Red Zone Marketing's Blog

There Are Only 2 Reasons Your Marketing Isn’t Working

In business, the root of success and failure can often be very complex. However, when you break down marketing successes and failures, there are only 2 reasons a service-based business is not having desired success. 

1) You have the wrong people implementing the strategy

2) You just have the wrong strategy

More often than not we are wasting time and resources fixing the wrong problems.

The wrong people implementing the strategy. Sometimes, you have to look toward your team to determine why your strategy is ineffective. Where are the holes in your process? Do you have a system in place for carrying out the various elements of your strategy? I received a call from a financial advisor last month with a “strategy” issue about the public workshops he was hosting. He had people attending his workshop, he received high evaluations on the presentation, and 75% said they would like more information or a meeting. However, very few ever turned into an appointment or sale. He was convinced that the wrong people were attending, and considering discontinuing the seminars. Crazy enough, after talking with his staff, the real problem was right in front of him. His 2 staff people responsible for scheduling appointments were swamped with their day-to-day work and didn’t begin calling to schedule appointments until almost 1 week after the event. By that time there is no doubt the interest had waned. Conclusion: People problem. We don’t have the results in yet, but he mandated before his workshop last week that his staff schedule appointments at the event or the day after at the latest. He now has a full schedule of appointments for this week and next – already a big improvement!

The wrong strategy. Sometimes, no matter how many times you tweak your strategy, it is the strategy itself that is not working. It’s time to simply try something new. We often spend countless hours modifying something that will never work properly. In another case an advisor was sending out a regularly scheduled email newsletter. The content was well written, but he felt like nothing was happening since he started sending out the email newsletter 6 months earlier – no comments, calls, appointments, etc. After he took a look at the analytics on who was opening his email newsletter, it became clear that very few people were even opening his newsletter called “Retirement Talk.” Turns out, a majority of his email list was comprised of business owners and executives. They obviously weren’t seeing themselves in retirement just yet, and so weren’t even opening his email. He then selected a different email newsletter from his provider that he called “Financial Smarts… for Entrepreneurs and Professionals” and his open rate doubled and continues to go up. Conclusions: Strategy problem.

You may be thinking that these issues are obvious to pinpoint. And they are. But they happen ALL THE TIME! So, try taking a look at your marketing problems in a simpler way. The answer is often right in front of you.

Venture Capitalists Are Looking for Failures

Did you know failure is one of the biggest indicators of future success in an entrepreneur? According to an article in the April issue of Harvard Business Review, “Failing By Design,” many venture capitalists won’t invest in a new enterprise if the founder has never undergone failure. In other words, they are looking for… failures!  Why??

Let me first state that there are two types of failures, the first are those that do nothing and fail, the second are those that take a risk and end up failing. We are focusing on the second type in this case. If you’ve ever had a failed effort, I hope you feel the same about the reams of research on this. I know I do. From failed efforts it is proven that we have our best learning experiences, we grow, and we gain the experiences necessary for future significant successes. The fact is that businesses will not assume the risks necessary for innovation and development if they’re not ok with the idea of failing on some level.
I know those that are so afraid of failing that they will do anything to avoid it. The problem with fearing failure is that you ultimately avoid risk, don’t bet on yourself or your business, and stunt your richest experiences. Apparently those who have never faced a failure in a product, division or business don’t have the experience that is valued in business. But, no one WANTS to fail!

I recently heard someone quote a high-ranking executive and head of a US division of a multinational company saying that he was sure, nearly 20 times in his career, that he would be fired. Fired for standing out, speaking his mind, and taking relatively risky actions. He was never fired, however, only promoted. But it can be a very fine line at times.

And failure doesn’t just come in the form of losing money. If you commit to working incredibly hard, day and night, to get your business off the ground or move your career forward and it doesn’t work – it is also a failure (and perhaps a blow to your ego after pouring your heart and soul into your failed initiative). It could be assumed that it is simply less disappointing and easier to not work that hard and not reach success. The excuse is built in to the equation already. What would happen if you tried your hardest and it didn’t work out? The real questions is – what if you didn’t?  What could you be losing out on by never trying at all?

