Routinely I have conversations with others in my industry about the status and impact the economy is having on their businesses. We’ve decided that the success or failure of a business stems from several factors. Where there’s visual evidence that others in an industry you belong to are working, you can reasonably assume there’s enough work for you.

A quick way to determine if your business is competitive within your industry is to see what your competition is doing. A quick stop at the local supply distributor(s) is an easy way to find out. If your competition is in regularly purchasing materials necessary for their job sites, then you can assume they are working.

If you don’t see anyone from the competition and the salesman climbs over the counter to greet you, then you can also assume no one has been in purchasing from them. Such indicates that consumer demand is down and the economy is equally affecting everyone.

So you discover that several of your competitors trucks are at the distributor all stocking up on parts. This should tell you that you have a problem. Time to investigate, but where to start?

The source of the problem could be in how you market your business. Time to compare what your competition is doing with what you are doing to attract and retain customers.

Maybe that’s not what’s happening. Let’s set aside the external marketing for moment. Are you getting referrals from existing or previous customers? If not, why? Were these customers satisfied with the work performed? Are your employees representing the professional image, performing quality workmanship and showing customer appreciation that you, as the owner, would?

Your employees should be your best marketing resource. If they extol excellence and value, then your customers will become your best advertisers. If they don’t, those employees are destroying not only their reputation but the owner’s as well.

Train for the task as well as the marketplace. Teach your employees how to do the job right as well as how to present themselves and your company. Marketing starts inside the company walls, not outside. That comes second, because if your staff isn’t in the same mindset and invested towards success as you are, then you’re stalled at the starting line.

No matter how much time, energy and money you spend marketing you and your business it will all be offset with catastrophic effect if your employees only care about getting a paycheck.

Things a little slow? Are your employees out advertising your business by attending trade shows, calling on perspective clients, open houses, community meetings or knocking on doors handing out literature? If not, maybe they should be.

We all need ‘em, so how do you get that happy customer to actually take a moment to give you a review? And, if he does, what will you do with it? Where will it get maximum exposure? Some businesses know just how to get those reviews set up to be a regular part of day-to-day affairs. They know that the most effective way to get a review is to ask. Yes, it’s bold. But it’s also business. That happy client or customer is worth several more when they share their experience with others. Turn the request into a part of the way you run your company and it’s a no-brainer that you’ll have many reviews to choose from when you want to make your testimonials public.

Sure, not everyone will comply. But companies who practice this will tell you, if you don’t ask, chances are slim that you’ll have much to work with. There is a place within every transaction, or at the end of it, that is appropriate to request a favorable customer response:

• A follow-up phone call
• A perforated post card with return address and survey boxes
• A question asked as the project commences, “If you will fill out a brief review when the job is done, we’ll take five percent off your next … “
• “Please review us on MerchantCircle.com, or Yelp.com if you’re happy with the product or job performance.”

Making it easier on the customer is the name of the game. Give them an opportunity to know the best way to review your company and support your good effort. One thing is certain, if you don’t ask, you won’t get a response. Customers who give a favorable review out of the goodness of their heart are few and far between.

Where are the best places to post your reviews?

Whenever possible, have your customers post reviews on these sites:

• Yelp.com
• MerchantCircle.com
• Google Places
• CitySearch.com
• Insiderpages.com
• Local.com
• Superpages.com
• TripAdvisor

And make sure you’re listed on each of these sites! These places have high authority and the link to your site is a very powerful way to bring traffic to your website. Once easily added by your customers, these can be additionally pasted into your website testimonials page, your direct mail pieces, and any other media that promotes your company.

One more thing. Don’t forget to thank your customer for the favorable review and let him know in some manner how it benefits your company. And if you get a poor review, by all means, fix it! Speak with that customer immediately and ask them what can be done to satisfy, compensate, or make it better. Find out what he feels should have been done differently, and thank him for helping you cure a problem by bringing it to your attention. If you take a willing-to-fix-it attitude to your company reviews in response to comments, you’ll show a trustworthy aspect of your company to your viewers. That practice will endear the public to your company and be visible for quite some time.

