Creating a Communication Plan
Creating a Communication Plan
Communication is a vital aspect of any successful project or initiative. A well-thought-out communication plan helps ensure that all stakeholders are informed, engaged, and aligned throughout the process. Whether you are leading a business project, organizing an event, or implementing a new strategy, having a communication plan in place is essential.
Define Your Objectives and Audience
The first step in creating a communication plan is to define your objectives. What do you want to achieve through your communication efforts? Whether it's to increase awareness, drive participation, or manage expectations, clearly outlining your objectives will guide the rest of your plan.
Next, identify your audience. Who needs to receive your messages? Consider the different stakeholders involved in your project or initiative and tailor your communication strategies to address their specific needs and interests.
Choose the Right Channels
Once you have identified your objectives and audience, it's important to determine the most effective communication channels to reach them. Whether it's through email updates, social media posts, team meetings, or newsletters, selecting the right mix of channels will ensure that your messages are received and understood.
Each channel has its strengths and limitations, so consider factors such as reach, frequency, interactivity, and cost when deciding on your communication channels.
Develop Key Messages and Content
Crafting clear, concise, and consistent key messages is essential to conveying your information effectively. Develop messaging that resonates with your audience and aligns with your objectives. Consider the tone, language, and style that will best engage your stakeholders.
In addition to key messages, create compelling content that supports your communication goals. Whether it's through written articles, visuals, videos, or presentations, engaging content can help capture attention and reinforce your messaging.
Establish a Timeline and Responsibilities
To ensure that your communication efforts are timely and coordinated, establish a detailed timeline outlining when key messages will be delivered through each channel. Assign responsibilities to team members or stakeholders to oversee the execution of the communication plan and monitor progress.
Regularly review and update your timeline to accommodate any changes or new developments that may impact your communication strategy.
Measure and Evaluate
Finally, it's important to measure the effectiveness of your communication plan. Monitor key performance indicators such as audience engagement, message reach, and feedback to evaluate the impact of your efforts. Use this data to make adjustments and improvements to your communication plan as needed.
By following these steps and maintaining a proactive approach to communication, you can create a robust communication plan that ensures your messages are heard, understood, and acted upon by your stakeholders.
Why a Website?
Why Your Business Needs a Website
In today's digital age, having a strong online presence is essential for businesses of all sizes. One of the most important aspects of this online presence is a well-designed and user-friendly website. Here are several reasons why your business needs a website:
Credibility: A website serves as a primary point of contact for potential customers and clients. In the absence of a website, many people may question the legitimacy of your business. A professional-looking website can help establish credibility and build trust with your audience.
Increased Visibility: With a website, your business becomes accessible to a global audience 24/7. This means that potential customers can find information about your products or services at any time, expanding your reach beyond physical location limitations.
Marketing and Advertising: A website is a powerful marketing tool that allows you to showcase your products or services, share customer testimonials, and provide valuable content to your audience. You can also integrate various digital marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO) and social media to drive traffic to your website.
Customer Support: A website can serve as a platform to address frequently asked questions, provide resources, and offer customer support. This can help improve customer experience and satisfaction, leading to increased loyalty and repeat business.
Competitive Advantage: In today's competitive business landscape, having a website sets you apart from competitors who may not have an online presence or have outdated websites. A well-maintained website can give you a competitive edge and attract customers who are looking for information online.
Analytics and Insights: Through tools like Google Analytics, you can track visitor behavior on your website, gain valuable insights into your audience, and make data-driven decisions to improve your business strategies.
Having a website is no longer just an option for businesses—it is a necessity. It serves as a cornerstone of your online presence, helping you establish credibility, reach a wider audience, market your products or services, provide customer support, stay ahead of competitors, and gain valuable insights into your business performance. If you want to take your business to the next level in today's digital world, investing in a well-designed website is a crucial step forward.
Creating Business Relationships Online
Creating Business Relationships Online
In today's digital age, establishing and nurturing business relationships online has become more important than ever. With the majority of professional interactions happening virtually, it is essential to have a strong online presence and strategy for connecting with potential clients, customers, and partners.
1. Leverage Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms are powerful tools for building and maintaining business relationships online. Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram allow you to showcase your expertise, engage with your audience, and connect with industry professionals. By regularly posting relevant content, participating in conversations, and networking with others in your field, you can establish yourself as a credible and trusted source.
2. Engage with Online Communities
Joining online communities and forums related to your industry is a great way to connect with like-minded professionals and potential clients. By actively participating in discussions, offering valuable insights, and helping others solve problems, you can build relationships based on mutual trust and respect. These communities also provide opportunities for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and lead generation.
3. Personalize Your Interactions
In the digital world, personalization is key to building strong business relationships online. Whenever reaching out to someone via email, social media, or online messaging, make sure to address them by their first name and reference something specific to demonstrate that you have done your research. Personalized communication shows that you value the relationship and are genuinely interested in connecting.
4. Provide Value First
Instead of focusing solely on promoting your products or services, take a value-first approach when building relationships online. Offer free resources, advice, or insights that can benefit your audience without expecting anything in return. By demonstrating your expertise and generosity, you can establish yourself as a trusted authority and build long-lasting relationships built on reciprocity.
5. Follow Up and Stay Connected
After making an initial connection online, don't forget to follow up and stay connected with your contacts. Send personalized follow-up messages, engage with their content, and look for opportunities to collaborate or offer assistance. Consistent communication is essential for nurturing relationships and ensuring that they continue to grow over time.
