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Apr 20 2016

Make a meaningful relationship with your customers online.

Kelly headshot (2)

 Your main goal for Social Media Marketing isn’t really about sales, it’s about relationship building with your customers and target audience.  Building this relationship will then drive sales and growth.

 A major advantage that small business’ have over larger ones, is that you are able to give your brand a personality that should fit the community you work in.  You have the ability to talk about topics that are important to your community.

 Social Media has changed the way that business MUST operate, it has given your consumers more of a voice in your brand and what you do.  One doesn’t need to look hard online to see this in action, one example that comes to mind is Doritos and their rainbow coloured chips that they made to support the LGBT, there were a lot of people who supported the move, and those that didn’t.  The ones that don’t support something you are doing will tend to be more verbal on your pages about it, but the beautiful part about this is that your community will generally come to defend you, and that only happens if you can create a meaningful relationship with them.

 Now, you are probably asking, how do I start that meaningful relationship? There are a few ways to go about this.  Twitter and Facebook have great tools to use to find out what people are interested in in your community, apart from reading a local paper (which is a great way to stay informed about your community) you can try surveying your current followers and get their opinions on issues and your industry.  If you start to talk about their interests, they will be more likely to like, comment and share your content which will lead to more followers.

 Another way is to build your email marketing list.  Use social posts to ask people to sign up to it, and let them know what kind of content will be in your emails.  Also ask them to sign up when they buy something from you. It’s important to not make your emails too salesy, instead, again, cover topics that affect your community AND your industry.  When you provide content that solves a problem of your customers, you are more likely to have repeat customers and build a better relationship with them.

 Digital Customer Service is becoming huge.  Most customers that now have a problem with your service or product won’t tend to phone you, they will come and talk to you online though a post to your page or directly chat with you.  The quicker you respond and address their issue, the stronger relationship you build.  Make sure you have some sort of policy in place for acceptable response time, most businesses a generally within 24 hours, and yes, even on weekends.  So whether you do your social media yourself or have a vendor that does it for you, make sure that your expectations are communicated to them.

 The last thing you can do to build the relationship is have some sort of rewards program that offers some benefit to your repeat customers, because the worst thing you can do as a business, is not appreciate loyalty, just look at the big phone companies like Rogers and Bell, do you feel that you are being rewarded for being a customer for years?

 As more and more networks pop up, catching your customers attention and building a trusting relationship is going to become harder and harder, be sure to stay adaptive to your business and customer needs and think outside the box, bland doesn’t sell.

 

Teach Me Social owner Kelly Farrell has been helping empower Canadian Small Business owners through social media for over three years. Her team now offers services ranging from training sessions for small business owners and their teams, to full-service social media account management. Visit teachmesocial.ca to learn more about our service offerings or to contact us today for a no obligation consultation, including an audit of your existing social media channels.

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Kelly Farrell · Tagged: building relationships, business, community, consumers, Doritos, emails, industry, Kelly Farrell, LGBT, Relationships, rewards program, social media, Social Media Marketing, target audience, Teach Me Social

Sep 27 2015

When to Let Go

 SCSWebsiteImagesProfile

As a Small Business Owner, I suspect that you have had more than one good idea about the direction of your business. The business that you run today is probably also not exactly what you first envisioned.

The reason for this is likely because along the way you made small strategic decisions to go towards one goal or direction and let some things go along the way. Sometimes those little pivots are enough to create a business that you truly love but sometimes a bigger ‘letting go’ is needed to really create success.

For someone who has personally gone through the tough decisions of when to let go – I wanted to share my personal experiences as well as share what I have learned by seeing some of my business mentors shift gear.

With personal evaluation, I have always considered two key factors that help me determine when it’s time to let go and when to go forward. The first thing is my personal satisfaction/motivation and the other is the outer result of my work.

My ‘satisfaction’ is determined by my excitement (or lack of), my flow of ideas and interest in everything related to my business industry.

I saw this personally when I was no longer spending my time researching. As an expert in the field I was centered around, I really wanted to be on the leading edge of any new findings and strategies. Beyond that, I was also committed to using and implementing all of my research to make sure I was providing the most relevant and founded information. When I found myself avoiding podcasts on the topic and choosing different books at the library it was one of my first indications that I would not be able to make the long haul in the industry.

The outer ‘result’ that I used to assess my situation was how I felt about the work I was producing and the impact I had on others. If I could see that what I was bringing to the table was truly revolutionary, that would have been a reason to hang on. But the truth was, it wasn’t. I didn’t feel like I was bringing a fresh enough perspective or creating positive change in the world on a level that I really wanted too.

