Inner Circle Media

Everyone seems to be asking the Magic 8-Ball these days, “Should I pay for online advertising?” The Magic 8-Ball is giving all sorts of answers ranging from “Signs point to yes” to “My sources say no.”  Does it make sense for your company to pay for Google Adwords or placement in other search engines? Take this quiz to find out.

1. Do you sell your products directly online via an e-commerce / online store?
   
2. Is your product or service new to the market?
   
3. Is your product or service easily searchable by people in your target market? For example, “Brighton remodeling company” is an easily searchable term; “Ethical Assurance Engineering Consultant” or “Unrefined Idea Specialist” are probably not logical, intuitive searchable terms.
   
4. Do your prospective and current customers already look for products or services like yours online?
   
5. Are you in a hurry to get placement in the search engines?
   
6. Are you willing to invest at least several hundred dollars a month to online advertising?
   
7. Does your website currently get listed on page one of Google for your top search terms?

If you answered YES to any of questions 1 through 6, then you should definitely consider paying for Google Adwords and placement in other search engines. If you also answered YES to question 7, then you should be strategic about what search terms you target in your Adwords campaigns. For example, if you already rank at the top of page one of Google for “Ann Arbor mechanic,” then you could use Adwords to target other more widely searched terms like “Ann Arbor auto repair“ or “Michigan car maintenance.”

Question 3 is a tricky one. If you answered, NO then you believe that your product or service is obscure, difficult to define, or not immediately thought of by your target audience. This means you might have a marketing problem, and before you commit your hard earned money to any type of advertising (online or offline) you need to clearly define your target market’s needs and the ways your products or services meet those needs. Then you need to write marketing messages that help your prospective customers immediately understand what your product or service can do for them.

The good news is obscure products or services (or those with a very targeted niche market) can actually benefit greatly from using Google Adwords. For example, a new trend in exercise is AcroYoga (it’s a combination of acrobatics and yoga, and I’ve heard from participants that is fun but hardcore!). While “acroyoga” is currently a very obscure term, AcroYoga franchises could benefit from Google Adwords by targeting broader search terms like “fitness classes,” “yoga strength training,” and “power yoga.”

As business owners, you hear a lot hype about marketing your products and services on the Internet. Experts tell you to “Improve your website. Launch a blog. Build a gigantic mailing list….” The trouble is the marketing information and advice provided online is often directed at companies who sell products and services that are sold exclusively through the internet.

But if you are like the vast majority of service-based companies, your services are delivered by interacting directly with your clients (in person or at least on the phone), so promoting your professional services is NOT the same as promoting a retail product or a service provided only online (i.e. website hosting).

Here are 4 internet marketing myths that could be misleading to service-based companies:

Myth #1— You must have an awesometastic, cool, interactive website.

Reality: You must have a website that clearly defines your service and explains how you help your customers alleviate their problems. Don’t even think about hiring a web development firm until you are clear about who your target customer is, what their pressing needs are, and how you can meet those needs. Design matters, but only so far as your website should look better than your competitors. Content matters MOST. If your content (copy, images, videos, articles, case studies, etc.) is personable, engaging, and speaks to the needs of your audience, they will begin to feel connected to you (and hopefully take the next step of contacting you).

Myth #2—More traffic means more revenues.

Reality: More traffic means only that more people are visiting your site each month. It does not mean that those people are taking any action on your site (reading your blog, filling out your contact form) or ever coming back to the site again. Before you spend money with search engine marketing firms, online advertising, or pay-per-click listings, make sure that your website attracts those people who actually need your services. And be sure that once they get there, they are logically guided toward specific actions.

If you’re wondering if your website compels users to do the things you want them to do, Google Analytics has a great tracking tool called “Site Overlay” where you can see an actual overlay on your own website to see what percentage of users are clicking each link on each page.

If you don’t have Google Analytics to measure your website’s performance, you could do your own user test or survey where you ask some of your customers to critique your website, carry out specific tasks, and provide feedback. The big question should be – “Based on my website, do I look like a credible expert you’d like to do business with?” If they answer YES, then pat yourself on the back. If they answer NO, then improvements must be made!

Myth #3—Build a gigantic mailing list.

Reality: A large mailing list is valuable, but only as long as the people on the list are qualified buyers, current customers, or referral partners. More people are likely to join your list (through your website or by receiving your e-newsletter from a friend or colleague) if you offer them insightful information, incentives, or coupons.

Myth #4—Killer copy will make people buy from you.

Reality: You are selling a service. You are not selling a ShamWow (the chamois, towel, and sponge all in one!). Hype might sell products, but TRUST sells service-based companies and professional consultants. Your website should bolster own brand by showing how you listen to clients, advise them with thoughtfulness and care, and provide exactly the services that meet their needs. If need be, hire a good writer to help you communicate what sets you apart.

