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The workplace in 2021 requires employers to rethink priorities and development of necessary skill sets. Businesses should embrace a dynamic approach to reskilling talent as new skills become relevant and necessary.
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Twenty-twenty was a stressful year for many of us. With the arrival of 2021, everyone has seen the need and desire for empathy, compassion, and connection. Now is the time to project optimism and lead with compassion and approach our customers with empathy.
Your customers become your greatest assets and ambassadors when they see you genuinely care about them. Compassionate businesses grow a passionate and loyal community of partners. Here are some key positions for your business to introduce:
Remember, passionate customers are loyal customers. Loyal customers are consistent customers. And consistent customers get us through inconsistent times. Contests and sweepstakes are great ways of generating interest and expanding your reach to a target audience. If you want to increase site traffic, reward customers, and/or gain some new leads to add to your marketing efforts, then you might want to consider having a contest or sweepstakes giveaway.
Many people use the terms “contests” and “sweepstakes” as if they were the same. Technically, however, sweepstakes are prize giveaways where the winners are chosen by luck. Contests, on the other hand, draw a winner based on some merit. The person must enter something such as the funniest picture with logo, most moving essay, tastiest recipe, or whatever will be chosen as the winner. Sweepstakes or contests can promote your product and company, expand your current customer base, and gather contact information of potential customers for future marketing. The premise is simple - offer a prize that will entice your preferred target audience to give you their contact information and allow you to communicate with them. I say preferred target audience because sweepstakes and contests also attract people that may not be your target. I recently entered a sweepstakes for a $100 gas card. I was willing to give my name and email address for the chance to win. The rules stated, “The sweepstakes is open to residents of the United States and Canada, age 18 and over” and “Only entries received via the official web entry form will be included in the drawings.” This sweepstakes followed good form with the rules easy to find and read. The sweepstakes were clearly aimed to increase new visits to an attraction by people some distance away and encourage them to stay overnight. However, I am not a target customer. I already visit the attraction regularly, and I will not be purchasing overnight accommodations. It was by accident that I found the sweepstakes when searching for something else. But this is still a success because it engaged me and delivered the message about the weekend and overnight accommodations available. Designing your own contest or sweepstake When you choose to conduct a sweepstakes or contest you will have many choices to make and will need to follow some basic rules.
Rules In the United States, every state establishes its own set of rules for contests and sweepstakes. The main law you need to be aware of when you run a contest or sweepstakes in any U.S. state is the “no purchase necessary law.” This law states that you cannot require users to make a purchase or provide other forms of consideration to enter a sweepstakes where winners are randomly drawn. States have their own rules about what sort of contests or sweeps are legal. This is where the “void where prohibited” clause comes in. The statement gives the company blanket protection against running an illegal contest, without having to research the law in each state. Since social media makes it easier to run contests nationwide, and even internationally, make sure that you are stating exactly where the person must live to enter. Additionally, there are Federal Trade Commission rules about collecting information from children. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) limits and restricts information that may be gathered and how it may be used. “If you operate a commercial Web site or an online service directed to children under 13 that collects personal information from children or if you operate a general audience Web site and have actual knowledge that you are collecting personal information from children, you must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.” So, plan your contests carefully. Check out other contests and their rules, check your state’s rules, and get some professional advice if you have any questions or concerns. The concept of being a one-stop shop is one that has long been considered by companies of all sizes. There are always pros and cons to any change, however, there are different ways one can set about being all-inclusive. A lot of this depends upon your business.
Keep in mind that you do not want to stray too far from your relevant industry. Example: I would never consider adding a service such as auto detailing to my marketing services – it makes no sense! Although I am sure many of us have seen examples of that in our world. But you do not want to be known as the “jack of all trades, master of none.” There are times when it makes sense. As I mentioned in a recent article, “Are You an Owner or Entrepreneur?” there are two ways you can grow your small business:
Benefits of these “one-stop” opportunities An introduction of new revenue streams to make more money from the same customers. More comprehensive offerings to differentiate you from the competitors that may not be able to offer the same extensive range of products and services. The convenience factor which allows customers or clients to have everything done in-house rather than having to deal with numerous suppliers. Consumers appreciate ease. One-stop shops breed greater customer loyalty. When clients and customers subscribe to a broader range of products and services, it’s harder for them to move their business elsewhere. Expanding business activities to incorporate a more comprehensive range of goods and services does require efficient coordination, and it does take care to ensure company resources aren’t spread too thinly. For a smaller, more flexible business, however, becoming a one-stop shop that provides customized “packages” for its customers and clients can really help differentiate it from the competition. That’s exactly right, what better way to use your acting and talent than to market your business! I do it all the time. And I am going to share some of the top tips I use to be entertaining and grow my business at the same time.