I mentioned before that I have had some failures in my business over the years. Painful lessons I certainly don’t want to repeat. But I know the key now is to manage for failures. Be prepared to share what went wrong and dissect it. Also, a strategy I have learned is to create a “disengagement process” for getting out of a project that is showing triggering signs of failure. We all should try enough things that inevitably will result in some that don’t work out so that many more will.

If Failure is NOT an Option, Then Why Do I Want It?

I don’t actually want to fail, but the fact is that we learn near to nothing when everything is going along perfectly. Last Friday I was speaking to the National Speakers Association, Illinois Chapter, and was relaying that over the years the best lessons I’ve learned as a speaker do not come from the positive feedback I receive, but the insightful comments on how I can improve. No one wants to hear that they were terrible, and I certainly never hope for that – but I do crave feedback. Ten years ago, a gentleman approached me after a presentation and told me that if I told the story about my grandma in the beginning of my speech instead of at the end, the whole thing would have made a lot more sense, and the audience would probably have liked me more…Liked me more? Oh sheesh! After I stopped crying, I went back and reworked my entire presentation, hired a speaking coach that I continue to see 2-3 times a year (every year) and I continue to improve. Today, because of the hours and years of work, my presentations usually get the highest ratings from the audience and great feedback from the hiring firms. But that doesn’t mean that I think I’m any good. I still work like I did the day after I received the feedback 10 years ago. Every presentation can be better, and I strive for it.  

Many times we don’t get honest, insightful and helpful feedback because people are afraid to tell us the truth. It takes too much energy to tell someone how they can improve, and frankly, they don’t care. Many businesses ask their clients to rate their service via a survey. But the questions must be structured properly in order to get the real feedback you need from those who care enough to give it. Try asking a question that may give you insightful feedback like, “Could you give us ONE thing we could do to improve this year?” or some variation on that.

I now have a few people I can count on to give me insightful feedback in addition to my coach, Lou Heckler. And if they haven’t seen me speak in a while I send them a DVD of me speaking and a tin of popcorn begging them to take one hour and give me feedback. I believe this is how I have been able to continue speaking year after year. Recently, I was selected to speak at a large Toastmasters convention. I can guarantee I’ll get some feedback there, and I can’t wait!

How do you get feedback to help your business?

Promises to Clients You Can’t Keep

Did you ever make a big promise you can’t keep? Oftentimes there is a disconnect separating what we commit to do and what we actually can deliver.  And not delivering on a promise is far worse than never committing to do something in the first place.

At a hotel this week I was offered 3 things at check in. It was midnight and I was tired, but I did answer the questions of the employee at registration. First he asked me if I wanted a USA Today newspaper in the morning. I said that I would. Then he asked if I’d like any other newspapers.  I said that one is fine. Next he told me that with my reservation, wireless internet would be free. He explained how I would be able to log on and asked me if I understood. I said that I did. Finally, he asked me if I wanted to be a part of the hotel’s “Green Program” where you can decline housekeeping service in return for points in the hotel rewards program. There were a few other options in the program, but I told him that I would just take the points. Frankly, I knew I’d be on the phone for most of the morning with clients so I didn’t want housekeeping.

The next morning things started getting weird. First, I tried to access the Internet but my mobile broadband did not have good reception. I remembered the free internet offer, but when I tried to log on the computer said I wasn’t a registered guest. So I called the front desk and they referred me to the help desk where I was on hold for nearly 10 minutes and finally had to purchase the service which they said they would take off my bill. Then I opened the door to get my newspaper. Every other door down the hall had newspapers – but not mine. Finally, I was on the phone with clients and 3 times housekeeping came knocking to service the room. I thought, perhaps I was not really there! I called to the front desk to find out if I was in fact checked in (not joking). They looked up my reservation and yes, everything was just fine. Yes, fine except for all the things I really didn’t want or truly need that they in the end didn’t deliver on.

