Alice Elliott's blog

How much added value do you give?

Alice — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:00:37 +0000

It’s fascinating noting the different styles of American waitresses and how they treat you. Of course they are always excessively nice because they depend on your tips to boost their meagre wages, but they still have varied methods of attentiveness, depending on the kind of restaurant they are serving in, the response of customers seated there and the ambience of the surroundings.

We experienced many waitresses during our holiday in the States. The one I liked best was in a Fish Restaurant in Maine. First of all she wasn’t over-enthusiastic, in spite of having to say the spiel “Hello, my name is Katie and I’ll be your server for today”, and she naturally seemed interested in helping us. But it was the fact that when she spilt our fish chowder as the springdoors flapped back and hit her, she smiled apologetically and scuttled off immediately to rectify our order, she refilled our glasses with soda and forgot to include that on our bill, and that she was unaware of a large splodge of tomato ketchup on her skirt, we felt inclined to give her the full 20% tip.

There were many more kinds of waitresses, like the over-zealous one who served us our Lobster Dinner in Bar Harbor, to the one who wielded a huge tray on one hand that seemed too big for her in Boston Harbor. Each knew that constant attentiveness without being over-powering was important if they were to achieve the maximum tip allowance.

So how much attentiveness do you give your customers to make them feel special? Your business may not depend on extra tips to boost your income, but I’m sure if you acted like these waitresses and concentrated all your efforts on providing the best possible experience for your customers, just think what they might be inclined to react favourably even if it isn’t in the form of tips?

A century of lightening change

Alice — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:00:29 +0000

I heard on the radio a headline from an Edwardian newspaper, and it made me laugh. It was so complicated, academic and theoretical. That was a time when things were slow, ponderous and laborious, people had time to stop, think, read, measure up an argument, consider a concept and cope with long-winded titles designed to explore an idea, present a scenario, put forward a point, all carefully constructed within a by-gone language and mind-set.

And today’s world is poles apart; we are forever rushing about, ideas are caught, processed and discarded, information slips through our fingers in lightening speed, responses are immediate, poignant and focused, trends and news come and go in a twinkling of an eye, the media where these concepts are placed, produced, published and processed changes rapidly, archives fill up fast with old stuff maturing at an alarming pace, the internet and social media grows incredibly fast at such a rate that would be inconceivable to the Edwardians.

It’s amazing that in just 100 years mankind can evolve into something so totally different.

Caped wonders at Body Shop

Alice — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:00:35 +0000

I popped into my local Body Shop to stock up on a few essentials and by mistake picked up the test bottles instead. This was rectified at the counter, and the staff complained this was a regular occurrence because the ‘Test’ stickers were too small for people to realise.

What they really needed was something that was bigger and noticeable. Something that was interchangeable and replaceable once the test bottle was empty. Something that could be wiped clean if necessary. Something that could be used on more than one product.

So I suggested a collar or cape that sits on the bottle’s shoulders, brightly coloured, with the words ‘Try Me’ or such like in large letters. There was also a chance of including the Body Shop logo as well, or even a different message like ‘Special Offer’. I’ve shown is a crude example to show you what I mean.

As Body Shop is a franchise, all the owner of this particular store could do is to recommend this idea to her franchisers. But –– if this idea is accepted, and you start seeing it in Body Shop stores, just remember where you saw it first…

How to write good newsletter content

Alice — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:00:30 +0000

In my last post I wrote about how to increase the opening rates of your newsletter, and for this post I am concentrating on newsletter content and how that can increase the likelihood of it being read.

Newsletters should be conversational pieces to educate, entertain and inform your readership. They shouldn’t consist of long technical articles stuffed full of jargon which really should be published in professional periodicals or on suitable article directories on the internet. They should consist of short, sharp, snappy sentences in everyday English; the same concept applying to sections or paragraphs, preferably three rather than five or more, accompanied with apt subheadlines to aid scanning and quick reading.

I mentioned earlier how important headlines were. Some people write their headlines after the content has been created, others think of a headline first and then the content materialises afterwards. Whatever you do, most of your attention should be directed to your headline, and the time taken to revise, rethink and rewrite your headline could pay off dividends. Successful newspapers employ special copywriters just for the headlines alone – they realise the importance of a good headline, and so should you.

Be aware that newsletters are not a medium for sales (the same with social networking), they are there to create and maintain a relationship with your readers. Like networking, you provide information about your business and what you are doing to enable your audience to understand various elements in fuller detail that what is available from your website. This is also the same with a blog, albeit in smaller contributions, more frequently and consistently delivered in a bite-sized, digestible format (and even smaller and frequenter still in Twitter).

