Rocks or Diamonds

by Shahar

We are living in a moment where the media is selling crisis. Most people are buying into this message.
I hope you don’t buy into that but it is a good time anyway to reflect a little on the reason you are in business and how you do business. This is a good time to think about choices. Results in business are based on choices.

We might not like to admit, but we are responsible for self-inflicting bad times or prosperity. We are responsible for our choices.

Think about this: you can choose to sell rocks or diamonds.

You can pick rocks from your driveway which will be really cheap and won’t require a lot of work. They don’t have a lot of value unless you sell them in bulk.

On the other hand, mining diamonds is a similar task although it takes a little bit more work. You might have to travel to find diamonds, you need some specific tools etc.

The difference is that every diamond you find has a lot more value than a whole truck of rocks.

You are responsible for the business you are in and the results you get.

When marketing a business, same thing.

You can do what is easy and cheap or you can do a little more than your competition, use some tools they are not willing to use. Like social media, write on blogs etc.

The value you’ll get from these efforts are also very different.

Yes, sometimes it takes a little more work, a little more effort, an extra mile.

At the end, it is your choice: Rocks or diamonds?

3 Surefire ways to get more customers, more leads and therefore, a lot more money.

Whenever you see yourself in a moment when you need to make more money in your business, generate more leads and get more customers, you need to know you have 3 basic options:

1. Sell something different
2. Sell to someone different
3. Sell differently.

The one thing you absolutely cannot do: Keep on as-is.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could just close our eyes, take a deep breath and wait for bad times to go away? And then, open our eyes and see everything back to normal?

Yes, it would, but in real life, this will not happen and you will have to change the way you do things in order to get different results.
Not only that, you might have to set up the alarm clock, get out of bed earlier and go do more of the things that are working for you now.

Not to discourage you, but allow me to tell you how things really work today.
We are all living in a new economy. The people willing to do what it takes will succeed and thrive in this new economy. Willingness to change and implement new strategies are a must. It is not difficult or hard. Just need to take action.

Now, back to the 3 surefire ways to get more customers, more leads and therefore, a lot more money that I just mentioned above; think for a moment how you could apply them into your business.

Here are a few questions/tips for you:

1. Can you incorporate a new product or service to your business?
2. Could you make some changes to an existing product or service and launch as a new one?
3. Could you add a continuity program to your existing business?
4. Can you find another channel to sell your services?
5. Could you sell them online?
6. Could you incorporate new follow-up systems in order to sell different services to your existing list of customers? (this is always cheaper than go out looking for new clients)
7. Can you learn how to generate new leads online using inexpensive social media tactics?
8. Could you sell using Teleseminars? (you’d be selling to different people and in a different way)
9. Can you create automated lead generation and follow-up strategies? (using auto-responders, free reports etc?)
10. Can you use tools like Twitter and Facebook to generate a flow of new prospects and traffic to your website?

Let me answer that for you: Yes, you can! It doesn’t matter what kind of business you have, B2C, B2B, with low budget, almost no budget etc.
Anyone can sell something different and/or sell to someone different and/or sell differently.
You might have to sharpen your saw, learn some new skills, but this is an easy problem to solve.
What really matters is that once you acquire the new skills you need you take action fast and implement.
Most people do not implement or just freeze and do nothing. That is the main reason why only 5% of the population ever gets rich. They are the ones that take action and implement.

People like to say they don’t do it because there is no budget, no extra money or no time. These are not the real issues.
Today, we have the internet with social media. Social media is not free, there is the time you need to commit, and it doesn’t work overnight, it is a process; but the return on your investment is huge.
By social media I mean tools like Twitter, Facebook, online videos etc.
Anyone can learn how to do it and can do it with almost no investment.

Did you know that Facebook alone has over 400 million active users (people that login at least once a week)? Do you know you could be selling to those people? Generating traffic to your store, office or website?
Did you know that 6,000 new accounts are created on Twitter every day? And you could be selling there?

Let me give you some examples of what I’ve stated above:

Sell to different people in different ways, through different channels

A pastry chef called Morita works for a restaurant in Hawaii. With the recession, attendance in the restaurant went down and he feared he would loose his job.
He started taking pictures and posting on Flickr and then announcing on Twitter what would be the desert of the day.
People started showing up, different people from a different channel. Hint, hint.
Today, the restaurant is selling way more than before the recession.

