by Angela Taffs | Feb 11, 2015 | Sales and Marketing
How much thought do you put into your email newsletter design? Do you design it with as much colour and creativity as you can cram in, or do you actually stop and consider how your readers are going to react?
Now, this post may be a little controversial as there are some very successful business people out there whose newsletter design I hate. But the design must work for them or they wouldn’t keep using them. Or would they? Does their business not depend on gaining new clients from these newsletters, or is it, that they have so many subscribers that a small percentage love them and sign up?
Who knows? But one thing I do know is that there are some very over complicated designs out there that really turn me off.
What did you actually take into consideration when creating your email newsletter layout?
With the software available out there such as Mailchimp and ConstantContact amongst many others, newsletter design options are endless. And this is where I think that many people are falling into the trap of trying to be too creative.
I subscribe to a number of newsletters but there are only a very small few that I always read. And why? Because they make it simple for me.
Take Enterprise Nation. I always read their newsletter. It is laid out simply in an easy-to-read format with no constant distractions from flashing images, numerous columns and varying colours and fonts.
On the other hand, and please forgive me those that love it, I cannot bear Dani Johnson’s. There is so much text with so many links I just do not know which way to look first. Trying to scan it fills me with dread as it initially appears as though it will take far too much time to go through everything, so I just delete and the other day finally unsubscribed.
I also have just unsubscribed from another newsletter that hits me with so many different fonts and colours (I only have a few shown on this screen print) that I start to feel a little nauseous each time I see it.
So before you get carried away with seeing how many columns, pictures and flashy bits you can fit into your newsletter, stop and think from the reader’s point of view.
We are all busy and tend to scan things to see if it is worth us taking our valuable time to read any further. Make it simple for the reader to see immediately the message you are trying to get across. Don’t put distractions in their way.
If you would like my ‘9 Top tips for effective newsletters’ simply drop me a comment below.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 29, 2015 | Running a Business, Sales and Marketing
Three times just lately, I have made contact with someone through social media and expressed an interest in what they do. Each time they have message me and promised to send me some information. And each time, they have failed to deliver! Are they aware this is a classic way of losing clients?
Now, perhaps they are getting so many messages they don’t need my business and aren’t interested in me. But if that is the case, then just tell me in the first place. Bad news travels far faster than good and if anyone ever asks me about any of these businesses, I will not hesitate to tell others not to bother with them.
And quite frankly, it is just bad manners.
It could, of course, be a case that they have simply forgotten. But if that is the case, it is even worse for their business as they are missing out on potential income and are losing clients who could go on to be quite profitable for them. If you are busy and cannot deal with enquiries immediately, ensure you have a system set up to remind you to send out information that you have promised to. If you have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system such as , then great. Enter details into there and allocate yourself a task. At the simplest end, have a paper diary and make a note in there.
At the top of most customer’s lists, by far, when dealing with a company is that they keep their word. So if you promise something and then fail to deliver you will not only be losing clients, you will also lose your business reputation.
Regardless of how this mismanagement of your potential clients affects your business, think how it affects them. There is a saying that it is not what you say to someone, but it is how you make them feel. By promising something and then never getting in contact again, you may make the person feel undervalued and worthless. There is a real danger that some of these people may be having a tough time in their personal life and this ‘small’ omission on your part, could add to their feelings of worthlessness. I am writing this because I have seen this happen, and until I did, I didn’t realise the impact that we, as small business owners can have on other people’s lives. A simple thing that we don’t think really matters, can have a huge impact on the person at the other end.
I am not saying that you have to responsibility for other people’s personal issues, but I am saying stop and think when making promises you are not going to keep. Next time someone asks you for something, think twice before blindly saying you will send something on or do something. Be realistic. Tell them if you are too busy. Tell them if you don’t think you can supply what they want, when they want, or even if you don’t think they are the right client for you.