Do you post reviews for great service?

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Small Business Listing: Images are Important

Case Study: Small Business Listings

What one company learned the hard way

Did you post photos on your Google Places listing? If you haven’t, consider this: one company didn’t, and the photo that was included was a poorly shot photo of the home of a customer who posted a review.

The review was favorable, the photo was not. Many times, these details seem insignificant until they are seen from the outside looking in. When you’re filling out the details of your business listing, the photos, videos, and reviews play a big part of your overall appearance, but may not seem like they need to be added now. Problem is, if you put it off for another day, another day comes and goes without your listing being completely finished. Images help your viewers understand where you are, who you are, and what products you offer. When you connect with the public on line in this way, you become a reality. You cease to be only a link on a page and become something they can identify with.

The same thing holds true for video. A brief video, a commercial or a tutorial piece is a nice way to connect with your viewers while letting them know you’re interested in offering what they want. Make it funny, and you’ll find it uploaded to YouTube.com, FunnyorDie.com, or a several other video streaming services. People love to share video content. When you’ve properly linked up your website to your small business listing, and posted a video that others want to share, you’ve made positive changes to your online presence that will increase your website visibility. It’s a great strategy.

No one wants their business to look less appealing than it should. These small details put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to your company’s appearance. Most listings require that your photo be no larger than 1MB, but generally you are allowed to add more than one. We suggest using the maximum number of pictures that represent you favorably. Remember that a picture’s worth a thousand words. A video – well, that’s a whole other story!

Do you have an image on your listing? Why or Why not?

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Case Study: Small Business Listing

Don’t forget to dot your ‘i’s and cross your ‘t’s!

When it comes to adding your company to a search engine directory, like Google, Bing, or others, there’s a lot to be said for finishing the job. Google is the absolute when it comes to listing locally. Once a company has claimed its business and set up their listing, every other search engine picks it up, regardless of whether or not you’ve listed with them as well. Funny enough, when you look up your company through the other search engines, your Google listing is likely the most frequently returned. It’s important to get it right, as unfinished details can hamper your efforts.

An example of this is can be found with a company who thought they had added their company to Google Places, but in fact had not quite finished the job. After enjoying a moderate rise in rank through our SEO efforts, they began to plateau and soon were outranked by a competitor who had several poor reviews and less than optimal website standards. The first company should have had no problem outranking this second company, as we later found out, had Google details been completed.

• Keywords are important – This is an ideal way to be found, so some research in this area is extremely helpful. Google allows you to craft four or five custom categories once you select from their main category. Using keywords associated with your business in the categories sections will ensure that your company is found by consumers looking for you. Strong keywords within your descriptive text, woven-well with actual value for the consumer, are crucial. Stuffing words for spider-sake that hold no value for people is absolutely pointless because this local listing service is human driven. Poor word use looks terrible and will more likely turn off your viewers.

• Location has an appropriate place - If a location is included in your company name, that’s one thing, but if you stuff locations into your company name that don’t belong there, you’re going to be disappointed. Your business may either be turned down or penalized by Google.

• Make sure you verify your company - If you don’t take that extra step at the end, your listing won’t be finalized. That means that everything you’ve just done, and it is somewhat time consuming, is for nothing. Google allows you and invites small businesses to take advantage of their local business center, now called Google Places. They will find a return for your company when a searcher uses certain terms to look for you, whether or not you’ve claimed your business. If you haven’t, you’re at the mercy of the results they find.

By claiming your business and filling out the information to your benefit, you’re given more authority as a business owner than if Google simply returned your company link for comments or social media encounters, which can happen! Take control of your online appearance by fully completing your information, or hiring someone to do that for you. Repairing the mistakes made by company # 1 made a difference immediately, and the business owner didn’t even realize those things had been left incomplete. Remember to dot your ‘i’s and cross your ‘t’s to get the most out of your small business listings.

