies.

* Tracking and Evaluation
This section of your plan should include plans and procedures for tracking each type of marketing activity you are using. Tracking helps monitor the effectiveness of each marketing activity and is especially helpful with your overall program evaluation. If you are not tracking you are not marketing.

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How To Write a Slogan that Sticks

When you think of slogans, what comes to mind? What brand can you recite a slogan for immediately?

Take for example the following slogans that have made their way into the memory of thousands:

* Just Do It - Nike
* This Buds for You - Budweiser
* Have it Your Way! - Burger King
* We Bring Good Things to Light - GE
* We'll Leave the Light on For Ya! - Motel 6
* Zoom! Zoom! - Mazda

Use the six components below to test your slogan and make sure it has what it takes to make it stick.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: 1 to 3 Hours
Here's How:

1. Make it Memorable
Your slogan must be memorable. Make it easy to remember, something they want to brand in their memory and possibly even repeat to others. Take for example the above slogans, when you first heard them what was it that made them stick with you?

2. Key Benefits
Your slogan must contain a key benefit of the product or service. Give them a reason to remember it.

3. Differentiate Your Brand
It must differentiate your brand. Does it bring out the character of the product or services that sets it apart from your competitors?

4. Solidify the Brand
It must recall the brand name otherwise who cares who remembers it. The brand can be depicted in the words you use or in the image of your logo.

5. Rhythm and Rhyme
Create rhythm and rhyme. Does it rhyme? Does it have a ring to it? The rhythm of the tagline will help to stick in the memories of those that read it or hear it.

6. Warm and Fuzzy Effect
Make it warm and fuzzy. Does your slogan leave people feeling warm and fuzzy? Does it bring a smile to their face or perhaps even a little chuckle? A slogan is more likely to stick in the minds of others if it imparts a positive feeling or emotion.

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Quantifying Your Marketing Efforts

It's true we spend marketing dollars to display at trade shows, to attend events, to hold conferences, and to produce marketing material for campaigns. How do we know what we are getting in return? How can we quantify the results to make sure they are worth the revenue spent?

This may seem like an easy question, however it's one that I am asked often. I have seen companies that don't even quantify their marketing efforts. Let me just say that's a big mistake. While marketing can be in the most part trial and errors you can diminish errors by actually using calucations to see which campaigns are bringing in the most results for the money.

It's vital to develop a consistent plan and strategy that will help you project, measure and evaluate your marketing campaigns, without it you are simply going about marketing blindly. This is one of the most costly mistakes in business.

In each marketing campaign you must develop a plan and strategy that identify the following:

* Quantitive and Qualitative goals
* Campaign budget
* Fulfillment and response strategy
* Follow-up Strategy
* Tracking and testing criteria for your campaign

Depending on your objective most goals can be measured effectively using one of three methods. These methods include:

* Cost per sale
* Cost per qualified lead
* Cost per visitor

Once you decide which result you want to measure and you have the costs incurred for the event; calculating is actually fairly easy.

Cost per sale = Amount Spent for Event/Campaign / Number of sales = Cost per sale

Cost per Qualified Lead = Amount Spent for Event/Campaign / Number of Qualified Leads = Cost per qualified Lead

Cost per Visitor or Response = Amount Spent for Event/Campaign / Number of visitors or response = Cost per Visitor or Response

Using these formulas and having a developed plan for each campaign will give you the information you need to decide if in fact the campaign or event was effective for your business. If it was...Congratulations. If not, it's time to visit the efforts of the campaign and find out exactly why it didn't work and how you can better it the next time. Was it the event location, wrong targeted marketing? Perhaps your materials that you sent out didn't care an actionary message? There are several reasons why a campaign may not yield the desired the results, but future successes will come from determining what those reasons are.

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Create a 90-Day Marketing Plan

Create a 90-Day Marketing Plan

It's that time of year where we begin to evaluate how well we did and start to develop new plans for the upcoming year. This year I'd like to suggest that you try something new, rather than creating a one-year marketing plan or a five-year marketing plan, why not try creating a 90-day plan?

While it's important to always monitoring your marketing it is vital in this economy to be diligent and watch where you spend your marketing dollars as well as track how effective your marketing campaigns are.

Why a 90-day plan?

* You can use it to clearly track progress in the short-term.
* You can use the data you gather over that 90-days to create a baseline that you can use to track your grand plan.
* It enables you to re-direct your plan if something is not working and do it quickly without worrying that it will effect your annual plan.
* Using 90-day increments enable you to stay in tune with change and meet the market demands, without detouring from your master goal.
* Your master plan will not become irrelevant, because your 90-day goals will continue to drive you the finish line.

What better time to get started than today? I've always noticed when working with companies to redo their marketing plan and build out a workable strategy that it ignites a new excitement about the business and the potential that may have been lost in the paperwork and busyness of day-to-day duties.

Are you ready to get started? Find a quiet place, sit down and spend some time evaluating and answering the following questions:

* What marketing worked well for my business in 2008?

* What marketing worked well, but could of done better in 2008?

* What marketing did I do in 2007 that didn't work well at all?

* The marketing that I did in 2008 that did well, performed well because:

* The marketing that I did in 2008 that failed, failed because:

* In the next 90-days, I define my target market as? Will I change the geography I target? Will I target a different income level or demographic of consumers? Will I target product-oriented users, service users or both?

* In 2008 my consumers could be defined by target market as?

* What marketing vehicles will I use in the next 90-days and why?

* I really need to work on enhancing, concentrating or revising my marketing message by:

* In the next 90-days my marketing budget will be?

Now use the answers to these questions and chart them on a 90-day timeline. Set your start date, your end date and what you will do in between. Evaluate weekly how your plan is working, make changes where you need to and adjust when necessary. When you list out what has to happen in the next 90-days, you'll have a clearer picture of priorities, a realistic working plan, and the results you'll generate.

Last step, don't forget to tell me how 90-day marketing plan worked for you.

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Understanding the Media Buying Process Step-by-Step

Media buying, sounds complicated doesn't it? Are you ready to learn how to conduct media buying by completing five steps?

Step 1 - Identify your target market.
Who are you trying to reach? Who is your target market? Create a profile that reflects the consumer you are trying to reach. Questions you may want to ask yourself: What is their age? Are they male or female? What's their average income? The answers to these questions will be helpful when trying to identify the best venue in which to place media.

Step 2 - Research your target market.
Once you've identified your target market, it's time to do some market research. You can do your own research, which is called primary research or you can depend on secondary research that's already been done. There are cost benefits to secondary research.

In this step, you want to identify where you will find your target market, as well as other demographics that can assist you in selecting the right media buy.

Will you find your target market online? Are they television watchers? What about magazines? What marketing vehicles will work best when it comes to placing advertisements?

It's important to understand the consumer behavior of those that you are targeting. This will help in placing a media buy that is effective and performs by achieving your identified objectives. Research can help you in doing this. Research can also provide you with information on what your competitors are doing and where they are going to reach the audience you are trying to reach.

Step 3 - Set your objectives.
Don't miss this step. When you set the marketing objectives that you want to achieve with your target market, you can begin to create a plan. And, until these two things are defined, a plan is destined to fail.

What do you want to do with your media buys? Are you looking to create awareness? Is your goal to achieve sign-up or sales? Identify what objectives are most important to you for each media buy so that you can measure whether or not those objectives are being achieved.

You can also share these objectives with those you are buying media from and ask their option on whether their outlet will work for that objective or not. Remember, their job is to sell, so weigh their input, but don't consider it invaluable.

Step 4 - Define and plan out your strategy.
You've identified your target market, you've done your research and you've set your objective. It's not time to define and create a strategy.

Your plan should contain the following:

* Where will you buy media? Are there specific outlets you are interested in?
* What is your budget and where can you allocate that budget, so that you can achieve the objectives you have identified? What components should your media plan contain?

