HOW CAN I GROW MY BUSINESS IN 2012?

How can I grow my business in 2012? Once asked, this question became stuck in my brain asking itself over and over like an annoying song. I’m sure you’ve experienced one line of a song you stuck on a loop in your brain (It happened to me this week with M.C. Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”).

To stop the loop, I commit my ideas to paper where I can see them, remember them, work on them, and sometimes share them. So here are my ten low-cost suggestions for growing your business in 2012.

1. Connect - If you can’t find a place to network, you’re not looking. SMC offers many networking opportunities. One of my largest clients is BNI, my weekly networking group. Going to a networking function is not good enough. You have to learn how to network. The hard sell at a networking function will certainly get you known, but will also earn you a star in the phone-calls-to-avoid directory. Learn to network.

2. Bring more to the table - Take a look at your top 10% of your clients. Find out if there are additional products and services they need and you can provide (value-added). Increase your value to your clients.

3. Appreciate More - I recently read a book called “Appreciation Marketing” by Tommy Wyatt and Curtis Lewsey. It’s a fantastic book on conducting yourself constantly from the paradigm of appreciation. Read it! Any description I give will not do the book justice.

4. Read More - Become the expert. We have to information in seconds; anytime and anywhere. Read more in the areas which, if you were the expert, would translate into dollars through credibility. SMC’s publications; “Dynamic Business”, “HRM Update” and “Government News” are great places to start.

5. Advocate! Every politician will tell you that small business is the engine of the economy. We are the small business and we drive that engine. Regulatory burdens and tax burdens are sometimes speed bumps, sometimes stop signs, sometimes a tree across the road and, unfortunately, sometimes a bridge out ahead. Whether or not it is interesting to you, government advocacy DIRECTLY affects you and your business. SMC is the oldest government advocacy organization in Pennsylvania. Its efforts reach local, state and national legislators. Get involved to help clear the roads and let the engine run.

6. Social Media - Dedicate more time to your social media efforts, but be smart about it. Do you put your time in social media because it’s popular, or do you have a social media marketing plan? You’re an expert in your field; engage in online discussions. If you’re not an expert, ask in online discussions. Either way: engage! Check out my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest pages and engage!

7. Volunteer - Giving of your time is a great way to offer your expertise. Whether it is on a committee, a board, a church, or a neighbor hood project, your efforts are appreciated and will associate good will with your name. You will meet new people (see Connect above) and if you can get your ego out of the way,  you may even learn something from them.

8. Be a better vendor - Have you ever surveyed your clients? Maybe it’s time to find out how you’ve been doing. Improve on your weaknesses and build on your strengths.

9. Ask, Seek, Knock - Ask for referrals from you best clients. Be sure to follow up on the referral. Not every referral is a fit, but you won’t know unless you knock on that door and engage. Seek out way you can help (not sell), and then knock on that door with a solution.

10. Revamp the Plan - Business plans should be dynamic and flexible. Take a look at your plan to see what you can adjust, what you need to adjust and what you need to throw away. SMC offers “Listening to Your Business”, a fantastic seminar to do just that.

There you have it. Ten low cost ways to increase your business in 2012. Now if you’ll excuse me, obviously I have ten ideas to work through…”Hammer time! Can’t Touch This!”

 In a society where we see more and more of the “It’s all about me” attitude. I want to say I’m proud to be part of SMC Business Councils advocacy efforts. On two separate occasions we filled buses and traveled to Harrisburg and Washington D.C. Here are business owners countless hours to study the issues concerning Pennsylvania’s small business and sacrificing days of their time to visit with our legislators. We are making a difference on the state level and on the national level. Our members make a conscious effort to sacrifice their individual businesses to fight on behalf of all businesses. Instead of saying “It’s all about me” our members are saying “It’s all about us”!  They don’t have the time to do this. They make the time to do this.

This fall has been totally exhausting.  I have two teenagers. My son plays JV soccer, enjoys fall baseball and is diligently working toward his goal of being an Eagle Scout like his old man. I thank God for my wife driving my daughter to dance and swimming.  As much as I can, I help in the concession stands and attend club meetings, where I’m being recruited to take over as president of the soccer club for next season.  I’m an assistant coach to the middle school soccer team.  At least one (and sometimes all) of these activities occurs every evening of the week.  I serve on the Board of the SMC Business Councils and on the Board of the NSBA.  In my spare time, it seems, I own a successful marketing support company in a down-economy where marketing budgets are the first thing that are cut by clients.