If you’re like most businesses, your phone rings at least four times a day with a marketer on the other end asking if you would like to sign up with their online directory. Some of these are helpful, others … not so much. If you’re skeptical, you drop these guys like a hot potato. Some companies really benefit however, ever wonder why?

When people are looking for a specific business and can’t remember what it was called or how they happened on it, many times they’ll type in very basic keywords to find it. Often, instead of finding one company, they’ll find a list of every company that signed up with the directory that purchased that popular domain. Keywords do work, and that’s one reason directories can be helpful. Very basic keywords used in the URL will draw quite a bit of traffic, and if you’re located where they’re looking, it can be very good. The back link to your site may also be helpful.

Over-saturation of directory listings is still problematic – both on the search engines, when all you can find are a gazillion other directories, and in the directories themselves when listings are unfinished and leave little detail. Sometimes searching for things can be a real pain in the butt for the seeker. I see this particularly detrimental in the residential service community, and I’m recognizing an equally disturbing trend in restaurant listings lately.

We advocate using directories as a subordinate method of link building. Use the DMOZ, MerchantCircle, Yelp, Google, Bing, and Yahoo listings wisely, and you’ll come out ahead. Get tied up with some of the other smaller directories and mistakenly assume that a directory listing is your total link strategy,  and it can be an awful mess.

Don’t get me wrong, the listings I just mentioned definitely have some drawbacks too, but they work on a better authority system (domain age) and don’t stick you in with every Tom, Dick, and Harry who are doing the same thing. If that actually appeals to you however, and I can see where it might, make sure you’re doing something that makes you stand out. Lesser known directories may grow in relevance, and you might want in on that as well.

Directories work because they know how to stick you in a category that will be searched on. Directories have impairments when too many are listed, too many listings are incomplete, and everyone is using the same keyword strategy. I don’t think that benefits a searcher. I also think it’s not too helpful to have directory after directory after directory when a searcher is looking for a trustworthy company. I’m sure I’m not the only one who closes out of that search to search on different, hopefully better, terms. (Good argument for keyword research!)

To avoid the hassle of getting stuck in with the ‘other guys,’ get to know a little about keyword research and proper keyword use. It’s not a bait and switch game, it’s a method to improve where you comparatively sit with your competition. Everyone uses certain words when looking for something, and you don’t have to quit using them on your site to develop a better strategy. You do, however, need to figure out how you can get ahead of others who are using the same words and phrases. EVEN in directory listings.

You are better off paying for proper SEO research and listing with one of the free directories mentioned above than paying a regular monthly fee to be listed with a directory among many, many, many others – all who use the same wording.

If you’re listed in the service directories offered online these days, it can be a very good thing. Google Local, for instance, is one of the smartest places to exist, and so are  MerchantCircle, Yelp, and Foursquare. If you don’t exist there, you should, but if you do…

Do you have a Web site? Or did you simply list your business with them and expect that to be your online appearance?

It is a common situation for local companies to list themselves with little more than an online opportunity for reviews. I see a big problem with that. For one thing, when searchers are looking for a residential service company or a local small business, they expect to learn more about them than basic contact info. It really puzzles me to see the companies that have little more than a company name, but it really drives me nuts to see that often they’re not linked to a Web site, and have no name associated with the contact number when it exists. Top that off with reviews that may not be favorable, and it flat out floors me.

Often some reviews aren’t even from customers familiar with the business.

What to do? Remember a few things when you decide to list your business:

• Connect your listing to your Web site. Test your link. We want to know more about you than your company name.
• If you work out of your home, use a mail center P.O. because it allows you to use their street address, protecting yours. (USPS only offers P.O. Box)
• Do make a contact name available. It’s the first step to an introduction, and friendly is good.
• Manage your reviews. If they are poor, address and correct them.
• If your reviews are favorable, thank the customer.

