This week we presented an inspiring talk on how to create a functional sales funnel and pipeline into your business that will feed constant customers and cash into your business.
The talk was graphically narrated by Colin Horner. Thanks, Colin for the pic.
Listen to the whole talk here:
Next week we bring our focus on Internal processes.
Join us on Wednesday at 12:00 Noon: https://zoom.us/j/723567165
“Referral is the highest form of flattery” This is the by-line of Majestic
interactive and has become the cornerstone of what we do. In fact, this is what
my seminars and the Majestic Network are achieving every day in ways that
will bring tears to your eyes. Unfortunately, what nearly all businesses don’t
understand is that referral marketing must be a formal process. In other
words… you need to measure it.
So, here are the top 10 mistakes that South African businesses make in their
viral/referral marketing initiatives:
They don’t understand the concept. Referral marketing is about leveraging
trust from one person to another. It is inherently the purest form of business
honestly one can have. Referral marketing is NOT just some scam to bring in
business for free.
They think that referral marketing just happens. Less than 10% of
referral business “just happens”. People DON’ T want to talk about you or your
product at parties and they DON’T want to run around telling all their mates
how great you are.
They don’t formally measure it. If you don’t have a formal process to track
referral leads, then don’t bother.
They don’t report on it. You need to show the person who referred you what
the result was (especially if there is commission owing). You also need to know
at a glance who referred who and where each person is in the sale process.
They don’t ask for referrals. It’s unbelievable, but nearly all businesses are
too scared to ask the simple question: “could you please give me a referral?”
The timing of their request for referrals is bad. If you ask for a referral
before the relationship is strong enough, then you don’t have much chance of
success. However, ask at the right time and you may just get more business
than you can handle!
They run campaigns that rely solely on referrals. Referral initiatives are
there to SUPPLEMENT other marketing initiatives, not REPLACE them. They
should be part of the campaign, not the campaign itself.
They don’t make a referral process part of their day to day business.
Referrals should be part of your life, not an occasional flurry when your
business is having a bad month.
They let the referee down. Someone puts their name on the line for you and
you don’t have the courtesy to follow it up? Or worse, you provide shocking
service to the lead?!? This makes me want to get violent.
They don’t offer commission (or are unwilling to pay for leads). For
crying out loud, this is BUSINESS. Business is about money. Referral
commissions are the most critical element of the whole show. They’re not
always necessary, but you’ll lose out if you don’t offer it. Don’t believe me?
Amazon.com is built on referrals – that’s what makes them number one in the
world.
All this leads into the concept of lead generation and ROI (Return on
Investment) marketing and one of the key lessons in my book: do not spend
money on marketing, unless you are guaranteed a return on investment.
One of the key functions of a successful engaging marketing campaign is a well-defined customer or target profile. In this week’s webinar, we unpack this a little and begin to look at the various tools on social media that make this process a little easier.
As we see social media, in particular, FaceBook, mature in this aspect, we will need to understand and access these tools to add to our business intelligence processes to maximise the access to market using these tools.
We plan to unpack these tools in more detail in order to assist both ourselves and our clients to gain the advantage in our marketing profiles. If you want to be on the list of attendees for such a workshop, then please contact us and we will schedule you for the next available programme.
Marketing seems to be on everyone’s lips as we start 2018. This is because of the assumption of “if you do marketing, you will get money”. But this is not always true.
Marketing is no longer an academic exercise of numbers and shuffling people through a predefined sales process in order to scoop up a percentage of sales.
Marketing today is all about developing profitable relationships. Relationships with contacts, customers and suppliers and then creating a strategic process to ensure every person within the system is handled with care and appreciation in order to develop high levels of trust: very different to the old numbers game.
Our current series of Weekly Wednesday Webinars at One covers different aspects of marketing as we take time to unpack the theory as well as some examples and implementation of the ideas.
The first master class covered the Sales Cycle:
We followed this up with a look at the new functional, trust developing sales funnel:
This week we unpack some of these in practical examples in discussion with those online at the time. Join us on Wednesday at one: https://zoom.us/j/9071494212
As we continue this series of Intellectual Property, today we look at the registrations of designs. This has to be one of the tricky ones, as it seems to be vague at best as to what can be registered and how it is registered. So let’s unpack some of the details:
A registered design can either be for aesthetics or for function.
The aesthetics design are granted for the appearance as seen by the eye: colour, shape and pattern. This covers items such as a new shape of the vase or a chair design with a high back and long flowing armrests. The form (shape) and colours are both covered in the aesthetic design. This can be registered and will give you protection for 15 years.
The function design covers the features that are described by the function of the item: the movement and working parts of a product. This includes items such as a lock mechanism, a clutch pencil or a window opener. A functional design once registered will give you cover for 10 years.
Both these forms of IP give you the protection from others being able to copy or use the registered designs without your permission. The obvious question is how closely do they have to copy your item for it to be an infringement? This is the big issue and comes down to the way your design is described in the registration. Your application should be well written by a legal professional with experience in design registrations and include drawings, cad designs, photos and 3D renders of the product.
