Prepare your marketing for the holidays

Now could not be a better time to do your research and figure out what your customers are looking for this holiday season.  If you want it to be a successful season for your business, you’ll want to plan your marketing prior to the holidays.  It’s great to take advantage of this down time before the storm hits.  You’ll want to define your goals for this holiday season.  Is it to make more money?  Get past customers to spend more?  Obtain new customers?  That will also help you determine what kind of marketing you want to do.  Here are some tips from this article to use your e-mail marketing to your advantage this season.

1. Get a fresh lead on your market.  Go to your customers directly to find out what their plans are this holiday season.  If you’re a social networker, great.  Post questions on Facebook or Twitter for your customers to respond to.  Ask them what they’re planning on spending.  Ask them if they’re looking for specific gift ideas.  This will help you stock your items and know what a good price point is.  This is a great reason to get on Twitter and Facebook, too.  If you’re not, make sure to send out an e-mail to some past customers to find out these answers.  Send it via a survey for them to fill out.

2. Re-engage your current customers.  This is just a great way to get back in the minds of current/past customers.  You want them to make sure they remember you this season for their holiday shopping.  Ask customers what they use your products/services for or the best way they incorporated it into their business.  Publish the best ones in your next newsletter and award the “winner” with a free gift.  Ask them what they’re doing in their business, given the current economy.  Maybe you can work out a joint venture between your two businesses to be more profitable during the holidays. 

3. Refresh and expand your mailing list.  If you do have some down time, you might want to remove those addresses that are no longer valid.  Make sure that you’re still doing everything to gather new e-mails, whether it be from a Web site sign-up button or handing out your business card at networking events.  Have fans/friends sign up on your Facebook page.  That’s another way to drive business back to your Web site. 

With these tips, you’ll be sure to have a successful holiday season.  And always remember to reward referrals with handwritten thank you notes to the sender along with a small gift. 

If you’re ready to get your holiday marketing out, we can help!  Visit us online at http://www.completeresourceschicago.com

To Tweet or not to Tweet? What’s good for your business?

Can you believe that it’s only since the beginning of this year that Twitter has grown increasingly popular?  People were using it to update their friends and family members with 140-word messages (tweets) about what was going on.  A tweet is basically an instant message being broadcast publicly.  Now businesses have moved more to the Twitter mainstream.  According to this article, Starbucks posts new incentives and offers, Whole Foods invites customers to events and asks customers what they think.  So is Twitter right for your business?

First of all, you have to commit.  You can’t just tweet once every 5 months and hope for the best.  If you want to have active conversations with customers and they follow you, they’re going to expect to hear from you.  You don’t have to tweet multiple times a day, but a few times a week makes sense. If you’re billing clients for time and you’re tweeting all day long, you can have problems for that, too.

Twitter can be an easy way to broadcast a message about your company that followers, friends, and fans can replicate on other sites.  So word can get out a lot faster than just by you sending an e-mail message.  In fact, the application TweetLater lets you schedules tweets in the future like you would schedule an e-mail to go out at a certain time.  If you’re on Facebook, you can set Twitter up so that your tweets automatically appear as status updates on your Facebook page.  Now you’ve just killed two birds with one stone.

Author Chris Brogan wrote this article on 50 ideas of using Twitter for your business. Some of his great suggestions include using TwitterSearch to listen for your name or those of your competitor to find out what’s going on in your industry.  You could gain valuable insight that way.

Don’t oversell your business or yourself.  People get bored of that very quickly.  Instead, provide links to other useful sites.  Give tips on when to check back when you’ll post information on sales or how to earn something free.  Talk about non-business activities.  But don’t talk about how drunk you got at that last kegger.  Too much information for your customers.  Mention a charity event you attended instead.

Chris also recommends asking questions.  He thinks Twitter can be great for obtaining opinions.  Instead of tweeting about what you’re doing now, tweet about what you’re thinking about or what’s in the news.  He also mentions that Twitter and other social media sites do not replace direct marketing.  You could use a piece to publish your name or how to access you on those sites, but you still have to do direct marketing pieces for all of those people who don’t use Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.  Definitely view his article for more great tips.

