Yesterday, I went to see Sir Richard Branson at Dreamforce. What a neat and inspiring person. Considering the success he has, and the responsibilities and fortune that go along with it, he is real. I mean real!

As an entrepreneur, it’s great to hear successful entrepreneurs speak because it reminds me that anything is possible. They, too, had to start somewhere. They, too, did not become successful overnight.

One thing Sir Richard said during his fireside chat with Marc Benioff  was, “I couldn’t achieve something unless I started it.”

He alluded that most entrepreneurs don’t start their business with a vision that includes making lots of money, but instead that most businesses start with a realization that there is a service or product that doesn’t yet exist in the marketplace. He shared his story that sparked his airline company: he got bumped from a flight on a major carrier, decided to charter a plane and offered $29 seats on the chartered plane to the other bumped passengers. Soon afterwards, he purchased his first 747 and his airline was born!

Once you decide you’re going to start something you have to act. And how you lead and delegate is crucial to your growth. Sir Richard talked about hiring the right people. Making sure they are qualified to do the job. He also talked about how you have to let go of the ones who are not performing. He admitted that he probably keeps people around longer than they should be; that it’s hard to let go of people, because they are human too. (Oh good, so it’s not just me!)

He views his companies as family. There is a lot of giving when you’re an entrepreneur. You are responsible not only for yourself and your employees, but also for their families. You are responsible for your product or service and how it impacts your customers or clients. These are things that you may not think of when you start your business, but now that you are in business, they are things you have to think about.

Last thing (and the first thing I mentioned) is that he is REAL. Maybe I’m not speaking for everyone, but seriously, who wouldn’t want to be in Sir Richard Branson’s inner circle? He’s a nice guy. Adventurous. Smart. Innovative. INSPIRING. We could all use some of that and isn’t it great to see it in action? He was very clear about how he doesn’t speak negatively about things and by removing that, people could be so much happier (or something like that… you get the idea). The point is, who wants to do business with a schmuck, no matter how great the service or product? We all need to treat each other with kindness and respect; it just has to start from the top. What are you doing to better the space around you?

If you have an hour to spare, click here to see the fireside chat and hear it for yourself.

Who has inspired you lately? How so? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

My coach tasked me with a homework assignment: interview a business owner in my field. Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with John Gumas, owner and founder of Gumas, the self-named marketing and advertising agency in San Francisco.

What did I learn about John?
John loooves what he does. He is involved in the strategy of every project that walks in his door. He is a hero for what he calls “Challenger Brands”, the basis and reason for the business. He gives back to his community and he was willing to take time out of his day to answer whatever questions I threw at him.

What did I learn from the conversation?
Be specific with your target market (see #1 in 5 Basics to a Marketing Campaign). You can’t be all things to everybody, but you can be one great thing to somebody. John only works with Challenger Brands. His clients must find create ways to compete with the big name brands.

What did I learn from the assignment?
Successful business owners have something in common: they’ve defined their audience. They are specific in their messaging and know where to deliver it.

Have you defined your ideal customer? Where do you find them? Let us know.

1. Define Your Clients

Talk to any marketing professional and they will all say the same thing: you should know exactly who your customer is. Also known in marketing terms as “Target Market” or “Target Audience”, your ideal clients generally share similar demographic (age, gender, socioeconomic status, geography) and psycho-graphic (attitude, interests, lifestyle, values, buying patterns) qualities.

The more specific you are in identifying your target market, the easier it will be to craft a marketing message that will be relevant and engaging to them.

2. Develop Your Elevator Pitch

There’s a lot of noise out there and with a strong elevator pitch, you will quickly summarize the core of your business, how you’re different and the value of your product or service to your clients. Essentially it answers, “What value do you bring me and why should I pay you for it?”

When crafted correctly, an articulate and engaging elevator pitch will perk up ears and leave listeners wanting more (especially if they fall into your target market!).

3. Find Your Clients

Now that you know who your ideal client is and how you provide them with value, you will need to find them. For example, if you are a real state agent specializing in vacation homes in Miami, your clients could be in DC or New York City. If you’re a pediatrician, you’re most likely going to align your marketing with mid-wives and OBs and not with podiatrists or ophthalmologists. Does your audience want to read or listen to what you have to say/offer in an email, the newspaper, or in a valpak? Will you use social sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest or will you meet them in-person at networking events?

It used to confuse me why a new fast food restaurant would break ground next to an existing one, until I learned a valuable marketing principle: you go where your clients go. The Burger King that opens across the street from McDonald’s is setting up shop where their prospective clients are going. People (wanting fast food burgers) are already going to McDonald’s, so provide them an option to cross the street! It’s as simple as that!

4. Launch your marketing campaign!

You know who your target is. You know what to say to them. You know where to find them. Congratulations! You can now take action. Send out your e-mail newsletter, advertise in the newspaper, distribute brochures, speak at the local chamber. Go for it!

5. Communicate Regularly

With your audience in mind (always!), keep them engaged. How often do you send your message? Or rather, how often do they want to hear from you? When you are communicating to your existing customer base, what value are you bringing them? With each message, you should answer the “WII-FM” (what’s in it for me) question, where “me” is your customer.

With your marketing goals defined, don’t forget to track the effectiveness of your campaign. With call-to-actions and coupon and promotion codes, you can use resources like Google Analytics and other reporting tools to see clicks, conversions, and bounce rates. You should always know how each new lead learned about you and be able to attribute each customer/client to a specific marketing campaign.

