I Hate To Say Goodbye...

I hate to say goodbye to any client. I know you do, too.

We work so hard to find them. Then we put massive effort into nurturing them as prospects and converting them into clients. It’s often a long process in which we’ve invested much in financial and other resources. So when they leave us, it’s not an easy thing to take.

A CHALLENGE FOR 2011

With increasing competition and noise in the marketplace, focusing on capturing our audiences’ attention, attracting them, converting them into clients, then retaining them long-term is more important than ever. That last element--retaining--is the one that seems to get too little attention.

My challenge for you in 2011 is to understand and act on, more than ever, your awareness of the value of an existing client. What measures can we each take to ensure our client bases will increase in the coming year--not just through new client acquisition, but because of aggressive client retention activities as well?

I will propose one possible direction to get your mind going on this subject:

Imagine offering your existing clients better deals than you give prospects to get them to become first-time clients. This is backwards from most companies’ approach. In the scenario I’m proposing, your absolute best deals would be available to your longest-term clients.

Can you take this concept and create a culture among your clients in which it becomes something of a competition to be an ongoing client who gets the premier deals from your company?

Of course, this is just one of many possible directions. Pull your team together and share this message with them. Then dig deep and find the best way(s) for you and your people to keep your clients actively engaging with you this coming year.

Here’s to your client loyalty success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

Finding Our Hidden Marketing Assets (Part 2 of 2)

In my last post, I talked about people and organizations that may be seen as marketing assets. Today I’ll share two other categories of possible assets we should each examine with the help of our marketing teams.

The two categories are: tangibles and intangibles. These categories cover just about anything that isn’t a person our group of people. I enjoy working with clients to find these resources because they are usually much more readily visible by me than by the people working day-to-day in the business. That’s the power of your mastermind team. Since they aren’t in the trenches in your business every day, they stand in a better position to see these assets and opportunities. Here’s a short list of items under each category to help prompt the creative juices as you consider your own situation:

Tangibles

Wasted production space
Overstocked items
Old inventory
Repackaging current products or services
(bundling, re-purposing, etc.)
On-hand collateral material
Databases
Etc…

Intangibles

Successful campaigns and activities from the past
Joint-venture opportunities
Bartering
Publicity opportunities
Unused intellectual property
Relationships and connections
Etc…

Between the lists I shared previously and these two, every person reading these posts has the opportunity to identify and engage at least a couple of meaningful assets at no financial expense to increase revenues.

I’d love to hear your success stories or answer any questions you have. Just comment below. Let’s uncover our hidden marketing assets and put them to work.

Here’s to your marketing success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

Finding Our Hidden Marketing Assets (Part 1 of 2)

Any time I ask business owners and marketing managers what the one thing is they’d like more of to effectively market themselves, I always get the same response that has already popped into your head: money. While more money can be hugely beneficial in marketing our businesses, we all have other assets--many of which may be hidden from our immediate view--that can be used to meet our marketing objectives.

Today I’d like to share two of four categories of assets we should take time to carefully explore: people and organizations. Our connections and affiliations can be leveraged appropriately, tastefully, and effectively to ultimately bring us the greater success we’re each seeking. Here’s a partial list of places to look to get your mind going:

People:

Vendors
Clients
Employees
Friends
Family Members
Inactive Clients
Old Colleagues
Past Employees
Past Co-workers
Past Business Partners
Mentors
…and the list goes on.

Organizations:

Associations
Chambers of Commerce
Networking Groups
Mastermind Groups
Seminar and Workshop Groups
Business Societies
etc…

Gather your team and take a look at the resources and assets available to you as a collective group in terms of relationships and associations with other people and organizations. You’ll be surprised at the opportunities available in these largely untapped asset pools.

Next time I’ll share some insights on two other groups of assets to consider diving into to find unused marketing opportunity.

Here’s to your marketing success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

2011 Marketing and Business Plans

The holiday season is here! And with this season comes a time of reflection and planning for all business owners.

What went well in 2010? What could have been better? What are we going to do to make the most of our opportunities in 2011?

It’s extremely valuable, at least once a year, to step away from our businesses, evaluate what has happened since our last examination of the company, and plan for the upcoming year. For many of us, December is the time to undertake this task. For others (like retailers, who are in the middle of their busy season), this activity may make more sense after the first of the year.

I’m going on my annual retreat next week. This is a solo experience where fresh mountain air, fluffy holiday snow, and a crackling fire combine to take me away from the trenches of everyday business and open my mind to limitless possibilities. (Who knows, I may even buckle on the ol’ skis and hit the slopes while I’m at it just to make the experience complete.)