Another way to boost interest in your content is to work around a prop like a picture or cartoon. Select a single product, idea, concept or service (too many can be confusing) to attract attention and aid concentration, as well as something to hang your subject matter from. One specific idea or concept, simply expressed, will go a long way towards comprehension and relationship building than long-winded missives full of complicated technical stuff that only results in confusion, turn-off, deletion and ultimately unsubscription.

How to get more people to open your newsletters

Alice — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:00:33 +0000

One of the features of Appletree’s newsletter system JAC shows how many of your newsletter’s recipients have opened it (and there is also a new feature that shows you who has opened it too and how many times). One statistic is that newsletters with large mailing lists seem to show a low open rate. So how can this be improved?

Large mailing lists that show a high opening rate often have worked well if the sender knows each recipient personally or has been in recent contact with them. This is particularly true if the members have given their permission for their details to be included on the mailing list. If you have boosted your mailing list from purchased lists or have added on this information from business cards collected at a networking meeting, then without their permission readers won’t know who you are, won’t recognise your business, won’t be ready to receive your newsletter and will most likely delete it or unsubscribe. How personal are you with each member on your mailing list?

JAC also shows which emails have bounced. This is because these details are incorrect, the recipeint has moved on or left the company, they are spelt wrong, or whatever. JAC allows you a chance to go through the monthly list and check for corrections and updating, as after three strikes of continuous bouncing, JAC will delete these email addresses from you account. So when did you last clean up your mailing list? Getting rid of unnecessary emails will tighten your list and increase the opening rate.

When a newsletter has been sent into someone’s inbox, the first thing they usually see is the title. This vital portion of your newsletter should be given a lot of thought when writing your newsletter, as it is a major factor towards increasing your opening rate. If they are too long, contain too much jargon, and are not ‘grabbing’ enough, your reader will not be enticed to click on it.

These headlines (which also are repeated in the newsletter itself and contribute hugely towards the main content) could work better if they contained an open ended question (What? How? Why?) – not one that could be answered by a Yes or a No. The idea is to arouse curiosity in the reader so that they want to open it to find out more about what’s inside. It should also match a need or gap in the reader’s knowledge that is relevant or poignant for that present time – response is always higher if it triggers a ‘Yes, I really need to know this now’ reaction.

So, what other methods do you have to increase the opening rates of your newsletters that you can share with us?

How to make your advert stand out

Alice — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:00:36 +0000

In this particular local magazine I regularly receive through my letterbox I get a chance to purvey various attempts at designing advertising. I do feel sorry for multiple trades who have to compete with each other, all trying to attract the same customers from the same page:

Look! Four plumbers jostling with each other to capture the same audience!

(Actually it think it’s a bit cruel of the magazine compiler to do this, but the thinking behind it may be to make it easier for customers to find the plumbers’ ads quickly if they are in an emergency!)

So how do you make your ad stand out from the others?

What all these plumbers are doing are trying to raise customer awareness that they exist. They are relying heavily on reputation, how well they are known in the community, the longevity of their business or even how quickly someone answers the telephone!

They are all keen to tell you their features: what they can do, how many years’ experience they have, even that they can do anything! One does mention his speciality, and another lists what works he can undertake. Not one mentions any benefits they can give their customers, or any testimonials or case studies from satisfied customers.

None of them have reassured their customers they can make their lives better in an emergency, that their focus is to provide a quick and easy service with the least fuss and immediate response. There are no headlines to capture their customers’ attention with empathetic questions or statements that they understand their customers’ pain and can provide the solution for it.

One does say he is a specialist at bathroom refurbishment – great! He needs to grow his reputation in this area to gain a following, then he can tell his satisfied customers he does other plumbing work as well. Just a tiny testimonial saying “I had trouble with X and this plumber sorted it out by doing Y” will speak volumes on an advert. Don’t think to have to mention everything – if you do specialise in other areas, take out other similar adverts for those niches later, using the same principles.

There’s no mistaking the fact that these are all plumbers though, the word plumbing appears at the top of each. But it needn’t be in their names, you can rely on the word appearing in the headlines or solution filled subheaders. If you establish you understand your customers’ predicaments at the top of the adverts, put your company names at the bottom along with your logo, straplines and qualification logos, followed by your contact details in large, clear numbers and letters. Telephone numbers obviously need to be big, as that is usually the main source of contact customers look for, but don’t undermine your email or web addresses either.