In anticipation of WXW’s Goal Setting event on September 18th, I wrote a quick article for annarbor.com about goal setting. Specifically, I noted that just because the economy is in the dumps, it doesn’t mean that you should stop aspiring toward big goals for the future. The “bad” economy is an excuse many people need to slack off. But it’s not an excuse; it’s a motivator, a reason to step up our game.

Here’s a link to the entire article – “Goal-Setting: Set your intention on success”

And here are some handy tips for starting your own goal-setting regimen:

1. Break your big goals down into smaller steps – annual goals, quarterly goals, weekly goals. If your goal is to pay yourself $100,000 next year, then what will it entail in the coming months to make that money?

2. Change your goal of “Increase sales,” to “Close four deals at $25K (or more) by the end of October.”

3. Aim for high yet attainable goals. If you usually land one new client per month, set a new goal of two or three.

4. Be persistent and adaptable: If you are new to goal-setting, it may take time to get the hang of it. Don’t give up. Reassess your goals monthly and make adjustments as necessary. Write your goals in red marker on a dry erase board where you can refer to them often. You’ll find that goal-setting gets easier because as you achieve your initial goals, you’ll be motivated to set and achieve even bigger goals.

Before you post one more thing on Facebook, Tweet on Twitter, or update your LinkedIn profile, ask yourself this – what’s my comprehensive marketing strategy? If you’re not sure why you’re on the web, how do you know if your efforts are successful? Just being there isn’t necessarily going to improve your business. In fact, without a strategy, your scatter shot approach and multiple online personalities could annoy, aggravate, or even scare away prospects, clients, press contacts, and potential business partners.

It seems people are in such a frenzy these days to jump on the online social media band wagon that they forget about marketing basics – who needs your product/service? And how will you reach those people?

Social media should be just a part of your overall marketing/communications plan. It should NOT replace your other efforts (advertising, press, media, website, etc.) Nor should the tools be used in standalone ways – i.e. you build a following on Twitter, but do nothing to reach out via email marketing, blogs, Facebook, etc.

As you create your strategy, consider your audience:

• Who are you trying to reach?
• What are they already doing online?
• Where are they finding out about you?
• Do they use online social networking tools?
• Are they talking about you online? What are they saying?
• What do you want your target audience to do – connect with you, repost your tweets, call you, email you, buy your stuff?

Now consider what tools and/or initiatives you already have in place. Which tactics do you use? Which ones work well for your audience? How could you make better use of these tools?

• Website
• Blogs (yours and others’)
• E-newsletter
• Personal� vs. Professional Facebook page
• Personal vs Professional Twitter profile
• Other social media tools: LinkedIn, Plaxo, Flickr, MySpace, YouTube, Squidoo, Epinions, Digg, Delicious
• Offline initiatives: Marketing, ads, press, radio/TV

Once you’ve evaluated your current online marketing efforts and determined what works best for your target audience, then you should create a plan for how you’ll employ the tools listed below.

By the way, sometimes our clients wonder how all these tools work together. That’s when I like to use my outer space analogy.

Your website = Your home planet; Your #1 goal is to bring visitors to your home planet

Your blog = Moon station where visitors stop in before they visit your home planet

Other blogs = Other moons and planets you visit where you engage with people and encourage them to come visit your home planet

Social networking sites = Your outer space outposts

Your e-newsletter =� The rocket ship you send out into the galaxy to remind people to visit your planet

OK, back to your plan. Determine how you’ll employ each of the following tools to your advantage:

1. Your Website: Your website is one of your most powerful marketing tools. Make sure it’s a breeze to navigate, it’s design makes you proud, and the content on the site changes OFTEN (i.e. daily or weekly). On your website, allow users to subscribe to Twitter, Facebook, RSS, your e-newsletter. Share articles, links, documents – be a resource.
2. Your Blog: Craft succinct, powerful, well written posts about your target audience’s most pressing needs, as well as industry insights. Make sure to share other people’s blog posts. Remember – Your blog posts, podcasts, videos, press coverage shows up in search engine results.
3. Other Blogs: Discover the blogging community related to your area of expertise. What blogs work best for you? What bloggers do you relate with? Begin commenting and building relationships. Offer advice, criticism, and praise.
4. E-newsletter: Offer timely, pertinent content. Write with your own voice. Link to your own site, other sites, yours and others’ blogs. Make people WANT to read your copy. Make people want to forward your e-newsletter to their friends.
5. Social Marketing Channels: Use the channels/tools that your target market uses – i.e. if they don’t use Twitter, then why bother.� Choose 2-3 channels that you can easily manage. Remember – your social marketing channels (Twitter, Facebook page, LinkedIn page) show up in search engine results.

