Lunch & Learn Promotion – Multiple Campaigns Can Get Complicated

As I dive further into the promotion of our Lunch and Learn event, things seem to be getting more and more complex. This condition is particularly aggravated by the fact that I am approaching this task in a multi-pronged format which includes: an event on FaceBook; the same on LinkedIn; a separate registration page on another party’s website; my impending direct mail campaign (more on that below); and whatever the hell the guy that is actually organizing this is doing on his own (smile).

I will say this, I have been pretty pleased with the results thus far. When last I looked, about 10 people had either expressed a very strong interest in attending this workshop or had already signed up. Most of these folks I know already which, in itself, is even more outstanding. I have also heard comments like … “We attended another workshop like this but it was put on by a bunch of young nerds. We think we would relate better to you.” I have decided to rename this event .. “Old Guy Teaches Social Media”. LOL You can register for the event here.

While attacking promotion from multiple angles just seems to make sense, managing it is creating a wee bit of a nightmare for me. As mentioned before, I am extremely sensitive to what I perceive to be the “spam-like” activity that often goes on in social media. Most of it, I am quite sure, is purely innocent. However, some examples would be:

• I accept your friend request on FaceBook and you immediately reward me by inviting me to your events on a daily basis, asking me repeatedly to become a fan of your page, and continuously suggest that I become a fan of other pages that I have never heard of. All of this prior to even saying “Hi”.
• You send me stupid gifts that I never asked for and ask me for even stupider gifts in return.
• Right now on LinkedIn I am being frequently invited to join a particular group, and this is by a bunch of different people, that I already belong to??????

This tells me that you think that, because we have connected, we are now best friends despite the fact that you have never attempted to contact me directly and … in the case of the LinkedIn example, you obviously don’t do your homework. On top of that, your invitation messages are typically completely automated which indicates that absolutely no thought was put into my selection other than to maybe check off my box along with 100 others. Even if you are sending a bulk message or invitation, and there are times when this is appropriate, at least please take the time to customize your form letter and show me and others a little of your personality. Thank you!

With this is mind, yesterday I sent out some specific invitations via FaceBook. I had already done this the day before via LinkedIn. I did not want to spam folks via FaceBook with the same invitation (basically) that I had already sent via LinkedIn, therefore, I needed a list from LinkedIn to crosscheck before sending. You would think this would be easy and you would be thinking wrong. LinkedIn event management is very quirky. For one thing, you can not cancel (delete) an event. Lame. You can see who is coming or who has expressed interest but if you want to get a list of who you chose to send your invitation, I could only figure out one way. Go to your sent box and find the invitation email and then expand the “send to” list to reveal the names and then copy and paste that into Word and format it however you like. How convenient.

Armed with this list from LinkedIn, I was then able to carefully send invitations out via FaceBook to those who had not already received them. And, at least FaceBook will generate a list of these for you. Now it was time to once again break new ground in my learning experience … direct mail. This has been on my to-do list for sometime but that time had not yet arrived. As I was getting ready to choose between Constant Contact and iContact, somebody on FaceBook had asked about this recently and a comment was left for that individual to check out MailChimp. The comment also included the word “FREE”. Naturally, that got my attention (smile).

MailChimp has a totally free account that will allow you to have up to 500 subscribers and send up to 3,000 emails per month. For me, and particularly right now, this will be more than adequate. From what I can tell, it has all the goodies. Here is a comparison of features vs. the competition. Is it the most intuitive of the software that I have used? No. Especially not for somebody like me who hates to follow directions. The first thing you need to do is create your list. Ideally, this will come from folks who have “opted in” via your website. I did not have that luxury so I chose to upload my contact list and then edit that later. MailChimp is very specific about the “do’s” and “don’t's” involved in using lists and I did appreciate that education. So, with all that in mind, I uploaded by Gmail list and found that 2/3 of it was rejected due to syntax errors. This means a missing or incorrectly formatted email address. Groan, more work for me to do. This, however, turned out to be a huge blessing …

All the addresses I really cared about were there. Now all I needed to do was delete from the list those that I did not want to use. I ended up deleting about 200 and had to do so … one at a time. It took me hours. There is no method that I could find that would allow you to check off boxes on the ones you did not want and then do a group delete. And, it’s not just “delete, delete, delete”. Each deletion requires a confirmation and then it takes you back to the start of the list and it displays 25 names per page so you have to continuously page forward. Thank God you can have multiple list and you can replicate an existing list.