Go ahead and ask anybody on the SMC Advocacy Bus, and they will give you a similar list. They don’t have the time. They make the time.

My wife asks me why I continue to say “yes”.  I guess my answer is this: I can’t stand sitting in the bleachers when I think I can help on the field. When I know that others are there with me, it makes it a lot easier to make the time; and it’s easier to make a difference.

To those on the field I say thank you for making the time. To those of you in the bleachers I say there are plenty of positions on the field we can always find more busses!

I had dinner last night with a friend who told me a story about his snow blower. OK, so the snow blower story wasn’t that exciting so won’t go into it. Although, in the middle of the snow blower story, the Penn State vs Pitt wrestling match came on the big screen in the restaurant which caused him to light up and launched him into another story, and another and another.

John is a former wrestler. He loves wrestling. He has coached and continues to travel all over the northeast United States to tournaments and knows everybody in the sport, or so it seems to me. He is a former two-time WPIAL Wrestling Champion, a one-time PIAA Champion and continued on to wrestle for Pitt. But prior all of that, John spent four years wrestling without winning a single match. How does a winless athlete become a champion? Hold that thought.

What organizations do you belong to? Are you a member of Rotary, your local chamber, BNI or another networking group, SMC Business Councils? If so, you have paid a membership fee and now you are a member. One of the benefits of being a member is that other members find out your name, research your business, drive to your location and write you a check….NOT!

Getting something out of an organization without putting something into it is like somebody joining a wrestling team and expecting to become a champion without putting forth the effort. Let me jump back to John for a little bit.

“No way did you go winless for two year!” is said to John, because I’ve seen the championship photos and trophies and medals. “What happened?” John continued to tell me that he, like a lot of wrestlers, athletes, and business people didn’t understand his potential, didn’t think it was achievable, and, as a result,  didn’t care enough to put in the proper effort. Then one day, he won his first match and a light went on in his head. He said to himself “hey, I can do this!” He started lifting weights, working out, and working harder at practice. He started winning. He said “I can do this, and I’m pretty good at this.” He started expecting to win and worked even harder and before long he said “I can do this better than anybody else!”. And then he did.

What kind of effort are you putting in to your organization? Do you show up for meetings? Do you attend networking functions? Do you join any committees? Do you attend any training? Do you review the members-only benefits to see how they can benefit you?

Be a Champion of your organization. Become involved, meet some people, get some wins. Pretty soon you may learn that you can do this better than anyone. You may learn that you cannot afford to NOT be member!

As for John? After his wrestling days, he was selling for a window and door company when his dad told him that he should become an entrepreneur and start his own window and door business. He told his dad that it was too hard and too much work. His dad looked at him and said “John, you’ve never failed at anything you put your mind to. What makes you think you’ll start now?” John went to the entrepreneurial mat and began to pay his dues. He has owned his company for over twenty-five years. I met him 16 years ago when he sold me windows and we became friends. For several years he told me “Dan, you can do this, and you can do this better than anyone.” I finally listened. He taught me to pay my dues.

So you want to become a Champion? Once you pay your membership fee, think about paying your dues.

“Press 1 for Accounting, press 2 for order status, press 3 for customer service, press * to repeat this message” (How about press 4 to be forwarded to your competition).

“Thank you for calling. All customer service representatives are busy servicing other customers. Your business is important to us, (sure it is…but I’m not) so please stay on the line and your call will be answered by the next available representative”

(INSERT SOUND OF ME SLAMMING THE PHONE….AAAAAAAARRRRGH!)

Seriously? That’s the face of your customer service? What is your goal? Is your customer service goal to be slightly less inefficient than the inefficient customer service of your inefficient competitor? GOOD JOB, YOU NAILED IT!