Hawaii is too far and your business could not do the same?

Ok, here is another example close to your home.

Some months ago, Pizza Hut started selling pasta (sell something different).
You probably saw the commercials. They used the fact that Americans tend to eat pasta at least once a week and that with the recession tend to stay and eat at home more. They saw an opportunity to steal sales from casual restaurants like Olive Garden (sell to someone different), and gain and edge over other pizza delivery chains.
They sold 2 million boxes of past just on the first month and plan to produce $500 million in revenue from this source on the first year.

I know, you are not in the pizza business. But your business is not different from these examples, you might like to think they are, so it would give you an excuse not to try something different, but at the end of the day, you could sell something different, to someone different that came from a different channel.

It is not about money, time or resources. It can be done.

The only thing you might need to get this accomplished is some new skills.
Maybe understand and learn how to use the Internet and social media the right way.
Maybe understand how to apply effective follow-up, generate leads, how to incorporate continuity programs to your business etc.

But not even that is a problem. Let’s cover the possible obstacles for you to invest in acquiring new skills to apply in your business:

Where to find training specific to your needs, to the point, with easy steps to implement, no fluff and proven to deliver results?

That is a very easy one! Buzzbooster Marketing just launched a whole series of multi-media training covering business issues that other places don’t.

You’d like to master Social media and use in your business, but every expert you met is broken and all they know is how to get a bunch of virtual friends.

I feel your pain! Most people think because they know how to do a profile on Facebook, they understand how businesses could profit with this.
The BuzzBoosters have a track history online, have several small online businesses and invest a lot in their own skills. They rub shoulders with some of the biggest online marketers and know what is working online.

Money is short.
Not a problem! During the launch phase, all training programs have a specials that are very affordable. They all have flex payments options too!
Not enough? Ok, I’ll give you a coupon code that you can get a 15% investment reduction. This coupon has a limited time offer, so don’t leave to the last minute.
Use the coupon code: Imsmart on check-out at www.training.buzzbooster.com

I need to know everything, so I won’t have to go look for training somewhere else.
Our trainings are based in 6 easy steps. One step per week is covered in depth. Clear action steps and organized.
For 6 weeks, you will learn all that you can apply in your business for that topic.

I’m ADD
So are we! That is why we cover all bases. The training programs have easy to watch instruction videos and how-to videos, audio, and text. You can learn using what you feel comfortable with. All material is available for download, so you can use when you feel you can focus more.

I’ve no time.
Time is our most valuable commodity. There is never enough of. That is why these trainings are so effective and different.
They last 6 weeks, but you will have access for a lot longer. Don’t forget that you can also download everything, and use when you have time.
You don’t have to attend classes in one specific time. You consume the training when you can, where you want. Just need to have internet access and a computer.

I need support!
You have it. We’ll support you all the way. After all, that is our mission “to empower entrepreneurs and business owners”. We want you to succeed. We want you to see us as partners.

I need to feel safe!
You are safe with us. We have the BuzzBooster ironclad guarantee. If you don’t like, you get your money back.

The only thing you need to do is take action!
Choose the training program that you want now! You’ll have instant access and will be able to apply what you learn right away.
Then, take action and implement right away, so you see more customers coming, more sales happening, more money flowing into your pocket.

Remember: www.Training.buzzbooster.com
You have flex payment options.
Use coupon code: Imsmart for 15% off.
Offer is limited; prices will go up in mid-summer.
Bonus: When you join one training program, I’ll send you a FREE CD of your choice and one issue of the Engage Magazine in the mail.

Questions: 801-8429765 or buzz@buzzbooster.com

Here are a few of the training programs available:

Rank First on Google -Ultimate SEO Course!

Discover How You Can Profit With Online Videos!

Generate an Avalanche of Leads and Traffic to Your Business!

