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How to Use Content Marketing to Retain Existing Customers

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When my twins were born, it was around-the-clock, crazy, unstoppable madness. For the two and a half months they spent in the NICU, we commuted every day to spend time with them, feed them, and learn how to take care of them.

It could have completely consumed our attention, to the exclusion of everything.

Except…

The twins had a brother who was 20 months old at the time.

One of the most important things we did was to make sure he was included, cared for, loved, and given his own personal time with us. Ten years later, he still talks about the special time he spent in the park with his dad while I was at the hospital.

Why am I sharing this?

Because most of the focus right now is on cranking out a steady stream of content that will attract leads. Content marketing can be a useful tool in the marketer’s toolbox, but don’t forget to share the love with your existing customers.

How to Use Content Marketing to Retain Existing Customers

Blog posts – Yes, you want to use your blog for outreach, thought leadership, and lead generation. Why not sprinkle in the occasional post that specifically addresses a need for your existing customers? It could be a how-to, could be an inspirational case study (two birds with one stone), or it could be corporate news.

Training/tutorials – Create visual content that helps your customers do their jobs better. Listen to their most frequent questions, and create training materials that speak directly to those questions.

Knowledge base or FAQ – Your knowledge base can be a place to apply content marketing skills. Concise writing, engaging visuals, and use of keywords will get your expert content found by both existing customers and potential customers.

External guest posts and articles – Typically you would think of a guest post as an opportunity to get “new eyeballs.” What if you focused your next article on the needs of your current customers? Provide insights that make your product or service more valuable in their eyes; make them feel smart for choosing you.

In-person events – If you have on-site events for your customers, are you offering them anything of tangible value? Think about collaborating with them during the event to create content they can use themselves. (Because they’re probably trying to create content the same way you are.)

Chat events, Blabs, Periscopes, etc. – Streaming video or text-based chat is being heavily used to demonstrate expertise, as a way to get brand awareness and leads. I’d suggest experimenting with these formats for customer communication as well. What if you invited your best customers to participate in a streaming event to discuss your product roadmap?

 

 

Are you using content marketing techniques to retain your existing customers? Please share your ideas with us!

 

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Featured image via Flickr CC: rachaelvoorhees

Rent the Right Marketing Approach to Businesses

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Engagement Level To Maximum Conceptual MeterFor businesses renting or selling equipment to other businesses, the approach to marketing is and isn’t all that different from reaching out to consumers.

On the one hand, you’re trying to sell or rent products that other businesses require in order for them to sell to consumers.

The approach to marketing your products is typically in-step with how you would go about marketing to individuals, notably demonstrating why your products are the best around.

On the other hand, renting or selling to other business owners means you are marketing to many of whom do just that, market their own products and services. Such individuals are more likely to know a good marketing campaign from an average or even bad one.

With that in mind, are you renting the right marketing approach when going after more business with other businesses?

Use All the Tools at Your Disposal

Start off by reviewing your marketing campaigns of recent times, seeing which ones soared and which ones quite frankly failed to take flight.

Undoubtedly, some campaigns were just not meant to be, whether they were ill-timed or the audience wasn’t quite right. No matter what the reason or reasons for them not working, you can learn from each and every campaign.

With that knowledge in your back pocket, consider the following:

  • Your audience – It is crucial that you have the right audience for each and every marketing campaign. Whether you are marketing real estate, office furniture or technology, pneumatic lifting bags, construction equipment or any other host of products or services, understanding your demographics can never be overlooked. If you spend time and money pitching the wrong audience, you have just wasted both resources;
  • Your budget – Given the challenging financial times of recent years, it is understandable that some businesses have had to tighten their marketing budgets. With that being the case, getting the most for your marketing dollars becomes even more important. If you have to watch when and where you spend for marketing, target which campaigns are most likely to bring you the results you want. Depending on what you sell, look at the current trends in the market or markets you work in. If there is a slowdown in need for a certain product or service, adjust your marketing campaigns accordingly. Trying to market something when the market for that product or service is slow is not going to bring you the desired results in most cases;
  • Your content – What you say (and don’t say for that matter) in your marketing pitches can go a long way in determining your level of success. It behooves you to be 100 percent sure of each piece of marketing content that you send out. Is it well written? Does it address the needs of your core audience? Does it offer a call to action? Will it be properly promoted on channels such as social media (see more below)? These are all questions you should be able to answer with relative ease. As for the content itself, never take a short step when it comes to this area. Along with any traditional marketing and/or mobile content you send out, it is important that your blog content is powerful too. Use your blog to help promote your brand, giving other businesses reasons to find your brand appealing;
  • Your social interactions – With solid marketing content goes proper promotions on social media. Use the full powers of social media to get your branded content in front of as many eyes as possible. In doing so, you are basically getting free marketing and advertising on sites with millions and millions of members. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. all offer your business the opportunity to get noticed and make new sales.

