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The Freelance Studio Denver, Co.User Experience Agency 5 tips for getting over stage fright August 14, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 9 tips for getting over stage frightHave stage fright? You’re not alone. They say that our greatest fear, once you’ve eliminated death as a choice, is public speaking. And yet many of us are called to take that plunge on a regular basis. Whether you are speaking to group of two in a sales presentation or you’re standing at a podium, with hundreds of eyes on you – the intent is the same. We want to impart knowledge, persuade, entertain and be remembered. And above all else, we want to get through the presentation without looking like a fool or being paralyzed by our stage fright. I’m one of those rare individuals who isn’t freaked out at the idea of speaking to a group. I like it. But I think I enjoy it because I have a very set routine of prepping for each speech. By the time I step up to the podium or approach the next sales call, I’m confident that I won’t embarrass myself or be nervous to step up on that stage. Here are my secrets to prepping and delivering a presentation that gets them to ask you back. Know your audience: One of the easiest ways to get off track with a presentation is to either talk over the audience’s head or at a level that is insulting because your audience is way ahead of you. Not only do you need to understand where they’re coming from, in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of personality. Are they an audience who asks a lot of questions? Are they open to small group activities or sharing information about their work? Grab them right up front: You need to quickly take charge of your audience. In a large group setting, you might tell them a powerful story. In a sales presentation, you might lead with a stat or fact that is guaranteed to grab their attention. Too many speakers limp into their presentation – either by telling a lame joke or by getting too technical too fast. You want an emotional reaction of some kind to kick you off. Assume the worst: I’ve watched many speakers melt into a puddle of goo right in front of an audience because their PowerPoint didn’t load right or their video worked but there was no sound or the internet connection was faulty so they couldn’t demo something. When it comes to speaking and technology – assume it will fail. Always have a back up (your presentation on multiple jump drives, the YouTube video on-line but also on a DVD, etc.) You need to be ready to deliver your presentation in the pitch black with no power, if need be. If you’re that prepared, you’ll worry a whole lot less. Think sound bytes and repeats: In today’s “tweet while you are talking” world, you want to give your audience plenty of tidbits to share. Give them key facts, stats and catch phrases. Imagine someone from your audience going back to the office and re-telling a story you told during your presentation. Which one would get retold? If you answered “none of them” then you’d better come up with a story that is so funny, compelling, astounding or illuminating that people won’t be able to help but repeat it. Be ready to improvise: You can do all the prep in the world, but sometimes that nagging stage fright had it right — something could still go wrong. At the end of the day, there are many elements of giving a presentation that are out of your control. So even though I am advocating ample prep time, you also have to realize that sometimes you just have to go with the flow. It might be a tough question during the Q&A or a technology malfunction. If you can keep your sense of humor and your balance – your audience will reward you for it. Odds are you were invited to make the presentation. So remember that your audience is anxious for you to be successful as well. Do the prep work, have faith that you know what you’re talking about and try to enjoy the conversation. Even if something does go wrong — remember at the end of the day — your audience doesn’t expect you to be perfect. They just want you to be real and share something of value. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Content Marketing, Sales Tagged With: Content marketing, fear of speaking, how to be a better speaker, stage fright Comments Start a conversation with your customer? September 8, 2014 by Drew McLellan 2 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 28 start a conversation with your customerStart a conversation with your customer? I know, it’s crazy talk. Why in the world would you want to talk to the very people who choose to do business with you? I trust you can see my tongue poking through my cheek, but the truth is, most businesses give lip service to the idea of starting a conversation with their customers, but few actually do. Let’s agree on a few points right up front: It’s cheaper to keep a customer than get a new one It’s cheaper to sell more to a current customer than make the first sale to a new customer There’s no better marketing than word of mouth – which usually comes from your current customers Those truths would suggest that our current clients are pretty important to our business’ long-term success. Despite that fact, most businesses: Don’t invest enough of their marketing budget/efforts on their current customers Don’t routinely thank (other than the pre-printed thank you at the bottom of your invoice) their current clients Don’t listen enough to their current customers. Why in the world do we, in essence, ignore our best bet at success? In this post, I’m going to focus on the listening issue. No one knows what it’s like to buy products or services from us like the very people who buy our products and services. And yet, the vast majority of businesses never bother to ask for feedback. Or they ask for feedback in a way that makes it so off-putting or difficult to provide the feedback that the customer ops not to. In most cases, the first chance the customer has to provide real, honest feedback is when they walk away and give their money to your competitor. I think there are a few reasons why organizations don’t seek customer feedback. Fear: “I just don’t want to know because then I’m going to have to deal with it.” Bad time management: “I know it’s important and I’ve been meaning to launch a survey but then things got crazy.” Ignorance: “I don’t know how to make it happen and I think it has to be some big, elaborate thing.” If you’re not actively and regularly seeking your clients’ input and insights, it’s one of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make. The only mistake worse than not asking for their input is actually asking for it and then not doing anything to fix the issues you uncover. Now you’ve asked for their opinion and then told them how little you care by ignoring their concerns. 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money August 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 31 ways to market if you don't have a lot of moneyNo matter where I speak, who the audience is or even the topic I am supposed to address, this same question comes up: How do you market your business if you don’t have a lot of money? Well, the short answer to that is you’d better find some resources for marketing or you are in a lot of trouble. But, that doesn’t mean they all have to cost an arm and a leg. In the meantime, while you’re scraping together the money to spend on marketing — try this budget friendly tactics. Hang out where your potential customers hang out and be helpful. Do your clients read certain blogs? Then be there and share your expertise. Do they all run in local marathons? Be there, handing out clean, dry socks with your logo on them. Do they go to industry trade shows? Be there and host a free Q&A about their biggest problems. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Go out and find their watering hole. Know your perfect customer and only take work from them. This requires incredible discipline but pays big dividends. Rather than taking clients for cash flow, ONLY take on those clients that you can delight. And who delight you by paying you a fair price. Create a referral network by delivering the first referral. When you help someone, it is human nature that they want to return the favor. Why not set the example by making an incredible connection. Now of course to do that…you need to know who their perfect customer is. Which means you get to have a very meaningful conversation that’s all about them. See how the human nature thing is going to work? Use handwritten thank you notes to show your appreciation. In today’s high tech world, a personal gesture like a handwritten note means a great deal. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just from the heart. And if you can’t thank a client from the heart, you should fire them before they fire you. Let them have a taste. Sampling is one of the most effective marketing tactics around. There is no substitute for actually experiencing your product or service. This is your greatest opportunity to earn their trust and their business. So do it right. I can hear your collective gasp. Give away what you sell? Sampling is a golden oldie in terms of marketing tactics. The biggest buying obstacle any business has is the uncertainty of that first time. Why not leapfrog over that worry by just giving them a taste? Walk through any grocery store or big box store on a Saturday and watch the marketing tactic at work. This works just as well for service-based businesses even though they don’t have a physical “thing” to offer. Bottom line on how to market without spending a lot of money – know who you can help the most and be relentless in your efforts on their behalf. Be generous and be grateful. I know…I didn’t even mention social media or direct mail or cold calling. Trust me. If you try these 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money — the rest will fall into place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Money/ROI Tagged With: cheap marketing, marketing on a budget, marketing when you don't have a lot of money, referrals Let’s assume you have found the courage and the time to listen. Are you ready to start a conversation with your customer?How do you go about it? Depending on your size and budget, you can make it as simple or regimented as you need. Start a conversation: Take your client to lunch and ask “how are we doing and what could we do better?” Walk up to a customer in your store and say “we just re-arranged the shelves, did we make it easier for you to find what you need?” It can be that simple. Observe: Sometimes the best way to listen is to just watch. How do people move through your store or website? What do they pick up or mouse over? What do they walk right by? Which Facebook posts do they share? Ask on a schedule: Once a quarter or once a year – reach out to your customers with a survey that asks open-ended questions like “what’s your favorite thing about our service?” Or “what do you wish we’d stop doing?” Then (and this is vital) – report back to them what you learned and what you’re going to do about it. Do true market research: If you’re big enough and have the budget, do more than antidotal research. Hire a pro and crunch the numbers. Build a benchmark that you can measure against, time and time again. Just dip your toe into listening if you’re not ready to jump in head-first. But don’t wait too long – or your customers will be swimming in your competitor’s pool! McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients Tagged With: client, Customer, customer survey, marketing, research, start a conversation with your customer Is there a recipe for creating trust? September 19, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 22 creating trustWe talk about the idea of creating trust every week with our clients. At my agency, MMG, we call this equation basic marketing math: Know + Like + Trust = Sales. Translated – you will never make a sale if the prospect doesn’t know you exist, doesn’t like both what you sell and who you are and ultimately, doesn’t trust you. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling toothpaste (hardly a considered purchase) or expensive professional services (think lawyer or accountant) – the requirements is the same. This equation has never been more true than today. Consumers are jaded by the barrage of marketing messages they get hit with every day. They’re feeling as though someone is always selling at them (not to or with – at) and they’re wary of anything that smacks of marketing spin. If you’re not creating trust — they are not going to be reaching for their wallet any time soon. This is one of the reasons why word of mouth is so powerful. When someone you already trust, be it a family member, co-worker, or casual acquaintance, endorses a product or service, you know they don’t have anything to gain by it. Which makes their recommendation even more reliable. It is something you can trust. So how does a business create that sense of trust between themselves and their prospects? Here are some tactics you should consider. Delight your current customers: I know it seems obvious but really, when was the last time a business went out of their way to delight you? If someone is caught off-guard by remarkable service or a product that is so superior that they can’t believe it – they’re going to talk about it. You can’t beat the power of that word of mouth. But to get it, you have to earn it. Let the customer tell you when they’re ready to buy: The minute we feel we’re being sold at – we shut down. Even if we want to buy something. I was in a local jewelry store recently. I had a healthy budget (several hundred dollars) that I was ready to spend. I walked in and really wanted to just look around on my own for a bit. But this vulture of a salesman would not leave me alone. He kept following me around the store, asking me questions to which I responded with terse, one-word answers. Then, he finally walked away but only because he was chasing after a more talkative customer. In time I had a question and there was a different salesperson standing there. I asked her a question and she answered it. He must have given her some signal behind my back because she got this very flustered look on her face and then just walked away…and he swooped back in. I left shortly – empty-handed. And I will check in the window before I ever enter that store again. If he’s there, I won’t be. (If you’re wondering if this was your store – email me!) I spent my money 45 minutes later. Someplace else. Make me a promise and then keep it: Give me a guarantee. Offer me a hassle free installation process. Stand behind your work and do it overtly. Don’t say – “well of course we’d fix it if we did it wrong” or whatever. Put it in writing. Call my attention to it. Help me get over my worry that I might be making a bad decision. And when something goes wrong – not only should you honor your original promise but you should go above and beyond it. (See delight your customers above) You know this as well as I do. You can’t create trust. But you can sure earn it and when you do, you’ll hear the register ring. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: know • like • trust, Marketing, Psychology, Sales Tagged With: creating trust, know. like. trust., marketing, Word of mouth 5 tips for creating a company culture that connects with your sweet spot clients September 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan 4 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 16 creating a company cultureAn area of marketing that is often overlooked is how important it is to be mindful when creating a company culture. You don’t build a culture to make a sale. But the culture you build, if you’re very clear about your organization’s values and beliefs, can translate your company’s personality and attract right fit prospects. It can also reinforce your current customers’ buying decision. Company culture doesn’t just happen. If you want it to really flourish, you need to make it a priority for your business. You need to build/strengthen the foundation of your culture and then nurture its growth from there. The challenging aspect of corporate culture, of course, is that culture is shaped by the workforce. Which means it’s an ever-evolving entity. As employees come and go, the culture can be altered in ways that don’t benefit the employees or the organization. Your culture is too valuable not to protect. Here are a few ways you can ensure that your culture has a consistent foundation that doesn’t ebb and flow over time. If the core is rock solid, then it’s okay if the details shift a little. Ready to start creating a company culture? Keep these tips in mind. Create a manifesto: Don’t hide your culture. Celebrate it. Capturing the essence of your culture in a statement of beliefs or manifesto will allow you to articulate the key values and behaviors that you want to protect. Put it in your employee handbook, create a beautiful framed version and hang it proudly in your corporate office and read it out loud to kick off each year’s first staff meeting. You could even ask new hires to sign a commitment to honoring the manifesto on their first day of work. Weave the culture’s core values into your job descriptions and review process: Employees know that if something is important enough to be a part of their annual review, then it must be pretty important to the company. You can reinforce your culture by rewarding your employees for keeping it alive. It’s also a built in culture training program for new employees. If they know they’ll be held accountable to their job description when review time comes along, they’re much more likely to adopt those wanted behaviors. Make your staff part of the solution: If you teach your employees how your company culture contributes to the success of the organization and then invite them to help you protect it, they’ll gladly accept the challenge. Why not a team that is charged with bringing the culture to life through employee events, customer interactions and rewards programs? They’ll probably surprise you with their innovative ideas and enthusiasm. Hire for culture, train for skills: Identify the attitudes and behaviors that best support your company’s culture and hire for those traits. You can teach skills but you can’t teach attitude. It’s much easier for a new hire to fit into an environment that aligns with his or her own personal beliefs. Trying to force a square peg into a round hole puts a great deal of stress on both the organization and the new employee. Share the vision: The purpose of a company culture is to support the organization as it marches towards its future. One way to help the employees understand the importance of protecting and building the culture is by sharing the desired end result. Once they share the vision, they’ll be inspired to guard everything that will help you all achieve that vision. If anything, they will strengthen your culture to help you get there even faster. Your culture matters every day. Purposefully creating a company culture will help you recruit and retain your best talent. It supports how you deliver excellence to your customers and it is a compass that guides you towards even greater successes. Be sure you protect it like the valuable asset that it is. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Customers/Clients, Employees How cause marketing can be smart marketing September 30, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 8 Cause marketingIn the last 20 years, the term “cause marketing” came onto the horizon. The whole idea was this: Many companies donate their time, their talent and their money to various charities, but it was done without anyone knowing about it or the company gaining any additional value from being a good citizen. Some would argue that to give without any expectation of reward or recognition is the true definition of giving. Perhaps that’s true. But it’s also very small. Another word for small in this instance might be isolated. If I give five dollars to a charity and don’t tell anyone about it, the charity gets five dollars and I get a warm feeling inside. All good. But if I tell my friends about the charity and that I’m giving five dollars and invite them to do the same, now look at that I’ve created: More awareness for the charity Additional dollars donated to the charity A community of people who believe in/care about the charity Which do you think the charity would prefer? Now, take that a step further. Rather than just telling my friends about it, what if I aligned my choice of charity with my customer base? Odds are I serve a group of people that I have a connection with and that I care about. So if I look for a charity that would be important to them and to me, I can amplify the impact I can bring to the charity by engaging my entire customer base to rally around them. When anyone talks about cause marketing, one of the examples they use is Avon and their commitment to fight breast cancer. They were pioneering in the idea of uniting a cause and a group of customers, for a greater good. We’re all smart enough to recognize that Avon benefits from this alliance as well, in earned media exposure, creating a powerful connection to both their female customer base and their female employee base as well as increased sales. None of that mitigates the good they do. It’s truly a win/win situation. Here’s how Avon talks about their efforts on their own website: “One of the company’s largest ongoing projects is the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which is aimed at funding research and access to quality care. Now in its 20th year, the project has donated more than $740 million to the cause, making it one of the world’s leading corporate supporters of the fight against breast cancer. Among the successes that Avon lists on its website: Linking more than 15 million women around the globe to early detection programs and mammography screenings Educating 100 million women on breast health Expanding into 55 countries Enabling access to care for underserved populations Providing $175 million to breast cancer research projects since 1999 Creating Love/Avon Army of Women, a program designed to accelerate the pace of prevention research by enlisting more than 350,000 women (potential study volunteers) for this effort. Avon fundraises for these efforts through various methods like hosting the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series and selling Crusade Pink Ribbon fundraising products.” I know your company probably doesn’t have the reach of an Avon, but you do have loyal customers who care about the world around them. And I’ll bet there’s a charity or cause that matters to you and that would matter to them if you made the introduction. As you work on your 2015 marketing plan – I challenge you to weave in a cause marketing effort. There’s nothing that says marketing can’t also make the world a better place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients, Employees, Love Affair with Customers Tagged With: Branding, cause marketing, create a love affair with your customers The Freelance Studio Denver, Co.User Experience Agency 5 tips for getting over stage fright August 14, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 9 tips for getting over stage frightHave stage fright? You’re not alone. They say that our greatest fear, once you’ve eliminated death as a choice, is public speaking. And yet many of us are called to take that plunge on a regular basis. Whether you are speaking to group of two in a sales presentation or you’re standing at a podium, with hundreds of eyes on you – the intent is the same. We want to impart knowledge, persuade, entertain and be remembered. And above all else, we want to get through the presentation without looking like a fool or being paralyzed by our stage fright. I’m one of those rare individuals who isn’t freaked out at the idea of speaking to a group. I like it. But I think I enjoy it because I have a very set routine of prepping for each speech. By the time I step up to the podium or approach the next sales call, I’m confident that I won’t embarrass myself or be nervous to step up on that stage. Here are my secrets to prepping and delivering a presentation that gets them to ask you back. Know your audience: One of the easiest ways to get off track with a presentation is to either talk over the audience’s head or at a level that is insulting because your audience is way ahead of you. Not only do you need to understand where they’re coming from, in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of personality. Are they an audience who asks a lot of questions? Are they open to small group activities or sharing information about their work? Grab them right up front: You need to quickly take charge of your audience. In a large group setting, you might tell them a powerful story. In a sales presentation, you might lead with a stat or fact that is guaranteed to grab their attention. Too many speakers limp into their presentation – either by telling a lame joke or by getting too technical too fast. You want an emotional reaction of some kind to kick you off. Assume the worst: I’ve watched many speakers melt into a puddle of goo right in front of an audience because their PowerPoint didn’t load right or their video worked but there was no sound or the internet connection was faulty so they couldn’t demo something. When it comes to speaking and technology – assume it will fail. Always have a back up (your presentation on multiple jump drives, the YouTube video on-line but also on a DVD, etc.) You need to be ready to deliver your presentation in the pitch black with no power, if need be. If you’re that prepared, you’ll worry a whole lot less. Think sound bytes and repeats: In today’s “tweet while you are talking” world, you want to give your audience plenty of tidbits to share. Give them key facts, stats and catch phrases. Imagine someone from your audience going back to the office and re-telling a story you told during your presentation. Which one would get retold? If you answered “none of them” then you’d better come up with a story that is so funny, compelling, astounding or illuminating that people won’t be able to help but repeat it. Be ready to improvise: You can do all the prep in the world, but sometimes that nagging stage fright had it right — something could still go wrong. At the end of the day, there are many elements of giving a presentation that are out of your control. So even though I am advocating ample prep time, you also have to realize that sometimes you just have to go with the flow. It might be a tough question during the Q&A or a technology malfunction. If you can keep your sense of humor and your balance – your audience will reward you for it. Odds are you were invited to make the presentation. So remember that your audience is anxious for you to be successful as well. Do the prep work, have faith that you know what you’re talking about and try to enjoy the conversation. Even if something does go wrong — remember at the end of the day — your audience doesn’t expect you to be perfect. They just want you to be real and share something of value. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Content Marketing, Sales Tagged With: Content marketing, fear of speaking, how to be a better speaker, stage fright Comments Start a conversation with your customer? September 8, 2014 by Drew McLellan 2 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 28 start a conversation with your customerStart a conversation with your customer? I know, it’s crazy talk. Why in the world would you want to talk to the very people who choose to do business with you? I trust you can see my tongue poking through my cheek, but the truth is, most businesses give lip service to the idea of starting a conversation with their customers, but few actually do. Let’s agree on a few points right up front: It’s cheaper to keep a customer than get a new one It’s cheaper to sell more to a current customer than make the first sale to a new customer There’s no better marketing than word of mouth – which usually comes from your current customers Those truths would suggest that our current clients are pretty important to our business’ long-term success. Despite that fact, most businesses: Don’t invest enough of their marketing budget/efforts on their current customers Don’t routinely thank (other than the pre-printed thank you at the bottom of your invoice) their current clients Don’t listen enough to their current customers. Why in the world do we, in essence, ignore our best bet at success? In this post, I’m going to focus on the listening issue. No one knows what it’s like to buy products or services from us like the very people who buy our products and services. And yet, the vast majority of businesses never bother to ask for feedback. Or they ask for feedback in a way that makes it so off-putting or difficult to provide the feedback that the customer ops not to. In most cases, the first chance the customer has to provide real, honest feedback is when they walk away and give their money to your competitor. I think there are a few reasons why organizations don’t seek customer feedback. Fear: “I just don’t want to know because then I’m going to have to deal with it.” Bad time management: “I know it’s important and I’ve been meaning to launch a survey but then things got crazy.” Ignorance: “I don’t know how to make it happen and I think it has to be some big, elaborate thing.” If you’re not actively and regularly seeking your clients’ input and insights, it’s one of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make. The only mistake worse than not asking for their input is actually asking for it and then not doing anything to fix the issues you uncover. Now you’ve asked for their opinion and then told them how little you care by ignoring their concerns. 