An Example Media Buying Strategy and Plan

Here is an outline of a media plan and strategy that tends to work best for me:

* Executive Summary (What is the summary of the strategy)
* Objectives and How Will You Achieve Them
* Identify your Overall objectives
* What publications or media outlets have you chosen based on the previous steps?
* What's your budget?
* How much will you spend with each outlet and why?
* What objective do you hope to achieve with each outlet?

Example: Media Outlet 1
(Tip: Break out each media outlet )

Target served:
Definition of qualified market reached by this outlet:
Circulation Numbers:
Key Classifications of circulation if applicable (This is extremely helpful if you break out by percentage.):
Recommended Schedule:
Costs - This section should include the following :

Negotiated Rate:
Rate Card Rate:
Total Negotiated Savings per Advertisement:
Total Negotiated (Monthly / Yearly) Savings:
Total Costs:

Ad Placement Guarantee: (Where will the ad appear and when? What pages and what dates?)

Are their bonus placements for the media buy?

Is there any added value to the placement? Perhaps a free report, company profile, listing in a directory or e-blast mention?

Rationale behind the placement? Summarize the reasoning for placing this media buy. You can also use comparisons to other media outlets vs. this one.

That's a lot of information, yes? Of course it is.

In order to succeed in media buying, you must be detailed. A great media buyer pays attention to detail, spends time researching and can negotiate like a pro.
Be sure and break out each media outlet that you select and complete the above questions. This will assist you in creating a strategy that contains the necessary detail and enough information for proper planning that will lead to a successful media buying campaign. I suggest putting this information in a three-ring binder or using your computer to catalog the information, this will help in creating a media buying history that you can continually refer to. This will save you research time for future media buying. These documents will also help in guiding you through the execution of your media strategy and plan throughout the year.

Step 5 - Execute your plan.

You have your plan in hand, now it's time to get to work. Your first step is to begin to contact the media outlets you have identified and start negotiating your media buy rates. Keep a calendar and a budget in front of you at all times.

Make sure you negotiate rates and ask for bonuses or add-ons that they are willing to give you if you choose to go with them. Once again keep your eye on your budget, your calendar and, most importantly, keep track of important deadlines.

As your media buys are executed, be sure to keep track of the results and evaluate how your plan and strategy is working for you. If you find that you are not meeting your objectives, don't be afraid to adjust your plan as necessary.

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How To Develop a Marketing Strategy in 5 Easy Steps

The benefits of a planned marketing strategy are numerous. Business owners often rely solely on their intuition to make business decisions. While this informal knowledge is important in the decision making process, it may not provide you with all the facts you need to achieve marketing results. A marketing strategy will help you in defining business goals and develop activities to achieve them.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: 2 hours

Here's How:

1. Describe your company's unique selling proposition (USP).
2. Define your target market.
3. Write down the benefits of your products or services.
4. Describe how you will position your products or services.
5. Define your marketing methods. Will you advertise, use Internet marketing, direct marketing, or public relations?

Tips:

1. Your Unique Selling Proposition sets you out from the rest, don't try to develop a marketing plan without one.
2. It's important that you have a budget developed for your marketing plan. Marketing is an investment.
3. Revisit your marketing plan at least once every quarter. Are you on target? Do you need to revise it?

What You Need:

• A place to concentrate.
• A pen or pencil.
• A notebook or journal.

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Turning Your Services into a Product

One of the biggest challenges in selling professional services is that what you are offering is intangible. Your product can't be seen, touched, or tasted. Until your prospective clients experience what you do, they have no way of knowing if it will turn out, whether they will like it, and how well it will work in their situation. To make a buying decision, the client must first trust that your work will produce the result that they need.
The most common way to package professional services is by the hour or day. The client pays for your time, and they keep paying until the project is declared complete. But clients are often resistant to this. You will hear them say, "I don't want to leave it open-ended," "That seems high for an hourly rate," "I'm not sure my budget will allow for this," or even "I'm not quite clear what it is I'd be getting."
You can overcome these barriers to making a sale by "productizing" your services. This awkward term simply means that you make your service look more like a product, so that it becomes easier for your clients to buy. You give it a defined scope, fit it into a limited time period, assign it a definite price tag, and attach a distinctive name.
Let's say you are an image consultant, and you've been selling your time for $75 per hour. Instead, you offer a "One-Day Makeover" at a price of $495, and include a wardrobe assessment, color consultation, and shopping trip. You're giving your clients a defined result with a clear timeframe and set price, making it easy for them to buy. Plus, you are able to let clients experience a range of the services you offer and suggest additional ways they can work with you.
A market research consultant working with corporate clients at $150 per hour could instead provide a "Market Position Blueprint" for a flat fee of $2500. The package would include a comparison matrix of three key competitors, qualitative data from interviews with six loyal customers, and recommendations for improving the client's market position, all to be delivered with 30 days. Clients know in advance exactly what they are paying and what they will get for it.
When buying your services in a package, the client runs less risk. They don't have to worry about cost overruns or getting an unexpected result. They know how soon the result they are paying for will be delivered. There's also an emotional comfort factor in buying a package. Purchasing something with a name attached makes it feel much more tangible than simply buying hours.
For you, offering a package helps you get your foot in the door. Once you show a client what you are capable of, more business will often result. Even if you price your package at slightly less than what you would earn for working the same amount of time at an hourly rate, you will probably profit more because more of your time will ultimately be sold.
Many consultants find that fixed-price contracts are much more profitable than working by the hour. In a survey quoted by the late Howard Shenson in "The Contract & Fee-Setting Guide for Consultants & Professionals," consultants working exclusively on a fixed-price basis had 87% higher profits than those working on a daily or hourly basis.
To determine which of your services would be best to turn into a product, consider what your target market most often wants from you. Is there a specific set of steps you usually follow when first working with a new client? Activities that you perform repetitively with many people give you an opportunity to create templates, worksheets, and other tools that you develop only once and use over and over. This effectively allows you to charge for the same work more than once.
Be sure to spend some time on coining a unique name for your product. You want a memorable results-oriented name that will help you to stand out from the competition, and perhaps even allow you to trademark it.
To launch your first product, you may not need to do much more than develop a standard format for what you are already doing, set a price, and name your new invention. Taking this critical step toward making your services more tangible can result in easier sales, more repeat business, and more profitable engagements.

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Time To Move Up From the Worn-Out Sales Brochure

I got another one of those calls the other day. . ."Can you make me a brochure?" Many business owners have been sold on the notion that they need a tri-fold brochure or they are not in business. Forget it...everybody's got one and no one uses it.
Your potential clients need an education. They need to know how you are different. (The typical tri-fold brochure simply confirms that you are the same.)
Every small business should create the following pieces of information and format them in a way that allows them be printed inexpensively and updated often. I like to call this approach, the Marketing Kit. Your marketing kit starts with several professionally printed pieces that are the framework for up to 10 or 12 different educational documents. The core components are:

1. A pocket folder - A multi-use workhorse, this piece alone, if designed well, can send the message that you are in business to stay. (This one will cost a little but it has many uses)
2. A marketing kit template page- This should be a professionally printed piece that carries your logo and contact information but is different than your letterhead. This is the base piece for the pages described below that insert into your pocket folder. (Your actual marketing files can be MSWord type documents that are laser printed. This gives you the ability to change and update your content and also allows you to tailor your marketing kit content to specific prospects.)

Some combination of the following pages should be created for your marketing kit.

