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Turning Customers Into Advocates

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John Caplan, founder and CEO of OpenSky.com, shares his tips on how leveraging the web’s social tools to build a community around your brand and engage directly with shoppers can grow your business.  

As an entrepreneur, I know how important it is to build a community of people around your business.  As a business owner who is passionate about growing emerging businesses, getting your business online to leverage distribution and build relationships is an essential tool. 
 
At OpenSky, we strive to empower emerging brands to grow their businesses by engaging consumers.  We make sure to communicate and constantly listen to the concerns, questions and feedback from our merchants and our members, which helps us build a platform that works for people we serve.
 
Leveraging the web’s social tools to build a community around your brand by engaging and communicating directly with your shoppers can grow your business.  Here are some ways to help you achieve this.
 

1. Social media makes it easier than ever to connect directly to customers.

Establish your brand on social channels – Facebook, OpenSky, Twitter, Pinterest — where you can have active, real-time conversations.  It’s not only a great way to share updates but often times, it’s that real time feedback from customers that can help you resolve a problem before it impacts a huge number of people.  This will serve as an effective way to give people a great experience because then they share it with their friends and their friends share it with friends and so on.  There is nothing more effective for marketing than a truly happy customer.
 

2. It’s essential to listen to customer feedback on social outlets and respond right away.

  However, as it important as it is, make sure that isn’t the only way you’re getting direct feedback from customers about how you’re doing.  Ask for it anytime an opportunity arises.  From packing slips, to invoices, customer surveys and emails – there are numerous opportunities to ask your customers for feedback and offer a place where they can provide it.
 

3. In addition to blogs and social networks, invite members of your community from customers to partners and vendors into your offices, stores or workshops.

  Whether it’s for a party, focus group, or to demo a new product – creating the face-to-face connection can be invaluable for creating brand loyalty.
 

4. One of the most difficult and stressful elements of growing a business is expanding your products or services. 

Adding a new feature or service can strain your core business and potentially alienate existing customers, especially in the beginning. Open the lines of communication and bring your community into your growth strategy by talking to them during the process.  Working with your core customers early on to help them understand new products and services will keep you on the right track, provide valuable insight and make your loyal customers more forgiving of any mishaps in the road to success.

Author’s Bio: John Caplan is the Founder and CEO of OpenSky, the social network for shopping where members shop with their friends for unique, artisanal finds. Prior to OpenSky, John was the CEO of Ford Models. In five years, he rebuilt the agency, tripling its size and value while expanding it to include Ford’s artist divisions and digital media business. During the late 1990s, John served first, as CMO of About.com leading the brands growth and later as President of the About Network before selling the company to Primedia in 2001 for $500+ million. Caplan has made numerous appearances as a business expert on television shows including CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV, Reuters TV, TODAY Show, WNBC-TV and many others.

Does Your Business Have a Cost-Effective Marketing Plan?

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If you run your own company, you may or may not be involved in the marketing duties.

In some instances, company owners can afford to reach out and hire a marketing specialist to work onsite with them, while others take the option of having an outside firm that specializes in marketing do the job for them

Whichever way you determine to be best for your business, there are a number of factors that you should focus on, allowing you the best possibility of succeeding with your marketing needs.

Among them:

* Don’t hit the panic button – First and foremost, you will find your business going through peaks and valleys during the course of the year, so never hit the panic button. You may get the urge to scale back your marketing budget when things are not going well, but that is likely the worst time to do that. While you’re toning down your marketing budget, your competition is likely going in the opposite direction. Reevaluate from time to time what’s working and what isn’t working, giving you the guidance necessary to move around money and efforts if need be. Remember, the day you stop marketing could be the prelude to the day you close your business.

According to research from AWeber Communications, close to 70 percent of small businesses said they would be adding to their marketing budgets in 2013, with some 97 percent planning on doing no less than maintaining their present level directed towards marketing expenses.

That being said, some well-known companies noted in the last year that they were scaling back their marketing over the next 12 months, with one even noting in hindsight, such a decision ended up costing his business customers and revenue.

Those making headlines included:

1. Campbell Soup Co. stated last summer that it would reduce its marketing budget over the next year, placing new emphasis on distribution, merchandising and product innovations. In fiscal 2012, Campbell’s marketing got a piece of $100 million of new investment the marketer put forth toward brand-building, research and development and innovation for its U.S. soup and simple meals business. That investment came as the business looked to distance itself from major discounting, which executives noted failed to lift sales volume as planned;

2. HTC (mobile phone maker) reported that less money and effort towards marketing has actually hurt its business in the last year. In comments to the Wall Street Journal, CEO Peter Chou stated that the company’s competitors proved to be both too strong and resourceful, placing lots of funding into marketing, while his company did not do as much.

