Today, I know she was right.  Her advice is as relevant, if not more so today than it was two years ago.   She recommended:

• In addition to creating your profile you should create a page for your business. ( These are now called Fan Pages)
• Start a group,
• Use the events feature and polls to gather information and gently market to your “friends”.

To her  list I would add:

• Create special offers and coupons just for your fans
• Take photos at events, post and tag them with names of guests, so they show up on other pages on Facebook
• Connect your Twiiter and blog updates to your fan page.

Read the rest of the article …

  ]]> http://www.roundpeg.biz/2010/03/baby-boomers-business-and-facebook/feed/ 0 http://www.roundpeg.biz/2010/03/todays-consumer-still-loves-coupons/ http://www.roundpeg.biz/2010/03/todays-consumer-still-loves-coupons/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:16:58 +0000 Lorraine http://www.roundpeg.biz/?p=5519 She just doesn’t like clipping them.

When my kids were little, I would rip through the Sunday paper looking for coupons on diapers.   I am not much of a coupon person in general, but we went through a lot of diapers and it just seemed silly to pay full price.

Once my kids finally mastered the potty, I said goodbye to diapers and good bye to coupons.  They were just too much trouble to keep up with, organize and keep track of when I went shopping.

But I do like saving money, so I am the perfect target for digital coupons.   Instant savings I can download to my computer as I head out the door, or better yet to my phone.

And I am not alone, it seems the down cycle in the ecomony, along with an increase in technology which delivers coupons has led to the first increase in the use of coupons in almost twenty years.

From a study by coupons.com (ok so maybe they are a little biased) the demographics of the average digital coupon shopper is not the low income, penny pinching  housewife.  Instead, the consumer who prints digital coupons is an attractive target for many products and services.

• has an average household income of $97,000,
• a 23 percent higher income level than the U.S average.
• 34 percent of those who print digital coupons have a college degree (up from 32 percent in 2008), compared to 30 percent of those who use newspaper coupons and 27 percent of the general populace.
• Users of digital coupons have higher household incomes and are better educated than users of newspaper coupons and the general population.

So what do these numbers mean to you?  As the delivery mechanisms continue to improve, and the economy continues to put pressure on consumer spending, coupons, particularly those delivered digitally can be an excellent incentive for existing and new customers.

Interesting, as I was putting the finisihing touches on this post ( sometimes I write a few weeks out) I read a post by Kyle Lacy on the subject of integrating your marketing, tieing all the elements together, especially when you already use printed coupons in your mix.

I was reminded of that case,  as I read an article by Louis Gray. One of my favorite sources for new technology and applications, he made a compelling case for Facebook as the Social Media Hub for the average person.  While he personally prefers other products, he is finding himself forced to Facebook.  He says:

” I may prefer Google Buzz and FriendFeed and Twitter and SmugMug and all these other best-of-breed sites for their specific use cases, but thus far, I haven’t been able to convert the family to converge with me there.

Facebook is rapidly becoming the Web platform with external services feeding in, and it feeding out. It becomes the conduit, but also the destination.

What does this mean for the small business owner? Regardless of which platforms we prefer, we need to go where are customers are. And more and more, they are on Facebook.  From fan pages, to event listings, and even targeted Facebook ads, this is quickly becoming a site, no marketer can ignor.  But there are risks,  as the folks at Fat Atom discovered when Facebook took down a client’s page.

The rules of social media marketing are being rewritten daily.  For help making good choices, contact roundpeg today!

But I have been away for a few years, and thought it would be helpful to see what others have been writing and discussing.  What I  found is that although it seems things are moving very quickly, much of what I am telling my small business clients today, others have been saving for quite awhile.

For example: In 2003 David Squires wrote  n article for the ACH&R News about how to make your websites more efficient. Interestingly seven years later, we still see much of the same issues we saw then. Text heavy and product heavy sites which miss what is really important to the consumer; How well you solve the client’s problem?

Check out David’s list of 12 ways to improve your site and see if you agree with me, that while some things do change, others remain, very much the same!

Who –Who is your ideal client? – Age, income, type of business

What – What is your customer’s problem.   What keeps them up at night?

How –How will your products or services solve the problem your client faces?

Where – Where is your ideal client?  This also applies to where they look for information and new products and services

When – When do they need your product?  When will they seek out information?  Will they look far ahead of the need, or only when what they are using breaks.

Why – Why should they chose you?

For answers to these and other important marketing questions, join Matt Nettleton and Me for a look at how to transform Random Strangers into Raving Fans !