Looking into the future was also a big part of how I made the final decision to let my first business go. I looked at the careers of those who were further ahead of me and I just couldn’t see myself really thriving at that level. While I was ‘out there’ looking, it also gave me an opportunity to look at what others were doing that I could see myself being in the same arena with, which happened to be in a different industry.

By seeing these business mentors from a 10,000-foot view I was able to see how they also continued to make shifts and let go, sometimes in big ways, and other times in small programs or offerings.

Every time I would see this – (because I admired the way they did business) I could appreciate their courage in trying something new, even if it wasn’t my favorite thing they had ever done. That’s why I encourage you to take a look at your own business and feel brave when you feel a change coming on that may include letting go. It may just be the best thing you have ever done.

The overall perspective here is that sometimes it is worth it to push through the tough times and sometimes it is better to just let it go. Considering these concepts will hopefully help you find the best path for you.

Tamara is the Founder and Creative Director of Sweet Clover Studios. Where she provides resources, planners, learning opportunities and inspiration for creative small business owners. You can also see her personal gallery of products as a surface pattern designer at www.SweetCloverStudios.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Tamara · Tagged: business, business decisions, business members, Canadian Small Business Women, decision, entrepreneur, envisioned, expert, industry, let go, perspective, pivot, research, Satisfaction, small business, small business owner, strategic decision, Sweet Clover Studios, Tamara, tough decisions

Aug 12 2015

Social Media Expertise Should Never Be Free

Karima

Social media today is more than just friends getting together with friends online. It is a redistribution of wealth through the spreading of information. Social media expertise which facilitates this is at the very core of capitalism. The only problem is that most social media experts have been giving away their expertise for free and now that has become the expectation.

It starts simple enough. First I get asked to have some coffee. Then we’ll have some small talk. It won’t be long until the questions about social media begin. I’ve even received emails from friends I haven’t seen nor spoken to in years asking for advice.

We take the “social” component of social media very seriously today. I propose we begin focusing on the “media” component a little more.

Social Media Expertise Is a Skill Which Must Be Developed

Let’s be honest: social media hasn’t been around for very long. If you really stretch out the definition of social media, then some might point to the AOL chat rooms of the mid-1990s as the beginning of social media, but that’s not really accurate. In just a few years, there have been a few people who have dedicated their time to studying this phenomenon to know how it ticks. It becomes their passion.

When we are passionate about something, we love to talk about it. I give out a lot of advice myself that can be executed elsewhere, often without meaning to do so. The bottom line is this: social media experts are practitioners, advisors, consultants… and professionals.

I will not go into details about my expertise, except that I have been in the industry for over 15 years and have been involved in launching and growing some of the largest accounts in the business. I am also a hands-on strategist with an on-going online presence.

The time of a social media expert is valuable. It is worth more than the price of a cup of coffee. $5 for gourmet coffee, that is.

Here’s the Industry’s Double Standard

If you called up the average lawyer to talk about a legal problem, would they offer their advice for free?

Or what if you had a medical emergency and instead of going to the hospital, you expected to go to the doctor’s home to receive treatment?

How many teachers will come to a home after school to tutor a child who is falling behind in class?

Maybe you don’t need a college degree to become a social media expert, but that doesn’t mean the expertise isn’t valuable. There are numerous financial and brand recognition gains that can be built up over time thanks to social media expertise that no other type of media can provide. You can build leads for just dollars per prospect on social media – what other platform can say the same thing?

Integrating social media into any business opportunity is important. Creative ideas, defined objectives, and strategic concepts are all part of the package that comes with social media expertise. Some organizations may feel like this is expertise that is only worth a cup of coffee, but now more than ever, one truth still remains: you get what you pay for right now.

Getting a tidbit of advice for a cup of coffee is great. Getting the full package of social media expertise will forever change a business. That’s why it is worth the investment. If you’d like to book some time to meet with me, feel free to visit my website RedDotDigital.net, send me an email to Karima (at) RedDotDigital (dot) net or follow me on Twitter.

Karima-Catherine is the co-founder of Red Dot Digital, a digital agency that strives to deliver top-notch solutions to various clients.  Red Dot Digital drives real, meaningful, quantifiable business outcomes for companies. Karima-Catherine is also the co-moderator of #MMchat, a Twitter weekly forum which focuses on business, marketing and social media.  

