How to Put Real Meaning in ‘Thank You’
Sometimes both the “old fashioned” way and the new web-savvy Internet way miss the mark. Let me give you an example. It’s standard procedure – and good business – to take note of your customers each year with some kind of “thank you.” Traditionally this might be a card during the holiday season, or at some other milestone during the year. But can we talk? Anyone who has ever received the mass-mailed thank you card knows full well how impersonal it is, despite the company’s best intentions. Email no big improvement Now let’s flip the calendar forward the the Internet age. Today you can send all kinds of messages and greetings via email and by referring someone to a web page. With basic database manipulation you can even have the recipient’s name properly incorporated into the message. However, those are, frankly, just as impersonal as the bulk-mailed greeting card. In both cases, what is missing is anything resembling a truly personal connection between the business and the customers. I’ve spent a little while setting this up because I believe the solution that Constant Contact devised to add the personal touch to the customer thank you, is both clever and very effective. Their creative team, under the leadership of Tim Weldon, came up with the idea of videoing Constant Contact employees writing personal thank you messages to their customers on a big “chalkboard” wall. Let’s call it a “thank you wall.” Benefits all around “Rather than our creative team simply creating the video – as in years past – we wanted to make it more personal and get all of our employees involved. That would help put a face to our company, the people behind the logo,” explains Tim. “And a huge side benefit would be that, when the wall was finished, we’d have a constant reminder to both our employees and visitors of what is most important to us. Oh, and it simply looks cool as hell,” he adds. I agree. Using real people, writing the messages they have written themselves, gives the thank you wall a level of authenticity that you can’t get with either a typical email or even a nice card sent through the mail. I’d also add that the video itself is very fun to watch. How many times does a year-end thank you from a business also offer entertainment value on its own? The lesson learned Here’s the big takeaway from this project, as I see it: Look at something you do all the time and approach it from a completely different angle. Get inventive with what you usually consider to be mundane. Your customers will notice. Image: “Thank You,” © 2003 Paul Downey, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike...
read moreHow to Use Instagram Video in Your Marketing, Branding
We’ve already looked at ways major corporations are getting good marketing results using Instagram and discussed how you can adapt their strategies to your small business. Here I want to move away from the standard picture posting and talk a little about video and give you a quick update about the social medium. Video is to Internet marketing what banner ads and photo galleries have been in earlier days. I’ve discussed the importance of YouTube as a marketing and branding tool, as have many of the guest writers who have posted here. Instagram can be an important part of your video marketing. Interestingly enough, I think one of Instagram’s video limitations is also one of its strengths: videos can be no longer than 15 seconds. Now, answer me honestly: Aren’t you ready to abandon many videos after around 10 seconds anyway? The short nature of the videos should provide a hint about the best natural hook into Instagram: Twitter. If you’re already a big tweeter, adding Instagram videos is a natural…even though Facebook paid beaucoup bucks for the startup not all that long ago. Instagram trends toward younger consumers, so keep that in mind as you plan to integrate it with your campaigns. Here are some ideas to get you started: New product or service teasers. Think of a 15-second video as like a “coming attraction” teaser at the movie theater. Show just enough to pique your customers’ interests. Go behind the scenes. Do you make something? If you produce something that is used or consumed, show vignettes that illustrate parts of the process. If you are in the food industry and use special organic ingredients, introduce a farmer. Do something funny. If your business is all desks and offices, do you have a class clown, or someone who likes to prank his (it’s almost always a “he” – isn’t it?) neighbor, capture one of these moments. Or illustrate a harmless prank others might emulate. Show your customers. Sell a big ticket item? How about a video of your customer driving away in her new Porsche? People’s favorite video subjects are themselves; second favorite: their friends and relatives. 15-second insights. We love information in bite-sized chunks; that’s why “list” blogs will be forever popular. Have an expert at your business take one small topic and deliver one useful insight. Make it a series. Fiverr cartoon, animated graphic, whiteboard presentation. Come up with a idea for an animation, head over to Fiverr.com, find someone to render it and then post the video to Instagram. How cool could that be and all you have invested is five bucks? When you post your videos, don’t forget to use hashtags so they will be found by the right people. Also, be persistent about featuring them via Twitter and Facebook. Don’t just promote them once, come around to them on a repeating schedule, as appropriate. Lastly, for the Instagram update: There are new advanced photo editing tools that you should become familiar with. There might be hope for that washed out image after all… Image: Instagram Logo, © 2013 Zenspa1, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike...
read moreGraduate: Get the Training You Need For Your Startup
This year’s crop of college graduates is facing a tough job market. Yes, I know, it’s a perennial story. But in recent years the situation has worsened. Even the vaunted science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates are dealing with resistance as they enter the workforce; although certain STEM graduates remain in high demand. This makes conditions ideal for recent college graduates to opt for the entrepreneurial route. However, there is a catch: many don’t have the practical experience required to make the transition. For many of those, although the job market isn’t easy, hiring on with the right company – at least for a while – can serve as a good training ground. Wealth creation If you’re a college graduate in this situation, or close to one, start with this truth: You’ll never get rich selling your time. The number of hours you can work is limited and even if you’re making a good hourly rate, your earnings quickly max out. Worse, you’ll find that your living expenses will inflate to equal or exceed your income. That’s just the way it is. However, if you create value beyond your personal ability to toil, you can accumulate wealth and the way to do that is through entrepreneurship. If this is ultimately what you would like to do, be careful about who you hire on with immediately out of college. Look for a company whose founder is still actively leading the way and study what makes her or him successful. Look for character traits and see how you can make them your own. The right atmosphere You want a company where the entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and kicking. You want to work in a place where you are encouraged to take initiative and risks. This is the best entrepreneurship training available today. Keep your eyes open and see everything you do as preparing you for your own startup. Develop key relationships with individuals and other companies. You may meet your partner in your first job out of college and you might get to know the decision makers in a company that will later be central to your entrepreneurial success. Know what your weaknesses are and actively seek business and personal friendships with people who make up for your shortcomings. Understand what your startup must be good at in order to succeed. It’s about tomorrow As a prospective entrepreneur, you must always be looking to the future. It’s not about what you’re doing today; it’s about accomplishing something today that makes tomorrow’s achievements possible. If you systematically go about putting all the pieces together, soon you will be able to see a clear path to your startup. At that point, it becomes a matter of will, commitment and courage. And hey, you got through four years of college. You can get through four years of a startup. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do. Image: Public Domain...