We’ll be going into more detail soon about the importance of a Web site connected to directory listings and other ways they benefit the customer. Meanwhile, the last bit of advice I’ll give you concerns reviews that are not legitimate or favorable. I can’t stress enough how important it is to request customer reviews, especially when the customer ecstatic. Have some things in place to make it easy for them to do so, like a one line request on the invoice or receipt of service, or post card mailings with the link to your directory listing, or even asking the customer if they would like to add their email address to your list for future specials. Make sure the first email is a customer service survey with an opportunity to comment. You can then post their comment in reviews. Honestly, there is no easier way for a customer to publicly brag about your service than an email link.

The more favorable comments you have posted to your reviews, the less impact a negative or illigitimate review will ultimately have. Consider negative reviews a way to connect to your customers and correct problems you don’t want to repeat.

Our affordable business Web sites and hosting platforms have tremendous flexibility, and combined with your years of expertise, may be just what you need to increase visibility.

Take a look at our Small Business Accelerator Packages and see for yourself how affordable the combination of good advice and necessary services can be for your company. Would your company benefit from better visibility? Can you afford to be invisible?

5 Ways to Work Smarter

Ever feel like this? As a business woman, I admit that I sometimes do. Every once and a while I get the feeling that I’m surrounded by perfectly running businesses and I’m just not keeping up like I should. Times like that make me want to spin on my office chair and blow spit bubbles.

Crazy how we get into that mindset, isn’t it? We work and plan, and plan and work, and it just doesn’t seem to ever really get done. I mean…finished. I get done all right. I get done with projects, I get done with billing, I get done with tasks and errands; but I never get finished marketing. There’s always a better, newer, more persuasive way to get the message out there. It’s never ending.

You gotta’ love your job to live it, and I do. But how do those other companies make it look so easy?

The trick is, finding the easiest way to do the most in the least amount of time, and still build a quality empire. I’m a wife, mom, sister, and daughter–I don’t want to spend all my time working just to be like everyone else. So with that, here are 5 things I’ve learned to work smarter, and keep all my hair.

1. Use quality systems to aggregate. It’s never worth doing extra steps in any marketing strategy that you can do in just one. Consider using Ping.fm your social media updates, and AWeber for getting your small business email marketing campaign off the ground. This saves me TONS of time for pennies a day.
2. Give yourself permission to research competition, read about concerns, and update your brain files with new information. It may take longer than you think, but unless you put a priority on learning as an investment, you won’t be able to keep up with anything.
3. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Getting up to speed fast is great if you have systems in place to keep up. If you don’t, take the time to set yourself up for success by simply inching toward your long term goals daily. Life is NOT about living in a squirrel cage.
4. Appreciate what the mentors in your market are teaching you, both by what they do, and how they do it. You can always learn the hard way, but isn’t it easier to learn from others’ mistakes rather than your own?
5. Go ahead and do something different, in a different way, and take that risk that you’ll regret not taking. If you never step out, you’ll never know what could have been. You have amazing ideas in your head that need to come out. Don’t mistake that adrenaline rush for fear you shouldn’t tackle. It could just be the turn on you needed to kick the competition’s butt!

That’s what works for me. How do you handle the occasional frustrations that stem from a busy environment? Do you ever feel caught up in the mundane while everyone else looks like they’ve accomplished their goals with ease? Hang in there!

Photo Credit: kevindooley on Flickr

Most of the things we do for our businesses, we do out of habit. We have some people that we call, we have direct mail sent out, we post coupons on Merchant Circle, or we post to Google Local online for decent SERP placement and reviews. Those things aren’t enough, and you probably know it, yet when asked what you’re doing for your business, you probably mention those things with an air of ‘I’m doing what I ought to be doing.’

You probably don’t need a marketing coach or a ‘guru’ to help you market your small business, but there are a few things those guys are doing right that you shouldn’t ignore entirely. They seem to know just how to center attention around themselves, and while that never denotes authenticity, having others in your field recognizing your efforts certainly can appear that way. Just how do they do that?