Connect with Karima-Catherine:

karima@reddotdigital.net

Website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Karima-Catherine Goundiam · Tagged: AOL, business, Canadian Small Business Women, capitalism, coffee, consulants, expertise, free, industry, information, Karima-Catherine, marketing, media, online marketing, Red Dot Digital, social, social media, wealth

Jun 14 2015

Benefits of Experimentation For Every Industry

Tamara high res 1

Many years ago, I was involved in a high leveled art program. Everyone who was apart of the program was given their own studio, freedom to structure their workflow and access to anything from a photography dark room (Yes, it was that long ago) to oil paints.

However, there was part of the program that was structured. It was the requirement to produce something that they called ‘Experimental Studio Research’ (ESR). This wasn’t the perfectly polished framed painting that you may think your mentors want to see – no. This was the process. The work that brought you to that finished piece. The samples of palettes that didn’t work. The sketches that never produced a finished product.

At first, I almost had to force myself to experiment because I was usually quite certain of how I wanted to work. But I learned valuable lessons by committing to ESR, and it is something that I have taken into every business I have been apart of.

The lessons translate to business so well because as we all know – there are no guarantees and it is inevitable that some things will work better than others. For the purposes of this article – the ‘Studio’ can refer to your industry and the ‘experiments’ are considered strategies that you implement and programs, products and services you offer.

For example, let’s use the coaching industry. You may try offering one-to-one intensive retreats for the first time instead of your 3-month group packages.  You have never marketed such high priced service so you expand to advertising in high-end print magazines instead of investing in just Facebook ads. After two months you haven’t gotten any sales of your retreat but have gotten 25 phone calls about your 3-month packages and requests for year-long programs. Taking the risk (experimenting) with a different marketing approach didn’t get the desired results, but there was unexpected benefits. The results of the ‘research’ of trying a different approach then led to business growth by finding the coach’s clients and what their needs are.

As you can see in the example – one important lesson is that: effort in one direction may actually benefit you in another area that you don’t necessarily expect. The key is to be open to the findings of the ‘research’ and less focused on the unexpected turns that will inevitably come.

Another lesson I applied through this concept is that the ‘process’ is valuable too. You may not only get unexpected business growth, but you may find unexpected skills and interests of your own that you can apply to the future of your business. For example, the coach we talked about before may have found out that she really loved the long-term relationship that she was able to develop over a year’s worth of services.

The value of perceiving things this way is that you can really avoid the ‘failure’ mindset. If everything you do is used to inform your next decision (Ie: NO one bought that program, or I got 400 new sign ups with the newest opt-in), it is all valuable. Knowing what didn’t ‘work’ is just as important as knowing what does.

I hope that reading this you have considered how your ‘experiments’ within your industry can still contribute to the success and growth of your business, even if you ended up not proceeding the way you originally thought.

 

Tamara is the Founder and Creative Director of Sweet Clover Studios. Where she provides resources, planners, learning opportunities and inspiration for other creative small business owners. You can also see her personal gallery of products as a surface pattern designer at http://www.SweetCloverStudios.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Tamara · Tagged: art, business decision, business growh, business growth, Content strategy, ESR, Experimental Studio Research, experimentation, industry, marketing, mindset, photography, results, studio, Sweet Clover Studios, Tamara, workflow

Mar 30 2014

Business Research Demystified…New vs. Existing Business. What You Need To Do (Part 2)

yvonne

New Business Start-up Research

Using an analogy from the bible; when God was giving the children of Israel the land of Canaan, he asked Moses to send out men to spy out the land… whether the people who dwelt in it were strong or weak, whether the land was good or bad, rich or poor etc.

Same principle applies to when you have a great business idea, you need to research; research yourself, research your potential business partner, research the market you plan on entering, research who the players, and research the types of finances available. By researching yourself, you are able to establish whether or not you have the skills and experience required to start and run your own business successfully and the gaps you need to fill. By researching your potential partner(s), you determine what skills and experience they bring to the table, how it complements you bring, and most importantly whether you are able to work together in the short and long term.

Your Market (Industry) research is one of the most important and not to be compromised research that needs to be done. Omitting to carry out this research, even if it is minimal to start with, could lead to challenges in your business. During your research, you have the potential to discover anything, you could find the intended market is on a decline or that the potential for growth is phenomenal. By undertaking this research you are able to determine market growth potential, trends, receptiveness of the market, who the key players are such as vendors and competitors, and potential partnership opportunities.