• The Difference Page - Hit them with how you are different and shower them with benefits of doing business with you. Don't tell them what you do. I like to keep this one to the top 3 or 4 things that you do that your target market will value. Think benefits that are unique.
• Deeper Differences - Now take each core difference and tell the reader in greater detail why and how that difference is important.
• A list of services/products - Okay, now tell them what you do or what you offer.
• Deeper Product/Service Descriptions - Go into detail on each of your product or service offering.
• Case Studies - Pick representative clients or industries and outline how your product or service solved someone else's challenge. People learn in different ways and case studies allow them to see themselves getting relief. I think this format works well. State the situation, the problem, your solution, the result. Over time you can collect more and more of these and draw upon the ones that fit an industry or problem that in relevant to your prospect.
• Testimonials - Get quotes from real live clients and create a page titled - "See what others have to say about us." These quotes can be some of the strongest selling tools you have. New technologies make it easy to create audio and video testimonials too.
• Client List - In some cases, just simply listing who else you do business with can present a compelling case.
• Process Description - Show them how you do what you do. Create detailed checklist and flow charts that show them how you keep your promise. In many cases you have these anyway but by making them part of your marketing you can demonstrate how much more professional your organization is. These also help you justify why you charge a premium for your services. Many people underestimate how much really goes into delivering a quality product or service. So show them.
• Your Story - Many companies have interesting or even gut wrenching histories. Tell them your story in an open, honest, and entertaining way and you will win their hearts as well as their heads.
All of the above pieces can, in many cases, be word processed files that are laser printed onto the template I described above. You can learn even more about how to use this unique tool here This format allow for very inexpensive printing and a great deal of flexibility when you need to update, change or even personalize your magnificent marketing materials.

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What to Do When Your Marketing Campaign Fails?

Unfortunately it happens. You plan, you research, you launch and the campaign fails. What could you have missed? What do you do now?
The first thing you want to do is step back. Breathe. Yes, breathe. The worst thing you could do at this point is think you are the only one this has happened to. You're not.
You are probably questioning whether you have the knowledge to work in marketing. You are overwhelmed with disappointment. This is why I want you to just take a step back and put yourself in the shoes of your target market.
Questions to ask yourself:

1. Did the marketing message reach your target?
2. Could they have perceived your marketing message wrong or misunderstood the message?
3. Did you miss the pain questions?
4. Did you do adequate research? Unfortunately lack of research is the reason most campaigns fail.
5. Could your marketing copy or design be at fault for the lack of response? Did you follow the tried and true rules of marketing execution when it came to presentation?

When you take a step back and detach yourself from the campaign to look at it as the audience rather than the developer it's a little easier to see the flaws. It's best to do this before the campaign launches, but let's face it we all make mistakes and it's better to look at it now and learn from it rather than not look at it at all. Evaluate and re-evaluate. When you feel confident that you've found the reason the campaign failed then you are ready to begin again carrying out the components that you possibly missed the first time. Test it before full execution; this is key.

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Marketing Along the Path of Least Resistance

Marketing is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. You have to find your own unique path, the one that works best for you and your business. To make marketing easy, that path needs to be the one where you will encounter the least resistance -- both from the marketplace and from inside yourself.
Here are six steps to put you on the road to effortless marketing:

1. Be willing to let go of struggle. You may believe you want marketing to be easier, but stop and think for a moment. Is there some part of you that is attached to making things difficult? Is there a secret payoff you get from trying so hard? Whenever you find yourself struggling about marketing, pause and ask yourself, "How could this be easy?"
2. Market to the people you like, and who like you. A colleague once told me I would never earn a living marketing my services to solo entrepreneurs. "You have to focus on getting corporate clients," she said. "Then you can afford to work with entrepreneurs once in a while."
Thank goodness I didn't listen to her. Maybe that was the formula that worked for HER business, but it's not where my heart was. One of the reasons I became self-employed was to spend more time working in non-corporate environments. If I had followed her advice, I would have failed miserably.
3. Start with the people who are ready for your message. Yes, there is an entire population out there who would hire you if only you could make them understand what it is you offer and how you can help them. You can make educating those people part of your long-term mission. But in the meantime, you need to make the car payment. Seek out the customers who are most likely to already understand the value of what you do. If you are a reflexologist, you need to be speaking at the Whole Life Expo instead of at the Chamber of Commerce. If you offer a workshop on corporate ethics, network with members of Businesses for Social Responsibility instead of the Millionaires Circle.
   
4. Choose marketing strategies that match who you are. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a mediocre cold caller. It just doesn't fit my personal style. So I focus on the strategies that are natural to me -- speaking, writing, and networking to build referrals. I've consistently maintained a full practice that way for over ten years now. One of my clients is also a business coach who targets solo entrepreneurs. Her business is identical to mine, but her personality is completely different. She loves to cold call, and has been able to fill her practice that way. Speaking and networking don't come naturally to her at all. It's a good thing she didn't try to copy me.
   
5. Find people who can pay what you need to charge. If you persist in marketing to people who can't pay your fee, you will encounter not just resistance, but a brick wall. Don't give up because it seems that no one in the population you want to serve has any money. You have to look for the intersection between your chosen market and people who have enough resources to hire you. Colleagues have told me that people suffering from life-threatening illnesses, or recovering from substance abuse, can't or won't pay for professional coaching. But I have had several people in these situations as full-fee clients. The intersection is that they were also entrepreneurs. People say you can't make money working with teens, but I have had many clients who do -- as life coaches, private tutors, psychologists, and professional speakers. The intersection they found was teens with well-to-do parents, or schools with funds obtained from grants and corporate sponsors.
   
6. Pay attention to how people respond to hearing about your business, whether or not you are marketing to them. A client of mine used to be a computer skills trainer. When she talked about her work, people nodded politely. But what she really wanted to do was teach public speaking. When she began to talk about that idea, her listeners got excited. The difference wasn't in the content of her message -- public speaking can be just as dry a topic as computer software. It was her own enthusiasm for the work that attracted such a positive response. If you really want your marketing to be effortless, you need to be in a business that excites YOU.

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An Action Step is Worth a Thousand Words

We self-employed professionals spend a great deal of our marketing effort on searching for the right words. We read books, take classes, and hire consultants to help us write copy for our marketing materials. Writing sales letters, drafting brochures, and composing websites consumes hours or days of precious marketing time. But it appears that many professionals have mistaken all this wordsmithing for productive action.
Don't get me wrong; the words we use to market ourselves are important and deserve our attention. But crafting the message and delivering it are not at all the same thing. Here are some situations I've encountered with clients that illustrate this all-too-common marketing blunder.
"I spent $3000 on a brochure and I haven't gotten a single client from it."
If all we had to do in order to succeed at marketing ourselves was spend money, I suspect many more of us would have thriving businesses. But when selling your own professional services, it rarely works that way. A brochure can be a useful device for getting a prospect's attention or providing information about our services. Its true function, though, is to open the door to more conversation, not to close a sale.
Brochures don't get clients all by themselves. Before you begin work on one, you should know exactly how you will use it. Will you send it by direct mail? Distribute it through strategic partnerships? Give it to people who inquire about your services? Include it in proposals you write? What are the specific action steps you have in mind that require having a brochure? The best marketing tools in the world are worthless without a plan for how to use them.
"I can't follow up on these leads because I don't have a good sales letter."
The quest for the perfect sales letter seems to prevent far too many of us from reaching out to prospective clients. It appears that many professionals are convinced that there IS such a thing as the perfect sales letter -- you know, the one that results in your phone ringing off the hook with eager clients as soon as they receive it?
Searching for this holy grail of marketing, they delay and delay until all their leads grow stale. Instead of focusing so much on the content of your sales letters, put your emphasis on repeat contacts using multiple channels over time. Place a call, then send a note, call again, then send an e-mail. You could make contact with a prospect four times over a two-week span in less time than it takes you to write and rewrite one "perfect" letter.
A series of action steps like this will have much more likelihood of resulting in a live conversation than almost any letter you could write.
"I can't start marketing; my website isn't done yet."
The idea of marketing one's business on the web didn't even exist before the mid-90's. And somehow, we managed to market ourselves without it. Now it seems that having a website up has become a prerequisite for getting clients. Actually, the universe really hasn't changed that much.
For the vast majority of professional service providers, their first few clients come as a result of pre-existing personal connections. These clients are people they already know, or the friends and colleagues of people they know. There's no need for a web presence to land clients like these. In fact, you'll compose a much better website after you have had the opportunity to have a few real sales conversations, so you'll know more about what works when you speak to potential clients. If prospects need more information about you, put it on paper or send an e-mail. Just because you CAN share information about your business on the web doesn't mean you have to.
Brochures, sales letters, and websites are all excellent and effective marketing tools. Writing powerful and informative marketing copy is a useful skill to learn or hire out to a professional. Just don't let your marketing get put on hold because you haven't yet found the perfect words to use. In marketing your services, actions really do speak louder than words.

