Thoughts on Building a Business

I recently came across an interesting Research report that was conducted in October 2007. It was commissioned by Google and they wanted to see what the relationship was between Newspaper Advertising and Internet searches. What they found was that 44% of respondents stated that they head performed further research on Businesses or Products that they saw advertised in a Newspaper. Of that 44% who researched, 67% conducted the research online (Internet). Furthermore, of those that researched further, approximately 70% went on to use that Business or purchase that Product.

Now admittedly, this is a US research and it is over 18 months old. But I would suggest that Australia isn't that much different to the US and if anything, the last 18 months would probably see an increase to this as Internet Usage grows overall.

So do you have a Website?

If not, don't you think it's time you stopped resisting and caught up with the way of the future. More and more people are using the internet to not only research Businesses, but to also purchase products. If you don't get on board, you will be left behind.

Download the Newspaper/Online Marketing research summary.

Twitter is the latest thing in the Online Social Media Networking field. In the Neilson’s Media Service in October 2008, Twitter was the fastest growing Social Media Application and grew a staggering 343%. It was also heavily used by Barack Obama in his Election Campaign.

But what is Twitter?

Twitter is often known as "micro-blogging". In other words, it is like a BLOG, except the posts have to be under 140 characters. This means that you can't be long winded (like some of my Posts can be). It was originally set up for Gen-Y so that they could keep each other informed of what they were up to throughout the day. Now why you would want to do that is beyond me, but then I'm only just starting to try and use SMS more.

So what does that have to do with Business?

As I mentioned earlier, Twitter was used extensively by Barack Obama in the recent US elections. In fact, at this point in time, he has 279 521 people following his Twitter Posts. Now Barack wasn't using this to let his mates know what he was up to throughout the day. He was using this to keep prospective voters informed of where he was and what he was working on.

This is how you use Twitter in your business. You build yourself a list of Followers (think database) and then keep them informed of what's happening in your business. You might let them know when you have a particular special or workshop date. Or maybe you use it purely to help build loyalty by providing them with useful information and links to useful information.

The key thing here is that this is relatively new (it's been going for 2 years). Now is the time to get on board and start working on building that following. That way, as it grows (and all indications are that it will), you will be in at the beginning. Some of the improvements that I see coming our way, will be the ability for your followers to get your posts on their Mobile Phones. So forget about signing up for that SMS package that allows you to SMS your database.

The best bit is it's FREE!

If you would like to view a good video on how to set up Twitter and start building a following, go to http://www.becomeablogger.com/blog/x-factor-twitter/.

So get twittering by tweeting to your tweople! (Sad I know).

I recently joined Facebook, purely as a Business Marketing exercise. With Social Media becoming such an important part of an Internet Marketing Strategy, I thought I should start to seriously look into it. Afterall, I can't sell Online Business Websites and promote the use of the Internet to grow your business, if I'm not doing it myself.

From what I can see, Facebook is no different then going to Networking Breakfasts, except it's easier, cheaper and better for your Waistline. Basically once you have signed up, you can then join the various Networking Groups that are already set up. These have titles such as "The Brisbane Small Business Group" or "Brisbane Networking Group". Or perhaps you might like to join an International Group.

Once you have joined a Group, you can then post messages to that group, but more importantly, you can approach other members to see if they would like to become a friend. Now I know many of you will cringe at the whole "become a friend" thing, but in business terms, it basically means that they are willing to go onto your Database so that you can communicate direct with them. Better yet, many of the members of the group will contact you to see if you want to become a "their friend". Whenever this happens, it's reciprocal. So you start building your database of contacts.

Now the rules of Networking on Facebook is the same as Networking face to face. That is, you don't go in there and start flogging your Products and Services. You go into there to build relationships. Once you have developed that relationship, you can then start promoting your products.

Now if you are like me and much prefer to meet face to face with someone, then this is possible too. Many of these groups will organise get togethers, so that the Members can meet.

If you want to be really pro-active, why not start your own group. This can be based around anything, as long as there are other Facebook users with a similar interest.

