Who’s right?  Who’s wrong?

Seth Godin, Chris Anderson, and Malcolm Gladwell are going at it about “FREE”, the book recently written by Chris.

Personally, I side with Chris and Seth, even though Malcolm makes a strong argument for his position. 

I think it’s clear that if you look at the trends of “free”, you can see how it has grown more and more pervasive over time, and people expect free samples or free trials of whatever they are considering buying. 

For instance, whether it says “Free Trials” or not, people expect 100% of their money back if they are not satisfied.  This amounts to a free trial.  “Free” has been woven into the fabric of American society so much that I believe most people see it as an economic birthright.

As such, I believe everything is trending towards free first-time usage. The “free line” (the amount of free things given) will move higher and higher as competition continues to grow and “free” embeds itself even deeper and deeper into the American psyche. 

As more and more companies build “free” into their business models (not just as a marketing cost), it’s going to force other companies to lower their prices or change their models.

Sure “free” has been with us for a while, but it has been slowly evolving and has been slowly changing the game.  Chris Anderson is giving us a status report.  Read it.  You definitely want to know where we are now so you have a better chance to get where you want to go.

If you want to follow the debate, check out Seth’s, Chris’ and Malcolm’s positions.  Chris’ and Malcolm’s debate center around paid versus free journalism; Seth’s expounds on ‘free”:

Seth: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/malcolm-is-wrong.html
Chris: http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/06/dear-malcolm-why-so-threatened.html
Malcolm: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_gladwell?currentPage=all

To get a FREE 25 PAGE EXCERPT from the book, go here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=lLZbXN2odVYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

To buy the book, go here:

Technorati Tags: business model, Chris Anderson, Free, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin

I ran across this magazine ad a couple weeks ago.  It’s a good ad because it tells a story and is personal (Excuse the quality of the image; I had to copy and scan it.).  Take one of your ads and massage it to be like this…to tell a story and be personal.  Then test it out and tell me your results.

Too see a larger version of the ad below, click on this link: http://www.kenvarga.com/Oregon_Fishing_Person_Ad.jpg

Technorati Tags: ad copy, ad story, ad writing, story telling

A million dollar idea

Last evening, I had the opportunity to visit my local Chamber of Commerce’s meeting, whereby they had approximately 52 tables set up by various local vendors.  They called it “Sizzling Summer Business Expo 2009.”

They also invited all of the restaurants in the area to rent a booth and created an area outside the exhibiting area, just for those nibbling on the offerings from the restaurants. 

Here are a few lessons from this experience…

The companies there paid $250 for a table, and no one…and I do mean NO ONE…thought to offer a response mechanism…something that would prompt the attendees to communicate with the vendor.  Sure, they gave out many items as gifts with their name on it, but nothing to prompt anyone to do business with them. 

Also, there were 22 local restaurants, which created 3 or 4 various dishes.  There were lines for the food, but guess what?  The attendees got their food and moved on.  Why didn’t these restaurants offer a coupon, for let’s say 20% off your dinner when you come in?  They didn’t have anything to give out to generate a customer.  Sad!

But let me tell you about a million dollar idea I gave one of the exhibitors.  His company does pest control.  Two years ago, I was having a problem with birds nipping away at the caulking around my skylights, and I put an item called a Bird Repellent Spider on the roof near the skylight.  In fact, I put 4 by my skylights.  This exhibitor had one of these on the exhibiting table and when I mentioned to him that I also had Spiders on my roof, he was happy to hear that someone had installed the them.  He asked me what pest control company installed them. I told him none.  I googled bird repellants, found and bought 4 of them, and hired someone to install them on my roof.

When I asked him how many homes his company had installed these units on, he said “None.”  He mentioned how difficult it was to convince a homeowner how important it was to install these spiders.  To make a long story short, his company had no way of convincing a home owner about why they needed these Spiders and how they would benefit by installing them. 

Here’s what I said to him.  Research the damage birds do to a home, or building, and the health ramifications that would result when someone catches a disease that many birds ccarry, then present it to the homeowner as a health and safety issue.  He and the others at the table loved the idea.

I then told them to research articles or studies that were done where birds have done serious damage to light posts along the road, light posts in Marinas, or any kind of poles.  They can create a new market to sell to by extolling the reasoning that the Spiders installed atop the light posts will stop birds from destroying the metal, and over the long run save the township, or marina, money.

This product, the Bird Spider, can be used in many other areas as a deterrent, so I told them to think of other areas to create a new market.

I asked them what this idea meant in money to them, and they said over a million dollars and that is why I titled this article “A Million Dollar Idea.”

Let me know your thoughts on this or any input you might have.

Technorati Tags: create a new market, creating a new market, lead generation, restaurant lead generation

Which is more important?  Marketing or Selling?