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Publish or Perish

When you place a call to a prospective client, does the person you are calling already know your name, even if you have never met? When new clients are referred to you, do they often say that they've heard of you from several different sources? Are you frequently contacted by people who are ready to work with you and don't question your qualifications? These are just some of the results you can expect when you make publishing part of your marketing plan.In the academic world, the phrase "publish or perish" reflects the common knowledge that people must know who you are in order to hire you, promote you, or fund your research.
No matter what niche you do business in, experts agree that publishing your work accelerates your ability to gain clients. According to Tom Lambert, author of "High Income Consulting," winning some level of fame is the surest way to higher earnings as a professional.
Here are some guidelines to help you start getting published or expand your publishing efforts:

1. Publishing is easier than ever before. In the pre-Internet age, most publishing took the form of articles in newspapers and magazines or full-length books. Getting your work published usually required a lengthy process of approaching (and being rejected by) numerous editors. Now it's possible to write an article in the morning and have it in the hands of thousands by afternoon, often with no editor's stamp of approval. You can publish your own articles on the web via email broadcasts to your own mailing list, posting them on your website or blog, or submitting them to the thousands of independent websites and ezines eager for fresh content to inform or entertain their visitors.
   In addition, many print magazines and newsletters accept completed articles sent by email. Just check the submission guidelines of any publication that interests you to see if they require queries before sending.Electronic publishing also makes it possible to easily publish shorter-length books as ebooks, web-based manuals, ecourses, or short-run printings of workbooks, booklets, and white papers. If you can put together ten pages of material, you have enough to publish in one of these shorter forms, and begin referring to yourself as "the author of..."
   
2. Write what you do. The best articles or workbooks are not those describing the type of work you do; they are the ones that actually help the reader do that work themselves. Instead of writing how life coaching can help people complete important projects, a coach should write about tips for ending procrastination. A professional organizer could write about dealing with junk mail, and a sales trainer could write about motivating salespeople when business is slow.If you're feeling stuck for writing topics, make it a habit after every client meeting to mentally review each of the subjects you discussed with your client and note which ones might be good for a future article. Or, think of the ten questions that clients or prospects most commonly ask about your line of work. Each one of those questions is likely to be an excellent article topic or chapter in a book.
3. Make all your writing count. Steven Van Yoder, author of "Get Slightly Famous," encourages his clients to get their articles reprinted as many places as possible. If you're going to take the trouble to write a good article, why not reuse it over and over? Steve has helped many clients get a single article posted on up to 100 different web sites, as well as in multiple print publications.Many sites and publications happily accept articles that have already been printed. If you want to write for an outlet that insists on "first rights" of publication for a certain length of time, no problem. Write a new article for that outlet, then concentrate on getting it reprinted elsewhere after the time period has expired. Remember, too, that every piece of writing can be re-purposed. An article can be expanded into a white paper; a collection of articles can become a book.
4. If you're not a writer, work with one. You don't have to be able to write well in order to get published. You can hire a ghostwriter, editor, or proofreader to strengthen and polish your writing. If you're better at expressing yourself out loud, you don't even have to write. You can speak your thoughts and have them transcribed and edited by a professional.
5. Get started now. The more writing you publish and the longer your work has been out there, the more you will increase your visibility, credibility, and reputation as an expert. Clients will come to you instead of you having to seek them out. Your sales cycles will be shorter, and the fees you charge can be higher. Each publication will become a salesperson to whom you never have to pay a commission, working tirelessly to bring you more clients.

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Why Aren't You Earning More?

In a recent survey of independent professionals, almost 50% of the consultants, coaches, and other professionals declared that they were currently not earning enough to meet their expenses. This result shouldn't be surprising, since according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than half of all small businesses fail in the first year and 95% fail within the first five years. But it made me curious. How can that many professionals be operating businesses that are not turning a profit?
Looking into the issue a bit further, I made an enlightening discovery. Many of these businesses ARE profitable -- the business revenues exceed their costs. The businesses are operating in the black, but there isn't enough left over for the owner to pay their living expenses. The business owners are living off their savings, working an outside job, being supported by family members, or going into debt. So these independent professionals are doing something right. They are reaching clients, making sales, and turning a profit. But it seems that what they have left out of the picture is earning enough to pay themselves. Without enough of a profit margin for an owner's draw, these businesses are ultimately going to fail. Can they be saved? Perhaps, if the owners are willing to make drastic changes of the most difficult kind -- changes in themselves. If you are one of these struggling professionals, you must ask yourself what you are willing to do to make your business succeed. To break out of under earning, you will need to do more, learn more, or charge more, and it may not be easy. Doing more may mean working more hours. The average small business owner works more than 40 hours per week in their business. You may feel like you are working hard, but have you actually kept track? Many entrepreneurs are surprised to discover that they are putting in fewer hours than they thought. It's usually unrealistic to expect a full-time income from a part-time business.
Or you may be putting in plenty of time, but not putting it in the right place. How many hours per week are you spending on marketing? And is some of your marketing time devoted to actively reaching out to clients and referral sources through networking and phone calls, or are you limiting yourself to more passive strategies like building a website and placing ads? Doing more about your business or about marketing may require not only a change of habits, but a change of attitude. You may be avoiding a full-time commitment to the business because you are afraid of failing, or holding back from marketing because you fear rejection. If these thoughts sound familiar, notice that your fear of failure may be causing you to fail! Successful entrepreneurs take risks. Many small business owners fail multiple times before they eventually succeed. Successful salespeople hear "no" many more times than they hear "yes." If you want to follow in the footsteps of people who succeed at business, you must be willing to risk failure to get there. Perhaps doing more is not the answer in your situation. You may be working hard already in your business and marketing actively. But you may need to learn more. Almost half of new business owners say they did no prior investigation or learning about business ownership before they started. You may know everything you need to about delivering the professional service you offer, but there is plenty left to learn about not only marketing and selling, but pricing, negotiating, contracts, financial management, and more. In fact, one of the biggest gaps between success and failure may lie in these not-so-minor details. You may need to charge more. Do you know exactly how much you need to charge in order to earn a decent living from your business? Not the amount you believe your clients will pay, but what you really need to earn? Total up all of your regular living expenses, including housing, food, clothing, health care, family care, transportation, and entertainment.
Add to that required payments for your debts, income tax, and self-employment tax, and an allowance for vacation, sick time, and emergencies. Now include a budget for savings and your eventual retirement. What do these numbers tell you about how much you should be charging for each hour, day, program, or project? If you're not currently charging this much, don't wait until your business becomes successful to raise your rates. Unless you start earning a living, your business will never succeed. If you find that the people you have been marketing to are unable to pay more for your services, it may be time to focus on a different market. This is where more learning comes in. There must be other professionals with businesses like yours who are succeeding. What can you learn from them? Who are their clients? What marketing strategies are they using? What business practices of theirs can you emulate? Whatever challenges you are facing, it's likely that those who have gone before you have the answers. But you have to be willing to listen to the experience of others and act on it. Your business isn't going to improve without help from you. You need to make changes now in how you are working, marketing, or pricing yourself in order to avoid failure. If your business isn't earning enough to sustain you, the business itself isn't sustainable.