So if you need help coming up with a direct marketing piece, be sure to visit us online.

Why blogging your business is worthwhile

As we’ve mentioned in the past, social networking is extremely important in this day and age to obtain new business and keep current clients.  With the onset of new technology, you want to reach the tech-savvy customers.  Another great marketing initiative is to start a blog for your business.  It’s estimated there are about 15.5 million active blogs (those updated within the past 90 days) with 1.3 to 1.5 million new active posts daily. 

What can this mean to you?  How can this benefit your business? 

1. Blogs are free!  What another great way to market your business at no cost to you (except for your time).  A lot of blogging sites are free (take WordPress for example).  It’s very easy to follow the tutorial to get started.  Consider devoting one or two days a week to writing your blog.  Make sure you schedule time for it.

2. You can engage your customers in a no-obligation, no-pressure way.  Talk about the best new products in your industry, trends, advice from industry experts, or even advertise your promotions through your blog.  Traditional marketing cannot be kept this up-to-date.  The other benefit is that you can post pictures and videos and even sound clips in your blog.  If you’re talking about new products, include photos.  If a recent industry leader gave a great presentation, include a clip.

3. You can learn of customers’ interests, needs, and wants by their comments to your blog.  This can help you develop new promotional ideas or products. 

4. Get an advantage over your competitors who don’t blog.  Lots of Realtors and small businesses say they don’t have the time to devote.  This will only put you ahead of everyone else.  If you don’t have time, hire someone to blog for you or ask a family member or employee. 

Use your blog to offer tips and links to other useful information.  Link them to products that you don’t sell but can make your product work better.  Offer them tips to get the most out of the products they buy from you.  Read a book that talks about the importance of your industry?  Review and recommend it on your blog.  Hopefully this can get other bloggers to link to your blog, giving it even more exposure and developing new business. 

Again, try to devote time at least weekly to your blog.  You want to make sure your information is relevant.  If you’re in the real estate industry, the market is constantly changing.  Readers won’t want to return if you only update every 6 months.  Let them know what’s happening now.

More great information on blogging for your business can be found here.

CompleteREsources Chicagois here to help you. We can create and update your blogs, put together your marketing pieces, handle your client invoicing, and even develop PowerPoint presentations. Send us an email at susan.kraut@sbcglobal.net for a quote!

Your best tips for social networking

We’ve previously talked about how important social networking and social media can be to your business.  It’s great for making connections with past clients, former colleagues, and even high school and college classmates.  You can introduce your business to them in a less formal environment and get the word out about what you do. 

Lee Odden, an online marketing blogger, recently got 26 of his best tips on how to use social media for your benefit.   We’re going to post some of our favorites and why they’re so important.  Everything in bold is an actual tip.

1. Listen first. Don’t be the bullhorn in the party. Social media is a conversation, not a one-way stream.  A lot of people gave advice on listening.  Don’t constantly be the one putting your marketing and advertising out there.  Listen to what your customers have to say and how they interact with your online presence.  Find out what’s important to them.  Do they want to see more photos of your products?  Would they like you to blog on a daily/weekly/monthly basis?  If you just go out there talking about your business without listening to what people want, you’re really doing it all for naught. 

2. Find your employees who are passionate about social media and involve them — passion shows and they’ll do the best job.  This goes hand in hand with another tip: Have at least one person know whats going on and monitor / update in a genuine way the different social media profiles.  Find somebody that knows what they’re doing.  If you’re your only employee and you’ll be doing the updating, make sure to research how to post and upload prior to starting out.  You are representing yourself and your company, so you want to do it right.  And once you start, make sure you continue to update online, especially if you promise your clients and customers a weekly promotion or blog.  They’ll expect to see it, so you need to make sure it’s there.  If you don’t have an employee, maybe think about hiring a high school or college student who has an online presence.  They might know some tricks of the trade to help you out.

