by admin | May 28, 2015 | B2B Sales, Brand Marketing
By James Rothaar
Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!
While many B2B businesses have built their firms solidly over the years by providing quality work and great customer service, there are many companies with room for improvement in maximizing their online sales and marketing efforts with a content management.
While it would seem that a B2B service providers with good reputations in their fields would be very effective with on social networks, only 43% of B2Bs surveyed by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs in their annual study on B2B content marketing felt they were very effective (9%) or effective (33%) with their usage of content. The remaining 57 of the 100 participating companies felt that their content marketing was not effective. Ninety-three out of 100 companies surveyed used content marketing in 2014.
The Blog
Many businesses are trying to leverage its expertise and get more attention with a blog. It enables a company to inform its business community about overall capabilities. It is the root of a foundation that can be built on one post at a time. It is an opportunity to establish authority as a knowledgeable source to both industry insiders and prospective clients.
There are several ways to publish an effective blog that is centric to an audience seeking information within a market place. For example, a company that sells products to home-repair professionals could post blog a series of how-to articles, ranging from how to do simple home repairs to how to hire contractors for in-house or onsite jobs. Blogging about jobs and showing images before and after pictures is another form of content that would interest such a crowd.
Informative and Enlightening Leads to Engagement
Keep in mind that the purpose of a business blog is to expand your market, enhance your reputation, and leverage your expertise so that your company becomes a go-to source for publishing valuable information and sharing its know-how.
Building a following by blogging will take time, so you have to be consistent and patient, especially when starting out. Plan to write two to three posts for your blog weekly week. However, it is likely that it will be at the center of a content-marketing strategy.
Promoting a Blog via Social Networks
The next step is to establish a presence on social networks that will prompt people to visit your website.
Start out simple by setting up a page for our business on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and LinkedIn. There are more social networks out there than these, actually, there are hundreds if you want to dig, but this is good beginning. If your blog includes a lot of images, opening an account for your business on Pinterest and Instagram would also be good networks to consider as well. Increase your chances of getting attention by being active at various social networks.
Mix It Up
While it is okay to promote your blog on different social networks, do not just take the same post you did on Facebook and repost it elsewhere. Use different images and talk about different topics within the post. If you are putting it up on five networks, there should be five unique ways of presenting it too.
Be Unique
A B2B business can efficiently enhance its position in the market by taking these simple steps to establish a social network. Building an effective social network enables a company to reach a larger number of prospective customers. It also enables a company to improve upon its customer service and to informally chat with its existing customers and followers.
Your website and social network are marketing and sales tools that should be working for your business 24/7.
Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.
Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.
SalesFish Net of Sales Services:
- B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
- On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
- B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
- Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
- Online Presentations and Webinars
- Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
- Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
- Experiential Event Marketing
- Pre and Post-Event Calls
- Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
by admin | May 7, 2015 | B2B Sales, Brand Marketing, Client Experience
By James Rothaar
Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!
Marketing online for a small business can present some big challenges for companies. Many organizations, both large and small, are trying to determine how to use the Internet and social media most effectively to increase sales and market share for their companies. With the Internet and social media already having transcended from trend to mega trend to permanent-fixture status around the world, it is virtually impossible for any business model to function at its highest level of effectiveness without knowing how utilize it.
Along with marketing online, a company these days also has to maintain and manage its reputation on the Internet, as many consumers turn to it to research products and service providers as part of their pre-buy decision-making process. As a businessman, that is why it is important to ensure that online reviews and ratings are obtained from customers. However, what it is even more significant is that these ratings and reviews are monitored meticulously.
Third-party websites that contain reviews of companies written by customers, such as Yelp, Service Magic, Angie’s List, and HomeAdvisor, play a significant role in determining how today’s marketplace views a business.
According to the 2011 Social Media Report by Nielsen, a globally renowned market research firm, 60% of all social-media users write reviews of products and brands that they buy. The study also revealed that the reviews by consumers are preferred over the reviews by industry professionals, such as reporters and industry insiders.
Additionally, search engines do defer to ratings of companies to determine how much attention to give them on the Internet.
These third-party review sites are an excellent way for well-ran businesses to be unearthed. Companies that deliver great customer service are receiving well-deserved publicity for their exemplary efforts. The sites also give a business important customer feedback with their complaints as well. These portals are where companies’ online reputations are built one customer review at a time.
Here are a few tips on how to optimize a business could manage its online reputation.
Ask Customers for a Review Once… and Only Once
While online reviews are important, a company should only ask for the review once. If a customer feels that he is being pressured into giving a review, it may turn out not to be a favorable one. To improve the chances of receiving the review, give customers a handout that thanks them for doing business with you and requests them to rate their experience with your company.