All registered designs need to be filed in the country that you require protection in. This obviously raises the cost of registration and should be considered carefully when applying to balance the cost to reward for your required protection.
We have a team on hand to assist you with this process and to answer any questions you may have about your new invention. Do not get caught without the required protection, it could end up costing you your future income.
With winter coming to a close here in Cape Town, the weather is getting warmers and the gaps between the rain and storms a little longer. So is it now time to do some changes and spring cleaning?
One area we see a lot of people needing in their business is a revamp of their marketing. Too many companies we see do the same old same old marketing and sales cycles over and over again. Then as insanity defines, we expect different results and an ever increase in the bottom line.
We have revamped our marketing offerings ready for your new business approach to accessing the market ahead of the end of the year season. We now have two-valued and fun filled workshops: Blue Water Marketing strategies and Narrative Marketing that we have on the schedule for the next few months.
If you are ready to relook, revamp and relearn what your marketing is all about then we are ready for you. Please go HERE to check out for dates and details and get your place booked.
Remember: if you change nothing, nothing will change.
See you at the next workshop.
Growth happens outside your comfort zone. Let me say that again, growth happens outside your comfort zone. That means two things, you need to get outside your comfort zone to grow and you need to learn how to rely on others.
In this video we talk about developing your business through strategic marketing activities. Take a listen and list some ideas that may pertain to your business. Here are some suggestions:
Create a working social media campaign with links, reposts and posting calendars
Develop and implement a referral farm
Identify and implement a working sales funnel to attract and convert customers
Develop a method to up-sell or re-sell to existing customers
Build a solid ongoing, repeatable marketing strategy
It is crucial for every business owner to realize the importance of nurturing relationships with clients. Not only do these people provide the revenue coming into the business but there also is a great feeling that comes with contributing to the success and happiness of your clients.
Part of growing a successful business is caring for your customers. Realize that we are in times where an unhappy client can share their opinion with the masses through social media and that can negatively affect your business. That’s why it’s even more important than ever to create an excellent experience for your customers to help develop your company’s relationship with them into love.
So, how would you know whether your clients are happy or not? Well, you would not know unless they or someone lets you know, right? You need to interact with them and review their feedback very often.
Below are 3 tips on how to make your clients happy.
1. Always listen to your clients.
When you have a conversation with your clients, it’s important to truly listen and take into account what changes your business should make from the feedback you will be getting, and then follow through.
2. Respect your clients and their views.
It’s very important to be respectful of a customer’s mood when trying to resolve an issue they have with your company. Keeping your patience is key to giving your customer the time to air out their issue. Don’t come on too strong even if they are wrong.
3. Talk to your clients genuinely
Don’t act as a nameless or faceless business; genuinely talk with your clients as a person representing the business. Address your customers by name, and tell them your name at the very beginning of your interaction.
Remember that a happy client normally tells 4 to 6 people about your company and its customer service. So, making your clients happy is another way to significantly influence the word of mouth about your business.
When you go into business, you need to ensure you build a unique and profitable brand market. Market your brand effectively and have online presence. Online presence is important for a business to grow.
Here are the 4 pillars of growing your business online:
1. Website
Have a great website. A great website should be able to convert browsers into buyers. It must connect to your audience instantly and build a relationship with them.
2. Marketing
Marketing is about bringing and sharing your services with the right audience. Your product will remain unknown and useless if you don’t market it properly, so market it!
3. Communication plan
Have a clear and effective communication plan. Videos, blogs, newsletters and emails will bring a steady stream of traffic your way. Communicate what you offer in a way that will make your audience say “I got to have that now!” Every business online needs to get traffic to it’s site, but profitable traffic is the most important.
4. Social Networks
Another way of increasing your online presence is to go the the social media route. Run ads through YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or other ad networks. Many businesses have done very well on these social network platforms.
So, what is the difference between Marketing and Advertising?
Most of us do not know the difference between marketing and advertising. It seems like it’s two terms used to describe the same thing. The difference can be confusing, indeed. While these two concepts are vital in your business and work interchangeably, they are not the same and their roles are different.
Let’s first look at the definition of these two terms:
Marketing – It is a systematic planning, implementation and control of business activities intended to bring together the seller and the buyer for the mutual exchange or transfer of products.
Advertising – It is a paid, public, non-personal announcement of a persuasive message by an identified sponsor. It is essentially spreading the word about what your company has to offer.
Now, how do we market?
When you market your product or services, you need to have studied your target audience. You need to know what their needs and wants are.
Marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. It is about meeting the needs and wants of customers.
It is is a business-wide function – not something that operates alone from other business activities. It is about understanding customers and finding ways to provide products or services which customers demand.
And, how do we advertise?
Advertising is a communication of your brand to your target audience. It essentially includes the placement of an advertisement in the media. Print, television, radio and the internet are all venues that can communicate your brand to potential buyers. It requires budget because putting an advertisement in the media need to be paid for.
These two concepts are slices of a bigger pie in your business. They work together towards the bigger goal.