3. Don’t pretend you aren’t a company. Yes you’re hanging out with the cool kids on facebook but we know what you really are.   You need to act like the company that you’re representing, which is yours.  Be professional in your posts.  Of course, you can still have fun in your comments and your posts, but don’t change who you are.  If you have teen-aged clients, don’t talk to them like you’re their buddy.  Continue to represent the professional side of your business.  It comes across as a lot more genuine and makes you appear more credible.  Social Media is like a digital porch. People like coming to chat if the home owner is authentic!

4. I would tell them to DO IT! If they are not a part of their conversation, someone else is controlling it.  What this one means is, if you’re not on the social networking sites, your competition probably is!  Would you rather your competition be out there and communicating with your potential clients? Of course not.  If you visit Facebook, for example, a lot of stores and restaurants are now posting their promotions online and getting fans to follow them when something new happens for their business.  Yes, eventually, more stores and businesses will do it, too.  But won’t you remember the first ones?  Won’t it be more likely that you’ll have one book store that you’re interested in rather than 12?

Do you have any more important tips for these sites?  Please leave us a comment or visit us online.

Explain your job and engage your listener

Have you ever asked someone you just met what it is they do and you either didn’t understand without asking a series of more questions or got a response that practically put you to sleep?  You’re not the only ones.  Dr. Joan Curtis helps professionals become better communicators and wrote a great article on how to present yourself when you’re asked that time-old question, “What is it that you do?”

Dr. Curtis recommends focusing on the positive benefits that you offer, rather than just answering with your job title.  She uses the example of a financial planner.  That title could mean a lot of different things to many people.  Instead say, “I help people invest their money.”  Or “I help people achieve their life-long goal of earning money through investments.”  This is much more likely to turn into a longer conversation and potentially earn new business by explaining more thoroughly what you do rather than just provide a title.

She also recommends explaining your job with passion.  Even if you’re having a bad day, you want your work to come across as exciting and beneficial.  You never know who you’re going to meet that could benefit from your products or services.  Try putting emphasis on the important words. 

Now, don’t go on forever either.  Give the listener a chance to chime in.  Your goal should be engaging them in conversation rather than turning your words into a lecture.  Try to focus on getting them to ask more and more questions.

Focus on your niche.  It’s fine to earn customers and clients outside of that group, but you’ll be so much better at what you do if you find your niche that you’re marketing towards, and selling towards.  Dr. Curtis says, “Once you land with your foot in the door, you can expand.”  So focus on your niche, and then expand out from there.

Visit us online to find the perfect way for us to market your business.

The social networking conversion factor

So you did a great job setting up your pages on MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  You’ve connected with old friends, past colleagues, and even met some new friends who are interested in your business.  You got them all to come visit your Web site.  So they’re all there and, NOW WHAT?  How do you get their e-mail address so you can add them to your newsletter list and keep in touch with them?  Christine Gallagher talks about just that.

You always want to have a sign-up form on your Web page.  Make it really easy and just ask for a first name and an e-mail address.  Make sure you mention something about privacy and not distributing their e-mail to any other sites.  A submit button after that should do the trick.  And let them know what they’ll receive if they put in their address.  Maybe mention something about a free drawing every month if they register.

Where do you put it?  Studies have shown that one of the most effective places to put the box is in the upper right-hand corner of the page.  Don’t make prospects scroll all the way to the bottom, if you can help it.  Try to make it one of the first places they see.  Also, you’ll want to put a sign-up box on every single page of your site.  If they search for you, they might not come in directly to the home page, so you want to make sure that there’s a way to sign up no matter how they found you. 

We mentioned a monthly drawing.  That’s one incentive, but you might want to offer something else for signing up.  People love free stuff.  You might send them your last newsletter that you sent out to clients.  It could be an interesting article related to your site, but make sure it’s something that they’ll find interesting and help them.  A real estate agent might offer an article on tips to keep your home safe while you’re showing it, for example.