And don’t forget about all of your offline initiatives. Regardless of the marketing tool or tactic, make sure you have a unified message resonates with target audience.

Debra Power (Power Marketing) and I are going to be regular contributors to the Ann Arbor Business Review. Since Debra and I are the co-founders of the Women’s Exchange of Washtenaw, the Business Review hopes we’ll be good spokespeople for the region’s business women. Little do they know that they asked two outspoken and sometimes brassy women to gab about their favorite topic!

After WXW’s April Exchange Session called “Sales – Finding Customers and Sealing Deals,” I wrote an article about women and sales where I pondered the question, “Why are businesswomen often so averse to selling?”

If you’d like to read the entire article, here it is – “Women in business – Start selling like a girl”

I think we cut ourselves short if we think women have to be power sellers with smooth pitches and a quick answer for everything. Often women have inherent skills that help them bond with prospective clients, ask good questions, listen intently, and ultimately determine if a business deal is likely. Here are some tips to help you sell like a girl:

• Build trust like a good friend. Encourage people to talk to you by asking how you can help them.

• Be nurturing like your favorite grandmother. Listen intently to your prospects, so they feel heard. Give them praise for their hard work.

• Be assertive. Guide your prospects through the sales process. Be direct with your questions, so you can thoroughly understand their needs, goals, and intentions.

• Promote honesty and transparency. By being open, truthful, and real with your prospects, you’ll encourage them to behave in the same way.

• Make lasting connections. Realize that many prospects won’t end up being your clients, but that’s OK. They can still be referral sources, trusted advisors, and even friends.

In celebration of WXW’s yearly forum (May 15) and because WXW women tend to be so gol’ darn lippy and self-assertive, Concentrate asked five WXW participants to “talk about women in business, the opportunities and challenges of doing that in Michigan, what you’d like to see improved, where things are going, etc.� The more personal and opinionated you are the better. ”

If you haven’t learned by now, here’s a reminder – you don’t have to ask WXW participants to be OPINIONATED. Once you meet Rebecca Lopez Kriss, Marisa Smith, Carole Baker, Debra Power, and Carrie Hensel, you’ll quickly come to realize that we dish open, honest business talk all day long to anyone who will listen.

> Check out our blog posts here.

Our blog topics for Concentrate include…

• Carrie Hensel – Do Women Really Do Business Different from Men?
• Carole Baker – Taking the WORK Out of Networking
• Marisa Smith – Build Your Own “Old Girls Network”
• Rebecca Lopez Kriss – Where Have All the Young Professional FEMALE Entrepreneurs Gone?
• Debra Power – The POWER of Women

P.S. We hope you LOVE our mugshots above.� We’re so opinionated that it sometimes gets us into trouble.

The Ann Arbor News ran an excellent section called “Outlook – Survival Mode: A time to transform” in its March 22, 2009 edition.� The Outlook section featured stories about companies and people who are adapting and transforming during Michigan’s trying economic times. (Unfortunately, the next day the Ann Arbor News announced its own transformation – to annarbor.com, an online publication that will distribute printed papers only twice weekly.)

Stephanie Murray, Ann Arbor News reporter, asked me to provide 100 words of insight for people who are thinking about starting their own companies. Here are my words of wisdom that were included in the paper:

“In 2001 I left a cushy corporate job. Without an inkling of business experience, I started a small company that now has seven employees. How can you do the same?”

• Go after your dreams right now. Ignore the ‘what ifs.’ At 80, you will marvel at your braveness.
• Share your business with everyone. Ask others about their best/worst business decisions. Listen carefully.
• Be persistent and adaptable like a dandelion.
• Give your best to people. Put your integrity where your mouth is.
• Don’t be so gol’ darn serious. Have fun, and let your wild ideas rip!

And here’s a link to the article online at mlive.com.

On Saturday night (March 14th), Catherine Hayes and I were featured on WJR’s Internet Advisor, a Detroit radio show that’s been on the air for 11 years on News/Talk 760 AM. For those wondering – no, we did not get to meet Mitch Albom, but we had a great time talking with Gary Baker (local leader, technology expert and entrepreneur), Foster Braun (with that name and that voice, he was destined to be a radio star), and Ed Rudel (computer support guru).

During the show, Catherine and I covered the basics of website development – from content to design to search engine optimization. We were interviewed during the first hour of the show. Listen to the podcast here. We’re looking forward to doing more shows in the future.

