I bet if you were hanging out with your friends or family and a controversial subject came up, whether you voiced it or not – you’d probably have an opinion about it. Conversationally, it’s a plus to be able to debate opinions or discuss facts in a give and take manner. Some folks can’t do that. But if you’re the entrepreneur who generally reads our blogs, you can probably hang with the best.

If you have ideas for business – something not agreeable in the mainstream – instead of sitting there with your opinion safely tucked inside your head in a box labeled, “not politically correct,” I want to encourage you to take action.  Take a risk by doing or saying something out of the norm that can be useful to others. It could be the thing that makes your business stand out. 

I talk about my Dad a lot. He’s been fighting cancer for a couple of years so he’s on our minds around here. Growing up, he would talk about peer pressure, and he would tell us that people loved to have something to talk about, there was always going to be somebody that everyone would put on a pedestal. He said that if we desired that position, many opportunities for compromise would take us down until we were just like everyone else. Instead, he suggested, we should be ourselves the best we could be and not conform our opinions and behavior  based on what everybody else thought. If that behavior brought attention our way, we’d soon see others imitating us.

It is okay to be different, to look at things differently, and to do marketing differently. It’s actually the only successful way to do it.

Take a stand. Someone in your industry is standardizing stupidity in some way, point it out and do it entirely different. Just because people have become used to a dumb way to do things doesn’t mean your company has to be run that way.

Have you been told that what you’re doing won’t work? Have you resigned yourself to redundant or useless practices merely because that’s how its done? Are you listening to your gut, or following your nose?

Look, we don’t believe a ton of what marketers are saying these days. So much ridiculous, unrealistic B.S. is associated with social media marketing and SEO – there are simply smarter ways to do those things that need to be done. I don’t want to work 14 hours every day, do you? Secret: you don’t have to.

In your business, get rid of stuff that ties your stomach in knots. Oh, occasionally those times will come up, but if those types of things are happening on a regular basis, find a better way to do them or cut them out.  Figure out how to do that thing smarter.

To wrap it up: have an opinion, take a stand, figure out how to do that thing better, and listen to your gut.

And when someone asks you, “Where do you stand on that?” you’ll be able to respond with less irritation, and more inspiration.

How do you feel about the marketing strategies you’re hearing online? Do you find our posts informative or helpful? Do you think we sound just like everyone else? Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear from you.

We get a lot of questions about content marketing. As my mentor and co-worker, Shari Voigt,  pointed out so well in her post to Express Marketing Memo, it’s the many ways you present your company interactively online. Useful information is in constant demand, and quite frankly, it’s hard for most businesses to  offer content effectively and still do the day-to-day activities involved with running a business. Many companies choose to outsource that function, but you can do it yourself.

Shari and I were talking about the difficulties beginners face when it comes to content marketing. As we mulled it over, we started talking about what doesn’t work. Basically, there are businesses we would never respond to because of their annoyance factor or the poor presentation. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that to be you.

Let’s hit on those issues so you’re better prepared when you hit the online world.

Blogging:

Don’t be disconnected.
Your title should reflect the material being covered in the blog. Links should be helpful and serve to support statements you’ve made. If your topic and post are essentially discussing two different things, blogging won’t help you. Get your message straight first.

Newsletters:

Don’t take too long to get to the point.
Is your newsletter just a sales page invitation for an expensive program that I have to purchase to know whatever the heck you’re talking about in the first place? An opening bait title question should be answered without having to read an entire, meaningless newsletter that when finished, still has not answered the question. Hint: If your title asks a question, answer it and please do it quickly.

Social Marketing:

Obnoxious doesn’t work for anybody.
This is an important component to your content marketing strategy. Its effective, fun, and time-consuming. When I’m interacting with other businesses and potential clients, getting constant machine-gun style rapid fire updates on your next teleseminar, countdown to it, or repetitive quotes that are obviously automated, I don’t see who on earth would respond to that. Those type of updates don’t make me say to myself, “OOH! OOH! I’m dying to talk to YOU, obviously you have what I’m looking for!” I agree that creating a sense of urgency is good, but there are tasteful ways to do it.