Being honest could stop you losing clients and save both your business reputation and hurt feelings for your lost client.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 24, 2015 | Sales and Marketing
Social media automation
There are so many tools out there today that can save us time and make scheduling social media posts so much easier. But are they always effective?
I have always used Buffer on the free programme that only allowed me to schedule up to 10 posts at any one time. Last week I decided to try Hootsuite as with this software you can schedule as many posts as you like. I sat and scheduled a variety of posts for the next week. I then sat back and gave myself a pat on the back and felt more relaxed that I didn’t need to blog into Buffer every day to keep it topped up.
But what happened?
The reach on my posts dropped from 500+ to less than 50. The interactions on my posts dried up. But why?
I stopped and thought about this as it couldn’t possibly be the fault of Hootsuite. I must have done something differently.
And then it hit me.
With scheduling just a few posts at a time, I was taking more time with each and injecting a bit more of my personality into each. Scheduling up to 50 at a time made me lose my enthusiasm and I just posted the bare bones, facts and links. Quite frankly, they were boring!
So whilst using social media automation and having the ability to post weeks in advance can save a daily check, be careful that you don’t fall into the trap that I did and they all start to become over automated and somewhat mundane.
People buy people first and without your own comments and injection of personality you are in danger of turning into just another faceless site.
So be careful folks. If you are going to schedule lots of posts at once, do it when your energy levels are high and you have enough interesting comments to make. And remember that any industry news you schedule may well be out of date by the time your post appears.
I will most certainly use Hootsuite again when I am going to be away for a few days or on holiday for a week or so, but personally I am going to stick to Buffer for day to day posts where I can give something fresh to my posts each day.
Finally, please make sure that if you do automate for periods in advance that you still check in each day to your social media channels to respond to any interaction on your page. There is nothing worse than putting in all the hard work for someone to ask you a question and they then get ignored. This has happened to me when I asked a question of a business and I never got a response. I ended up unfollowing the business in question as I felt they couldn’t be bothered to get back to me and so didn’t want my custom. What a waste of their effort and time.
What works for you? What social media automation do you use? Let me know over on the Facebook page.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 23, 2015 | Business Success, Sales and Marketing
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
Epictetus
I have had to make a great deal of calls over the last few days for a number of reasons and one thing has struck me. The complete inability of people to listen to what I was saying.
Now you could say that as the inability to listen was a recurring theme, the problem could be at my end but without burying my head in the sand, I believe I speak clearly and can explain my needs very simply.
I took extra care with the last few calls trying to find a supplier, yet still, after I explained what I needed, was still met with a barrage of questions that had already been answered. In fact, on one call, the woman asked me the same question no less than five times! I ended up asking her if she had a pen and if so, would she mind writing down my answers so we did not keep going over old ground. Hasten, to say, I will not be purchasing from her.
We were all born (or most of us anyway), with two ears and one mouth. We really should try to use them in proportion. When someone calls to ask about your product or service, there is a tendency to get rather over excited at the prospect of a new sale and start to tell them everything there is to know about your offering, when all they need to know is what is relevant to them and their particular situation. Let them speak and explain their needs, and whilst they are doing so, shut up and listen! You can then explain just the areas of your business that will benefit them which will help build a trust and relationship where they realise you are doing your best to help them.
The more you allow a prospect to talk, the more important they will feel and they will know you have taken the time to hear what they want. If you constantly talk over them and then ask basic questions that you would have heard if you had listened properly, you are likely to make them feel either irritated or not important and as a result likely to lose their custom.
And following on from this point, and what I always teach in sales training, is that when you have given someone some information, give them time to digest it. Let there be a few moments of silence to absorb what you have said. You don’t have to jump in and keep talking to fill the silence. Once you have given information, try counting to seven before you speak again. This simple tip can make such a difference to your sales success. If people don’t get the time to take in what has been said, they tend to say that they will think it over and get back to you. How many times have you heard that? Give them time whilst you have them in front of you or on the phone. And watch your sales improve.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 16, 2015 | Sales and Marketing
What everybody ought to know about using a personal page for promoting their business on Facebook
Are you still using your personal Facebook page for promoting your business? If you are, stop right now!
