Podcast Episode #83 of the internet show about small business marketing

In business, you are what you read. But what you read and where you read it is changing. In this episode of Power to the Small Business, business book expert Todd Sattersten will guides us through those change. Sattersten should know, he co-wrote The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, and he coaches business book authors. It’s time to find out what’s going on with business books.

Guest: Todd Sattersten – Biz Book Lab
Host: Jay Ehret – Dean of Marketing Know-How at TheMarketingSpot.com
Length: 27 minutes

– Todd Sattersten on Business Books  –

I. Business books are generally lagging the (e-book) trend vs. fiction.

“Until the technology (book-marking, highlighting, commenting) catches up, I think you’re still going to see business books bought primarily in the print form.”

II. Business books are getting shorter.

“Business books are getting shorter. They are more about a single idea vs. a plethora of ideas.”

III. The retail store is not dead….for the best sellers.

“It is impossible to be a best-selling author without having that book in the retail environment…. 80% of (the big name best-sellers) sales happen in the retail setting.”

IV. The definition of a book will change.

“When you look at how different we experience books in the electronic space, that we’re almost going to have to find a way to call them something different, because I think we are going to interact with them differently.”

Todd Sattersten on choosing a good business book to read:

1. Ask your friends. These people know who you are and know your preferences.
2. Scan the table of contents of a book. The language they use will tell you if it’s a good book for you.
3. Read the index of a book. Look for terms that match up with the problem you are dealing with.
4. Read the introduction of a book. You will learn what is the promise of the book.

Todd’s top book recommendations for entrepreneurs:

The Partnership Charter by David Gage

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

SHOW LINKS

Todd Sattersten’s Company: Biz Book Lab
Todd’s Article: How to Read A Business Book
The Marketing Edge Webinar Series

Podcast Episode #82 of the internet show about small business marketing

To help us decipher the results we’ve tapped a member of the panel who helped determine those rankings. In this episode of Power to the Small Business, Mike Ramsey of Nifty Marketing joins host Jay Ehret to discuss the rankings and both their correlation and causation on local search.

Guest: Mike Ramsey – Nifty Marketing
Host: Jay Ehret – Chief Educator at TheMarketingSpot.com
Length: 26 minutes

– SHOW NOTES AND LINKS –

The different types of search results:

Organic Search Results: The big list of results that includes everything on the internet.
Local Search Results: Search engine results that highlight local businesses.

To see the difference, do separate searches for these two terms:
“How to wash a car”
“Car Washes”

The Top Local Search Ranking Factors:

1. Physical address – In the city where the search is taking place.

2. Verifying your Google Places Pages – Claiming ownership of your listing on Google Places (as well as Bing/Yahoo)

• Note: Mike Ramsey does not believe that this is a major factor. His own study did not reveal a high correlation. He also still recommends that you claim your Places page so that you can own and control the information within the listing.

3. Proper category association – Choosing the proper category within your Places page listing.

4. Volume of Structured Citations – Any time Google finds an online reference to your business name, your business address, and your business phone number grouped together. Structured means on a website that codes and specializes in these listings, such as Yelp.

• Important for “location prominence, ” or the ability of Google to trust you are the business you claim to be.
• Mike Ramsey says that one of the fundamentals of local search is having consistent information across the IYP (Internet Yellow Pages) network.
• Mike recommends that you take your listing information exactly as it appears on your Google Places page and use it to submit in that exact format everywhere else.

5. Quality of inbound links to your website – Local search results are very tightly connected to your organic rankings and how your organic website ranks.

• Quality Inbound Link: The link to your website comes from an authoritative site

Mike Ramsey’s Study of Top Local Search Factors:

Online Reviews of your business – Mike found little correlation between local search ranking and the number of reviews. However, reviews are important for superior click-through rates.

Citations (see #4 above) – The high-ranking listing had many substantially more citations than low-ranking listings. Mike emphasizes that while he sees a high level of correlation with this factor, he is unsure of the level of causation. Mike’s opinion is that there is some level of causation, meaning having more citations causes you to have higher rankings.

