Meet Leah Hutcheon, the founder of start-up Appointedd located in Edinburgh, Scotland. They’re a start-up tech firm that’s created some cloud management software for beauty salons and hairdressers. This is an inspiring story because not only was the market woefully neglected and unaddressed by the technology sector, but the founder has no background in technology at all.  This is a proof point that anything is possible.

Cynthia: What is this start-up about and why start this business?

Leah: Appointedd is a business management software system for salons and spas. It connects salons with customers to drive profit. We give the salons a cloud based management system that allows them to run their day to day business and connect with their customers. We also enable salons to accept online bookings, ensuring they are maximising on their social media activity. Consumers will be able to browse our portal website, read reviews and book guaranteed appointments with salons.

Cynthia: On a personal note, you could have just remained an editor for the lifestyle magazine, why change?

Leah: I was made redundant in my job as the editor of a glossy lifestyle magazine. It was an amazing job where I got to visit some of the best spas and salons in the country. But, because my hours were long and my job quite stressful, I often found that I would spend weeks just not quite getting around to booking the more mundane services such as a leg wax. I would think about calling the salon as I drove into work early in the morning – salon not open yet – and then forget about it all day until driving home late at night – salon closed again. There were so many appointments I would have made, had I been able to access salons to book outside of normal office hours.

Also, as part of my work with the salons, I realized that they were really lacking an aspirational, yet affordable, way to advertise their products and services. Apart from the A board outside the salon and their local paper, there were very few ways in which they could attract new customers. When we featured the salons and spas in the magazine, they were delighted, as it was a chance for them to tell potential customers what made them stand out from the crowd. I thought if I could do this en masse, and couple it with a way to book guaranteed appointments, then I’d be solving two very real problems. We connect salons with customers, wherever the customer may be.

Cynthia: Tell me more about starting a software/tech company without having a background in technology.

Leah: They say ignorance is bliss, and it certainly was in my case. Had I known how hard core it was going to be to build such an in-depth software product, I probably would never have started. But, because I went into it with a heavy dose of naïve idealism, I just set out to build the best software system for salons. I had spoken with tons of salons and heard loud and clear that there was a real need for our product in the market. So we just got on with designing the ideal thing to solve the problem unhindered by the doubt that comes with greater knowledge. I always say, ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’.

While I lacked the technical skills to actually build the product, that just meant I had more time to refine the offering. The design has gone through many iterations but I really believe we have hit the sweet spot when it comes to level of features. Appointedd is an intuitive and easy to use system that allows salons to communicate easily with their existing clients and connect with new potential customers at the time they are looking to book an appointment.

Cynthia: What were some of your concerns about starting this business? Were they founded or was it just unfounded worry?

Leah: As with anybody starting up a new business, the financial pressures were fairly significant. In the early stages of the business, I was bootstrapping the business by working with a range of freelance clients. At the beginning, it was easy enough to juggle work for my freelance clients alongside the business planning. There were lots of late nights, but I was able to plan the concept and start work with my developers to build the site. As the build got underway and I started to have to take a more active role in the business, it became harder to juggle the needs of my clients and the demands of running my start-up. It really has made the world of difference being able to focus on this full time as I can be immersed in the business.

Cynthia: Were there reservations about having to hire technical people? What were some of the challenges?

Leah: No reservations at all! I couldn’t wait to get people involved in the business and I have been so lucky to be able to build an amazing team around myself. I recently won a Scottish EDGE Award, which is an initiative by the Scottish Government to identify the companies they believe have a bright and sustainable future. I was awarded £30k to invest in creating jobs. I have brought on a Lead Developer and Search Manager to ensure that our business can flourish. It has been fantastic for me to be able to delegate in the areas I am weaker in. I have been able to hire two people who are infinitely smarter than I am, so that I can just make tea for them and support them to make the magic happen!

There are always going to be challenges when it comes to communication between techies and non-techs, but I have been lucky enough to have found a great developer with excellent communication skills. Billy took a sabbatical from his previous job and volunteered teaching IT in Rwanda, so he’s great at speaking non-tech!

Cynthia: Where do you hope to see this start-up going?

Leah: We are aiming to be the saviours of the salon industry! I think the industry has suffered from a lack of innovation for a while and we want to empower salon owners to really excel. All the tools we have built are about making their lives easier and allowing them to connect with more customers without having to deeply discount. We want to sort out their marketing so they can get on with what they do best – creating beauty. Once we get our online portal up and running we aim to be the ‘go to’ site when you want to book a hair or beauty appointment.

Cynthia: If you had to give advice to others thinking of starting a new business, what would be the top 3 tips?

Leah: My top three tips change every time I’m asked about them – I’m so fickle! Today they are…

1. Say ‘yes’ to as many things as possible. I acknowledged quite early that I was going to do whatever was in the best interests of the business, even if it was outside of my comfort zone. Because I said ‘yes’ to things, in the last year I was featured in a BBC documentary called The Entrepreneurs (I got recognised by the FedEx man – yay!), I won £30k from the Scottish EDGE Award, spent a wonderful year in the Entrepreneurial Spark business incubator and got married on the edge of a cliff. Pretty cool things happen if you say yes.

2. Acknowledge that everything will take twice as long as you think and cost twice as much. It’s a cliché because it’s true.

3. Surround yourself with ace people. Our office is in a co-working space in Edinburgh called Silicon Walk. There’s a mix of start-ups and freelancers – the atmosphere is fantastic. There’s something really special about a bunch of crazily passionate people working their asses off. Cool things get created in that office daily, and that’s pretty exciting.

The post Appointedd: A Non-Techie Creates a Technology Start-up that Thrives appeared first on Cynthia Kocialski.

In an online-centric world, online advertising is the most popular avenue for marketers. Everyone rushes to develop and build an online presence, with more traditional offline marketing methods falling by the wayside. However, is it time to welcome back some of the offline marketing methods?

This has resulted in an over-saturated online advertising and marketing outlet that’s extremely competitive. The competition has driven up advertising rates. Case in point? The Google AdWords/AdSense programs are an industry leader in online advertising, where advertisers place a “bid” for the amount of money they’re willing to pay each time an individual clicks on their advertisement.

Costly Expense of On-line Ads

Years ago, the average bid was well under $1.00 per click. Today, the landscape has changed dramatically. Advertisers are paying $5, $10, $20, even $40 or more per click. Competition has driven up prices in a big way. So the once-affordable online marketing niche is now expensive, over-saturated and competitive to the extreme.

