Do Phone Calls Beat Social Media?

Recently, there has been a lot of chatter about the best way to reach your customers. Some claim the speed and instant gratification of Twitter and Facebook are the best way to handle PR and respond to clients. Others angrily shout true customer service can only be given with human contact.

While both have their pros and cons, you must use your best judgment on how to respond to customers. For example, social media is great way to promote upcoming sales, events, and generally keep your customers informed. But nothing can beat the calming, effective way of diffusing a problem one-on-one.

Or, consider combining the two for the best results. Shout good news from the mountain tops with Twitter teases and phone calls to your best customers. Or, if you are trying to turn a prospect, lead with your accomplishments on the call.

Lastly, you can test out what works best for your market. Offer a specific deal for FB and Twitter followers, then a separate one to only those customers who you speak with on the phone or in the office. Assign each one a specific code and track what gets the best results.

Whatever you do, do not to put all your eggs in one basket. There isn’t an exact science to the perfect customer service. People will respond to different campaigns and may turn to another business if you don’t offer options.

Let us know what you think?

Now Presenting the 2011 Gold Medal Products Catalog

This week, the 67^th edition of our catalog comes out. Every year, we have offered the printed catalog (and recently started adding the online edition) to customers and potential customers alike. Now, I know…many places have nixed the printed version and opted, instead, for just an online version. “It’s cheaper and easier” they say. Although I can’t disagree with them, there is still a valuable place for the printed catalog. For one thing, when you present someone with a printed catalog or brochure, they are inclined to stop, hold it and look at it. More attention is given to that piece and they are more likely to spend time looking at it. It might even sit on their desk for a couple of days giving you a greater chance of getting them to look at your catalog and following up with them. According to website marketing statistics, you have 6 seconds to explain to the viewer exactly what you do and why they should choose you. And unless they know that they want to go just to your website to view your catalog, and that they remember your website name, you may end up being part of a list of options between similar companies fighting for their attention. Therefore, you have a better chance of truly grabbing the attention of your customer by giving them a printed catalog or brochure.

What will make you a valuable asset to your customer is showing them how you can meet their needs by offering access to a highly effective, visually-appealing printed catalog and efficient and easy to use digital catalog, proving to your client that regardless of how their business functions, you are prepared to accommodate their needs now and in the future.

Choosing the Right Name for Your Business

Picking the right name for your business can mean the difference between customer confusion and instant, profitable recognition and recollection. Some believe an oddly unique name can be the most memorable. Just remember, if you question it, mostly likely others will be confused too and you should keep it simple.

First consider what your key product is and who your target market will be. Next, think about where you want to have the most impact. Lastly, the world is becoming more connected through technology; think of key words that people would search for when looking for your specialty service.

For example, Bob’s Shop is not as memorable as Springfield’s Sweets and Popcorn. It quickly tells people where you are, what you do, and includes key search words.

Whatever you choose, do your homework before investing in a name. Nothing is worse than putting money behind a name only to find out you can’t legally use it, or having a similar business name that may confuse your customers and stop them from finding you. Plus, make sure your name is prominent in all your marketing. From traditional pieces to giveaways—for the example above, Bob could give away sample packs, suckers, and scratch & sniff stickers.

Marketing trends for 2011

As we jump into 2011, certain marketing trends will serve us well in the coming year:

1. Social media is here to stay. This is a trend that will definitely continue in 2011. We need to stop thinking about the “cool factor” and really focus in on the true customer interactions that can happen with an effective SM strategy. Let’s figure out how to use these interactions to inform future marketing efforts and maximize customer value.


2. Lead nurturing is at the forefront. For years, marketers have discussed demand generation and have looked at increasing the number of new leads as the most important activity. It is certainly an important focus and continues to drive revenue. But it seems that now we have turned a (good) corner. The focus should not only be on how many leads we have coming in, but how we can nurture these leads, generate true interest and improve their sales readiness. In this way, we can maximize the ROI of our lead generation programs and cost per lead while passing truly qualified leads to our sales teams.


3. Understanding the marketing system. In the past, marketers had a tendency to take a top-down approach to their strategy. We worked on campaigns, on PR, on our websites, etc. But reality has finally set in. We must look at the overall system. Instead of looking at your efforts in a linear fashion, think about it as a circular process – for example, how to create a Website so that it takes advantage of social media, uses content to fuel media interest, and how the next campaign will feed off of this content and maximizes the value of the online interactions of customers and website visitors. Then, use the results of all of these to inform what you will do next week, next month, next quarter.