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Defining Your Niche Market

In my 12 years of experience working with clients, one thing I've noticed is there are some business owners that have defined their niche market and have a clear picture of whom it is they are marketing to and there are others that tend to waiver or be unsure.
Often business owners view a niche market as narrowing their sales or cutting into a profit margin, so they fear it. The truth is, a niche market could be defined as a component that gives your business power. A niche market allows you to define who you are marketing to.
When you know who are you are marketing to it's easy to determine where your marketing energy and dollars should be spent.
Take for example a car dealership. A car dealership calls and tells me they want me to help them develop an internet marketing strategy. My first question as always is "Who is your target audience?" They answer by telling me that their audience is everyone. They want to market to anyone interested in buying a car. Now, let's keep in mind that this car dealership is located in New York. I approach the process by working with the client and explaining to them that, although they market to a person in Seattle, because that "person is interested in buying a car" the chances of that person coming from Seattle to New York to purchase that car is a very unlikely. Therefore, they've wasted time and money and will more than likely see no return on either. By the time our conversation is finished, I've helped them see why narrowing their niche market down to be "anyone interested in buying a car within a 50 mile radius" makes really good sense. They now have power. They know where to spend time and money to market and their vision is clear. They are now 10 steps ahead of the other car dealership located 20 miles away who is marketing to "anyone interested in buying a car."
There is even greater importance in having a well-defined niche market when planning your internet marketing strategy to achieve marketing success online. The most common misconception about online marketing is that if you build it they will come or that having an online business will make you wealthy. The reality is that you have to find your niche market, offer a product or service that they re demanding and get them to come to you, in order reach a level of financial success via the internet.
Defining your niche market before you embark on your Internet marketing strategy is important for the following 5 reasons.

1. You have the ability to maximize your marketing budget by targeting your defined niche market. You'll know exactly where to advertise. You'll know where to look to find blogs and related sites that are catering to your market. This gives you a starting point.
2. Your website can then be optimized for search engines so that your niche market can easily find you.
3. You are able to cater your website to your niche market. You can develop your site to guide your viewers and help them find solutions or products that you offer that are specific to the problems that your niche market encounters.
4. A defined niche market makes it easier to develop ideas for new products or services that inherently appeal to your specific niche.
5. You have an upper-hand in establishing yourself as a leader in your industry.

Do you now see the importance of having a niche market? Are you struggling with who your niche market is? If you answered “yes,” spend some time asking yourself the following questions:

• What is it that my current clients have in common?
• How do I set myself apart from the competition?
• What is different about the services or products that I offer?
• What are the "extras" that I bring to the market?

The best way to answer these questions is without analyzing them too much. Just write down whatever first comes to mind. Once you've completed them, analyze the answer and it will be easy to define your niche market.

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Make Yourself an Expert!

Can I let you in on a little marketing secret? If you are lacking exposure or the kind of public relations you would love to have, it's time to start showing yourself as an expert.
This isn't a fake it until you make it speech, it's simply teaching you how to become an expert that can be found. Have you ever wondered how people get picked for magazine interviews or how news channels find experts for certain segments of their show?
They go online. They use to use books that would help them hunt down experts in a certain field, but now the majority of their research is done online. After all, isn't that where you go when you look for expertise advice?
Let's take a look at 5 steps that can help you achieve the expert level that you desire and get the recognition that you've been working so hard for.

1. Prove your point
   Don't just say you are an expert; prove it. Have you written articles? Do you have success stories to share? What about quotes on your abilities by current clients and associates? Your expertise is only as strong as your online exposure.
2. Put yourself out there
   Frequent forums within your industry and answer questions that others may have. Publish articles on industry wide sites. Sure it takes some work and you might have an article that gets rejected here and there - but don't stop. Hire a copywriter if you lack writing skills. Pen your thoughts and hand them over, it's ok to let them do the composition and grammatical work. Also if you don't own a website - preferably one with your own name as the domain - try to figure out a way to get it. If that's impossible you may want to consider changing your name, ok just kidding. Truth is you do want to have an online domain whether it be your company domains or a creative marketing domain it's important to have one that people will remember.
   
3. Network Online
   We all know that social networks are popular online, but they aren't just for kids anymore. Many people are creating profiles that showcase their expertise and their knowledge as well as their network of contacts. If you aren't using social networks you my friend are missing out on opportunities that your competitors are gaining.
4. Google Yourself
   Are you there? If not, it's time to hire a search engine optimization expert or teach yourself. If you can't find yourself - others seeking out your expertise can't either. You also want to make sure that when you do Google yourself that the results don't contain inappropriate material. Always remember that the Internet is an open book and what you post online stays online. There are many people that have ruined there careers by thinking that their "hidden" lives will never be found out. Fact is - it's untrue. If you do find that your past is haunting you in the Google results you may want to consider trying to clean it up yourself or invest in hiring a reputation/identity company.
5. Stay Above the Trends
   Now that you've put yourself out there as an expert you have to walk the talk. Do what you write about. Stay on top of your industry. Be the first to write about what's going on. Don't be afraid to put your voice out there including your opinion. To stay an expert you must stay ahead of the game; nap time is over.

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Marketing: Surviving the Economic Downturn

It is true, we are now being faced with difficult economic times. This means it's even harder to get the attention of your consumer.
This week alone there were three advertising companies within my area that laid off workers. Is it because a major client pulled their marketing budget? Perhaps clients were not getting the results they desired. Fact is it's difficult in today's economy to come out ahead.
Whether you are an agency working for a major client or a small business trying to survive these difficult times today there has never been a more crucial time to know your consumer.
In an economic downturn you will see changes in three major areas. They include:

• Budget Changes
• Consumer Behavior
• Market Changes

How will you respond to budget changes?
When it comes to budget changes companies typically pull their advertising and marketing budget. Truth is by doing this and reducing communication you are only affecting short term sales, which in return negatively affects profit. Are you sure this is the course of action that you want to take? While this may give short-term relief you will risk losing market share once the economy begins to stabilize and recovery begins. Consider learning to be more cost efficient rather than reducing budgets, in the long run it will save you money.
How will consumer behavior change?
We all know that consumer behavior changes during a recession and in return this affects your bottom line. Your audience will spend less and delay major purchases and even trade down to cheaper alternatives. However, not all consumers stop spending. They will in fact alter their habits to better fit their financial situations, but they will never stop spending. They will lean more into cheaper brands and alternatives for the duration of the slow economic times, but if you maintain brand loyalty they will aspire to regain the ability to purchase the stronger brands in the future.
They will continue to listen and watch for your communication to them. Your communication gears them to justify and stimulate a purchase. If you can develop a lower cost solution, this may just be the time to do so to help maintain that relationship through these difficult times. This will keep them loyal and help to cultivate a stronger relationship in the future.
The majority of larger brands continue to advertise during a recision and continue to see strong sales and revenue. Many of them do not do price cutting, but will develop alternatives that fit more in line with the consumers budget. Consumers are looking for loyalty not a one-night stand. Will you create a solution for them during this difficult time?
How to find market opportunity during this time?
It's true our market changes. We come head to head with price wars, stronger competition and less money in the market. There are however opportunities as well. Consider that media revenue deflates during a recessions which means this may be the time to make your product or service known without the high media expenditure. Your competitors will be cutting their budget spend therefore reducing activity, perhaps it's time to punch yours up and gain a larger market share. The price may just be right.

