Archive for January, 2010

Today’s marketing requires lots of content, lots of education, and lots of trust-building via expertise sharing.

The tri-fold brochure just doesn’t cut it anymore. Today’s smart marketers think in terms of information products more than marketing collateral — education over selling rules the day. When I began working with Duct Tape Marketing and coaching remodeling owners, I realized the extreme benefit that John Jantsch had developed for small businesses through years of experience working with small business owners. I credit John for the development of the Marketing Kit components and have been applying these principles with the remodeling and home improvement businesses. Here is a example of the benefits of this subject.

The best way to tap this necessary marketing shift is to think in terms of kits or suites of information. The most practical approach for the typical small business is the creation of on-demand, flexible and personal marketing kits, press kits and new customer kits.

These multiple page-documents, often housed in a pocket of a custom file folder, allow you to tell the entire story in a range of formats that take in the learning styles and personalities of a broad range of prospects.

DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE MARKETING KIT

Use this page to illustrate how you are different and shower the prospect with benefits of doing business with you.

Don’t say what you do, focus on how you do it.

Explain your unique approach, your processes and the little things you do.

If you have studied your competition and know what your target market craves, make a point to summarize your solution.

I like to limit this to the top three or four areas your target market values.

People generally feel more comfortable working with companies that specialize in their unique industry, niche or problem…

Describe your ideal client. Describe why this client typically hires you. What makes the client reach out to you?

Describe the factors that seem to exist for your most successful engagements.

By completing this description, you will narrow your market, but also make yourself substantially more attractive to someone who fits your ideal description.

Many companies have interesting or even gut-wrenching histories. Tell your story in an open, honest and entertaining way, and you will win prospects hearts as well as their heads.

The ability to connect by way of personal stories is one of the greatest advantages that small businesses possess over big businesses.

The marketing story is an effective tool because it allows you to do several things that traditional marketing or advertising does not:

- Stories are an effective way to simplify a complicated issue.

- Stories can create emotion. People buy on emotion and rationalize their decision with facts.

- Stories are easier to remember because people can more readily relate to a story.

Most importantly…stories build trust.

The most effective marketing stories fall into one of about six categories:

1. Who I am stories – stories that allow the potential customer to connect with who you are or who the company is
2. What I do stories – stories that communicate not only what your firm does but why
3. The vision stories – stories that paint a picture of a dynamic future
4. Values in action stories – stories that illustrate slogans like “we try harder”
5. Lessons learned stories – shared lessons that expose the human side ñ both the good and the bad
6. I know you stories – stories that let the potential customer know you have walked in their shoes

This page should outline the various services, products and packages you offer.

Clearly describe and detail the benefits of each.

This page should show the prospect how you do what you do. Create detailed checklists that show your prospect how you keep your promise.

In many cases, you have these anyway, but by making them part of your marketing, you can demonstrate how professional your organization is.

Documented process descriptions will help justify why you charge a premium for your services. Many people underestimate how much really goes into delivering a quality product or service, so show them.

Pick representative clients or industries and outline how your product or service solved someone else’s challenge.

Case studies allow readers to see themselves getting relief.

An effective case study format:

- The situation

- The problem

- Your solution

- The result

Over time, you can collect more and more of these and draw upon the ones that fit an industry or problem relevant to your prospect.

Third-party endorsements are another way to prove that you do indeed deliver as promised.

Collect quotes from actual clients and sprinkle them throughout your website.

Try to obtain quotes that focus on the results you have helped clients realize. These quotes can be some of the strongest selling tools you have.

New technologies make it easy to create audio and video testimonials too.

Some suggestions for acquiring powerful testimonials:

- Craft proposed testimonial copy and present it to clients for approval

- Ask a prospect to obtain a recommendation from your clients (they will copy you)

- Photograph your clients using your product or associating with your brand (be sure to obtain written permission to use in marketing materials)

Some of your prospects ask you very specific questions. If you can address them in a concise manner, you may not have to do much more.