March 25, 8:00 – 11:00  a.m.

Sandler Training Trustpointe Offices, 6666 East 75th Street, Indianapolis

Fee: $29.99 Seating is limited, so be sure to  register soon.  Click here

Branding is an incredibly hard concept to define. Not because it’s complicated, but because people like to throw self-aggrandizing puffery and  empty words like “synergy,” it becomes a thing of unfathomable mystery.

Contrary to popular belief, a brand is not simply a logo. Seth Godin has a long, but clear definition:

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.”

Ultimately, building a brand is about differentiating yourself from your competitors who provide similar goods or services. Take a look at Target and Wal-Mart: both are big box retailers. They both sell roughly the same merchandise. Yet their brands are vastly different. Target is hip and trendy, while Wal-Mart is the champion of the working man and moms everywhere.

Don’t limit your branding efforts to just a logo. Work to build a bond and a story with customers, and show them why your company will fit their needs better than any other.

Stop limiting your branding efforts to your logos and physical appearances–you need to tell consumers a story that will make them pick you over dozens of similar competitors.

In the last 18 months, he has truly masted the art of the WebBanner and the effective 6 x 9 postcard, but his favorite projects are definitely his logo designs:

Click here to listen to the interview

Mr. Barrett has a wealth of information on green technology and as a sought-after public speaker, knows how to effectively communicate ideas. One our  challenges was to find ways to organize the information, and present the content in a way that would allow Tom to engage the visitors to his site.  Rather than simply uploading Powerpoint presentations, we took select sides and asked Tom to write blog posts on specific topics.  This allowed us to add some strong visuals to his blog, and break up the content into manageable pieces.

Tom had lots of exciting visual aids from his time spent giving presentations on the subject We were able to leverage those tools to provide context to the abstract concepts of economic conservation.  We had the opportunity to work with a variety some of our favorite tools, as well as a few new ones during the site construction.

To increase engagement, we offered visitors the opportunity to download the entire presentation, using if they provide their email, allowing Tom to being building an email list of individuals interested in sustainable technology.  To collect this information, we used the form-building tool Formspring. The tool allows us to build robust, useful forms on a website with a few simple clicks.

One of our favorite discoveries during the site construction was Slideshare. The service allows someone to upload a presentation and instantly creates a sleek, professional slideshow. What’s more, Slideshare allows you to easily embed any of your uploaded slideshows to your website.

We also found  MobileMe to be extremely helpful as we transferred large files back and forth.

One of the biggest lessons I learned building this site was how many free and inexpensive tools are available to help small businesses look bigger.  

Make sure to check out the new Green Water Infrastructure website when you get the chance!

• Market
• Message
• Media

For marketing to be effective these three  elements must be in alignment.

Market: No matter how big you are, you can not afford try to sell to everyone.  And even if you did have a large enough budget, the reality is some people are more likely then others to buy your product.   So begin by focusing on a segment of the market. Select a profitable niche, and exceed their expectations.

Message: Now that you have identified your customer, what do you say to get their attention?  Think about what is important to your customer, what keeps them up at night.  Craft a message which addresses their concerns, not what you want to sell.   I once had a finanial planner tell me what his customer wanted choices.  I had a hard time imaging many consumers laying awake at night worrying about not having enough choices. … This was an important element to him, but not his clients.  What keeps them awake? Worries about retirement and college tuition!  My advice to him, stop talking about choices till you have their attention!

Media:  In marketing, it is not just what you say, but where you say it.  Ask yourself, where are your customers going for information?  Select your media, based on the ability to reach a large concentration of your target.  To do this, you have to really understand your target.

So what about your marketing?  Do you have your 3M’s in alignment?

Need some help lining up your 3M’s?  Join Matt Nettleton of Sandler Training Trustpointe and me for a conversation about how to transform Random Strangers to Raving Fans.

March 25, 8:00 – 11:00  a.m.

Sandler Training Trustpointe Offices, 6666 East 75th Street, Indianapolis

Fee: $29.99  Seating is limited, so be sure to  register soon.  Click here

In his remarks, he shared the Three “R’s” of Entrepreneurship.

Research-from market surveys to interviews with other business owners, this is a critical first step for every entrepreneur.

Risk-you have to take chances, recognize you may lose your investment, so be sure you understand the risks up front, and be prepared.  If you aren’t willing to take the risk, it is unlikely you will reap the rewards.

Reward-When it comes to being an entrepreneur, sometimes money is not the only, or most important reward. What you learn and who you meet along the way are important benefits you will take with you to your next venture if you are a true entrepreneur.