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Marketing a Service: Do It Effectively

When it comes to marketing a service it can at times be more challenging than marketing a product. You are not selling something that is tangible; you are in fact selling the invisible.
When selling a service the customer experience is extremely important to closing the deal and marketing effectively. The experience has an impact on the perceived value of the service.
Services also tend to have the reputation built on one person. The people involved in selling and performing the service have the ability to make or break a company's reputation. It's harder to do damage control for service companies, which means you must always be on your game and your reputation must remained untarnished and pristine.
Consumers often find it more difficult to compare service vendors. They can not touch or feel the product, rather they have to trust that the service will be performed as promised. How can you help your consumers compare you to other vendors?
A service can not be returned. If a service is purchased, but does not live up to the consumers expectation they can not return it for a new product. This costs the consumer time and as individuals our we often few our time as more valuable than money.
How do you market a service company?
Keep in mind that in traditional marketing we have the 4 Ps. When it comes to service marketing we add three more.
Traditional marketing components include:

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

When it comes to marketing services you add three more components to consider. They include:

• People
  All people involved either directly or indirectly of the consumption of a service is important. People can add a significant value to a service offering. People sell the service and either make or break the marketing of the services you offer. It's time to take a look at the "face" of your service and evaluate.
• Physical Evidence
  The way that service is delivered needs to be communicated and followed through. You are creating an intangible experience so communication and documentation is the only physical evidence you have to share with your consumer. Make sure you are doing enough of it.
• Process
  Procedure and flow of activities of how services are consumed is an essential element to your strategy in marketing a services. Everything must run smoothly to keep the trust of your consumer.

By developing your 4 Ps of marketing and enhancing them with the three mentioned above you can successfully market your service even though you are selling the invisible.

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Evaluate and Create Your Call to Action

Do you have a call to action in your marketing materials?
Go ahead take a look. In your marketing materials do you tell them what to do next?
Let's consider that your potential customer has picked up a piece of your marketing collateral, perhaps it's that fantastic brochure you just had designed. They begin to read it and as they flip through the brochure they realize hey might be able to use your services, but they get to the end and they don't know what to do, because you presented them with no call to action.
You didn't tell them to call you. You didn't tell them to visit your website. They contemplate, they ponder and then they toss away your brochure without even contacting you.
Sound absurd? It happens all the time, that's why I want to talk to you about the importance of your call to action.
When it comes to marketing, your call to action is the most important part of your marketing campaign. It's truly amazing to me how many companies don't include a call to action on their marketing materials or their websites.
The best way that I've found to create an effective call to action is imagine the questions the consumer has when viewing your marketing information.
Let's just take a look at a few that come to mind immediately.

• How do I contact them? Are they available via telephone, internet, fax, or email?
• Why should I buy from them? What do they offer me? Will they save me money? Will they make my life easier? Are they better than their competition?
• Is there any immediacy? Are they running any promotions if I contact them before a deadline date? Will I receive a discount if I act now?

Does your marketing material answer all of those questions?
If you said yes, fantastic. Let's continue with ways to make sure our call to action is strong enough and if not how can we make it stronger?
Your call to action must include every way possible that they can contact you and buy from you. Include your telephone number, your address, your website address and of course your email. Share with them how your product will solve a problem they may be encountering. Solution-position your product so it touches the spot of pain your consumer is feeling and flesh out those benefits, now tell them how to get those benefits.
If you do these simple things you can create a strong call to action that will in fact increase the potential customers that contact you just from reading your marketing material.

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Why Consumers Buy What They Buy

Recently I received an email from John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing, asking me what will be the key in the upcoming year when it comes to small businesses. If you don't know John I must say you may be missing out on one the most influential small business gurus there is. I've had the opportunity to sit across from John and share a cup of coffee, review his material on referral marketing and evaluate his marketing plan software. He always pushes out the most useful material, that honestly I look forward to each and everyone of his marketing initiatives that he puts out to the public. Ok, enough about John, but seriously if you haven't heard of him you may just want to check him out.
Ok, back to his request. My response was:
"This will be the year for small businesses to recognize the behavior of consumers to effectively market; advertising is no longer enough without understanding the “why” behind the purchase."
I must admit this was my second response, at first I was drawn to social media, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that really social media is about understanding consumers and relating to them in a way that they understand. It's no longer enough to market and advertise, it's crucial to create those relationships that matter to our consumers. How do we do that?

• We take the time to listen to them and to identify their needs.
• We then present our products or services in a way that genuinely fulfills their needs. Cut out the hype - sell what works and you'll never have to hunt down new customers again.
• Stand behind your products and services. If you don't you'll not only lose the customers you have, but you'll deplete the chances of acquiring new customers.
• Say what you mean and mean what you say. Wow, if we would all do this a little more, our integrity would increase and so would our bottom-line.
• Create that emotional connection with your customers, the kind that creates customer loyalty not just repeat-buying. If you don't touch them emotionally why should they return and why should they be loyal to you?

If you can follow these five things proactively, I guarantee you that your business will grow. If you choose to ignore them you may very well be out of business come next year. Creating relationships with your customers and understanding the "why" behind the purchase really is that important.

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Understanding the Role of Social Media in Marketing

What the heck is social media and what role does it play in my marketing? This is probably a question I wouldn't have received two years ago, but yet today it's the most common question that enters my inbox.
First off, let's talk about what social media is. Social media represents low-cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These tools are typically internet or mobile based. A few that you have probably heard of include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.
Social media gives marketers a voice and a way to communicate with peers, customers and potential consumers. It personalizes the "brand" and helps you to spread your message in a relaxed and conversational way.
The downfall to social media, if you could call it that is that it must be a part of your everyday life in order to keep the momentum and attention you need for it to be successful.
If you think that social media is only for the small business owners that are trying out an experiment, I have to correct you. Here are just a few companies that have become involved in social media:
Absolut Vodka - Online Video on YouTube and Using Facebook to house their Top Bartender fan page.
BMW - Utilizing Facebook to promote their 1-Series Road Trip and they have created a Rampenfest Page for fans.
Dunkin Donuts - That's right they've found value in social media and have set up a microblogging Twitter account.
Barack Obama - In my examples, I can't leave out future President Barack Obama. He has been seen as a leader in the use of Twitter during the Presidential Election. He has over 170,000 followers and is following over 165,000. Personally I remember the "twitter buzz" during the Presidential Debates as well as the election.
As you can see we have adult beverage companies, exotic automobile manufacturers, pastry shops and our future President using social media tool, it's not to hard to figure out that there is something to it.
What role should it play in your marketing? As most of you know my view of marketing is it's a tool we use to inform consumers about our products, who we are and what we offer. Social media does that. Here is how:

• We can use social media to provide an identity to who we are and the products or services that we offer.
• We can create relationships using social media with people who might not otherwise know about our products or service or what our companies represent.
• Social media makes us "real" to consumers. If you want people to follow you don't just talk about the latest product news, but share your personality with them.
• We can use social media to associate ourselves with our peers, that may be serving the same target market.
• We can use social media to communicate and provide the interaction that consumers look for.

As you can see social media carries with it a lot of value, but how do you do it right?

• You cannot just depend on social media, you must integrate it with other vehicles of marketing. While social media will create awareness, I'm not convinced that in the beginning it will sell a million dollars worth of product. That's not to say that one day once you've built up your social media "stardom" that it won't, but it probably won't happen tomorrow.
• Be yourself, reflect personality. There are no written "right" or "wrong" rules when it comes to social media, only you can determine what will work for you.
• Be consistent, if you do not plan on being consistent don't do it at all - it's a waste of everyone's time.

Success stories are abundant when it comes using social media from headhunters that find job applicants to new businesses that want to introduce a new product as well as already established Fortune 500 companies that want to strengthen their brand. The role of social media in your marketing is to use it as a communication tool that makes you accessible to those interested in your product and makes you visible to those that don't know your product. Use it as a tool that creates a personality behind your brand and creates relationships that you otherwise may never gain. This creates not only repeat-buyers, but customer loyalty. Fact is social media is so diversified that it can be used in whatever way best suits the interest and the needs of your business.

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Four Small Business Marketing Steps You Need to Put Into Check

Ohhhh la la pretty graphics, wonderful colors and everything aesthetic, but do your potential customers know what you are trying to say?
I think the biggest mistake we make in marketing is making everything so difficult for consumers to understand that they don't get it. Literally. And if they don’t get it, they usually don’t feel compelled to act, buy, etc. ... you see where I’m going with this.
Marketing is about informing consumers about your products and services and telling them why they should pick you over your competitor - it really is that simple.
Are you doing that? If you are not it's time to really analyze your marketing strategy and evaluate the point you’re trying to get across.
I daily watch small businesses try to market like big companies, when in fact they've missed the core components that will get a person to buy their products or services. My first piece of advice is stop trying to compete with the "big dogs" - find your own niche and your own market and become one of the big dogs.
How do you do this? It's by moving a customer from the point of just attracting their attention to inspiring them to actually take action - which is making a purchase from you. There are four steps to doing this.