Creating business relationships online requires a combination of strategy, authenticity, and consistency. By leveraging social media, engaging with online communities, personalizing your interactions, providing value first, and staying connected, you can establish meaningful connections that benefit both you and your professional network. Building strong online relationships takes time and effort, but the rewards in terms of new opportunities, collaborations, and growth are well worth it.
Who is my audience?
Identifying Your Business Audience: A Crucial Step for Success
Identifying your business audience is a fundamental step in crafting a successful marketing strategy. Understanding who your potential customers are and what drives their decision-making processes is key to reaching and engaging with them effectively. Let’s delve into some essential tips for identifying your business audience.
1. Conduct Market Research
Invest in thorough market research to understand the demographics, behaviors, and preferences of your potential customers. Utilize surveys, interviews, and data analysis to gather valuable insights. By identifying patterns and trends, you can pinpoint the specific characteristics of your target audience.
2. Analyze Your Existing Customer Base
Your current customers hold valuable clues about your target audience. Analyze their profiles, purchasing behavior, and feedback. By recognizing common traits among your existing customer base, you can identify potential new customers with similar characteristics.
3. Utilize Analytics Tools
Take advantage of analytics tools to gather data on your website visitors, social media followers, and email subscribers. These tools can provide comprehensive insights into the demographics, interests, and online behaviors of your audience, enabling you to tailor your marketing efforts accordingly.
4. Develop Buyer Personas
Creating detailed buyer personas can significantly aid in understanding your business audience. Develop fictional characters that represent different segments of your target audience, including their goals, challenges, preferences, and decision-making processes. This exercise can humanize your audience and guide your marketing strategies.
5. Monitor Competitors
Keep a close eye on your competitors and their customer base. Analyzing their marketing strategies and the audience they are targeting can provide valuable insights. Pay attention to any gaps or underserved segments within the market that you can potentially target.
6. Seek Feedback
Engage with your audience directly to gain feedback on your products or services. Whether through social media polls, surveys, or feedback forms, gathering input from potential customers can offer valuable clues about their needs and preferences.
7. Adapt and Refine
Identifying your business audience is not a one-time task. Market dynamics evolve, and so do consumer behaviors. Continuously monitor and adapt your audience identification strategies. Regularly revisiting and refining your understanding of your audience ensures that your business remains relevant in a dynamic market landscape.
Understanding your business audience is foundational for tailoring your marketing strategies, creating impactful messaging, and driving business growth. By employing a combination of research, data analytics, and customer engagement, you can effectively identify and connect with your target audience, laying the groundwork for long-term success.
Remember, successfully identifying your business audience is just the beginning; the real value lies in leveraging that understanding to build meaningful relationships and drive business success.
The Basics of Marketing
The beginner’s guide to understanding the basics of marketing! Whether you're a budding entrepreneur, a small business owner, or simply someone interested in grasping the fundamentals of marketing, this blog is tailored to provide you with a comprehensive overview.
What Is Marketing?
At its core, marketing encompasses all the activities involved in promoting and selling products or services. It's about understanding your target audience, crafting compelling messaging, and utilizing various channels to connect with potential customers.
Key Components of Marketing
1. Target Audience
Identifying and understanding your target audience is crucial for any marketing strategy. This involves researching demographics, behavior patterns, and the needs of potential customers to tailor your marketing efforts effectively.
2. Branding
Building a strong brand identity involves creating a unique and memorable image for your business. This includes your logo, color scheme, and overall visual appearance, as well as the tone of your messaging and the values your brand represents.
3. Marketing Channels
There are numerous marketing channels available, including social media, email, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and more. Each channel has its own strengths and weaknesses, and understanding how to leverage them effectively is essential for success.
4. Product Positioning
Understanding where your product or service fits in the market landscape helps you differentiate it from competitors and effectively communicate its value to potential customers.
5. Campaign Planning and Execution
Creating and implementing marketing campaigns requires careful planning and execution. This involves setting clear goals, choosing the right marketing mix, and tracking the performance of your campaigns to make data-driven decisions.
The Marketing Mix (4Ps)
The traditional marketing mix comprises the 4Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. This framework helps businesses make strategic decisions about their offerings and how to bring them to market effectively.
Product: Refers to the tangible or intangible goods and services that a company offers.
Price: Involves setting the right price for your products or services based on market research, cost considerations, and perceived value.
Place: Focuses on the distribution channels and methods used to make products available to customers.
Promotion: Encompasses the various tactics and strategies used to raise awareness and generate interest in the product or service, including advertising, public relations, and sales promotions.
The Role of Marketing in Business
Marketing plays a fundamental role in business success by helping organizations:
Attract new customers and retain existing ones
Build brand awareness and reputation
Understand customer needs and preferences
Generate leads and drive sales
Adapt to changing market conditions and consumer behaviors
Understanding the basics of marketing is essential for anyone looking to promote their products or services effectively. By grasping the key components, the marketing mix, and the role of marketing in business, individuals and organizations can lay the foundation for successful marketing strategies.
We hope this overview has provided you with valuable insights into the exciting world of marketing. Stay tuned for more in-depth discussions on specific marketing strategies and tactics in our future blogs!
What is Permission and Educational Based Marketing?