These are only three types of content you can use to promote your brand online, but they’re the most common areas to miss the mark.

ALLRIGHTEE then. Enough about that from me, any of you agree with me? Love to hear it, comment below!

Photo Credit: Chris Friese on Flickr

Related Posts: What Is Content Marketing?

I’m often involved in conversations with small business owners regarding their marketing materials, and lately I’ve notice a disturbing trend. There’s  an increasing gap between companies who hold integrity dear, and their competitors. A prospect has to dig pretty deep to know who’s good for what, and you’re left with two large responsibilities – business ethics and conveying them so a customer has a clear choice.

When you provide a service or product that exceeds client expectation, you increase your competitive edge by a wide margin. When they can see it coming because of the way you present yourself, you do even better. Knowing how the ‘dark side’ does things helps you stay above the fray and show others what to avoid, too.

If you haven’t taken the time to update your service or products online, and then market them to the best of your ability, you cheat both your customer and your company. They should easily be able to see what you sell currently, and it should look good. It should be the clear choice, based on what you know is the best.

I recently learned  the IT staffing business has the same trouble, too. Getting your audience to understand your message is the key. Not just ‘putting it out there’ by using the right words and phrases, but also taking that extra step to ensure your potential client ‘gets it.’ That actually involves quite a bit of internal communication to accomplish.

I was talking to Mike Hanes, President of ProVisionTech Group , about this just the other day. He stands strong against unethical business practices in the IT professional staffing circuit.

In an effort to boost quota, many recruiting/staffing agencies will pass along unqualified candidates for IT positions. Looking the other way is fairly common within the IT staffing community because:

1. There are fewer and fewer qualified professionals to choose from, and
2. Filling positions accurately depends on every member of the recruiting team understanding the same evolving language.

Mike and I bonded over that element. We both feel our companies operate with integrity and fill a lacking need – effective communication both internally (between co-workers), and externally (from our services to our client base). We agree that one of the largest barriers to serving our respective communities exists when the people we know we can help, have been burned by previous experiences.

How do your potential customers/clients know they can trust you?

Make sure your clients know exactly what you stand for through your presentation. If as a nation we’re ever going to re-establish trust in the marketplace, we’d better make sure we’re holding fast to ethical business practices, and we’d better make sure our clients know it!

Photo Credit: eeekay’s photography on flickr

When sales decline, budgets tighten and typically, the first area to be scrutinized for cutback is promotion and marketing. Part of the magic of marketing is the ability to create perception. Businesses must create and maintain a perception that they are critical, viable and resilient.

An example of this is your local auto dealership. Even when sales are in a slump, they continue to run weekly ads in local newspapers. Why? To maintain their customers’ perception that things are just fine. Of course the automobile is an intricate part of the American psyche. Give the perception that the local automobile dealership isn’t viable and the ripple effect can reach far and wide. 

If your business wasn’t perceived as resilient, what would your customers likely do? Keeping customers aware of your products, services and existence is crucial especially during tough times. When the situation improves, you’ll be clearly visible as the “go to” resource that is ready to meet the customer’s needs.

We’re not advocating a continuation of a full speed ahead, spare the expense approach. You will have to adjust and tweak to work within a leaner budget. With the right strategic mix, the perception can be maintained that you are viable and ready to serve. Do not let your customers lose sight of your business. What’s the saying,”Out of sight out of mind.”

Remember that your customers’ perception of you IS your brand. Your brand image is far more than your logo, store front, and marketing collateral. It’s how your customers and potential customers perceive everything about your business.

So when the budget belt tightens, a sound marketing strategy is key to both short and long term business goals. Perception can work for or against your company. Make sure to keep it working for you.

Can you afford not to?