Business Archives - Page 15 of 16 - Nadine MullingsNadine Mullings

October

01 2013

Six Types of Networking Events That Can Grow Your Business

Networking is an integral part of growing your small business, but most people don’t take the time to make a networking plan. I recently hosted a tele-seminar for Independent Ladies Club called Master How to Develop a Powerful, Diverse Network with guest speaker Coach Kimberly. She shared the reason why networking works is the connections you make, which leads to the relationship you create, and the relationships can help you to grow your business. Therefore, it helps to be very strategic in your networking activities and knowing what types of networking events you would like to attend and who specifically you are looking to meet at these events. Here are six types of networking events that can help you to grow your business:

Casual Contact Networking– This type of networking involves networking with individuals in a casual setting. This could be things like a local chamber after hour events, a happy hour, etc. The goal at these types of events is to make connections with individuals in a more relaxed “non-business” type of atmosphere.
Strong Contact Networking– This type of networking is an involvement in a networking group whose sole purpose is to pass business referrals to other members of the group. Examples of this type of networking includes Business Networking International (BNI), PowerCore, and Chamber Lead groups to name a few. Your goal with this type of networking is to create trusting relationships with the individuals in the group, which will increase their trust level in you and your services and they will feel more comfortable to consistently refer business to you.
Community Service– Being involved in your local community can really help you and your business to be more visible and can be considered a form of networking in which you and your company are giving back and in return you can get new business. Although giving back may not lead to direct business, the exposure for you and your business almost always leads to indirect business in some way.
Professional Associations– This type of networking is good to create strategic alliances with other people within your industry. Many people specialize in a particular area of a profession, so if they have a client in need of services that they don’t offer, they can refer the business to you. Someone from your professional association could be a good fit to refer business back and fourth. In addition, going to professional associations specifically designed for people in your target market is another great way to network and also reach potential prospects.
Social/Business Groups– As the saying goes, a lot of business transactions actually happen at social events. Therefore, attending events that are social is a great way to develop relationships and make those business connections.
Women/Men Organizations– Being involved in clubs and organizations specifically designed for women or men can help you to create relationship with individuals who could be a great referral source.

What types of networking events do you attend and does it help to grow your business?

Posted by Nadine Mullings | Comments Off | in Business, Business Development, Marketing, Networking, Uncategorized

September

24 2013

The best kept secret to using social networking to grow your business (Part 2)

In my last post, The best kept secret to using social networking to grow your business, I talked about a popular social networking site that doesn’t get as much attention as the other major sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, but is a very effective tool to grow your business, and that social network is Meetup.com. As I mentioned in Part 1, there are two ways that you can use Meetup to grow your business, joining a meetup group or organizing a meetup group. For the sake of this post, I will talk about how to organize a meetup. Here are five ways to grow your business by organizing a meetup group:

1. Start a Meetup specifically for your target market. Once you know your target market, it is easy to start a group that caters to your target market. Your goal is to create a community of individuals who are in your target market and provide them with valuable information and fun events. The goal of the Meetup should never be to sell your product or service, but to offer some value to your community and in turn that should lead to business for you.

Tip: Make sure the name of the group and/or the description of your group is very clear so that you are attracting the right people to join your Meetup group. Adding the specific area (i.e. Women Business Owners of Atlanta, Foodies in Chicago, etc.) gives the feel of a large group designed specifically for the people in that area.

2. Create more than one Meetup Group. Meetup allows you to create up to three Meetup groups for one quarterly fee. As of now, the quarterly fee is just $45/per quarter, which amounts to $15/month. If you have three Meetup groups that amounts to just $5/month per Meetup group and you can create very specific niches of your target market and tailor your meetups to this specific niche (i.e. women who are vegetarians, men who are in finance, etc.). The more specific your niche the more specific you can make your Meetup, but keep in mind a broad category will attract more people and a specific category will attract a smaller group.

3. Have consistent Meetups for your Group. The most effective Meetup groups I have seen have been groups that have consistent events that are planned out well in advance. For example having a meetup every first Monday of the month or every other Tuesday, helps to show that your group is consistent in the events that they offer. Even being consistent with the type of event you are having can help to build up your Meetup having a monthly or bi-weekly outing, breakfast, luncheon, workshop, networking, etc.

4. Create a leadership team. It always helps if more than one person is assisting with the organizing of the group and running of the Meetups, so having a co-organizer or other members of the Meetup as your Leadership team is very helpful.

