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June
04 2013

Don’t Put ALL of your Promotional Eggs in One Basket

When it comes to promoting your business, it is important to not put all of your promotional eggs in one basket!  What I mean by this is be sure to promote your product or services through various promotional avenues both online and offline.  For the purpose of this post, I will discuss the importance of having various promotional eggs online.

When it comes to promoting your  business online, there are many ways to accomplish this.  You have to choose the best method for you and your business, but here are some of the basic promotional avenues you should be using:

1.  Company Website–  This seems like a no brainer, but I recently read a statistic that said 30% of businesses do not have a company website.  What?!!! A company website is your company’s online profile and the way that people get to know you and your business.  Your website should  include information about your company, your products and services, locations, etc.  Using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies and tactics both organic and pay per click are great ways for potential customers to reach your website and get to know about your company.

2.  Company Blog–  Now it can be argued whether a company needs a website and a blog, but in my opinion, now a days a company should have both.  A company blog differs from the company website, because the blog is a way for people to learn about your company’s expertise and allows you to show-up as an expert in your particular field based on the information you post.  If people don’t reach you by going to your website, a blog on a popular blogging site gives people another avenue to learn about you and your business with the informative posts that you place on the blog.

3.  Email Marketing–  Opt-in E-Mail Marketing is a great way for you to keep your company and your products and services top of mind for existing clients or prospects.  When a business is top of mind with consumers, they are more likely to continue to use your product or service (as long as they are happy with it)  and would be more likely to refer business to you if you stay in contact with them and offer good valuable information and or discounts.  Email Marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to stay top of mind with your customers and prospects online.

4.  Social Media Presence–  Now this a huge topic that could be a separate post, but is necessary to include as a part of any company’s online promotional efforts.  With social media it is important for a company to know its target market, select the appropriate social media platforms to reach that target market, and have a social media strategy in order for promoting on social media to be successful for the company.

By making sure that you are not putting all your promotional eggs in one basket, you are ensuring that your message is reaching the right people in the right places, and the idea is for those promotional eggs to hatch into repeat or potential customers.

What promotional avenues/eggs online are you using for your business?  Be sure to post a comment below.

Posted by Nadine Mullings  |  Comments Off on Don’t Put ALL of your Promotional Eggs in One Basket  |  in Business, Email Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized, Website
May
30 2013

3 Ways to Get Capital For Your Small Business

After attending the BE Entrepreneur’s conference earlier this month, I learned about three main ways small businesses can secure capital to grow their businesses:

1.  Traditional financing through a financial institution–  This is probably the most popular or most known type of way to get financing for your small business.  You can go through the Small Business Association (SBA) to get assistance with this type of financing, or you can work directly with a bank or a local credit union.  No matter which avenue you choose, you will be required to have good credit,  good financial statements, a good business plan, and you will be taking on debt for your business.

2.  Angel Investor or Venture Capitalist-  This type of capital I was not as familiar with, but I know it is available for small business owners, but mainly start-up companies and mainly technology companies.  Angel investors use private capital  to invest in start-up companies in exchange for equity in the business, and a Venture Capitalist is a person or company that provides capital for new commercial enterprises.  For angel investors and venture capitalist they are not interested in your credit, financial statement or business plan, but more interested in the business concept, the viability of your  product or services, the management team for the business, and the market demand or potential demand  for your product or service.  Venture Capitalist require equity in your business, so you loose some percentage of control for your business.

3.  Alternative sources of capital–  Alternative sources of capital have become very popular now a days with platforms such as crowdfunding.  Crowdfunding is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually via the Internet, to support organizations and companies.  The capital raised is by donations given in return for some item or privilege from the supported organization or company.  The great thing about crowdfunding is your business is not taking on debt or giving away any equity.

No matter what avenue or avenues you choose to use to get capital for your business, be sure to do your research and BE PREPARED before you start any process to gain capital for your small business.

Posted by Nadine Mullings  |  Comments Off on 3 Ways to Get Capital For Your Small Business  |  in Business, Business Development, Business Planning, Uncategorized
March
06 2013

Top 5 Mistakes People Make With Business Follow-up

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I recently hosted a tele-seminar for Independent Ladies Club called 12 Simple Follow-up Steps To Get More Business.  The speaker for the tele-seminar, Nancy Matthews, pointed out that  people are doing follow-up all wrong.  We have all heard the saying the Fortune is in the Follow-up, but how do we really capture the “fortune” or the “business” by following up? 

Here are 5 Mistakes most people make when following up to get business:

  1. Not concentrating on building a relationship.  I always mention that common saying that people do business with people they know, like and trust, because it is very true.  When you meet someone at a networking event your goal should not be to “sell” them your product or service, but to learn about them and build a relationship so they can also learn about you and what you do.  Once you have establish this relationship and build on this relationship, you are planting the seed that if the person is ever in need of your product or service, or knows someone in need of your product or service, you will be the first person that they think about because they “know” you.
  2. Not listening to people. It seems like a simple task, but most people don’t truly listen and show a genuine interest in what other people do.  When you listen you get to know a lot about a person and you can learn how your product or service can possibly be a solution for them.  The key however is listening and subtly telling them how your product or service can help them allowing you to plant a seed of how your product or service can be a solution without hammer your product or service benefits and features over their head.
  3. Selling and Not Sharing.  Every product or service is offering a solution to some type of problem, issue or concern.  Your goal as a business person should be to find out the needs of individuals and share how your product or service can help them.  People don’t want to be sold to, but they like when someone shares a solution to a problem they may have. 
  4. Not being consistent.  Most of the time you may meet someone at a networking event, you may even have an one-on-one with the individual to learn more about each others businesses, but then what?  Are you consistently following up with them to see how business is going and to continue building the business relationship?  Most business is actually made after the 5th to 12th contact, so just talking once or twice or meeting once or twice, really is not sufficient for your follow-up efforts in order to truly get the business.
  5. Not Connecting with People Both Online and Offline.  If you meet someone at a networking event, keep the conversation going by connecting with them online.  When you connect with people on some of the popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can learn a lot more about the person and if they are connected to you, they will learn a lot more about you, helping you to build that “know” element that goes with the saying, “people do business with people they know, like and trust”.  It also works in reverse.  If you meet someone on a business networking site, invite them to connect offline, people like to meet people in person to know that they are real and to get a better feeling about a person, so reach out to some of your online connections, and offer to meet offline.

Want to learn how to follow-up effectively so you can get more business?  Check out the 12-Step Follow-up Program by Nancy Matthews and get $100 off the program cost!

Posted by Nadine Mullings  |  3 Comments  |  in Uncategorized