In today's fast-paced digital landscape, marketing has evolved significantly. The traditional interruptive advertising methods that bombarded consumers with messages have lost their effectiveness. Instead, marketers have shifted their focus towards permission-based and educational marketing strategies that prioritize building trust, providing value, and fostering meaningful relationships with their target audience.
Permission-Based Marketing
Permission-based marketing, also known as opt-in marketing, revolves around obtaining explicit consent from individuals before sending them marketing messages. This approach respects the recipient's preferences and privacy, resulting in a more engaged and receptive audience. There are several key elements to consider within permission-based marketing:
Consent: Marketers must obtain consent from individuals to send them marketing communications. This consent can be explicit, such as signing up for a newsletter, or implicit, based on a prior business relationship.
Transparency: It's essential to be transparent about what individuals are consenting to and how their information will be used. This builds trust and reduces the risk of backlash.
Frequency and Content: Marketers should respect the frequency and content preferences of their audience. Tailoring messages to match individual interests and needs enhances engagement.
Educational Marketing
Educational marketing, often referred to as content marketing, is a strategy that focuses on providing valuable information, insights, and resources to the target audience. Rather than directly promoting products or services, educational marketing aims to educate and empower consumers. Key elements of educational marketing include:
High-Quality Content: Educational marketing relies on creating content that is informative, relevant, and valuable to the audience. This content can take various forms, including blog posts, videos, infographics, and ebooks.
Audience-Centric Approach: Successful educational marketing starts with understanding the audience's pain points, questions, and needs. Content should address these concerns to establish credibility and trust.
Long-Term Relationship: Unlike transactional marketing, educational marketing seeks to build a long-term relationship with the audience. Consistent, valuable content fosters trust and positions the brand as a reliable source of information.
Permission-Based Educational Marketing
The convergence of permission-based and educational marketing creates a powerful combination that benefits both marketers and consumers. Here's how they complement each other:
Informed Consent: In permission-based marketing, individuals willingly provide their contact information, indicating an interest in the brand. By integrating educational content into their communications, marketers can deliver value from the very beginning, reinforcing the recipient's choice to engage.
Value Exchange: Educational content enriches the marketing experience by offering insights, solving problems, or providing entertainment. This value exchange deepens the relationship between the brand and the audience.
Trust and Loyalty: Permission-based educational marketing builds trust over time. When consumers consistently receive valuable content that addresses their needs, they are more likely to remain engaged, become loyal customers, and even advocate for the brand.
Permission-based and educational marketing strategies offer a dynamic and customer-centric approach that aligns with the preferences of today's consumers. By obtaining consent, delivering value, and nurturing long-term relationships, brands can not only enhance their reputation but also drive sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Embracing these strategies can lead to higher customer engagement, increased brand loyalty, and ultimately, improved business results.
The Demise of Social Media
There was a point where we encouraged our clients to invest a large percentage of their marketing capital, time, and resources, into social media marketing. It was an emerging powerful resource for many companies. But, as in most things, time changes everything.
Now, before I get into things, I want to make something very, very clear. I am NOT saying that social media has no power. It is still a resource and every company needs to have. It is still a place where people will engage with your brand. Because of that, I am not suggesting that social media has no benefit. We encourage our clients to continue to invest into it with your time. However, the focus should lessen a bit.
Most companies have limited resources of time. Employees and marketing professionals need to make choices each day as to where they place their time and efforts. It isn’t about a finances because most of the social media services are free. However, time is often more costly than money.
Social media platforms want to expand their revenue streams. Because of that, advertising as well as paid posting became the norm and seems to have exploded across everyones feeds. Add is the normal polarization and you have a storm that drives many people away from just enjoying the platforms. For many people, they come to the channels with an agenda that doesn’t include you, as a business. Will they see your posts? Sure, maybe some will. Will they engage as much with it? Probably not. Just ask yourself, do you spend more time on your social media platforms or less?
Now, to just be clear again, we are not suggesting leaving social media. Your company should be on the channels which are appropriate. However, alternative types of marketing need to be found. More content needs to be on your website that draws people to your brand. Keep in mind, that all social media is shared space. As such, they control who and what percentage of people will see your postings. Your website is the only property online that you own.
Your website is the central hub of all marketing. Everything you do should be driving traffic back to your website. Once there, you need to have ways to engage and connect people to a different level of engagement. Remember, the goal of marketing is not to get a client. The goal of marketing deals with perception. The goal is to be seen as the authority within your industry.
In order to do this, a company must use Permission Based and Educational Based marketing. You can find more here. Mastering these strategies takes the focus off of your brand and places it on the people who engage with it. Asking different questions.
At Operation Crusader, we understand both Permission Based and Educational Based Marketing. We can help you take your brand to a different level. We can help from consulting to managing all of your online marketing. Reach out to us and let’s have a conversation.
Crafting the Plan
Often times, when we sit down with a business, they are very confident in the work they do. Their products and services are their life blood and they know them inside and out. When we begin to talk about crafting new revenue streams, they tend to close up initially. The concerns range from being unsure how to manage it all to not wanting to detract from what they are currently doing. We get it. Thinking through and developing new revenue streams can be a challenge. But it doesn’t have to be a difficult one.
Begin with what you know. For many of our clients who perform a specific service, this is easier. However both service industries and product oriented businesses need to ask the same question. What do you know that you can teach someone? Education is one of the best forms of marketing as well as providing a new revenue stream. The best part is that your customers are not bound by geography.