You can also filter your list by criteria (they call this segmenting) but I’m not so sure that you can save a segmented list. At any rate, by using a master list, you can add tag words to a category field for each contact that would allow you to segment in that fashion and send out an email campaign to that segment only. For example, NetWorks! members will have “networks” as a tag in that category field. You can have multiple tags and then “segment” based on a search where that field “contains” the tag you are wishing to filter by. I was able to do this, create a test invitation, and then send it to myself at two different email addresses. And, it worked! Tomorrow I will “categorize” each contact, compare this list against my LinkedIn and FaceBook lists to make sure I am not “spamming” folks, and then proceed.

Final thoughts. I have all of these people who have supposedly signed up or expressed interest via LinkedIn or FaceBook events but have no idea of whether or not they have gone to the website to actually complete the registration process. This registration page is not mine and I need contact the owner, the actual event organizer, to balance the lists. Of course, a lot of this would not be an issue if I controlled all of this myself. You can bet your bottom dollar that this will be the scenario on my next workshop of seminar. Oh, can you guess what promotional method has generated the highest return thus far? LinkedIn. Go figure (smile).

Thanks for visiting!!

Craig

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Lunch and Learn Promotion – My Money Meets My Mouth

As a recap of my previous post … I have been asked to facilitate a “Lunch and Learn” for a member of our NetWorks! Boise Bing group: Roger Hawk with Action Coach. While this is actually not my event, I have also been asked to help promote it. The topic of the workshop is “Social Media Basics” with an emphasis on business related applications.

Here is where this becomes interesting … While I have written numerous blog posts on how to do this using social media, I have never had the occasion to actually do one myself. NetWorks! Boise is a closed organization and by invitation only. Therefore, events have never been needed or, for that matter, suitable. This workshop is an entirely different animal.

So, here is what I have done thus far ……

• A good deal of my communication is via email. I use Gmail for hosted accounts via Google Apps. Gmail’s standard signature line capabilities are abysmal however, by using a FireFox add-on called WiseStamp you can do some pretty cool stuff like … adding a link to the event to my signature line itself which is automatically inserted on all sent mail.
• Of course, I have blogged about the workshop. My blog posts are automatically fed to my profiles on FaceBook, LinkedIn, and my individual group sites which are based on a Ning platform. Whenever I develop a post on this site, that post is automatically sent out via Twitter. Additionally, I have dedicated a text widget box on the sidebar of this site to an image of the event flier that also serves as a hyperlink to its registration page.
• Naturally, status updates to Twitter, LinkedIn, and FaceBook have been sent simultaneously to all three sites by using Ping.fm. Furthermore, my blog updates are also read by TwitterFeed and tweets are automatically created and sent out via two Twitter accounts. Changes to status updates on LinkedIn will also show up in the weekly email that LinkedIn sends to all members showing updates within your particular network.
• An event was created on FaceBook and direct invitations will be going out tomorrow. I should mention that I am very sensitive to what I consider a high level of “spam-like” activity on FaceBook in regard to invitations to events and Fan Pages. Therefore, these invitations will be very targeted. This event was published on my friends’ walls.
• A similar event was set up on LinkedIn and targeted invitations have been sent on that and through LinkedIn. Additionally, links to the event were posted on two local LinkedIn groups that I belong to that would be suitable for this event.
• I have never done any direct email marketing so this seems like a good opportunity to give it a try. It has been on my “to-do” list. I will be looking at Constant Contact, iContact, and MailChimp for this application.
• As the event itself is being booked though Action Coach’s site, I will not be looking at tools like Evite or Eventbrite at this time. You can register for the event here.
• I will continue to promote the workshop in the time remaining prior to actually holding it.

True confession time …. I have not been what I would call a huge “connector” on any social media site. I have 116 “friends” on FaceBook, 222 “connections” on LinkedIn, and 1,469 “followers” on Twitter. I have done a terrible job with my Fan Page. Who would want to be the fan of a group that they may not be able to participate in? I continue to struggle with the “quality” vs. “quantity” question. In this instance, an “open event”, there is certainly a case to be made for “quantity”. Still, and I am even more embarrassed to say this, of all of these connections there are actually very few that I really “know”.  I am a very strong believer in “direct engagement” and will be doing my best in the immediate future to do much more of this with my existing connections. In this regard, I will continue to maintain a strong bent toward “quality”. The folks are already there. I just need to reach out.