In the world of B2B marketing, there are so many opportunities for your brand to shine.

Knowing how to reach the right audiences and give them what they want is crucial.

Whether renting or selling your products and/or services, be sure to have your marketing game firing on all cylinders.

If it isn’t, you stand to watch those business dollars go by the wayside.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

Is Your Online Marketing Connecting with Consumers?

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Watering can and word business drawn on a blackboard concept forNo matter the product or service you are marketing, connecting with consumers is always your top priority.

In today’s challenging economic conditions, connecting with consumers is as important as ever.

Face it; many consumers have myriad of choices of where to buy their goods and services from, so your marketing efforts need to stand out from the pack, especially when pitching the public via the Internet.

With that in mind, are your online marketing efforts truly connecting with today’s consumers?

Use the Internet to Make a Connection

In order for your online marketing efforts to hit a home run with consumers, you need to cover all your bases.

These would include:

  • Email marketing – Although some marketers have pulled away from email marketing to some degree or another, countless others still rely on it to state their cases to consumers. If you’re using email marketing, keep the messages short and sweet. Keep in mind that consumers are typically bombarded with pitches from marketers and businesses on a daily basis, so don’t add to the frustration they sometimes feel by getting yet more marketing messages in their in-boxes. Also make sure your pitches come across as informative and worthwhile, not just looking for a sale and nothing else. Lastly, leave a positive but not over-bearing call to action to end your message;
  • Mobile marketing – More and more marketers are putting their time and efforts behind mobile marketing. With this version of marketing having exploded in the last few years, mobile marketing is a great means to reach consumers in an instant. Whether you are marketing real estate, legal services, vehicle maintenance products and services, home furnishings, children’s products, or hundreds of others goods and/or services, mobile is where it is at today. Mobile marketing gives you a great opportunity to reach shoppers when they are in the decision making process. You should also use your mobile opportunities to offer consumers discounts and rewards programs, both of which are likely to encourage them to make a purchase or two. Just like with email marketing or any other form of marketing, don’t be over-bearing when it comes to trying to make a sale;
  • Social marketing – Marketers who shy away from social media are leaving themselves without one of the best means with which to reach consumers. Your social efforts should be concentrated on the major players in this market, among which include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc. Keep in mind that you may not be even marketing a product or service per se, but instead an invitation to attend a seminar, conference, open house etc. LinkedIn is a great venue to do just that given the countless professionals using the site on a daily basis. Also be sure to regularly engage consumers on your social media sites. Unfortunately, some marketers pay little or no attention to their social venues, thereby missing out on great opportunities to market their brands. You, on the other hand, should not be one of those marketers. When consumers come to one of your social venues with a question about a product or service, engage with them as soon as possible. Your ultimate goal should be to send them away satisfied with your time and efforts, leaving them with the idea of doing business with you. Lastly, always stay positive on social media. The last thing you want to do is to get into a negative conversation on a social venue, a conversation that could ultimately end up hurting your brand;
  • Being a good listener – You might stop and ask, why is being a good listener part of my marketing needs? Simply put, those businesses doing too much talking and not enough listening are typically the ones struggling to make inroads with consumers. With millions and millions of consumers flooding the Internet, take a few moments to step back and hear what they are saying. What do they need? What do they like and don’t like about your industry? How can you be their go-to brand? These are but a few of the questions you should be mulling over and having answers for. As great as your marketing campaigns may be, it is listening to the consumer that ultimately wins you the prize, most notably their business.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers marketing topics on the web.

Make It Your Business to Get All Available Deductions

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stacks of old dirty pennies. bronze and copper pennies isolatedRunning your own business comes when joys and heartaches. The key is to avoid too much of the latter.

With that being the case, recording and paying taxes as a business owner can be one of life’s biggest headaches.

If you’re self-employed and have no employees under you, life is much easier when it comes to your tax responsibilities.

