If you visit https://adwords.google.com/o/Targeting/Explorer?__u=1000000000&__c=1000000000&ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS#search.none you can have a look at the tool and discover what people really type into Google.

You can type different phrases into the box at the top of the page and then search on those phrases and see how many people use them.  Google will produce a report for you which gives you the data for your chosen keyphrases and they’ll also suggest other phrases you might want to consider.

The report will tell you how many people search on a given keyphrase each month globally and locally (UK).  And it will also tell you how many sites compete for that keyphrase – which is important data about your competitors and your chances of getting to the first page in Google for any given page.

Top Tip… If someone calls you and tells you they can get you to the top of Google for a given phrase, run it through this tool and see how many people are searching for that phrase.  If it’s a low number, then a monkey could probably get you to the top of Google for that phrase, but it still wouldn’t bring you very much traffic.  This is one of the latest marketing scams, but now you have the marketing knowledge, you can catch them out at their own game.

Have a play around and enjoy finding out what people really search on!

At a recent seminar, I asked my audience to stand if they watched or listened to the news in the morning.  About 90% of the room stood up.  I asked them to sit down if they felt motivated after they’d watched the news…and only a couple sat down (which I think might have been fatigue, rather than honesty).

The fact is that the news is depressing.  Especially at the moment.  And it provides you with an excuse if your business isn’t performing as well as you might hope.

I listened to a customer this week tell me how ‘sad’ it is ‘out there’ at the moment and how everyone seems to be suffering in business.  But, on the flip side, a property developer we work with has just received three reservation forms for new build properties in the past four weeks – and they only have 8 properties to sell.

The business is there.  Whatever the news and the media would like to tell you.  It may be that you have to fight harder for it at the moment, but customers are spending money.  The question is whether they’re spending it with you.

My advice…

• Stop watching the news before work and read something motivational instead
• Start your day with your marketing actions
• Do some sales and marketing activity every single day
• Think positive – you’ll be amazed at the results.

Sounds simple?  You’ve got nothing to lose, so why not try it and let me know the results?

And so to 2012…

My first prediction is that the news won’t really change.  If you want to avoid the doom and gloom, I’d recommend not watching it / listening to it at all.  It will only serve to depress you.

The perception in the British market is that money is still tight, but for many people, they’re better off than they were before the recession.  They’re often not spending their money, in many instances because the media keeps telling them times are tough.  So savings are increasing… and people’s money is earning them nothing in the bank.

Consequently, people are looking for better returns and there are some very interesting things happening in the investment market with people finding and using alternatives to banks.

As a result, the property investment market is buoyant.  Investors are spotting opportunities and buying property across the country; the only limit being their access to finance (as for everyone else).  One developer we work with has just sold 3 properties in 4 weeks… not bad considering some people think the property market is stagnant.  He did have some great marketing advice though!

The luxury market also seems to be holding steady and holiday bookings in January appear to have maintained their usual peak for this time of year.

Baby boomers are driving the wellness trend and most analysts expect that to continue for the next decade; making this a great market to be in.

We were out in Lancaster city centre on Saturday night and the city was filled with people eating and drinking.  We struggled to get tables in the restaurant and also the local bar… but they’re both great at what they do.  So I suspect the businesses offering great value and good quality will be busy.  And those offering the same as others will be quieter.

So my top tips for 2012?

1. Differentiate yourself.  If you offer the same as everyone else, you’ll melt into the background.
2. Customer service is king.  Never before has service been more important – you must remember that any customer is paying you a huge compliment if they choose you.  So look after them.
3. Make the most of mobile technologies.  Smartphones have really come of age in 2011 and 2012 and they are changing the way people search for and buy things… you need to take advantage.
4. Keep in touch.  It isn’t the customer’s job to remember to do business with you.
5. Remember that people are spending money.  Stop watching the news and feeling negative and instead get out there and meet your customers.  Your attitude will be the measure of your success.
6. Once you’ve got some momentum, do everything you can to keep it.
7. Contain your costs.  Check every bill that comes into your business – just last night I found I’d been spending £5 pcm on roaming for my mobile phone – something I added over a year ago and never removed!  It’s only £60, but that’s an extra hours work I’ve had to do to pay for it.  If I could reduce every bill by the same amount, my life would be much less complicated.