5. List your business as a sponsor of your Meetup Group. This is nice subtle way to put your business name out to the group without feeling like you are hard selling your products or services, you can even offer a discount to individuals from the Meetup who decide to purchase your products or services.

Have you created a meetup group to help grow your business? If so, share what has or hasn’t been working for your meetup group.

Posted by Nadine Mullings | Comments Off | in Business, Business Development, Business Events, Event Marketing, Marketing, Networking, Uncategorized

September

17 2013

The best kept secret to using social networking to grow your business

With a lot of attention being given to the large social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest, one of the best kept social networking secrets is Meetup.com. Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. What makes Meetup.com so great is it merges the online and the offline worlds by providing consistent face-to-face activities for each group.

There are two main ways that you can use Meetup.com to grow your business, joining a meetup group or organizing a meetup group. For the sake of this post, I will talk about how being a member of a meetup group can help to grow your business. Here are five ways to grow your business by joining a meetup group:

1. Join a Business Networking Meetup. Meetup.com has several business networking groups, if networking is a part of your marketing strategy (and it should be if it is not), start with finding some local networking meetups to join where you can meet other like-minded individuals to network with, make business connections, and learn how to grow your business.

2. Join Meetup Groups that cater to your target market. Once you have clearly defined who your target market is, you can actually find groups on meetup that cater to your target market (i.e. looking for women in their 20’s, 30’s or 40’s check out meetups that cater to this group, looking for health conscious individuals there are meetups in your local area that cater to this type of group too, etc.). Once you find Meetup.com groups that fit your target market, make an effort to join and attend the events and get to know the members. Go to the events with an intention to make new connections which could eventually lead to business, do not go with an intention to sell your product or service at the Meetup, start with building a relationship first.

3. Offer a special perk as a member of a Meetup group. Once you’ve joined a few Meetup.com groups consider offering a special perk to the group in which you offer some type of discount for your services. Each Meetup.com group is different in how they manage or even if they offer perks to their group, but this could be a subtle way to get your name and your business out to the members of the group.

4. Join the conversation. When you RSVP to attend a meetup add comments in the event section to start a connection online before the event even starts, or if the Meetup posts discussions, join in the discussion. This is also a great was to connect and to get your name out there with the group.

5. If you RSVP to attend an event SHOW UP. I cannot emphasis enough the importance of building a relationship with the group and the organizer(s) by making sure you turn up to the event when you RSVP. If at the last minute you are unable to attend, be sure to remove yourself from the event RSVP list, or reach out to the organizer to let him or her know you will no longer be able to attend, don’t just not show up, it looks bad for you and your business.

If you approach any meetup with the intention to get to know the members and make connections it will eventually lead to business. If you approach a meetup with the intention to just sell your product or service you will not be as successful. If you use Meetup.com how are you using it to grow your business?

Posted by Nadine Mullings | Comments Off | in Business, Business Development, Marketing, Networking, Social Media, Uncategorized

September

04 2013

4 ways to make sure your next business event is a hit

Successful Business Events

People want to get to know you and your business. The best way to accomplish this is by having events. Events are a great way to showcase your business and let people know about your products and services. When planning an event it doesn’t have to be a large event sometimes the smaller more intimate events are a better way for you to get to know your clients and your prospects, and for them to get to know you and your business. Here are four main things to consider when having an event to promote your business:

Create a theme for your event– Is this event a workshop, seminar, product or service launch party, etc.? Use a creative name to draw attention to your event and to keep it fun for the attendees (i.e. Cards & Cocktails, Women Investing Wisely, Bling Bash, etc.). You can even create a special event logo that you can use on all your event promotional material to keep the look and feel of the event consistent.
Select a nice venue– the look and feel of the place where you have your business event leaves an impression on your prospects and clients, so be sure to pick a nice venue and create a very professional atmosphere. Consider hiring an event planner to take care of the details of the event the day of the event, so you have more time to relax, present your product or service and enjoy your guests.
Promote your event online– Of course now a days this kind of goes without saying that you have to promote your event online. This includes on your website, social media, and e-mails. Emails are a great way to get the word out about your event to your existing customers and clients, and social media channels are a great way to get the word out about your event and reach new prospects. You can even create a hashtag for your event (i.e. #MyFunEvent) so people can follow that hashtag on popular social media sites that use the hashtag as a search criteria. Sites like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all allow users to search for posts grouped by a hashtag.
Send special invitations to your VIP customers– As old fashioned as this may sound, sending an invitation to your special clients via old fashioned snail mail is a great way for you and your event to stand out in the mind of your client, so take the time to mail out invitations to your event.

