Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

I’ve been told that I have the gift of gab–and it’s true.  I am able to connect quickly with people and can usually find some common ground to talk about within just a few minutes of meeting them.  It’s not something that I plan out, it just seems to “happen”.  I really enjoy meeting new people and  I love networking events!  I don’t mind “cold calling”.  I even enjoy interviews.  (How weird is that?)

My kids can’t believe how I can start talking to someone like I’ve known them forever.  As an example, during the last airplane trip that we took, I was sitting next to a guy and I found out that he was a pilot from the same airline traveling to his next assignment (the uniform was a dead give-away).  We started talking and before we knew it, it was time to land…THREE HOURS LATER!  For me, this is fun…but I realize that I’m the exception and not the rule.

For those who don’t find it totally natural, just think of it as making new friends.  People will never do business with someone who they don’t

• Know
• Like and
• Trust

As you make and develop these relationships, you will find that being genuine and developing the above will help others to know, like and trust you as a person.  They no longer see you as a salesperson who is just after your money, but rather, as a friend or acquaintance that genuinely cares about them.  People will do business with you–and they will refer others to you.  There is a great article that I read about this–here is  a quote from that article.

A critical component in any marketing campaign is learning, understanding and catering to the needs of your audience. This process takes time and doesn’t lead to an immediate sale. However, through developing relationships with your audience, you gain a far greater understanding of how you can uniquely meet their needs.

A concept that is often overlooked in modern digital marketing is the personal touch. Many companies seem to have forgotten that their audience is comprised of people who have needs, wants and could just use a simple “Hi! How are you today?” without having a “buy now” message shoved down their throat.  Read more about developing a following through altruism.

Are you building genuine relationships with other people?  Do they know that you care about them and you want to help them?  Your product or service could be just the solution they are looking for, but if they don’t know, like and trust you, they will find their solution elsewhere.  When you build those relationships and they do become clients or customers, they are generally loyal and long-time customers and may even become your sales force!  Take the time and get to know your potential clients–you may just make a new friend in the process!

I’m going to be very transparent here.  This is a personal invitation to my clients–leave a comment and tell me if I’m “walking the walk.”  If not, I want to know.  Comments are open to everyone of course.  I would love to hear how you use relationship marketing in your business–be sure to leave your URL when you comment!

This week, I have been attending NAMS in Atlanta, GA.  This morning we learned all about Strategies for Social Marketing from five of the best in the business!  It was so informative and I wanted to share the information with you.  Below, you will see a snippet of the video presentation.

The presenters are Jeff Herring, Meritza Perra, Kevin Riley, Willie Crawford, and Bob “The Teacher” Jenkins.

Now, if you thought that was good, you’ll want to check out the full audio presentation: Strategies for Social Marketing.  The audio is available for only $17 and includes several bonuses!

I’ll write more about NAMS later, but had to get this information out to you!

Happy Thanksgiving! There is a business-related blessing that we can all take advantage of on our 2004 tax return, which is coming up all too soon.

Susan Foster of Thornapple Financial Center writes on her blog:

“The IRS has passed a new mileage rate to be used from September 1st thru the end of the 2005. The business mileage rate for 2005 was set at 40.5 cents per mile and has now been raised to 48.5 cents a mile for the last four months of the year. What this means to you is that you will need to bring in two mileage figures this year — one for the first 8 months of the year and a second for the last four months of the year. The IRS cautions that this is only a temporary mileage rate because they believe that gas prices will stabilize at a lower cost.”

Thanks for the great information, Susan–and kudos for updating your blog with some great information we can all use!

Do you have a blog on your website? Remember that updating it often with pertinent information will keep your visitors coming back!

Some “behind the scenes” things have been going on at Dramatic Design lately…things that only current clients have known about until now. The client base for Dramatic Design has grown to the point that monthly billing was becoming a huge ordeal. So, instead of doing that manually, we now have an accounting program that helps with the task. Clients received their first look at the new invoicing system during the last billing cycle. The new accounting program will help free up more time for the important stuff–like designing websites, getting newsletters out, and keeping in better contact with clients.

One of the things we are trying to do is to get to know each client a little better. In an effort to do this, we invited them to have “virtual coffee” with us! Going for coffee, for most people, isn’t really about the “coffee”. It’s really about the relationship…the conversation…getting to know each other. So, each client was sent a questionaire about things we would talk about over coffee. As an encouragement for response, Dramatic Design is doing a drawing among those clients that send the questionaires back. The prize is either a Starbucks Gift Card or a Dramatic Design Coffee Mug. There’s still time to send your responses back in–the drawing will be held by the next billing date. Update: Congratulations to Captain Bill Muirhead of Spider Sportfishing!

New stat counters have also been installed on client sites that give some great real-time statistics, as well as reports that can be emailed weekly and/or monthly. Clients will be able to see where visitors are coming from, their general location, and length of visit–just for starters. The counters are invisible and don’t interfere with the performance of the website in any way. Just another “special touch” from Dramatic Design to you…no extra charge!

We recently also attended a great marketing seminar geared toward small businesses. Tony Rubleski of Mind Capture Group was the speaker. He gave lots of great advice, but focused on marketing with “grabbers”–something that “hooks” your potential customer and gets them interested enough in your marketing piece to read the whole thing…instead of tossing it in the nearest garbage can. Thanks to the Barry County Chamber for offering this seminar to it’s members.

Several new client sites are in the works, but the clients are extremely busy, so things are going a little slower than everyone involved would like. There are also several other yet unsigned clients “in the hopper”, so to speak. They are also anxious to get moving, but have to work through some details first. More on those later…

It’s been a very busy 2005 for Dramatic Design already! Several new projects are in the works.

One of the new sites I’ve had the pleasure to work on has been Sharon Walker Ministries, which is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sharon has been a joy to work with and has a truly unique ministry. We will also be working on a second website for Sharon. One for her church’s ministries. Look for details on Shekinah Rain Ministries in the near future.

Another new client is Susan Foster of Thornapple Financial Center in Middleville, Michigan. TFC specializes in tax preparation, accounting and financial planning. Work is in process for this site, but will have to move slowly…at least until after April 15th.

Kim Voshell of NBT Wear Screen Printing and Embroidery was recently featured in our local newspaper for her generous contribution of more than 300 t-shirts to a local elementary school. Each year, every student receives a t-shirt with the school name and logo on it so they can wear to show pride in their school. The generous contribution by NBT Wear has become an annual giving tradition. Thank you Kim for giving back to your community!

Additionally, Dramatic Design has started a newsletter for clients and other interested parties. The newsletter will focus on tips that will make your website better and things that will attract new and returning visitors. The first issue was on the topic “Getting Noticed Online”. If you would like to receive these periodical mailings, please sign up by clicking here.

Welcome to any visitors that may have stopped by as a result of the flyer sent to all Barry County Area Chamber members in the most recent newsletter. If you have any questions about Dramatic Design, or would like to find out how we can help your business establish a very inexpensive, yet professional website presence, please don’t hesitate to email or call!