• Step 1: Get their attention
  You have competition, it doesn't have to be a lot of competition - but you have competition. It is up to you to get the attention of your consumers. Do you know how to do that? You speak to their need. You inform of them of the solution that you provide. If you don't provide a solution – it’s time to get back to the drawing board.
• Step 2: Create a marketing message that speaks to them.
  You know your solution, now you have to create a message that says "I’m your answer." Have you done that with your marketing message? If not, why do you think they will buy your products or services? If you don't inform them about your product who will? Craft your marketing message so it's easy to understand and a consumer doesn't want to walk out of a store without purchasing your product or service and taking advantage of it right away. Your marketing message has to speak about the solution as well as creating an urgency for the need. Have you done that? If not, again take it back to the drawing board!
• Step 3: Evaluate different marketing methods
  You have to evaluate the different marketing methods and really evaluate which ones will work for you. For example do you serve a market that is more drawn to the Yellow Pages or Twitter? Do they spend more time watching television or surfing the internet? Be aware of and informed about different marketing methods and which ones will work with your market. It's not a one size fits all deal.
• Step 4: Use marketing methods that are visible to your consumer
  The reason you need to evaluate the different marketing methods are so you can select the methods that are more visible to your potential purchaser. Why advertise in the Yellow Pages if your consumers are searching the yellow pages? Why spend money on television advertising if they are spending more time surfing the internet? When you select the right marketing methods, you create a placement that your potential consumers will see. When you select the wrong methods of marketing, you might as well throw your money out the window.

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Content Marketing - Understanding the Why and How

What is content marketing? Content marketing is using relevant and valuable information to attract potential customers to you. This information will not only attract but, if done correctly, will engage your target audience and drive profitable action to your business.
I'm always amazed at the looks and responses I get when I'm speaking to a client and I explain to them they need more content. I'm then almost always questioned "why?"
Think of content as a way of interacting and communicating with your customers without selling.
Need proof it works? Think of an article you read that captured your attention and really engaged you. Did you look to see who the writer was? Were you interested in the company that they worked for and the products or services that they offered? If they were using the skills of content marketing, I can almost guarantee you did.
A great article can market your product or service in a way that the consumer is not interrupted. You are using that article to educate your consumer and create an awareness on information that is important to them. This makes your potential buyer more intelligent.
A successful content marketing strategy will deliver consistent valuable information to your target market, when this strategy works you turn the consumers you have targeted into buyers.
Look, it's no secret that consumers are tired of traditional marketing. This is why you see a rush to social media and permission based marketing rather than intrusive marketing that doesn't allow consumers to make the choice of when they want to be marketed to. Why do you think consumers skip commercials, tear out magazine advertisements, and turn on online ad blockers? Because they are taking back control and they will decide when they want to be marketed to.
As a business, you have to be smarter in your marketing efforts and this includes writing content that is not only interesting but relevant and valuable to the market you are targeting.
How do you know if your content is marketing for you? It's easy really. Answer the following questions when reviewing your content or use them as a guideline when creating new content.

• Is it targeting a specific market? If not the content will be too broad to attract a targeted audience.
• Is your content informative, relevant and valuable to those you are targeting? Or is it just a sales pitch?
• Does it educate your target audience about your industry without being too sales oriented and pushing just your products or services?
• Does your message include a subtle marketing message that grabs the reader’s attention and gets them interested in what you offer? The key is the marketing message must create an interest and a desire for what you have to offer without trying to close a sale. Think of it as leaving a faint fingerprint on the mind of the consumer who is reading.
• Does it leave the reader wanting more?
• Does it stir emotion within the reader and inspire action?

If you answered “yes” to the above questions, you have a good piece of content that you can use to market the products or services that you offer. If you were unable to answer “yes” to all of the questions you will want to tweak your content until you can.
You can use content marketing in all areas of your marketing including print, media, events and online. You want to make sure that your website has content that markets to your audience. You also want to make sure that if you have a blog, you are also using it for content marketing. Content marketing is valuable and often leaves a longer impression than any other method of marketing.

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Take Care of Your Hearing Health at the Gym Too

Americans always seem to be concerned about their health, but about their waste line in particular. Even as far back as 100 years ago, Americans were creating work out machines, though they weren't nearly as useful as the ones that exist today are. It's incredibly important that Americans stay committed to their physical health because the country's current obesity epidemic has spun wildly out of control. Unfortunately though, as Americans focus on the health of their physical body, they often fail to think about other important health issues, such as their senses, which are often ignored because they aren't visible like waste lines are. As more and more people go to the gym to work out, they're often cranking up music on headphones that may be plugged directly into their ears, and all of that excessively loud noise can lead to permanent hearing loss.

In some gyms, working out is like a fashion statement. It seems as though everyone is there to check each other out, and that's okay as long as that's what you're looking for. But in all of the pressure to look good and impress fellow gym goers, many people find that they feel like they need to wear an iPod to fit in. There's absolutely nothing wrong with iPods as long as users are attentive and are sure that they don't turn the music up too loud. Yet when people are working out, they often fail to think about the volume of their iPod. Many people find that cranking music up loudly helps them stay motivated to keep moving, and other people turn the volume up because gyms can be very loud inside and they want to hear their music over the person grunting next to them. The combination of loud machines and TVs in the background all create a loud environment that forces people to turn their music even higher in order to overpower it. No matter what the reason, however, turning an iPod up too loud can lead to long term hearing loss, especially with the earbud style headphones that sit directly inside users' ears.

Of course all of this doesn't mean that people should stop exercising or that they should stop listening to music. Music is an incredibly powerful tool that can help encourage people to get in shape, and that's an amazing thing. While becoming more physically healthy though, people should take care of their hearing health as well. One solution is to ask your gym to turn down some of the loud background noises like TVs or music in public areas, and another solution is to purchase noise-canceling headphones to lower the outside noises that are competing with your headphones. In both of those situations, you can lower the volume on your iPod to help preserve your hearing abilities. If you are worried about your ears, visit a doctor in your area who can administer a hearing test for you. From there, your doctor can recommend various lifestyle changes to help protect your ears and can offer you the option of several different hearing solutions.

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How Can I Stop the Ringing in My Ears – 5 Natural Ways to Get Tinnitus Relief

Tinnitus – The Problem
The constant ringing and rustling noises that were sounding in my ears were absolutely driving me insane. About five years ago, these ear noises began during a trip I took and sought medical attention as soon as I got home. I didn't know it at the time, but I had tinnitus.
Over the course of the next couple of years I've seen/had:

• 2 family doctors
• 3 ENT's
• an Audiologist
• ear drops
• a tube insertion in one ear
• anti-inflammatory prescriptions
• various hearing tests
• an MRI
• a CT scan

Of course none of the treatments worked, the prescription made me nauseous, and the tests didn't find anything wrong with my ears.
There had to be a solution for this, someone out there must know how I can stop the ringing in my ears. At that point in time I wanted to learn if there was anything available that I myself could do to cure my tinnitus. Specifically, I wanted to learn natural ways to get tinnitus relief.
I didn't want any more doctor appointments, medications, surgery, or any drastic life-changing "cures".  All I was finding were those "quick tinnitus cures" and "instant relief from tinnitus" which, of course, all sounded too good to be true so I didn't pursue them.

Tinnitus – The Solution
After much researching, I finally found something that actually sounded promising – a pure, natural, wholesome, and healthful tinnitus treatment plan that will greatly reduce or eliminate ear noise! This solution provides natural ways to get tinnitus relief and is based on 14 years of proven research.
It does require some manageable effort and commitment for about a month or two. Below you'll see a few items listed from the solution for getting effective tinnitus treatment.