When your clients call, do you pick up the phone? I called a well known national supplier the other day to check on the status of an order. The operator answered. I told her I needed an order status. She transferred me to customer service. I told that person I needed order status. She asked for my state and business name. She transferred me to my customer service person. “Hello, you’ve reached Pam. I’m not at my desk or on the other line….” I hit “0″ and went back to operator, who transferred me to customer service who had me hold for the next available representative. Then I found out the order had shipped. FINALLY!

            “Can you give me the shipping cost?”

            “I’m sorry, I don’t have that information, but if you want to call back on Monday, it might be posted.” …Sure thing…I’ve got nothing better to do (Are you detecting sarcasm in my voice?)

BE EASY - If your client had 60 seconds to call you to get an answer, could they? Things move fast in our businesses and clients need answers quickly.

            Customer Service: Don’t let your phone go into voice mail if you don’t need to.

            Customer Excellence: Unless you’re with someone else who will be sending you a check, answer the phone when you know it’s a client on the other end.

You need to be so easy to do business with that it is painful for your clients to consider your competitor.

BE PHONE ACCESSIBLE - If your client needs YOU. Can they reach you by dialing 10 and only 10 numbers?

            Customer Service: Give them your direct number.

            Customer Excellence: Give them your cell number.

BE MULTI CHANNEL ACCESSIBLE - If a client needs to reach you, do they call or email?

            Customer Service: Let your customer know how to reach you when the absolutely need to reach you.

            Customer Excellence: Be accessible regardless of how your client chooses to reach you. Be sure they have your direct number, but forward it to your cell. Be sure they have your email, but forward that to your cell. Be sure they have your cell number to call you. If they’re comfortable with it, get their cell number so if they text you, you don’t have to text back “who is this?” Let your clients know  they can text you ANYTIME!

Check out SMC’s website at www.SMC.org where they have an online Business Concierge live chat to get their clients answers immediately. Now that’s Customer Excellence!

BE RESPONSIVE - When you get a phone message or email from your client be sure to get back to them quickly.

            Customer Service: Find out what they need and call them if they called or email them if they emailed with an answer ASAP.

            Customer Excellence: If the issue is something which will take some time to track down an answer, respond back immediately. My favorite response when I receive an email with a question or a request that will take some time, I respond immediately with “I’m on it!”.

Being responsive tells my client a few things. First, that I did receive the request. Second, that the request was not lost in email or voice mail limbo. Third, that I’m taking action and it’s just as important to me as it is to them. Fourth, that I will get back to them as early as possible. Fifth, as my client, “you are important to me” which means more to them than “your business is important to me.”

If your client does leave a voice mail, do you return their call promptly? By the way “promptly” is NOT within 24 hours like some companies like to boast. “Promptly” is definitely that day, if not that hour, but preferrably within a 15 minute period. In my business, my clients are extremely busy and these questions are coming from their superiors a lot of the time. They don’t have time to keep their bosses waiting. Responsiveness is king.

BE HONEST - Don’t promise what you’re not sure you can deliver. We all WANT to give our clients what they want. Are we ABLE? Be honest with your client. If you are not able, then give them the option to try elsewhere. That may be painful, but if you truly care for your client’s best interest you should want them to get what they need, not just what you can provide.

            Customer Service: Only promise what you can deliver. Turn it down if you can’t.

            Customer Excellence: Whatever you promise, deliver it with greater quality, and faster than you promised. If you can’t, then provide alternative solutions to give your clients options.

Recently a client asked me to source a product. I was able to get the exact product in the timeframe they wanted, but the supplier of that product received a “D” rating or lower on 50 out of 57 recent ratings. Chances were my client would have been disappointed, so I provided several solutions and warned them of the high risk. They know they can count on me to keep them out of trouble. They remain one of my best customers.

Whatever your competition is doing, do it better. Whatever you’re doing, do it better. Customer excellence is to consistently outperform their expectations. Don’t strive to provide good customer service. Instead, strive to provide great customer excellence.

Signing into a social media platform and not contributing is like going to a networking event, sticking your name on your lapel and standing in the corner. You come out of the networking event and say “Well that event stunk.” That doesn’t sound like a good way to make contacts, does it? Well it gets worse. Now imagine going to that event, but you are not standing in the corner. You are walking around and sticking your ear over the shoulder of a group in conversation. Here’s another scenario; somebody walks up to you and introduces themselves but you simply walk away without saying a word. If that’s your way of networking, then stay home, it will save more finger food for me.