Be Proactive, Not Reactive to Reviews
Every review may not be positive. So, when a review from a less-than-satisfied patron occurs, it is important to respond to them in a professional manner. Go the extra step and contact the dissatisfied customer directly before responding to their issue on the review board. A little personal attention could go a long way in smoothing out a situation before it escalates to being an unsolvable problem. This leads us to the next point.
Turn a Bad Review Into a Marketing Opportunity
No business is perfect and something could go wrong for myriad reasons. If handled correctly, this type of situation could have a very positive end result. If a customer can be made happy after being disappointed and then goes on to write about it, it lets other people (prospects) read about how a company resolves issues. What began as a negative situation could be turned into a positive outcome by providing exemplary customer service. Additionally, if satisfied customers read a negative review and feel that it is uncharacteristic, those customers may defend the business by posting a positive review of their experience.
Never Argue Online with a Customer
Never ever do this. Read that previous four-word sentence out loud thrice before continuing. Regardless of what a customer says, arguing with a dissatisfied customer on a review site is bad for business. Falling down that rabbit hole could do irreparable damage to a business’ reputation both online and offline. Always contact an angry customer directly before responding to their complaint on the review site.
Never Directly Do “Customer Service” Where You Were Rated
While it is important to always provide excellent customer service, it truly is best to initiate such efforts with the customer instead of discussing their “problems” online. Predicting how a customer will respond online … where the entire world can read it … is a risky proposition. It is not a chance worth taking. Why risk it?
Make it Easy as A-B-C-D!
When interacting with customers online on third-party review sites, there are four rules to keep in mind that could go a long way in building a successful online reputation for a company. Arguing, belittling, criticizing, or debating with an angry or dissatisfied customer should never occur. While customers may not always behave well, it is crucial that the business does. There are no exceptions.
You may wish to read that previous sentence out loud thrice too. It may not be easy, but it is one of those times when doing nothing will be the right course of action.
Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.
Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.
SalesFish Net of Sales Services:
- B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
- On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
- B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
- Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
- Online Presentations and Webinars
- Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
- Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
- Experiential Event Marketing
- Pre and Post-Event Calls
- Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
by admin | Mar 25, 2015 | B2B Sales, Brand Marketing, Client Experience
Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!
This is an open letter to all you entrepreneurial, my-way-or-the-highway, smartest-person-in-the-room types that have decided that in order to get your business to the next level you need to engage the services of a new agency, consultant or adviser.
In a word – PLEASE DON’T!
Seriously, don’t hire anyone, it will be better for everyone! Better for the consultants. Better for your team. Better for your business. And better for you!
This piece of advice comes from years of personal experience and is reflected in the saying, “If you are going to do all the barking, don’t buy a dog!”
Strong, me-driven leaders have a hard time with “new.” They understand they need to make a change – at least intellectually. And in their more rational moments, they know they can’t take the company any further and need the infusion of new thinking. So they send out an RFP and give the qualifying agencies the same pitch, “I want your best work. Think out of the box. Nothing is off limits. We need cutting edge ideas. Etc. Etc. Etc.”
Invariably the agency comes back with solutions that fit those marching orders and are met with, “I don’t think so. I know my customer and they won’t buy that. I don’t like those colors. Absolutely not. No. No. No.”
The match made in heaven quickly ends up in purgatory on the slippery slope to hell…
So what can prevent that fate and turn a potential disaster into a win-win partnership?
Set Reasonable Objectives
You know what kind of leader you are. (Or you should be getting some help understanding what kind of leader you are!) You know how much ‘new’ you can tolerate. You know how willing you are to let go of the reigns and let others take control. And you should be familiar with how your team responds to change and challenge.
So before you send out those RFPs and start interviewing candidates, set some reasonable objectives for the assignment. Certainly push the limits of your personal comfort zone, but there is no use setting the moon as your objective if you aren’t willing to leave earth’s atmosphere. Be willing to accept a sub-orbital objective while realizing that you can always extend the mission later.
By setting reasonable objectives, you save the agency from engaging in flights of fantasy that will crash shortly after lift-off. You also save your team the agonizing ordeal of rejecting everything out of hand. And you save the frustration of wasting valuable time in exploring non-viable ‘solutions.’
Setting reasonable expectations gets everyone on the same page more quickly, focuses the solutions to ‘can-do” alternatives, and energizes your team for the executional phase.
Select Dispassionately
Or at least as dispassionately as possible.