Lastly, the other advantage of joining Facebook is a personal one. This is something that I never contemplated when I joined. Since joining 2 months ago, I have been contacted by at least four people that I haven't heard from for over 20 years. Simply by putting my education info on my profile, I am getting contacted by my old class mates. Some of these were great friends that I just lost touch with after School (the problem with growing up in a small town and moving away).

So why not take a punt and join up. At the very least, you might connect with someone from your past that you'd forgotten all about.

I believe the obvious place to look at for spending your Marketing Dollars, is the Internet. But then I would, wouldn't I. Afterall, one of the Services we offer is Website Design. But hear me out.

When you look at all the Marketing Channels you can choose from, the Internet is easily the fastest growing. More and more people are now using the Internet to not only look, but to review, Products and Services they want. On top of that, in most cases it is also the cheapest form of advertising - particularly when you take into account it's reach. So why wouldn't you want to be part of that.

Up until about 2 years ago, I knew very little about the Internet. As a Business Advisor, I knew that it was a valid marketing strategy and told my clients that they should not neglect it. But over the last 2 years, I have learnt a great deal and am continually being surprised by the opportunities that can be found. But let's start with the basics.

A simple website is a great way to give additional information to a Prospect and to build credibility. The simplest way to view it is like an online brochure. The advantages though of the website over the brochure is that you never run out and in many cases, you can update it regularly to keep it current. So not only is your website more up to date, but it is cheaper in the long run then those Brochures.

From here, you can look at a more advanced website (latest technology). These take you beyond a simple online brochure website, to a website that allows you to interact with your visitors. This can be something as simple as a Newsletter Subscription Form, or something as involved as a Members Only Area. The advantages of these types of Websites, is that it becomes stickier. By this, we mean that potential customers will come back to your website more often. And research shows, that the more contact we have with a business, the more likely we will choose it over a competitor. Not only will they come back to your website, but you can also email them info.

Then we have the Online Shop. This enables you to sell products on the Internet. The main advantage here is that you can suddenly reach a lot bigger marketplace. If you where a traditional store, you would only be pulling customers from your surrounding area (how far out you go depends on the uniqueness of your product or service). With an Online Shop, you could potentially sell to the world. Better yet, you can automate most processes, so that not only can you sell every hour of every day, but you can minimise the number of staff that you need.

Lastly, you can start looking at the host of other opportunities on the Internet. Examples of this would be: Affiliate Programs, Social Media and Online Communities to name a few. However, these are areas for us to discuss at another time.

In this Blogpost, I wanted to expand further on my last about managing a Business during a Recession. I finished off with a few points that I thought you should look at within your business. One of those points was to maintain your marketing. So now I would like to talk more about why you should market.

So let's start with some facts for all you sceptics out there. Below is a graph (courtesy of mactech.com) of the results of a McGraw Hill research project during the 1981 - 1982 recession in the US. They analysed 600 companies from a wide range of industries, starting from 1980 to 1985, to see what they did with their marketing spend and how their sales responded. And here are the results:

As you can clearly see, the companies that maintained their marketing spend outperformed all others.

The reason for this (as I alluded to in the last post), is because their competitors cut their advertising and essentially freed up the airwaves. That is, the companies that continued advertising, had more chance of being noticed by their potential customers, because their message wasn't being drowned out with all their competitor advertising. The fact of the matter is that people still spend money on Products and Services they want and need. So if you fit this bill, the best thing you can do is continue marketing.

The biggest problem I find in this current economic climate, is that people are far to ready to blame the economy for something that is fundamentally wrong in their business. It's way to easy to blame the economy for your troubles, then to take a good look at your business and see what you may be doing wrong. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph; "people still spend money on Products and Services they want and need". So if your Sales are dropping, the first place to look is at what you sell. Is it what people want and are you delivering it in the way they want it.

Now I'm not suggesting that a Recession can't affect your Business. What I am suggesting, is that the Economy should be the last place you blame after you've exhausted all other avenues.

Lastly, many successful companies see Recessions as a great time to grow Market Share. While their competitors look at downsizing, they continue marketing and growing so that they come out the other side with a bigger market. So take my advice, and look at new ways to market and keep doing it.