Are you consistently having events to showcase your services or products? If so, what types of events do you have, and how do you make sure your events are successful?

Posted by Nadine Mullings | 2 Comments | in Business, Business Development, Business Events, Event Marketing, Marketing

August

12 2013

What are you focusing on to get NEW business? Leads v. Referrals

When it comes to GROWING your business, getting NEW business is very important. As business owners we look for various ways to get leads or referrals, but leads and referrals are not the same, and should be treated very differently. Here is the difference between the two, and which one you should be focusing on:

Leads

According to dictionary.com, a lead is a suggestion or piece of information that helps to direct or guide. A business lead is a suggestion that this person or business may be a good potential for new business for you. A lead does not come with a recommendation it is merely a suggestion that this company or person may have the services or products you are interested in. Therefore, before a lead will turn into new business, he or she will need additional proof or a sense of trust to feel comfortable with giving the business to you. A lead provided by a third party usually includes the person/company’s name, number or e-mail address for someone who is possibly in the market for your service or product.

Referrals

According to dictionary.com, a referral is a person recommended to someone or something. A referral results in more business than a lead because it is a recommendation. When someone is interested in a product or service, they like to know if it is recommended, so if you come highly recommended by someone, you have a higher chance of getting that business. A referral goes something like this, “Jane I would like you to meet John, John has a business with the services that you are in need of, I wanted to connect the two of you because I know that John does good work and I knew it would be a good connection for guys to meet”

The difference between a lead and a referral is really whether an introduction was made, and if the person was recommended. If an introduction was not made and the person/company was not recommended, that is considered a lead. If an introduction was made and the person was recommended, that is a referral. Businesses close more business from referrals than leads, so what are you focused on getting? Leads or Referrals?

Posted by Nadine Mullings | Comments Off | in Business, Business Development, Business Planning, Marketing, Uncategorized

August

05 2013

Top 7 Reasons Why Your Social Media Marketing Efforts Don’t Work

Are you seeing the results you want from your social media marketing efforts? Many companies have reported that they have not seen significant results from their social media efforts, so I put together a list of the top 7 reasons your social media efforts may not be working for you:

You don’t know your target market. In order to be effective on any medium online or offline, you have to know your target audience. By knowing who you are talking to, you can cater your content to the needs of your target market. Take an in depth look into your target market including demographics (gender, age, income level, etc.) and psychographics (interests, likes, dislikes, etc.) and base your social media marketing on the needs of your target market.
You don’t have a plan. Many companies randomly post on social media sites without having a social media strategy or plan. Your goal should be to have a plan. Your plan should include a written strategy on what you would like to accomplish on that particular social network, a content calendar that shows what you will be promoting each month, and key indicators that you will use to judge the success of your social media marketing efforts.
You don’t post good content. Once you know your target market and you have a plan, you should be posting good content that your target audience will find entertaining, educating, and informative. Only a small percentage of what you post on social media should be a direct promotion of your product or service.
You don’t post consistently. Whether you decide to post daily or weekly depending on your strategy and the platform you are on, you have to be consistent about posting. There are many social media tools that can help you by enabling you to schedule your posts ahead of time. One of the most popular, and my favorite is HootSuite. This FREE tool can help you organize your posts and schedule when you want your posts to go out along with other features that they offer to manage your social networks.
You don’t have a strong call to action. When you do post about your product or service, make sure you have a strong call to action, tell your followers, fans, or friends exactly what you want them to do so that you can directly see the results of that promotion. It could be, “bring this coupon in for X”, or “register to attend this event”, or “download this eBook”, etc.
You’re not having conversations. Much of what happens on social media is conversational, so your posts should be conversational topics. You should also be responding to any comments to your posts to keep the conversation going.
You’re not participating in social listening. Social listening can be just as important, if not more important, than the social content that you post. Using tools like Google Alert will help you to be aware of what people are saying about your products and services, your industry, your competitors, etc. You can learn a lot by just listening to what people are saying and either responding directly or using that information to help create the content that your target market would find useful

What techniques do you use to make sure you are getting the best results from your social media marketing efforts?