Now that you have their e-mail address, it’s up to you to keep up your end of the bargain.  Make sure they’re getting regular e-mail mailings from you.  Send them promotional flyers with discounts and deals.  Don’t just let them think they signed up for no good reason.  And keep active on the social networking sites. You never know how much more traffic you can get.

Need help designing an e-mail newsletter?  Visit us online for a quick and easy quote.

Tips to help you stay in top form!

We came across a great blog today about 17 things you should know before you start an online business.  This is a great benefit to everyone who has a small business.  It’s so easy to lose focus when you’re doing everything you can to get your business up and running.  These tips should help you achieve your best!

1. Build a list.  We’ve mentioned this before.  You’ll want to keep a list of customers (past and current), prospects, past coworkers, neighbors, book club members, etc.  That way you can contact all of them to let them know what you now do and hopefully they can become customers or recommend some to you.  It’s always best to start with a handwritten note and throw in a business card and a great offer!

2. Start a networking group.  Or join one!  It really helps to meet people in similar situations as yours, plus it’s great for referrals.  A lot of them meet during the week for breakfast or happy hour and you can help make your business better by listening to their advice.

3. Outsource as much as you can.  By hiring someone else to take care of payroll, copywriting, Web site updates, etc., you can focus more time ON your business rather than IN your business.  It can be affordable, especially if you only need a little help once you start up.  You’ll notice the benefits of hiring someone because it will make you more money in the long run to give the menial tasks to someone else.

4. Focus on one thing at a time.  So many new entrepreneurs get hundreds of ideas in their head and want to start on everything at once.  It may be hard, but try to focus on one idea at a time.  Then try it out.  Test it.  Make sure it’s up and running before jumping to the next. 

5. Take time off.  Another hard one to accomplish.  You’ll be much more productive and happy to be at work if you’ve had some R & R.  Time off means time off.  No phone, no e-mail, no client contact.  Aim for at least one day every week.  And this is where outsourcing comes in handy!

6. Attend classes and seminars.  Even coaches are going to more classes.  You can never stop learning new information.  You can meet people in similar fields to yours and make great contacts.  You never know how much new business you can obtain from seminars.  You’ll also obtain a lot of new ideas that we’re sure you’ll want to implement.  Just one a time! 

Need more tips?  Visit us online for a quote on how we can help you!

Is social networking right for your business?

We all know that social networking is becoming more and more popular.  Ashton Kutcher was recently recognized for being the first person to have 1 million followers on Twitter.  Oprah just signed up.  More retail stores and restaurants are starting Facebook accounts to let their customers know about specials and savings.  Realtors are using it to advertise the listings they need to sell.  And also promoting the new tax incentives.  So are these sites right for your  business?

1.  Think of your target audience.  If you have a lot of people that purchase from you in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, these sites are probably a great choice.  We see students, their parents, and even grandparents signing on to Facebook.  But if your customers are exclusively men in their 70s, for example, this is probably not the best place to advertise.

2. Make sure you keep your social networking accounts strictly professional.  Don’t invite your customers to a non-business party and don’t post about how drunk you got over the weekend.  Change your status to let them know that there’s a sale through the weekend on your new products, or let them know and invite people to your grand opening event. 

3. Share information.  Post links to other Web sites and articles that you think would be of interest.  Let them know of a great business book you just finished.  The more information you post, the more interested your customers will be and they won’t think you’re constantly trying to “sell” them something.

There are some other great advantages to using these sites.  It’s FREE!  What better marketing tool can we ask for during a recession?  Signing up for an account doesn’t cost you a penny, and you can get your name out there as often as you want.  Another great benefit (especially if you have an iPhone or BlackBerry) is that you can post on the train on the way into the office, or from your kitchen while you’re cooking dinner!  So it doesn’t even have to interrupt your regular day.  You can communicate instantly with your clients.  If you’re online and they are at the same time, you can instant message instead of playing phone tag all day.

Troy White posts some more useful tips in his online article. Need help getting started? Visit us online to get a quote on how we can help you get set up.

