Buzz!Words

Realigning Your Business Model

What do I want to be when I grow up?  Well, that has changed hundreds of time since I was a younger kid.  (I'm an old kid now, just ask my mother).  Doctor, lawyer, soldier, politician, business woman, you name it, I've thought about it.  And a couple of times I actually did it. 

Since I've started this business, I've been thinking about this question.  The answer has evolved over time, as I've figured out what I like to do, how much other people will pay me for it, and how many people are willing to pay me. 

And I'm sure, as the economy shifts, as technology matures, and as my interests change, that the focus of this business will change too.  In fact, since our world is changing faster than ever, it has become critical for small business owners to look at the big picture trends. 

Ask yourself, is this the business I should be in?  Remember the buggy whip manufacturers, who just kept focusing on making a better, cheaper buggy whip, and were blindsided when cars killed their market?  It seems obvious to us now, but when you're in the heat of running a business, most of us don't stick our heads up long enough to look at those trends and adjust course. 

So, a couple of times a year, do some thinking about what's happening out there that might affect your business a few years out.  Then think about what you could do to meet that challenge.  The fun of running your own business, is that you get to decide what you will be when you grow up. 

Just Say Yes

Today's message is "just say yes".  Yes to new marketing ideas, concepts and tools.  Try something new in a small way, and see if it works. 

I know that most business owners are so busy just running their businesses that they don't have the time to think about new things they should be doing.  Or, they're so uncomfortable with new technology that they say "I can't". 

Here's the rub.  If you don't spend that time thinking about your business, how consumers expect to be marketing to and how they want to be communicated with, then you might end up like the buggy whip maker.  Out of business.

Take the tourism industry.  83% of travel decisions are now researched online.  But how many small and medium size tourism operators (attractions, accommodations, airlines, travel agents, online agents) still don't have email, let alone a website.  And, those that do have email are struggling to respond to customer inquiries, with 39% responding in 3+ days, or not responding at all.   Yet there are cost effective tools like auto-responders and content management websites that make all of this easy, even for a techno-peasant like me. 

You don't have to change everything at once, but once you have the vision, work toward achieving it over time.  If you say "I can't do that" then you might find yourself wondering where the business went to. 

Email is Like Laundry

After spending hours on Saturday cleaning up my email, it came to me.  Email is like laundry.  There is one brief shining moment when there is no laundry in the basket.  It is all done.  And then, that first dirty sock lands.  And before you know it, there are 150 unanswered emails piled up waiting for attention.

Customers expect prompt answers to their emails.  If you don't manage your email effectively, you could be losing sales.  Recent data from Realtor.com shows that 78% of all email inquiries to realtors are not answered within 8 hours, and 44% are not answered at all.  Getting on top of your email is critical to managing your business. 

I've been reading David Allen's book, Ready for Anything.  Here are a couple of tips from him on email management:

1. Respond within 24 hours, even if only to say, I'll get back to you.
2. Not every email should be responded to via email -- if it is very sensitive or might be confrontational, use the phone.
3. Sort your email into categories:  immediate attention; needs more thought; to read later and then make a list of tasks and file the emails. 
4. Set up folders in your email in-box to sort stuff - e.g. Reading; Phone calls later; Quotes; History files
5. Set aside 1 - 2 hours a week to clean out your email - read the stuff in the reading file; make the follow up phone calls.

I'm finding it really helps me stay more in control, more productive and less reactive. 

Writing Like Your Customer

I just participated in an online "webinar" (that's web seminar to the uninitiated) by sponsored by Marketing Profs on writing killer content for the web, presented by Gerry McGovern, an expert in writing for the web. 

He has lots of good stuff to say, most of which you can dig out of the marketing profs site content.  But one thing stuck with me.  Gerry recommends that you write how your audience searches.  For example, when you go to an airline website, you may see writing about "low fares".  But what people really want is cheap flights. 

How do I know that?  I went to the overture search suggestion tool, and found out that in the month of December, 4,063 people searched the term "low fares" but 1,480,440 searched the term "cheap flights".  But that doesn't say it all.  According to WordTracker, not only does cheap flights have more searches, but it also has less competition - fewer websites are using "cheap flights" as a key word. 

So, when you are planning your website and choosing keywords, think like your customer, write like your customer -- even if you think "cheap fares" sounds bad, your customer won't. 

Marketing and Personal Productivity

I just found the best book "Ready for Anything" by David Allen.  It contains 52 productivity principles for work and life.  I'm hooked already.  His website also contains a free newsletter with regular updates on personal productivity, that frees you to do the creative things that count in life.  Great read.