Consider Groupon as a case in point. This now well-known start-up got its start by advertising on Facebook when Facebook was just starting to offer advertising. Back then, Facebook ads were cheap. But Facebook like Google is no longer an inexpensive option, both are mainstream advertising options.

This highly competitive online marketing environment has made it extremely difficult and often, extremely expensive, to build a business based on online marketing and advertising methods alone. This has driven some individuals to blend an online and offline marketing approaches. And, in fact, an increasing number of savvy businesspeople have even opted to exclusively target only offline marketing outlets.

The Online Market Has Become Cluttered

At one point in time, the tables were reversed. Online marketing was in its infancy and it was a novel but affordable option for companies, organizations and individuals wishing to promote anything from a product, brand or services, to companies, websites, organizations and beyond. The online marketplace wasn’t cluttered and the number of eyeballs hadn’t become a standardized metric. At the same time, offline marketing was at its height. It was an expensive, competitive option that was cost-prohibitive for many companies.

The rabid popularity of the internet has changed all this. Gone are the days of mailboxes stuffed with gobs of junk mail. And door knob hangers? Virtually extinct! Yet these methods remain very effective offline marketing approaches and today, they’re more affordable than ever — even more affordable than online alternatives. This has resulted in a resurgence in the popularity of offline marketing options.

There are also less traditional offline marketing approaches. Some of these offline marketing alternatives include:

- guerilla marketing campaigns;

- local sponsorships;

- public speaking engagements and lectures;

- free, in-person consultations or evaluations;

- free or low-cost workshops (with your services as the logical up-sell);

- appearances at tradeshows and conventions;

- hand-outs in college campuses and other locations with lots of foot traffic;

- print advertisements in magazines and trade publications;

- overnight delivery of marketing materials to prospects;

- and much more!

A Return to Offline Marketing for Effectiveness

In most cases, a blend of offline and online marketing strategies is the most effective option, both from a perspective of cost and marketing efficacy relative to return on investment. Offline marketing can get more attention these days than online.

A flyer placed on my front doorstep has a greater chance of being read than an email. Even junk snail mail has a good chance of being opened given how little actual arrives in mailboxes these days. One company actually bought iPads, loaded them with videos of their product, configured them to power-on with the company’s infomercial, delivered them via FedEx to key prospects, and yes, they closed several large deals this way.

The best marketing strategy will vary according to the nature of the business or organization, their budget and their target audience. It’s important to note that if you’re selling a tech-related product or service, and you’re targeting an internet-friendly demographic, then online marketing approaches simply make sense.  Conversely, a company that’s targeting an older, not-so-tech-friendly demographic may find it’s more beneficial to focus their efforts on offline marketing efforts.

Blending of the Online and Offline Techniques

But an increasing number of marketers and advertisers are blending online and offline marketing methods. The tech-related company that targets the younger, tech-friendly generation can focus on offline marketing approaches such as handing out flyers or freebies on a college campus. And the company targeting an older, not-so-tech-friendly demographic can try online marketing that focuses on online communities and websites that are popular amongst this crowd.

It’s also important to find the right online or offline marketing option for your precise needs. Just as there are a wide range of offline marketing options, the web is also home to an array of marketing options, from website and blog-based marketing, to social media marketing, email marketing, video marketing, text-based advertising, video-based advertising, audio-based advertising and beyond. There’s also SMS/text message marketing, which offers an affordable offline marketing option, which is blended with high-tech elements.

There are many things to consider when deciding on an online and offline marketing campaign and selecting the proper strategy is the key to ensuring success and maximum return on investment.

The post Why Offline Marketing Still Matters appeared first on Cynthia Kocialski.

This interview is with Doug Monro, the co-founder of Adzuna. Adzuna is a search engine which makes it easier to find the right job locally.  They search thousands of websites so the user doesn’t have to and brings together millions of ads all in one place. Adzuna provides powerful search, insightful market data and social connections, so the user can find the perfect ad with a little help from their friends.

Cynthia: When did Adzuna started and how is it going?

Doug: We launched in the UK in 2011, and our site has now supports 2 million monthly visitors. Our data also powers the Number 10 Dashboard, used by the British Prime Minister and senior officials to keep track of economic growth on a daily basis.

In April 2013, we launched in several international markets, including South Africa, Australia, Canada and Brazil.

Cynthia: Why did you start Adzuna? I don’t know much about online job boards outside the US, but are there any other similar services available there? If there are, how is Adzuna different?

Doug: We knew classifieds search could be made better and the existing, emerging sites that were bringing ads together just weren’t innovating enough on the product side. Through our experience at Gumtree, Qype and Zoopla, we were deeply involved in the online classified ad market, and with the maturing world of social networks and big data we spotted an opportunity to create a next-generation vertical search engine.”

Job ads are fragmented and too complicated to navigate.  Users want to search all the ads in one place, which is what we provide at Adzuna – a one-stop shop.  We then make the search experience better and empower our users to find the right ads for them, by layering on innovations in social and data.

Cynthia: What were the first steps in going from the idea to actually starting the company?

Doug: Since Andrew & I aren’t tekkies, and building a search engine is a massive technical challenge, putting together a crack squad of engineers to get Adzuna off the ground on a shoestring was tough. It took us a while to find the right “founding developer” for Adzuna and we were starting to stress that we might have to settle for expensive (and not brilliant) contractors and freelancers.

We managed to track down George Karpodinis (one of the sharpest developers in Europe, who’d we worked with before at Gumtree), and after kidnapping his family and employing a number of Jedi mind tricks we eventually persuaded him to quit his job and join us. George built version 1 of Adzuna and has hired an A1 team around him in Athens to build an increasingly awesome product.

Cynthia: Did you do anything to prove out your business idea first?

Doug: We got our first version up and running as quickly as possible, and in the hands of real users. We weren’t precious about having perfect functionality or aesthetics – we just wanted to validate our most basic ideas without spending vast sums of money. We were able to do that – and the rest is history.

Cynthia: What has been the biggest challenges to date?

Doug: As mentioned earlier, our first big challenge was finding the right developers to build Adzuna.

More recently, we’ve been working hard to launch our international sites. This has been a huge technical challenge, and we have also had to put a lot of work in to localising and translating the site for each international market. From job titles and descriptions to employer names, currencies and locations it is vital to get the language bang on. That is why it is so important to have employees who have lived and worked and can speak the local language in each of our new markets.

Cynthia: What have you learned so far from the experience of beginning a start-up that you didn’t know before?