While both Campbell Soup Co. and HTC continue to make money, reduced efforts on the marketing front are definitely reasons of concern for top executives.

While you may be hesitant to spend money on marketing, you can’t deny its importance.

Among the key facets to zero in on:

* Cohesive message – Whether you and your team do the marketing or you outsource it, make sure the message is one in the same. Your message needs to be clear and concise, meaning no confusion and questions for consumers. Make sure the foundation behind your message is solid, therefore allowing you to get a better return on your efforts. This brings us back to the question of whether or not it is better to outsource your marketing needs? On the plus side, you can put it in the hands of professionals who know the ins and outs of marketing, alleviating some of the daily tasks that you need to do to run your business. On the down side, you better than anyone else know your company, what makes it tick, and what its goals are. If you outsource the marketing, those strengths need to be conveyed to the individual or company;

* Social media – You may be the brightest and hardest working business owner going, but how involved and educated are you when it comes to social media? If the answer is not really, then you are missing out on a great opportunity to promote your company. Starting with social media, this should be a no-brainer, yet there are many businesses out there that fail to grasp how easy and effective this tool can be. Not only does having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and other major SM sites give you instant access to a larger swath of consumers, but you can be tuned-in to their needs 24/7. You also can focus in on what is being said about your brand, both positive and negative. Lastly, social media is a good tool for you to put out any potential fires in the cases of negative information about you and/or your company. As more and more consumers turn to social media sites and online forums to talk about companies and their experiences with them, you want to be along for the ride;

* Blogging – Do you ever troll different business sites in your free time, only to be amazed how many of them do not have blogs? This is yet another great tool to promote one’s company, still many business owners either don’t want to take the time or fail to realize the potential of blogs. Your company blog is a great marketing tool in telling consumers what you offer, how you can stand out as an authoritative figure in your respective industry, and how you are up to speed with what is going on in your field. If you have yet to actively engage in blogging, take note that it needs to be relevant, update on a regular basis, and promoted. If you are not willing to do it right, then you’re probably best served not doing it at all;

* Relationships do matter – Lastly, how often do you reach out to your current list of customers? They may seem silly, but contacting them with a quick email or other form of communication on their birthdays, offering them special deals, and asking them if you can do anything else for them are all important. In a day and age when consumers have so many different options to choose from, building your relationship with them is key. When your customers feel valuable, they are apt to want to continue doing business with you. If you take them for granted, they may very well take their business elsewhere.

So, where are your marketing plans and budget as we head into the halfway point of 2013?

Photo credit: keyhousemedia.com

About the Author: With 23 years’ writing experience, Dave Thomas covers a variety of business and consumer topics, including convertible car seats.

5 Tips on How to Prioritize

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By John Murphy

Do you know how to prioritize? I mean really “know” – not just intellectually, but in reality!

My belief is that most of us rank somewhere between alright and pretty poor when it comes down to prioritizing.

It falls somewhere between crisis management and those “things I like to do”!! Not the most scientific criteria!

I have had the pleasure of working with some top CEOs and they are really good at prioritizing. This is how they do it

They challenge themselves with these 5 questions:

1. Is this on my dashboard of 5/6 key drivers of the business?

2. Will I add value to this task?

3. Am I the one who should be dealing with it?

4. Should I be dealing with this right now?

5. Do I have all the information I need to deal with it?

If they get a “No” to any of those questions it does not get to their priority list.

Allow me to delve a bit deeper:

Dashboard of 5/6 key drivers. I first heard this from Warren Buffet who maintains that there are ever only 5/6 key items that must be monitored at all times. These are the 5/6 items that matter most. Great CEOs focus on what matters most – they are really good at this. They cannot focus on everything – they just focus on what matters and what delivers results.

Will I add value? If it is not clear where they, and only they, can add value, they will not get involved.

Am I the one to deal with it? Top CEOs are really good at identifying whether they are the right person to deal with an issue, or is it somebody else’s job? The old saying of “don’t buy a dog and bark yourself” comes to mind!

Is this the right time to do it? In other words, am I doing this to fulfill my own agenda or someone else’s? Is it the most important thing for me to do in this minute? Is there anything more important I should be doing right now? Top performers are really good at answering that question

Have I got all the information I need? There is nothing more frustrating than starting something and then realizing that you don’t have all the information you need to complete. Make sure that you have the right amount of information or input to complete what you start – it’s a good example to your people, if nothing else.

Top CEOs are really good at this process. They know how to prioritize their work and, by definition, the work of their team tends to be well prioritized also. It is no coincidence!

One of the main challenges I have found when working with clients is to get them to identify the 5 or 6 key drivers. When you first go through this process you will always end up with a much longer list. But there are not 10 or 15 key drivers!