On the other side, making sure you take the right amount of money out for employees and meeting your other tax responsibilities as a business owner, well, it can sometimes seem downright taxing.

Don’t Make Running a Business Taxing

In running your own business, be sure that you not only are meeting all your tax requirements, but that you are receiving the deductions entitled to you.

For those individuals working out of their homes full-time, there are myriad of deductions one qualifies for, though many oftentimes forget or quite frankly do not know what is and isn’t acceptable to the IRS.

If you’re one of those self-employed folks working out of a private residence, note the following:

  • Your home is deductible…. up to a point – Working out of your home does allow for some deductions, but don’t expect to cover the entire residence from top to bottom. If you set aside a room etc. as your work area, you can use that as a deduction (estimate the square footage involved). What you can’t do is try and deduct the entire residence;
  • Your home office supplies – Assuming that your business needs office supplies, those can be used as deductions. Make sure you save the receipts for items you purchase. If you end up getting a new computer, fax machine, printer or other such office item, you can also deduct those. The key is always to save the paperwork from such purchases, especially if you need to show at a later date that you did in fact buy such items;
  • Your client meetings – When you mix and mingle with clients, you can deduct such meetings (that is up to a point). Meals and mileage to and from such meetings is fine, but don’t try and deduct a gift you may have bought them etc. Stretching things too far could run you the risk of an IRS audit, so it is definitely in your best interests to record and be honest about your deductions. If you do have legal questions or in fact do get audited, a New York tax attorney or one closer to you can assist you with how to proceed;
  • Your health insurance – Unless you have been under a rock for the last three or so years, you know about the governmental requirement that the majority of Americans be covered by health insurance. As a result, make sure you not only have coverage, but look to see if you are eligible for a tax credit. The whole idea behind Obamacare was to make health insurance affordable for the majority of the country. When it comes to medical items, you also can deduct a portion of your doctor visits (including mileage to and from) and prescriptions or other such purchases;
  • Your retirement planning – If you are wise, you have been putting away money over the years for retirement. In doing so, you are planning for that day and time when you will not be working, most likely getting by on Social Security income. Whether you have an IRA or other such retirement vehicle, try and contribute as much as possible to it yearly. This then allows you to record deductions from the money you put into the plan. While there are caps on how much individuals may invest in their retirement portfolios, doing it now and getting the deductions makes it well worth it.

When it comes to doing your taxes as a self-employed business owner, they don’t have to seem as frightening as they might first appear.

Getting organized now, keeping all your necessary receipts, and knowing who to turn to in the event of a dispute and/or audit, can make all the difference in the world.

If doing your taxes seems a bit taxing to you, put organization and the help of others to work for you.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes about business topics on the web.

Needing Designs on a Better Website?

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bigstock-Brand-Branding-Marketing-Produ-104597561-300x263Is it about time that your business website got some spring cleaning?

For too many business owners, their websites almost become an afterthought following years in the business or even when starting up. Unfortunately, such thinking can lead to missed revenue and a low Google ranking.

So, what designs will you move forward with now and down the road to make sure your website is a proven winner?

Look and Feel of Success

You first need to start with realizing that your business website can always use some improving.

From there, what kind of improvements might you need?

Among the areas to focus on:

  • Design – First and foremost, is your site eye-catching, a site that will keep returning customers and those you are looking to land coming to your site again and again? The design of your site goes a long way in determining how inspired consumers will be to keep returning. Whether you opt for phoenix web design or numerous other choices, make the best selection the first time around. When you find the right designed from day one, you spend less time and effort getting your designs the way you want them, ultimately saving money over time;
  • Content – What goes on your site certainly matters too. If you toss up any content (without determining why it should be on the site in the first place), you risk several things. First, lackluster content is a problem because your website traffic is likely to be minimal at best. Secondly, your search engine ranking will suffer as a result, leaving your site way down the list when consumers search for your respective product or service. Be sure the content is not only authoritative and informative, but also is free of major gaffes. You also need to have content that consumers (and other businesses for that matter) will want to share with the public. When they do that, your traffic is likely to pick up, giving you the ability to drive more business in your direction;
  • Imagery – As important as your content is, having nothing other than content is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Colorful images should dot your site’s landscape. You would also be well-served to include some relevant videos. Having a company video about what your team does and how your brand stands apart from competitors is a great tool to have. Also look to include as many people-friendly images and videos as possible. When making videos, be sure they are exciting (include some music in the background while you are at it). A five-minute webinar with a person sitting there reading a script will put viewers to sleep in record time;
  • Podcasts – If you haven’t taken notice, podcasts are becoming more and more of an attraction to business websites. Companies see the value in making short podcasts available to the public, especially ones that are informative on trends in respective industries, how products or services impact the lives of consumers, what the future is for a respective market etc. You can even consider including short commercial breaks in the podcasts, though keep them to a minimum. In offering these, you can attract advertisers and increase your advertising dollars;
  • Accessibility – How accessible your website is (especially contacting you, your department managers etc.) is also something you should never overlook. When a consumer pulls up a business site, they might very well have questions, issues etc. they want to discuss. In doing so, they need easy access to a contact email or phone number. Better yet, if you have myriad of departments in your business, be sure to list those in charge of each unit (email, office phone etc.). This is better than having a general office email or phone number for consumers to have to contact. When a consumer can go directly to the individual they need, it saves them time and also saves your office team time.