After this solo portion of my review and planning experience, I’ll take what I come up with and present it to my team for further examination and input. By month end, I’ll have my 2011 plan in place.

However you choose to engage in this activity, I strongly suggest you do it. A two-part solo/team approach works well for me. Perhaps a team retreat is more suited to your situation. Whatever the case, it doesn’t have to be expensive, but the outcome is genuinely invaluable.

Here’s to your 2011 planning success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

Need a team to work with you on your marketing? Check out http://www.marketingsuccessinstitute.com/mastermind.html

2 Lessons from McDonald's

There are some great lessons to be learned from successful businesses all around us. One I saw early on in my business career was the importance of consistency. And there is probably no better model of consistency out there than McDonald’s.

I’ve eaten in McDonald’s restaurants in seven or eight countries around the world. Although there are some slight variations to meet local tastes, the consistency of the McDonald’s experience is clear. If our clients know what to expect in terms in product, price, availability, delivery, and so on, we’re on our way to creating a base of loyal followers.

Sometime after I learned this lesson of consistency, I learned another lesson that is, in large part, the story behind consistency. That lesson: the importance of systems. Systems allow us to turn initial success into ongoing success. Again, looking at McDonald’s as an example, we see systems at work from end to end of their operation. Everything is pre-determined, measured, planned, scheduled, and executed by the use of systems.

How many systems do we have in place constantly improving our marketing, sales efforts, production, and other areas of business that directly affect the prospect and client experience? Where do the mistakes happen that could be remedied with effective systems? How will wise investments of time and resources in developing and implementing systems pay off for each of our companies?

We’d love to hear about the systems in place in your business that help you succeed, or questions you may have about systems you should have in place. Join the conversation.

Here’s to your systematic success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

An Underused Ingredient for Success

When we talk about success, we quickly think of money, possessions, and power. We may picture our dream home, the vacation of a lifetime, or a particular lifestyle. Success is a personal thing. How we define it is ours to personally create and pursue. Regardless of one’s definition of success, however, there is one key ingredient that sometimes gets forgotten: Gratitude.

On this week of Thanksgiving, I wish to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my clients, advocates, mentors, friends, and family members without whom I would not be in business. You are the reason and, in many cases, the support structure that allows me to do what I do. Without each of you and the important roles you play, MSI would not be what it is. THANK YOU!

Enjoy this marvelous season of gratitude and reflection. Thank you for being who you are to me.

Here’s to you!

Bryan Waldon Pope

Social Media: When Less is More

I am NOT a social media expert. But then again, who is?

One of the problems with the use of social media in marketing is the assumption by most ‘experts’ that they are their audience. If you want to build an Internet marketing company around social media, this may be true. But if you’re a business owner who wishes to use social media as part of your marketing initiative, you probably find the suggestions and requirements lined out by these experts to be overwhelming.

Recently, I heard someone speaking on social media who suggested that most business owners, after researching their options, decide on the ONE social media vehicle they are going to use and how they are going to use it. Then make it part of how they do business. If, after a few months, it makes sense to add another element, move forward and test it. I wish I could remember who said this so I could give him proper credit. It makes good sense for the vast majority of business owners who do not have the resources to mount a full-blown social media program.

Another way in which less may be more when it comes to social media is the number of contacts, friends, or fans we have. When speaking of social media and email lists, most people seem to contend that bigger is better. For some, this may be true. But, again, for the majority of business owners I’ll submit this isn’t necessarily the case.

The irony of social media is how un-social it is. Yes, lots of people see blips of what you’re up to. And, yes, you see lots of blips about others. But unless it is used to open one-on-one doors and nurture relationships, it’s largely useless.

Consider a strategy that gets you one-on-one with more of your audience members. Build relationships that matter to you and others. Focus on meeting others’ needs and providing value. That’s being social. That’s building community. And the reality of the matter is most of us can’t effectively manage more than a few hundred meaningful relationships anyway, much less thousands.

Start small. Be focused. Create high-touch scenarios with those to whom you are connected. If your following grows beyond those you can keep up with personally in that process, congratulations! This means you are providing value and have something significant to offer that others feel compelled to talk about and share.

If, on the other hand, you have thousands of ‘friends’ but aren’t adding value to their situations (and they aren’t adding value to yours), reconsider your reasons for engaging in social media. If it’s just to grow your list and make money, you’re probably barking up the wrong tree.

So who is a social media expert? I propose it is a mentor to whom you can look who has done what you want to do for the reasons you want to do it. Find that person or group. Follow them. Ignore the hype and stay your course. Be genuine. Make your approach to social media yours.

Here’s to your social media success!

Bryan Waldon Pope