The Power of Continuity Programs – Make Money Over and Over Again
Twitter for Business: Harnessing the Power for Profits in 140 Chars!
Facebook For Business Magic!
Create a powerful joomla website from the ground up!
Powerful Direct Response Marketing Strategies
7 Steps to Increase Productivity
Magical Follow-Up Strategies for Business

Secrets of information marketing business

Social media inside out

How to create a sticky business- The power of positioning

Your business personality

Brand goes way beyond logos and taglines. Brand is the customer’s perception of your products or services.
Every touch point with the customer defines and reinforces your brand. This includes how you answer the phone, your appearance or the appearance of your sales force, your website etc.
It is critical for your business to manage this perception and to differentiate yourself from your competition.
Does your customer’s perception match the personality you want them to see?
Here are a few points to consider:

1. Are you really different?
What differentiate you from your competition? Please, don’t say it is customer service, quality or good price. These are expected and cannot be considered added benefit.
What differentiates you must be relevant to your customer and unique to your company.

2. Do you and your customers speak the same language?
Use their words and not your own. Pay attention to what your customers say when they interact with your company. On your website, find out what the search terms are.

3. Always remember you are selling to people and not to businesses. If you do B-to-B remember that it is really B-to-P. Business to person.

4. What is the emotional gain that your customer receives when doing business with you?
Make things simple and meaningful to your customers. Do not complicate.

5. Consider every point of contact an opportunity to reinforce your message. Use everything you can to get your brand reinforced, your website, packaging, direct mail, appearance.
6. Make your message relevant and special to the person placing the order.
Think of your brand as a persona instead of a commodity.

Defining and refining your business personality, or brand is a necessity. Your business should be constantly re-evaluated to make sure the message is consistent with your audience.
Remember that your audience is made of people with real lives, dealing with daily challenges.

Don’t leave up to the customer to decide your brand, this is up to you.

How To Use Twitter For Business Domination

Do you ever eat too much?? Like when you eat too much of a yummy thing and feel so full you can barely walk? (I know a little too well how that feels!)

Lately it seems like I’ve been consuming a little too much of Twitter. It’s all over the place! Celebrities using it, Jimmy Fallon mentioning it on his show, Ellen DeGeneres being funny with it, evening news targeting news about Twitter, magazine articles, Sprint commercial, Today Show segments, etc…

Why? Why do some things catch on more than others? I don’t really have an answer for that other than a few elaborate concoctions of my creative mind, but I’m glad it happens, and even happier that I can use it for business! Here’s how you get started…

Go to http://twitter.com to create an account.
It?s easy to set up an account and customize your page. Make sure you link back to your website in your “about me” options.

http://tweetdeck.com/

Twitter can be a little overwhelming sometimes, too much going on, hard to keep up. Use a tool like TweetDeck to manage your account. It’s important to interact as much as it is important to be in the know of things. TweetDeck will allow you to see at a glance who has sent you a message or who has talked about you. There are other tools out there that will help you manage your twitter account, but I really like TweetDeck because it will also manage your Facebook account!

Need a twitter applicaiton for your phone? TinyTwitter can do the trick! http://tinytwitter.com/ and so can

Think text is too boring? Could say more with a picture? Use http://TwitPic.com to twit pictures. Pictures are great because they portray a greater level of trust.

Twitter is great fun and keeps you in the know. It’s important to use it as a customer service tool as well as relationship building tool. What are people saying about you? Find out by using http://TweetBeep.com – Just like Google Alerts, Tweetbeep tracks Twitter conversations that mention you, your business or your products and services. Alerts are sent to you via email.

Schedule future Tweets with http://twuffer.com. Why? Recommended uses include:

* Tweet hourly/daily/monthly announcements
* appointment/milestone reminders
* run a time-based scavenger hunt
* notify subscribers about upcoming podcast or video episodes
* appear to never sleep

Increase sales and engagement with your followers by offering exclusive deals on Twitter. With the simple coupon creator for businesses http://twtqpon.com.

Looking for people to follow? Do it with http://TwitSeeker.com
TwitSeeker is basically an alternate search engine for finding twitter.com users – “twits” – and browsing the results all in one combined control panel. It finds twits not by what’s posted in their bios but rather based on what they’ve been tweeting about lately.

Twitter is a manageable process that can be adopted for all types of lifestyles, busy or inactive. You?ll just need to integrate it within your normal work flow. It?s addictive but once you understand how to use it, it?ll be a very effective tool indeed. Here are a few ways in which you can use Twitter for business beyond the use of Twitter as a life streaming device:

Personal branding – Twitter is a social media platform you can use to build your personal brand. It has the primary benefit of developing a casual persona and establishes you as a social personality that is connected and approachable. As Twitter adoption increases, new users will be drawn towards well established Twitter personas.