If you are getting involved in social media, be sure you are committed to the “social” part. It’s called social media for a reason and that is because you are supposed to socialize; to connect; to introduce; to meet; to learn; to engage. Is it NOT called “Lurking Media” or “Talk to the Hand Media”.

Social media is exactly like a networking event. Here are some tips for being a better networker and getting more from your social media:

• Show up. It sounds silly doesn’t it? But you’d be surprised at how many people want to make new contacts, but never network.
• Introduce yourself, but don’t start your sales pitch. Shoving your business down somebody’s throat is a turnoff. Go stand in the corner with the lurker.
• Before you throw the iron bars of your privacy settings around your profile, remember that this is social media. You don’t have to reveal intimate details, but leave your privacy settings open enough that other can determine if you are somebody they would like to engage. If somebody looks at your profile and finds “Dan only shares his information with his wife and his mom”, then chances are you are going to move along right past Dan to the next person and never give Dan a second thought.
• Ask questions. Be genuinely interested in the person you have just met. Find out about their business, what their challenges are, and why they are there. You may have nothing in common with them, but you also may know somebody who does. The more you are interested in the other person, the more that person will find you interesting. After all, people love to talk about themselves.
• Get involved in topics of discussion or even start a discussion. The more you contribute RELEVANT information, the more you will be seen as the expert on the topic.
• Thank people for engaging in discussion and that you appreciated their input.
• If you really want to make an impact, go out of your way to get back to them with information or a contact that they were looking to make. They will be astonished that you remembered them. They, in turn, will want to go out of their way for you.
• Ask somebody you DO know to introduce you to somebody you would LIKE to know. The person making the introduction is like a bridge over the chasm of unknown-unliked-untrusted.
• Be cordial. If you engage in conversation and you are not comfortable, you don’t have to become their Facebook friend, LinkedIn Contact, or Twitter Follower.
• Be genuine. Successful business people are very intuitive and are able to identify that you are trying to be something you are not.

Finally, and most importantly, each new person you meet will know somewhere around 200 other people. Be careful of whom you are quick to dismiss.

When I take my family to the beach every summer, We don’t just wake up one morning and jump in the car and go (although, after another 4 inches of snow last night and another 2 hour school delay it’s very tempting.) It takes some planning to successfully arrive at the beach and return. It is natural that we decide such things as which beach, house or condo, friends or just family, how long will we be there, which car shall we take, and what is our budget?

It surprises me how many people are out there conducting their marketing as if they just woke up and decided to do some marketing. I wonder if they jump in the car intending to go to the beach and wind up running out of gas on their car pointing toward the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota.

A marketing program is different from a marketing strategy or plan. Your marketing strategy is the bigger umbrella, under which may be not just one, but several programs, each one requiring planning, commitment and execution. You need to answer questions such as; Who is your target audience? How do you reach them? What is your message? How will you track results? How do you measure success?

Do you know who your audience is? Some people are better clients than others and obviously you would like to attract more of the better. If you begin to analyze why they are better, you may come across a common thread among them. It could be gender, or age, or lifestyle, or hobby, or some other category. Take the time to find out what that is and where you find more of that type of client. That becomes your target audience. Take me for instance; A northeastern dad with a family, shoveling 4 inches of snow from his driveway every day for a week – there’s a common thread. I’ll bet there are a plethora who fit that description.

Once you know your audience, make sure you get your message in front of them. Their demographic and their social habits will determine where the place the will most likely see your message. Shoveling snow every day for a week could cause me…uhm…people to spend a lot of time at their chiropractor. Could a chiropractor in February be a possible source for resort clients in July? If you’re the chiropractor, a recent study suggests that the most influential media on patient healthcare choices are television as number one and newspaper as a close second. Your challenge is that every chiropractor knows that and is doing that. It may come down to other creative media to place your message as well as what your message is saying. (Those northeastern show-shoveling dads, whose football team failed to make the playoffs and is now turning his attention to hockey – there’s a hint as to where a resort would aslo get his attention.)