4. Focus on building relationships. This one is really nothing new or earth-shattering. But we do think that it is critical and one that’s easy to forget as we are all under pressure to generate leads and increased revenue, to do what is new and exciting especially in our digitally-focused world. The key is to figure out which of these strategies will really enable us to engage, to connect and to build the relationships that are so critical in our ever competitive-environment. How do we show the marketplace that we really understand the challenges and then how we bring the right solutions to the table? We need to think about PEOPLE and their NEEDS to solve real problems…not companies, not just demographics.

The Freedom of Running your own Business

Opening your own business is seen by many as part of the American Dream. As an entrepreneur, how well you succeed often comes down to how hard you work. Your earnings potential is largely influenced by what you do and how you choose to run your concession business. In many entrepreneurial enterprises, you end up becoming married to your business and have no time to enjoy or experience life outside of work. In the concessions business, you get to set your own schedule and work at your own pace. You can choose to do as many or as few events as wanted or operate during as many or as few sporting events as you think are necessary. What can be a wonderful thing about being a concessionaire is that you are not relying on other people in your company to produce revenue for you and you do not have to operate on any standard work schedule. Depending on what geographical region you operate in, the concession season may be condensed into a period of three to five months. This means that you can spend the rest of the year pursuing other ventures or just enjoying life.

Don't Overlook The Concession Business

The concession business, in spite of being an industry worth billions of dollars, is often overlooked by many businessmen. However, if one chooses to invest some of his time in this field, and buying concession carts, he will be astonished to see that it not only ensures quick money, but also the business can be sustained for a long period of time as well.
The chief obstacle that one faces when he is willing to start a concession business is the requirement for investing a huge capital for purchasing the concession trailer, and also the stock and equipment.

Concession carts can be bought in numerous ways, but it is advisable that debts be avoided. There are ways by virtue of which concession carts can be bought for less than even half of the original price, instead of going to banks for loaning a lump sum amount, or selling equities in one's home.

One might also seek the advice of a few previous owners, whose tips regarding concession business and how to make optimal use of it can always come in handy.

Buying the proper concession cart for a reasonable price is however, the most important step when it comes to concession business. One might often find himself spending so much money on the concession cart, that he will have to cut down on the costs of stocks and equipments. Prior experiences suggest that one might want to buy a used concession cart worth half the original price so that he can start making profits pretty soon.

However, once the concession cart has been bought, that is from where the actual business takes off, and one must be able to get more and more customers for himself, since it is obvious that a concession cart with more customers will ensure a greater profit. Investors must thus be aware of this factor in order to succeed.

How to determine if your cut out for the task of owning your own business?

I have often been asked by aspiring entrepreneurs how they can determine if they are cut out for the task. While there is not really one answer that will fit everyone, in my opinion there are some characteristics that I think most entrepreneurs have and the basic requirements are usually the same.

If you are thinking about starting a business but you're still not sure that this is the right move for you then below I have listed some questions that you should ask yourself. This will help you determine if you are willing to make the sacrifices that may be necessary for you to move yourself in the right direction. Understanding your reasons and motivation for wanting to become an entrepreneur will help you see past the romantic notions of being self employed.

Now, don't worry! This is not a test, and no one will grade you so there's no right or wrong answers to the questions. The answers will vary based on the individual, their motives, ambitions, and their personal goals. The important thing to remember is they are just guidelines for you to use to self-evaluate your readiness. This information will play a crucial role in helping you to determine if you are capable of starting and operating a business and, most importantly, if the business you have chosen suites your abilities and needs.

Please take a few minutes to answer each question.

1. Why do you start your own business?
   
2. Do you have a business in mind that you would like to start?
   
3. Do you have a passion for the business you would like to start?
   
4. If so, why have you chosen this business?
   
5. Does your current job or career leave you feeling unfilled?
   
6. Does your desire to start your own business fulfill this need?
   
7. Do you have the skills that will be necessary to make this business venture successful?
   
8. By starting your own business, do you feel that your skills will be put to better use?
   
9. If necessary are you prepared to get additional training in order to operate your business?
   
10. Are you prepared for the physical and emotional demands that starting a business will put on you?
    
11. Are you prepared to put in long hours in order to make your business successful?
    
12. Do you work well under pressure and have the ability to take projects through to completion?
    
13. Are you good at planning, organizing and making decisions?
    
14. Do you have the support of your family and friends?
    
15. How will you support yourself while trying to get your business launched?

I realize that some of these questions may be tough but they are essential questions any budding entrepreneur must ask themselves. You want to be certain that you are not lacking in any skills that can make you a liability to your business.

It's important that you are honest and open with yourself when it comes to answering these questions. Use the information to help you follow through on your strengths and take action to improve on any of your weaknesses.

Doing so will prepare you to move forward into the market analysis and start-up planning phases of your business. All of this preparation will greatly increase the likelihood of you being successful in whatever endeavor you choose!