Keeping In Touch
One area that I am seeking solutions for in my business is the art of staying in touch with potential and current clients. I say art because there really are no rules to satisfy everyone. Some people are online folks, some people would prefer a phone call, others really like the personal one-on-one chat, while others just want a handwritten note every once in a while. Some people want to hear from you on a regular basis while others would rather hear from you with major news only (which is not good for business). The worst thing business owners could do is to not contact their customers at all.
I actually have a good idea of how I want to keep in touch with my customer base and have been playing with solutions to do it well and efficiently. Of course, I consider this blog a tool. Since I’m currently working on multiple business ventures, I’m considering a blog for each of them. They are not only good for keeping in touch with customers, they also present a good way to journal this journey of business ownership and to keep up with new discoveries I
make for each business. I’m just at a crossroads with determining a regular schedule for posting to three blogs (in addition to all the other freelance writing I am now enjoying).
Social media-wise, YB Consulting’s Facebook fan page and my personal twitter have become my primary tools for keeping people up-to-date with different things going on in the business including new blog posts from Cardinal Rules, relevant articles written in other forums, and company promotions. I have also created a fan page and twitter account for my startup Fun Spaces. These will operate in similar fashion to YB Consulting. I’m still considering consolidating my consultancy into the Cardinal branding and let that be my entrepreneurship advocacy identity… we’ll see. Finally, my third venture will have a blog but that may be it. It is truly meant to be a part-time business for me yet something I am still excited about! Have to be excited about residual income…
Another marketing tool I am considering is iContact, an e-mail marketing solution. This company is based in my town (buy local!) and was co-founded by an alum from one of my alma maters UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. I have multiple marketing campaigns to conduct for relationships in my three+ ventures and I hear this solution is good for managing that type of feat. Plus it is reasonably priced, allows for space to grow, has autoresponders… I’m appreciating iContact already.
What tools are you using in your business to keep in touch with customers on a regular basis? Please leave a comment below to let the community know.
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Do You Know What Your Customers Want?
A few months ago, I developed a market research survey and shared it with a few organizations to see if I thought of an idea that would fill a market need. I had this grand idea to expand my business offerings in a way that would combine the talents of me and one of my neighbors, an event planner. I did not get many responses to that survey but the answers I received confirmed the need in a way that was greater than I expected. People would be willing to pay more for the service than I initially assumed and would put more time into it as well.
This type of market research simply justifies any ideas you may want to take to market. It is good to do to see if there are people in your target demographic who will pay for it, how much they will pay for it, and what they will expect out of it.
Although I decided to take on other pursuits, I want to share some lessons from this and previous experiences in market research:
- Take some time and make a plan for the research process. Decide what the goal is for the research including how the information will be used to benefit the mission of your company and each type of its stakeholders (i.e. shareholders/owners, customers, partners, employees).
- Choose multiple survey methods to capture some good randomness in the audience.This includes using surveys online AND in-person.
- Use in-person methods like interviews and focus groups to dig deeper in your findings from the surveys your initial group answered. It could be as simple as catching up with a colleague (that fits the target demographic) and throwing the business concept into the conversation to see what he or she thinks. Or, it could be in the format of a webinar and conference call with interactive polling..
- Include a large pool of people in your surveying to ensure a statistically valid result. Average response rate seems to be 10 – 30%. The blog marketing [m.o.] has a good, brief post on sampling size.
Business.gov has a good summary on how to conduct market research with several links for resources.
Leave a comment below to share innovative ideas for conducting market research and what it did for your company.
Never take "no" for an answer
This week was full of my attempt to expedite one of my business concepts to launch next week instead of later this year or early next year. My bright idea was to do it out of my house on a trial basis while I build traction and later take it out into a location more viable for city traffic. I had a written profile of what I wanted for the business but with minimal details and nothing near a comprehensive business plan. Unfortunately, I ran into a stumbling block that may actually be a blessing.
One of our beloved city agencies told me I could not operate this business out of my home. I know there are operations like this in homes located in our city. I wanted to do it right though, and have my legal p’s and q’s in order. I read over the city ordinance regarding running a business out of the home – my operation qualified given the controls I would have in place. The response given to me was totally subjective (in my opinion). So when one person told me no (justifying that if they said yes to me, they would have to say yes to anyone else), I contacted his boss and stated my case to him. I did this by itemizing each regulation in the city ordinance and stating how I met them. Also, I argued, if I went against city ordinance, they could revoke my permit altogether, right?
Realize, I am a person who tends to follow the letter of the law. When someone tells me no, I usually accept that and move on (even when I had a gut feeling). At this point in my life though, that philosophy is no longer an option for me. It really should have stopped being an option several years ago but we live and we learn, right? I have too many obligations now to take the first “no.”
Eventually, the boss responded with “no” as well in an extra long email, carbon-copied to several people. As hurt as my heart was, I understood where he was coming from, but also realized I got his attention. Maybe he will be on my side later. Ultimately what stands out from this experience is the importance of creating the type of business plan that will persuade targeted readers and not give them room to say no. And if they do, I will just have to go to someone else…
Connecting With Collaboration Tools
Collaboration tools for the web are really cool since they give the opportunity to have business meetings without actually being in the same room. I have been researching a web solution to start conducting webinars. I have conducted seminars on site before, I know this would be a great addition to what I already offer. Conducting webinars or teleseminars is a solid business opportunity since:
- Geography does not matter – just need computer and phone access
- No need to reserve a room
- It can be ultra-convenient for participants since they don’t have to travel, find parking, find a seat, and repeat that process all over again to gain valuable information that will make their lives easier
- Sessions can be recorded which offers residual income from continued sales
- I have all this information to share and can do so from the comfort of my home, the park, wherever I want to be
A great summary article on various solutions is Online Presentations: 30+ Presentation and Slideshow Tools. While reviewing different solutions, I have realized I could actually use this for any phase of my consulting to meet and collaborate with clients one on one.
I’ll update the article later with which service I ultimately choose. In the meantime, do you have any recommendations of webinar and teleseminar software? Have you added this as a component to your business?
Connecting With Collaboration Tools
Collaboration tools for the web are really cool since they give the opportunity to have business meetings without actually being in the same room. I have been researching a web solution to start conducting webinars. I have conducted seminars on site before, I know this would be a great addition to what I already offer. Conducting webinars or teleseminars is a solid business opportunity since:
- Geography does not matter – just need computer and phone access
- No need to reserve a room
- It can be ultra-convenient for participants since they don’t have to travel, find parking, find a seat, and repeat that process all over again to gain valuable information that will make their lives easier
- Sessions can be recorded which offers residual income from continued sales
- I have all this information to share and can do so from the comfort of my home, the park, wherever I want to be
A great summary article on various solutions is Online Presentations: 30+ Presentation and Slideshow Tools. While reviewing different solutions, I have realized I could actually use this for any phase of my consulting to meet and collaborate with clients one on one.
I’ll update the article later with which service I ultimately choose. In the meantime, do you have any recommendations of webinar and teleseminar software? Have you added this as a component to your business?