Have fun and may 2012 bring you health, wealth and happiness in abundance x

You don’t ask them any questions.  You might record their telephone number.  And, worst case scenario you lose the scrap of paper containing their details over the coming weeks.

Whatever the reason (or excuse) you don’t follow-up.

What if they haven’t received the brochure (trust me, it happens on a frighteningly regular basis)?  What if they’re interested and are waiting for you to call?

It isn’t the customers job to remember to do business with you – it’s your job

Most customers take on average seven points of contact before they buy.  And most sales people give up at 5 points.  What’s even more scary is the number of businesses who don’t follow-up at all – despite the fact that it’s free marketing!

So what is best practice with follow-ups and how can you really make the most of incoming enquiries?  Here are our top 5 tips (most of which are free or cheap to implement and could be done very quickly):

1. If a customer calls, have a script to follow and find out as much information as you can
2. Gain permission to follow that person up and ensure they received the information they wanted
3. Answer enquiries promptly – be available by phone and email and respond where possible within 24 hours
4. Record all the information you take in a database (ideally customer relationship management – CRM – software)
5. Diary a follow-up and stick to it (and then diary another)

If people take time out of their busy lives to enquire about your product, they’re paying you a huge compliment.  The least you can do is treat that compliment with respect and try to help the customer towards a solution.

If this is your situation, or you know someone in that position, please pass on some marketing tips that will help them get the cashflow moving again:

1. Chase every debt.  This is money in the bank; it just often isn’t in yours.  People think debt recovery falls into admin rather than marketing, but this is easy income and every debt should be chased in a systematic way.  Speaking to people about the money they owe is also another opportunity to find out what needs they have that you may be able to solve.
2. Keep in touch with past clients.  All too often, we spend time looking for new customers and forget about the people who already know, like and trust us – those who have bought before.  By keeping in touch, you remind them you exist and what you can offer.  (Just this week I had a client come back after 5 years, so it’s never too late.)
3. Listen – ask customers, prospects and contacts what they need.  What challenges do they have and how can you solve them?  Listen first, ask questions and propose your solution afterwards.  You’re more likely to solve their problem that way – and they’re more likely to buy.
4. Stay positive.  It’s increasingly difficult to ignore the news, but ignore it you must.  People are spending money.  The question is whether they’re spending it with you.  Your mindset is a large part of whether you succeed or not, so monitor your thoughts and keep them positive.  (This sounds fluffy, but you wouldn’t believe the power of it.)
5. Ask for the sale.  Make the calls. Get active.  Take massive action if you need massive results.  You are the route out of your situation, so set a target and then enjoy smashing it.

Times are changing.  And they’ve been changing for millennia.  It’s the only constant.  As someone famously once said – you can make money, or you can make excuses, but you can’t make both.

I wish you success and I offer my assistance if you need it.

I don’t know about you, but it’s a rare day when I find a car salesman I like and really want to do business with – perhaps it’s no surprise he was so successful.

Apparently Joe sent cards every month to his customers with a simple ‘I Like You’ on the front and a relevant greeting inside.  His customers received twelve cards each year reminding them how much Joe liked them.  He had thousands of customers (making the postage costs significant,) but the resulting sales were more than worth the effort.

Joe is now a sales speaker and has his own website.  You can read his top tips at http://www.joegirard.com/13-Rules-To-Success.html.

Good luck putting them into practice.  They are very simple… and very effective.

What most business owners fail to recognise is the risk to the person who recommends you:

They put their own reputation on the line by telling their friends that you’ll do a great job. 

And most people don’t do that lightly.

We had a friend give us such a recommendation for someone to respray our campervan recently.  The business was effectively his; we just needed him to see the camper so he could give us a quote.  And that’s where the problems began.

So here’s a list of what not to do, if you want more business:

1. Make it difficult to see the client and give them a quote
2. Make the customer come to you
3. Be vague about times you’ll be there to see them
4. Leave them waiting outside your offices for 30 minutes
5. Put the phone down on them (after telling them you’re not really bothered about the work)

It beggars belief that in the current economic climate, small business owners are still wasting opportunities and damaging relationships with the people who recommend their company.

We’d love you to share if you have similar stories of people who talk themselves out of business.

