Top Ten Marketing Mistakes: No. 4

video series

What does a timeline mean to you?

Is it something that you embrace or do you think it confines you and your creativity? Are you using timelines when you engage in your marketing or do you ‘fly by the seat of your pants’?

Our Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make video series presents Mistake number 4 today, which talks about developing and following timelines. Much like everything else you do in business, your marketing should also be managed with appropriate timelines.

Watch this video and you will learn just how important it is to create and follow timelines for your marketing campaigns, and how failing to do so can impact negatively on your successes and failures.

 

Watch our video now, or watch on YouTube.

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

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Top Ten Marketing Mistakes: No. 5

video series

What do you know about corporate branding?

Is it something you are paying attention to in your business or is it something that only the ‘big guys’ engage in?

We continue our video series “The Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Business Make” with Mistake number 5 today, which discusses the importance of a consistent brand.

What this video and find out how important it is to create and maintain a brand for your business, and how avoiding this mistake can help you achieve better marketing results.

 Watch our video now, or watch on YouTube:

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

 

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes: No. 6

video series

Communication!

Okay, so we have been writing about our video series “The Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Business Make” for a few weeks now and today we are live-streaming the next video in this series:  Mistake Number 6.

Hopefully, you have followed along with the series and are apprised of the 4 mistakes we have already discussed.  As you will see, neglecting to avoid one mistake can often, if not always, cause you to make other mistakes.  This video will address using the appropriate tools to communicate with your clients and prospects, and how this decision is predicated on avoiding making mistake number 10.

Are you using the right communication methods and tools to attract and retain your prospects and clients?  Watch now and see…

Watch our video now, or watch on YouTube.

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

Yes, Oil and Gas Companies Need To Market Themselves Too!

oil and gas

It takes a certain type of person to be involved in the oil and gas industry.

One must be prepared to take the good and the bad, the booms and the busts.

It’s an exciting industry, and opportunities are as diverse as the people involved.

Like most of you reading this, I have been around the industry for many years. I have seen the booms and the busts. And also, like all of us, have lived with the economic consequences of both.

Back in the late 1970’s, when I was first exposed as an adult to the industry, business was done in the restaurants and bars of Calgary. Wineing and dining was taken to a whole new level, and when times were good, you could practically see the money flying around the rooms. Read more

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes: No. 9

video series

Do you identify with your clients?

After our technical issues on Tuesday, we finally got our video uploaded and it looks like lots of you have already had the chance to view it.  We’ve been receiving some great feedback about what has been presented so far, and we are excited to continue to share more with you.

With that in mind, and considering it is Thursday, here is the link to our next video describing mistake number 9 of our series.  Enjoy!

Oh, and sorry for the abrupt ending to this video – looks like all of our technical glitches haven’t quite been ironed out.  🙂

 Watch our video now, or watch on YouTube.

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes: No. 10

video series

Who is your ideal client?

Argggghhhh.

The gremlins must have been battling the leprechauns yesterday.  And the leprechauns must have had one too many green beers, because it appears as though the gremlins won!

It is our intention to provide you with a new video in this series each Tuesday and Thursday for the duration of the series. Unfortunately, a series of technical glitches prevented this from happening yesterday.

But not to worry! Our tech guru (who is not Irish, by the way) has once again come through and has saved the day.

We are happy to now be able to present to you number 10 of the top ten marketing mistakes small business make.

Watch our video now, or watch on YouTube.

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

The “I Hate to be on Camera” Guide to Video Marketing

on camera

Hate being on camera?

There is no denying the simple fact that video marketing has become one of the most popular ways to tell your story, and is an important tool to use even if you hate to be on camera.

The old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” is now truer than ever, and to miss out on the opportunity to employ this method of communicating with your clients and prospects could become a real barrier to your company’s potential growth.

Based on research from comScore published earlier this year, mobile usage surpassed desktop usage in 2014 and is on the rise. It now accounts for approximately 60% of web surfing.