Whenever I do a seminar, or when you look at the questions I receive from my subscribers, there most often is the question of what is more important, Selling or Marketing?

I receive statements such as, “I’ve been going to various seminars, reading many books, and as a result I’ve been collecting marketing ideas over the years.  I also have a stack of promising leads that I’ve accumulated over a period of time thru networking at my local Chamber of Commerce, Direct Mail, and Advertising.”

“I realize how important it is to continue networking, but then I create more and more leads.  How should I prioritize all of the leads and marketing ideas I’ve accumulated?”

Have you ever asked yourself this question?

If so, you might have lost sight of a very important truth.  The way to win in the marketing game is not to collect the most leads.  It’s to make the most sales.  Without sales, marketing is just another exercise.

Marketing that increases your number of sales is very good, and activities and things you do that don’t result in sales, aren’t good, even if they bring in plenty of leads. 

If you don’t follow up immediately on the leads you gather, you are just wasting your time and money.

The primary purpose of all marketing strategies like writing articles, networking, advertising, public speaking, etc., is to gain visibility and credibility.

Ask yourself this question. “Why do you want to be visible and credible?”

It’s not because you want people to know who you are and what you do.   It is so they will do business with you.

Use this rule.   Follow up on hot or even warm client leads immediately.  Customer leads are always more important than marketing for more visibility.  They result in profits.

When you have promising leads that could result in customers or clients that you aren’t contacting, then the follow-up stage is definitely stuck somewhere.  Gather your stack of leads and sort them into three categories.  Prospective clients, useful networking contacts, and others.

Then sort them into groups of Hot, Warm and Cold. Stop here and follow up with the Hot and Warm leads.

Action is the most important part of this exercise.  I see many individuals who sit on qualified leads and never turn them into sales. Don’t be one of them.

Technorati Tags: lead generation, marketing, selling

Every small business has a set budget that they use to market and build their business.  Here are some cost-effective methods that will help you to get your new customers and grow your business.

1. Everyone has a strip shopping center or mall near them.  Wherever there is a grand opening, attend the opening and talk with the business owners and staff and hand out your business cards.  Remember to have your Unique Selling Proposition stated clearly on the card to tell them how they will benefit by doing business with you. Even if it’s an established shopping center, do the same thing. Use this method to introduce yourself and your services to them.  With the Banks I started, each time we opened a branch, I had our various staff members visit with all of the businesses within a 5-mile geographic area of the branch.

2. Create flyers with your business information on it and place them at the grocery store, coffee shops, library, or other places people meet. Always carry them with you so that you never miss an opportunity to place them when you come across an opportunity to do so.

3. There is a place called www.VistaPrint.com, where you can obtain free or low cost business cards. Make sure you add your USP, again to let everyone know how you can benefit them.  While you are out running errands, drop off a business card at every business you see, such as Restaurants, Medical Professional Offices, Gyms and Health Clubs, Drycleaners, and even gas stations.  You never know when someone will need what you have to offer.

4. Getting back to # 2, you can do the same flyers with Door Knob Hangers.  Go into neighborhoods and put the flyers on the doorknobs of the residents.  You can even hire a high school student to do this as a part time job.  I used this method also with the Banks I started. It is very cost effective.

5. Put together a presentation that is very informative about how your product can benefit others then contact organizations, such as your local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, etc., and offer to speak at their monthly meeting.  They are always looking for speakers to educate and inform their members.

6. Develop a press release announcing something that is currently an important topic that you can attach your information to, and offer a free report that reveals the 5 items that will help them solve this problem. Then send it to your local newspaper and other free area publications.

7. Always ask for referrals.  Give your business cards to your family members, neighbors, wherever you shop, and ask them to pass out your cards to their patrons, or whomever they cross paths with.  Offer an hour of free service or a free product to anyone who refers a client to you.

OK.  That’s just a few ways to market your business frugally.  I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you can think of others.   Let me know in the comments section other ideas that you think of.

Technorati Tags: business cards, cheap ways to market, flyers, frugal ways to market, inexpensive ways to market, word of mouth advertising, word of mouth marketing

Online newsletters and ezines are one of the most cost-effective tools you can use to market your business. Customers and prospects who subscribe to your newsletter mailing list are giving you the opportunity to establish a relationship with them. That is very important.  It gives you the opportunity to develop a relationship with them. Once they opt-in to receive your newsletter by email, you can build that relationship, establish trust, and nail down sales by sending the newsletter regularly. The more subscribers you get the more sales you’ll land.

How can you get people to subscribe to your online mailing list? Better yet, how can you get a lot of people who don’t even know you yet to subscribe to your ezine, thereby asking you to send them information on a regular basis about your business? In my last blog article I gave you some ways to build that list. 

Here are several more ways that I thought of since, to accomplish that feat without spending bucket loads of money on marketing.