I work with a midsize firm that made a promise to their clients to answer every phone call on the first or second ring with a live person. When they began to get busier they couldn’t keep up with the promise so they hired a second receptionist. Today they often have 3 people sitting at a large front desk answering the phones. Now that’s a commitment that few would follow through on.

Can you keep your promises – even those you made years ago to your clients, your staff, your vendors? How about yourself? My friend Wendi Kelly, an author and superb business coach, shared with me that if you don’t keep promises to yourself, will you honestly keep them for others? She’s right! Here’s a link to a powerful blog she wrote on this very topic: http://lifeslittleinspirations.com/a-promise-to-my-heart 

Promises, promises…

Guest Blog: Better Service Equals Better Referrals

Guest Blog from Bill Cates, President of Referral Coach International

Know Your Competition

When you know your competition well, it not only gives you a selling advantage early on, but also continues to help you serve and sell to your client throughout the relationship. You should always serve your clients with the knowledge that they are your competitors’ prospects.

Do you know what pressures your clients are under to move their business? Do you know what they say to all those other financial professionals who call them? If you don't, I suggest you get to know your clients better and find out. The more you know about your competition, the more you can do to make sure you are better than they are.

Your clients may not use you for all their financial needs. Do you know who else they are using and why? Do you know what they like and dislike about them? Not only will you learn from this, you may also find opportunities to increase your percentage of the business they do with you.

Get to Know Your Clients Better

Whenever possible, get to know your clients beyond what brought you together in the first place. Form business friendships with as many clients as you can. Get to know them as people. Take a genuine interest in them. Not every client wants you to do this, but most will appreciate it.

The clients who give me the best referrals and continue to give me referrals long after I've served them are those I now count as business friends. If your attitude is strictly business, you are probably missing tons of opportunities for referrals, not to mention more business from your existing clients.

Bottom line - creating business friendships increases client loyalty and enhances your referability.

Survey Your Clients – Over the Phone

You should be constantly asking your clients, "How am I doing?" "If we could do one thing better, what would it be?" And you should be asking these questions over the phone – not in writing. Here are 6 reasons to conduct your client surveys over the phone:

• You obtain more useful information – it’s easier to talk than it is to write.
• You demonstrate how much you care about serving them well.
• You obtain more honest information – it’s easier to “open up” over the phone than in person.
• Your response rate will be much higher – close to 100 percent.
• This is another personal contact with your clients.
• You can communicate feelings and intentions much better in a conversation than you can in writing.

Sometimes the Little Things Are the Big Things

- Serve them by giving referrals. If they have a need, financial or otherwise, and you’re not the right person to serve them, connect them with someone who can. Follow up to make sure your referral has “gone through.”

- Don’t just be there for them from 9 to 5. Handwrite your cell phone number on your business card as you give it to them. They’ll likely never use it unless they really need to, but it reassures them.

- Keep your word. Doing what you're supposed to do, when you are supposed to do it, is the very minimum required to provide good client service and get referrals.

- When something goes wrong and it will, apologize. When you apologize, you’re not admitting fault, you’re just sorry they are being inconvenienced. It reduces tension because it demonstrates you are there for them. (Almost no one in business ever says they're sorry.) Then, immediately after you apologize, fix the problem as quickly as possible. Even if it’s too late to fix the problem, they’ll feel better if you really listen to them.

- Set high service standards for yourself and your firm, and tell your clients about them.

- If a clients stops doing business with you, don’t burn the bridge. Go out of your way to make them feel comfortable about coming back.

- Say “thank you” every time you get the chance.

Want to learn more? Sign up for Bill Cates & Maribeth Kuzmeski's 2011 Client Acquisition Boot Camp. Register today and save $100!

Time Wasting Awareness: How is your perception of time?