Facebook may remove it
I see so many of these so just have to share some words of warning about using your personal page for business use. Facebook frowns upon using a personal profile for business use and I have known a few people who have had their pages removed for doing this. They had built up a significant following but had their business name on the page rather than just their own name which got flagged up to the powers that be at Facebook ivory towers. I only know of one lady who had a polite warning and told to change it but I know of two others whose pages just disappeared! All their Facebook contacts gone and nothing they could do about it.
Keep your personal and business life separate
Aside from this, you really want to try and keep your personal and business persona’s separate. You may have just started up a small business which you promoted to your inner circle of family and friends but as your business grows you will want to widen this audience. Do you really want strangers seeing photos of you on a night out? Is this giving a professional image to your business? And even if you don’t have the tendency to go out on a Saturday night and roll around the floor drunk, are you comfortable with potential clients seeing your innermost personal conversations with friends and family? And again, even if you don’t post much personal information on your page, you have no control over what your darling friends may post on your wall that has the danger of causing embarrassment.
You will lose potential followers
Another significant problem with using a personal page is that people who don’t know you can’t ‘follow’ or ‘like’ you as a business. They have to add you as a friend which then in turn allows you to see all of their personal information on their Facebook page. People who don’t know you are unlikely to be comfortable doing this and you will miss out on an opportunity to connect with people outside of your circle of friends.
If you are using a personal page to market your business on Facebook, go change it now and invite your friends across to like it. Even easier than that, Facebook has made it easier to migrate your personal page to a business page if you wish and they have an easy to follow guide here.
And once you have your new Facebook page set up, pop over to The Small Business Kit and share it for others to see.
*If you would like to know more in depth detail about Facebook marketing and how to make it work for your business visit The Small Business Kit and become a member today, all for less than your weekly vanilla latte!
by Angela Taffs | Jan 8, 2015 | Sales and Marketing
How just two minutes of your time can increase sales revenue
So that time of year is well and truly upon us and the shops are bursting to the seams with shoppers looking to spend their money.
And this is where customer service can make that all important difference to whether shoppers choose your business to part with their hard earned money or whether to take it and spend elsewhere.
Customer service excellence has always been and will always be one of the critical competitive advantages for any business and is a vital element if you want to increase sales.
I was in London last weekend looking to find some purchases for loved ones. I had the money in my purse and wanted to spend. But after going into one particular retailer, who had what I wanted, the customer service experience left me cold. The sales assistant was obviously disinterested in helping me and couldn’t even muster up so much as a smile. Therefore, I decided I would look elsewhere to find the item I wanted.
On the flip side, when I visited House of Fraser on Oxford Street I had no intention of buying anything there. I was there whilst my daughter was looking and at one point, we both stood still looking around us trying to decide which department to visit next. A gentleman stopped and asked if he could help. It immediately became apparent that he was in senior management and had a lady with him holding files, diary and clipboard.
He was so helpful and genuinely cared if we could find what we were looking for, to the point that he turned to the lady with him and told her to go on the meeting and let the others know he would be there shortly. He didn’t just point us to the direction of what my daughter was looking for but took it upon himself to start looking for the particular item and when a salesperson appeared, asked them to carry on helping us.
I have to say that impressed me enough to decide to make some purchases in the store which I had not initially intended to make.
This level of customer service cost the store nothing and took probably no more than two minutes of time, but the payback from the way we were made to feel and the amount we then spent was significant.
So think of those little things you can do to make your customers feel special and valued if you want to increase sales. Let them know you care. Yes, it may take a couple minutes extra of your time but you may just see a significant improvement in your sales revenue and stand out from your competition.
Have you had a good customer experience recently? Share your experience in the comments below.