So let’s begin with some ideas.
eCommerce:
One of the most obvious is eCommerce. Selling a product online whether from your location or having it drop shipped is one of the easiest places to begin. However, eCommerce can go further by adding in courses or video components. If people find a value in what you are offering, provide a way from them to get it.
Membership:
Subscription and membership systems have been around for a long time. Creating a membership section on a website can add to what you are currently doing. For instance, while talking with a small business who sells vacuum cleaners, having them offer a subscription for vacuum bags offers a convenience to their customers as well as a revenue stream for the company.
The membership area can be focused on education, fun, or a product. The sky is really the limit. The best part is that it all can be automated to make your life easier. If you are providing education, it takes no more work to do it for a small number as it does for a large one. It is a way to maximize your time.
Hybrid:
One of the best approaches online is taking things as a hybrid of all of the ways. This may include things such as Print on Demand products, eCommerce, Membership, as well as Service. Having all of the components work closely together can create strong streams that can be maximized to increase your companies revenue.
At Operation Crusader, we work closely with our clients to help them create something that can be expanded to fit their current needs. Normally, we begin small and slowly add streams to make it easier on our clients. Because we normally work with them on a subscription basis, we can help make the adjustments as things continue and the company grows. However, it all begins with a free time to sit down and talk about goals and dreams. If your primary offerings suddenly dropped, do you have other streams to help pick up the pieces? Reach out and let’s talk.
A New Year - A New Focus
A new year is upon us which means that many people are making, and already breaking, new year’s resolutions. In business, it is a great time to look at what worked over the last year and what didn’t. Taking the time to adjust any marketing and communication goals will be critical to your 2022 success.
Evaluating communication tactics can be challenging for many businesses. Normally, there are several channels that drive engagements that work in conjunction with each other. Singling out individual channels to evaluate effectiveness outside of the context of the whole, may be a mistake. So, how do you develop an evaluation strategy.
It all begins with your messaging. Instead of looking at specific channels such as social media or newsletters, begin with what you want your message to be. Your underlying message needs to be short and drive an emotion from your potential customer. People purchase on emotion and then justify it later with logic. The clearer your message, the easier the marketing.
Secondly, evaluating your audience. While most businesses try to go wide with their marketing, it is actually wiser to narrow the scope. While there are always outliers, knowing exactly who uses your product or service is invaluable to developing a marketing and communication strategy. It impacts everything from imagery to language. The more specific you can be about your audience, the easier it becomes. Does your message resonate with that audience? How about the color or imagery?
Finally, know what channels are bringing engagement. Many companies spread themselves so thin, trying to be everywhere. While it is good to be a variety of places online, and there are many alternative reasons to be specific places, knowing what channels drive engagement is critical to add focus. If the majority of your engagement is on LinkedIN as an example, make sure your energy is focused there. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be on Facebook as well. However, you want to really focus your energy on what brings you engagement.
Once you have done an evaluation, it is time for changes and adjustments. This includes looking at products and services. The difficult part of evaluating a product or a service is knowing the real issue. There are many products or services that a business sees a great addition to their line, however, when they look at sales, it is lackluster at best. The question often times focuses on the specific product or service and should it be continued.
While it is good to look at a specific product or service and ask questions about sales, there also must be a discussion on how it was presented. Many times, the product or service is good and something people may desire, however, the marketing of that product leaves a lot to be desired. If people do not see how your product or service will improve their lives, they won’t take the time to even consider it.
At Operation Crusader, we focus on helping small businesses evaluate their marketing and communication strategies. We look through all of the analytics to determine what works and what doesn’t and help put together strategies to increase engagement. We provide a game plan to help your company grow. If you need us to help implement that plan, we can do that as well.
Small Goals
When looking at any business, knowing goals are important. For many businesses, their primary goal is to make sales. While this is the primary goal of most businesses, these goals are made up of smaller goals. For the online world, these goals often flow around engagement.
The online world works in conjunction with most businesses. Normally, a business falls within one of two categories, proactive and reactive. The proactive online world has customers finding you online before any real contact is made while the reactive model has customers researching after making contact with the business.
Being able to identify the process and the goal of each step is important. At Operation Crusader, we call these the three C’s.
Community to Contact:
Engaging the community who may be interested in your product or service is critical to building a business. While there are multiple ways to engage the community, what works depends on the audience you are trying to attract. The one overarching key though is engagement. There has to be things that not only get your audience’s attention but also keep it.
You go through a lot to get attention. However attention gained can quickly fade away if you don’t engage that person to keep their attention. In other words, why should they stay connected to you? What is the perceived value to your audience to do so?
Contact to Customer:
Why each sales cycle is different, after contact is made, keeping that person engaged with you until the sale is reached can be challenging. While some businesses have a real short sales cycle, others are much longer.
Either way, keeping that client engaged can be the difference between a sale or no sale. It can also be the difference between a small sale and a larger one. For instance, if a client looks at a new chair for their home, engagement may get them to consider new tables or a couch to go with it.
Customer to Cheerleader:
This is the area where most people lose engagement. Many businesses tend to think that once the person buys, they are their customer. This can not be further from the truth. Just because they purchased once, doesn’t mean they will do so again or refer anyone else your direction. Keeping you current client engaged, making them feel good about their purchase, and building perceived value are all critical into getting referrals.