List your benefits in bullet points, or failing that a list of features you specialise in, this is why the one that sticks out the most is the top left hand advert. His image of a tap also aids as a focal point. The top right advert has too much text because he has to list everything he works with, so it looks too confusing to someone in a hurry. The bottom left puts his speciality too far down his list, it should be something he crows about. And the bottom right is just plain boring!

And some food for thought: what incentive can you give your customers to make them choose you from the other three, such as a percentage discount or special offer if they quote this advert, for instance? And is there any guarantees you can give your customers, like a response within a certain time? Remember, the customer always comes first… without them you don’t have a business.

Small advert? No need to clutter it

Alice — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:30:01 +0000

In my mind a lot of advertising you see is money down the drain, because their owners, designers or writers don’t understand the psychology of how to compose a successful ad (read more in my post 5 things to consider when writing adverts). Although I have given you five reasons there, here I will, in this next series of posts, show you some unsuccessful ads and explain why they are so.

Advertising space is expensive. But have you thought about beating down the price by haggling, especially if the publication deadline is looming? There is really no need to pay full price at all, and if you hold out long enough with lots of ‘ums’ and ‘ahhs’ you’ll soon find the price has dropped.

OK, so you can only afford, say, a quarter page (don’t worry, I’ve also been there). It isn’t very big to accommodate everything you need to say, but for goodness sake don’t stuff everything you can into the space provided. Here are two examples:

It’s good that this Ups-A-Daisy ad has a white background, otherwise it wouldn’t be very clear to read, and there is also too much text here. It gives the impression she’s trying to tell her whole story in one go!

It’s not necessary to explain everything about reflexology here, she only needs to highlight the benefits customers will receive to have far more impact, particularly if she is in tune with her customers’ problems, and what reflexology can do to solve them. These much more interesting facts should be placed at the top of her ad, where they will more likely catch her customers’ eye.

Also the most important and attractive elements should be bigger to draw more attention to them, without the need to use capital letters (more illegible and can be mistaken as shouting). This is especially apt for the contact details at the bottom, along with her logo and business name.

Well! – where do I start with the Max Carpets & Upholstery Care advert (I had to hunt for that information). What a nightmare of pink, yellow and red, and there is certainly a favouritism for flashes!

They were so keen to get everything in, and to have all their headlines and captions in capitals. The good points are that they have included their features/benefits in bullet points, and their telephone number is large and obvious (yet their website’s URL looks like it’s an afterthought), even if there is no call to action.

But why do they need to include all their prices? This is a mistake most service providers make, they think it’s imperative to show how competitive they are, when they should be advertising how good they are through testimonials from happy customers, case studies of excellent results, shouting about all the benefits they can offer to make their customers’ lives better – all these are much more important than how cheap you are (and cheap doesn’t necessarily mean a good service!), and advertising ‘massive savings’ shows you don’t really value your original prices anyway.

So what else can you do to get your potential customer see everything you have to offer? Well, there is your website, of course, but I do not mean directing them to your homepage. Oh no, that would be a big mistake. The answer is to create a special ‘landing’ or ’squeeze’ webpage on your website (with its own special URL), specifically designed for your advert alone. The subject of that page would totally match your advert (same colours, pictures, headline, subject matter, special offers, call to action, contact details, etc) for immediate recognition from the visitor. It would also contain all that extra information you wanted to put into your advert but didn’t have the room, such as a full list of benefits, testimonials, price lists, location maps, special offer codes, your email address, telephone numbers to make an appointment, links to online catalogues or any other relevant pages on your website – but the main focus should be to get that customer to contact you to find out more!

So how do they get there? Your advert should be totally focused on getting your customer to type in that URL into their browsers. The headline should be empathising with their problem, followed up by the solution which your company can provide, accompanied with a compelling call to action to drive them to your special advert webpage. Excite their curiosity, play with their greed, cajole them with special offers – all this can easily be fitted into an advert space without being over cluttered. And at least it would make your ad stand out from all the other bog-standard versions around you!

Perhaps perfection is important after all

Alice — Fri, 21 May 2010 10:05:17 +0000

Six months since giving up my business, things have become rosier. My post Perfection doesn’t work in business was a result of my feelings of rejection, failure and disillusionment. But now I can look at business in a new light, having had plenty of time to analyse my present situation and learn from my mistakes.

In an interview with a client about her blog design, her reasons for having one and what she was going to say in it, her fascinating stories showed me on many fronts how perfection is a key towards success.

She provides advice for start up and small businesses wishing to head into the dizzying heights of food production. In this highly competitive world, perfection is paramount. Competition is so fierce, and the customers are so fickle and easily persuaded, it’s a constant battle to stay ahead of the game with excellence, quality and price.