I have sat in many pitch review meetings where a strong leader has gotten all excited about the chemistry with the agency’s pitch leader. You’ve probably said it yourself, “I love that guy. They get me and what I want to accomplish. We’re a perfect match. This is going to be great!”
All the while your team is sitting there, hopefully not in a paralyzed state of submission to ‘what the big guy wants’, thinking, “Yeah you guys connected, but his team is a bunch of head-bobbing non-starters. We can’t work with them. This is going to be a disaster!”
Solution?
Set up an Agency Evaluation form before the pitch. Include all the things you think will be essential to a good partnership, including chemistry, competency, results from similar assignments, etc. Have each team member fill it out, anonymously if necessary, tabulate the response and then conduct your post mortem from that baseline. If a moment of wisdom breaks out, you might consider weighting your team’s response above yours since they are going to be the boots on the ground once you get up and running.
Practice Trust
This is the hard part for most of you…trust!
You know the little voices in your head: “Can I really trust my team?” “Can I really trust my agency partner?” “What are the guarantees everything is going to work out if I don’t get all hands-onish and take control of this process?”
Bottom line is you are really asking, “Can I trust myself?” Can I trust my choice of the people on my team? Can I trust the choice of objectives I have laid out? Can I trust the process I set in place to select our partner? Can I trust others enough so that I don’t have to be the smartest guy in the room?
The hard truth is that you’re never going to get to the next level if you’re not willing to trust others with the outcome. You have your part. You have your piece. But unless you are willing to let the dogs out, you are destined to get laryngitis…and remain pretty much where you are.
So, if you are going to do all the barking, don’t buy a dog! If you are determined to get to the next level in your business, set reasonable objectives, select dispassionately and practice trust.
Woof! Woof!
Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.
Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.
SalesFish Net of Sales Services:
- B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
- On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
- B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
- Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
- Online Presentations and Webinars
- Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
- Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
- Experiential Event Marketing
- Pre and Post-Event Calls
- Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
by admin | Mar 17, 2015 | B2B Sales, Brand Marketing, Digital Marketing, Lead Generation
Becoming a Digital Superstar in Your Niche Market
We all love superhero stories. They inspire us to do greater things and challenge us to tackle the impossible. While superheroes have their reality constraints, becoming a superstar is still an attainable reality. If you are a business seeking to gain a competitive edge in your niche market, you need to become a superstar — not just any superstar — but a digital superstar. You need to know how to effectively market your brand and create convertible content. Here are 5 tips that will help you to shine and experience substantial growth:
Tip #1: Focus on What Works the Best
A digital superstar is not outstanding for having the best marketing strategy. They are outstanding for recognizing the right marketing strategy at the right time. The market is impressionable and is constantly evolving. The strategy that generates great ROI early in the year may backfire on you months later. This is why digital superstars use tools like Google Analytics to measure the source and quantity of leads or sales. Doing so helps them to improvise according to market trends and stay on top of the game.
Tip #2: Have an On Budget Marketing Plan
When it comes to digital marketing, longevity and consistency are as important as quality and quantity. Instead of spreading your budget thin on a large variety of platforms, it’s important to stay in control of your cost by focusing on narrow and vertical target markets. Prioritize your marketing channels and invest in places that promise profits and the greatest growth. If you want to integrate a new digital marketing strategy, make sure to re-assess your budget and have enough data insights to support your decision.
Tip #3: Optimize for Local Search
More and more companies are personalizing their digital marketing campaigns. Whereas ranking for keywords remain important in search engine optimization, ranking for local SEO terms and phrases will help you to drive more relevant traffic to your website. As a digital superstar, you need to understand both the small and big pictures of digital marketing. As a result, you should not only have a global message for a generic audience, but also a set of specific, unique messages that target certain communities, geographic locations, age range, and occupations. Be specific, so your marketing proposition speaks personally to a wide audience.
Tip #4: Integrate Mobile Advertising
The number of mobile users is on the rise. According to CNN, data collected from comScore have led research firm Enders Analysis to find that “mobile devices accounted for 55% of Internet usage in the United States in January. Apps made up 47% of Internet traffic and 8% of traffic came from mobile browsers … PCs clocked in at 45%.” In other words, Americans are using smartphones and tablet apps more than PCs to access the Internet. Allocate budget to target mobile users by making sure that the ads you use display properly and beautifully on small screens.
Tip #5: Show Off Your Philanthropic Side
Let your customers know that their money is making a difference in the life of others by being open about your philanthropic efforts. Be it ending hunger in Africa or giving funds to breast cancer research, setting aside a percentage of your ROI to support worthy causes promotes both your brand name and company as a whole. Show your customers/clients that you’re making the world a better place, and they will help you to fulfill your digital marketing goals and philanthropic visions.
