Archive for the ‘Featured Articles’ Category
facebook –– is a social (media) phenomenon. 2010 advertising revenues topped 1.86 Billion! While it may have taken its sweet time figuring out how to monetize itself, it’s finally done so with a vengence. And that should continue in 2011.
Soon, you’ll be seeing a new kind of advertising on facebook –– the ‘Sponsored Ad’:
This is a development you’ll want to be aware of; perhaps ‘BEWARE’ of it is more accurate!
How It Works: whenever you ‘like’ or ‘check-in’ with a business that is using this sponsored ad model, not only will your action be posted to your news feed but, at the same time, it will be used as a ‘paid advertisement’ by the advertiser — in this example, Starbucks.
Here’s The Problem: You can’t ‘opt-out’ of having your behavior (and, photo!) used as a commercial ‘word-of-mouth’ promotion and implied endorsement for a facebook advertiser!
The fact is that facebook intends to use your image and endorsement without your permission and without compensation. Personally, that doesn’t feel right. I’d like to give my permission to use my behavior and photograph in a commercial message disguised as a ‘word-of-mouth’ endorsement. But wait . . . I’m not paying facebook a penny to use it, am I? Well, there you go.
In business, you get what you pay for. And if you don’t pay for something directly, you will pay for it in other ways.
KEY POINT:
Advertising revenue is a significant and powerful driver for facebook. Just make sure you know if, how and when you’re helping to create that revenue!
Like the famous Got MILK? commercials, I wonder if you ‘Got MOTS’ . . . Moments Of Truth.
Of course you do. Why? Because every contact with a client is a ‘Moment of Truth’.
Local business consultant, Carl Swanback wrote an article for the NGCOA (National Golf Course Owners Association) in which he makes an important point:
The EXPERIENCE a client has with your business . . . can make you or break you.
Your real challenge is managing . . . to create an attractive client experience consistently. Just remember that client BEHAVIOR follows their EXPERIENCE — good or bad — with you.
In this model I use in my consulting, you can see that the ultimate metric of your business’ success — REVENUE — reflects the degree to which you create experiences, consistently, that are emotionally pleasing to the people you wish to attract and keep as your clients.
KEY POINTS:
- The EXPERIENCE you offer your client is the ultimate DRIVER of your success
- Effective management . . . is the KEY to an attractive experience for your client
- A client’s experience (and, brand preference!) is . . . 100% under YOUR control
- Make sure the experience you GIVE . . . is the experience your client WANTS
Lately, a number of business owners are telling me that their biggest challenge in ‘marketing’ is just . . . ‘Following Up’ with people after they initially make some kind of contact.
This goes beyond prospects, of course. I’m including clients and centers-0f-influence, too.
When I ask, “Why . . . is this an issue?” the most common answers are:
- “I have no PLAN to do it”
- “I have no CONTENT to send out”
- “I have no TIME to put it all together”
- “I have no STAFF to delegate this to”
Obstacles? Yes. Insurmountable? No. When you think about what you are losing out on if you don’t do ‘Follow Up’, you may decide these obstacles are worthy of your time and attention in this key area of your marketing.
KEY POINT:
If you don’t follow-up with prospects, clients and COI’s you’re committed to ‘hunting’ for a current transaction rather than ‘farming’ for a relationship that offers you many transactions over time. Just remember . . . while hunters enjoy a ‘thrill of the kill’, farmers . . . eat more regularly and better over time. Think about that and you’ll commit to ‘follow-up’ every time!
BONUS: Download a Special Report on “How To Stay-In-Touch to Stay-In-Mind”