The sale doesn’t end when the purchase is made. The goal of every purchase is to build a relationship with the client so they will refer more business your direction. After all, people know people just like themselves. This is an area where the majority of engagement needs to be taking place.
By knowing your overall goals but also breaking them down into communication goals, you can have the internet actually begin working for you. At Operation Crusader, we can help you strategies your goals within each subset, helping you lay out some plans for you to hit your goals.
The Flow
Your website is often time the first interaction with your company or organization. While there are many components to a quality website that range from the content to the graphics, there is one overarching component that is rarely talked about, the website flow.
A website is similar to the game Plinko. You may remember the game where you place a disk towards the top of a board and as it slides down, it hits different pegs until it falls into one of options at the bottom. Each time the disk comes in contact with a peg, it may fall either left or right thus varying the final output.
A quality website works in much the same way as the game Plinko. When people travers through your website, they make options and choices on what they click. Eventually, you want them to take some action. This may be a way for them to contact you, purchase an item, or sign up for a newsletter. It can be almost anything. The secret of a quality website is the control of the options and choices that are presented.
Thinking through the flow of a website is a combination of both art and science. The options need to be a bit intuitive to take people further into the engagement cycle. However, the flow also has to take into consideration the varied perspectives of the people entering the site.
Many companies make serious mistakes when it comes to the flow of their websites. They range from simple to more complex issues. These mistakes slow engagement and cause people to leave a site quickly. While there are many, let’s talk about a few of the big ones.
Everything is equal:
We have all been on websites were everything seems to be on the front page and of equal importance. Because there is no flow, the visitor is bombarded with all of the options and choices at once. This often just causes them to not try to find the information they are actually looking to discover. There is just no real path to follow.
From the companies perspective, everything is easy to find. It is because they are used to being on the site and know where things are found. However to the visitor, the paths are not so easy to spot.
The disjointed website:
Some websites just seem all over the place when it comes to the options presented. They often times just don’t make any sense from a visitor’s perspective. Some things may be found from a drop down menu while others from clicking on a graphic. While neither of those is bad in and of itself, when the website feels disjointed it creates issues.
Many times, when you are on one of these websites, it feels like it was designed by committee each with a different idea on how visitors should flow through the site. Because it lacks consistency, people often give up trying to find the information they are looking for.
The pretty website:
While a pleasant aesthetic website is important, some websites spend so much energy on the look without much thought into the function or purpose. They are filled with beautiful images and videos that are pleasant to look at. However, because they have no flow, the visitor is never taken to a deeper level or towards an action.
Of course it is important to have an aesthetically pleasing site. However, if that detracts from the websites purpose, you may need to spend some more energy on considering the flow and how people traverse through the site.
While there are many other areas that can be discussed, at Operation Crusader, we recommend taking some time to go onto your website as a visitor who knows little about what you do. Does the navigation drive your towards an action? Can you find what you are looking for within a click or two? Does your site pull you in deeper providing more information as a person clicks? If the answer is no, you should consider the websites flow.
Crafting Revenue Streams
Stop leaving money on the table! You have done the work to attract and build a customer only to allow money to stay on the table. Craft additional revenue streams around your product or service that can drive new income and connect new customers.
When the majority of businesses are created, they have a specific product or service in mind. The business works hard at developing that product or service so that it provides value to their customers. The spend the money and energy on marketing efforts to engage with potential clients. All of this is good but isn’t enough.
There are a few ways to increase a customer base without hurting your current business. These can include some eCommerce, Membership, and Education.
eCommerce is a powerful way of adding an additional revenue stream. There are several companies that will even drop ship the purchased items, so there isn’t any inventory. eCommerce can be something you currently offer to a new product. The sky is the limit. The only real rule is that it needs to be connected to how people perceive your business. If you do IT work, the eCommerce has to be something related to IT. This is to keep your credibility.
Membership or Subscriptions are another powerful way of driving new revenue. Subscription services are everywhere. You can get subscription services from everything from food to razor blades. People are already comfortable with them. These services create an automatic income stream that can be developed. For instance, if you sell vacuum cleaners, create subscription service for the bags that are used. Subscription services keep people engaged with your brand.
Finally, one of the more current streams is educational services. Teach people something. Showcase your expertise. Education services create new audiences that can be developed. For instance, if you are IT company, educate people on specific things they can do themselves to protect themselves or their families. This places you in a position of an authority and a trusted resource as well as drive some new revenue.
One of the most powerful things a business can do is to utilize a hybrid approach, bringing together all of the above into a comprehensive program. This allows businesses to maximize the revenue developed while enhancing the public perception of their brand.
There are some cautions that go along with creating revenue streams that need to be mentioned. First, it has to fit within your business model. Basically, it has to make sense to someone looking at your business. If you are an IT company and sell pots and pans on your website, there is a disconnect and people will view you skeptically, as they should. However, if that same IT company was offering a membership where they were educating people about computer security, it would make sense to the public.
Secondly, any education can not been perceived as a “sales pitch”. The goal of marketing is NOT to get a customer but to be seen as the authority within your product or service. There are so many businesses that can not help themselves and feel the constant need to just sell, sell, sell. Utilizing a subscription to develop clients is a great plan. It allows them to start with something small (a monthly fee) and get to know your company. If you go in and try to continually sell to that group, they will begin to feel their investment was a trap to just get their money which will hurt your brand and create new issues for you.