The message is crucial in the decision process of the future client. Be sure your message is benefit-focused. I’m pretty sure nobody knows enough about your latest piece of equipment to care that you have it. The message is not YOUR equipment; the message is THEIR benefit the new piece of equipment provides to the client. Maybe the technology lends credibility to your message, but it certainly is not the benefit. Your message should also tell your audience why you are different and better. Other chiropractors and resorts offer the same benefits and are just as credible, but you are different; you are better. Tell them why. (Relax and unwind from a long winter with no playoffs in an oceanfront condo, close to several golf courses, with plenty of free daily activities for kids, indoor and outdoor pools and lazy rivers – there’s a benefit).

Whatever your program is, tracking results from the program is essential, but not necessarily easy. You want to find out if the program worked or came up short. If it worked, you want to do more of it. If it didn’t, you need to figure that out as well? Can the program be tweaked and tried again? Should you try something differently? My point is that you cannot answer these questions unless you can quantify the results. Did this program bring in a better quality and quantity of the ideal client for you? (How many northeastern dads located in or around Pittsburgh brought their family to my oceanfront condo this year? Why? This could be done with a few questions when the reservations were made.)

Finally, and most importantly, did you establish your definition of a successful program?

Were you able to accomplish what you set out as your defined success? This one is easy.(Did we increase our traffic of Pittsburgh dads and their families to our condo this year? If not, maybe we should try again next year at the end of Hockey season!)

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. I’m sure you have heard of them. They are what the kids are doing on the computer, right? WRONG! They are the internet media channels through which engaged professionals communicate, gather and disseminate information in real time. It is called Social Media and if you and your organization are not engaged, you are missing out. That’s OK as long as your denial is intact, but consider these statistics:

• If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia. (socialnomics.net)

• Twitter has more than 6 million unique visitors and 55 million total visitors per month (Compete study).

• 15% of online time is spent on Social Media (Compete).

• Facebook has recently hit the 100 Million monthly user mark (Facebook).

• Social Media reaches virtually every age group. (Ad-Ology)

• 80% of companies used LinkedIn as a primary tool to find employees. (socialnomics.net)

I don’t normally post a bunch of statistics in my articles, but I realize there may be some left-brainers who like to crunch numbers and need some convincing. The numbers tell me that if you are not engaged in Social Media, you need to start. Start somewhere. Start anywhere! A good place to start is at www.SMC.org, where a growing of business are gathering to participate in PA Business Social Media.

There is opportunity lying in wait for those businesses who are engaging in social media. Corporations understand this. While gathering my research for a social media training seminar, I came across a study of the top 100 global brands’ social media practices. The study establishes a direct correlation between profitability and the number of social media channels and the depth of involvement within those channels. Are you still not convinced? How about this statistic; those highly engaged in social media reported an average of 18% increased growth, and those least engaged reported an average of -6% growth. These companies consider it significant enough to establish social media marketing departments to engage that segment of their client base.

Another study shows that CEO’s and Presidents are not personally engaging as quickly nor do they understand why the need to and that’s the reason I’m writing this article. In light of the study sighted above and the fact that most CEO’s are not yet engaged, what does that tell you? Engage and engage now! There is opportunity to exploit.

The good news is that social media is just beneficial to the large corporation. Any size company can get into the social media market. A small pizza place in New Orleans reported a one day sales record when 68% of their customers called in orders from Twitter. They also reported that 85% of their new customers resulted from their Twitter efforts. (I’ll take the thin crust with sausage and onions please.)

If you are engaged, you are filling a huge void that other Presidents are business are not. Potential clients are digging for information online and if you are the one giving it to them, you are automatically building a relationship. If you don’t have an online presence…(insert cricket chirping sound here). The other side of this equation is the peer to peer relationship for business owners to build with other owners. Social Media is incredibly powerful to build relationships and immediately spread your name and information.

How do you become engaged? I mentioned in the beginning of this article that LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are channels within social media. They are the big four on which to start  (ideally after you have a website and a blog, but that’s another article). Your website provides basic information and your blog provides up to date and timely information and articles. Your social media channels help to distribute the real-time access channels to your blog. Tracking and controlling the social media channels is accomplished with additional tools such as Hootsuite, Ow.ly, TweetDeck and Bit.ly. These are some of the additional pieces of the recipe for successful social media engagement, but not something to worry about right now.

