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And were off!
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A new year, a new you...but is it really? What are you going to do differently this year that you didn’t do last year? Go ahead...take out a sheet of blank paper and write that down.
so that you can evaluate your marketing and sales methods. The goal is that it will identify gaps in your sales and marketing efforts so that you know where you need to focus your efforts.
I don’t want to spend time talking about the New Year too much because we already discussed that in December’s issue of intelligent MARKETER but I do want to point out that to get something you’ve never got you must do something you’ve never done. I challenge you to stretch yourself this year and go after your goals like you’ve never done before! I know I plan to :)
Usually, I like to include a Small Business Superhero in each issue of intelligent MARKETER but this month will be the exception. I have been working on putting together a SPECIAL GIFT for you this month. Be sure to read each article all the way through if you’d like to know what it is :) I PROMISE it will be worth it! I can’t even believe that I’m GIVING this away. I guess it’s my better-late-thannever Christmas gift to you!
Enough about that... Let’s talk about Lifecycle Marketing. In this issue of intelligent MARKETER I will be sharing with you what Lifecycle Marketing is and how it applies to your success in marketing your Small Business. I am also including a scorecard 3
Thank you for being a valued reader....stay tuned....I’ve got a lot of goodies up my sleeve this year! What you do matters. Thank you for all that you do! Misty :) Your Marketing Coach
W H AT I S L i f e c y c l e M a r k e t i n g ? There are many interpretations to define Lifecyle Marketing. Infusionsoft is a company most commonly known for using their own interpretation of Lifecycle Marketing devising a framework that identifies opportunities for Small Businesses to transform their sales and marketing activities. While I agree with Infusionsoft’s interpretation I have made a few tweeks to develop my own model...and that’s what I want
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to share with you. Essentially, Lifecycle Marketing is the marketing and sales process that businesses should execute as a strategy to move a targeted audience from being a prospect, to becoming a client, and then becoming an ambassador for the business. Let’s walk through each step of the process together.
A W A R E N E S S In the awareness stage it is important to identify two key areas: 1. WHERE will you create awareness of your brand or offer? 2. To WHOM? (What specific audience)? The first step to being effective in marketing your Small Business is that you must know who your target audience is (be as specific as you can). The second step is to
create a list of where you can reach your target audience most effectively. Here’s a quick list of opportunities where Small Businesses can create awareness for their brand or offer: - Social Media - Online Groups - Advertising (PPC, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, Linkedin Ads, etc.) - Developing Power Partnerships The possibilities endless today!
are
C A P T U R E The capture stage is where you put everything in place to capture leads of interested prospects. PLEASE NOTE: the ONLY way to capture leads is to give something away that is considered immensely valuable to your targeted audience. This is the very reason why I LOVE MARKETING!!! I’m a giver. Giving makes me feel great! Yet, I see many Small Businesses struggle with this because they feel like they are “giving away the farm”. Today’s marketing is a givers game...the one who gives the most - grow’s the most! Consumers expect it...you are going to have to get over it, and start looking for opportunities to give 5
away tremendous value. A prospects name and email is what I like to call; “today’s marketing currency”. If you offer value (in a free giveaway) people will “pay” for it (with their name and email). This is a critical stage because if you can’t capture the lead then you have wasted your energy, time, money, and resources in the awareness stage for nothing.
N U R T U R E Once you have captured the lead the next step is to nurture the lead to build a trusting relationship. Many leads fall through the cracks because Small Businesses do not have a system for follow up....and even those that do have a system it’s not automated therefore, leads are lost because of a lack of time. There are four key elements to successful nurturing: 1. Persistency - it takes and average
of seven “touches” before a purchase is made. 2. Consistency - the goal is to build trust and stay top of mind. 3. Value and Usefulness - continue to offer extreme value even after the lead is captured. I tend to use give three times before I ask for something. 4. Timing - learn the decision buying process of your target market...what do they need, when do they need it?
C O N V E R T
Convert....finally! It’s a lot of work up to this point I know. Ask yourself are you trying to make a sale for the day or create a relationship that lasts a lifetime? Intelligent marketers answer “relationship”. :) The three steps to converting: 1. Educate 2. Offer 3. Close
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D E L I G H T This is your opportunity to over deliver and really “WOW” or “Delight” your customer. Keep in mind that delighting will lead to referrals and ambassadors for your business. (Ambassadors are people who acts as a pro- moter for your business). An example of the cost of being average and ordinary... Have you ever went out to eat with your family to a new restaurant and on
the way out to the car you turn and ask, “so, what did you think about this place?”. Your family proceeds to say things like: “it was alright”, “nothing special”, or “the food was ok”. What does that really translate into? Your probably not going back. You see, being average and ordinary actually COSTS you clients (and future upsells). Look for ways to over deliver and fully delight to ensure a client for life and an ambassador that will help you grow your business. I hope you can see this stage is as important as capturing the lead or converting the sale.