Those food stuffs that are successful in this environment have undergone countless manifestations of their product before it hits the shelves, let alone start to promote it. There is no way they would produce something that is second best – it would immediately be smothered by the competition and rejected by their customers.

Each manufacturer has sourced the finest ingredients, perfected their processes to the enth degree, researched into the optimum target market, activated the most appropriate quality control, and calculated the best possible price that the customer will pay and the company will make a comfortable margin.

Therefore in business your company should also strive towards the same standards, whether in production, processes, customer service, quality control, logistics, efficiencies and striving towards as close to perfection you can possibly get! After all, you have your reputation and credibility to maintain – why waste that hard earned accolade by ignoring perfection?

Do your customers use the same social media?

Alice — Tue, 11 May 2010 10:30:50 +0000

This was the topic of conversation I had at a CIM course on marketing trends the other week. Of course the speakers were stressing how important it was to get into social networking, in order for our businesses not to get left behind, but one particular lady next to me was not convinced.

I asked her what she meant. She replied saying she worked for a chemical business, full of scientists and technicians. She could not see her colleagues using Facebook, for example, as a means for marketing, as she did not think that was where their clients were. She also couldn’t see them using Twitter, as they did not have the time for ‘gossiping’.

My initial reaction was to defend social networking, but then I stopped and thought about it. Maybe she had a point. Were the ideal clients for this company to be found on Facebook? If they were, they probably had profiles to keep tabs on their travelling children, or to organise their social lives. Not everybody thinks ‘business’ when using Facebook.

And Twitter: excellent for brand awareness, PR and marketing research, for keeping an eye on your competitors or following what your colleagues’ activities, to provide top tips and raise your expertise, to interact with prospects and expand the audience for your blog posts – maybe her concept of ‘gossiping’ could evolve here into something more useful, if she had the inclination.

But what she did agree with was the power of LinkedIn. A professional social networking site full of charted chemical engineers and other like-minded scientists, somewhere to expand your expertise, ask and answer questions, respond to discussions in associated groups, feed your blog posts and share other valuable resources, each profile assimulating a CV and therefore excellent for recruitment or finding suitable colleagues to work with. That is where her company’s clients were.

So my question is: in which social networking sites do your clients or customers hang out? And having done the research, fully concentrate on those examples and don’t waste time with irrelevant sources. Doing something well in a concentrated form is better than half-hearted attempts spread thinly across the board. It makes it much easier to track, receive feedback, work out the return on investment and assess the value of further projects in that media.

So what are your ideas about this?

Don’t wait for your customers, go find them

Alice — Thu, 06 May 2010 10:30:15 +0000

Gone are the days when customers came to you. The internet may be compared to a massive shopping-mall, but it is, of course, so huge, there is no way anybody could possibly walk pass your shop (website) unless they knew it was already there.

There are some websites that capitalise on this phenomenon, due to their reputation. They may display a select niche unavailable elsewhere, or provide a service that is second to none. They certainly will have a select following who sing their praises, and word-of-mouth and referrals can be the backbone of a business’s survival.

The alternative, while you are trying to obtain these dizzying heights of recognition, or fine-tune your reputation, would be to increase your visibility. To confirm my first statement, you need to go where your customers are, as well as being very easy to find.

Of course the optimum place would be on the first page on Google (every Search Engine Optimisation provider’s objective), but this is notoriously difficult to achieve. Google positioning is as unpredictable as the British weather. Research into patterns of how visitors use search engines show that many don’t pan below the ‘fold’, the area underneath what is visible, and approximately 80% don’t go further than the first page of their search.

You could spend some money on a pay-per-click campaign (Google Adwords) to achieve your first page position, but bear in mind that only about a third of surfers look at the sponsored ads. And unless you know exactly what you are doing, a huge portion of your marketing budget could be whittled away, especially if you don’t know what your objectives are.

There are alternatives to raising web-visibility. Social networking sites (Facebook is the most visited website online; Twitter is aimed at increased PR and brand awareness; LinkedIn is aimed at professionals and their Answers section could certainly raise your expertise status), blogging (which should act as an interactive hub of your online presence) and YouTube (where adverts are watched far more than on TV, and are searchable for criteria and keywords) should certainly be added into the equation, and form a considerable part of your online-marketing stategy.

So my questions are: what are you doing to bring your online presence to where your customers are? And if so, are you reaching out to the right kind of customer, or are you frequenting the correct social media for your target market? (This sounds like a subject for another post – watch this space…)