3 of the 5 factors that this tinnitus remedy focuses on:

• Diet and Herbal/Vitamin Supplements – proven good and bad foods to eat, specific herbs and vitamins that promote inner ear blood flow, circulation, and vascular activity
• Enhancing Your Immune System – 8 things you can do to build up your immune system thus reducing tinnitus (ex. reducing stress, hydration, exercise)
• Retraining Your Tinnitus – retrain your brain using the Neurophysiologic Model which naturally breaks tinnitus-inducing transmissions which turns off tinnitus noise

This information will not only get rid of your tinnitus but will also add to your overall energy level and make you a healthier person! This is totally natural and NO prescriptions are involved.
Learn all the fine points and details about these factors as well as the remaining 2 factors by going to http://www.squidoo.com/natural-ways-to-get-tinnitus-relief. See how I stopped the ringing in my ears after 6 weeks by dedicating myself to this regiment.

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The Untold Secrets of Curing Tinnitus - Learn How to Stop That Ringing In The Ears

Are you experiencing that awful ringing in the ears? Is it something you wish you could simply get rid of fast? Well if you do not already know that ringing sound in your ears is known as tinnitus. And it is something which can only get worse if you do not do anything about it. And keep in mind that it will not heal itself on its own. So what you need to do is start following a few simple tips which will help you get that relief you have been looking for. All you are going to have to do is continue reading.
The very first thing you should do is turn the volume down. This is very important it does not matter if you are in your car or listening to a portable music device. Having the volume too loud will only end up causing permanent non reversible damage to your ears. And that is something you will not want because it will end up causing that terrible tinnitus to impact your life. And turning the volume down is not much to do considering how easily it can help prevent that irritating ringing sound in your ears.
Another thing you can do is begin getting enough rest each night. Getting a good night sleep will help reduce the amount of stress and strain in your body. And those are two things which can only end up causing health problems such as tinnitus and many other things. So it is crucial that you try your best to get around at least 8 to 9 hours a night. That is the recommended amount needed to help you naturally get rid of that ringing sound in your ears for good.
So if you want that irritating ringing sound gone from your ears for good then use these methods. They are the sort of things that are going to help you get that fast relief you have been searching for. And what will be good for you is that it will not take a lot of time to notice a difference!

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Sacramento Residents Shed Light on Hearing Loss

Many Californians flock from all over the state to live in Sacramento. Sure, most Americans think that San Francisco and Los Angeles are the only cities in the state where big things are happening, but Sacramento is the political hub of the state. That's why the city is always growing. The only problem is, that all of the growth Sacramento experiences leads to more noisy construction projects, which can cause hearing loss for people who are exposed to those noises over time.

Unfortunately, hearing loss is a health issue that many residents of Sacramento seem to be unaware of. A lot of Californians have become concerned with health issues in recent years, but many of those issues revolve around nutrition such as obesity, diabetes, and eating disorders. Those health issues are incredibly important, and it's great that they're receiving so much attention from residents who want to take care of the health of their community. However, it's also important that other health issues receive attention as well. Otherwise, people will never start taking them seriously. Hearing loss is an issue that has long been left out of the public discourse, partly because it's not as visible as other heath issues and partly because it can require additional effort to address. While some hearing loss is due to genetics, much of it is caused by the excessively loud noises that people are exposed to over their lives. Scientists have carried out many studies, which have shown that when people are exposed to loud noises over time, some of the tiny hairs in their ears that are used for hearing get killed off.

What constitutes a loud noise you ask? The figure varies based on what kind of animal is being affected, but anything over 80 decibels is a noise that is unhealthy for people. In places like Sacramento, that limit on a healthy level of decibels is regularly exceeded by things like construction projects. For example, a jackhammer can reach levels of up to 115 decibels, which is a level that is unsafe for anyone to be exposed to for very long. So why hasn't the government stepped in (especially in Sacramento, which is full of politicians) to address this problem? Because it's really unclear how to protect everyone's safety without impeding progress. Sacramento residents want their city to grow and flourish, and if hearing issues aren't a part of the public debate, then no one will challenge the safety of all of the construction projects in the area. Yet construction is just one of the few causes that is leading to hearing loss for so many Americans. That's why it's important that issues related to people's ability to hear are addressed as a whole, rather than attacking a single issue like the noises caused just from construction. So start talking about hearing loss with your co-workers, neighbors, friends and family because it's important that everyone takes note of the issue and gives a lot of thought towards how they can help make the community safer for everyone.

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How to Take Care of Your Hearing Aid ?

In the United States, most people with hearing aids have to pay significant copayments that can make the essential devices quite expensive. But hearing aids are not something one can just go without – they are hardly an excess. In fact, without them, people who have suffered hearing loss due to traumatic events, genetics or diseases, or simply due to the natural processes of old age will be unable to fully participate in everyday society without incredible difficulty or significant help from others. So must people begrudgingly accept the cost. But because of the expense of a good hearing aid, that makes it all the more important to make sure to take care of it. You certainly do not want the device to break due to "unnatural" cause like your own negligence, nor do you want to have to replace the battery all of the time just because you have not taken the proper steps to preserve battery life. So if you have made the important first step in promoting your own health by obtaining a hearing aid, then follow these guidelines on how to take care of it to make it last as long as possible.



1. Turn the battery off when you are not using the hearing aid.



The battery itself can be one of the costliest parts of your brand new hearing aid. So when you are not using it – when you are in the shower, or taking a nap, or going to sleep for the night, make sure to turn it off! You do not want it draining all night when it is not even being utilized, that is just silly! But just in case the battery does die, make sure to always keep some spares around, so that you are never caught in a situation where your battery dies and you are without one until the next time you can see your doctor or make it to the local store. But just make sure to keep these spare batteries away from young children (like your grandkids) and/or your pets, as they are extremely toxic if ingested.



2. Make sure to take them off when you are in danger of exposing them to water.



Obviously, you want to make sure to remember to take off your aid when going swimming or taking a shower, but there are a number of other circumstances you might not think of as easily in which you could easily cause water damage. When you are washing your face in a sink, for example, you could easily end up splashing water on to the device that was simply meant to clean your skin! On super-rainy days, as well, you might want to take out the device and put it in a plastic bag if you do not have a solid hood and/or umbrella to protect your device from the rain.



3. Do not use hair products when wearing the hearing aid.



Chemicals and wet, sticky substances are not compatible with hearing aids. So when you are getting ready in the morning and applying sprays and gels to your coffe, make sure to take out your device!

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Hello World Tutorial

The following examples show different ways of writing the C# Hello World program.



Example 1

// Hello1.cs
public class Hello1
{
public static void Main()
{

System.Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
}
}

Output

Hello, World!

Code Discussion



* Every Main method must be contained inside a class (Hello1 in this case).

* The System.Console class contains a WriteLine method that can be used to display a string to the console.



Example 2



To avoid fully qualifying classes throughout a program, you can use the using directive as shown below:

// Hello2.cs

using System;



public class Hello2

{

public static void Main()

{

Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");

}

}

Output

Hello, World!

Example 3



If you need access to the command line parameters passed in to your application, simply change the signature of the Main method to include them as shown below. This example counts and displays the command line arguments.

// Hello3.cs

// arguments: A B C D

using System;



public class Hello3

{

public static void Main(string[] args)

{

Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");

Console.WriteLine("You entered the following {0} command line arguments:",

args.Length );

for (int i=0; i < args.Length; i++) { Console.WriteLine("{0}", args[i]); } } }

Output

Hello, World!

You entered the following 4 command line arguments:

A

B

C

D

Example 4



To return a return code, change the signature of the Main method as shown below:

Copy

// Hello4.cs

using System;



public class Hello4

{

public static int Main(string[] args)

{

Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");

return 0;

}

}

Output

Hello, World!

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