1. First is a decision about time or money
2. Second is about what you want to achieve – for some companies, it’s about building awareness, but for most it’s about generating enquiries.  For the purposes of this article, I’m going to assume you want more leads (and sales), so we’re looking at direct-response marketing (marketing that generates a response).

If you have time and little money, pick from the following:

• Targeted networking
• Up-selling to existing customers
• Incentivising referrals
• Exhibitions / Events
• Social Media
• E-newsletters (targeted)
• Posters and Flyers
• Increase your prices (where the market allows)
• Incentivise repeat purchases

If you have money and no time, these methods might suit you better:

• Training staff in up-selling to existing customers
• Incentivising referrals from existing customers
• Highly targeted telemarketing
• Appointment setting services
• Search Engine Optimisation and Adwords
• Postal mailings

Fundamentally, every marketing method works…to a greater or lesser extent.  But you must action that method consistently. Try any method for at least 90 days and monitor the results before you swap and change things – you have to give them a chance to work.

We always suggest that customers have at least four or five marketing methods working for them at any one time.  This can even out the peaks and troughs in a business and ensure a stable forward-order book.  So choose a few and monitor them all.

They will all work for you (to a greater or lesser extent).  But if you want to know which will really work for your specific business, that’s when you need to take advice.  And that’s the value added by consultants.  They can save you time and work and make you more money more quickly, but you have to pay for that expertise; as in any industry.  The choice, as always is yours, but hopefully the post gives you a starting point.

As usual, your comments and feedback are welcome.  I’m sure there are methods I’ve missed, so please send in your own experiences and give others the benefit of your knowledge.

Likewise; the majority of small business owners run their business in an ethical way.  Perhaps because they rely on local business, they are wise not to upset anyone who might damage their reputation or stop shopping with them.

But interesting things happens when the economy gets tight. And it’s been fascinating to watch.

For many businesses, times have been quite tough in recent months. And they’ve had to chase business more than usual.  As a result, many have increased their sales efforts and reduced their costs.  But some have taken it a step further and started using marketing techniques and business practices that are less than ethical.

Examples we’ve heard of include:

• Taking on business that is outside your specialist area (when you’d be better turning it down)
• Poaching staff
• Promoting yourself on dodgy websites
• Making unproven claims
• Buying reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor
• Spamming your database out of desparation
• Buying followers

These practices have always happened in the marketing industry, but they are increasingly common in recent times.  It’s my belief that those who hold true to their ethics (and can sleep soundly at night) will prosper and come out of recession the fastest.

After all – the measure of a man isn’t found when things are going well.  It’s found in the actions they take when things are going badly.

The fundamental thing about a marketing strategy is that it should be a working document.  It should be on your desk; not buried in a filing cabinet.  As a result, it should be a simple document and not a lengthy, verbose file containing words nobody understands (these documents are just created by marketing people who don’t really have working experience, so they try to baffle you with long words that they often don’t understand either).

The contents should be simple and should include the following:

• An aim, mission or vision.  Call it what you will, but the beginning of any strategy should be an over-arching statement about the reason your business or organisation exists.  What are you trying to achieve – in a single paragraph if you can.
• Your objectives.  Underneath your vision should be your specific objectives.  These should be measurable and should relate back to your mission statement.  For example, we plan to increase profits by 20% in 2011 or we will donate £1000 per month to our selected charity in 2011.  I would recommend sticking to about 5 or 6 objectives, as that will keep you focused.
• The third stage is your action plan.  How are you going to achieve those objectives?  In marketing, there are hundreds of methods you could use to achieve the same outcomes.  What really saves time at this stage is getting some quality advice from an expert who can tell you which marketing methods will work the best for you and your customers in order to achieve the objectives you’ve set.  (That’s the clever bit of marketing and you’ll save a heap of time asking someone who does this for a living to work this out for you.  It’s the value of using a professional, as they know what works and what doesn’t.)
• Finally you might want to put measurement or evaluation tools in here, so you know how you will monitor your progress against your objectives.

Such a document should take no more than one or two A4 sides for most businesses and it should give you a working action plan that you undertake and monitor every day.  That will build your business and grow your profits.

Good luck – and let me know if you need any assistance. I’d be happy to help and get you on the right track.