I will not argue with Warren Buffet – his track record is unquestionable! So, be tough with yourself and get to 5 or 6 – it will be worth it to you, and your business.

Author’s Bio: John Murphy a business coach who writes about what makes executives and business owners more productive at www.johnmurphyinternational.com. You can find him on Twitter as @jmicoaching.

Know How to Get Started on a New Business Venture?

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While the U.S. economy is still on shaky ground for many people, others have taken the opportunities that are out there to start a new business in 2013, be it on their own or with employees helping them along the way. Still, others have not signed off on a new business venture, fearing that the timing is not right.

Whichever category you find yourself in, keep in mind that your business plan will go a long way in determining whether or not your venture takes flight, or if it comes crashing to a halt.

Unfortunately, too many starting out for the first time fail to properly craft a business plan, meaning they go head first into their business without a safety helmet on. As many probably know, one in five businesses fail within their first five years of operation, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA).

There are, however, steps that can be taken to increase the chances of getting one’s business done right the first time around.

They include:

* Be financially prudent – If you are starting your own business, consider opening it on a part-time basis while you are still hopefully gainfully employed by someone else. In many cases, individuals leave their full-time job or are let go, then turn to their own ideas to make money. While some circumstances can’t be prevented (layoffs, etc.), you are in a better financial position to open the business while getting a full-time check and health benefits elsewhere. Along with being better off financially, you can determine if your business of choice will have a good shot at making it after you get through the first few months. Most importantly, do you have a financial plan B to fall back on if your business does not take off the way you want it to? Don’t go into a new venture without the right financial backing, especially in today’s topsy-turvy climate;

* Be a promoter – There is a good chance that you are light in the wallet when it comes to being able to promote your new business venture, so promote it in ways that won’t cost you anything more than time and effort. Two of the best ways to do this are blogging and social media. With blogging, you can write posts both for your site and as a guest blogger, allowing you to be seen as an authority in your respective industry. Make sure you link back to your site when you guest blog for others, allowing you to drive traffic your way. With social media, this is an excellent means to promote your business, and it does not cost you a cent. If you have not already, make sure you sign up and get business accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest for starters. You need to dedicate a decent amount of time to each site so that you’re both relevant and seen as a regular. Use the sites to answer customer questions, solve their problems, provide them with information from your respective industry, and to engage with them in real-time. Also make sure you share and retweet items of interest with other relevant sources so that you can build your social networking profile;

* Be resilient – Finally, know that there will be some ups and downs with your new business venture, so prepare for the worst and shoot for the best. Unlike your current full-time job where you may only work a 9 to 5 shift or something along those lines, starting your own venture will mean dedicating many hours a day in most cases. Remember, you’re considered the person who not only runs the normal day-to-day operations, but answers those other needs when the business is officially closed. In the event your business doesn’t take off right away, don’t throw in the towel. Yes, you don’t want to go into financial collapse over a business, but you have to be able to wait out the tough times as much as possible. You may end up even having to lean on others to help you with running the business or putting in some financial backing, but it could pay off for you down the road.

While some may be hesitant to start up a business in today’s economy, others may throw caution to the wind and run with it.

If you are in the latter group, make it your business to succeed.

Photo credit: smartincomeguide.com

About the Author: With 23 years’ writing experience, Dave Thomas covers a variety of business and consumer topics, including doctor reviews.

Our Top 15 Posts Ever

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By Andy Crestodina

Since the beginning, this blog has helped more than a million visitors learn hundreds of important lessons. You, the readers and writers, have shared your experiences and techniques through more than 1000 posts and nearly 100,000 comments.

In this post, we’ll look back the 1000+ posts on Successful Blog and review. All of these, of course, were written by our beloved Liz. Some of these were instant classics. Others were their own mini-viral events. Each is an example of great writing on relevant topics.

So here they are, the top 15 posts in the history of this website…

1. The How to Happiness – Top 10 Ways to Start Living Your Life

“You don’t need to get a life, you’ve already got one.“

2. 10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave Comments

“It seems that we have the same secret reasons for not leaving our calling card. We want to leave our thoughts, but things get between us and that comment box.”

3. How To Make Your Dream Come True – Through Thought, Strategy and Action

“Wonders, wishes, and waiting without commitment are a whole lot of nothing happening.“

4. 5 Reasons People Don’t Get Hired and the Only 3 Questions that Count

“An interview or a client presentation is a test. It’s like an oral exam in which the subject is you.”

5. Ideas? 20 Questions to Kickstart New Thoughts

“Imagine you just landed on this planet. You’d have a passel of questions and a totally beginner’s view. The key is not to fix things, but to find new reactions to what you encounter.”