R E P U T A T I O N their reputation.
Online reputation is an increasingly important area that local Small Businesses cannot ignore. I hear all the time of Small Businesses that are afraid to put themselves out there in fear that the one “interesting” customer they had might put a bad review that will jeopardize
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Well, I have news for you.... your customer is in control. They don’t need your permission to add your business on Yelp and post their thoughts. If you do not have a strategy that encourages customers to share their experience...then you are leaving yourself open to ONLY the “interesting”
one’s to voice their opinion. I think many of us will agree that most people will complain before they will praise. Knowing that, we need to be more proactive in asking our customers to praise. There you have it...Lifecycle Marketing in a nutshell. Here’s what I want you to do next. Head on over to the “Sales and Marketing Scorecard” article to rate your current efforts. See you there!
BUSINESS
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Social Media Management The leading social media dashboard to manage and measure your social networks
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O - to the - M - to the - G Hootsuite is THE app for busy Small Business Marketers. Feel like you don’t have enough time to manage your social media? Hootsuite will help you manage your social media in just a couple of hours a month. Hootsuite allows you to manage all
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of your social media platforms in one location. You can use the app for free (up to 5 accounts)...after that, it’s only $9.95 a month! CLICK HERE to sign up for your Free Account. And CLICK HERE to get a free video recording on how to use Hootsuite to manage your social media (in only 2 hours a month).
Sales and Marketing Scorecard Strategic planning is essential to the success of your business, but it can he difficult to know where to start. The Lifecycle Marketing process provides us with a model that we can follow that gives us a systematic approach on how to: - Create Awareness - Capture Leads
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- Nurture Prospects - Covert Sales - Delight Our Customers - And Manage Your Online Reputation (and get more Referrals) Here’s a quick scorecard you can use to assess where you are in each stage of the Lifecycle Marketing process:
What I’d like you to do now is to complete the scorecard by answering the questions in each section. Once you’ve answered all of the questions then fill in a number in the top small circle on a scale of 1 - 10 (1 lowest - 10 highest) in your effectiveness in that particular area. The last step is to fill in the box at the bottom of each step. Fill in the boxes with a number from 1 - 6 to illustrate the stage you want to prioritize working on first, second, third, and so on. Congratulations! You have completed your scorecard :) You may be thinking...that’s great, but now what do I
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do? Well, I have a SPECIAL GIFT for you! I have recorded a Training Course where I will walk through each stage in the Lifecycle Marketing process and provide you with: -Methods for gaining awareness -Ideas for valuable lead magnets to capture leads -Online and Offline methods for nurturing your prospects -An outline of a process you can use to convert sales -Ideas on how you can really Delight and WOW your customers -And finally my “stealthy” method for getting online reviews AND referrals!!!! I’m telling you, this one will really blow you away! Best of all this Training
Course is FREE. Yep, you heard right! Oh yea, and you are also going to get (for FREE) downloadable: -Worksheets -Workbooks -For EACH STAGE of the Lifecycle Marketing process! Be sure to sign up now.... it is VERY likely that this program will be only available for sale early part of 2015....but for now it’s FREE to you! See it pays to read to the end :) I can’t wait to share! Head over now and claim your FREE spot...see you on “the inside”.
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#AskYMC Ask Your Marketing Coach Gail Asks: “I have two questions: First, Facebook has changed so much in the last year I am no longer getting exposure like I have in the past (actually, I am only getting a handful of people that see my posts now). Does it make sense for me to continue to post on Facebook? My second question is, if you recommend that I continue posting on Facebook what should I do to improve my social media posts?”. Misty’s Response: Gail, if your audience is on Facebook then you should be (even if you aren’t getting the free reach you have in the past). Keep in mind that even though your posts may not be getting the free reach they have in the past, your audience is still looking for you. Actually, there was some research released by Edison Research recently that stated “47% of consumers say that Facebook has had the greatest impact on their purchasing behavior this year”....and
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this will continue to grow. Knowing that Facebook carries such weight in purchasing behavior it is critical that your posts be centered around: 1. Developing relationships 2. Boosting your credibility and authority as a brand 3. Engaging conversation 4. Sharing valuable content 5. Asking your audience to do something (which is another form of engagement)...and can be used skillfully to capture leads Keep in mind that social media marketing is not about selling and posting random content. Use social media the way it was intended to be used: to be social and engaging. As a result, you will build relationships, reputation, and a community of followers that will promote you over time.
Yo u m ay h ave stu mbled u pon this issue of
intelligent MARKETER ....but if you want to be sure you get this Free Publication each month as soon as it is issued....click right here....and we’ll be sure to send it directly to your inbox each month. So ya won’t miss a thing! :)
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Thanks for reading! I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts and feedback :) Hit me up at misty@yourmarketingcoachonline.com
www.yourmarketingcoachonline.com