Do you know who we know?

Do you know who we know?  

Your employees are vital on all fronts.

It’s hilarious when, before being admitted somewhere, a haughty celebrity or tycoon is asked for credentials and quips, “Do you know who I am?” The garage door installers at Raynor Door Authority of New England would laugh good naturedly at such silly arrogance. Installing commercial and residential doors may not draw shutter flashes from the Paparazzi but it will draw the attention of building owners who delight in the craftsmanship of stylish, tight-fitting new doors.

You wouldn’t automatically think of specialty door installers as having a power network of movers and shakers in their social & business circles. Well, thinking automatically is hazardous. Guess what? Your employees may be very close to your next source of new business. And how many Facebook friends and LinkedIn connections do they have?  About 300 each - on average!

Think through some everyday business situations and you’ll realize the dangers of dropping your guard, even for a minute. Your reputation is perhaps the most vital component of your company’s sustainability. Your brand’s quality perception may be compromised in the minds of potential customers by only simple miscues, like a poorly timed cuss word or a dirty delivery truck.

Now consider your employees as business associates, for a minute. For some of you that’s natural and for others it may be a stretch. If it’s a stretch for you, then would it be a stretch to assume your employees view you as just a boss? When your employees finish their work day, do they shut off all thought of your business so they can go about their own? Or, do they feel proud of where they work and what they do. Are they happy to discuss their job and company with friends and family?

Will your employees eagerly recommend your company’s products and services to people in their networks? If your answer is, “Of course!” then you’re due hearty congratulations because you’re earning referrals just by being a great boss. If not, then there’s trouble brewing and it could be serious.

Everybody at Raynor Door Authority of New England, including the salespeople, office staff, and installers understand what it means to be part of a team of motivated and caring individuals. General Manager, Mike Babineau notes, “It’s good to treat your employees like family and show them respect because a strong company culture leads to great work for our customers... Service and quality craftsmanship are our top priorities here at Raynor Doors.”

Finally, there are the “little things” that customers notice like clean uniforms, appropriate dress & grooming, smiles, eye contact, responsiveness, clean vehicles, packaging and so on. Employees of Raynor Door Authority of New England are trained to “watch each other’s back” and take care of the details for customers. Constructive discipline, positive attitude and good company culture create a cheerful, encouraging work environment which attracts new business.

Your employees are paying attention to you. People of influence – your customers and potential customers – are paying attention to your employees. See the connection?

2DiFore Marketing Solutions is the Agency of Record for Raynor Door Authority of New England. Visit the company online at: www.raynordoorauthority.com  Like them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Raynor.Door.Authority.New.England

Why Social Media Works!

Many of my clients and colleagues ask me why I think social media works! It's simple, it is a combination of old fashion networking, marketing like it use to be and newsletters all on steroids! Yes, that is right steroids :)

I have been in the marketing business going on 28 years going to breakfast, luncheons and dinners for 99% of them. Now when you attend the various events you can stay connected with those you have met through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms making the introduction last much longer than ever before.

Be sure to always remain professional on these very visible sites, don't post what you wouldn't say in front of them, it's just not cool!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sharing the Christmas Spirit

Many of my followers know that I belong to a BNI networking group and each Thursday we are tasked with developing a "memorable" way to help our team members identify great referrals for each other! This week it was based on the song "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".......two stood out for me!

Michael Hauptly-Pierce of RE Marble & Granite did a "rapper" rendition about their products, usage and how to identify referrals while celebrating over the weekend! Real cool!

Don Hammer, Manager of Ed's Flooring America stayed true to the song while helping us to identify friends and family who are wishing for a new wood floor or carpeting, nice voice!

Now, at 7:30am my voice is not quite cranked up but I did attempt to sing the following:

All I Want For Christmas is…..

A great Marketing Plan, Marketing Plan, Marketing Plan

Gee if I could only have a mobile strategy

Then I could have a great Social Media Brand

So all I want for Christmas are your small business friends looking to make it big in 2012!

May you all enjoy the sights and sounds of the Christmas Season with family, friends and those who could use a lift.

Merry Christmas,

Dianne

Are you Creating Buzz in the Clubhouse?

Blogging creates business assets like practice and play create winners!

 

Call it a feature article, a white paper or a blog post. Maybe your written wisdom is a work of art like a tribute, reflection or poem. Whatever it is, if it’s thoughtful, articulate and valuable to an audience, it’s an asset and should be leveraged as such. Businesses need to create and disseminate information today or they will become obscure and lose relevancy in a crowded marketplace. Like an exceptional round of golf, there’s a story for each hole. Have plenty to talk about at the 19^th and back in the clubhouse.

The good news for all businesses is there are myriad ways to share and disseminate information freely now. There’s a perfect iron or wood for every approach shot. Effectively reaching a target audience of a few thousand used to cost tens of thousands of dollars in the glory days of old media. Today the same distance and accuracy can be achieved at no dollar cost other than spending some of the time you’d be playing an extra nine or watching TV, by building your online networks instead.