Social media, as with any program, is most effective when you enter into it with a plan, a definition of a success, and a tracking system to measure the success of the program. Except for your website, the wonderful part about the tools mentioned above is that they are FREE. To make your social media program successful, you must be committed to the program. You must be willing to commit your time and your effort to work the program. Your social media program is an investment. If you don’t invest, you get no return.

If you’re already engaged in social media, CONGRATULATIONS! If it is working for you and you are ready to take your entire organization to the next level, then there are Social Media Platforms available which allow you to create your organization’s own Social Media Network. SMC Business Councils, for example, has recently launched their members-only PA Business Social Media site. This autonomous community is a platform for members to share best practices and research, stay up to date on government advocacy efforts, take advantage of members-only benefits, find human resource, marketing, healthcare and legal expertise, share business successes and communicate information only to those within the walls of their membership community. (www.SMC.org)

Remember that feedback and tracking is essential to measuring the success of your social media program. The information and the industry is morphing daily, so please contact me to share your social media successes and challenges or if you have additional questions. If you are Social Networking neophyte, that’s OK. We’re here to help.

I’ve put together a two-part training session to show businesses how to use Social Media as a Marketing Tool.

1. Social Media Marketing: The Pieces
2. Social Media Marketing: How the Pieces Work Together

If your organization is interested in the training, email for more information.

This is a distilled version of “Healthcare Marketing: 8 Strategies to Accomplish More with Less“. This is for those of you who don’t think Healthcare Marketing applies to you….

On everybody’s radar today is dollars generated versus dollars spent. The question everybody is asking is how we can do more of the former with less of the latter. If there were one magic answer, everybody would be doing it. Well, there are answers, they’re not magic, they may not be easy, but they work.

1. The single most important and most obvious way to do more with less is to make sure you have a marketing plan in place. Trying “this” today and “that” tomorrow will only work if message and your target audience happen to intersect by accident. Targeting a specific audience through a specific medium or media with a specific message with a specific plan to track results and a specific measurement of success is the key. Yes it can be a lot of work, but it’s the only way to determine what works and what doesn’t. Not everything will be successful, but the only way to know is to target, to communicate and to track as best you can.

2. Consider client sources. Marketing directly to clients helps but going directly to referral sources is even better? I’m pretty sure clients aren’t lining up like the day after Thanksgiving at the front desk of your facility to buy your holiday bargains. They seek you out in hopes that you can solve their problem. Answer this question: “Where do they get the information which leads them to you?” If you have the answer to this question, then you have the target you should be directing your messages toward.

3. Look at your farm system. As a slightly fanatical Steelers and Penguins fan, I can’t help but consider what successful sports franchises are doing. Today’s younger employees are tomorrow’s mid level management and somewhere down the road will be executives. Different stages of a career are target audiences, but also guaranteed to grow to the next target audience. Do you have a plan in place to carry your clients through the changes in theirs careers? Conversely, do you have a plan in place to bring the best up and coming talent to you organization?  Better talent will bring fans to your stadium. How are you attracting that future talent?

4. Better customer relations leads to word-of-mouth marketing, which is the least expensive but most powerful form of marketing. In a climate where many clients feel like the next person in line, the provider/client relationship is more critical than ever. Take care of the details with your clients. Do you really know anything about their families, or birthdays, or anniversaries, or alma mater? There is great CRM tool out there. If you need help in that area, contact me today!

5. Look at the structure your message and how it’s being delivered. It’s great that you just spent a pile of cash on the latest technology, but the harsh truth is that nobody cares. Clients cannot develop a relationship with a machine (although there are times when my wife thinks my laptop and I have something special going). Instead of bragging about your latest equipment, focus on its benefit to your clients. “We will increase your annual productivity by 230 house by helping you accomplish in five minutes what currently takes you an hour.” That sounds better doesn’t it? You haven’t mentioned the equipment and have already solved the problem. Don’t forget to throw in something to convince them that they can believe what you are telling them. Finally, convince them why their experience with you will be much better than their experience with the next facility that may be making the same claim.