*See a review of Mike’s findings at SMX Advanced: Actionable Local SEO Tactics
*See Mike’s slide deck of the findings: Hardcore Local Search Tactics

SHOW LINKS

Mike Ramsey’s Company: Nifty Marketing

Free Marketing Webinars and Ebooks: The Marketing Spot

Podcast Episode #81 of the internet show about small business marketing

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, Brian Massey, the Conversion Scientist joins host Jay Ehret to discuss how you use your website to get more leads and customers. He will describe the five primary website patterns and prescribe a conversion strategy for each.

Host: Jay Ehret – Chief Educator at TheMarketingSpot.com
Guest: Brian Massey – The Conversion Scientist
Length: 28 minutes

– SHOW NOTES AND LINKS –

What is Website Conversion?

Find someone who is not a customer and convert them into a customer. On a website, it’s taking a visitor and converting them into either a lead or sale.

Five Website Patterns and Their Conversion Strategy:

I. The Brochure Pattern

Purpose is to provide enough information to whet the desire of a prospective customer and tell them how to get more information.

Strategy:

• Design – Fits the personality of your business and your customers
• Logical, Tree –like navigation
• Contact info must be easy to find.

II. The Portal Pattern

Overall, the primary goals of a portal are to get people to stick around, to view more pages, and to join or subscribe.

Strategy:

Home page – Crucial to Conversion

• Feature specific content
• Highlight company and products, but don’t say too much about the company

Navigation

• Site Search
• Drill-down navigation, nested menus, links to related content
• Highlight specific content
• Author pages

Enrollment

• Know your abandonment rate.
• Eliminate friction and make it easy for people to sign up

III. The E-Commerce Pattern

Strategy:

Category Pages

• Home page has specific offers
• Keep non-selling information at a minimum
• Have search on the pages

Product Pages

• Show the product
• All the info necessary to say “yes”

Shopping Cart

• Flexibility and optimization

IV. The Considered Purchase Pattern

Strategy: Start a conversation by email

V. The Site-as-a-Service (Saas) Pattern

Strategy:

• Sample the product
• Use a Google style pattern to convert triers to buyers

Selected Advertising Quotes from Brian Massey:

On the importance of content in website conversion:

“He who has the best content has the best conversion rates.”

On website conversion strategy:

“We can’t really see conversion as a button color, or a landing page, or a specific event. It really is about picking the right strategy that gives you opportunities to convert visitors.”

On website conversion tactics:

“This is the key with conversion: your audience is going to surprise the hell out of you.”

SHOW LINKS

Brian Massey’s Website: www.ConversionScientist.com
Related Articles on Website Pattern Conversion Strategy:
The Five Core Patterns of Conversion Marketing

Get updates on: The Marketing Spot Group Coaching

Podcast Episode #80 of the internet show about small business marketing

If you want to make your cash register ring with advertising, what do you do? Get creative. But just what is creativity and how do you use it to create great advertising? In this episode of Power to the Small Business, author, advertising expert, and ad agency creative director Luke Sullivan tells us how we can create great advertising.

Host: Jay Ehret – Chief Officer of Awesomeness at TheMarketingSpot.com
Guest: Luke Sullivan – Creative Director at GSD&M and author of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This
Length: 29 minutes

– SHOW NOTES AND LINKS –

What is Great Advertising?

The convergence of advertising that is fun, exciting and interesting, with advertising that makes the cash register ring.

Luke Sullivan’s Creative Process:

1. Fully understand the business, what it does, what it wants to accomplish, who it targets, who the competition is.
2. Figure out what the business has, that people want, that the competition isn’t giving them.
3. Sit down with a pad of paper and a pencil. Face a blank wall. Don’t look at beautiful settings, instead turn yourself inward.
4. Then draw a little square on a blank sheet of paper. Fill it with something interesting.
5. The objective is to take everything about the business and burn it down into a single idea that is interesting. It might be a visual, and idea, a movement.
6. If you can’t get your idea into that little square, it’s not a big idea.

