9 05, 2019

The Power of Referral Business

2022-02-09T22:03:23-08:00

“I used to never refer people,” stated Bill Welch, owner of Northern Lights Electric, a 40-plus year resident of Sonoma. “You couldn’t trust people,” he explained. I asked him to explain how it was that in more than 40 years of business in Sonoma he felt he couldn’t trust another contractor to refer work to them? After all, according to Nielsen, ninety-two percent of consumers trust referrals from people they know. “Well, my reputation’s on the line! The couple of times I tried to refer someone, they either didn’t follow up on the referral, or they botched the job so much it embarrassed me.”

The Power of Referral Business2022-02-09T22:03:23-08:00
1 03, 2018

Waiting for Marketing Results

2022-02-09T22:04:54-08:00

Anticipation. It fuels the world! Just like waiting for that perfect cup of coffee, every business owner has a vision of what will happen once their marketing campaign kicks in and sends a flood of new business to them. If you’re like the zillions of coffee lovers in the world, you anticipate the aroma of percolating coffee and espresso. You know exactly how you feel when you get that warm ceramic mug in your hands, watching the steam swirl above and dissipate into the morning air. Then there’s the warm ‘n’ fuzzy feeling of your coffee drifting down your gullet as you swallow the first sip. Ahhhhh! But what happens when you think you’ve waiting too long for that coffee to be served?

Waiting for Marketing Results2022-02-09T22:04:54-08:00
15 02, 2018

The Allure of Shiny (Marketing) Objects

2022-08-06T11:06:15-07:00

It caught your eye. A turn of phrase. A gleam in the sunlight. And voila! You were distracted by some shiny new object.

A hundred and fifty years ago we would have called it a nugget of gold, gleaming on a river bank. Today, it’s likely to be some shiny new app online. “Look what it does!” “Wouldn’t that be a great thing to offer our customers?” “Can we use that next time?!”

The internet brought us […]

The Allure of Shiny (Marketing) Objects2022-08-06T11:06:15-07:00
1 02, 2018

Is My Digital Marketing Working?

2018-02-01T21:39:53-08:00

Is My Digital Marketing Working?

The answer depends upon whether or not you have some goals and expectations for what digital marketing should bring to your business’ growth.

I am surprised when I ask this of clients and many say, “I had no idea what to expect.” Really? Why on earth would you spend money on any marketing without some expectation? But in recent survey, fully 46% of small business owners said they didn’t know if their […]

Is My Digital Marketing Working?2018-02-01T21:39:53-08:00
16 01, 2018

Where do customers come from?

2018-01-31T10:32:48-08:00

Where do customers come from?

Ask them! If you’re not already collecting this data, start today!

“I don’t remember,” can be heard frequently from customers who don’t want to be bothered with answering the query.

Rather than letting them off the hook, consider the consequences of not knowing: You won’t be able to predict the growth of your business if you don’t know where it’s coming from or at what frequency. It also leaves you in the dark […]

Where do customers come from?2018-01-31T10:32:48-08:00
25 04, 2016

Measuring Website Success

2016-12-11T16:09:17-08:00

Several months after I launch new websites, I check on their results in my page rank software as it takes upwards of 60 days for Google’s spider bots to “crawl” the site and rank its search success. When I see that most of the keyword terms we optimized the site for generate a #1 or #2 ranking in Google results (as I did for the client above), it’s like getting a nice pat […]

Measuring Website Success2016-12-11T16:09:17-08:00
14 03, 2016

Waiting for Facebook* Results?

2016-12-11T16:09:17-08:00

As a child, do you remember bugging your mom, “When’s supper gonna be ready?” Or, “Are we there yet?” Or waiting for the train to arrive (with your dad in it coming home from work)?

It seemed to take for-e-ver to arrive, didn’t it?

That’s what everyone wants to know about social media marketing: When will the customers come banging on my door in droves?

First, remember how your mom said, “A watched kettle never boils”? Or, “If […]

Waiting for Facebook* Results?2016-12-11T16:09:17-08:00
23 02, 2016

What Does It Take for Successful Facebook Marketing?

2016-12-11T16:09:17-08:00

A recent report on Marketing Profs provided interesting statistics to see how businesses stacked up against one another on this topic. A key finding by research  firm TrackMaven in the report, was the overall decline in consumer engagement. That wasn’t particularly surprising. But what got my attention was the sheer volume (or lack thereof) of work involved. And I’ve been pondering the results ever since to see how it compares with my own clients’ results. […]

What Does It Take for Successful Facebook Marketing?2016-12-11T16:09:17-08:00
11 01, 2016

Do you know what GE is?

2016-02-23T14:58:52-08:00

I could be wrong, of course, but this TV commercial has been irritating me since it launched last September. Perhaps you’ve seen it?

https://youtu.be/OvfU1NpCJQQ

This is just one in a series of commercials, “What’s the Matter with Owen?” But here’s the short version of the story: A just-out-of-college twenty-something proudly tells his friends he landed a job programming for GE. They look disappointed and confused, inquiring why he won’t be doing the great things […]

Do you know what GE is?2016-02-23T14:58:52-08:00
20 12, 2015

Facebook Wants You to Talk to Your Fans and Customers!

2016-12-11T16:09:18-08:00

Facebook recently introduced yet another upgrade to their services in an effort to further entice business page owners to improve their interactions with fans and customers. This is but one in a string of changes (seemingly for the good!) that has been rolled out since summer. Many are introduced without fanfare, leaving users to speculate their purpose and benefits.

This latest change came in mighty handy for me recently as I went to reply to a […]

Facebook Wants You to Talk to Your Fans and Customers!2016-12-11T16:09:18-08:00
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