Finally, it has to have a perceived value to the customer. If the goal is to get people to engage with your company, any connection point needs to have a perceived value. The question needs to be answered as to why someone should connect with you. If you answer is all about you or your company, you are off base. It has to be about the customer and value. If they perceive value, there is value. If they don’t see the value, there is no value, no matter what you think.
At Operation Crusader, we work with companies to enhance new review streams. Just reach out and let’s talk about your business.
Purposeful and Intentional Communication
It is time to get off of the client treadmill!
The treadmill is continually looking for someone who is ready to buy your product or service now. It is always about the current sale without any fore thought to developing a strategy to develop potential customers. The treadmill leaves business people exhausted because you are only as good as your last sale.
The better way is to develop a strategy where customers will be attracted and developed so when they are ready, you are already engaged and connected to them. Yes, we know, this sounds so simple but it does take a strategy.
The first thing that needs to be understood is that all businesses are different. This means that the strategies used may be different as well. There is no “right way” or “wrong way” of doing things. Instead of right and wrong, think of things as attracting or repelling. Sincerely asking if an activity is attracting people or repelling them from your brand.
The second consideration is attracting the right people. Who actually makes the buying decisions for your product or service? You need to be able to name the primary, secondary, and tertiary audience for your brand. All too often, business people are happy to have a large number of people who like them on social media or receive an email. While numbers are not bad, if they are the wrong audience, you will be just spinning your wheels without gaining any traction. You will find yourself busy with little return.
Once you know your audience(s), you can begin to work towards a plan. The first tier we discuss at Operation Crusader is Community to Contact, or C1. This takes into consideration when someone engages your brand to when they contact you. They may touch your brand on social media, through a newsletter, or just a google search. It really doesn’t matter how they connected, the real question is what will keep them connected. Becoming very purposeful during this time is critical to keep people engaged. One of the most powerful tools is to employ an educational component. Give people a reason to stay engaged and connected.
Eventually, the goal is to have that potential customer actually make contact with you, Contact to Customer C2. While some businesses have a very short C2 duration, many others have a longer, extended time depending on the product or service. Either way, how you engage with that customer is important. The customer experience will keep create something they can remember. Your product or service will be tied to the emotion the customer felt while working with you.
Finally, where most companies drop the ball, happens after the sales process. For many companies, they hope the customer returns without really making any effort into retaining and developing that customer. What typically happens is the attention is just focused on the next customer in line with little or no consideration to the customer who just made the purchase. This is just bad thinking and is the reason so many business people live on the treadmill.
What happens after someone becomes a customer will determine if they will ever make a referral or a recommendation. Focusing on Customer to Cheerleader, C3, brings about the reward of a continual referral source as well as keeping that customer engaged with your brand.
A huge mistake many business people make is the assumption that since that person bought from you once, they will come back to you when they are ready to buy again. Unless you give them reasons to do this, it just won’t happen. Sure, you may get lucky with some returning but there is little brand loyalty. This needs to be purposely developed. Just hoping for the best is not a great strategy.
Creating specific strategies that are purposeful and intentional provide a freedom to small businesses that lack a huge marketing budget. These strategies don’t need to be complicated or cumbersome. They do need to be intentional.
At Operation Crusader, we can walk you though the process helping craft a plan that fits into your business. We offer services that range from just helping craft a plan to developing the tools needed to accomplish that plan. Let’s have a conversation about your business.
Measurements
Proper measurement is critical to know if your efforts are on point or need redirected. But knowing which measurements to use can be a challenge. Without proper measuring tools, businesses are left aimless, just hoping that what they are doing is working.
Because more businesses are not sure which tools to use, they resort to the only one they know, the bottom line. They tend to only focus on the financial impact on things. The problem with using this as the primary measuring tool for marketing, it doesn’t isolate or really tell you what is happening. The assumption is made that it must be the marketing but there is a myriad of things that could be happening from your sales process to costing.
One tool that is often used, especially with advertising agencies, is the number of people who may see your ad. While viewership is important, it isn’t the most important thing. To be effected, your ad first must be shown to the correct audience other wise, you are just throwing money away. Even if it is shown to the correct audience, engagement is another issue all together. Just how many of those people are actually taking action on your ad? After all, this is what you are really looking for, action.
If you understand the 3C areas of Communication Planning, measurement and evaluation becomes much easier. It allows you to take a much smaller range and look carefully at any engagement. This allows you to focus in efforts to find what brings you the best results.
C1 - Community to Contact
This is where most people think of marketing and communication. This area is where people happen to come across your brand, however that happens. The first focus is having your brand stand out so people will come across it. From there, using the tools to explain how your product or service will transform the customers situation, solve a problem, or provide an new experience becomes important to get people to reach out and contact you.C2 - Contact to Customer
Some companies, this happens at the same time. However, when we are talking more of the complex sale, often times, there is a gap between these two events. This gap provides you with the time to really focus in, and show the potential customer how you will help solve a problem or enhance their lives.C3 - Customer to Cheerleader
One of the biggest tragedies is today’s business environment is how often we allow customers to just filter away. Now there are a lot of reasons that customers drift away and lose contact. However, this doesn’t take the business off the hook. What happens after the sale is often more impactful than what happened prior. This is where you build cheerleaders, those customers who will talk with other people they know and refer them to you.
