by Robin A. Cleveland, President

Cleveland Consulting, Inc.

As my friends at Tria will tell you, an important part of any marketing effort involves knowing who your customers or clients are and what they want, expect and need from your service or product. As a business owner or manager you know that it is often difficult just to define exactly who are your customers/clients, let alone know anything about them.

There are a couple of things that frequently stop businesses and organizations from finding out about their customer’s needs, wants and expectations. First, they often think they already know the desires of their customers. If you’ve never asked questions of your customers however, you are likely making multiple assumptions. If even one of those assumptions is incorrect, it will cause you to waste time, energy, and dollars toward marketing efforts that will not bring you the results you seek. This will happen not because you’re doing marketing but because you’re doing marketing in a way that your customer won’t comprehend, either because it is the wrong message, a message at the wrong time or executed in the wrong way.

Likewise with the second issue that stops organizations from knowing their customer: not wanting to ‘open a can of worms.’ What I mean by this is that owners and managers are fearful that if they start asking questions of their customers, clients or members, they will begin to think that something must be wrong in the organization. They’re afraid the customer will think there’s some sort of failure happening or that they don’t have a firm grasp on understanding the customer’s needs. Actually, those fearful thoughts could not be further from the truth!

Customers today are used to being asked lots of questions about their needs and wants. In addition, most customers actually like to be asked! It makes them feel valued at a time when, even though offerings can be very customized, customers are not ‘feeling the love’ with most businesses and organizations with whom they’re involved. I hear it time and time again from the customers, clients, and members I survey for businesses and organizations; they are happy to be asked for their personal opinion.

There is a caveat to the benefit of asking your customers for their opinions however. When you ask people for their opinion, they want to know a little about what you found out (because they want to know if others agree with them) and most importantly, they want you to act on what you learned from your surveys or focus groups. In other words, they want to know that they actually count. Performing a correctly executed survey or focus group can go a long way toward making your clients, members and customers feel valued.

Don’t be afraid to open that ‘can of worms’! You just might find some golden nuggets that could lead to improved business processes, new products or services, a reworking and resurgence of tired marketing, and more; ultimately leading to change that produces a more profitable and relevant business or organization!

By Barbara Hranilovich

Inventor of the Beverage Caddi

and Hranilovich Illustration

During a recent teleclass on marketing I “attended” something shifted for me in a pivotal way.  As an illustrator, I have felt comfortable marketing what I do.  Mailings were simply samples of images I hoped people would like to look at over and over,  along with information about how to reach me.  It was cumulative and genuine – based on relationships and word of mouth.

It was when I started trying to get the word out about product(s) that I lost my way.  Having sales as the unspoken agenda behind my marketing efforts made them feel harsh and pushy.  “Want it, huh? huh?”  I didn’t like my own messages and got weary of basically asking people, in as many ways as I could, to buy my stuff.

During the teleclass I suddenly visualized a big magnet.  By reframing marketing as a magnet (which is now an element on my vision board) I’m suddenly quite excited about it all.  Now, I’m trying to feel what will draw the right people in naturally – letting them choose to know more, talk about my product to others, or make that purchase.  This opens the door to many angles of approach.  As a magnet,  the initial question is: How I can make someone’s life better?  This allows me to insert more humanness in my messages and makes me feel like I’m building honest connections.  It feels meaningful and real.  When someone writes to tell me they love my product, it’s no longer sales or marketing – it’s back to simple relationships, where all the gratification lies.

I have to admit that this epiphany is pretty recent, but it’s already caused me to change messages and images, as well as  how and when I post or reach out.  I feel like I’m staring from scratch and have a long way to go.  It feels right, so I’m more inclined to do it.  Magneting.   I could be wrong, but I hope not.

Earlier this month, I went on a road trip to Tennessee. This was a vacation, of course, but who ever really leaves work at the office? Besides, inspiration comes at any time, and it’s when you least expect it that ideas gel and fresh perspectives sneak through.

I’ve been turning over in my mind lately how to communicate the impact and importance of the design element when it comes to making your mark as a business. In my industry, we often find people cutting costs in areas more crucial than they think. For example, when budgets are shrinking, often the first item on the chopping block is advertising and marketing. But really, when money is tight, that means fewer people are buying your product or service, so the last logical thing to do is to suddenly become invisible to new customers, right? Another example is cutting out design. I’ll never forget my ex-husband proclaiming that there’s no reason for any fonts other than Times and Helvetica to exist! But there really IS a science to it.