Here’s where the ‘guru’s’ have it, and even though I’m not a ‘guru’ or a marketing coach, I’m going to share it with you free of charge:

They know how to muster up credibility.
Marketers usually blog. They post something about what they do, and they comment on other marketer’s blogs, start conversations, and drop links. How is this practice good for you? By the time their would-be clients get to their site, they have plenty of others in their field endorsing their endeavors. That’s not actual credibility, but it is perceived credibility, a good start. Take some time every day to build relationship with others in your field by leaving a conversational comment on a competitor’s blog designed for response.

They know what promotions, offers, and Web site traffic is working for them.
It’s not enough to just throw information on a page and hope it does well. It doesn’t take complicated algorithms to figure it out, either. If you’re not tracking your efforts and traffic with (at least) Google Analytics, you have no real idea if you’re reaching who you want to reach.

They engage in social media.
Yeah, it’s a time-suck. But even so, limited engagement on social media sites is actually a smart way to engage local traffic, if your local city and state are part of your profile or username. Getting used to it is half the battle. Once in, you’ll enjoy short conversations with others and your list will naturally build over time. If you do more than just post your specials, that is. Respond to ridiculous situations that makes you laugh, or drop your own personal thoughts about a thing here and there. (Advice: Stay optimistic. Why follow a grump?)

Photo Credit: NeeDeeAh’s! Photostream on Flickr

Related Post: Why The Social Media Experts Are Smarter Than You

Did you know that small businesses are responsible for the majority of new jobs created in the United States? Small businesses, including micro-businesses, make a huge impact on our local economy. We hear much more about big business, but where would we be without the small business owner striving for excellence in our local community? So today’s post is dedicated to the small business owner … all of you, whether you’re the only employee or you employ many. Thank you! We (collectively) couldn’t do it without you! If you feel the same way, take a few minutes to encourage and thank a hard-working, small business owner this week!

Our team at Zero To Sixty Marketing is dedicated to helping you, the small to medium-size business get results from your marketing efforts. We’re not out to win the next “Addy” or any other award, for that matter. Our award is your success. It’s the RESULTS that we’re after. And we’re not afraid of taking an unconventional route to get there.

If you’re not already a subscriber to Inside Line, now is the time to sign up! Upcoming article topics from our team include: building your brand (it’s about far more than your logo and marketing materials), using e-mail marketing effectively, direct response advertising, social media marketing that works (specifically for the small business owner), and more about how to create a variety of effective leave-behind pieces.

What small business marketing topics would be most helpful to you? What are you struggling with? Either comment below or respond privately via our contact form. We appreciate your feedback! Thank you!

Photo Credit: Budding entrepreneur by Robert S. Donovan on flickr

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How Do I Twitter? 7 Easy Steps

As cities strive to improve, many are looking at the heart of their community … their downtown. Towns, villages and cities were built on a core, the center of the community – their downtown. As the need for faster transit between points became necessary, downtown America was bypassed. Businesses who didn’t want to be forgotten moved from the core of the community to its fringes. For a time the core literally and physically shifted out to the expressway’s edge.

The old downtown seemingly died, and with it, many communities lost part of their soul. But now there has been a resurgence of redevelopment in downtowns across this country – partly because the center is being moved back to its original location. The heritage of the past is being given new birth with construction projects that bring the once forgotten back into vogue.

Right now in cities across America, the city center is being revitalized. Businesses are being encouraged to open there, and foot traffic is welcome. Greener thinking is affecting the way we look at commerce. We want locally grown produce, we want to purchase from our local retailers, and we want to enjoy local treats from local restaurants that have a unique flavor and method of operation than the chains that occupy suburbia.

Is this an opportunity for your business?

As the plans are being drawn, if you, as a business owner, are looking for a new location, consider the new downtown. As part of the core of your community, you’ll receive greater exposure and can establish or reaffirm your business as one that keeps the community’s heritage alive and prosperous. What’s the adage? … location, location, location!

If you’re changing your business locale, then you’ll need updated media to let your customers know where you’ve gone. Check out our Small Business Acceleration Packages and choose one of our prearranged options, or contact us for a customized package with the services listed on our Services page. You’ll be glad you did!