Start by reviewing the types of questions you receive from clients and sales prospects in person, over the phone and via email.

Sometimes this can be a good place to start all your marketing materials. After you answer some of the most persistent questions, go back and make sure these answers run throughout your other pages as well.

Have you written (or had written about you) articles for publications, newsletters or internal distribution? Include reprints and press clippings that are relevant.

Here is a link to writing a press release. http://www.remodelbuddy.com/how-to-write-a-press-release-part-of-the-lead-generation-trio

Your client and proud homeowner would be very pleased to receive a owners manual at the projects completion. Finalize each project in a positive manner with a invitation to a post project meeting. What better way to show your appreciation to your client. There could be a few items presented in the manual at the meeting that can be very beneficial to your business.

There could be a few sections covered in this manual.

Section One could be a survey on your company with a survey sheet to be filled out by the homeowners. Page one or section one should be Instructions for filling out a survey, with a pre-paid envelop to mail it back to you or an option to fill out a form online. There are many ways to receive testimonials; written, audio and video. Use this opportunity to arrange it. What better time to make sure you get one.

Section Two of the manual can be records. Collect any paperwork associated with the job and complete records of everything installed; Complete records would include what it is, where it is, what color it is, where the client can get spare parts, repair or service years later and warranty information. A record of paint used, color and the brand. Also, copies of contracts, along with before and after pictures so that your client can show their friends.

A useful item for the manual, beneficial to todays tax credits, would be a section for any energy tax credit information.

The Third Section, should be instructions on how to refer your company. Explain your referral process. Do they fill out a form, call you, e-mail the information? What happens when you get the referral? To present your referral process as very systematic process, shows your clients that anyone referred to you, will be handled in a professional manner, and increase the chances of receiving one from them. Here are some ways to address that in writing that can be referred to regularly.

How to Refer Others- explain how you would like to receive the information

How to Spot My Ideal Customer- Explain what type of customers you are looking for.

How to Best Communicate What I Do-explain your unique core message about your business.

How My Customer Referral Process Works- When you are given a referral, when will they be contacted, what is your initial conversations goals and how you will return the results/progress to the people that gave you the referral.

Our Referral rewards Program- do you offer any special rewards for someone that offers a referral and they become a new client. What is it and how do they get it.

Be unique and turn a post project meeting into more than just getting the final payment. Make a relationship that benefits everyone. Remember, being a successful business with consistent results is about doing all the little things properly.

What better way to be profitable than to have clients seek you out that are your Ideal clients, right. My question to you is, what are you doing to separate yourself from your competitors?

I have been talking with hundreds of remodelers in Dc, Maryland & Virginia that are tired of running bids, and being asked to compete on price. There isn’t anything more frustrating than running all over God’s green earth giving bids. There are numerous problems with this scenario too. If you are investing time in going from one appointment to another that never turns out  to become a client, how do you find time to handle the other parts of your business?

I have never encouraged anyone to use the word bid. I wouldn’t even bid farewell. You get my point hopefully. My first question would be, what is your process for qualifying someone? My second questions is what makes you unique, so that you can separate your company from another? If you can’t separate yourself from your competition, your customers will. Know how they will? By price. The third question is, What are you doing to educate your customers before they even contact you or before you meet them? Another thought, what is our sales process before, during and after the initial meeting and after the project too?

Duct Tape Marketing is about” getting someone who has a need, to Know you, Like you and Trust you!”- John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing.

When you can market your business effectively and properly you can  focus on your ideal client and attract your ideal client. Marketing isn’t about spending money, thats advertising. Marketing is getting people to Know, Like and Trust you.

As you can see the natural progression of the flow – know, like, trust… (flows to the right), the information to move the process forward is provided below each step. If you can identify your current process, current customers, many Remodeling and Home improvement companies will find big gaps in their processes of getting someone, who has a need, to know, like and trust you.

