Many customer relationships begin with a phone call. Unfortunately, many end there, too.

Before you answer the phone
•    Stop whatever you’re doing. Give the caller your undivided attention.
•    Smile. It helps brighten your voice and forces you to think before you answer.
•    Be nice.

Sounds simple, I know. Take a few minutes and hover around your staff as they answer the phone and you may learn that what seems incredibly simple has become, for many, a burden.

Recently we spoke with a client who tried the hover technique. They were shocked at the inability of their staff to connect with customers. Basic rules of engagement were totally missing: lack of interest in the customers needs, missed opportunities to offer additional services and absolutely no enthusiasm for the business itself.

The fix? A quick workshop (yes, we can help you if you’d like) on phone customer service, setting priorities and ultimately, hiring and teaching the people whose focus is front desk operations. Customers will be thrilled to hear a friendly, knowledgeable and caring voice on the other end of the phone. In these economic times, any opportunity to make a customer happy is well worth the effort!

Consumer confidence seems to drop every day and the economic outlook is not too bright. It is difficult for many businesses to make last year numbers, let alone beat them. To remain competitive, this may be the right time to be more aggressive with your marketing. That may sound crazy but hear me out.

When the economy is strong, money flows freely and customers seem to drop out of nowhere. Advertising and marketing make a good thing even better. Even if you make a few mistakes, no big deal, business is great.

Not so in tougher times. During a tight business climate, a typical reaction is to pull back on marketing, staffing, maybe housekeeping and other support functions. When you are not able to easily measure results, it seems logical to eliminate the expense. But that may create further erosion of revenue or sales, certainly not your objective. Holding all expenses, including marketing, to a higher standard make much more sense. Spend wisely to retain market share.

Depending on your product or service, you’ll want to build campaigns around value versus price, quality, customer service, payment terms or warranty. If you offer online purchasing, let people know you provide a gasoline-free option, maybe even sweeten the deal with free shipping. Offer features and benefits that make sense to weary consumers. Add some fun, make ‘em smile, differentiate yourself from your competitors.

One of my first bosses told me that no matter the size of our customers’ spending pie, my job was to be sure we always got our fair share, our piece of the pie. Necessities are taking a larger piece out of every customer’s budget, that’s a fact. To succeed you need to stay in touch with customers, give them a reason to choose you when they do make a purchase. Don’t let the other guy get your share of the pie!

Eco-friendly everything is an important marketing hot button. Without getting too geo-political, if your business uses green technology or has developed planet friendly habits, you should share that with your clients, customers and employees. People like to buy goods and services from companies they respect, so let them know you are making a green difference.

Recycling, safer chemicals, reduced emissions, less fuel, carbon foot-printing…you may be participating in all those and more. If you print brochures on recycled paper or sell products produced from recycled waste, let people know. When you use biodegradable products, say so. And if you are a green enthusiast, definitely share your knowledge and your business’ participation in good environmental stewardship. You not only get credit for being a green citizen, you spread the word.

Going green can help grow your business!

Most business leaders and entrepreneurs want immediate results from their marketing: quick response and instant solutions. So do we. Problem is that planning, research and strategic execution take a bit of time. Based on our experience, here are a few of the things that can help you make sound decisions about your marketing.

• Know your company goals and objectives
• Understand your brand
• Research your customers’ wants, needs and trigger points
• Budget marketing dollars and know your anticipated ROI
• Create a marketing strategy to reach you customers, project your brand and reach your goals
• Build a tactical, multi-channel marketing plan
• Design compelling creative
• Develop methods for evaluating results
• Review results against your business goals
• Course correct and repeat

That’s it! May sound overwhelming but it really isn’t. Stay focused on what you do best, let others do the same and never lose site of your customer. Now that’s a winning plan.

Does your business have a website? Bet you use email to communicate with clients and customers. Maybe you’re delivering, or at least considering, an eletter. Driving any sales through ecommerce? Congratulations, you are part of the amazing world of interactive marketing. Here’s the question you need to ask yourself: Am I using interactive marketing to the fullest? When reviewing a client’s emarketing we evaluate effectiveness based on several criteria.

Website
More than just an online brochure, your website needs to connect with viewers by offering viewers what they want, when they want it…and maybe a little something special. That doesn’t mean lots of flash animation or irritating noises. It does mean offering viewers the information, content and resources that help them connect to your business and the services or products you provide.

Search Marketing
There is lots of interest in SEO and how to improve search placement for your site. Paid search is great if you need a broader web presence and if you have a 4 digit monthly budget for search. For smaller businesses that need more local search results, there are cost effective alternatives. Web rich content, metatags and newness on your site are important; placement on other sites can work, too, as long as the reciprocal site generates activity. Increasing the opportunity for customers to find you online can be done without paid search. All it takes is time, effort and planning.

Emarketing
A huge and virtually untapped opportunity for most small and mid-size businesses, emarketing can be an effective communication and sales tool. A valid permission based eletter can connect with subscribers, offer great information, improve client retention and loyalty, drive business results and entertain, all at the same time! Email marketing growth is expected to triple in the next five years.

Email
If you haven’t setup a personalized signature file for all you business emails, do it now. It’s free, included with every email provider, and takes just a few minutes to setup. Every email you send will carry with it your name, company, phone numbers, addresses and whatever tagline or slogan that supports your brand.

According to a recent survey conducted by comScore, we love to read reviews, and not just for movies or books or theater. What other folks say about service providers via online reviews submitted by patrons, not professionals, impacts our buying behavior, too. I admit that I have been known to read those comments and reviews but I didn’t realize how significant they are in the decision process.