read moreThe Lessons of Ferguson: How to Protect Your Small Business
While the national media focus mainly on the bigger stories surrounding the tragic events in Ferguson, Missouri, I’m certain that small business owners understand the heavy toll being exacted on local commerce. The news crew from St. Louis’ KSDK talked to the manager and some employees at Feel Beauty Supply store in Ferguson and heard first hand how the unrest there has devastated their business and their jobs. “They tried to get into the cash register, stole hair items and some jewelry. I’m just frustrated because these people are not understanding how this affects others when they come with this foolishness. There was a tragedy, yes, but this is not how you deal with a tragedy,” related Benny Billups, who does some maintenance repairs at the store. Safety the priority Feel Beauty Supply manager Tanya Littleton said the store is shutting down. “It’s not worth it. Right now our safety is more important than anything,” she said adding that she doesn’t know if Feel Beauty Supply will ever reopen. The owners fear for their lives and right now just want out, she explained. The fear and loss underscore how important it is to be prepared for the worst imaginable disasters – both natural and man-made. I should also note that tragically, many business owners felt they had to protect their property themselves, as police pulled back in an effort to ease tensions. Two armed store owners standing outside their businesses told the local Fox affiliate that when they called 911 they were transferred from one police agency to another and never received a response. Get ready now As Littleton said, protecting employee safety is the first priority in any threatening situation, but if small business owners want to be able to recover from extreme situations, they need to be thoroughly prepared. “Security is about being proactive. That means putting systems in place ahead of time to ward off bad things from happening,” explains Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com. Siciliano, a personal security and identity theft expert, offers these five tips that should be implemented far in advance of any civil unrest: Invest in alarm systems equipped with cameras and signage. In some cases this will prevent intrusion and in others it may help catch offenders. Invest in roll-up security doors, metal folding security gates or window grilles. All have their pros and cons and vary in price. Board up. Search “emergency window board up” to determine what materials are needed and how to board up as if a hurricane, or in some cases a mob, is on the way. Firearms as defense. The Rodney King L.A. looting brought out the worst in many people and American media witnessed many store owners inside and out with firearms ready for battle. Honestly, I don’t know how worth it it is to protect a storefront with a firearm. First, it’s not worth putting your own life at risk for “stuff” and second, if you kill someone you better have at least $50k for lawyers to defend yourself in court. Check your insurance policies to make sure you are covered for such events. Be sure you have sufficient coverage, including the losses you would suffer if your business is interrupted for a prolonged period of time. I would also add that your data should...
read moreWomen Biz Crowdfunding Site Delivers Major Benefits
The number of businesses started by women in recent years has really been one of the bright spots in the economic news. Between 1997 and 2014, women-owned business rose by 68 percent – twice the growth rate posted by men. And here’s the kicker: this tremendous growth has happened without very much support from the traditional lending and investing world. Lenders and investors are woefully reluctant to back a project by a woman entrepreneur, despite federal programs and laws designed specifically to encourage lending to women-owned businesses. Enter MoolaHoop Studies have shown the bias. Given identical pitches from men and women, lenders and investors favor men by a large margin. However, I don’t want to focus on the negatives, I want to applaud women for overcoming these obstacles and posting such a tremendous growth rate. I also want to point out a new crowdfunding platform that aims to do its part to fix this inequity: MoolaHoop. To be totally honest with you, I think women have a lot of advantages in the entrepreneurial world, and as others recognize this, MoolaHoop should become a great tool for women startups. For example, anyone who’s hardwired to cope with the pains of child birth, can easily manage the stress dished out by a startup, don’t you think? Further, I believe women tend to be excellent – if not superior – networkers, and this is an attribute that is mandatory for success on a crowdfunding platform. Let’s look at how MoolaHoop works. Entrepreneurs post videos, photos and information about their projects on MoolaHoop. They list “rewards” given at various support levels. The rewards can be anything from products and discounts to t-shirts and thank-you cards. The businesses have 21 days to make their fundraising target. Networking vital Once a project is up on MoolaHoop, its organizer needs to get busy networking and encouraging friends, family members and existing customers to pledge their support. Supporters enter a credit card number and support amount. If the goal is met within 21 days, credit cards are charged. If not, the project fails and no one is charged. As I mentioned above, over the years Congress has enacted legislation to increase loans and contracts to women-owned businesses. The results have been less than spectacular. In the long term, I see a lot more potential in MoolaHoop. It is easy to use, easy to find and a woman can get funds for a new business or the expansion of an existing business in three weeks. Government programs, ahem, don’t typically move that fast. And beyond the immediate financial impact of MoolaHoop, I think it will demonstrate to the larger lending and investing world that women businesses are just as worthy for funding as businesses owned by men. Ultimately, that may be MoolaHoop’s biggest contribution to our economic...
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