But, when you have an effective marketing system in place the process expands from – getting someone, who has a need, to know, like, trust you, to having someone try you, buy from you and refer you. This will benefit into a consistent and repeatable success- a System. There are many detailed steps we take in every aspect of this cycle that leads to greater success and profitability. Imagine, less time running leads that aren’t with your ideal customer and more quality time with your ideal client. When you build value from earning your ideal customers Know, Like and Trust, you will be making a more profitable return.

One purpose the cycle is to provide clarity to your customers & clients in your marketing process. This gives you the ability to walk a prospect through the process, understanding where they are at in the process. The secret to this is that you really forces you to layout your marketing process and is really the beginning of development of your marketing system that is effective in every area. It is a system that is about understanding and doing all the little things properly and better than everyone else. For more on the Process, please read this article too. It is very valuable.

I have had this topic come up quite a bit lately and wanted to just throw it out here for conversation. Some of you may do this, have tried and had some success or not and/or thinking about it. Generating awareness is a consistent effort and when used properly, can be effective.

Radius Marketing is just one element to a “neighborhood awareness,” program. Mailing, in itself isn’t extremely effective. For mailings to work, in the projects vicinity….” frequency and call to action” are two factors that come into play. Mailing before, during and after the project-hopefully- all within 4-6 weeks. Frequency is the key.

Now, add the mailing with the Job Sign posted that has a literature box to it, so people can pull free info on your company and in the literature, be sure it is all educational and not promotional. I have ideas if you need them that have been successful.

Now add another element, your referral program. Make sure your customer( client) that you are working on their home knows about your referral program. ( hopefully this was all explained upfront before they ever decided to hire you. Part of your company presentation) Have a booklet or flyer etc, explaining how the referral program works and how to refer you.

Now, in the immediate vicinity take 3-4 hours during the early part of construction and hand out flyers, notes that are well written and hand to neighbors saying that you will be working in the neighborhood and if hey have any questions-here is how to contact us- “Pardon Our Dust” type of discussion. Take all of these elements and your radius marketing will be more effective. We have established a 55% closing ratio with three businesses actively doing this with all elements.

My own remodeling business, when I was operating it, made this a very successful venture and our sales people loved it. The presentation of our referral program upfront before our customer hired us, also built our customers trust that we were going to do great work and use that to gain more busines

We can always learn something  about ourselves and be reminded of what really matters when we keep an open mind and look for meaningful information.

I was reminded of this In church when we sang a hymn, of which I listed part of it below. Even though the message obviously is not about business, doesn’t this embed in our minds that in order for our customers to know, like and trust us- that we need to be genuine and all about them & not us in our messages & actions. A Good reminder for all of us.

Here is the song:

The gift of love

Though I speak with bravest fire

And have the gift to all inspire

And have not love; my words are vain

As sounding brass, and hopeless gain

Though I may give all I possess

And striving so my love profess

But not be givin by love within

The profit soon turns strangely thin

There are many ways to use social media to benefit your business and this is a strategy we talk about at Remodel Buddy frequently.  Google has taken steps to add social media features before such as Open Social, making it easy to create and host social applications on the web. Open Social allows developers to write an application once that will run anywhere that supports the OpenSocial APIs.

With more and more communication happening online, social media has exploded as the primary way to share interesting info, tell the world what you’re up to in real-time and stay more connected to more people.

Google’s latest social media experiment was rolled out Tuesday,Google Buzz.

Google  Buzz is a social media sharing service built into your Gmail window. Buzz will let you share photos, links, videos, and status updates through your Gmail inbox or your mobile device’s Web browser. They are still in the process of sending this out to Gmail users, but if you can’t wait and want to try it, here you go.

This is from Google:

Google Buzz is a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting. It’s built right into Gmail, so you don’t have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch — it just works. If you think about it, there’s always been a big social network underlying Gmail. Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with the most. We focused on building an easy-to-use sharing experience that richly integrates photos, videos and links, and makes it easy to share publicly or privately (so you don’t have to use different tools to share with different audiences). Plus, Buzz integrates tightly with your existing Gmail inbox, so you’re sure to see the stuff that matters most as it happens in real time.