Doug: I’ve had to develop sales skills. As a finance guy who became a general manager, I’ve always been driven by strategy, product and marketing, and never valued sales. As a founder, I’ve had to sell every day, to investors, to staff, to the government, but also to customers, so that we can earn the revenue to pay the bills.

I’ve also learnt just how different it is being a founder, rather than an employee. While I worked damned hard in my previous jobs (I worked evenings and weekends, I had sleepless nights), the position of actually being a founder is very different. You take things more personally, you worry more, you try even harder, and it’s more of an emotional experience. You have to ride out the ups and the downs. However, for all the thrills and spills, I love what we do and there’s no other job in the world I would trade it in for.

The post Meet Adzuna and Learn How This Start-Up Got Going appeared first on Cynthia Kocialski.

The web is rapidly becoming a hotspot for socialization, online customer word-of-mouth, professional collaborations and other virtual relationships. But as the Internet becomes a social mecca – particularly with the viral popularity of social media platforms — an increasing number of people are discovering that the net is also a place of misunderstanding. The fundamentals of body language issues are being transferred into the online world.

At some point in time, virtually every person has found himself at the center of a communication kerfuffle that occurred when another person misunderstood the intentions behind a tweet, an email, a private message, a blog post or another online communication.

It’s a problem that’s rooted in the fact that humans rely upon more than just words when they communicate and converse. We rely upon other information like tone of voice and body language such as gestures and mannerisms. Body language and tone of voice provides context and information concerning the intended message. In fact, my speech coach told me that 80% of how an audience responds to or remembers about a talk is based upon the non-verbal signals a speaker gives to the listener.

Often the difficulty with online body language is the viewer only gets to see the upper body. Similarly, the speaker’s movements can be constrained as they are often sitting. What elements of body language and human interaction help us develop a sense of trust for others?

・ Eyes and blink rate – Eye contact is perceived as trustworthy and honest, whereas a lack of eye contact is viewed as deceptive or dishonest. However, this can be tricky, as maintaining eye contact to the point of the listener becoming uncomfortable is usually taken as a sign of a liar. Blink rate is also another indicator. A rapid blink rate is associated with lies and deception. Looking up and to the side while answering a question can be indicative of a lie, whereas looking down is associated with shame and honesty. Eyebrow movement is used as another clue; raised eyebrows mean the speaker likes the listener.

・ Tone and speaking traits – A steady, even tone is perceived as honest, whereas a shaky voice and tone is perceived as dishonest. Similarly, long pauses and an unnaturally long delay when answering a question is viewed as dishonest.

・ Body language and gestures – Nervous gestures like wringing your hands, fiddling with objects, and a general unsettledness are all traits that suggest nervousness, fear, deception and dishonesty. On the other hand, steadiness and an overall “even keel” are perceived as calm, relaxed, honest and trustworthy.

If a person is open and honest, showing their palms will be interpreted as a sign of honesty. When a person is smiling, they are more likely to be telling the truth. But a false smile has the opposite affect and this is when a smile is uneven or stronger on one side of the face than the other. A steeple hands gesture shows the speaker is confident and self-assured. However, folding ones arms makes you lose credibility. If you have the opportunity to walk across a stage or through an audience, you will appear younger and energetic, if you walk quickly while swinging your arms.

These are just a few of the many elements of body language that help imbue meaning in our communications with others.

Without body language, words are simply words – not much more. So how can you appear more honest, trustworthy and believable in your online communications with others? Whether it’s one-on-one interpersonal communications or communicating to the world at large via your website, there are a number of ways to convey the right message.

・ Color psychology – We associate colors with very specific characteristics or ideas. Blue is viewed as a professional color. Red is associated with youth and speed. Green is inviting, honest, with natural undertones. Yellow is viewed as happy and friendly. Grey and light purple are viewed as old school, tired and worn. Use colors in an appropriate way for the message you’re trying to convey.

・ Video – Video is a powerful tool, but only if you’re relaxed and inviting. Nervousness can be confused for dishonesty and deception. So if you’re not comfortable in front of the camera, it may be best to hire a professional spokesperson to convey your message. On the other hand, video can be a wonderful way to convey your personality and it reiterates the fact that you’re a real person! But the key is to be relaxed, honest and calm while on-camera.

How many times have you searched for a how-to video and gotten one where there are just a series of screen shots to the latest popular music? What do you think of the video creator? This type of video screams of a non-professional, possibly a teen produced video.  Most of the time, the viewer just wanted someone to tell me how-to do something step by step, and this means talking.

・ Select your words carefully. Style and word choice have a tremendous impact on the way your words are perceived by others. For instance, on a page listing job openings, there is a tremendous difference between “apply now” and “join us.” The former sounds a bit more formal and “stuffy,” whereas the second one conveys a more casual, friendly tone.  Similarly the word “because” is very powerful. Research shows people are very likely to follow your direction because the word “because” is used, even when what follows provides no valid reason. This matters in a call-to-action statement. Just think about all those marketing tests that have been run over the years where just the change of one word can make an ad go from a disaster to a success.

When it doubt, ask others for their perceptions and ideas! They can be an extremely valuable way to ensure your intentions are evident.

The lack of body language can also make it difficult to develop a sense of trust for others whom you’ve met online.  There’s something to be said for the act of looking someone in the eye as you say something in a sincere, candid manner, all while exhibiting confident, trustworthy body language.

Communicating with words can be difficult. The truth is that most of what listeners perceive about a communication is unconscious. And it’s more than creating and forming trust online, it’s also creating the familiar and the likeable. The key is to realize how much body language cues matters and to deliver the right message to the viewer.

The post Body Language – Tips For the Online World appeared first on Cynthia Kocialski.

Do you wonder how successful entrepreneurs pulled it off? Here’s an interview with Raul Valdes-Perez. He was a co-founder and CEO of Vivisimo, a big data start-up that started in 2000 and acquired by IBM in 2012.  This is his startup story. In this interview, Raul tells Vivisimo’s story and gives advice to new entrepreneurs getting started on their ventures today.

Cynthia: I know you didn’t initially receive funding for the start-up. When you started the company in 2000, how did you get the company up and running without investors?

Raul: The founders put in $70,000 in 2000. Then we got NSF SBIR (National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research) grants totaling nearly $1,000,000 and another $400,000 non-convertible loan from the state of Pennsylvania through its Innovation Works.