Posted by Nadine Mullings | Comments Off | in Business, Marketing, Networking, Social Media, Uncategorized

July

31 2013

21 Things You Must Do to Get Amazing Email Marketing Results (Part 3)

In my last post I discussed the importance of the content in your e-mail. Once you’ve grown your list and have great content that you are sending out, you need to analyze your results! Here are 7 tips on ways to analyze your e-mail marketing results:

Test different days and times for sending your e-mail to see what works best for your list. Even though there are suggested days and times for sending out your e-mail in order to get the best results, I recommend that you test different days and times because every e-mail list is different. After you test it out, you will have a better idea of what days and times work best for the people on your list.
Analyze your e-mail results . When analyzing your e-mail results, some of the key indicators you should be looking at are your open rates (what percentage of people from your e-mail list are actually opening your e-mail), review the click through rates (CTR). The CTR will help you gauge how the content you place in your e-mail is working to engage your subscribers by indicating whether your subscribers are clicking the links within your e-mail in order to get more information. In addition, you want to track your opt-outs to be sure that you are not losing a lot of people every time you send out an e-mail. Lastly, be sure that you have the correct e-mail addresses for the contacts on your e-mail list by checking the bounces that are marked as invalid e-mail address.
Make adjustments to your e-mail based on your analysis. Once you have tested and analyzed your results, be sure to make adjustment to improve your results. Those adjustments could include changing the day and time you send your e-mail, changing up the type of content you have in your e-mail, etc.
Be consistent…..This is an area where I see many small business owners fall short. If you have committed to do an e-newsletter, e-zine or e-lert, if you have a daily e-mail be sure to send it out every day, if you have a weekly e-mail be sure to send it out every week, etc. Being consistent shows that your company is trustworthy, credible, and responsible, which are all characteristics of companies people like to do business with.
Test different types of subject/headlines for your e-mail. In addition to testing the right day and time to send your e-mail, you should also test different types of subject/headlines. Some times changing the sound and feel of your subject line/headline can make a difference in your open rate.
Keep the look and feel of your e-mail consistent with your brand. If you have a set look and feel for your brand, keep the look and feel of your e-mail the same as the look and feel of your website, blog, social media platforms, etc. you want your customers to have a similar experience no matter the platform that they are receiving information from you.
Add relevant images to your e-mail. People like visually appealing e-mails. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so be sure to add relevant pictures in your e-mail to get your message across.

What techniques and ways do you use to analyze your e-mail efforts?

This blog series discussed 21 Things You Must Do in Order to Get Amazing Results from Your Email Marketing which included 7 tips to grow your e-mail list , 7 tips to ensure you are creating engaging content, and 7 tips on ways to analyze your e-mail marketing results. Click here to download the complete checklist of 21 Things You Must Do in Order to Get Amazing Results from Your Email Marketing!

Posted by Nadine Mullings | Comments Off | in Business, Business Development, Email Marketing, Email Results, Marketing, Uncategorized

July

29 2013

21 Things You Must Do to Get Amazing Email Marketing Results (Part 2)

In the last post for 21 Things You Must Do to Get Amazing Email Marketing Results, I discussed the importance of consistently growing your opt-in e-mail list, for this post I will discuss the importance of the content in your e-mail.

Once you are consistently growing your e-mail list, you want to make sure that the content that you provide in your e-mails is valuable to your readers. So how do you make sure your content is valuable? Here are 7 tips to ensure you are creating engaging content:

Start with creating a great e-mail headline (better known as your e-mail subject line). Make sure your headline is interesting and compelling enough for people to want to open your e-mail (i.e. 7 reasons most people….., 5 tips to avoid……, etc.)
Be sure to use existing content from your blog or website for the content in your e-mail. Keep your content brief and to the point. People don’t like to read long articles in e-mails, so keep it short and link the information back to your blog or website where people can get more information.
Always add a Call to Action (CTA) somewhere in your e-mail. A CTA encourages people to learn more about your business or to try your service or product (i.e. download my free e-book, sign-up for the next workshop, etc.)
Be sure to link the content in your e-mail to additional information found on your website or blog. This is also a great way to see what content your readers are more interested in, by finding out which articles they click on to read more.
Make sure your content is 80% educational/entertaining and 20% salesy/promotional. People don’t like to be sold to, but they love to be informed and educated, so be sure to inform/educate/entertain for the majority of your e-mail, and add a small portion of your e-mail as a chance to promote/sell your business.
Add a discount or referral offer in your e-mail. Offer your subscribers incentives for being on your list. A coupon for a discount on your services, a special offer if they refer someone to you, a FREE download to your latest educational item, etc.
Add social sharing links to your e-mail so people will be able to share your e-mail with the people in their networks

What type of content do you add to your e-mail to make it engaging?

Just as equally important as the content in your e-mail is analyzing the results of your e-mail marketing efforts. The next blog post in this series will discuss the best ways to analyze your e-mail marketing results. Stay tuned for the next blog post or click here to download the complete checklist of 21 Things You Must Do in Order to Get Amazing Results from Your Email Marketing!

