Northern Virginia Small Business Marketing | Arlington | Alexandria | Fairfax » marketing

Is it “hard to get financing” or “not enough clients/customers?”

benglasslaw — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:56:05 +0000

Interesting editorial in this morning’s Wall Street Journal.

Here’s the issue:

President Obama is attacking the banks, encouraging them to “lend more.” He says (to banks) “you are making too much money and “you guys caused the problems.”

In my discussions with small business owners, its not “bank lending” that is at the core of their issues but its

1. how can I get more customers in the door — I’d be fine if I could get that fixed; and

2. I’m not sure what the rules will be next year (i.e. will health care costs and/or increased taxes affect my bottom line) so I’m not going to risk a bunch this year on increased marketing and/or hiring.

So I wonder….if you are a small business owner….which is it for you?

If its “none of the above,” then maybe you are having a break out year and will share what you have done.

“Objections” to implementing a complex marketing system

benglasslaw — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:08:34 +0000

Here are the objections I hear about implementing and using a complex, multi-step, multi-media marketing system:
(1) Its too slow. If I don’t contact the prospect right away they will go to another company.
(2) My clients/customers don’t want to read.
(3) Even though I’d like to do only large transaction business with customers I need to do the little jobs for the chance to get the big job later on.
(4) The little jobs don’t take up that much time and they pay the rent.
(5) You do all that for each client/customer? That must be expensive.

Here are my responses to these short sighted objections to implementing a complex marketing system:

Your Marketing SHOULD BE Complex

benglasslaw — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:04:07 +0000

Business owners sometimes visit me at my office to pick my brain about marketing. Typically, I’ll bring them in and show them all of the things I do to get a client. I’ll take out a blank sheet of paper and draw the flow chart of all the things that occur to get a client to raise their hand and say “I’m interested” and then all of the things that happen to them once they do. I’ll show them the steps I force clients to take before they can meet with me.

Most leave disappointed. They were looking for the magic bullet—the ONE thing they could do to get more clients. The easy thing. The tweak in their yellow page ad that would make the phone ring or the quick tips for internet marketing that would help them dominate Google in their market area. They can’t believe that I don’t meet with every client who wants a free consultation and that my marketing material dissuades certain clients from even calling for an appointment.

Getting new clients, customers or patients can a complex problem, especially in a recession. No matter what your business, there’s usually a ton of competition out there. By and large, consumers don’t know how to buy what it is you are selling, particularly if you sell professional services. For some, ethical rules appear designed to make your entire marketing program look just like your competitor’s. Finally, your marketing message competes with 3,000-5,000 other marketing messages a day.

Read the rest of “Your Marketing SHOULD be Complex“

Dan Kennedy and Oprah’s Great Idea

benglasslaw — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:00:52 +0000

I hope you all have seen that Dan Kennedy is posting at the Business and Media Institute site…its a great way to keep up with Dan’s provocative thoughts and ideas.

Dan argues that we should just let the car companies that are failures die a natural death. (Just how many cars do you have to sell to repay $20 billion?)