Your website is oftentimes the bread and butter of your brand, so don’t underestimate how powerful of a tool it can be.

If your site has been lacking that punch as of late, put a focus on needing designs on a better one.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

Employee Management is Culture Management

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By Dave Crenshaw

Have you ever seen a business caught in the crossfire between management and employees?

It’s not pretty. It’s distracting, and most of all, it’s damaging to customers. Employees are more powerful than you may think. First, there’s more of them than the boss. Second, their interaction dictates a company’s culture.

I once was asked a great question that I think many people have: Why does it seem that so often employee and manager relationships deteriorate? How can I keep that from happening?

Perhaps you have seen this: you work in a position where you have a great relationship with either someone you manage or your manager, but over time – because you’re busy and there’s stress – it starts to fall apart and a little hostility starts to creep into the relationship. And, when one relationship goes sour, it’s easy for more to follow.

I have seen many companies with successful employee/manager relationships, and the key to their success is that they focus on culture management instead of employee management.

I want to share with you three insights that I have gained from these companies.

#1. A strong company culture.

Create a strong company culture by hiring people whose beliefs and values are in tune with your company. Companies that have great employee/manager relationships usually have a very strong company culture. This means there is an established set of values and an established set of norms that people use to operate and interact with each other. And, when new people are hired into this company, they’re hired based on their compatibility with the culture. This goes a long way in avoiding a lot of the friction that can often happen in the workplace.

#2. Strong communication.

Managers that maintain great relationships with their employees have consistent meetings. I can’t stress enough the importance of having one-to-one “huddles” with employees. If you’re too busy as a manager to have these meetings, you’re just plain too busy. These one-to-one huddles create an oasis that offers the opportunity for a manager to ask employees questions and for them to ask you questions – away from the hustle and bustle of the business. Regular one-to-one meetings are key to reducing workplace chaos.

#3. Avoid the “Peter Principle”.

The Peter Principle is a term coined by Dr. Laurence J. Peter in his 1969 book, The Peter Principle (more info on the Peter Principle here) in which the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate’s performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. As a result, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and “managers rise to the level of their incompetence.”

So often we see that in business. Someone is successful in one entry-level position, so they’re promoted. And they’re successful in that position, so they’re promoted. And then they fail, because they’re promoted to a position that really isn’t a fit for their personality or their skill set. How can we avoid that?

  • If you’re the person making the promotion, make sure that you’re promoting people and hiring people based upon personality traits and learned skills. Ensure that they have the personal characteristics that are necessary to succeed in that position, not just past performance in an unrelated position.
  • If you’re the person receiving the promotion, that should be a sign for you that it’s time to go back to school. I’m not necessarily saying that you need to go get a higher degree.

But, it’s your responsibility to update your skills—and even your point of view—to ensure success in your new role. Become a life-long learner; don’t just rest on what you’ve done in the past.

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Dave Crenshaw works 30 hours per week or less, plays video games, and has plenty of time to spend with his wife and three children. He is also the master of helping business owners triumph over chaos. He has appeared in Time magazine, Fast Company, USA Today, and the BBC News. His first book, The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing It All’ Gets Nothing Done, has been published in six languages and is a time management bestseller. As an author, speaker, and business coach, Dave has transformed thousands of businesses worldwide. To get free access to Dave’s online Time Management Fundamentals course on Lynda.com, please visit: http://davecrenshaw.com/freetime. You can connect with Dave on Google+.