1.  Ask people to subscribe to your newsletter mailing list when they complete a purchase. This is done at the time of purchase.  You should train your sales people to ask for it.  Yesterday I had a hamburger for lunch at a restaurant called, “The Fox and The Hound.”  When I received the check, my waitress mentioned that they have a gift of $5.00 the next time I visit if I would complete a form and allow them to communicate with me via email. You can do the same thing. Just because someone bought a product from you once doesn’t mean they’ll remember to come back the next time they need something that you sell. To get that customer back again, be sure you capture the customer’s email address as part of the sale and include a checkbox on the form letting people indicate that they’d like to be included on your mailing list.

2. Ask current subscribers to forward your newsletter to their friends. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to grow your newsletter list. Remind your readers to spread the word about you by including a note in every newsletter asking them to please forward the newsletter to their friends who would be interested in reading it. Be, sure, too, that there’s a prominent link to your subscription page in every issue of your newsletter. I use a “Forward to a friend” link at the bottom of my Marketing Tip of The Week newsletter.  Sometimes I also ask you within the body of the newsletter, near the end of the article, to forward the newsletter to others.

3. Promote your newsletter at seminars and talks. If you give seminars or talks on your area of expertise, be sure to let your audiences know that you have a newsletter and what the benefits of subscribing to the newsletter are. And don’t forget to include your newsletter subscription link in your handouts. I do this whenever I speak at Chamber of Commerce’s in my state, and also whenever I speak at a seminar.

4. Promote your newsletter in your 30-second commercial. Many organizations, such as your Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Clubs, give members a few seconds at the beginning or end of meetings to introduce themselves and their businesses. End your "commercial" with an appeal to visit your website and sign up for your newsletter. Remember to tell them how valuable it is to them and how they will benefit from it.

5. Offer a free gift – If it’s on your website, make it downloadable of course, so you have no delivery charges — to those who sign up for your newsletter. To simplify the delivery process put a link to your freebie in the thank-you note you send to new subscribers. And, just in case any of those new subscribers pass on the link to their friends who haven’t subscribed, put a subscription box on your free offer page, too. Lead it off with a note that says "Not a subscriber yet? If a friend sent you a link to this page, sign up for your own copy of (your newsletter name.)" If your business is offline, you can also offer a coupon as an incentive for them to visit your establishment.

6. Get a friend in your industry to promote your newsletter to their mailing list — then promote the friend’s list in yours. This is called a JV, Joint Venture.  It works for both of you.

7. Send a postcard mailing to targeted mailing lists you’ve built from collecting business cards or from the newspaper. I have found post cards to be the lowest-cost way to build my list.  Use the mailing to solicit newsletter signups. To get the recipients to take action, offer a free gift (a downloadable product) to people who subscribe by a specific date, or offer a coupon for when they visit your establishment.

8. Never stop soliciting subscribers.  This is the most critical step of all.  I’ve found over the years that individuals quit too soon.  Keep at it and you will succeed. Also, email addresses change, and people’s email addresses become undeliverable. People’s information needs or product needs change, and they unsubscribe. Keep your list fresh and growing by continually promoting your mailings.

I hope these additional suggestions help you grow your list and make it very profitable.

Technorati Tags: build email list, customer list, grow email list, Growing your business, postcard marketing

Yesterday I got to thinking about the many times I’ve been interviewed, or the times I interviewed someone, and I began to think again about how profitable it could be. 

Here’s the advice I want to give you in this blog… 

Every day, and I do mean every day, in spite of what might stop you, make it a point to reach out to at least one other business, newspaper, or trade association like the Chamber of Commerce to set up an appointment to get interviewed.

Naturally, these interviews are to promote you and your business.

Here are some of the benefits that interviews can bring to your business.

#1.  It can generate very responsive leads.  If you have a website, you can set up an opt-in system to generate leads.  Giving access to these interviews via your web site is a great way to have individuals opt in.  This also works very well for interviews done in magazines and newspapers.

#2.  Naturally, you can make immediate sales.  When someone listens to your interview or reads your interview in a newspaper, the leads captured this way are some of the hottest ones you’ll find anywhere.

#3. When you interview experts in fields that your people find can help them, you are bringing value and cementing your relationship with them.  It tightens the bond you have with your existing list of clients and prospects.

#4. Last but not least, it builds your brand and your own personal credibility. 

Since your time is very valuable, you don’t want to do interviews just for exposure.  Get a feeling for the size of your audience before committing to be interviewed.  But be sure that you will have some time to talk about your business and what you are selling during and at the end of the interview.

If you also interview others, you must be sure that the subject matter is consistent with what your subscribers expect from you.  Does it compliment what you are already giving them? Is it quality content that they will value?  These are a few of the questions you should ask.

And here is what I feel is the most important part of it all…ask your listeners what they thought of the interview and set up a mechanism for receiving their comments. 

Technorati Tags: gettting interviews