We grew organically until 2008, when we got a $4,000,000 loan from North Atlantic Capital in order to accelerate our growth. At the time of the IBM acquisition, we only had common stock.

We didn’t explicitly seek advice about this path, although we did get lots of unsolicited advice warning us – unconvincingly – that a window was closing and we needed to get bigger, faster.

Cynthia:  The business environment in 2000 is different than it is today.  If you were to start a new start-up today, what would you do? What would be your first steps? What advice would you give new entrepreneurs today?

Raul:  We founded Vivisimo several months after the dot-com crash, so our environment wasn’t flush. That said, circumstances are everything. Personally, now I would do things differently because the circumstances now are different.

I can’t give advice to invisible entrepreneurs, but I can offer principles. First, when facing an important decision, ask yourself if you have the experience and knowledge to deal with it yourself, and if not, who does and could help? Second, no matter how smart you are, somebody else is smarter, and might even be down the hall or a coffee shop away.

Cynthia: Did you have the notion about a premium exit for your company from the beginning?

Raul: Absolutely not. Our notion was that we had a technology that made end users more efficient or smarter. Our first challenge was figuring out who would pay for it. We never talked about “exits”.

Cynthia: This is often a misunderstanding on the part of entrepreneurs. They hear so much about how investors are only interested in the exit, that they focus on it and neglect to figure out how to build a company.

Cynthia: What did you do to create the value for the company that made it worth acquiring?

Raul:  We used a blocking and tackling strategy – make a good product, explain it well, treat customers and prospects fairly, make skillful recruiting a top priority, and highlight our technology through well-chosen public demos and PR. At the time Vivisimo was acquired, we had 80 employees.

Cynthia: What were some of the critical turning points with his company?

Raul:  We did a big deal with AOL in 2004 that took us to a new level. Later, we were awarded the prestigious FirstGov.gov (now USA.gov) contract in a competitive bid. Microsoft joined up as a subcontractor because they didn’t want the embedded web search to go to Google.  Finally, in 2007, we were able to deliver a whole enterprise solution rather than just pieces. Then we started competing on blind RFPs against bigger companies and were winning fair and square.

As we landed bigger and bigger deals, we no longer needed to look for funding.  We waited 8 years before becoming funded. Following Clayton Christensen’s rule about the right time to seek capital, we then went out to raise some. We looked for funding once the company had reached a point where they only had to turn the crank.

Cynthia: Every entrepreneur is surprised by some aspect of their chosen business. What were some of Raul’s?

Raul: One surprising event was Microsoft buying our biggest competitor, a company called Fast in 2008. This was just after we had signed a term sheet with an investor, who got nervous and then immediately withdrew. We lost our funding. I understood his reasoning and he was a gentleman about it, but it was two big surprises in a matter of days. That was a stressful week.

One surprising pattern is the importance of people relationships. For example, I was once asked why we won a certain deal. I thought it was because we had a superior product, which we had proven through a competitive trial process. However, the evaluator replied that he had asked the customer himself and he had been told that it was because of our people. A pleasant surprise!

A second pattern, perhaps not so surprising, is how often even top people are just wrong. A general reading of history reveals this, of course. I just finished a book on Napoleon’s life (I just came back  from a trip to Paris). Boy, did he make mistakes, with deadly consequences for millions.

Cynthia: Sales is one of those areas that many entrepreneurs have difficulty with.  Initially, as the Vivisimo was getting started, what was your sales strategy?

Raul: We didn’t have any professional sales people at first. I used my credibility as an academic to make the first sales. Our very first sale was to a patent search firm.

Cynthia: Did you ever try and sell into Silicon Valley?  Companies here simply assume that if you are a start-up, then you product must be given away for free to the first users. This works well if you are an investor-backed start-up, but isn’t really viable for a self-funded or bootstrapped company. Did you have any such experience?

Raul:  Yes, I remember negotiating with Alta Vista. They wanted our software for free and promised to make us famous.  And we didn’t take the deal.

Cynthia: Was there anything unusual about the way you ran Vivisimo?

Raul:  We had an unusual budgeting process. Since we had no outside oversight for years, every 3 months I would get together with the VP of operations and ask if we had enough cash available for the next 6 to 9 months. If the answer was ‘yes’, then I could sleep soundly at night and then we proceeded to decide how we should spend the money we had. There was no formal budgeting process. We were just conservative and frugal.

The post Successful Entrepreneur Raul Valdes-Perez Tells His Startup Story appeared first on Cynthia Kocialski.

Are you looking for an effective method for marketing your products? There are a few different approaches that you may consider for your marketing campaign. Four of the most common strategies are as follows:

・ Case studies – a detailed investigation into a specific anecdote or situation that serves to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product, service or other offering.

・ Customer testimonials – a brief writeup from a customer or client who shares her experience with the product or service and how or why it was effective.

・ Celebrity endorsements – a celebrity or well-known icon or personality provides a testimonial and recommendation for a particular product or service.

・ Social proof – when individuals see that others are enjoying a product or service or if they see that others have a positive view of a company’s offering, they take this as “proof” of efficacy or quality. The others’ positive impression of the product or service “rubs off” on other consumers, making others more likely to make a purchase. Product reviews and even social media can serve to play upon the psychological phenomenon known as social proof.

Each approach has its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages. Today, we’ll explore these pros and cons in an effort to help you determine which option is best for your product or service, budget and business objectives.

Case Study Pros and Cons

Case studies involve an in-depth anecdotal report that examines the usage of a product or service. This approach involves a very detailed analysis of the product or service and its impact.

Case studies can be very effective, if the prospective customer or client reads it. That’s the main obstacle with case studies. They tend to be a bit lengthy and detailed.  Many consumers simply don’t have the patience to read the entire case study overview. However, business customers are far more inclined to be persuaded by case studies or white papers.

Otherwise, case studies are an affordable and fairly effective option. The effectiveness can be improved by combining a long case study write up with shorter reviews and testimonials. For further reading on current trends with case studies, read the post How to Write an Effective Case Study and How Current Trends Are Changing It.

Pros and Cons of Customer Testimonials

Customer or client testimonials can be very effective. Testimonials play upon the concept of social proof – the consumer subconsciously thinks, “If it was effective for him, then it will be effective for me too.” Note the customer’s line of thinking; they are looking for customers who are just like them. Often, testimonials are best if it can be shown that they are from those in your target customer base. Sometimes I encounter a business that is focused on small business customers, but their testimonials are from Fortune 1000 companies. The issue is the target customer may believe that they aren’t your ideal customers and seek out another business.