By dividing your communication strategies into simple components it allows you to really focus in on engagement. Numbers mean very little of those numbers are not connecting. For instance, I know of several businesses that are excited because they have thousands of people that have “liked” their Facebook page. However, no one ever responds to any post that is made. No one comments. No one shares. The companies are spending a lot of time and effort creating and adding content for little or no engagement. But because they have so many people who have “liked” their page, they think it is successful.
The secret to all marketing and communication is to know what really matters. Once you focus on engagement, successfully implement new plans, and gain some traction the next step is to add some more energy and expand what you are doing to a wider audience. Trying to broadcast big without that traction will only get more numbers of people who have seen your ad without ever really engaging with your company.
At Operation Crusader, we know this can be challenging. That is why we offer both Marketing and Communication Planning to walk you through each step of the way.
That’s Not What I Meant
We use the same language, hear the same words, and yet come to different understandings of what those words mean. As a marketer, this can be a big issue. After all, we know what we intended to say and the last thing most of us want is for someone to take offense and hurt our brand. If your purpose is to offend or use shock, then this blog post may not be for you. But if your goal is to understand and be understood, let me shed some light on things.
Before I begin, it has to be discussed that we are living in a hyper sensitive world. There are many people looking for offense. Many times, these groups can be very vocal. Even when no offense is warranted, there will probably be something that someone will be offended by. The USA has made an industry out of taking offense.
Assuming your goal is to be clear in your communication, let’s talk about some of the issues that have a major impact. Not all may apply to your situation, but we should at least be aware of things.
Language:
Words have meaning and those meanings may change over time or by different groups of people. This is why we need to be very careful when utilizing any slang words. What you intend to say may easily be misunderstood. So use simple, common language.
Social Economic Groups:
We are all a product of our life experiences. Our life experiences provide specific perspectives of how we see the world around us. This impacts both how we speak, but more importantly how we listen. Be careful using analogies that may have a different meaning to different social economic groups.
Ethnic Groups:
If your goal is to be understood, we must be very careful about how our communication can be interpreted by different ethnic groups. The goal of this blog is not to argue the right and wrong of those debates, but focus more into the what needs to be considered to communication the strongest. Be very careful of words and phrases that can have a different meaning to different groups of people. While your intentions may be pure, that will be of little consequence if there is a misunderstanding. If your goal is to be heard, don’t add language that can deter from that
Age Groups:
Each age group tends to focus on words that have specific meaning to that group. They hold that language to have more of a meaning because of their life experience. For instance, a senior that has lived through the Korean and Vietnam war, may be more sensitive to words such as honor, duty, and pride than some one that may have been born in the 1990’s. It doesn’t make one right or wrong, better or worse, just different. Know your audience so you can communicate with words that resonate with that group.
Gender:
Men and women in today’s society have unique challenges they face. While many are shared, how each tends to approach those issues can be different. These can range from how each approaches societal issues such as relationships, or health issues that are more prevalent within each gender. Again, it doesn’t make one group better or worse, but we must be sensitive in how those topics are approached. Approach it wrong and we risk alienating half of our potential customers.
Educational Level:
The words we use all have meaning. However, any words used must fall within the parameters of the reader or listener. If you use language that is perceived as either below or above the average educational level of the reader, you are going to be perceived incorrectly. Use too high of language, you will be seen as snooty and arrogant. Use too low of language and you will be seen as uneducated and have less credibility. Find the common ground and speak clearly.
While there are others areas that we need to be aware, these are some of the basics. The goal is to be heard and understood. So speak (or write) simply and straight forward. The more creative means or analogies used, the more chance that things will be misunderstood. One thing to try is to have someone else, outside of your circle to read your post and tell you what they understood from what you have written. If something was not clear to them, take the time to rewrite it. Take the time to be understood.
The internet is not working!!!!!
If you are like many of our clients, you face a bit of frustration with the online world. After all, you were told that you need a great website to attract clients only to find that your site visits are not what they should be. You were told to have engaging social media only to find that you are not getting the traction due to the social media company’s algorithms. You sent out electronic newsletters only to find a dismal open rate. All of this has brought you to the point of just frustration. You know how important it is to have a solid online presence but it just feels overwhelming and frustrating.
Now, we are not saying that any of those tools are not important. Actually, they all are, if used correctly. The biggest problem that we see, it seems on a daily basis, is the tools are not being used together, they are not congruent in their messaging, and there is no plan behind them.
For most businesses, when they began, they developed a Business Plan. This Business Plan focused in on what the company does. One section of that Business Plan focuses in on sales predictions. However, most never really dive into the who and hows of that marketing. Numbers are produced on assumptions of sales without really saying how those sales will take place.
Developing a Marketing Plan focuses specifically within the area of sales and marketing. Audience scopes are narrowed and messaging is created. Once the audience scope is narrowed, the specific tools or platforms that will connect with those audience will be discussed. A plan is put forward to reach those audiences with a message that will drive engagement.
All of the tools need to work together to build congruency. Basically, your social media must have the same “feel” as your website. Your eNewsletters must have the same feel as your blogs. When a client feels your communication is incongruent, it creates an issues. Something just doesn’t feel right even if we can not put our finger on why we feel the way we do.
Each tool has a purpose. While some work well for specific issues, they may not work as well for others. Knowing the purpose of each tool and how it can be used allows us to incorporate that tool into an overall plan. This allows us to use each tool purposely and intentionally for specific reasons.