Thanks for visiting!!

Craig

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Social Media Basics Lunch & Learn – March 18, 2010

Roger Hawk who is with Action Coach and is also a member of our Bing group has asked me to conduct a “lunch and learn” workshop on Social Media Basics. I’m pretty pumped about this because I feel that I can provide a somewhat different approach to this increasingly common subject matter. Please click on the image below and right to learn more ….

I’m not sure how folks are doing this type of thing these days but this will be a “hands on” practical event. Sure, we’ll talk about the “why” but, even more so, we will talk about the “how” and how to do it without having to devote your entire life to this pursuit. Participants will also leave with a complete workbook of the session. If you’re going to do something than you had best do it right. Go big or go home.

Some 20 plus years ago I was in the business of creating and conducting workshops and seminars primarily in the areas of selling techniques. This also included teaching salesmanship at the university level. My sessions were consistently rated 9+ out of 10 by those who attended. We’ll soon see if some of the old magic remains.

I did announce this on Twitter and FaceBook yesterday and received a reply from one gentleman on Twitter who asked me “How are you planning to promote this?” That would be an excellent question as, while I have blogged about how to promote events using Social Media, I’ve never actually had to do one. NetWorks! Boise is a closed organization so events have never been appropriate. On the other hand, Sales Results LLC will be holding events that will need to be promoted in this fashion. Therefore, and while this is not actually my event, this presents an excellent opportunity to put my research and writing to work. In retrospect, I think that the message I received on Twitter amounted to a loaded question …. “If you are going to teach on this subject, we would like to see you demonstrate your understanding of the process.” Ooooooh. Fair enough. Game on.

In coming posts I will be discussing the steps that I am taking to get the word out about this workshop. While I will not have the ability to directly monitor some of the results, I should be able to get and give a fairly good assessment of what is working and what is not. Certainly, this is amateur hour but we have to start somewhere.

Thanks for visiting and please click on that image to check out the event. I am told that if enough of you sign up, I won’t have to pay for my own lunch (smile).

Craig

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25 Customer Retention Tips Via NetWorks! Boise Members

There is a very old adage that says “it is 10 times more expensive to find a new customer than it is to maintain an existing one.” Not only do I believe this to be very true, I believe it to be even more true today. With the condition of our economy, our good customers are exhibiting behavior today that I have rarely seen in the past.

When times are good, most of us will happily continue along with the vendors who we have traditionally done business with and who have generally met our expectations. But times have changed and many folks are now deciding that perhaps a little investigation of the alternatives available may be prudent. Do I really need “best” when “good” or “better” will do? Having worked in construction related industries, I can tell you that right now it seems that everything is on sale. It’s a great time to buy and most people know that.

At our meetings this past week I asked our members to share their best tips for maintaining those valuable existing customers and here are some of the suggestions that they had to make. You’ve probably heard many of these before but when was the last time you used them? I would not be surprised to find that many of us, the business climate having been outstanding until the past few years, have become complacent in these areas….

1. Over-communicate – Keep your customer up-to-date on all aspects of your relationship and do so when they least expect it. I personally like to CC clients on all business communications that involve their account.
2. Communicate with clients about non-business subjects. This is part of relationship building.
3. Break out the expense account. Entertaining good customers is back. This is also part of relationship building and a great way to say thank you!
4. Show them that you really care by way of personal hand written notes, little trinkets that you drop by their office, and reminders of how important they are to you and your company.
5. Get yourself a good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) program to help you keep track of important dates relating to your clients which would include both personal and business related milestones.
6. Provide more service than you expect in compensation and do that consistently.
7. Always tell the truth. It’s not as painful as it appears (smile). Be honest and upfront.
8. Put yourself in the customer service mood by compiling and reviewing (often) your own personal gratitude list. Times may be tough but we all have things to be grateful for.
9. Always stay two sales ahead of your client. This is to say that you have a path, a strategy, of where you both will be going next in your business relationship and both of you are aware of these plans.
10. Under-promise but over-deliver.
11. Be in contact with your client when they are not expecting you.
12. Conduct customer surveys. Get a gauge of how they perceive your company and the service they have received and seek input from them on how you can service them better.
13. Help customers in ways not related to their business. An example of this would be to connect them with another vendor for another need who can provide them with excellent service. You are now part of their trusted team.
14. Track account statuses such as lease renewals and opportunities for them to save and be proactive in your communication to them regarding these time lines.
15. Educate your client and provide them with options even if these options sometimes do not include your services or may include a reduction of your services.
16. Visit each of your good clients monthly. Actually, consider a “ABC” plan where clients are classified as either “A” , “B”. or “C” and each has its own contact schedule according to the specific client’s value to your company. Think of the 80/20 Rule and allocate your resources accordingly.
17. Always take care of the little things, AKA .. .the problems.
18. Build and maintain trust.
19. Make your clients feel important. One of the ways to do this is to let them know that company management/ownership is involved with their account and their projects.
20. Treat your employees like you treat your customers. Happy employees are great ambassadors for your company. Disgruntled employees continue to be ambassadors but not with quite the same message.
21. Be proactive with your clients in all areas.
22. Concentrate on the ways that you can help to remove their pain.
23. Be involved with your customer’s pet projects particularly those that are not work related.
24. If appropriate, help them to build an accrual account toward future purchases.