Selected Advertising Quotes from Luke Sullivan:

On the necessity of creativity in advertising:

“It is not required. But that means all the weight goes on to your product… When you don’t have a great or breakthrough product, then maybe you are going to need to align some marketing in your favor. Then, I think creativity is the best business tool you have to unfairly beat the competition.”

“Creativity needs to be in service of a commercial purpose. If it’s just creativity for creativity’s sake, well then it’s just art.”

On creating great advertising:

“You need to figure out the one thing; the one thing that you can tell your best customer that will get them to lean in and talk about your product.”

SHOW LINKS

Luke Sullivan’s Blog: www.HeyWhipple.com
Buy Luke’s Book: Hey Whipple, Squeeze This

Get updates on: The Marketing Spot Group Coaching

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Podcast Episode #79 of the internet show about small business marketing

Last week I presented at the 140 Characters Conference, New York. My presentation was titled: Now is Your Brand? But this conference was more than just a speaking engagement, it was an incredible networking opportunity and a chance to learn about marketing. In this episode of Power to the Small Business, I share some interesting conversations I had, and my big take-aways.

Host: Jay Ehret – Chief Officer of Awesomeness at TheMarketingSpot.com
Length: 21 minutes

Honking Just to be Honking:

“Now is not your brand, now is the future of your brand.”

Let Texas be Texas:

“Let New York be New York and let Texas be Texas.”

Hybrid Vigor:

Networking Instead of Marketing:

SHOW LINKS

Topic: What do to, what not to do.

Podcast Episode #78 of the internet show about small business marketing

Host: Jay Ehret - Chief Officer of Awesomeness at TheMarketingSpot.com
Length: 27 minutes

– SHOW NOTES AND LINKS –

Marketing Traps:

1. Discounting – Thinking the reason people are not buying from you is because your price is too high. See also: 3 Predictably Irrational Pricing Strategies and What Should You do About Discounting?

“It’s not the price tag that determines whether or not the customer will purchase. What does determine the sale is the value of what you are selling.”

2. Facebook – There have only been a few minor success stories for businesses that try to sell on Facebook. See also: A Facebook Fairy Tale – Horror Story and What should you do about Facebook?

“Most businesses put in time on their Facebook page with very little return on that time.”

3. Letting a media sales rep handle your marketing – Don’t let your rep come up with your creative and your campaign. It will look and feel like everything else on that medium. Maintain full control of your message and tell them what you want to run. Hire outside creative help if necessary.

“It’s not that they’re dishonest. They aren’t. They just don’t know what they’re doing. They’re a disinterested third party who hasn’t had the proper training.”

4. A good idea – Something really cool that doesn’t have a link to anything you’ve done in the past, nor anything you will do in the future. When that idea runs it’s course, the value of that idea is also over. See also: Opportunity Cost and the Danger of a Good Idea.

“Good ideas, they look pretty, but they’re tomorrow stealers.”

5. Going to an industry specialist – Most businesses from the same industry pretty much look all alike. The reason is they read the same industry trade publications and blogs, follow the same standards and methods of operations promoted by the same industry specialists.

“The only way you get talked about is if you are remarkable. And if you look like everyone else in the industry, you’re not going to get remarked about.”

Marketing Treasures:

1. Google local listings – You can improve your phone traffic if you raise your position in Google local listings. See also: Local Search Results and Local Search: The Game is Changing

“Claim your Google Places page and then optimize your home page on your website and raise your position in the Google local listings.”

2. Reading Books – Read three books on a subject and you will be an expert on that subject. Your ability is a combination of the books you read plus your practical experience. See also: Don’t just read a business book, digest it. and The Essential Small Business Reading List.

“Podcasts, blogs…they’re great. But, nothing beats books for in-depth knowledge.”

3. Tagline / Hook – An out-of-the-ordinary visual or verbal identifier. See also: The Importance of Taglines in Branding and What Your Tagline Says.

“A tagline, a hook, is something that customers can hang their memory on. Think of it as a ‘memory hook.’”

4. Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools – They help you analyze your website traffic and improve your search engine rankings. See also: Online ESP: Reading Your Customers’ Minds with Web Analytics

“I fully acknowledge that Google is the Evil Empire. But I’m going to use their free tools to help my business.”

