JFields Marketing

The Main Thing

Janelle — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:46:27 +0000

‘…what will be left out of the equation is any serious talk about how you can use Facebook Places to grow your business’.

This excerpt from a blog post is telling. The point isn’t specific to FB or its new local placement platform. The point is underlined.

Organizations and people who figure out how to help others grow their business using social media are truly the wave of the future. Current platforms, ingeniously created to distract and entertain us, are here to stay in some form or another. What small business owners need now are specific, industry based tools to help create the strategies and step by step activities to actually make money. We’re not there yet.

I met a woman in the financial planning sector the other day. She is worried the rule keepers of her highly regulated industry will cause her to miss the boat – i.e. sales – because of restrictions using social media. I told her not to worry. There aren’t that many people making that much money via social media yet. The restrictions are helping keep her focused on the ‘main thing’, the core of her business. Getting out and meeting prospective clients, building old fashioned, face to face relationships that develop trust is the main thing.

We’re going to get there. Some ahead of others, to be sure. In the meantime, we’ve all got businesses to run. See you at the next blog post. Or maybe just the local coffee shop.

A Hand Up

Janelle — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:36:02 +0000

Last week, I was reminded of the power of collaboration when I met Janet Lutz , of Calico Gals, at her brand new quilting/fabric/fun-for-all-store in the Eastwood neighborhood of Syracuse. Janet is the best kind of collaborator. She gets it, running her business with customers and sales in mind, but ready to lend a hand to other entrepreneurs just ‘because’.

When I visited Janet on behalf of my client, Kristin Morrow of Quilt Traditions, I came away with much more than just new information about the quilting industry. I also had the pleasant confirmation that Janet is genuinely interested in helping others grow their business. Janet knows Kristin’s work, and knows that giving Kristin ‘a hand’ is a good thing to do. Direclty or indirectly, that spirit of generosity and good will is likely to bring good things to her, directly or indirectly. The result doesn’t matter. In this case, it’s the benevolent action that counts.

So, how about you? Do you know someone who could use a hand up? Reach out and touch someone ( to steal an iconic marketing phrase from the 1970′s). Maybe you need that lifting hand. Reach out to ask for help, information, connection. You’ll be surprised and pleased at how willing most people are to help. Referrals, encouragement, information. It’s all good and moves a small business owner along the path to growing stronger and more profitable in the long run.

It’s About You! The Universal Laws of Networking

Janelle — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:54:10 +0000

Networking is a word full of hidden meaning – most of them negative. A typical image of networking brings to mind a glad-handing sales type, stuffing business cards into the hands of …well, everyone.

To the contrary, networking when done well is the one of the best ways to grow small business. Ideally, every small business owner or entrepreneur should be networking every chance she gets. Terry Bean, author of The Universal Guide To Business Networking agrees and is so confident that he wrote a book about.

“It’s about you, it’s about me and it’s about our businesses – in that order”, says Terry Bean in The Universal Laws. Networking, at its core, should be other focused. And all networking is relationship building. When presented from that perspective, the pressure is off because you don’t have to feel your needs will only be met if you leave with a lead or sale. You get to be the good guy- all the time!

The Universal Laws of Business Networking is full of great tips for better ways to extend your business contacts and how to navigate on-line networking too. Benefits of networking include increasing your business acumen, developing a ready board of advisors, and gaining a better understanding of local happenings.

This book is worth the read. You might find yourself headed out the door to that next networking event sooner rather than later.

The Trust Factor

Janelle — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:41:05 +0000

Marketing in 2010 is a new and tricky business. The rules on how to market are changing at breakneck pace. We no longer push marketing messages out to the consuming public, hoping they will buy. Gone are the days of convincing people to plunk down their cash for our products and services. We have to pull customers so they will choose us when they are ready to buy.

That only happens for three reasons, in this order: they know us, they care about us and they want to do business with us. Building that trust factor is huge.

Which means your business presence has to be present, available and believable.

Are you present?
Are you represented in the market(s) most significance to your business?
Is your presence known and more importantly, trusted, by the buying public in your market?