Digital marketing is the future. When done right, you can be the superstar and outshine your competitors! What are some of the tips you’re using to compete effectively in your niche market?
Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.
Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.
SalesFish Net of Sales Services:
- B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
- On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
- B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
- Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
- Online Presentations and Webinars
- Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
- Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
- Experiential Event Marketing
- Pre and Post-Event Calls
- Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
by admin | Feb 24, 2015 | B2B Sales, Client Experience
Welcome to the ultimate B2B Marketing Agency serving San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Seattle) as the most strategically biased Digital Marketing, Web Design and B2B Marketing Agency.
We gladly serve California and all 50 United States. Partner with a client-centric B2B Market Agency that puts skin in the game… from strategic Telemarketing Services to a Experiential Event Marketing.
“Fire a customer? Absolutely ridiculous…I would get torn to shreds on social media! How could you even suggest such a thing?”
Those thoughts probably went through your head just a few seconds after you thought, “Man, I would so love to do that!” You would love to do it, because you know that there a handful (hopefully not more) of customers that are sucking the life blood out of you and your organization. They cost you time, money and resources. They discourage your staff, dominate your customer service resources and are always looking for the ‘good guy rate’ on everything.
So what if firing a customer was a legitimate option in your business tool belt? How would you go about it?
Know Thyself
The first thing you have to do is an internal audit…on yourself and your company. What’s important to you? What are your values and culture? What do you do best and still make money at? How does a controlling, inflexible customer affect your organization? Which size company is easier and more profitable for your company to deal with? What is it that makes you cringe when you see a customer’s name come up in your email inbox?
These are just a few of the questions you may need to answer frankly, and without equivocation, in order to clearly define what your ideal and unacceptable customers look like. There is no shortcut for this process. You need to take the time to sit down and develop a chart of positive and negative customer traits that you can then translate into a real world description of who you want to do business with.
Set the Limits of Acceptability
Face it, not every customer is going to be ‘ideal’. We live in the real world of a sliding scale of customer response, attitude and profitability. You may have really profitable customers that are tearing the heart out of your account team. You may also have some small customers that you dearly love working with, but you can’t make a dime on. And then there are those you can’t stand working with, who chew up your time, talent and resources and that you make a pittance on.
While the latter may be the no brainer for the “pink slip” list, the others in the list might also need to be looked at carefully. To make a good business decision on who you do business with, you need leverage your learnings from your internal assessment to set limits of acceptability. For example, you may be willing to endure the negatives that go along with working with your cash cow, but you need to understand when they cross the limit and for the good of your business you need to send them packing. The same with the little guy you love. If you can’t afford the ‘pro bono’ work right now and they don’t have the significant upside to merit the investment, you may also have to help them find a more appropriate partner for their work.
In either case you need to decide where, and with who, you are going to draw the line.
Have the Hard Conversation
Once you have decided who you can’t live, with you need to have the hard conversation with them. You can’t just stiff them or slowly withdraw your services until they get upset and leave. That would certainly ignite a firestorm of negative PR. But you do need to sit down and have a frank conversation about the nature of your relationship and make some positive suggestions about who would be a better fit for them. The same with the smaller or unprofitable customers that you really like. In any and all cases, the end game is to make the parting as amicable as possible.
And don’t forget about the internal conversations as well. If the customer is a real nightmare, you probably won’t get much push back from your staff. But if someone’s commission hangs in the balance, you will need to make sure they understand the significance of working with compatible, profitable customers so that your business can grow. Depending on how team-oriented they are, you may be looking for some new staff as well…
Review and Reassess Regularly
In business, as in life, nothing is forever. Things change. Organizations evolve. Processes and technologies improve. Staff and management mature and grow. So you need to plan for regular assessments of your customers, services, products, and processes. If things have changed, than go back and modify your matrix for what is an acceptable customer relationship. And then apply it to your current customer base. And who knows, it might be time to revisit some of those customers you loved to work with but couldn’t make money with. If you remained on good terms, after parting company, there is a possibility that you could be a better match for them the second time around.
So what’s the bottom line? If you are going to do your best work and empower your company to achieve its maximum potential, every now and then you have to fire a customer…or two! And don’t worry to much about the flack you might get…the benefit you will receive, from being released to serve your good customers to the fullest, will far outweigh any negatives.
Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.
Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.
SalesFish Net of Sales Services:
- B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
- On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
- B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
- Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
- Online Presentations and Webinars
- Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
- Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
- Experiential Event Marketing
- Pre and Post-Event Calls
- Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales