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money August 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 31 ways to market if you don't have a lot of moneyNo matter where I speak, who the audience is or even the topic I am supposed to address, this same question comes up: How do you market your business if you don’t have a lot of money? Well, the short answer to that is you’d better find some resources for marketing or you are in a lot of trouble. But, that doesn’t mean they all have to cost an arm and a leg. In the meantime, while you’re scraping together the money to spend on marketing — try this budget friendly tactics. Hang out where your potential customers hang out and be helpful. Do your clients read certain blogs? Then be there and share your expertise. Do they all run in local marathons? Be there, handing out clean, dry socks with your logo on them. Do they go to industry trade shows? Be there and host a free Q&A about their biggest problems. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Go out and find their watering hole. Know your perfect customer and only take work from them. This requires incredible discipline but pays big dividends. Rather than taking clients for cash flow, ONLY take on those clients that you can delight. And who delight you by paying you a fair price. Create a referral network by delivering the first referral. When you help someone, it is human nature that they want to return the favor. Why not set the example by making an incredible connection. Now of course to do that…you need to know who their perfect customer is. Which means you get to have a very meaningful conversation that’s all about them. See how the human nature thing is going to work? Use handwritten thank you notes to show your appreciation. In today’s high tech world, a personal gesture like a handwritten note means a great deal. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just from the heart. And if you can’t thank a client from the heart, you should fire them before they fire you. Let them have a taste. Sampling is one of the most effective marketing tactics around. There is no substitute for actually experiencing your product or service. This is your greatest opportunity to earn their trust and their business. So do it right. I can hear your collective gasp. Give away what you sell? Sampling is a golden oldie in terms of marketing tactics. The biggest buying obstacle any business has is the uncertainty of that first time. Why not leapfrog over that worry by just giving them a taste? Walk through any grocery store or big box store on a Saturday and watch the marketing tactic at work. This works just as well for service-based businesses even though they don’t have a physical “thing” to offer. Bottom line on how to market without spending a lot of money – know who you can help the most and be relentless in your efforts on their behalf. Be generous and be grateful. I know…I didn’t even mention social media or direct mail or cold calling. Trust me. If you try these 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money — the rest will fall into place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Money/ROI Tagged With: cheap marketing, marketing on a budget, marketing when you don't have a lot of money, referrals Let’s assume you have found the courage and the time to listen. Are you ready to start a conversation with your customer?How do you go about it? Depending on your size and budget, you can make it as simple or regimented as you need. Start a conversation: Take your client to lunch and ask “how are we doing and what could we do better?” Walk up to a customer in your store and say “we just re-arranged the shelves, did we make it easier for you to find what you need?” It can be that simple. Observe: Sometimes the best way to listen is to just watch. How do people move through your store or website? What do they pick up or mouse over? What do they walk right by? Which Facebook posts do they share? Ask on a schedule: Once a quarter or once a year – reach out to your customers with a survey that asks open-ended questions like “what’s your favorite thing about our service?” Or “what do you wish we’d stop doing?” Then (and this is vital) – report back to them what you learned and what you’re going to do about it. Do true market research: If you’re big enough and have the budget, do more than antidotal research. Hire a pro and crunch the numbers. Build a benchmark that you can measure against, time and time again. Just dip your toe into listening if you’re not ready to jump in head-first. But don’t wait too long – or your customers will be swimming in your competitor’s pool! McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients Tagged With: client, Customer, customer survey, marketing, research, start a conversation with your customer Is there a recipe for creating trust? September 19, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 22 creating trustWe talk about the idea of creating trust every week with our clients. At my agency, MMG, we call this equation basic marketing math: Know + Like + Trust = Sales. Translated – you will never make a sale if the prospect doesn’t know you exist, doesn’t like both what you sell and who you are and ultimately, doesn’t trust you. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling toothpaste (hardly a considered purchase) or expensive professional services (think lawyer or accountant) – the requirements is the same. This equation has never been more true than today. Consumers are jaded by the barrage of marketing messages they get hit with every day. They’re feeling as though someone is always selling at them (not to or with – at) and they’re wary of anything that smacks of marketing spin. If you’re not creating trust — they are not going to be reaching for their wallet any time soon. This is one of the reasons why word of mouth is so powerful. When someone you already trust, be it a family member, co-worker, or casual acquaintance, endorses a product or service, you know they don’t have anything to gain by it. Which makes their recommendation even more reliable. It is something you can trust. So how does a business create that sense of trust between themselves and their prospects? Here are some tactics you should consider. Delight your current customers: I know it seems obvious but really, when was the last time a business went out of their way to delight you? If someone is caught off-guard by remarkable service or a product that is so superior that they can’t believe it – they’re going to talk about it. You can’t beat the power of that word of mouth. But to get it, you have to earn it. Let the customer tell you when they’re ready to buy: The minute we feel we’re being sold at – we shut down. Even if we want to buy something. I was in a local jewelry store recently. I had a healthy budget (several hundred dollars) that I was ready to spend. I walked in and really wanted to just look around on my own for a bit. But this vulture of a salesman would not leave me alone. He kept following me around the store, asking me questions to which I responded with terse, one-word answers. Then, he finally walked away but only because he was chasing after a more talkative customer. In time I had a question and there was a different salesperson standing there. I asked her a question and she answered it. He must have given her some signal behind my back because she got this very flustered look on her face and then just walked away…and he swooped back in. I left shortly – empty-handed. And I will check in the window before I ever enter that store again. If he’s there, I won’t be. (If you’re wondering if this was your store – email me!) I spent my money 45 minutes later. Someplace else. Make me a promise and then keep it: Give me a guarantee. Offer me a hassle free installation process. Stand behind your work and do it overtly. Don’t say – “well of course we’d fix it if we did it wrong” or whatever. Put it in writing. Call my attention to it. Help me get over my worry that I might be making a bad decision. And when something goes wrong – not only should you honor your original promise but you should go above and beyond it. (See delight your customers above) You know this as well as I do. You can’t create trust. But you can sure earn it and when you do, you’ll hear the register ring. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: know • like • trust, Marketing, Psychology, Sales Tagged With: creating trust, know. like. trust., marketing, Word of mouth 5 tips for creating a company culture that connects with your sweet spot clients September 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan 4 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 16 creating a company cultureAn area of marketing that is often overlooked is how important it is to be mindful when creating a company culture. You don’t build a culture to make a sale. But the culture you build, if you’re very clear about your organization’s values and beliefs, can translate your company’s personality and attract right fit prospects. It can also reinforce your current customers’ buying decision. Company culture doesn’t just happen. If you want it to really flourish, you need to make it a priority for your business. You need to build/strengthen the foundation of your culture and then nurture its growth from there. The challenging aspect of corporate culture, of course, is that culture is shaped by the workforce. Which means it’s an ever-evolving entity. As employees come and go, the culture can be altered in ways that don’t benefit the employees or the organization. Your culture is too valuable not to protect. Here are a few ways you can ensure that your culture has a consistent foundation that doesn’t ebb and flow over time. If the core is rock solid, then it’s okay if the details shift a little. Ready to start creating a company culture? Keep these tips in mind. Create a manifesto: Don’t hide your culture. Celebrate it. Capturing the essence of your culture in a statement of beliefs or manifesto will allow you to articulate the key values and behaviors that you want to protect. Put it in your employee handbook, create a beautiful framed version and hang it proudly in your corporate office and read it out loud to kick off each year’s first staff meeting. You could even ask new hires to sign a commitment to honoring the manifesto on their first day of work. Weave the culture’s core values into your job descriptions and review process: Employees know that if something is important enough to be a part of their annual review, then it must be pretty important to the company. You can reinforce your culture by rewarding your employees for keeping it alive. It’s also a built in culture training program for new employees. If they know they’ll be held accountable to their job description when review time comes along, they’re much more likely to adopt those wanted behaviors. Make your staff part of the solution: If you teach your employees how your company culture contributes to the success of the organization and then invite them to help you protect it, they’ll gladly accept the challenge. Why not a team that is charged with bringing the culture to life through employee events, customer interactions and rewards programs? They’ll probably surprise you with their innovative ideas and enthusiasm. Hire for culture, train for skills: Identify the attitudes and behaviors that best support your company’s culture and hire for those traits. You can teach skills but you can’t teach attitude. It’s much easier for a new hire to fit into an environment that aligns with his or her own personal beliefs. Trying to force a square peg into a round hole puts a great deal of stress on both the organization and the new employee. Share the vision: The purpose of a company culture is to support the organization as it marches towards its future. One way to help the employees understand the importance of protecting and building the culture is by sharing the desired end result. Once they share the vision, they’ll be inspired to guard everything that will help you all achieve that vision. If anything, they will strengthen your culture to help you get there even faster. Your culture matters every day. Purposefully creating a company culture will help you recruit and retain your best talent. It supports how you deliver excellence to your customers and it is a compass that guides you towards even greater successes. Be sure you protect it like the valuable asset that it is. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Customers/Clients, Employees How cause marketing can be smart marketing September 30, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 8 Cause marketingIn the last 20 years, the term “cause marketing” came onto the horizon. The whole idea was this: Many companies donate their time, their talent and their money to various charities, but it was done without anyone knowing about it or the company gaining any additional value from being a good citizen. Some would argue that to give without any expectation of reward or recognition is the true definition of giving. Perhaps that’s true. But it’s also very small. Another word for small in this instance might be isolated. If I give five dollars to a charity and don’t tell anyone about it, the charity gets five dollars and I get a warm feeling inside. All good. But if I tell my friends about the charity and that I’m giving five dollars and invite them to do the same, now look at that I’ve created: More awareness for the charity Additional dollars donated to the charity A community of people who believe in/care about the charity Which do you think the charity would prefer? Now, take that a step further. Rather than just telling my friends about it, what if I aligned my choice of charity with my customer base? Odds are I serve a group of people that I have a connection with and that I care about. So if I look for a charity that would be important to them and to me, I can amplify the impact I can bring to the charity by engaging my entire customer base to rally around them. When anyone talks about cause marketing, one of the examples they use is Avon and their commitment to fight breast cancer. They were pioneering in the idea of uniting a cause and a group of customers, for a greater good. We’re all smart enough to recognize that Avon benefits from this alliance as well, in earned media exposure, creating a powerful connection to both their female customer base and their female employee base as well as increased sales. None of that mitigates the good they do. It’s truly a win/win situation. Here’s how Avon talks about their efforts on their own website: “One of the company’s largest ongoing projects is the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which is aimed at funding research and access to quality care. Now in its 20th year, the project has donated more than $740 million to the cause, making it one of the world’s leading corporate supporters of the fight against breast cancer. Among the successes that Avon lists on its website: Linking more than 15 million women around the globe to early detection programs and mammography screenings Educating 100 million women on breast health Expanding into 55 countries Enabling access to care for underserved populations Providing $175 million to breast cancer research projects since 1999 Creating Love/Avon Army of Women, a program designed to accelerate the pace of prevention research by enlisting more than 350,000 women (potential study volunteers) for this effort. Avon fundraises for these efforts through various methods like hosting the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series and selling Crusade Pink Ribbon fundraising products.” I know your company probably doesn’t have the reach of an Avon, but you do have loyal customers who care about the world around them. And I’ll bet there’s a charity or cause that matters to you and that would matter to them if you made the introduction. As you work on your 2015 marketing plan – I challenge you to weave in a cause marketing effort. There’s nothing that says marketing can’t also make the world a better place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients, Employees, Love Affair with Customers Tagged With: Branding, cause marketing, create a love affair with your customers The Freelance Studio Denver, Co.User Experience Agency 5 tips for getting over stage fright August 14, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 9 tips for getting over stage frightHave stage fright? You’re not alone. They say that our greatest fear, once you’ve eliminated death as a choice, is public speaking. And yet many of us are called to take that plunge on a regular basis. Whether you are speaking to group of two in a sales presentation or you’re standing at a podium, with hundreds of eyes on you – the intent is the same. We want to impart knowledge, persuade, entertain and be remembered. And above all else, we want to get through the presentation without looking like a fool or being paralyzed by our stage fright. I’m one of those rare individuals who isn’t freaked out at the idea of speaking to a group. I like it. But I think I enjoy it because I have a very set routine of prepping for each speech. By the time I step up to the podium or approach the next sales call, I’m confident that I won’t embarrass myself or be nervous to step up on that stage. Here are my secrets to prepping and delivering a presentation that gets them to ask you back. Know your audience: One of the easiest ways to get off track with a presentation is to either talk over the audience’s head or at a level that is insulting because your audience is way ahead of you. Not only do you need to understand where they’re coming from, in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of personality. Are they an audience who asks a lot of questions? Are they open to small group activities or sharing information about their work? Grab them right up front: You need to quickly take charge of your audience. In a large group setting, you might tell them a powerful story. In a sales presentation, you might lead with a stat or fact that is guaranteed to grab their attention. Too many speakers limp into their presentation – either by telling a lame joke or by getting too technical too fast. You want an emotional reaction of some kind to kick you off. Assume the worst: I’ve watched many speakers melt into a puddle of goo right in front of an audience because their PowerPoint didn’t load right or their video worked but there was no sound or the internet connection was faulty so they couldn’t demo something. When it comes to speaking and technology – assume it will fail. Always have a back up (your presentation on multiple jump drives, the YouTube video on-line but also on a DVD, etc.) You need to be ready to deliver your presentation in the pitch black with no power, if need be. If you’re that prepared, you’ll worry a whole lot less. Think sound bytes and repeats: In today’s “tweet while you are talking” world, you want to give your audience plenty of tidbits to share. Give them key facts, stats and catch phrases. Imagine someone from your audience going back to the office and re-telling a story you told during your presentation. Which one would get retold? If you answered “none of them” then you’d better come up with a story that is so funny, compelling, astounding or illuminating that people won’t be able to help but repeat it. Be ready to improvise: You can do all the prep in the world, but sometimes that nagging stage fright had it right — something could still go wrong. At the end of the day, there are many elements of giving a presentation that are out of your control. So even though I am advocating ample prep time, you also have to realize that sometimes you just have to go with the flow. It might be a tough question during the Q&A or a technology malfunction. If you can keep your sense of humor and your balance – your audience will reward you for it. Odds are you were invited to make the presentation. So remember that your audience is anxious for you to be successful as well. Do the prep work, have faith that you know what you’re talking about and try to enjoy the conversation. Even if something does go wrong — remember at the end of the day — your audience doesn’t expect you to be perfect. They just want you to be real and share something of value. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Content Marketing, Sales Tagged With: Content marketing, fear of speaking, how to be a better speaker, stage fright Comments Start a conversation with your customer? September 8, 2014 by Drew McLellan 2 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 28 start a conversation with your customerStart a conversation with your customer? I know, it’s crazy talk. Why in the world would you want to talk to the very people who choose to do business with you? I trust you can see my tongue poking through my cheek, but the truth is, most businesses give lip service to the idea of starting a conversation with their customers, but few actually do. Let’s agree on a few points right up front: It’s cheaper to keep a customer than get a new one It’s cheaper to sell more to a current customer than make the first sale to a new customer There’s no better marketing than word of mouth – which usually comes from your current customers Those truths would suggest that our current clients are pretty important to our business’ long-term success. Despite that fact, most businesses: Don’t invest enough of their marketing budget/efforts on their current customers Don’t routinely thank (other than the pre-printed thank you at the bottom of your invoice) their current clients Don’t listen enough to their current customers. Why in the world do we, in essence, ignore our best bet at success? In this post, I’m going to focus on the listening issue. No one knows what it’s like to buy products or services from us like the very people who buy our products and services. And yet, the vast majority of businesses never bother to ask for feedback. Or they ask for feedback in a way that makes it so off-putting or difficult to provide the feedback that the customer ops not to. In most cases, the first chance the customer has to provide real, honest feedback is when they walk away and give their money to your competitor. I think there are a few reasons why organizations don’t seek customer feedback. Fear: “I just don’t want to know because then I’m going to have to deal with it.” Bad time management: “I know it’s important and I’ve been meaning to launch a survey but then things got crazy.” Ignorance: “I don’t know how to make it happen and I think it has to be some big, elaborate thing.” If you’re not actively and regularly seeking your clients’ input and insights, it’s one of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make. The only mistake worse than not asking for their input is actually asking for it and then not doing anything to fix the issues you uncover. Now you’ve asked for their opinion and then told them how little you care by ignoring their concerns. 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money August 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 31 ways to market if you don't have a lot of moneyNo matter where I speak, who the audience is or even the topic I am supposed to address, this same question comes up: How do you market your business if you don’t have a lot of money? Well, the short answer to that is you’d better find some resources for marketing or you are in a lot of trouble. But, that doesn’t mean they all have to cost an arm and a leg. In the meantime, while you’re scraping together the money to spend on marketing — try this budget friendly tactics. Hang out where your potential customers hang out and be helpful. Do your clients read certain blogs? Then be there and share your expertise. Do they all run in local marathons? Be there, handing out clean, dry socks with your logo on them. Do they go to industry trade shows? Be there and host a free Q&A about their biggest problems. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Go out and find their watering hole. Know your perfect customer and only take work from them. This requires incredible discipline but pays big dividends. Rather than taking clients for cash flow, ONLY take on those clients that you can delight. And who delight you by paying you a fair price. Create a referral network by delivering the first referral. When you help someone, it is human nature that they want to return the favor. Why not set the example by making an incredible connection. Now of course to do that…you need to know who their perfect customer is. Which means you get to have a very meaningful conversation that’s all about them. See how the human nature thing is going to work? Use handwritten thank you notes to show your appreciation. In today’s high tech world, a personal gesture like a handwritten note means a great deal. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just from the heart. And if you can’t thank a client from the heart, you should fire them before they fire you. Let them have a taste. Sampling is one of the most effective marketing tactics around. There is no substitute for actually experiencing your product or service. This is your greatest opportunity to earn their trust and their business. So do it right. I can hear your collective gasp. Give away what you sell? Sampling is a golden oldie in terms of marketing tactics. The biggest buying obstacle any business has is the uncertainty of that first time. Why not leapfrog over that worry by just giving them a taste? Walk through any grocery store or big box store on a Saturday and watch the marketing tactic at work. This works just as well for service-based businesses even though they don’t have a physical “thing” to offer. Bottom line on how to market without spending a lot of money – know who you can help the most and be relentless in your efforts on their behalf. Be generous and be grateful. I know…I didn’t even mention social media or direct mail or cold calling. Trust me. If you try these 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money — the rest will fall into place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Money/ROI Tagged With: cheap marketing, marketing on a budget, marketing when you don't have a lot of money, referrals Let’s assume you have found the courage and the time to listen. Are you ready to start a conversation with your customer?How do you go about it? Depending on your size and budget, you can make it as simple or regimented as you need. Start a conversation: Take your client to lunch and ask “how are we doing and what could we do better?” Walk up to a customer in your store and say “we just re-arranged the shelves, did we make it easier for you to find what you need?” It can be that simple. Observe: Sometimes the best way to listen is to just watch. How do people move through your store or website? What do they pick up or mouse over? What do they walk right by? Which Facebook posts do they share? Ask on a schedule: Once a quarter or once a year – reach out to your customers with a survey that asks open-ended questions like “what’s your favorite thing about our service?” Or “what do you wish we’d stop doing?” Then (and this is vital) – report back to them what you learned and what you’re going to do about it. Do true market research: If you’re big enough and have the budget, do more than antidotal research. Hire a pro and crunch the numbers. Build a benchmark that you can measure against, time and time again. Just dip your toe into listening if you’re not ready to jump in head-first. But don’t wait too long – or your customers will be swimming in your competitor’s pool! McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients Tagged With: client, Customer, customer survey, marketing, research, start a conversation with your customer Is there a recipe for creating trust? September 19, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 22 creating trustWe talk about the idea of creating trust every week with our clients. At my agency, MMG, we call this equation basic marketing math: Know + Like + Trust = Sales. Translated – you will never make a sale if the prospect doesn’t know you exist, doesn’t like both what you sell and who you are and ultimately, doesn’t trust you. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling toothpaste (hardly a considered purchase) or expensive professional services (think lawyer or accountant) – the requirements is the same. This equation has never been more true than today. Consumers are jaded by the barrage of marketing messages they get hit with every day. They’re feeling as though someone is always selling at them (not to or with – at) and they’re wary of anything that smacks of marketing spin. If you’re not creating trust — they are not going to be reaching for their wallet any time soon. This is one of the reasons why word of mouth is so powerful. When someone you already trust, be it a family member, co-worker, or casual acquaintance, endorses a product or service, you know they don’t have anything to gain by it. Which makes their recommendation even more reliable. It is something you can trust. So how does a business create that sense of trust between themselves and their prospects? Here are some tactics you should consider. Delight your current customers: I know it seems obvious but really, when was the last time a business went out of their way to delight you? If someone is caught off-guard by remarkable service or a product that is so superior that they can’t believe it – they’re going to talk about it. You can’t beat the power of that word of mouth. But to get it, you have to earn it. Let the customer tell you when they’re ready to buy: The minute we feel we’re being sold at – we shut down. Even if we want to buy something. I was in a local jewelry store recently. I had a healthy budget (several hundred dollars) that I was ready to spend. I walked in and really wanted to just look around on my own for a bit. But this vulture of a salesman would not leave me alone. He kept following me around the store, asking me questions to which I responded with terse, one-word answers. Then, he finally walked away but only because he was chasing after a more talkative customer. In time I had a question and there was a different salesperson standing there. I asked her a question and she answered it. He must have given her some signal behind my back because she got this very flustered look on her face and then just walked away…and he swooped back in. I left shortly – empty-handed. And I will check in the window before I ever enter that store again. If he’s there, I won’t be. (If you’re wondering if this was your store – email me!) I spent my money 45 minutes later. Someplace else. Make me a promise and then keep it: Give me a guarantee. Offer me a hassle free installation process. Stand behind your work and do it overtly. Don’t say – “well of course we’d fix it if we did it wrong” or whatever. Put it in writing. Call my attention to it. Help me get over my worry that I might be making a bad decision. And when something goes wrong – not only should you honor your original promise but you should go above and beyond it. (See delight your customers above) You know this as well as I do. You can’t create trust. But you can sure earn it and when you do, you’ll hear the register ring. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: know • like • trust, Marketing, Psychology, Sales Tagged With: creating trust, know. like. trust., marketing, Word of mouth 5 tips for creating a company culture that connects with your sweet spot clients September 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan 4 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 16 creating a company cultureAn area of marketing that is often overlooked is how important it is to be mindful when creating a company culture. You don’t build a culture to make a sale. But the culture you build, if you’re very clear about your organization’s values and beliefs, can translate your company’s personality and attract right fit prospects. It can also reinforce your current customers’ buying decision. Company culture doesn’t just happen. If you want it to really flourish, you need to make it a priority for your business. You need to build/strengthen the foundation of your culture and then nurture its growth from there. The challenging aspect of corporate culture, of course, is that culture is shaped by the workforce. Which means it’s an ever-evolving entity. As employees come and go, the culture can be altered in ways that don’t benefit the employees or the organization. Your culture is too valuable not to protect. Here are a few ways you can ensure that your culture has a consistent foundation that doesn’t ebb and flow over time. If the core is rock solid, then it’s okay if the details shift a little. Ready to start creating a company culture? Keep these tips in mind. Create a manifesto: Don’t hide your culture. Celebrate it. Capturing the essence of your culture in a statement of beliefs or manifesto will allow you to articulate the key values and behaviors that you want to protect. Put it in your employee handbook, create a beautiful framed version and hang it proudly in your corporate office and read it out loud to kick off each year’s first staff meeting. You could even ask new hires to sign a commitment to honoring the manifesto on their first day of work. Weave the culture’s core values into your job descriptions and review process: Employees know that if something is important enough to be a part of their annual review, then it must be pretty important to the company. You can reinforce your culture by rewarding your employees for keeping it alive. It’s also a built in culture training program for new employees. If they know they’ll be held accountable to their job description when review time comes along, they’re much more likely to adopt those wanted behaviors. Make your staff part of the solution: If you teach your employees how your company culture contributes to the success of the organization and then invite them to help you protect it, they’ll gladly accept the challenge. Why not a team that is charged with bringing the culture to life through employee events, customer interactions and rewards programs? They’ll probably surprise you with their innovative ideas and enthusiasm. Hire for culture, train for skills: Identify the attitudes and behaviors that best support your company’s culture and hire for those traits. You can teach skills but you can’t teach attitude. It’s much easier for a new hire to fit into an environment that aligns with his or her own personal beliefs. Trying to force a square peg into a round hole puts a great deal of stress on both the organization and the new employee. Share the vision: The purpose of a company culture is to support the organization as it marches towards its future. One way to help the employees understand the importance of protecting and building the culture is by sharing the desired end result. Once they share the vision, they’ll be inspired to guard everything that will help you all achieve that vision. If anything, they will strengthen your culture to help you get there even faster. Your culture matters every day. Purposefully creating a company culture will help you recruit and retain your best talent. It supports how you deliver excellence to your customers and it is a compass that guides you towards even greater successes. Be sure you protect it like the valuable asset that it is. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Customers/Clients, Employees How cause marketing can be smart marketing September 30, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 8 Cause marketingIn the last 20 years, the term “cause marketing” came onto the horizon. The whole idea was this: Many companies donate their time, their talent and their money to various charities, but it was done without anyone knowing about it or the company gaining any additional value from being a good citizen. Some would argue that to give without any expectation of reward or recognition is the true definition of giving. Perhaps that’s true. But it’s also very small. Another word for small in this instance might be isolated. If I give five dollars to a charity and don’t tell anyone about it, the charity gets five dollars and I get a warm feeling inside. All good. But if I tell my friends about the charity and that I’m giving five dollars and invite them to do the same, now look at that I’ve created: More awareness for the charity Additional dollars donated to the charity A community of people who believe in/care about the charity Which do you think the charity would prefer? Now, take that a step further. Rather than just telling my friends about it, what if I aligned my choice of charity with my customer base? Odds are I serve a group of people that I have a connection with and that I care about. So if I look for a charity that would be important to them and to me, I can amplify the impact I can bring to the charity by engaging my entire customer base to rally around them. When anyone talks about cause marketing, one of the examples they use is Avon and their commitment to fight breast cancer. They were pioneering in the idea of uniting a cause and a group of customers, for a greater good. We’re all smart enough to recognize that Avon benefits from this alliance as well, in earned media exposure, creating a powerful connection to both their female customer base and their female employee base as well as increased sales. None of that mitigates the good they do. It’s truly a win/win situation. Here’s how Avon talks about their efforts on their own website: “One of the company’s largest ongoing projects is the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which is aimed at funding research and access to quality care. Now in its 20th year, the project has donated more than $740 million to the cause, making it one of the world’s leading corporate supporters of the fight against breast cancer. Among the successes that Avon lists on its website: Linking more than 15 million women around the globe to early detection programs and mammography screenings Educating 100 million women on breast health Expanding into 55 countries Enabling access to care for underserved populations Providing $175 million to breast cancer research projects since 1999 Creating Love/Avon Army of Women, a program designed to accelerate the pace of prevention research by enlisting more than 350,000 women (potential study volunteers) for this effort. Avon fundraises for these efforts through various methods like hosting the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series and selling Crusade Pink Ribbon fundraising products.” I know your company probably doesn’t have the reach of an Avon, but you do have loyal customers who care about the world around them. And I’ll bet there’s a charity or cause that matters to you and that would matter to them if you made the introduction. As you work on your 2015 marketing plan – I challenge you to weave in a cause marketing effort. There’s nothing that says marketing can’t also make the world a better place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients, Employees, Love Affair with Customers Tagged With: Branding, cause marketing, create a love affair with your customers The Freelance Studio Denver, Co.User Experience Agency 5 tips for getting over stage fright August 14, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 9 tips for getting over stage frightHave stage fright? You’re not alone. They say that our greatest fear, once you’ve eliminated death as a choice, is public speaking. And yet many of us are called to take that plunge on a regular basis. Whether you are speaking to group of two in a sales presentation or you’re standing at a podium, with hundreds of eyes on you – the intent is the same. We want to impart knowledge, persuade, entertain and be remembered. And above all else, we want to get through the presentation without looking like a fool or being paralyzed by our stage fright. I’m one of those rare individuals who isn’t freaked out at the idea of speaking to a group. I like it. But I think I enjoy it because I have a very set routine of prepping for each speech. By the time I step up to the podium or approach the next sales call, I’m confident that I won’t embarrass myself or be nervous to step up on that stage. Here are my secrets to prepping and delivering a presentation that gets them to ask you back. Know your audience: One of the easiest ways to get off track with a presentation is to either talk over the audience’s head or at a level that is insulting because your audience is way ahead of you. Not only do you need to understand where they’re coming from, in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of personality. Are they an audience who asks a lot of questions? Are they open to small group activities or sharing information about their work? Grab them right up front: You need to quickly take charge of your audience. In a large group setting, you might tell them a powerful story. In a sales presentation, you might lead with a stat or fact that is guaranteed to grab their attention. Too many speakers limp into their presentation – either by telling a lame joke or by getting too technical too fast. You want an emotional reaction of some kind to kick you off. Assume the worst: I’ve watched many speakers melt into a puddle of goo right in front of an audience because their PowerPoint didn’t load right or their video worked but there was no sound or the internet connection was faulty so they couldn’t demo something. When it comes to speaking and technology – assume it will fail. Always have a back up (your presentation on multiple jump drives, the YouTube video on-line but also on a DVD, etc.) You need to be ready to deliver your presentation in the pitch black with no power, if need be. If you’re that prepared, you’ll worry a whole lot less. Think sound bytes and repeats: In today’s “tweet while you are talking” world, you want to give your audience plenty of tidbits to share. Give them key facts, stats and catch phrases. Imagine someone from your audience going back to the office and re-telling a story you told during your presentation. Which one would get retold? If you answered “none of them” then you’d better come up with a story that is so funny, compelling, astounding or illuminating that people won’t be able to help but repeat it. Be ready to improvise: You can do all the prep in the world, but sometimes that nagging stage fright had it right — something could still go wrong. At the end of the day, there are many elements of giving a presentation that are out of your control. So even though I am advocating ample prep time, you also have to realize that sometimes you just have to go with the flow. It might be a tough question during the Q&A or a technology malfunction. If you can keep your sense of humor and your balance – your audience will reward you for it. Odds are you were invited to make the presentation. So remember that your audience is anxious for you to be successful as well. Do the prep work, have faith that you know what you’re talking about and try to enjoy the conversation. Even if something does go wrong — remember at the end of the day — your audience doesn’t expect you to be perfect. They just want you to be real and share something of value. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Content Marketing, Sales Tagged With: Content marketing, fear of speaking, how to be a better speaker, stage fright Comments Start a conversation with your customer? September 8, 2014 by Drew McLellan 2 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 28 start a conversation with your customerStart a conversation with your customer? I know, it’s crazy talk. Why in the world would you want to talk to the very people who choose to do business with you? I trust you can see my tongue poking through my cheek, but the truth is, most businesses give lip service to the idea of starting a conversation with their customers, but few actually do. Let’s agree on a few points right up front: It’s cheaper to keep a customer than get a new one It’s cheaper to sell more to a current customer than make the first sale to a new customer There’s no better marketing than word of mouth – which usually comes from your current customers Those truths would suggest that our current clients are pretty important to our business’ long-term success. Despite that fact, most businesses: Don’t invest enough of their marketing budget/efforts on their current customers Don’t routinely thank (other than the pre-printed thank you at the bottom of your invoice) their current clients Don’t listen enough to their current customers. Why in the world do we, in essence, ignore our best bet at success? In this post, I’m going to focus on the listening issue. No one knows what it’s like to buy products or services from us like the very people who buy our products and services. And yet, the vast majority of businesses never bother to ask for feedback. Or they ask for feedback in a way that makes it so off-putting or difficult to provide the feedback that the customer ops not to. In most cases, the first chance the customer has to provide real, honest feedback is when they walk away and give their money to your competitor. I think there are a few reasons why organizations don’t seek customer feedback. Fear: “I just don’t want to know because then I’m going to have to deal with it.” Bad time management: “I know it’s important and I’ve been meaning to launch a survey but then things got crazy.” Ignorance: “I don’t know how to make it happen and I think it has to be some big, elaborate thing.” If you’re not actively and regularly seeking your clients’ input and insights, it’s one of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make. The only mistake worse than not asking for their input is actually asking for it and then not doing anything to fix the issues you uncover. Now you’ve asked for their opinion and then told them how little you care by ignoring their concerns. 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money August 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 31 ways to market if you don't have a lot of moneyNo matter where I speak, who the audience is or even the topic I am supposed to address, this same question comes up: How do you market your business if you don’t have a lot of money? Well, the short answer to that is you’d better find some resources for marketing or you are in a lot of trouble. But, that doesn’t mean they all have to cost an arm and a leg. In the meantime, while you’re scraping together the money to spend on marketing — try this budget friendly tactics. Hang out where your potential customers hang out and be helpful. Do your clients read certain blogs? Then be there and share your expertise. Do they all run in local marathons? Be there, handing out clean, dry socks with your logo on them. Do they go to industry trade shows? Be there and host a free Q&A about their biggest problems. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Go out and find their watering hole. Know your perfect customer and only take work from them. This requires incredible discipline but pays big dividends. Rather than taking clients for cash flow, ONLY take on those clients that you can delight. And who delight you by paying you a fair price. Create a referral network by delivering the first referral. When you help someone, it is human nature that they want to return the favor. Why not set the example by making an incredible connection. Now of course to do that…you need to know who their perfect customer is. Which means you get to have a very meaningful conversation that’s all about them. See how the human nature thing is going to work? Use handwritten thank you notes to show your appreciation. In today’s high tech world, a personal gesture like a handwritten note means a great deal. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just from the heart. And if you can’t thank a client from the heart, you should fire them before they fire you. Let them have a taste. Sampling is one of the most effective marketing tactics around. There is no substitute for actually experiencing your product or service. This is your greatest opportunity to earn their trust and their business. So do it right. I can hear your collective gasp. Give away what you sell? Sampling is a golden oldie in terms of marketing tactics. The biggest buying obstacle any business has is the uncertainty of that first time. Why not leapfrog over that worry by just giving them a taste? Walk through any grocery store or big box store on a Saturday and watch the marketing tactic at work. This works just as well for service-based businesses even though they don’t have a physical “thing” to offer. Bottom line on how to market without spending a lot of money – know who you can help the most and be relentless in your efforts on their behalf. Be generous and be grateful. I know…I didn’t even mention social media or direct mail or cold calling. Trust me. If you try these 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money — the rest will fall into place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Money/ROI Tagged With: cheap marketing, marketing on a budget, marketing when you don't have a lot of money, referrals Let’s assume you have found the courage and the time to listen. Are you ready to start a conversation with your customer?How do you go about it? Depending on your size and budget, you can make it as simple or regimented as you need. Start a conversation: Take your client to lunch and ask “how are we doing and what could we do better?” Walk up to a customer in your store and say “we just re-arranged the shelves, did we make it easier for you to find what you need?” It can be that simple. Observe: Sometimes the best way to listen is to just watch. How do people move through your store or website? What do they pick up or mouse over? What do they walk right by? Which Facebook posts do they share? Ask on a schedule: Once a quarter or once a year – reach out to your customers with a survey that asks open-ended questions like “what’s your favorite thing about our service?” Or “what do you wish we’d stop doing?” Then (and this is vital) – report back to them what you learned and what you’re going to do about it. Do true market research: If you’re big enough and have the budget, do more than antidotal research. Hire a pro and crunch the numbers. Build a benchmark that you can measure against, time and time again. Just dip your toe into listening if you’re not ready to jump in head-first. But don’t wait too long – or your customers will be swimming in your competitor’s pool! McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients Tagged With: client, Customer, customer survey, marketing, research, start a conversation with your customer Is there a recipe for creating trust? September 19, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 22 creating trustWe talk about the idea of creating trust every week with our clients. At my agency, MMG, we call this equation basic marketing math: Know + Like + Trust = Sales. Translated – you will never make a sale if the prospect doesn’t know you exist, doesn’t like both what you sell and who you are and ultimately, doesn’t trust you. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling toothpaste (hardly a considered purchase) or expensive professional services (think lawyer or accountant) – the requirements is the same. This equation has never been more true than today. Consumers are jaded by the barrage of marketing messages they get hit with every day. They’re feeling as though someone is always selling at them (not to or with – at) and they’re wary of anything that smacks of marketing spin. If you’re not creating trust — they are not going to be reaching for their wallet any time soon. This is one of the reasons why word of mouth is so powerful. When someone you already trust, be it a family member, co-worker, or casual acquaintance, endorses a product or service, you know they don’t have anything to gain by it. Which makes their recommendation even more reliable. It is something you can trust. So how does a business create that sense of trust between themselves and their prospects? Here are some tactics you should consider. Delight your current customers: I know it seems obvious but really, when was the last time a business went out of their way to delight you? If someone is caught off-guard by remarkable service or a product that is so superior that they can’t believe it – they’re going to talk about it. You can’t beat the power of that word of mouth. But to get it, you have to earn it. Let the customer tell you when they’re ready to buy: The minute we feel we’re being sold at – we shut down. Even if we want to buy something. I was in a local jewelry store recently. I had a healthy budget (several hundred dollars) that I was ready to spend. I walked in and really wanted to just look around on my own for a bit. But this vulture of a salesman would not leave me alone. He kept following me around the store, asking me questions to which I responded with terse, one-word answers. Then, he finally walked away but only because he was chasing after a more talkative customer. In time I had a question and there was a different salesperson standing there. I asked her a question and she answered it. He must have given her some signal behind my back because she got this very flustered look on her face and then just walked away…and he swooped back in. I left shortly – empty-handed. And I will check in the window before I ever enter that store again. If he’s there, I won’t be. (If you’re wondering if this was your store – email me!) I spent my money 45 minutes later. Someplace else. Make me a promise and then keep it: Give me a guarantee. Offer me a hassle free installation process. Stand behind your work and do it overtly. Don’t say – “well of course we’d fix it if we did it wrong” or whatever. Put it in writing. Call my attention to it. Help me get over my worry that I might be making a bad decision. And when something goes wrong – not only should you honor your original promise but you should go above and beyond it. (See delight your customers above) You know this as well as I do. You can’t create trust. But you can sure earn it and when you do, you’ll hear the register ring. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: know • like • trust, Marketing, Psychology, Sales Tagged With: creating trust, know. like. trust., marketing, Word of mouth 5 tips for creating a company culture that connects with your sweet spot clients September 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan 4 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 16 creating a company cultureAn area of marketing that is often overlooked is how important it is to be mindful when creating a company culture. You don’t build a culture to make a sale. But the culture you build, if you’re very clear about your organization’s values and beliefs, can translate your company’s personality and attract right fit prospects. It can also reinforce your current customers’ buying decision. Company culture doesn’t just happen. If you want it to really flourish, you need to make it a priority for your business. You need to build/strengthen the foundation of your culture and then nurture its growth from there. The challenging aspect of corporate culture, of course, is that culture is shaped by the workforce. Which means it’s an ever-evolving entity. As employees come and go, the culture can be altered in ways that don’t benefit the employees or the organization. Your culture is too valuable not to protect. Here are a few ways you can ensure that your culture has a consistent foundation that doesn’t ebb and flow over time. If the core is rock solid, then it’s okay if the details shift a little. Ready to start creating a company culture? Keep these tips in mind. Create a manifesto: Don’t hide your culture. Celebrate it. Capturing the essence of your culture in a statement of beliefs or manifesto will allow you to articulate the key values and behaviors that you want to protect. Put it in your employee handbook, create a beautiful framed version and hang it proudly in your corporate office and read it out loud to kick off each year’s first staff meeting. You could even ask new hires to sign a commitment to honoring the manifesto on their first day of work. Weave the culture’s core values into your job descriptions and review process: Employees know that if something is important enough to be a part of their annual review, then it must be pretty important to the company. You can reinforce your culture by rewarding your employees for keeping it alive. It’s also a built in culture training program for new employees. If they know they’ll be held accountable to their job description when review time comes along, they’re much more likely to adopt those wanted behaviors. Make your staff part of the solution: If you teach your employees how your company culture contributes to the success of the organization and then invite them to help you protect it, they’ll gladly accept the challenge. Why not a team that is charged with bringing the culture to life through employee events, customer interactions and rewards programs? They’ll probably surprise you with their innovative ideas and enthusiasm. Hire for culture, train for skills: Identify the attitudes and behaviors that best support your company’s culture and hire for those traits. You can teach skills but you can’t teach attitude. It’s much easier for a new hire to fit into an environment that aligns with his or her own personal beliefs. Trying to force a square peg into a round hole puts a great deal of stress on both the organization and the new employee. Share the vision: The purpose of a company culture is to support the organization as it marches towards its future. One way to help the employees understand the importance of protecting and building the culture is by sharing the desired end result. Once they share the vision, they’ll be inspired to guard everything that will help you all achieve that vision. If anything, they will strengthen your culture to help you get there even faster. Your culture matters every day. Purposefully creating a company culture will help you recruit and retain your best talent. It supports how you deliver excellence to your customers and it is a compass that guides you towards even greater successes. Be sure you protect it like the valuable asset that it is. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Customers/Clients, Employees How cause marketing can be smart marketing September 30, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 8 Cause marketingIn the last 20 years, the term “cause marketing” came onto the horizon. The whole idea was this: Many companies donate their time, their talent and their money to various charities, but it was done without anyone knowing about it or the company gaining any additional value from being a good citizen. Some would argue that to give without any expectation of reward or recognition is the true definition of giving. Perhaps that’s true. But it’s also very small. Another word for small in this instance might be isolated. If I give five dollars to a charity and don’t tell anyone about it, the charity gets five dollars and I get a warm feeling inside. All good. But if I tell my friends about the charity and that I’m giving five dollars and invite them to do the same, now look at that I’ve created: More awareness for the charity Additional dollars donated to the charity A community of people who believe in/care about the charity Which do you think the charity would prefer? Now, take that a step further. Rather than just telling my friends about it, what if I aligned my choice of charity with my customer base? Odds are I serve a group of people that I have a connection with and that I care about. So if I look for a charity that would be important to them and to me, I can amplify the impact I can bring to the charity by engaging my entire customer base to rally around them. When anyone talks about cause marketing, one of the examples they use is Avon and their commitment to fight breast cancer. They were pioneering in the idea of uniting a cause and a group of customers, for a greater good. We’re all smart enough to recognize that Avon benefits from this alliance as well, in earned media exposure, creating a powerful connection to both their female customer base and their female employee base as well as increased sales. None of that mitigates the good they do. It’s truly a win/win situation. Here’s how Avon talks about their efforts on their own website: “One of the company’s largest ongoing projects is the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which is aimed at funding research and access to quality care. Now in its 20th year, the project has donated more than $740 million to the cause, making it one of the world’s leading corporate supporters of the fight against breast cancer. Among the successes that Avon lists on its website: Linking more than 15 million women around the globe to early detection programs and mammography screenings Educating 100 million women on breast health Expanding into 55 countries Enabling access to care for underserved populations Providing $175 million to breast cancer research projects since 1999 Creating Love/Avon Army of Women, a program designed to accelerate the pace of prevention research by enlisting more than 350,000 women (potential study volunteers) for this effort. Avon fundraises for these efforts through various methods like hosting the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series and selling Crusade Pink Ribbon fundraising products.” I know your company probably doesn’t have the reach of an Avon, but you do have loyal customers who care about the world around them. And I’ll bet there’s a charity or cause that matters to you and that would matter to them if you made the introduction. As you work on your 2015 marketing plan – I challenge you to weave in a cause marketing effort. There’s nothing that says marketing can’t also make the world a better place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients, Employees, Love Affair with Customers Tagged With: Branding, cause marketing, create a love affair with your customers The Freelance Studio Denver, Co.User Experience Agency 5 tips for getting over stage fright August 14, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 9 tips for getting over stage frightHave stage fright? You’re not alone. They say that our greatest fear, once you’ve eliminated death as a choice, is public speaking. And yet many of us are called to take that plunge on a regular basis. Whether you are speaking to group of two in a sales presentation or you’re standing at a podium, with hundreds of eyes on you – the intent is the same. We want to impart knowledge, persuade, entertain and be remembered. And above all else, we want to get through the presentation without looking like a fool or being paralyzed by our stage fright. I’m one of those rare individuals who isn’t freaked out at the idea of speaking to a group. I like it. But I think I enjoy it because I have a very set routine of prepping for each speech. By the time I step up to the podium or approach the next sales call, I’m confident that I won’t embarrass myself or be nervous to step up on that stage. Here are my secrets to prepping and delivering a presentation that gets them to ask you back. Know your audience: One of the easiest ways to get off track with a presentation is to either talk over the audience’s head or at a level that is insulting because your audience is way ahead of you. Not only do you need to understand where they’re coming from, in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of personality. Are they an audience who asks a lot of questions? Are they open to small group activities or sharing information about their work? Grab them right up front: You need to quickly take charge of your audience. In a large group setting, you might tell them a powerful story. In a sales presentation, you might lead with a stat or fact that is guaranteed to grab their attention. Too many speakers limp into their presentation – either by telling a lame joke or by getting too technical too fast. You want an emotional reaction of some kind to kick you off. Assume the worst: I’ve watched many speakers melt into a puddle of goo right in front of an audience because their PowerPoint didn’t load right or their video worked but there was no sound or the internet connection was faulty so they couldn’t demo something. When it comes to speaking and technology – assume it will fail. Always have a back up (your presentation on multiple jump drives, the YouTube video on-line but also on a DVD, etc.) You need to be ready to deliver your presentation in the pitch black with no power, if need be. If you’re that prepared, you’ll worry a whole lot less. Think sound bytes and repeats: In today’s “tweet while you are talking” world, you want to give your audience plenty of tidbits to share. Give them key facts, stats and catch phrases. Imagine someone from your audience going back to the office and re-telling a story you told during your presentation. Which one would get retold? If you answered “none of them” then you’d better come up with a story that is so funny, compelling, astounding or illuminating that people won’t be able to help but repeat it. Be ready to improvise: You can do all the prep in the world, but sometimes that nagging stage fright had it right — something could still go wrong. At the end of the day, there are many elements of giving a presentation that are out of your control. So even though I am advocating ample prep time, you also have to realize that sometimes you just have to go with the flow. It might be a tough question during the Q&A or a technology malfunction. If you can keep your sense of humor and your balance – your audience will reward you for it. Odds are you were invited to make the presentation. So remember that your audience is anxious for you to be successful as well. Do the prep work, have faith that you know what you’re talking about and try to enjoy the conversation. Even if something does go wrong — remember at the end of the day — your audience doesn’t expect you to be perfect. They just want you to be real and share something of value. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Content Marketing, Sales Tagged With: Content marketing, fear of speaking, how to be a better speaker, stage fright Comments Start a conversation with your customer? September 8, 2014 by Drew McLellan 2 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 28 start a conversation with your customerStart a conversation with your customer? I know, it’s crazy talk. Why in the world would you want to talk to the very people who choose to do business with you? I trust you can see my tongue poking through my cheek, but the truth is, most businesses give lip service to the idea of starting a conversation with their customers, but few actually do. Let’s agree on a few points right up front: It’s cheaper to keep a customer than get a new one It’s cheaper to sell more to a current customer than make the first sale to a new customer There’s no better marketing than word of mouth – which usually comes from your current customers Those truths would suggest that our current clients are pretty important to our business’ long-term success. Despite that fact, most businesses: Don’t invest enough of their marketing budget/efforts on their current customers Don’t routinely thank (other than the pre-printed thank you at the bottom of your invoice) their current clients Don’t listen enough to their current customers. Why in the world do we, in essence, ignore our best bet at success? In this post, I’m going to focus on the listening issue. No one knows what it’s like to buy products or services from us like the very people who buy our products and services. And yet, the vast majority of businesses never bother to ask for feedback. Or they ask for feedback in a way that makes it so off-putting or difficult to provide the feedback that the customer ops not to. In most cases, the first chance the customer has to provide real, honest feedback is when they walk away and give their money to your competitor. I think there are a few reasons why organizations don’t seek customer feedback. Fear: “I just don’t want to know because then I’m going to have to deal with it.” Bad time management: “I know it’s important and I’ve been meaning to launch a survey but then things got crazy.” Ignorance: “I don’t know how to make it happen and I think it has to be some big, elaborate thing.” If you’re not actively and regularly seeking your clients’ input and insights, it’s one of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make. The only mistake worse than not asking for their input is actually asking for it and then not doing anything to fix the issues you uncover. Now you’ve asked for their opinion and then told them how little you care by ignoring their concerns. 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money August 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 31 ways to market if you don't have a lot of moneyNo matter where I speak, who the audience is or even the topic I am supposed to address, this same question comes up: How do you market your business if you don’t have a lot of money? Well, the short answer to that is you’d better find some resources for marketing or you are in a lot of trouble. But, that doesn’t mean they all have to cost an arm and a leg. In the meantime, while you’re scraping together the money to spend on marketing — try this budget friendly tactics. Hang out where your potential customers hang out and be helpful. Do your clients read certain blogs? Then be there and share your expertise. Do they all run in local marathons? Be there, handing out clean, dry socks with your logo on them. Do they go to industry trade shows? Be there and host a free Q&A about their biggest problems. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Go out and find their watering hole. Know your perfect customer and only take work from them. This requires incredible discipline but pays big dividends. Rather than taking clients for cash flow, ONLY take on those clients that you can delight. And who delight you by paying you a fair price. Create a referral network by delivering the first referral. When you help someone, it is human nature that they want to return the favor. Why not set the example by making an incredible connection. Now of course to do that…you need to know who their perfect customer is. Which means you get to have a very meaningful conversation that’s all about them. See how the human nature thing is going to work? Use handwritten thank you notes to show your appreciation. In today’s high tech world, a personal gesture like a handwritten note means a great deal. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just from the heart. And if you can’t thank a client from the heart, you should fire them before they fire you. Let them have a taste. Sampling is one of the most effective marketing tactics around. There is no substitute for actually experiencing your product or service. This is your greatest opportunity to earn their trust and their business. So do it right. I can hear your collective gasp. Give away what you sell? Sampling is a golden oldie in terms of marketing tactics. The biggest buying obstacle any business has is the uncertainty of that first time. Why not leapfrog over that worry by just giving them a taste? Walk through any grocery store or big box store on a Saturday and watch the marketing tactic at work. This works just as well for service-based businesses even though they don’t have a physical “thing” to offer. Bottom line on how to market without spending a lot of money – know who you can help the most and be relentless in your efforts on their behalf. Be generous and be grateful. I know…I didn’t even mention social media or direct mail or cold calling. Trust me. If you try these 5 ways to market if you don’t have a lot of money — the rest will fall into place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Money/ROI Tagged With: cheap marketing, marketing on a budget, marketing when you don't have a lot of money, referrals Let’s assume you have found the courage and the time to listen. Are you ready to start a conversation with your customer?How do you go about it? Depending on your size and budget, you can make it as simple or regimented as you need. Start a conversation: Take your client to lunch and ask “how are we doing and what could we do better?” Walk up to a customer in your store and say “we just re-arranged the shelves, did we make it easier for you to find what you need?” It can be that simple. Observe: Sometimes the best way to listen is to just watch. How do people move through your store or website? What do they pick up or mouse over? What do they walk right by? Which Facebook posts do they share? Ask on a schedule: Once a quarter or once a year – reach out to your customers with a survey that asks open-ended questions like “what’s your favorite thing about our service?” Or “what do you wish we’d stop doing?” Then (and this is vital) – report back to them what you learned and what you’re going to do about it. Do true market research: If you’re big enough and have the budget, do more than antidotal research. Hire a pro and crunch the numbers. Build a benchmark that you can measure against, time and time again. Just dip your toe into listening if you’re not ready to jump in head-first. But don’t wait too long – or your customers will be swimming in your competitor’s pool! McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients Tagged With: client, Customer, customer survey, marketing, research, start a conversation with your customer Is there a recipe for creating trust? September 19, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 22 creating trustWe talk about the idea of creating trust every week with our clients. At my agency, MMG, we call this equation basic marketing math: Know + Like + Trust = Sales. Translated – you will never make a sale if the prospect doesn’t know you exist, doesn’t like both what you sell and who you are and ultimately, doesn’t trust you. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling toothpaste (hardly a considered purchase) or expensive professional services (think lawyer or accountant) – the requirements is the same. This equation has never been more true than today. Consumers are jaded by the barrage of marketing messages they get hit with every day. They’re feeling as though someone is always selling at them (not to or with – at) and they’re wary of anything that smacks of marketing spin. If you’re not creating trust — they are not going to be reaching for their wallet any time soon. This is one of the reasons why word of mouth is so powerful. When someone you already trust, be it a family member, co-worker, or casual acquaintance, endorses a product or service, you know they don’t have anything to gain by it. Which makes their recommendation even more reliable. It is something you can trust. So how does a business create that sense of trust between themselves and their prospects? Here are some tactics you should consider. Delight your current customers: I know it seems obvious but really, when was the last time a business went out of their way to delight you? If someone is caught off-guard by remarkable service or a product that is so superior that they can’t believe it – they’re going to talk about it. You can’t beat the power of that word of mouth. But to get it, you have to earn it. Let the customer tell you when they’re ready to buy: The minute we feel we’re being sold at – we shut down. Even if we want to buy something. I was in a local jewelry store recently. I had a healthy budget (several hundred dollars) that I was ready to spend. I walked in and really wanted to just look around on my own for a bit. But this vulture of a salesman would not leave me alone. He kept following me around the store, asking me questions to which I responded with terse, one-word answers. Then, he finally walked away but only because he was chasing after a more talkative customer. In time I had a question and there was a different salesperson standing there. I asked her a question and she answered it. He must have given her some signal behind my back because she got this very flustered look on her face and then just walked away…and he swooped back in. I left shortly – empty-handed. And I will check in the window before I ever enter that store again. If he’s there, I won’t be. (If you’re wondering if this was your store – email me!) I spent my money 45 minutes later. Someplace else. Make me a promise and then keep it: Give me a guarantee. Offer me a hassle free installation process. Stand behind your work and do it overtly. Don’t say – “well of course we’d fix it if we did it wrong” or whatever. Put it in writing. Call my attention to it. Help me get over my worry that I might be making a bad decision. And when something goes wrong – not only should you honor your original promise but you should go above and beyond it. (See delight your customers above) You know this as well as I do. You can’t create trust. But you can sure earn it and when you do, you’ll hear the register ring. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: know • like • trust, Marketing, Psychology, Sales Tagged With: creating trust, know. like. trust., marketing, Word of mouth 5 tips for creating a company culture that connects with your sweet spot clients September 25, 2014 by Drew McLellan 4 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 16 creating a company cultureAn area of marketing that is often overlooked is how important it is to be mindful when creating a company culture. You don’t build a culture to make a sale. But the culture you build, if you’re very clear about your organization’s values and beliefs, can translate your company’s personality and attract right fit prospects. It can also reinforce your current customers’ buying decision. Company culture doesn’t just happen. If you want it to really flourish, you need to make it a priority for your business. You need to build/strengthen the foundation of your culture and then nurture its growth from there. The challenging aspect of corporate culture, of course, is that culture is shaped by the workforce. Which means it’s an ever-evolving entity. As employees come and go, the culture can be altered in ways that don’t benefit the employees or the organization. Your culture is too valuable not to protect. Here are a few ways you can ensure that your culture has a consistent foundation that doesn’t ebb and flow over time. If the core is rock solid, then it’s okay if the details shift a little. Ready to start creating a company culture? Keep these tips in mind. Create a manifesto: Don’t hide your culture. Celebrate it. Capturing the essence of your culture in a statement of beliefs or manifesto will allow you to articulate the key values and behaviors that you want to protect. Put it in your employee handbook, create a beautiful framed version and hang it proudly in your corporate office and read it out loud to kick off each year’s first staff meeting. You could even ask new hires to sign a commitment to honoring the manifesto on their first day of work. Weave the culture’s core values into your job descriptions and review process: Employees know that if something is important enough to be a part of their annual review, then it must be pretty important to the company. You can reinforce your culture by rewarding your employees for keeping it alive. It’s also a built in culture training program for new employees. If they know they’ll be held accountable to their job description when review time comes along, they’re much more likely to adopt those wanted behaviors. Make your staff part of the solution: If you teach your employees how your company culture contributes to the success of the organization and then invite them to help you protect it, they’ll gladly accept the challenge. Why not a team that is charged with bringing the culture to life through employee events, customer interactions and rewards programs? They’ll probably surprise you with their innovative ideas and enthusiasm. Hire for culture, train for skills: Identify the attitudes and behaviors that best support your company’s culture and hire for those traits. You can teach skills but you can’t teach attitude. It’s much easier for a new hire to fit into an environment that aligns with his or her own personal beliefs. Trying to force a square peg into a round hole puts a great deal of stress on both the organization and the new employee. Share the vision: The purpose of a company culture is to support the organization as it marches towards its future. One way to help the employees understand the importance of protecting and building the culture is by sharing the desired end result. Once they share the vision, they’ll be inspired to guard everything that will help you all achieve that vision. If anything, they will strengthen your culture to help you get there even faster. Your culture matters every day. Purposefully creating a company culture will help you recruit and retain your best talent. It supports how you deliver excellence to your customers and it is a compass that guides you towards even greater successes. Be sure you protect it like the valuable asset that it is. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Business Owner/Leader Stuff, Customers/Clients, Employees How cause marketing can be smart marketing September 30, 2014 by Drew McLellan Leave a Comment Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on linkedinShare on stumbleuponMore Sharing Services 8 Cause marketingIn the last 20 years, the term “cause marketing” came onto the horizon. The whole idea was this: Many companies donate their time, their talent and their money to various charities, but it was done without anyone knowing about it or the company gaining any additional value from being a good citizen. Some would argue that to give without any expectation of reward or recognition is the true definition of giving. Perhaps that’s true. But it’s also very small. Another word for small in this instance might be isolated. If I give five dollars to a charity and don’t tell anyone about it, the charity gets five dollars and I get a warm feeling inside. All good. But if I tell my friends about the charity and that I’m giving five dollars and invite them to do the same, now look at that I’ve created: More awareness for the charity Additional dollars donated to the charity A community of people who believe in/care about the charity Which do you think the charity would prefer? Now, take that a step further. Rather than just telling my friends about it, what if I aligned my choice of charity with my customer base? Odds are I serve a group of people that I have a connection with and that I care about. So if I look for a charity that would be important to them and to me, I can amplify the impact I can bring to the charity by engaging my entire customer base to rally around them. When anyone talks about cause marketing, one of the examples they use is Avon and their commitment to fight breast cancer. They were pioneering in the idea of uniting a cause and a group of customers, for a greater good. We’re all smart enough to recognize that Avon benefits from this alliance as well, in earned media exposure, creating a powerful connection to both their female customer base and their female employee base as well as increased sales. None of that mitigates the good they do. It’s truly a win/win situation. Here’s how Avon talks about their efforts on their own website: “One of the company’s largest ongoing projects is the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which is aimed at funding research and access to quality care. Now in its 20th year, the project has donated more than $740 million to the cause, making it one of the world’s leading corporate supporters of the fight against breast cancer. Among the successes that Avon lists on its website: Linking more than 15 million women around the globe to early detection programs and mammography screenings Educating 100 million women on breast health Expanding into 55 countries Enabling access to care for underserved populations Providing $175 million to breast cancer research projects since 1999 Creating Love/Avon Army of Women, a program designed to accelerate the pace of prevention research by enlisting more than 350,000 women (potential study volunteers) for this effort. Avon fundraises for these efforts through various methods like hosting the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series and selling Crusade Pink Ribbon fundraising products.” I know your company probably doesn’t have the reach of an Avon, but you do have loyal customers who care about the world around them. And I’ll bet there’s a charity or cause that matters to you and that would matter to them if you made the introduction. As you work on your 2015 marketing plan – I challenge you to weave in a cause marketing effort. There’s nothing that says marketing can’t also make the world a better place. McLellan Marketing Group is an advertising | marketing agency based in Des Moines, IA, and serving clients all over the US. How might we help you? Filed Under: Customers/Clients, Employees, Love Affair with Customers Tagged With: Branding, cause marketing, create a love affair with your customers