So on the highway back to Michigan with an empty cooler in the back seat and a grumbling stomach, I scoured the signs prior to each exit for someplace to grab a bite. You’ve seen those blue signs with restaurant and gas station logos all over them. I haven’t traveled much in the more southern regions of the U.S., so many of the restaurants were ones I’d never heard of. As I scanned the logos I found myself making judgments on the likely cuisine, the prices, the quality, and whether or not I wanted to take the time to check it out. That’s when I realized what a great example it was of design communicating a theme. At one particular exit I remember thinking, THAT place looks scary, and as I continued on to the next exit, THAT place looks expensive, and so on… A logo was all that stood between giving someplace my business or not. Who knows what I passed over just because a logo looked cheesy? Only design can communicate seriousness, playfulness, wittiness, and more. It’s instantaneous and is a business’s introduction to potential clients; it’s what inspires clients to call, come to your door, visit your website. It’s like your wardrobe; your book cover, so to speak.

So what does your logo, your website, your brochure or ad say about you and your business? It’s more than just words, just like a tuxedo or an evening gown is more than just clothing. No one wants to spend money on unnecessary things when times are tight, but it’s good to keep in mind what you’re buying and what the investment is truly worth.

As we’ve posted here before, we started on a direct-selling program last fall. It’s been slow going. I’m good at sales, but like a lot of people, I don’t like cold calling. Give me a warm call and I’m all over it in a half second. So how do we try to create warmth in our calls?

I’m using five tactics right now that are having some success:

1. Identify some specific market opportunities that I know about, and some specific prospects within those markets that I think we can work with well.
2. Send them a highly targeted, personalized note and our new intro brochure in a fancy envelope.
3. Don’t send more than three to five at a time
4. Call them a week later – AFTER mining social media (Linkedin) and my network of contacts in that industry for people who can provide a secondary referral.
5. Join, join, join! (Then, link, link, link, (social media) to those that you meet in person.

What about you?

Post your “reluctantly selling” tips to us and we’ll publish YOU!

I won’t kid any of you. I give speeches on “Five-Minute Marketing” not because you can do only five minutes’ worth and be done, but to share how you can use those small spare chunks of time to get some work done. Work that propels your company forward, even if in small increments.

One of our clients, the talented Barbara Hranilovich, uses “Five-Minute Marketing” for both her illustration business and her Beverage Caddi, and has had huge success with this program. I, in turn, am inspired by Barb’s continual reinvention of her business and her life. Barb never sits still; she always has a new idea, a new business, a new something going on. Her five-minute marketing efforts on the Caddi side have resulted in her products being featured on innumerable product blogs, websites and on the Rachael Ray show, too!

Today, I’ve spent at least an hour on marketing – updating our blog (and its visuals), fielding prospect requests, and talking to existing clients about new work. I may have even spent as much as two hours. But every step that we take, as business owners, pushes our agenda ahead a little bit more.

Maybe you’re like me, and you have multiple irons (or businesses) going. In which case, managing these takes some work. But rest assured, follow the five-minute idea – squeezing in time here and there – and you’ll get it done.

Earlier this year, I set out to make myself accountable to getting marketing done. As many of you in small firms know intimately, playing four or five roles is hard to juggle. What slides are the things that are not squeaky wheels – most commonly, marketing. But it’s such a core part of our business for our clients that we felt that we ought to give it more than lip service.

So I contacted an industry professional who specializes in the graphic design industry. She’s been on my radar (I’ve been on her prospect list) for almost four years (so for anyone who thinks a prospect is dead after four years, think again!)

I contacted Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com first so that I could join one of her bi-weekly ‘keep-you-on-track’ marketing groups. But after a conversation with her, we both determined my skillset was quite high (after all, we’re in the marketing business) but we lacked one key aspect of our business that I’d let fall to the wayside over the years: direct selling. And further, when Ilise heard that I had two capable, talented business partners her first question was “why don’t they help you sell?” For those of you that know Barb Matheson, you know she’s an outgoing, motivated business person. And most of you know Tina Block as a talented, highly creative designer. But to consider them salespeople? The same way that I can schmooze a client? I was skeptical that our more introverted, get-things-done partners would feel comfortable in this role, let alone thrive in it. Boy, was I wrong! Barb has had great success contacting old clients, and Tina old friends, as well as both of them participating in networking events.