I promised you 25 tips and here is the last one. Talking about all of this means nothing if you do not put it into action. And, if you are going to put it into action you must have a plan and a process in place that ensures that your efforts will be duplicated consistently. On March 12, the Boise Chamber of Commerce is hosting a workshop entitled “Teach Your Clients To Sell Your Business & Watch Your Business Grow”. This event is being held from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM and is being facilitated by Thomas Gay of The Alternative Board who also happens to be a NetWorks! Boise Member. At the workshop, Tom will be discussing what he calls the “22 Touch System”. Click on the event title to reserve your space.

Ultimately, retaining good customers is a function of the continuous building of both trust and your relationship. When a client is feeling neglected, they are going to look for someone else to show them some love. As another old saying goes .. “Why would I look at hamburger when I already have steak at home?” Become ……. their ribeye (smile).

Thanks for visiting!

Craig

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Is Your Message Not Reaching Even The Green? Try A Different Club

Sometimes getting through to folks these days seems like trying to drive a 500 yard hole with a putter alone. You just never seem to get there. Let’s face it, and particularly with the advent of all of this technology, we are all overwhelmed. Our inboxes overfloweth (smile).

I am a huge user of email and I probably spend more time than most in managing and replying to messages yet, there are several folks who I correspond with regularly who rarely acknowledge, let alone reply to, my emails. However, by selecting a different “club”, I often get immediate responses from these same folks. My advise is to mix it up. So let’s take a look in the bag and see what we have available. Certainly, there are many not mentioned here but, these are the so very obvious…..

Phone – Can be effective but voice mail rarely seems to work so why leave one?

Email – This most common of all tools appears to be becoming less and less the club of choice. I listened to a presentation by a well known gentleman the other day and he told us that he gets about 8,000 emails a day. He also said, and I believe that I heard this right, he can go through those in two 15 minute periods each day. Please define “go through” (smile).

Twitter - Twitter can actually be quite effective. Direct messages will go through as both emails and into some sort of column on whatever Twitter Client that they have chosen to use. A double whammy. @ Messages are typically monitored closely.

FaceBook – You can comment on a post, write on a wall, or send a direct message. Depending on the users privacy settings, many of these actions may also result in an immediate notification via email, text, or on some other mobile or web-based client that they may be using such as TweetDeck. Seesmic, or HootSuite.

LinkedIn – Send a message through LinkedIn just as you would in FaceBook. They will show up via email but also in their LinkedIn inbox.

Chat – I have Google Chat and it works great. There are several others including AOL, MSN, and Meebo.

Text messages - The only time I have my BlackBerry chirp at me is if a text message comes through. Instant attention grabber.

Fax – Saw a tweet this morning about the fax being some sort of ancient technology. My fax sits on my desk and that fax you send me lands right in my lap.

Snail Mail – See fax but it’s slower. Still, it does get there and lands on somebody’s desk. Hopefully.

The critical part in all of this is that your message must stand out from the rest of the herd to get noticed and get read. So, try a different club sometime and make note of which club seems to work best with which contact. Worst case scenario is that you can use your choice to smack them upside the head if needed

Thanks for visiting!

Craig

P.S. The WordPress spell checker does not think “fax” is a word. It can’t be that old. Hell, I sold them when they first came out in ……… o.k, they’re that old. LOL