5. A meaningful brand identity – A psychological, emotional relationship between a business and customers. See also: What is a brand? and The Branding Process Explained for Small Businesses.

“A brand by-product is customer loyalty.”

SHOW LINKS

Premium Webinar: How to Create, Write and Leverage a Blog
Registration Information: Jay Ehret’s Blogging Webinar
Webinar Discount Promotion Code: Power40

Topic: Local Business Market Share

Podcast Episode #77 of the internet show about small business marketing

In this episode of the Power to the Small Business podcast, social theorist and author John Gerzema joins us to talk about the potential spend shift to local small businesses. Gerzema is co-author of Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell, and Live. Gerzema says the time is right for local businesses to claim a larger share of consumer spending. People are less likely to trust larger institutions and they want to spend money with you. But are you ready to earn it? Gerzema shares some insightful advice and gives us the three keys for your business:

• Character
• Authenticity
• Narrative

Guests: John Gerzema – Author and Global Chief Insights Officer for Young and Rubicam
Host: Jay Ehret - TheMarketingSpot.com
Length: 17 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business
You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #77 (for personal use only)

SHOW NOTES

What spend shift?

Consumers are ready to embrace local brands, to shift money from larger institutions to local businesses. The question is, are you ready for the shift? Is your brand ready for the shift?

Customers will not just do business with you because you’re local. You still have to give them a reason. But when you do, they are more likely to do business with you. The three keys (from Spend Shift), character, authenticity, and narrative.

The Virtuous Circle:

The more  of a contribution you have to make to your community, the more will people are to embrace your brand.

Know your customers, how will you give back through your brand.

65% of people are willing to pay a premium for companies that made a contribution to the local community.

Show Links

Buy the Book: – Spend Shift
John Gerzema’s website: JohnGerzema.com
Kaleisia Tea Lounge: TheTeaLounge.com
Event: 140 Characters Conference NYC
Jay’s Website: TheMarketingSpot.com

Podcast Episode #76 of the internet show about small business marketing

In this episode of the Power to the Small Business podcast, WordPress coach Bob Dunn joins us from South Puget Sound, Washington to discuss how small business owners can use WordPress to effectively and efficiently manage their own website. Bob will answer several questions, including:

• What is a content management system?
• Can anyone put up their own website?
• Why should WordPress be the choice?
• How much should it cost?
• What are the basics of getting a website up?
• Should you use premium themes or not?

Guests: Bob Dunn – WordPress Coach and Trainer at BobWP.com
Host: Jay Ehret – TheMarketingSpot.com
Length: 31 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business
You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #76 (for personal use only)

SHOW NOTES

What is a website content management system?

A content management system is user friendly software that allows the small business owner instantly and directly manage and update their own website. The most popular website CMS are WordPress, Drupal and Joomla.

The Difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?

WordPress.com is a free, hosted blogging platform in which the user does not own the site.
WordPress.org is free software that businesses may use as a content management system on a self-hosted website.

The Steps to Building a WordPress Website

STEP 1: Open up a free sandbox account at WordPress.com to get comfortable with the software.

STEP 2: Register a domain name for your website (if you don’t already have one).

STEP 3: Open a hosting account (we recommend BlueHost or HostGator)

Step 4: Install WordPress on your site. BlueHost and HostGator have an auto-install feature.

Step 5: Find and install a theme that works for you.

Top 5 WordPress Plugins for Small Business websites (premium or free)

1. Akismet – For catching spam comments
2. Google XML sitemap – Helps search engines see all of your website content.
3. All in one SEO – Makes your website content more search-engine friendly.
4. WPDB Backup or Backup Buddy (premium)- Backs up the data base of your website.
5. Gravity Forms (premium) – Simplifies contact and other form creation for your website.