6. Leverage the knowledge bases of your most trusted vendors. Your relationship with your vendors is just as important as your relationships with clients. I am one of those vendors, but there are several out there like me (well, not just like me because I am The Solutionist). With years of experience under our belts, a good vendor can be a good consultant and a good insurance policy by steering you around the rocks that lie beneath the surface. The key is to leverage a vendor you trust and can bring multiple solutions to the table The better your relationship with your vendor, the more your vendor will want to help.

7. Billboards are effective, but the way you are buying may be a way to do more with less. Billboards consist of two distinctly separate items. One is the rental of the board space itself and the second is the poster or vinyl. Many advertisers don’t know that they two are separate. The companies that show up in your office own the board itself, but also, in most cases, they will subcontract the visual to the same place as a vinyl broker would, but with a higher markup. Ask your billboard company to break out the vinyl printing from the contract.

8. Social Media Marketing or Web 2.0 is new to a lot of marketing departments. You hear about it, you understand a little, but you can’t wrap your brain around it. Do not discount its effectiveness because you don’t understand it. It can be fairly inexpensive or fairly elaborate. One thing is for sure; it’s not going away. Effectively combining the reach of your website, your blog, and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and a strategy to utilize the above is becoming increasingly effective. Throw in the power of relationship marketing direct mail and PURLs (Personal URLs), you can create an information stream which can turn target marketing into bull’s-eye marketing.

The bottom line is that effective marketing is an investment and not an expense. There are forms of marketing that will allow you to do more with less. Effective marketing is not to be confused with cheaper marketing. If your marketing strategy is effective and you can prove that with tracking, then there isn’t any reason you wouldn’t want to do more.

As published in the December 2009 issue of Hospital News www.wpahospitalnews.com 

On everybody’s radar today is dollars generated versus dollars spent. The question everybody is asking is how we can do more of the former with less of the latter. If there were one magic answer, everybody would be doing it. Well, there are answers, they’re not magic, they may not be easy, but they work.

1. The single most important and most obvious way to do more with less is to make sure you have a marketing plan in place. Trying “this” today and “that” tomorrow will only work if message and your target audience happen to intersect by accident. Targeting a specific audience through a specific medium or media with a specific message with a specific plan to track results and a specific measurement of success is the key. Yes it can be a lot of work, but it’s the only way to determine what works and what doesn’t. Not everything will be successful, but the only way to know is to target, to communicate and to track as best you can.

2. Consider patient sources. Marketing directly to patients helps but going directly to referral sources is even better? I’m pretty sure patients aren’t lining up like the day after Thanksgiving at the front desk of your facility to get the holiday treatment bargains. Nobody wants to go to the doctor or the hospital, but they go because they have to or are urged. Answer this question: “Who does the urging?”. If you have the answer to this question, then you have the target you should be directing your messages toward.

3. Look at your farm system. As a slightly fanatical Steelers and Penguins fan, I can’t help but consider what successful sports franchises are doing. Today’s younger and healthier crowd will be tomorrow’s parents and middle aged crowd and eventually grandparents and senior citizens. Different stages of life are target audiences, but also guaranteed to become the next target audience. Do you have a plan in place to carry your patients through the changes in theirs lives? Conversely, do you have a plan in place to bring the best up and coming talent to you organization as providers?  Better talent will bring fans to your stadium. How are you attracting that future talent?

4. Better patient and family relations leads to word-of-mouth marketing, which is the least expensive but most powerful form of marketing. In a climate where many patients leave their provider feeling like #31, provider/patient relationship is more critical than ever. I remember the day when Dr. Mike would ask my mom about my dad, her parents, and my brothers and sisters. I could tell that he really cared about my family. When I leave your office, am I going to feel like you are really concerned about Dan or am I going to feel like #31 just did his small part to contribute to the success of your practice?

5. Look at the structure your message and how it’s being delivered. It’s great that you just spent a pile of cash on the latest technology, but the harsh truth is that nobody cares. Patients cannot develop a relationship with a machine (although there are times when my wife thinks my laptop and I have something special going). Instead of bragging about your latest equipment, focus on its benefit to your patients. “You are a prime candidate for this problem. We are able to detect this problem earlier and stop it before it gets started.” That sounds better doesn’t it? Don’t forget to throw in something to convince them that they can believe what you are telling them. Finally, convince them why their experience with you will be much better than their experience with the next facility that may be making the same claim.