Sometimes the result is not what we had intended, but you’ll only know that if you set the goal. Rest easy. Part of being a business owner is the opportunity to always learn from your experiences. Because you take risks, you will tweak and refine and find yourself smarter and wiser (and more clients!) as a result.

Are there other steps you include in your process? How do you track the effectiveness of your marketing? Leave your comments and let us know!

Elevator Pitch

Marketing begins with knowing what your company stands for, what you offer and who benefits from working with, or buying from, you. Remember, marketing engages, which means your elevator pitch should generate interest and speak to your target audience.  In a few short sentences, the elevator pitch should address these things:

• What is your business?
• Who do you serve?
• How are you different?
• What benefit do you bring to your customer or client?

Practice

Any opportunity to speak, one-on-one or in front of a group (when you’re not the reason they’re there) is the perfect time to practice! Start with your name and your company name. Pitch your business. Then ask your question, make your statement, or engage in conversation.

I attended a small business conference recently, where they opened the floor to questions. I raised my hand, waited my turn and was handed the mic. I stood up, surveyed the crowd (slowly), looked at the panelists, and said:

“Hi. My name is Irma Hypes. My business is My Marketing Company™. We are marketing experts who work with lone-wolf entrepreneurs. As their marketing strategist and ventriloquist, they have more time work on their business and not in their business. My question is…”

And with a little practice, you’ll gain the confidence to marketing your business and refine your messaging as you go. Easy, right?

The Lesson

When you’re given the opportunity to ask a question in a room of your potential customers and/or other business owners, take it! You’ve just been given the opportunity to introduce yourself to the entire room without having to meet every attendee individually. Talk about efficient marketing!

When your elevator pitch resonates with someone, he or she will think, “I need to talk to that person.” So make yourself available afterwards: Loiter, get in line to talk to the speaker, chat with someone you already know, or go up to another person who made you think the same thing. It doesn’t matter. Stick around and give people the opportunity to meet you.

Do you have an elevator pitch? When was the last time you delivered it? Was it one-on-one or to a group? Leave a comment below and share your experience!

Pinterest closed a $100 million round of financing this month and is now in the $1 Billion (valuation) Club. Since July 2011, they’ve grown from 1 million users to over 20 million users*. That’s 19 million users in just 10 months!

What this means to you

There are users on Pinterest that you can engage, which means you should consider it in your social media marketing mix. As business owners and marketers, we’d be silly not to include Pinterest. We shouldn’t let our fear of the unknown keep us from a new lead generation channel, should we? (the correct answer is, No!)

However, proceed with caution: make sure you have defined your target audience before you go throwing mud at the wall of 20 million users. Be sure to reassess your marketing strategy and look at your marketing plan again.

By invite only

Talk about wrenches in your plan! In case you don’t know, Pinterest is invite only. Interesting business model, huh? thankfully for you, My Marketing Company™ now has a Pinterest page (click here or on Pinterest logo above), so let us know if you want an invite. We’ve started pinning our favorite peeps, companies, products and books and posting our blog. We’re learning too, so if there are any comments or tips you’d like to share, please do so below.

Happy pinning!

*from Huffington Post 5/18/12

But not so fast.

Being in business for yourself means that you are your company’s sales person (at least in the beginning). Check the glossary for the business definition of “pipeline” and images of natural gas do not surface. It’s the list of your potential future customers. Moreover, business owners must understand, believe, and act on this old principle: sales is a numbers game.

What to say?

Once you implement your database building systems, it’s time to communicate regularly with the contacts you have. Here are three quick hit email marketing campaigns you can do via an email blast that are low-cost and can have high impact to additional revenue and increasing your database:

1. Cross Sell or Up Sell Current Clients.

Have you inquired what their needs are beyond what you’re already providing? Is there an affiliate that you can refer them to and get paid for doing so? Anticipate the next step and have the next product/service in your sales funnel ready to remedy the pain, problem or need.

2. Re-engage Past Clients.

Your project may have (had) a definitive end, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t need you again. Is there a way you can service them again? Let them know of new offerings that would benefit them.

3. Inform with company news or industry trends.

Not everyone in your database is a customer, which makes them a prospect or a referral. With social media, blogs and newsletters, it’s easy to share relevant information and stay top-of-mind by keeping your contacts in the conversation.

There are many email marketing programs available to help you manage your contact list and provide metrics (ie. track bad email addresses, how many are opening your emails, which links they’re clicking, etc).  When you track your campaign’s effectiveness and adjust subsequent marketing activities based on that data, you can make strategic business decisions and either exploit your successes or cut your losses. Either way, informed decision-making is always better than emotional.

Are your email campaigns to your current database more successful than email campaigns to unqualified leads/contacts?

Yes, I should’ve known better.

Yes, I went to the twitter website, only to discover that I tweeted something about losing 20 pounds using some sort of diet pill.

Yes, I changed my password.

Yes, I will be more vigilant.

If you received a message like this… it didn’t come from me, or whomever the email is from. And may I recommend: Don’t click the link.

Here’s to making the most of hacker behavior.

We’d love to hear the kinds of things you’re interested in reading about, so we may write about them and bring you value.

Send us an email at info (at) mymktgco (dot) com! We’re waiting!!