Posted by Nadine Mullings | 1 Comment | in Business, Business Development, Email Marketing, Email Results, Marketing, Uncategorized

July

26 2013

21 Things You Must Do to Get Amazing Email Marketing Results (Part 1)

If you are using email marketing to promote your business, or you are thinking about using email marketing to promote your business, then the first step to being successful in your email marketing efforts is to BUILD YOUR LIST:

The money is in your list and it is important for you to consistently build your e-mail list. Here are 7 tips on how to successful build your e-mail list:

Send an invitation to join your e-mail list to the contacts that you have e-mail addresses for. INVITE them to opt-in to receive your e-mails, don’t just add your contacts to your e-mail list, make sure they have opted in (you don’t want to be a spammer- someone who consistently sends e-mails to individuals who did not request it).** A big pet peeve of mine is do not add individuals whom you met at a networking event to your e-mail list unless they have requested to join your list or they have opted in! **
Offer a good incentive that people in your target market would be interested in receiving if they opt in to your e-mail list (i.e. FREE report, e-Book, white paper, checklist, etc.)
Concentrate on QUALITY not just QUANTITY when it comes to your list size. The size of your list doesn’t matter as much as the quality of the people on your list.** ideally you do want to grow your list into a large list with lots of quality individuals from your target market **
Create an e-mail sign-up form and place it on your website, blog, social networks, etc.
In order for your list to grow, you have to promote joining your list. Promote joining your e-mail list on your social networks, e-mail, website, blog, etc.
Don’t limit the promotion of joining your e-mail list to just your online activities, but also promote joining your e-mail list on your offline marketing material by including a QR Code that links to your e-mail sign up form on your business card, brochures, etc.
Make it easy for people to join your email list by including easy joining methods like join via text message

What techniques and ways do you use for people to join your e-mail list?

Just as equally important as growing your e-mail list is the content in your e-mail. The next blog post in this series will discuss how to create engaging content that will make people want to open your e-mails and give you business. Stay tuned for the next blog post or click here to download the complete checklist of 21 Things You Must Do in Order to Get Amazing Results from Your Email Marketing!

Posted by Nadine Mullings | 5 Comments | in Business, Business Development, Email Marketing, Email Results, Marketing

June

20 2013

Are You Chasing New Business or Attracting New Business? Find out 4 Steps to Attract New Business!

Have you ever wondered why despite a down turn in the economy, some businesses are still able to attract a lot of customers? Most of the time they have mastered the art of attracting new business. Here are four steps for you to stop chasing new business and start attracting new business:

KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET– Too many businesses are trying to get EVERYONE as a customer. When you focus on everyone, you are really focusing on no one, so the key here is to target a specific type of person or group who would find your product or service EXTREMELY useful. Once you have narrowed down your target market including specific demographics and psychographics, then you are better able to attract that specific person to your business because you know WHO you are looking for. Also, once you understand WHO your target market is, you are better able to communicate with them in a way that shows you understand their needs.
OFFER SOLUTIONS SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUR TARGET MARKET– Make sure that your marketing message is specifically talking to the needs of your target market. When a person knows that your product of service was specifically designed to alleviate a problem or situation he is having, he is more likely to pay attention to you and your product or service. You have to be able to communicate how your product or service is the PERFECT solution for the problem your target market may be having, but you have to do this in subtle way, not necessarily just saying, “we have the solution”, but by communicating in a subtle way how your product or service provides a solution.
MAKE YOUR BUSINESS ATTRACTIVE– How does your business look to the public? This means everything from what your business card looks like, down to the look of your website, and even how you present yourself and your business when you are at a function. If your business comes of as unprofessional, unorganized, or confusing, then you will not be able to attract new business. The key is to make sure that every aspect of your business is PROFESSIONAL, your product or service is ORGANIZED well, and your message about what your company offers and how your product of service will help your target market is CLEAR.
MAKE YOUR BUSINESS KNOWN IN YOUR COMMUNITY– If your target market has never heard of you, it will be hard for you to get their business, so it is important that your business shows up both online and offline in the areas where your target market is, and not only show up, but show up consistently, so people will get to know you and your business and over time will understand more about your business and how it will be beneficial to them.

So be sure that you are not CHASING new customers, but you are ATTRACTING new customers by using the steps listed above. What other techniques do you think helps to attract new customers to your business? Be sure to leave a comment below:

Posted by Nadine Mullings | Comments Off | in Business, Business Development, Marketing, Networking