1. Tell Stories – We all use stories, both personal and professional, to illustrate a point. Remember, facts can be boring but using stories can make you interesting. Your clients and prospects want to learn more about you – What better way to earn their trust and loyalty. 2. Something to Talk About – You want people to talk about you, all positive of course. The best way to get that happening is to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Start talking about how different and unique you are and soon everyone else will be talking too. The best possible position to be in is to have your clients bragging about being your client. Be a celebrity. Everyone will want to be part of your celebrity world. 3. Engage your Clients – If they’re engaged, they are enjoying themselves. When your clients feel like part of your business, it makes it very difficult for a competitor to steal them away. 4. Host Events and Parties – Have contests, surveys, private sales, loyalty rewards, customer outings, networking events, family fun events … any event that involves your clients and prospects. People want to have fun and it will be fun for you, too. Make sure you share the news and take pictures for social media too. 5. Calendar Marketing – Here’s where you become as big a part of your clients’ lives as they are of yours. Share events on a calendar. Make their events as much a part of your life as yours are. Why not? Showing up at events will introduce you to a whole new set of prospects AND it will instill loyalty in your clients. Plus, you can share their events on your social media and even publish an online calendar. Another fun way to use calendar marketing is to promote some obscure holidays or annual celebration days and find those that are relevant to your clients. 6. New Client Experiences – After you have closed the sale, do not sit back and relax. Now is the time to “wow” them…again! Make them realize that they made the correct decision in choosing you. You can: • Send a handwritten “Thank You” card • Blog about them or post it on Social Media (with their approval) • Send them an unexpected present (and not a pen or anything with your name on it) • Make them another offer they can’t refuse • Make a customized “Thank You” video • Donate to a charity in their name Put some thought into creative ideas and watch the repeat business and referrals just float your way. 7. Be unpredictable – Pique their curiosity. If you keep them wondering what’s next, I guarantee they’ll keep coming back to see what else you are up to. Recently in a client meeting, I was asked by one of the sales employees what they needed to know to help them be more successful next year.
It’s a great question and one that we should be asking ourselves on a regular basis, not just about next year but about next quarter and next month. Here’s what I told the salesperson and the rest of the team: 1. If you can’t raise your level of sales effectiveness by at least 15%, you’ll wind up losing ground to the competition. There is not one company out there that is not demanding more of every employee with each passing year. This means every competitor you have is going to be looking to become more efficient in how they sell. Yes, some will stumble, but many will be successful. To you, it means one thing. Doing the same thing next year is simply not going to be good enough. You must find ways to streamline your sales process and market in new ways to be competitive. 2. The pool of prospects next year is going to grow. There will be more prospects than ever, and the good news is more of them will actually buy. The Internet continues to open up new areas and social media processes, and this means prospects can come from more places. Yes, it’s good news, but it also means competitors can come from more places. In the end, it means you must be able to adapt how you sell to be more flexible than ever. 3. Prospects are going to engage you later than ever in the process. The Internet is an amazing tool in how it allows prospects to review how you might be able to assist them with what you offer. Thanks to the capabilities of search engines, prospects can do more, learn more and ultimately draw more conclusions without ever directly communicating with you. 4. Time will become even more important for you, your prospects and your customers. Because prospects can engage with you later in the sales cycle, after they have done more research, they will be looking to make their decision faster regarding the time you have with them. If you sell in the B2B market, this same thing holds true for the customers your customers sell to. The entire sales process is going to continue to shrink in regard to the level of time it takes to complete the sale. 5. Customer loyalty will continue to decrease. Why should a customer stay loyal to you? There is so much information on the Internet and the number of competitors is so robust, it only makes sense for even the most loyal customer to look around. If you’ve been reading between the lines with each one of the points I’ve listed above, you’ll notice something. They are all interconnected. At the core is the ever-growing level of information available to the prospects and customers. Just as the level of information is growing, so is the number of competitors you have. In the end, the big take away is this: If you think you can be successful doing the exact same thing you did this year, you’re kidding yourself. You might be successful for a while, but ultimately your business will erode, and chances are you won’t notice it until too much has eroded away. So, take to heart what you can learn from these points I have shared so that you will be more successful next year than this year! Businesses are moving away from mass, “push”-based marketing and toward more personalized, one-to-one communication with consumers through the many channels and on the many devices they use. The effectiveness and ROI (return on investment) of print media and television ads are on the decline.