We entered into a four-session contract (held on Skype video chats) with Ilise to coach our team through the selling process. I’m experienced at this, with almost a decade of pure sales experience running my own firm. But like many of you, sales somehow feels, well, salesy. Like selling refrigerators to Eskimos.  But the process is working.

We have more yet to go, but we’ve made great strides in contacting old clients, new contacts at old firms, old friends and new prospects who don’t yet know us. Sales actually feels good again, surprisingly. And like all marketing, when you take the reins in your hand, the positive energy that results is tremendous at motivating us to continue.

As many of you know, our business partner, Linda, retired two and a half years ago. Her office, our conference room, has changed little, as if we were waiting for her return. So a month ago, we set out to change that, and turn that office into our conference room, for good. Along with this process, each of us has to paint something (an actual painting, in a medium of our choice) to frame and hang on the wall. We have a color palette to inspire us (and it’s not at all unlike Barb’s inspirations from this autumn season.)

But I admit, it’s been at least ten years since I’ve broken out my watercolor paints, and I’m wondering if a quick intense session with our client Barb Stevens, a watercolor artist and instructor is on tap for me. I spend so much time in a technical and idea world at work these days. We’ll  keep you posted – the room transformation includes furniture, window treatments, eclectic found objects and art.

Is it just me? Maybe it’s because there have been so many changes in my own life over the past year, or maybe it’s because I’ve been out and about more, but I honestly can’t recall a fall season in Michigan as beautiful as the one this year. I’m not talking about Traverse City, or the shores of Lake Michigan, or even the upper peninsula. I’m talking about here, in Lansing! The last several weekends doing errands (and even driving to and from work each day), I’ve been stunned by all the beauty. Right here! Rich sunny yellows, bright vermillions, glowing yellow-greens against burgundies and purples, dark brown barks and deep blue-green evergreens. Colors, textures and each tree, so individual; lime green inside with a yellow glow and orange tips, or pale yellow inside reaching out to dusty purple edges… it’s like a visual smorgasbord! At the risk of sounding perhaps a little nuts (because yes, I think my all-time favorite movie is STILL “American Beauty”), I recall my favorite line from one of the characters as he filmed a plastic bag dancing in the wind, “sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it.” It’s amazing what’s out there when we take the time to really see it. That, to me, is the beauty of art.

Last night Tria was a sponsor of the Inspiring Women Collaborative Cafe – a group designed to turn women’s networking groups on it’s head. Rather than just network (who you are, what you do) the Cafe puts us together to discuss how we can become better – at whatever we’re about. In the process we DO get to know one another, but we’ve also shared something deeper and come away with inspiration.

So we felt it was a perfect fit for Tria. I used a new presentation tool that takes all the linearity out of presenting, Prezi.com, and talked about two of our female entrepreneurs, Christine Jonson and Sally VandenBerg.

During the short presentation, we were serenaded by drumrolls! No kidding! some photographer was shooting a band and they thought it would be more accurate to have the drummer drumming! Needless to say, it was distracting.

But part of the IWC is we try to let go of old ideas, and one of those is that the presentation *had* to be perfect. It did not, in fact, it had to be real more than perfect. But I’m still working on it, so I feel it wasn’t my best.

I’m never nervous speaking in public. In fact, I seem to get in this groove, or zen-like space and just do the best job I’ve ever done. Usually.

The cafe was, as always, inspiring, and we came home recognizing that taking risks equals redefining what failure is. There really isn’t failure, just good lessons. So I’m off to see what I can fail at today so I can grow tomorrow!

Six years ago we thought about blogging. But at the time, it was pretty new. Our clients weren’t yet up to speed. So we held off. Why now? Ann Siegle has been blogging for years now, on all things crafty and creative on her blog. The world has moved faster. Clients are looking to create their own instant news – and they read opinion and insight – much more than they used to. And, also, we need to practice what we preach.