Get feedback – Need an alternative perspective on how a website looks or the right course of action to take? Blast out a message asking for advice and you?ll receive replies from other users. This collective intelligence can be used as fodder for articles or projects.
Hire people – Need a good logo designer, marketer or programmer? Send out a message asking for recommendations.

Direct traffic – Twitter can be used to get traffic to your websites or the sites of friends. If you ask your friends to tweet about it, the message will spread faster and further as other active users pick it up. There is a viral nature to all types of news, even on a site like Twitter.

Read news – Twitter users often link to useful sites or articles and can be a source of scoops and alternative news.

Notify your customers – Set up a Twitter feed for the specific purpose of notifying customers when new products come in.

Business management – Twitter can be used as a company intranet that connects employees to one another.

Event updates – Businesses can use Twitter as a means to inform event participants and latest event happenings/changes. This is a hassle-free way of disseminating information, especially when you don?t have the means to set up a direct mobile link between you and the audience.

Find prospect – Twitter can be used as a means to find potential customers or clients online.

Acquire votes – Send a link to your stories you?ve submitted in other social news sites like Digg. Sometimes your followers will vote up the stories because they agree with it. This allows you to acquire more support for your efforts on other social media websites.

Are you convinced? You better be! 😉

Follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/buzzbooster

The Power of Gray Hair

Why marketers ignore aging consumers?

It looks like they are always targeting the young and hip and the young families, even though these segment is a rich vein.

The 50 plus generation is responsible for 40 percent of retail spending in the U.S. and Western Europe.

This is a huge opportunity that many marketers do not explore because many still believe that older consumers are stuck in their behavior and are brand loyal. They can’t see the other side of these myths.

Even though they know that this group has money to spend, they don’t take into consideration the longevity of this spending. A person that is 50 today has at least 30 years of good life ahead. When asked the lifetime value of a customer, you need to consider their different phases. Their children are grown, inheritances were collected and they have reached professional maturity. This makes an audience ready and prepared to explore more brands, products and services that will make them live better.

One reason this happens is because marketers are not prepare to offer campaigns that are unique to this audience. Let’s face it, most companies let the young marketers lead and don’t have mature, experienced professionals that would be able to target this demographic. The dialogue here is totally different from other younger generations.

Very few brands make a different effort, like L’oreal, Porsche Carrera and Fidelity investment.

Let’s take a look on some needs of this audience:

They need products that help them stay engaged. From anti-wrinkle creams to easy to make meals for two, vacations packets and lighter tools. Products with good quality but simple to use. This generation is always willing to pay a little more for things that will improve the planet for future generations.
Communication should be customized. For example, changes in eyesight call for easy to read fonts as well as bigger fonts and high contrast colors. Carefully crafted massages since age breeds cynicism.
Consumers want brands that fit their personalities rather than the ones that try to define them. This is because after 50, self-perception is fully formed and they want brands that match that perception. This is a crucial point because at a younger age, we want brands that define groups we hope to become part of.
When dealing with health and lifestyles it is better to target different aspects of life like retirement, spousal illness and being empty-nest. People don’t go through these phases at the same time, so don’t assume reality is the same for all.
Don’t put everybody under “mature audience”. Today’s 50 plus market lived in very different formative years. Some saw the WW II, others great changes in technology.

You cannot suffer from the same kind of myopia and overlook this segment. Welcome this segment and understand the consumer value they have and adapt some of your marketing strategies to attract this audience.

By Shahar Boyayan

Top Performers Salt Lake Chapter

We’ll be holding the first meeting for the Top Performers group in Salt Lake on June 10th.
You are invited to come. There will be new marketing strategies, case studies, hot seats, lunch and networking.
The event is free but seats are limited.
RSVP to Top Performers meeting right now

What to Tweet about?

Twitter can be used in two ways. One is to convey information, the other is to spark discussions.
Ideally, a timeline should contain a good mixture of both kinds of tweets.
Here are a few options used by companies:

Give tips on one specific topic
Customer support.
Feedback
Category/sector news
Company news that are interesting
Current events that impact company business or that you are promoting
Reports from the floor of events such as conferences
Special offers to Twitter followers (discounts, promotions, contests)
Don’t forget to use your imagination. Some companies are already using Twitter to take orders and suggesting different uses for their products, others have Twitter parties for specific groups.