It was really fun to visit the gorgeous, historic Fisher Building and watch the sun set over Detroit. I’d encourage all of you to visit downtown Detroit again. We had an awesome dinner at Mosaic in Greektown, and the city was bustling with event goers (at all the local theaters and event venues), and party goers (the St Patty’s Day crowd was in full force).

On February 18, 2009, Concentrate (the web site and weekly online magazine) featured little ol’ me, Carrie Hensel, as one of Ann Arbor’s “Masterminds.”

For those of you who haven’t seen it, Concentrate “tells the new story of Washtenaw County� — a narrative of creative people and businesses, new development, cool places to live, and the best places to work and play.” It’s one of Issue Media Group’s numerous city-specific publications, all of which focus on small businesses that are bucking current economic trends by growing, hiring, producing creative products and services, and helping improve their communities.

The writer, Kimberly Chou, was a joy to talk with. I’m amazed that she took such thorough notes, since prior to speaking with her I consumed some extremely caffeinated coffee at Caribou, and then proceeded to spout off at 100 miles per hour. My pals who read the article said it captured my creative spirit, so clearly Kimberly has a gift for taking nonsensical jibber jabber and turning it into a story.

The article features a summary of my extremely convoluted career path, a history of our company (Inner Circle Media), and some great promotion for the new women’s� business group we started last year, the Women’s Exchange of Washtenaw (WXW). WXW has become my second full time occupation, and I love it. As the article says about WXW, “Our tag line is ‘Now we’re talking’ and that’s what we do. We TALK.� That is really where the magic happens… and that’s the place I want to be — when you’re talking with people and really figuring stuff out.”

I’m super flattered that Concentrate deems me a “Mastermind” and I’ll do whatever I must to maintain that title.

> Check out the full article here.

�

Hey fellow weirdos, I have been contemplating a blog post like this for years. Yes, it may seem risky to call attention to my weirdness, but with the launch of our new (and rather weird) website and after reading this interesting post on BNET – “When the Going Gets Tough, Get Weird” – I feel like the world is ready for me to talk openly about my company’s and my own weirdness and how it’s contributed to our success.

The Background: When we first started Inner Circle Media eight years ago, we felt like it was imperative to present ourselves as hip, cool, leading-edge techies and designers. We thought that if we acted cooler and SMARTER than our competitors, we would surely win lots of business and dominate the market. But alas, the more we talked about model-view-controller frameworks and user interface engineering, the more we sounded like our competitors and worse yet – the more our prospective clients’ eyes glazed over in boredom.

The Cure: Luckily, we realized that if we wanted to stop boring people, we had to talk about our business and maybe even do business in a different way. That’s where the weirdness comes in…

About My Own Weirdness: By nature, I am slightly weird. “How do I define weird?” you ask. Well, I define it as odd, sometimes bizarre, definitely not normal and perhaps downright peculiar. I am slightly weird because… I don’t always like to do things in the usual or normal way. I like to say WHY and WHAT IF a lot. I can be a bit too inquisitive – sometimes I ask too many probing and personal questions. I am upon occasion unusually honest – I’ll tell you when I don’t know something, and I don’t care if it makes me look stupid. I may also tell you that I disagree with your brilliant idea. I am especially weird because I embrace the title of “DORK” – which means I am not afraid to 1) dance in public – especially in the aisles of local grocery stores playing Air Supply songs and 2) laugh with abandon at my quirky self.

So, back to the business – how does all this weirdness relate to the way we do business? Well, we do business in un-business-like ways. For one, we decided to stop acting the way we thought professional web developers were supposed to act. We embraced our inner dorks, geeks, and nerds. In fact, we let our dorky, geeky, nerdy selves loose, and here’s what happened to our business:

• We painted our entire office orange and we have a nap couch (for me because there are times when I absolutely MUST nap like a toddler).
• We have loud team meetings where we often make up theme songs and jingles for our clients’ companies.
• We make our office dog wear a babooshka bonnet and take silly photos of him.
• We hire people who are slow and methodical; we also hire people who are total spazzes; our only requirement is they are true to themselves and feel engaged by and satisfied in their jobs.
• We try to make the right people happy (but we don’t kill ourselves to do so because some people will always be unhappy and they like it that way).
• We have parties as often as possible. Catherine may be seen doing the River Dance at those parties.
• Our team members come and go as they please.
• We are open about our financials – our team knows exactly how much money the company makes.
• Several of us are openly-proud crazy cat ladies.
• One of us is proud to look like Kenny Loggins without a beard.

Guess what else happened to our business? NO, our current and potential clients did not run away screaming. They actually appreciated our honesty, humility, and humor. They helped our company to grow in leaps and bounds. And best of all – our clients told people that “it was actually FUN to build our website.” If being weird helps us all to have more fun, then let’s all let our inner freaks out!