Existing Business Research

For existing businesses, the focus is usually on growing the business an d increasing profits; better serving the needs of customers; being ahead or keeping pace with competitors; keeping abreast of the evolving economic and environmental factors; and taking advantage of emerging trends and technologies. To do this successfully starts with research, and continues with keeping abreast with the news. Research would include; competitor analysis, customer surveys, market trends, employee surveys etc.

Market trends and well as keep abreast of what your competitors are doing can be vital information that enables you be relevant. Remember, if your target market is not buying from you, they are buying from someone else. With competitor analysis you are able to identify who your competitors are; their products/services, pricing, distribution etc. Armed with some of this information you are able to make better business decisions, fine-tune your competitive advantage, and strategically position your business succeed.

Customer surveys (and feedback) will enable you gather information about the needs and opinions of your customers. Customers’ needs are constantly changing, therefore we need to be keep up with these changes and trends in order develop products and/or services to be relevant and appeal to the needs of your target market.

In general, undertaking the required research may or may not be easy depending on you familiarity with the process, knack for finding information, experience etc. It can also be very time-consuming and complex depending on the type of business or research required. With the internet and social media, research and information has become more easily available, however, it is important that you have clear objectives on what you are looking to achieve so as not to get overwhelmed. If you are finding it difficult to undertake the research yourself or do not have the time, it is worthwhile outsourcing or delegating the process.

Once your research is completed, you are now in a better position to know if and how to proceed; you have better understanding of the market you operate within and able to respond to the needs of the market; you know what your customers want; you are in a position to develop your competitive advantage; and armed with the knowledge to make better decisions and planning on the strategic development of your business.

While some businesses may have started out successfully without any research, a time comes when they have to pause and research to maintain their strategic advantage or they become irrelevant.

Get a free eBook to get started on your goals: http://eepurl.com/xeDrf

Yvonne is a Change Consultant, Coach and Speaker who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at:   www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc, www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc, www.oliveblue.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta · Tagged: business, business development, business growth, Business Research, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, competitive advantage, competitor analysis, competitors, economic factors, entrepreneur, environmental factors, industry, market, Market trends, new business, OliveBlue Inc, profits, research, small business, small business development, small business owner, small business owners, technologies, trends, Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Mar 12 2014

What’s in a name?

Jennifer J

We spend countless hours trying to figure out the perfect name for our business. It is important. The right name can help you be the talk of the town. A bad name can fade away and lead to obscurity. So how do you pick the perfect name? Do you name the business after yourself? Do you pick a name that describes your service or product? Or, do you create catchy new words like ‘Google’ or ‘Zappos’?  Determining what to name your business comes down to three things:

–          The industry your business is in;

–          What is the vision you have for your business; and

–          Your long term plan for your business.

If you plan to be the main commodity of your business, e.g. an expert in a particular field, a coach or a speaker, than you should name the business after you. Should you go on to produce books, products and pod casts, the only thing that isn’t changing is you. Naming your business after yourself allows your customer and clients to identify your expertise. You also have the flexibility of creating different products whilst not having to be locked in to just one.

Should your long term plans include selling your business one day, you should consider a name that describes your product or service. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. There are many businesses where the owner became the brand and the business was subsequently sold.  However, remember that if you intend to sell your business, the name is likely trademarked which prevents you from using the name for future ventures. This includes your own name.

When considering the name of your business, it is important to determine what it is you are trying to communicate. This can be determined by using your mission statement as a guide. Once you have this clearly defined, it is important to consider the following when creating a name:

–          Pick something that appeals to your niche and that your niche will identify with;

–          Something that is not too long and confusing;

–          Don’t use plain language that won’t stand out in a crowd;

–          Avoid clichés;

–          Avoid unusual spelling; and

–          Try and adopt a name that gives some information about your business.

Once you have picked a few names make sure to check whether your names have already been trademarked or are in use. You want to ensure you are not infringing on anyone else’s rights.Failure to do this could lead to legal battles down the line and significant money spent when it could have been avoided.

You also want to check if the domain name you’d like to use is still available. There’s nothing worse than coming up with a brilliant name only to find someone else has already purchased the domain.

Happy naming!

Jennifer Jampala is a budding entrepreneur, traveller and yogi. She is passionate about building businesses, relationships and experiences. Follow Jennifer on Twitter @JenniferJampala

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Jennifer Jampala · Tagged: business, business development, business name, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, cliche, coach, commodity, confusing, domain, entrepreneur, google, industry, Jennifer Jampala, name, Naming your business, niche, plan, product, service, small business, small business development, spelling, vision, Zappos

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