Did you know that your awareness of time has a direct impact on your social intelligence? It’s easy to spot someone with poor awareness of time. They talk longer than what seems necessary in a meeting, they’re difficult to get off the phone, and they don’t get anywhere quickly (be it to an appointment, the point of a conversation, etc.). They are your classic time wasters. Every now and again we all fall victim to becoming time wasters. A keen awareness of time requires focus, concern for others, and an internal clock that’s been activated.

In the book, The Connectors, I wrote about one of the most exceptional speakers I have heard, Chris Mee. He has an incredible sense of time, and he puts it to use in his presentations as well in meetings and conversations. In one instance, Mee was asked to speak for 40 minutes to a group of financial advisors. The speakers before him each ran long on their allotted time. He looked at the organizer and said that he could get the meeting back on time. He did his 40 minute presentation in 5 minutes without ever looking at his watch. It was, by the way, the highest rated presentation of the day. How is that possible?

Whether in a meeting, on the phone, or in delivery of a presentation, there are some key points to both stay on time, while delivering compelling information:

1. Get to the point. Determine what in your presentation or conversation is the most important, compelling and potentially valuable for your audience (be it an individual or entire group). 

2. Practice. Know how long it should take you to describe certain elements of your business, products, or services. Be prepared.

3. Time yourself. If you find yourself “going long” in conversations or presentations – and even if you think you are always right on time – check your watch. When you start talking during a business meeting, look at your watch. Then, check back when you’re done. How much of the meeting did your conversation occupy? Was your percentage of the meeting justified with the content you covered? Focusing on time will help train your internal clock.

In business, time is critical. It is one of the most precious commodities. So, don’t let time wasters get away with stealing your precious time – including yourself!

It’s Not So Bad Until TSA Happens To You!

A Classic Lesson in What NOT to Do

I’ve read about all the people in the news complaining about our nation’s protectors of the air – the TSA. I’ve listened to the fears people have of the dreaded full body scanner, some resorting to alternate means of travel just to avoid enduring a full body pat down. Really I didn’t pay much attention…until yesterday.

Going through security at the Milwaukee airport, I was directed to go through the body scanner. I’ve been through them many times in many airports, and I don’t even think about it. But yesterday, with a pair of simple black pants with no pockets and a fitted, long sleeve shirt on, I stepped forward, put my hands on top of my head and watched the scanner run around the outside of the glass structure. I was scanned. I took my normal position waiting for the TSA (an official looking guy with a wire in his ear) to get the message from the person watching the screening in some undisclosed location.

Next thing I know the TSA official is calling out for additional personnel.  I thought for sure he was calling in the heavys because of the person waiting behind me. But then they asked me (who me?) which bags belonged to me. Suddenly, 3 TSA personnel began picking up my things announcing (a little louder than I would have liked) that they were taking them into a private room. It was frankly an embarrassing scene. Then they told me I needed to have a full body pat down (also a little louder than I would have liked). I said, “fine, please do it right here.” But they insisted that I go into the private room with the frosted windows, behind closed doors, for a next level security pat down. I kept thinking –what are they looking for? Well whatever it was – they were determined to find something. There were 2 people in the room observing my pat down in addition to the 1 woman who was the chief patter. She told me exactly what she was going to do which honestly made me want to cry. Every crevice of my body was touched with the back and side of her hands. Every crevice. What were they looking for?

From a business perspective, if you were to watch the TSA rules being enacted, you may think their set of rules misguided, inefficient and extremely inflexible. How about determining a few suspicious locations to pat? I understand that the rules exist because they don’t want the individual TSA personnel making judgment calls. Everyone gets treated by the same set of rules. But that reality didn’t make the lack of flexibility and the over manned private room where, for 7 excruciatingly long minutes, I endured patting and then bomb residue scanning. Surprisingly… nothing was found. Me, the singled out suspect, embarrassingly called out in front of a busy security line, was left to go free.