This is a function of technology and culture, where mobile Internet access has greatly enhanced shoppers' deal-hunting abilities. Smartphones and tablets enable consumers to shop, redeem rewards, and browse the Web, while social media has given brands an open window into customers' lifestyles, providing insights into what motivates their loyalty. Customer data analysis makes for improved loyalty programs — but technology can disrupt loyalty as much as it enables it. Too much multichannel marketing can become a bombardment. Let’s look at showrooming, for example. Most retailers have feared it, with critics saying such practices undercut brick-and-mortar sales. But showrooming fears are fading as smartphones are now a way of life and brands can turn this into an in-store advantage. A customer searching on his or her phone could be in need of in-store engagement. This is where genuine customer service, price flexibility, and price transparency are critical. A recent showrooming study found that if an in-store price is $5 or more above Amazon's price, 63 percent will purchase online. The lesson is simple. Retailers must mind their prices, and, if possible, keep in range of online competitors. But prices aren't everything. Quality customer service with helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable staff goes a long way in combating showrooming. And if high-value customers are near the threshold of a higher loyalty tier, sometimes the loyalty rules can be bent in their favor. This is a level of attentiveness online shopping has yet to master, but it's something brick-and-mortar stores do very well and they need to do more to ensure their customers’ loyalty. Traditionally, brands have thought about loyalty in terms of single-merchant plastic cards complete with “buy one get one free” deals or apps that mimic coupon clipping. Now, however, brands and their loyalty program providers are focusing on creating platforms that enable marketing automation. This in turn enables loyalty managers to extend to all potential points of consumer engagement. Today’s consumers have powerful research tools at their fingertips and are extremely intelligent and skeptical of brand promises. The same goes for loyalty program members. If offers are irrelevant, retailers will risk program membership and engagement. Brands, marketers, and retailers must do what they're supposed to: Attend to customer wants and needs on those customers' preferred channels. Moreover, they need customer insights that go beyond the sale, revealing how other aspects of their lives influence their brand loyalty. Keeping customers loyal isn't easy. Tech-savvy and time-strapped consumers crave instant rewards and genuine brand relationships cultivated across multiple channels. Sometimes those two needs yield contradictory results. But each of today's loyalty challenges also contains part of the solution. The key is recognizing when customer loyalty has gone astray and using the latest customer engagement technology to repair those fault lines before they widen irreparably. As we end 2016, let’s commit ourselves (and our loyalty programs) to be proactive rather than reactive. Research and investment in new technologies that help programs grow can make all the difference between a program that satisfies customers' demands and one that drives them away.  When your auto repair company sends you a coupon for a discount on an oil change, or your local coffee shop rewards you with a free cup of coffee every 10th time you buy, you're seeing a promotional program at work. A promotion is a planned strategy for increasing sales over a short period. A promotion adds value to the product or service offered. It stimulates sales for reasons other than the product's inherent benefits. We call those reasons incentives. Sometimes the incentive is designed to specifically make a sale, as in "$2 off medium pizza with this coupon." Other times the incentive is planned simply to expose the customer to the product — to break down preliminary barriers that are roadblocks to a future sale.
With a promotional program, you can persuade people to try your product, to experiment with new beliefs about your service; you can shift buying habits so that sporadic users find reasons to buy more. Who uses promotions? There are business-to-business promotional programs, and there are consumer programs. Remember, people do business with people. So much of the same techniques apply to both. Different businesses are drawn to different styles of promotion. The most frequent users of promotional programs are the retail services, like car care, hair care, and restaurants. Coupons are the most common promotion for these types of businesses; dry cleaners use coupons extensively, and so do grocery stores. It's the ability to track results, as well as their proven effectiveness, that makes coupon offers so popular. In the business-to-business world, suppliers frequently engage in promotions by offering sale prices. You are less likely to see coupons here, because the patterns of purchasing are a little different. The person making the decision to buy may not be the same person who is writing the check, so requiring the physical coupon to be used would be an unnecessary barrier to the desired sale. Promotions work because people like something for nothing. They respond to two-for-one offers, and they love a good deal or free extra with their purchase. Special promotions help many businesses achieve their marketing objectives, such as combating seasonal cycles or stealing attention from the competition. |
Boost Your BusinessMaria NovakI have over 35 years' experience in Marketing Small Businesses. Categories
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