Testimonials can be written or recorded on audio or video. The reason many companies don’t get customer testimonials is they simply never ask their customers for one. Sometimes I do business with a fantastic company, but no one ever asks me for a testimonial. When I ask them if they want one from me, they are grateful and delighted. It really is as easy as just asking.

The primary obstacle involves actually finding customers who are willing to write a testimonial. This problem can be side-stepped by offering some sort of compensation or “thank you gift”, such as a small voucher or discount on a future purchase. Some companies hold a contest to obtain testimonials. They invite their customers to enter their testimonial in a contest and the prize may even be a free weekend getaway. If you are a start-up and your first customers insisted upon a deep discount, don’t give the discount away for free. Ask them to provide a testimonial for the deep discount.

Financial compensation can even be offered, but some companies are hesitant to take this route due to ethical reservations, since financial compensation can skew an individual’s remarks. To avoid any ethical conflicts, some companies will opt to disclose that the individuals have been compensated for the time spent writing or recording their testimonial.

Pros and Cons of Celebrity Testimonials

Celebrity testimonials are more effective than other testimonials due to society’s tendency to idolize and idealize celebrities and public figures/personalities. The main “con” associated with celebrity testimonials concerns the cost and celebrity accessibility. Current trends show that celebrity endorsements are becoming less effective as social media rises.

The most effective celebrity testimonials involve a well-known celebrity who has some natural connection to your product or service. For instance, if you’re selling an animal-friendly and nature-friendly cosmetic line, it would be best to get a testimonial from a celebrity such as Jane Velez-Mitchell or Pam Anderson, both of whom are known for their pro-animal and pro-nature stance. Only a handful of celebrities or personalities will “work” for any given marketing campaign, which narrows your possibilities.

Then, you must contact the celebrity and get them to agree to endorse your product or service. Many celebrities have a hefty endorsement fee, particularly for more comprehensive spokesperson roles. These fees can be cost-prohibitive.

A nice alternative is to seek out a more accessible, lower profile personality. Local radio and television personalities can work well for local marketing campaigns. And endorsements from several B-list celebrities or personalities can ultimately have the same potency as a single endorsement from an A-list celebrity. It’s a nice option for marketing campaigns with a limited budget.

In sports, often companies go after the professionals to get endorsements. I’ve always wondered why not work with the local champions. Seriously, my kids are into sports. They know who the local champs are. In fact, they see them at competitions and practices. They all want to be like the local champion. The national or professional champion is too distant. Everyone wants to have and wear the same things as the local champion. Why not use the local champions instead. It’s probably less expensive. In fact, you can probably just give products to them.

Social Proof Pros and Cons

Social proof is a well-established psychological concept. When an individual sees that others view a product/service/company in a positive light, they too are more apt to see you in a positive light. According to a Nielson report, globally, 46% of people used social media to make purchasing decisions.

Social media plays upon social proof principles in a very big way. A large volume of followers and lots of social media interactions sends a clear message: lots of people like this company, product or service; this makes others more likely to follow along.

Social media is an extremely effective marketing tool and it serves to keep prospective clients and customers well-engaged on a long term basis. It’s also a great way for you to connect with individual customers, which sends a clear message: “we care about our clients/customers.” The primary drawback is the amount of time that must be invested in order to enjoy a real benefit from social media.

Reviews and ratings also play on the concept of social proof. People see that others enjoy (or dislike) a particular product, and they adopt a similar view. Reviews and ratings are free, but there are drawbacks as well. After your product is well known, there’s little work involved on your end to get reviews. However, until you reach that tipping point, you will have to be proactive in getting those reviews. It can take time to get the high-quality positive reviews that you’re seeking. Negative reviews and ratings can have an extremely powerful negative impact on your company’s image. A recent study showed the biggest factor wasn’t so much the review ratings but the volume of reviews that matter to consumers – the more the greater influence. The average review rating across the web is 4.5 out of 5.

There are a number of factors to consider when selecting your marketing method. Many companies combine multiple approaches for optimal results. However, for many small businesses choosing and focusing on one that will bring the best results is best.

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What’s your brand? A brand is the personality, the identity and the essence of a product, service, or company.  Many new businesses focus on brand building. In today’s overly cluttered market place, companies must go beyond this idea of what is their brand to create brand loyalty.

Hurdle #1 – Branding is Not Brand Loyalty

The biggest hurdle with brand loyalty is it’s irrational. You can’t reason with your customer to become loyal or predict their gut feel. It’s deep in a person’s psyche. It’s like trying to articulate the ‘why’ behind a hunch or intuition, difficult to put your finger on it or wrap definitive words around it.

The success of Starbucks isn’t about the cup of coffee; and it’s more than the atmosphere of the coffee shop.

From its beginnings in the 1970’s, Apple looked to create brand loyalty. They focused on creative customers because creative people are emotional and impressionable, not empirical or analytical.

It’s tough to build brand loyalty for tech products. Most tech start-ups are founded by geeks and what is the definition of a geek – highly analytical, overly intellectual, and socially impaired. They like form and function, feature comparison charts, and logical if-then-else buying decisions. You can usually spot a geek founder. They start by telling you how their product is better than the others. They talk about the bells, whistles, and the performance of the features. Yet, which product wins in the marketplace often has little to do with its features.

Apple understood this point – introduce a product with brand loyalty potential and market it to early adopters that are not the analytical types. That’s one of the secrets behind Apple; they were able to marry the geek world with the creative one.

Hurdle #2 – Developing a Consistent, Unique Brand

But before brand loyalty can be created, a brand is needed. Your brand is what makes you distinct from all others. Your brand typically includes elements such as a logo, graphics, a brand website, brand-related social media accounts (and interactions via those accounts), commercials (which feature music and images) and even a specific color, as in the case of Tiffany & Company, which has “branded” their trademark sea foam green color. What if Tiffany’s had chosen a more common color such as red or blue?

When developed successfully, a brand will elicit a particular feeling, emotion, idea or concept. Successful brand building involves conveying this specific message to each and every person who encounters the branding elements.

Hurdle #3 – Building a Brand as an Appreciating Asset

In fact, a brand can become the single most valuable asset that a company possesses!  Why? It’s easy for a competitor to copy features; it’s not easy to re-create an audience with an emotional, irrational attachment to a product.

Brand identity dramatically impacts how consumers view a particular product and its efficacy.  Branding can even impact how much consumers are willing to pay for a product or service.