Along with this increased mobile usage come shorter attention spans. And the best way to capture and retain the interest of prospects and clients is with an interesting and concise video that will keep them engaged and interested in your message.

But, what if you’re camera-shy?

Well, there are a couple of ways around that.

The first is to utilize the power of slide presentation software such as PowerPoint, as well as using screen capture software such as Camtasia. This allows you to create presentations on your computer, narrate them, and upload them to YouTube or other video sites.

The other thing you can do is get over yourself.

Now, I’m not trying to be rude here. I say this because I believe that you have to practice what you preach.

I, like most of you I suspect, absolutely hate being in front of a camera. It doesn’t matter if it is a still shot or a video camera, I have been successfully dodging being captured since the days of film.

But I have recognized that in order to market yourself and your business online, you have to engage and entertain prospects and clients in ways that build that most important element – trust!

Through the creation of videos, you get to “meet” your prospects. Hopefully, if your videos are providing them with something interesting, entertaining, and/or useful, they will eventually become your clients.

Take small steps towards making your videos, if that’ll help you become more comfortable. I started by posting narrated slideshow videos. And although that is a very effective and useful way of communicating your message, I decided to take the leap and create a series capturing myself on video speaking to the topic.

Was I out of my comfort zone? Absolutely!

Was I self-conscious? You bet!

Did I struggle with remembering my notes and where to look? Yep!

But I persisted!  I did several takes of each session, chose the best of the lot, and had them produced. And with each topic, I became a bit more comfortable.

Am I now a movie pro? Not by a long shot.

But I did get over myself in order to bring some important advice and information to you – and help you get over it if you also hate to be on camera.

So get ready, because this Thursday, March 12th, the introductory video for my series, “The Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make” will make its appearance.
Each video in the series will speak to one of the top 10 – in countdown fashion.

Be sure to tune in.  And, please, look past the self-conscious delivery and pay attention to the message in each of the videos. You won’t regret it. And you just might become motivated to start creating your own webcasts!

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

How to Effectively Communicate With Your Current Customers

effective communication

Communicating effectively!

Effective communication is the cornerstone of ANY relationship, whether personal or professional. That means effective communication with your customers is paramount if you want to be successful. Loyal customers come from building a real relationship with them, not just providing them with one-offs. How do you create that relationship? By providing them with something of value, which will prove to be profitable for you in the long run.

The way to accomplish this is pretty straightforward.

First of all you need to know the value each of your clients. This may sound a bit harsh, but to be successful, you must determine which of your clients provides you with the best return on your investment in order to prioritize your marketing and communications programs with all your clients.

Your customers will generally your customers will fall into one of three categories; high value, medium value, or low value.

Your high value customers are most likely your repeat clients, and will generate the most revenue for you. These are the customers you want to keep in regular contact with, and provide them with some extra value from time to time, in order to keep them as lifetime customers. Medium value customers are often those clients who are currently a very profitable customer who, with proper care and communication, could very likely become a high value client.

The low value customers are those customers who offer very little in the way of profitability to your company. You can lower your costs of doing business with them by automating much of your communication with them as possible. At some point, these low value clients are likely to either become more profitable or take their business elsewhere.

So, of course the first thing you have to do it to properly categorize your clients. Whether you are capturing contact information manually via foot traffic into your brick and mortar business, or are capturing information electronically through a lead capture system on your website, you still need to do regular maintenance to ensure all the info is current and up to date. It is especially important to make sure that all names are spelled correctly; if you can’t take the time to get your clients’ names right, the impression you will leave with them is that they are unimportant, and therefore, what value could you possibly provide to them?

The other thing you need to do is ‘know your customer’. Understand their wants and needs. Identify and remove their ‘pain points’. This will also enhance your communication with your clients, further strengthening your relationship with them.

Finally, always give your customers a method to provide you with feedback. Remember that communication is a two way street. Your clients’ needs may change over time, and if you are not in tune with that, you will end up losing them. Great customer service and feedback from your clients go hand in hand, and if you don’t provide your customers with both, you can be certain your business will suffer.

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

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