If someone came into your business and analyzed your rules and systems would they say… ‘That doesn’t make any sense’ or ‘What a waste of staff time’ or ‘Isn’t there a better way to do this?’ Once a year it may be helpful to review your own systems to determine if you continue to have the best, most efficient and complete ways of doing things. You certainly want to make sure that your well-thought-out systems are smarter than the TSA’s, although that’s not much of a benchmark.

After it was all over, in disbelief, I call my husband to tell him about my TSA experience. I was looking for a little sympathy. Instead, he laughs and says, “Hey kids! Mom almost didn’t make it through security!!” Sure, laugh all you want – until it happens to you.

Why Nobody Reads Your Brochure (or any other marketing materials)

I’ve been trying for years to determine why some marketing, in general, is simply not effective. In fact, sometimes marketing has the exact opposite effect than what is desired. Case in point - the company brochure. Some firms work for hours, days, and months to create the perfect brochure with the best writing and layout. Yet later they discover that they could have inserted a swear word inside without a single person noticing (I don’t actually recommend trying such a thing though). Why don’t they bother reading this piece that you poured your creative blood sweat and tears into?

The objective of most marketing collateral is to present a distinctive company filled with unique benefits that a customer needs and wants. Ultimately, the goal is to have a brochure so compelling in nature that people read through it and then decide they HAVE to do business with the firm! But the reality is, people aren’t reading most brochures (or other marketing materials, for that matter) because they know exactly why it is being presented to them. To “sell” them.

A brochure or even your website, filled with perfectly created marketing phrases and pictures of models and ocean waves hitting the shore, certainly are aesthetically pleasing. But in order to compel people to read your brochure and find out more about your firm, your message must sound and be authentic. That is truly attractive. Marketing today should be…

…as authentic as you are. The words you use should be the words your clients and prospects would use to describe their challenges, solutions and benefits. Not perfect words and perfect pictures.  People want to work with someone they are comfortable with, someone they can trust. In sales, less of the pitch and more of the informal conversational approach has proven to be more successful. And that’s what we need more of today.

We are attracted to real, authentic marketing and portrayals of what you do and who you are.  So, take out the perfect-ness to your marketing and replace it with you. Create a blog with your words, use real pictures, create a video. Show them the real you. You may be surprised at how much more attractive you are – without any of the fluff!

Your Money Matters - Networking Tips from Maribeth Kuzmeski

Learn how to network like it's your job, and create powerful connections in a virtual world.

 

Why Some are Fearful of Social Media

In the financial services industry, compliance departments are up in arms because of industry rules requiring firms to retain records of all the social media conversations that their advisors are having. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been reported to be conducting a sweep of registered investment advisers' use of social media and social networking (Investment News 2/14/2011). What’s the big fear?

The regulatory agencies like the SEC and FINRA want to make sure that advisors are not promising investors returns or engaging in promotion of unregistered funds, such as private-equity funds or hedge funds through social media or social networking sites.

But many advisors that understand their limitations using social media and their compliance departments’ challenges in retaining online messages, have found using social media to be a very valuable tool. Within their firms’ guidelines, they are using social media sites to push (not push and pull) out much needed brand exposure, credibility and a searchable online presence – not as a way to conduct illicit activities. So ultimately, the biggest fear with social media shouldn’t be the regulatory agencies or compliance but something else entirely.

Once you have established an online presence, the most important task is in front of you - protecting your reputation! Much as you would protect your credit, regularly check for activity connected to your name and your business. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all rank highly in Google searches. Be careful what you post, anything you say could permanently show up at the top of search engine searches. Think of yourself as a public figure that may have your every word scrutinized.

One of the easiest ways to monitor your reputation is by setting up Google Alerts that will inform you of anything that has appeared about you online. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Go to www.Google.com/Alerts and set up a free alert of your name and your firm’s name. Whenever anything appears online that you or someone else has posted about you, an email will be sent to you with a link to the online occurrence. 

Ultimately, the best way to manage your online reputation is by generating positive search results through your online posts and profiles that will rank as highly as possible on any list of search results. Protect your most important assets – your brand and online reputation.