At the high end, 87% of those surveyed said they use online reviews when selecting a hotel and 79% read restaurant reviews from patrons before trying a new place. The categories for service providers include travel, automotive, medical and legal, all with above 75% consumers saying they read and were influenced by online review. In fact, 41% of those surveyed said they would spend 20% more to go to an Excellent or 5-star rated restaurant rather than one with an Average or even Good rating. We all share information with friends and peers about what to try, where to go, who has the best prices…in our business it’s called Word of Mouth marketing. Online reviewing of service providers sends WOM into another realm: I don’t need friends when I have an online community in every city that can tell me what’s hot and what’s not.

Go to any search engine and type in the subject and a city, like “hair salon reviews columbus ohio” and you’ll get several sites that offer the opportunity to rate and review businesses. If you are a service provider, you might want to spend a little time checking out your own reputation. Maybe even encourage satisfied customers to rate your service. There is no editing on these sites so you do run the risk of nasty reviews being posted but it’s the balance you’re looking for. Dissatisfied customers will always find a way to vent; you want to be sure your very satisfied customers take advantage of the same opportunity.

The best way to garner additional support from the boss for emarketing is to ensure every email campaign supports a business initiative. Rather than treating email as a stand alone effort, use it to connect with customers and clients in a manner that is consistent with all other marketing efforts.
Let’s say you work for a retail store that is planning a sale event. The main marketing tools will be advertising in print media and using in-store signage.

• Design an email that meshes with your print ad. Incorporate the theme or tagline you plan to use in-store and in print.
• Add a link to your website for a featured item and you can track click thru’s and sales conversion.
• Not able to sell online? Ask viewers to “click here for more information” and receive email requests from them.
• Or prominently feature your phone number and a call to action that encourages “Call Now”
• Offer a coupon for in-store use that is available only online.
• Deliver your email to subscribers one day ahead of scheduled print ads. Give subscribers the advantage of advance notice not available to non-subscribers.
• Offer free delivery, again available only to subscribers.
• Redeliver as the event winds down, emphasizing “Act Now” and a different featured item.

Every tactic is trackable, allowing you to trace the results of your email campaign. The next time you ask for additional marketing dollars for email you’ll be able to show the impact email makes on sales.

Last week we received a gift…not a tangible present, but still a great, unanticipated gift. A client dropped by to share some information he had collected over a 30 day trial period. Just a little background, we had developed marketing materials for this client who owns a professional services firm. We developed a direct mail piece including a custom folder with feature sheets designed and professionally printed. We stayed within our client’s budget, even ensuring that mailing costs were accurately budgeted. The prospect list is very specific in need and if motivated by the material, responds within days. The firm used the materials, tracking their conversion rate monthly. So far, so good.

But then, they had a thought—why not reduce expenses? They eliminated the folder, copied the sheets on their own copier and mailed everything in a standard business envelope. The cost dropped from about $4.90 per packet to $1.00, a sizable expense reduction. They continued mailing to the prospect list of 20 names per week for one month. From my perspective, the results were dramatic.

With the professionally designed packet the firm spent $390 per month in direct marketing expenses to achieve $4000 in new business, a ratio that had held true for a year or so.

With the office version, the firm spent $80 per month to achieve…nothing! No new business, none.

After one month of no new business, they reverted to the original marketing strategy. Our gift: the client sharing those results!

Marketing doesn’t always pay, their test proved that.

Good marketing, developed to support a plan and created to meet the needs of the target audience, does pay.

The top question we’ve been asked lately is “How can I get people to see my website?” There are multiple methods to drive traffic to your site; while some appear to be totally unrelated to the web, they could be just what you need. Budget, timing and creative strategic planning are the key players in building website traffic. The less budget you have, the more creative you’ll need to be.

Pay-Per-Click

As advertised, you set up an account on one or several search vehicles and pay for each click from that site to your site. This is a numbers game and while you can get on the playing field for say $100 a month, you will not be the star player. An average click can cost anywhere from $.40 to $2.00 and for ecommerce, the click to sales ratio is the key factor.

Links From Other Sites

Search robots or spiders love new content…they gobble it up, which helps your page rankings on search engines like Google and Yahoo. Update your site regularly and place content on ezines, blogs and even complimentary sites. Readers for those sites find you and so do the robots. If you have the time to do this on your own, it’s virtually free. If not, hire a professional to ensure you get the information out on a regular basis.

Strategic Marketing

Any marketing plan developed today needs to include a mix of traditional advertising, PR, collateral pieces, events and promotions. Find your target audience and vigilantly pursue them. Make your company name and web address ubiquitous. Smaller budgets can play this game and win. The key is a consistent approach and understanding your potential customers.

E-Marketing

One of our favorite marketing tactics, eletters help you connect content with action. You send your message and drive traffic to your site through value added content, product promotions, event reservations…whatever. If you are not currently using email to increase web traffic and sales, we need to talk!

Getting people to your site is one thing, giving them a reason to return is another, but that will have to wait for another issue of fuse.

Our sense of smell can evoke powerful emotion and reaction. We’ve all walked into a home filled with the aroma of freshly baked cookies and immediately felt warm, cozy and hungry. No doubt you’ve been tempted to try a new fragrance because of the scent strip added to a magazine ad. Some smells make us frightened or uncomfortable—personally, I hate that antiseptic hospital odor…not a pleasant thing.

Well, the power of smell is being pushed even farther. A chain of gas stations in California is pumping more that gas…the smell of fresh coffee is being released to customers as they pump their gas in hopes that they’ll stop in the mini-mart for a cup of java. Another inventor has developed a fan that emits the scent of fresh-baked pies into homes, especially designed for use by home builders and realtors. This summer there will be DVD’s with electronic kits that release smell-o-vision during specific points in a movie, like smoke during a fire scene. Makes the mind boggle…there are some things I much prefer left to the imagination!

The true test will be does smell sell? If it does, expect to see…er, rather smell, a lot more in the future.