New internet tools are coming out all of the time. While some may be a great fit for your business, what we find is that most people get caught up in chasing the next greatest thing. Begin with your core plan utilizing the tools that make sense. When a new service is presented, if you would like, take some time to evaluate how that tool will fit within your plan. If it adds an element or connection that you don’t currently have, let’s add it. If it doesn’t, no matter how good it looks, leave it alone. Keep your energy focused on the tools that are driving traffic.
Finally, all of the tools must point to your website. Let’s be honest, we all have been frustrated by algorithms on platforms that just seem to restrict engagement. Because those platforms are “shared space” you don’t control who will see anything you post. There is nothing wrong with those platforms, but your ultimate goal is driving traffic to your website. Your website is the only real estate that you actually own online. The more people pushed through your website, the higher you are going to rank in the search engines.
There is a lot more to search engine optimization, but we will deal with that on another post. If you need some help developing a clear Marketing and Communication Plan, reach out to us. We would love to have a conversation with you.
Crafting a Message
One of the most overlooked area of business is developing a clear message. It seems that most businesses just state what they do in all of their marketing and advertising allowing the potential client to hopefully make the connection that they need that product or service.
We are emotional beings that make decisions on those emotions. Once we make that decision, we look for analytical ways to justify those decisions. Because of that, any messaging must begin with an emotion.
What do you want your customer to feel when they engage with your brand? This may be on social media, your website, or even through your print marketing. Deciding what feeling you want your potential client to feel is your first step.
Deciding the emotion doesn’t have to be a challenge. An attorney may want the emotion to be confidence or trust. A cup cake retail shop may want their customers to feel a sense of nostalgia. That emotion should then drift through all of your marketing efforts using color, graphics and the words you use.
We are no longer within the service age, but in the experience and transformation age. While, of course, service is important, that aspect of business has been made a commodity. People will engage more with a specific experience or transformation.
This is never more clear than a gym. All of their marketing focuses on the transformation of the person who uses their gym. They never say, this is a place to come in and sweat and have your muscles hurt for days. Their focus is the end result.
That is how your messaging needs to focus. Once you have the emotion, what is either the transformation or experience you want your customer to have? If you run a service type of business, it may be something along the lines of how your customer will feel when you are providing them your service.
Finally, once you have the emotion and transformation or experience, you want to focus in on what problem you are solving. It always amazes me how many websites I read and still don’t really know what the company does. Don’t make it hard for your potential client to know what you do and how you can help them.
Since you know your audience, you can specifically speak to specific issues they are facing. You understand the stress this puts them under or maybe by using your product or service, it will provide a more streamlined approach for your client. It really doesn’t matter. Talk directly to the value of what you do, in your client’s terms.
Focus on the value, from your client’s perspective. It is easy for you to look at your business and see all of the value you provide. But looking at your business from the outside often times doesn’t speak to that value at all. Why should a client use your product or service? What does it do for them? What problem does it solve? Why YOU?
At Operation Crusader, we know these conversations are not easy. If you need some help walking through the conversation, please just reach out and let’s talk. We would love to have a conversation with you.
Know Your Audience
One of the first topics discussed with every client is, “who is your audience?” Typically, I get the response, “everyone.” This is where many of the challenges begin. What the business owner is hoping for is to cast such a wide net so they don’t miss anyone who may have an interest in their product or service. However, casting such a wide net leaves huge gaps in their marketing so they miss the people who they are really looking to attract.
Before we jump into identifying your audience, we should define what an audience is. An audience is a group of people with specific characteristics. Sounds simple enough, but the real challenge is narrowing your audience scope.
To identify your audience you can either begin wide and work narrow, or work narrow and expand. For instance, a general audience may be “women.” However, for a marketing approach to be effective, the scope needs to be narrowed. Do you cater towards all women or women from a certain social economic level? Is it regionality an issue or are you exclusively only? Are you looking for women that hold a professional career? Retired women? Single women? Married women? The questions could go on forever.
Why is this so important?
The narrower your audience scope, the more effect communication becomes. The reason for this is that you can speak more specifically about struggles and situations that person experiences. It allows you to engage and connect with your potential client specifically.
One of the core purposes in business is to find a need and fill it. For your potential client to feel you empathize with their situation so that you can help them, you must gave a narrow enough scope to engage on more specific terms. This allows you to use words and phrases that have a specific impact on their situation.
Don’t go too far.
One of the dangers of narrowing the scope is taking things a bit too far. For instance, an audience scope of left handed women who like to wear red and has peanut butter for breakfast every morning creates such a small market that it will make your marketing effort difficult. Now, certainly, there are some businesses that have to have such a narrow scope. However, for the most of us, we need to engage a bit larger of an audience.
Can you have more than one audience?
Certainly. Most companies have a primary audience, a secondary audience, as well as a tertiary audience. For instance, a college admission office may have high school seniors as their primary audience. But there is another audience they need to be aware of, the student’s parents. So the parents become the secondary audience. Finally, one of the biggest resources is the alumni. They become the tertiary audience. So when the college communicates, they need to be aware of the impact on each of those audiences.
On top of the primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences, you may have a completely separate audience for another aspect of your business. For instance, a company may be broken into categories such as sales and repairs. Each specific category may have specific audiences that engage with that category. Most companies have two or three distinct audiences depending on their make up.