Websites are the central communication hubs for businesses today and blogs are where visitors go to find out if the organization has a pulse. Blogs are best leveraged as an integral part of the organization’s website so search engine crawlers can detect the origins of the relevant, fresh, visible content for which they are sniffing. Google looks for dynamic, relevant content that is viewed, shared, back-linked and repeated so it’s best to keep your blog on your website. So if your ball is away, master the next stroke; make sure what you write is relevant to the target and use the right key words.

Setting up 3 or 4 social media accounts and strategically syncing them for blog content sharing can get your message out instantly and to hundreds or thousands of people FREE! When you play a particular course you bring the right set of irons so likewise choose the platforms and tools that are right for your particular audience. Each course has a unique style and contour so you play it differently. Each client has her own individual tastes and preferences so you need to share appropriately on different platforms to reach your various targets.

Then there’s email marketing. Newsletters work when the information is valuable. Every blog post can be a newsletter and vice versa. By the way, don’t make the mistake of only pushing your own promotional messages. Be alert. Pay attention to your network and what other people share. Learn from the pros.

Twitter is a wellspring of fresh valuable ideas and thought leadership. It’s where I often get ideas about which to write articles and blogs. Read people’s tweets and check out their linked content when it catches your eye. Leverage the work of others by sharing it. Engage valuable new business connections, clients and partners by commenting on and sharing their posts. Compliment people when they teach you something new and invite them to comment on your stuff or answer your questions. LinkedIn is exceptionally valuable for this, especially when you participate in Group discussions.

“But I don’t have enough content, I don’t know what to write about and I just don’t have the time with how busy I am…” Every course pro knows a certain game fundamental better than even some of the best tour players. Everyone reading this post is an expert at something, maybe a few things so saying you don’t know what to write about isn’t true. If you think you’re a bad writer, just dump your ideas out on paper and hire a good writer to edit your messages – it’s not expensive if you provide all the facts. Saying you don’t have time to write your blog and mange your social media networks usually doesn’t wash either. Do you have time for your favorite TV shows every weeknight or a few drinks “after work?” Does your alarm clock have an early morning setting? Sometimes it’s best to hit the practice range instead of the course even though playing a round is more fun.

It’s true that some professionals really don’t have the time to devote to content creation and online networking development. An architect’s time is better spent designing buildings; a lawyer’s time is most profitably spent litigating, counseling or defending clients. In some cases it makes sense to hire a professional communicator or agency to keep your blog content dynamic and social media pages updated while you go out and slay dragons or bag trophies… or win tournaments!

So, in blogging it’s your call. Spend the time or spend the money. In some cases it’s ideal to spend both. There is a cost to playing golf and even though social media is “free” to master, that course takes time and time is money. The idea is to increase the value of your business by increasing the quality and quantity of your information assets. Like a bank, you’ll see a nice ROA – return on assets.

Cyber Monday and Marketing Know How

It was great to hear on the National News that in 2005 Cyber Monday was just a "thought"...but through careful, sustained strategies it has taken off!

For those companies that do "shot in the dark" quick burst of what is perceived marketing take heed. It is the long range planning, careful consideration of the audience that will get you the desired result from your marketing plan.

Using old fashion tried and true plans sprinkled with the new age marketing media will provide you the success you are looking for.

Happy Monday!

Social Media Marketing ROI

Often times we are asked "what's the return on investment" if we engage in social media marketing for our company? Isn't the same as "SEO"? Why do I have to pay someone to keep up with it, I'll have my admin do it!

Do these sound familiar? Social Media Marketing and Management is an extension of your business marketing plan, would you have your teenager responding to your largest client to a sales inquiry? Hope the answer is no, so why would you have someone respond on your companies behalf who has already full plate monitor your presence?

If you still need convincing here's a "technical" video on the use of Social Media for business!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNL8vAnZ-BY&feature=youtu.be

Small Businesses Are Beginning To Realize They Need To Be Social

Over the last several months we have seen an upswing from small business. They have realized that to find that customer they need to beef up their websites, engage in the social media platforms and do old fashion networking.

What is old fashion networking? It's the face to face meetings like, local Home Builder & Remodeler Associations, chamber, BNI, Gold Star type of professional networking weekly meetings that get you in front of that potential customer! No long can you just sit back, hope, pray, rely on the black 8 ball to get you customers.

Many are also realizing that to do the "social networking" takes time, energy and research. It isn't enough to "post" just once a month, the people who are looking for their services need to see them in many places and these small businesses are now reaching out for help.

Blogs like these and others are a great way to help them push through the mountains of information to find the right solution for their business needs.

Make Social Media Work For Your Business Today :)

Enjoy the day

Dianne