Hurdle #4: You Aren’t the Only One Creating a Brand

As an example, take parent company Proctor and Gamble. When once thinks of Proctor and Gamble, no real idea or concept comes to mind for most people. But mention Proctor and Gamble’s brands — Bounce, Bounty, Tide, Glade — and very specific ideas and impressions come to mind for a vast majority of consumers.

For instance, look at the branding for Glade. It brings to mind ideas and concepts such as natural freshness, revitalization, enjoyment, relaxation and rejuvenation. That’s successful branding! However, the problem with branding alone is your competitors are doing the same. At the mention of Febreze, most people think of exactly the same ideas and concepts as Glade. When both are available on the store shelf, which will the customer buy?

Hurdle #5: Predicting the Results of an Ink Blot Test

Developing a brand identity is fairly straightforward. Marketing begins by identifying the target audience for their branding campaign. Once the target audience demographic is identified, marketing develops a specific branding concept that’s apt to appeal to these individuals. The key is to develop a branding campaign that conveys the ideas, feelings and concepts that are likely to appeal to the members of your target audience. It’s the ink blot test except with a new level of complexity – the outcome needs to be predictable.

Hurdle #6 – The Power of Suggestion and Branding

Brand loyalty is very common amongst consumers, who come to accept those suggestions conveyed via the branding elements as fact. Most brands create loyalty by self-presenting as the “best,” or the “top” in the niche or market sector and many consumers accept this as fact, often subconsciously. Combine this with the fact that humans tend to be creatures of habit and it’s a formula for intense brand loyalty. And it’s a bond that can be difficult to break.

Hurdle #7 – Stuck in the Mud

And quite simply, many consumers have an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. They may be satisfied with the brand that they’re currently utilizing; this leaves little motivation to try a different brand, which they (often subconsciously) fear may be inferior in terms of quality. The reason Trader Joe supermarket have an island vacation décor is people are more willing to try new foods on vacation, and Trader Joe’s uses this fact to drive sales. And the reason free samples are given out in supermarkets is most people are stuck in the mud.

But economics can also play a major role when it comes to breaking the intense bond and creating a new brand loyalty. When money is tight, individuals are more apt to try a different brand out of necessity. This is one of the most effective ways to break a consumer’s loyalty to a particular brand, which explains why many brands are marketed as “affordable” and “economical.”

Hurdle #8 – Who You Know

The web plays a major role in brand loyalty. The web is a platform where you can reach out to and connect with individual consumers, which dramatically improves the bond. Studies reveal that an individual who receives regular e-mail updates or reads regular tweets from a particular brand are dramatically more likely to purchase that brand on a regular basis. It’s a twist on the old adage, it’s who you know, not what you know (or what features your product has).

There are many things to consider when developing and growing a brand campaign. It’s important to develop a strong brand identity right out of the starting gate. This requires forethought and intention. Rebranding can be an expensive, time consuming proposition, so it’s essential to do it properly the first time around as you only have one opportunity to make a great first impression.

The post Why Building a Brand Isn’t Enough Anymore and What More Is Needed appeared first on Cynthia Kocialski.

It clear to everyone that who you know and who knows you trumps what you know. However, while this statement about networking for business is a blinding glimpse of the obvious, many just don’t know how to actually go about doing it. How to build connections is not something taught in school.  However, knowledge (“what you know”) is. As a consequence, many people network incorrectly or even avoid doing it at all. They think networking is about talking to as many people as possible and about collecting or giving away as many business cards as possible.

So let’s get down to the fundamentals about what is needed to effectively network for business.

It’s Not About You

Have an idea of what you want to know or find out before you show up for an event. Why are you there? When you meet people, you need to gather information about them. What line of business are they in? What are their problems? What are their unaddressed needs?  Effective networkers don’t engage in idle chit-chat; it’s targeted.

If you want to be effective at networking, remember the people you meet need to know what you do, what you are good at, how you can help them. This is why your marketing message is so important. If they know the one thing you do well, they can remember that. If you attempt to impart ten different things about you, they won’t be able to recall any of it.

Professional networking leaves nothing to chance. The have prepared marketing messages. The objective is not to talk about you. It’s to gather information about them.

Your local university may offer a workshop on the art of conversation. If you are having problems developing your marketing message, you can hire a freelancer to help you develop and hone your words.

Networking Cards Versus Business Cards

At any networking event, there are the collectors of business cards. As the collector is reviewing his stack of cards from the one event, what is the one thing you want him to remember about you the next day?

Business cards have been around a very long time. A couple of years ago I began using networking cards, and I have gotten better results with them. Networking cards are simply a twist on the traditional business cards – same size with slightly different information geared towards marketing and memorability.

What’s the difference?

A business card announces who you are – your name, company, position, and contact information.  Honestly, I have stacks upon stacks of business cards in my office.  As I flip through them, there are few faces I can recall and I rarely remember anything about the person at all. Much of the time, I can’t even remember at what event I met the person.

When I was first heard of networking cards, I found few examples of what to print on one.  There was lots of general information, but few specifics. The idea intrigued me and so I decided to try it. With the ability to print networking cards from your printer, it’s easy to try different approaches to see which one works best for you.

What’s a Networking Card Look Like?

The front of my card has my photo on it, so people can remember who I am. At first I had my reservations about it since I’ve only seen real estate agents do this. However, it has been useful. Several people have commented that it helped remember me and when I meet someone for lunch, they said it made it easy for them to spot me in the crowd.

Now the front of my card also has my email address, phone number, LinkedIn profile, Twitter Id, Facebook page, and blog.

A networking card tells people much more about you.  There are a couple of different approaches to networking cards.

1.  On the front and under your name, you could have your personal branding statement or tagline. It’s what you want to be known for.
2. The back of a networking card as a micro resume.  It can list your accomplishments, highlight various aspects of your career, include extraordinary professional accomplishments, or even the industries you focus on. It makes you more memorable and more interesting to the recipient.
3. The back of a networking card as a marketing tool.  You can print your marketing message, or a 1 or 2 sentence description of the problems you solve or the desires you address.
4. The back of the card as a presentation of an offer. Give people a reason to revisit your card with a free offer of a report or a newsletter.
5. The back of the card as a visual micro resume. If you’re an author, you can put the covers of your books on the back or you could put some of your product designs there or even showcase your blog.

In today’s age of clear, short messages, the networking card is perfect for Twitter and Facebook enthusiasts who are networking for business. It forces you to pick out your best or most relevant points, and present them in a meaningful way.