6. Are You a Writer? 7 Traits that Writers Have in Common

“Every person is struggling to find a meaning that makes sense. It’s not about money. It’s not about volume of work. It’s about meeting a self-defined goal of becoming a writer.”

7. How to Receive a Compliment Without Being a Self-Centered Idiot

“Focus on the speaker and the value of the speaker’s words. That guarantees your response will be graceful, respectful, and not about you.”

8. 25 Outstanding Links to Help You Write a Compelling Tagline

“How do you pack all of that promise into four or five simple words that will resonate with the folks you want to reach?”

9. Conan’s Good-bye: 10 of 10 in Leadership, Reputation, and Community

“Corporations, small businesses, every one of us could learn a lot from how Conan said good-bye. His words were the careful words of a leader delivered from the heart in a difficult situation.”

10. What Is Humility?

“The funny thing about humility is the second you think you have it, you don’t.”

11. The Problem with Writing… 25 Things to Know BEFORE You Write for a Living

“Writing communicates through across the world, through time, to people I have never met. It captures ideas, inventions, and information. It’s worth it to be even a tiny part of that.”

12. What Is a Social Community

“An online community isn’t built or befriended, it’s connected by offering and accepting. Community is affinity, identity, and kinship that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions.“

13. 10 Reasons Creative Folks Make Us Crazy

“What are the traits that creative folks have in common? Are we all creative? Is there anyone who’s not? Can I boost my creativity? Am I a creative freak?”

14. 27 Things to Know Before You Work in Social Media

“This is not a rant, simply a set of observations which are quite similar to the challenges of any communication-based, people-centered endeavor.“

15. 10 Ways to Live In the Moment Every Moment of Your Life

“Ever talked with a guy who’s passionate about his life? He doesn’t give one kind of energy during the hours of 8 to 5 and another when play time arrives. His moments are filled with enthusiasm and determination for being part of everything that he does.”

We hope you enjoyed this round-up. Hopefully, this was a discovery of some of the great posts you missed. Or perhaps it was a rediscovery of posts you read and loved. So many classics.

Feel free to reshare the greats. Better yet, leave a comment and tell us which of these you loved most …or perhaps which of your favorites we left out!

Author’s Bio: This list was compiled by Andy Crestodina, the Strategic Director of Orbit Media. Andy is on and Twitter.

Are You Better Off Working From Home?

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If you trudge off to an office five days a week, have you ever stopped to wonder what it would be like to work from home?

For many professionals, that opportunity is pretty much a pipe dream, this given the fact that many companies still run the standard office.

You know the office, the one where employees report in for their daily shift, do their jobs with a lunch break and one or two 10-minute breaks during the day, then get in their cars or on mass transit for the ride home. The next morning means the same all over again.

What Opportunities Are in Your Future?

So, what if you had the opportunity to work from home?

Do you think you would be more or less productive from your residence? Could you focus in on work and turn away the various distractions that can all too easily present themselves? Lastly, would you miss spending time in an office setting with co-workers, meaning you basically rely on yourself for entertainment during the day?

Over the last seven years, I’ve had two opportunities to work from home as a freelance writer, both the result of job layoffs. I can say with much certainty that the two experiences have been positive for the most part.

One of the keys to being successful while working part-time or full-time at home is having an employer who avoids micromanagement.

In what should be labeled a disease in the workplace, micromanagement simply means that your boss and/or company owner feel they need to hold your hand during the day in the office or if you work remotely. In such cases, they will oversee you with questions, suggestions and comments, leaving you wishing Friday’s Happy Hour was five days a week and not one.

So, with the micromanagement factor out of the way, here are some pros/cons of working from home:

Pros –

* Avoiding a possibly long and expensive commute daily;

* Ability (with your company’s permission) to set your own hours;

* Not having to deal with constantly ringing office phones;

* Being void of co-workers who have nothing better to do than to talk your ear off while you’re trying to work.

Cons –

* Unless you’re well disciplined, it can be easy to get distracted at home;

* Not having others around to bounce ideas off of, answer your questions and/or solve work related issues;

* Potentially not having access to necessary equipment like a printer, fax machine, tech help if your home computer goes down.

At the end of the day, finding the right work at home situation can be tricky, though well worth your time.

Work is ultimately what you make of it.

If you are one who wants to be successful, potentially make a decent amount of money, and avoid having to deal with office politics, working from home can be just what you are looking for. The tricky part is locating that company that will employ you under those circumstances or being able to get your own business off the ground.

In the event you work from home for yourself or an employer, what have your experiences been like to date?

Photo credit: metro.us

About the Author: With 23 years’ writing experience, Dave Thomas covers a variety of business topics and individuals, including Gary Crittenden.