6. Leverage the knowledge bases of your most trusted vendors. Your relationship with your vendors is just as important as your doctors’ relationships with their clients. I am one of those vendors, but there are several out there like me (well, not just like me because I am The Solutionist). With years of experience under our belts, a good vendor can be a good consultant and a good insurance policy. The key is to leverage a vendor you know you can trust and can bring multiple solutions to the table The better your relationship with your vendor, the more your vendor will want to help.

7. Billboards are effective, but the way you are buying may be a way to do more with less. Billboards consist of two distinctly separate items. One is the rental of the board space itself and the second is the poster or vinyl. Many advertisers don’t know that they two are separate. The companies that show up in your office own the board itself, but in most cases, subcontract the visual to the same place as a vinyl broker would, but with a higher markup. Ask your billboard company to break out the vinyl printing from the contract.

8. Social Media Marketing or Web 2.0 is new to a lot of marketing departments. You hear about it, you understand a little, but you can’t wrap your brain around it. Do not discount its effectiveness because you don’t understand it. It can be fairly inexpensive or fairly elaborate. One thing is for sure; it’s not going away. Effectively combining the reach of your website, your blog, and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and a strategy to utilize the above is becoming increasingly effective. Throw in the power of relationship marketing direct mail and PURLs (Personal URLs), you can create an information stream which can turn target marketing into bullseye marketing.

The bottom line is that effective marketing is an investment and not an expense. There are forms of marketing that will allow you to do more with less. Effective marketing is not to be confused with cheaper marketing. If your marketing strategy is effective and you can prove that with tracking, then there isn’t any reason you wouldn’t want to do more.

Dan Galbraith is the owner of Solutionist, providing real-time marketing support to marketing professionals. He can be reached at Ideas@Solutionist.biz or  www.Solutionist.biz. Follow Solutionist on Twitter at  http://twitter.com/TheSolutionist and on LinkedIn at htttp://www.linkedin.com/in/thesolutionist

Year end is the time when business have established or are finalizing budgets for the following year. This is also the time of year when businesses and owners analyze their investments from the previous year. Unnecessary expenses get a hard look and the budget for that expense is cut back or even eliminated. The marketing budget is one of the first items to be cut. I say NOT SO FAST!

In down times, the marketing budget is the first to go, but not because companies want to stop marketing, but because it is one item on the budget that can be controlled. The reality is that you are gaining, losing or maintaining market share. A reel-back of an offensive marketing strategy to a prevent-marketing strategy may create the opposite of the desired effect. (Not unlike some of our favorite football teams that lose football games in the fourth quarter.) Executives cut marketing budgets to save money. This works in the short term, but may create a long-term deficit as you lose market share to your competitor who is staying aggressive throughout the fourth quarter.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could increase returns on your investments AND increase market share? Well you can, with effective marketing.

Ineffective marketing is an expense. Effective marketing is an investment. Marketing should be increasing sales and increasing market share. The challenge is in knowing what is effective and what is ineffective. Whatever marketing program you put into place, be sure to establish measurements of effectiveness. To guarantee whether a program is effective or not, you have to track results. Based on results, you stop the ineffective program (expense) or adjust the program and track the results once again. If you have a program that works, you will know by tracking results, and you would be crazy to eliminate that successful marketing program (investment) from your budget. On the contrary you will want to do more of it.

Systems to track marketing programs are key, but are often left out of the plan. Some programs are easy to track and some can become difficult. Tracking systems are the key. A system is easy to follow, simplifies the tracking process and, as a result, is conducive to staff buy-in. But you’re not done yet.

Establish what success looks like. Track your marketing results and measure those results against your definition of success. So the next time your CFO tells you that marketing expenses are too high and your budget is on the chopping block, you are able show her how successful marketing programs are. Once you’ve established that your expenses are actually investments, I’m sure she will be happy to increase your marketing budget and nominate you for Investor of the Year! …Good luck with that.