Those questions are worth thinking about given the new paradigm we’re all subject to. The answers, or lack of answers, will help to drive you in the right direction to compete in today’s market.

The Sky’s the Limit

Janelle — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:58:42 +0000

I’m not a huge fan of Subway sub sandwiches. They’re just OK in my culinary book. (In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll take a bag of greasy McDonalds’ french fries over a healthy sub any day.)

But don’t listen to me. According to Advertising Age, Subway will soon surpass McDonalds as the most prolific fast food purveyor in the world. By end of year, Subway outlets will outnumber McDonald’s in worldwide locations with over 32,000 shops.Who would have thought anyone, let alone a sandwich with processed American cheese and shredded iceburg, would overtake the king of french fries for #1 spot in the bellies of the world? Then again, we’re talking about fast food replacing fast food.

On another front, in a truly tall marketing coup, Subway has landed the contract to build a skytop restaurant for thousands of steel workers high atop the soon to be tallest office building in the US – Freedom Tower. Subway at the top of the work site, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, will keep workers from wasting valuable work time riding up and down three elevators to get to ground floor services.

This is a company thinking and acting out of the box, literally. Subway welded together 36 shipping containers and painted them yellow to create the new restaurant. Lifted atop the structure with a crane, Freedom Tower Subway will rise with the structure and provide countless meals in the process. Both Subway workers and steel workers believe they are a part of something historic. Subway has gone right to the heart of tribe building by creating an experience for workers every time they unwrap a sandwich.

If You Target, They Will Come

Janelle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:43:14 +0000

Word of mouth is the best advertiser, right? Yes, of course. But not only yes. Yesterday, I met Larry Wilcox, a web developer who wants to grow his business. Larry said word of mouth has been his best advertiser so far.

Larry works with not for profits and churches mostly, creating WordPress and Joomla web sites. He has a great idea for a simple template that gets organizations started at a relatively low cost, then lets them customize as their budget allows. Simple.

Then I asked Larry how he targets new customers. His face glazed-over.

Small business owners rely on former customers to keep their business going. But new customers have to be found. Targeting a niche audience (do you say ‘nitch’ or do you say ‘neesh’?) to market to keeps the revenue river flowing. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. In Larry’s case, we talked about a simple postcard campaign. Something like this -

1. Choose a geographic area.
2. Create a list of 50-150 organizations you’d like to do business with. Find them on the web.
3. Create a card with a friendly introductory message and offer.
4. Print and mail the card.
5. Make follow up phone calls to encourage action.

It’s pretty simple. But doing things differently isn’t always easy to see.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” replied Larry. “Great idea. I think I’ll try it.”

Very little cost is involved, and just a bit of effort make this a standard part of marketing plans for any small business owner. If you’re a B2C business, you might have to seek out a neighborhood or community based mailing list. Just do something. You’ll be glad you did.

An Entrepreneur’s Champion

Janelle — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:29:47 +0000

Tracy Higginbotham, of Five Star Events and WomenTIES, is a champion of women entrepreneurs in the most personal way. She reaches out to individuals with opportunities and encouragement that speak volumes to her core philosophy of supporting women at all stages of business development.

WomenTIES counts among its members million dollar performers and fledgling start ups. Mine was was one of those baby businesses just over 2 years ago. I was a scared, accidental entrepreneur with little more than a smile and good intentions when I met Tracy and plugged into WomenTIES. With Tracy’s easy going style and friendly, no pressure way of including everyone, I found myself attending all the WomenTIES events I could get to. Before long, I was encouraging other women entrepreneurs who had that same deer-in-the-headlights look I once had to join.

Tracy is celebrating WomenTIES 5th anniversary this month, and in true Tracy-style, she is rolling out special events and offers to extend the benefits of joining WomenTIES to others. So, today I say ‘ Thanks’ and ‘Kudos’ to Tracy and WomenTIES. If you haven’t been to a WomenTIES event – now is a great time to join us. Let the party begin!