“What not to tweet about?”
Just Tweet about things that could add value. .

“How much time will this take?”
Twitter is a qualitative, rather than quantitative, brand channel. It’s a great tool to build dialogue, engender trust, establish brand loyalty, and to raise awareness.
Try to spend 2 to 4 hours a week on Twitter.

If you think it is too much, reallocate some of your time and effort away from older techniques and try the new. You’ll have fun, learn a lot and will be able to demonstrate new expertise and innovative marketing approaches.

“What is proper Twetiquette?”
Stay positive. It’s easy to get snarky, easy to scoff.
Thank people who follow you with a Direct Message. Twitter allows you to send private messages (called “Direct Messages” or DMs) to individual users. Rather than publicly replying, send a DM saying thank you.
If someone asks you a question, respond via DM. If your response would benefit a number of followers, reply publicly.
If it makes sense, thank those who retweet your tweets. If you see “RT @yourname” in your Replies, it means someone has found your tweet valuable enough to share with their own followers.
There is some debate about automatically following those who follow you. Some think it’s only fair to follow those who follow you, as a sign of mutual respect. Others only follow interesting Twitterers, regardless of whether or not they follow you.

What is the first step?

Open a Twitter account, start following some people and listen to the conversation. You will soon get the feel and the addicting bug!

Leads and Traffic Teleseminar this week

We have a free teleseminar coming on May 28th on traffic and lead generation for businesses. We’ll show you several new strategies.
Register now for the Lead generation teleseminar.
We have a limited number of lines available.
RSVP for the leads teleseminar

How to use Twitter

“What is Twitter?”
Twitter is a website that allows registered users to post short comments up to 140 characters to their followers: other Twitter users who subscribe to your posts, or “tweets.” Posts can be made from the Twitter website, from numerous cell phone applications, and from instant messenger clients like AIM, so “tweeting” is very easy to do, from pretty much anywhere.

You can think of Twitter as instant messaging from one to many and from many to one.

At a first glance, you could think that Twitter is for people that are bored, and at the beginning, this was probably true until some people began to tweet at conferences and events.

Within months of launch, a few experimental brands saw the opportunity and jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. Comcast, often a target of angry bloggers, began to answer customer service queries on Twitter. H&R Block started offering tax advice.

Simultaneously, many applications were developed to allow easy tweeting. This led to a tremendous rise in the number of users, resulting in the Twitter we know today with over 6 million users..

Are companies using Twitter?
Yes, they are and every day more com onboard, they finally realized that they can be using Twitter for outreach, customer service and engagement. Here is a short list:

Whole Foods
Marriott International
Starbucks
Urban Outfitters
Carl’s Jr.
GE
Overstock.com
American Apparel
TJ Maxx
Fast Company
MTV
Wall Street Journal
ESPN
Apple
QuickBooks
Dell
CNN
JetBlue
Virgin America
Ford
Comcast
Dunkin’ Donuts

Building Your Audience

One day at the park, after I showed my movements to another dog, it turned around and bit my butt. That day I cried and went back to my masters. But I learned that not every dog will be part of your audience.
Definitely, that dog was not part of my audience and quite frankly, I don’t need followers with that kind of manners.
I have refined my movement to a point of perfection. Now, most times they run with me, but it was not always like that. At the beginning, I missed a lot and they wouldn’t quite get my message or would get it totally wrong. Going often to the park and trying every single time I met a new friend to get it to run with me made all the difference, because I understood how to reach them and connect with them and finally I understood what kind of message they would like to get from me. Life is all about being consistent.
I can say that today, I’m pretty well known in my park. When I get there, some run to greet me and I can hear some people saying, “There is Apple”, “Hey Apple is here, go play with her Rufus”, which means to me that even humans now understand that I bring something of value to the park, I bring fun and interaction amongst the dog community in that park. The humans got it because a good message ends up being universal. Now, I’m almost out of space, so I’m not going to show you how all this relates to social media, twitter and other media, because I know you understand the basic principle. If you like to have followers, friends, connections, learn from dogs at the park.
To be part of my community, look for Apple Boyayan on Facebook. Don’t worry that you will not fit in because you are a human, one of my best friends there is a hamster.

By Apple Boyayan