Two Bonus Social Sharing Plugins

1. Digg Digg
2. Sociable for wp 3.0

Show Links

Bob Dunn’s Website – BobWP.com
Bob Dunn on Twitter – @bobWP
Bob Dunn on Facebook – Savvy WordPress

Podcast Episode #75 of the internet show about small business marketing

In this episode of Power to the Small Business podcast, Podcast host and small business marketing specialist, Jay Ehret addresses both kinds of marketing magic: Light marketing magic in the form of magic spots in the customer experience, Dark marketing magic in the form of magic marketing pixie dust. Take a listen and determine how your business can be more than just a bullet point by adding some magic to the experience, and how you can avoid the dark magic marketing pixie dust.

Guests:
Jay Ehret - The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)

Length: 16 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business
You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #75 (for personal use only)

SHOW NOTES

Making Magic Spots in the Customer Experience

MAGIC SPOT: Unexpected memorable moment in the experience that customers feel compelled to retell to their friends and family.

• If you’re giving people what they expect, your business is in the mediocre middle.
• Without an memorable moments in the customer experience, your business becomes a bullet point on the agenda.
• It’s not your job to just provide a product or a service, you have to give people something that’s unexpected.
• Magic sparks are word-of-mouth starters

Magic Marketing Pixie Dust

• Desperate businesses reach for the Magic Marketing Pixie Dust thinking it will provide a cure.
• There is no one-size fits all program. If one size fits all, it fits no one in particular. (Hand-me-down marketing)
• Your success today is not determined by what you did today or yesterday.
• Your success 365 days from today is determined by what you are doing right now.

Show Links

Start Building a Remarkable Experience Now (podcast)
The Experience Economy (podcast)
What’s the Secret of a World-Class Customer Experience? (podcast)
The Cult of Customer Amazement (podcast)

Free Recorded Customer Experience Webinar: Creating A Remarkable Customer Experience

Photo courtesy of DavidK-Oregon

Podcast Episode #74 of the internet show about small business marketing

In this episode of Power to the Small Business podcast, you get a double shot of word of mouth wisdom for no extra charge! Two word of mouth braniacs join host Jay Ehret to discuss the where and the what of word of mouth. Learn where you might be wasting time trying to create conversation, and also get some practical tips on how you can use the 4 P’s of marketing to deliberately create word of mouth.

Guests:
Ed Keller, CEO of Keller Fay Group
John Moore, Marketingologist at Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice

Jay Ehret - The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)

Length: 38 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business
You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #74 (for personal use only)

SHOW NOTES

Ed Keller on The Where of Word of Mouth

• Marketing and advertising stimulate word-of-mouth conversations
• Use your advertising to talk to your current customers instead of trying to attract new customers
• Being present in advertising is important for word of mouth because it queues up your brand for conversation
• 50% of all brand related word of mouth references marketing related activities

John Moore on The What of Word of Mouth

• True word of mouth is how a business does business every day
• Give people a reason to talk about you. Design products and services that are worthy of conversation
• Deliberate Intention: Make every customer touchpoint a talking point by showing your personality
• Use the 4 P’s of marketing to make sure you cover every customer touchpoint: Product, Price, Promotion, Place

SELECTED QUOTES FROM ED KELLER

On why word of mouth is important in the marketing mix:

“For a growing number of large, as well as small businesses, they’re beginning to realize the power of word of mouth in helping to make brand decisions in the name of marketing.”

On social media and word of mouth:

“There’s a lot of attention today to social media, but it might surprise a lot of your listeners to know that the overwhelming majority of word of mouth still takes place offline, when it comes to products, services and brands.”

On the advertising and word-of-mouth relationship:

“I think the number one objective for advertising in today’s marketplace is to spark advocacy and help spark conversation.”

SELECTED QUOTES FROM JOHN MOORE

On why some brands excel at word of mouth:

“The best brands, that get the most conversation…it’s not about a campaign, it’s about how they do business.”

On word-of-mouth marketing:

“Word-of-mouth marketing is about giving consumers a reason or reasons to talk about a brand or product or a service.”

On how small businesses can create conversation:

“Small business people can strategically and intentionally design products and services to become worthy of being talked about.”

Show Links

Keller Fay Group Blog
Kellery Fay on Twitter

John Moore’s Brand Autopsy Blog
John Moore on Twitter

- Free Recorded Word-of-Mouth Webinar: Creating Conversation