Word of Mouth – Still a Winner

Janelle — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:30:24 +0000

In the past two weeks, I’ve encountered two local business owners who don’t advertise at all. Nada. Not even yellow pages (though that’s not surprising). Bill Krauss of Krauss’ Auto Body and Chris Dougherty of American Service Company, (plumbing and heating) are living, breathing examples of how to run a business right. They have so much word of mouth business they don’t need to advertise or hire a marketing person like me. While I should be annoyed at that, the truth is, I’m happy to tell the story even if it means putting folks like me out of business.

So, what’s their magic? There isn’t any, of course. It’s just these few things -
1. Call people back – right away (within 24 hours but preferably the same day)
2. Show up, or be there, when you say you will
3. Ask questions, then shut up and listen
4. Do the work right the first time
5. Fix your mistakes.

At Krauss Auto Body, my friend Wendy brought her in Toyota Camry after a parking lot fiasco smashed the drivers’ side door in. When she picked up her car 2 days later, the door looked brand new. Unfortunately, glass from the shattered window was still all over the front seat of the car. Wendy wasn’t happy. She called Bill, he listened, apologized and told her to bring it back in. That afternoon, the car was vacuumed clean and returned to my friend clean as a whistle. Bill took responsibility and corrected his error. Though she didn’t like having to drive back over to Krauss for the second time, she felt heard and her concerns were answered promptly. She was happy enough, despite the oversight, to tell me about Krauss Auto Body. I called Krauss on her recommendation and had them fix my car the next day. So simple.

At American Home Services, it’s the same story. Chris and his dad, Chris, have been fixing furnaces and air conditioners for more than 2 decades. Chris says, “It’s pretty simple. We just listen to people and then do the work they need us to do. Everyone seems pretty happy.” Chris says he can’t remember the last time they ordered business cards, though he thinks maybe they should. I guess that doesn’t keep him awake at night.

It’s pretty simple. Are you getting word of mouth advertising? If not, why not? That’s a good question to answer.

A new language – Socialmediaese

Janelle — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:29:42 +0000

The other day, my 15 year old daughter was complaining about how difficult she found her 3rd year Latin studies. As I listened, I was reminded how learning social media in all its rapidly developing uses and forms is like learning a foreign language.

When you first arrive at the shores of the new country – Twitterland, for example – you can’t understand a thing that’s said. The conversations going on all around you make no sense. And despite good intentions, you have no clue how to communicate yourself.

I’ve been in this position observing the conversations on Twitter, FB and in blogs. (I have to say LinkedIn is pretty easy.) Though I’ve made progress, it’s frustrating, and embarrassing, because it seems like ‘everyone’ gets it but me. But I know that’s not true, because in my marketing consulting practice, I speak to entrepreneurs and small business owners all the time who have a similar struggle grasping social media-speak. I know learning the language has to be an immersion process but I just wanted to give voice to one person who’s treading water but not getting out of the pool.

Perserverence: Stubbornly persist, and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits. ~Robert Brault

Who’s in YOUR tribe?

Janelle — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:17:38 +0000

Seth Godin has an uncanny knack (after 25 years of marketing success)for making insightful, probing commentary that gets you thinking about why you do what you do to sell your products and services. A small business owner, and others, would do well to pick a copy of Purple Cow , Permission Marketing orMeatball Sundae, to name a few of his best sellers. Or at least read his blog from time to time.

My current favorite is Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, Godin’s musings on leadership, change and what matters in business and not for profit organizations. A tribe is “a group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader and an idea.” A customer is not part of a tribe. Most of us in business today don’t know we need a tribe. Coke has a tribe. Apple Computer has a tribe.

In Syracuse, where I live and work, Dinosaur BBQ has built a tribe serving awesome ribs and chicken in a biker atmosphere that draws bikers, families, college students and business people. Customers who value your product above all others, not just for the product but also for what your company stands for, become a tribe. Do you have any customers like that? If you don’t, you should. How, you’re asking, do you grow a tribe? A tribe grows with great products, but is more likely to grow with leadership and innovation. Take a risk to step outside the box and do something you are passionate about. If successful, your customers will notice and grow to love you. That means they’ll think of you before the competition and are more likely to buy from you again and again. If you’re not successful, take a deep breath and try something else. It doesn’t matter what – just that it matters to you. One by one, a tribe will form when what you do begins to matter to your followers.