If professional networking is about spreading the word about yourself then you name needs to pass the ink blot or sound bite test. If someone says “MacDonalds”, you’ll think of hamburgers; “Ford” and you’ll think of cars. If someone said your name to another, what would come to their mind immediately?

I’ve gotten more call backs months after meeting someone because of my networking card than my business card. When someone asks for my business card, I hand them my networking card but I make a point of telling them it’s a networking card, not a business card. Believe it or not, that alone makes one memorable and provokes conversation.  However, a few business traditionalists won’t get it and I will get snubbed.  That’s ok. I’d rather be snubbed and remembered for being different then forgotten because I’m just another face in the crowd without any distinction.

The post A Simple Trick to be Better at Networking for Business appeared first on Cynthia Kocialski.

Online relationships can take many forms — romantic, platonic, and working or business relationships, just to name a few. Trust remains an extremely important element of a relationship, regardless of whether it’s personal relationship or a business partnership.

But on the Internet, relationship dynamics are a bit different. When you’re forming a relationship with another person on the web, how do you create trust? Can online trust be formed quickly?  Are there any tricks to developing a trusting relationship online? That’s what we’ll explore today!

As evidenced by the film documentary-turned-television-show Catfish, many individuals build a new online persona; a persona that represents the person they aspire to be rather than the person they actually are.

In most cases, this online persona is the result of something akin to wishful thinking rather than an intentional and malicious intention to deceive. But at the end of the day, the net effect can be the same: the other individual feels as though they’ve been deceived and lied to. But there are a number of different ways to promote the formation of an honest, trusting web-based relationship.

Communication Methods and Building Trust in an Online Relationship

The method of communication can really impact the trust forming process when it comes to a web-based relationship. There are a few different methods for communication to consider and each method has its own pros and cons. Certain forms of communication are better than others when it comes to building a trusting online relationship.

Emails and Messages – Emails and messages are convenient, but these are more like a monologue. There’s no back-and-forth conversation, which makes it difficult to develop trust.  When you’re conversing via email, it gives you plenty of time to think of a lie! It’s the on-the-spot interactions and off-the-cuff remarks that give you a real feel for an individual’s personality and their honesty (or lack thereof!) Plus, it’s relatively easy to be deceptive about your gender, your age and other characteristics when you only communicate via email or messages.

Text Messages and IM Chats – Text messages and IM chats are more like a dialogue, which makes them a bit more ideal than emails, since there’s a real interaction taking place. This gives you a much better feel for the other person since there’s a real-time dialogue, but it’s still rather easy to deceive since you don’t have those telling facial expressions, body language cues and voice cues to help read the other individual.

Phone Conversations – Phone conversations provide you with an opportunity to engage in a dialogue with another person and it’s easy to put them on-the-spot if you have any questions about their honesty. You can also verify that they are who they say they are, more or less. A phone conversation provides you with important voice cues that help you determine whether the other individual is being honest, though you’re still missing some telling visual cues such as body language and facial expressions.

Video, Webcam and Skype – Webcam and Skype conversations are perhaps the fastest way to build trust online since you have the advantage of viewing the other person’s facial expressions and body language in real time. With a video chat, you have the opportunity to engage in a dialogue, which is key. There’s no place to hide when it comes to a webcam interaction. Your personality and mannerisms are all on display.  If it’s simply not possible to meet in real life, then a webcam chat is the next best thing and it’s the most effective tool for building trust.

When you’re trying to form online trust, it’s best to opt for dialogues rather than monologues. And opt for webcam interactions if you’re seeking to build a trusting relationship as quickly as possible.

Even videos provide a level of online trust that text and words alone cannot. Video gives you with a maximum number of cues – vocal cues, facial expressions and body language. This affords you with greater confidence in the other individual’s level of honesty.

Written Words – Notably, though, written communications do have a distinct benefit. When you keep written messages, texts and emails, you have a written record of the other individual’s words. This makes it easier to cross-check a remark if you suspect dishonesty. Also, the written word makes it easier to think before writing and to consolidate and organize ones thoughts beforehand. Your choice of words is important. Some words subconsciously create trust and others don’t. For example, the word “but” gives the reader the impression of honesty. How many times did I use “but” before this sentence? (answer: 5 times)

Inconsistencies, Lies and Deception

Does the other individual make excuses when you suggest meeting up in “real life?”

Do they avoid your phone calls, and opt for text messages only? Are they refusing to engage in a video chat?

Does the other person only have decade-old pictures posted on their Facebook page? Or photos with hats, sunglasses, extreme close-ups or other photographs that aren’t an accurate depiction of an individual?

These could be signs of deception, but not always. I find many professional people and companies that aren’t completely comfortable with the online world, and so, they don’t want to be openly exposed. Yet, they are honest.

I know people who are afraid of identity theft. I know businesses that are afraid to let their customers know they are a small business, not a big business – have you ever noticed missing About or Team or Management pages on companies’ websites? Consider your online profile and presence. Business profiles that are filled with marketing jargon, with little – if any – information about actual employees or team members can come off as deceptive or dishonest. Remember first impressions are critical and in today’s world, the first impression of you or your business is most likely your online presence.

It’s essential to ask questions if you suspect dishonesty, even if you’re afraid of the answer. These omissions and white lies are often mentioned in the beginning, while the relationship is new and casual. So give them an opportunity to ‘fess up and come clean.

If you spot an inconsistency or a likely lie, don’t ignore it. Ask questions. This is how you build trust and maintain an honest relationship with others.

One idea: consider methods that individuals use for maintaining and building trust in a long-distance relationship.

At the end of the day, much of it comes down to the other individual’s candidness and whether you’re a trusting person. Some individuals find it very difficult to trust and it can take months or years to form a trusting relationship with another person, even someone whom they see “in real life” on a daily basis. Others find it relatively easy to build trust. Ultimately, it depends on the dynamics of the relationship and the involved individuals, and comes down to persistence. The question that needs to be asked is how long do you persist? If you are trying to sell something, it may be easier to move on and find a more trusting customer than to endure developing a relationship with a prospect that is naturally mistrustful and suspicious.

Building online trust is possible and it can be done, if you use a video chat feature, in combination with other communications such as phone calls, written texts, messages and emails.  The closer you are to natural human ways of communications – think trust building in low tech caveman days – the more quickly you’ll build a relationship.

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All product ideas from brainstorming may be duds !

Many entrepreneurs ask themselves, “How do I get more customers?” There are four basic business growth strategies to attract customers. What draws your customers to check out your business? Surprising, it’s not always what you think it is.

The easiest growth path for a business is to sell existing products to existing customers.

 John Locke is one of the success stories in the self-publishing world. He has sold millions of copies of his books. John Locke wrote in his book, How I sold a Million eBooks in 5 Months, “I have sold over a million books. But I have only sold that many because most of my readers bought several different John Locke books.” John is selling existing products (his other books) to existing readers. John Locke’s goal is to develop loyal fans, who “will buy everything I write in a certain genre.” Most new authors would guess that John Locke has millions of fans, but he doesn’t. He has a group that buys over and over again. Likewise, McDonalds has the same strategy, their typical customer buys 4 or 5 meals a week there.

Tip #1

Focus on attracting customers that are true fans, those that love your product or service. Often entrepreneurs focus on dissatisfied customers, spending most of their energy trying to convert them into satisfied ones – and neglect the happiest customers. Direct you attention at finding more customers that are fans.

The next growth strategy is to sell new products to an existing market.

Let’s look at an example. There are two pet stores on the same busy street and only one block apart. One is decades old, the other is one year old. The older pet store sells various pet supplies; the supplies are common, everyday items. Its floor space is crowded.  I can understand this because in retail, revenue per square foot is an important metric. The new pet shop sells a mix of common, luxury and gourmet items.  In addition, the new shop offers services for pets – haircuts, baths, brushings, teeth cleanings, and so on. Its floor space is more open so dogs can be brought into the store and they don’t fight with one another.  The new pet shop is packed. The draw is the services. While pet owners wait for their pets, they browse and buy. In the older store, customers shop as if they are on a mission.

Location isn’t a factor in the difference between these stores. It’s just that the older store isn’t updated, it lingering in the past, doing business as if it were 30 years ago. There is no reason the older store couldn’t have changed to be like the new one. It could have implemented the basic business growth strategies of selling new products to existing and new markets.

Tip #2

If the older store had surveyed its customers, they would have said they were content. After all, most have been patronizing the store for decades. The new store attracts a slightly different clientele. This is why just surveying your current customer base won’t always work to determine a growth strategy. It is sometimes better to survey adjacent markets. For example, pet lovers are enthusiasts of what other activities? Are they also wine connoisseurs? Are they also outdoor sportsmen?

Tip #3

Act like a customer. Literally, put yourself in your customers’ shoes. In this case, the owner of the older store should have visited or patronized the other pet shops in the area. As the COO of a health care start-up, I actually went to our competitors, experienced their sales processes, and even became a customer of a few. Believe it or not, no one else in the start-up had ever done this. Too often, businesses only do competitive analysis from behind a computer screen and once done, it is never re-done.

Moving up on the difficulty scale, another business growth strategy is to sell existing products to a new market.

Let’s look at another example with a local gymnastics training center. This center has been around for more than 30 years. It started as a training facility for elite gymnasts.  Then its ownership changed and decided to offer recreational gymnastics. Now, it makes most of its profit from the recreational side.  What’s happening at this gym happens across many different training facilities. The elite athletes are the draw to attract customers. They are admired and respected. Many girls dream of being future Olympians. Parents are willing to pay because it could mean entrance into a top college and even scholarships in the future. So many try, but very few succeed. Elite athletes are the top 1% of any sport. As a business, there is only so much money you can make from the top 1%, there are simply too few of them.  However, there are a huge number of beginners, wannabes, and dreamers.

Tip #4

Who else would benefit from the use of your product or service? Customers usually form a pyramid with beginners or wannabes at the base, and elitists or professionals at the top. The top spends more, but the bottom is broader and spends less.  I find the most unaddressed market is somewhere in between the elitist and the beginner.  Consider you can find lots of help to get started in Internet marketing, you can find mastermind groups for the well-established trying to move up to the top 1%, but there’s little available in-between these groups.

By far, the most difficult and risky business growth strategy is to sell new products to new markets.

The truth is this is the starting point for new businesses.  Every entrepreneur knows their new business must somehow be different. Many businesses are ordinary, everyday ones. They aren’t inventing or offering something no one has seen before.  They are addressing an existing market. For example, an entrepreneur may start a new business with the notion that extraordinary customer service will be the draw.  The questions becomes how to attract customers and then how to persuade them to buy – and this has to happen before they get to that stage in the process that is the start-up’s competitive advantage.

The answer is packaging. You can’t judge a book by its cover, but everyone does, and a cover is merely the packaging. You can’t make a first impression twice, but a first impression is packaging again. What is packaging? It’s a hint or a promise of something more to come. Most companies focus on developing their competitive advantage and neglect what surrounds it. This works if the competitive advantage is the first contact your customer has with your product or service. Let’s consider the start-up whose advantage is to be customer service.  How can customer service be packaged? Perhaps providing an extraordinary sales process experience will lend credibility to your offer of extraordinary customer service.

TIP #5

Packaging comes in many different forms. How do you promise something without actually using the words?  Because you know customers don’t believe in what you say, they believe in what you do. They believe what they can see, not what is invisible or intangible.  One of the biggest complaints about physical products in reviews is the products break sooner than the buyer expected. Do you remember the suitcase commercial where they gave the gorilla the suitcase to play with and it didn’t break? Ask yourself, what clues or indicators do customers use to judge your product’s advantage?

The Harvard Business Review is a top business magazine. I am an avid reader. Yet, some of the most popular articles and those receiving the most number of comments are the career ones. Surprisingly, it’s not the business articles. The draw is the business articles, but what people read are those on career and personal development. Career issues appeal to everyone, whereas business articles only are relevant or interesting to some readers.  Here you see the draw to attract customers versus the actual use.  A related example is the four wheel drive option on SUVs. It’s a draw. Many car buyers want it. They dream of going off-road. The reality is few SUV owners rarely use this feature.

Consider events, tradeshows and conferences. The draw is the topic and then it’s the lineup of speakers. But why do people attend these meetings? The topic attracts and gathers like-minded people. Successful people know that success hinges upon connections and relationships. The more you have, the greater your success. Attendees go to these events to meet other people. If you an event planner then it’s important to create an conference that imparts great information about the topic, but also great networking opportunities.

TIP#6

It’s important to realize there is a difference between what attracts customers and what they actually use. You need to offer what attracts customers, but you need to ensure that what they use works well and is solid.  People are attracted to dreams and hopes. People want to visualize them.  It’s a powerful magnet.  The draw needs to have an emotional attraction.

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