Pricing your sellers’ homes correctly

Price is one of the most important factors in getting a home sold quickly in this real estate market.  While your client might have the nicest house in their subdivision or neighborhood, if it’s not priced aggressively, buyers won’t see the value in purchasing it.  Real Estate Trainer Craig Proctor recommends having a serious price discussion with your sellers prior to listing their homes.  He says that clients will have the tendency to blame their Realtors if their home doesn’t sell, for whatever reason.  You have to do everything you can to let them know the market is at fault, not you.  So make sure to bring “proof” to every real estate listing presentation.  Here is what Craig considers to be good “proof”:

1. Prepare an effective Comparable Market Analysis (CMA).  You want to use homes that are as close to the subject property as possible.  Craig says to use “A summary page that lists 10-20 actives within the immediate area; whatever pendings that show up (it’s very important to point out that this is what the market is saying yes to at that very moment); 10 solds within the last several months or up to a max of 6 months if possible; and several expireds and withdrawns in the area (it’s important to make them aware that the wrong price caused these).” 

An additional part to the CMA should contain pictures with the property descriptions as written by their brokers.  The descriptions will help you know what features the other homes have that your subject does or doesn’t have to compare it to. 

2. Let them know that the price discussion is never over.  You want to prepare your sellers for additional meetings about the price changing in the future.  When you choose a price today, that is based on today’s data.  This data can change within hours or even minutes as houses go under contract or new ones come on the market.  In order to stay realistic and aggressive, you’ll want to compare market data every few weeks and determine if a new price needs to be chosen.  Craig suggests using this language, “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, I appreciate that you have given me the opportunity to market your home, but no matter what great programs I offer, I’m not good enough to overcome the market. I still need to price it right so at least I can attract buyers to come through the home and then offer them these programs. 90% of marketing, especially in the early weeks, is about pricing it in the right range. Now clearly I know I can negotiate the best deal for you and get you the highest net, but not if the price is scaring the buyers away from even viewing your house.”

3. You’re in charge of following up.  Your sellers will most likely not be the one to initiate another face-to-face meeting discussing the price of their home, especially if they wanted to price it high to begin with.  It’s your job to get in front of them and show them the current market data.  Make sure you bring in proof if you recommend a price reduction.  They’ll want to know what their strongest competition is. 

If your sellers are getting consistent showings without offers, it’s very likely that they’re overpriced.  No matter how the housing market is, buyers are often afraid to present a low-ball offer, even if the seller is willing to negotiate, so it’s important to be priced at market value.

For help with your real estate marketing, please visit us online.

How to close a sale with social networking

You’ve taken the time to join Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn.  You’re networking, have found friends, and even posted new items to your site.  So how do you go about converting the people you’re networking with to customers of your product or service?  Michele Pariza Wacek wrote a blog that suggests creating a social networking landing page just for your friends from online. 

Rather than just direct them to your own Web site or blog, you’ll want to create a page on your Web site or blog just for your social networking buddies.  It’s the continuation of what you’ve discussed with them online.  By doing this, you’ll be closer to getting them to sign up as customers of yours.  This is a much more comfortable approach to ease them into becoming your customers, rather than just directing them to a sales page.  Social networking is all about building relationships.  You don’t want to lose them as customers by bluntly approaching them about purchasing something.  Make sure your page talks about you, your hobbies, your interests, etc.  Once you have their e-mail address, it will be easy to keep them apprised of new offerings and to send them your newsletter.

EHow also suggests some tips. 

1. They say to ask them to post comments on your blog and offer to do the same for them.  It will help both of you get more exposure.

2. Add pictures of your product if you’re a small business, or houses you might have sold if you’re a Realtor. 

3. Add a contest to your site.  This will get people excited about visiting.

4. Give away free items or tips that can be e-mailed to them.  People love free newsletters that will help them save money perhaps, or learn how to use your product more efficiently.

For help getting started with your social networking, be sure to visit us online.