An Interesting Post About Web Design

Tonight, I want to share a great post I came across, titled 7 Essential Web Design Principles to Earn Trust.

Patrick, the author, raises excellent points about the importance of building trust, and then proceeds to explain seven ways to earn trust, and four "trust inhibitors" to avoid.

Please click the link and enjoy.

Digg this
Stumble this

Take the Squidoo Challenge

Join me.

When Willie first brought Squidoo to my attention, it seemed so foreign to me. I understood the concept, but couldn't really understand its appeal. Then I spent some time on the site viewing various lenses. Let me tell you, now I get it... the appeal, that is.
I still have not made my own lens. Up until now, that has been Willie's department. He has, however, challenged me to "Squidoo", and I've said, "You're right... I've got to get in there and learn how to make a lens."
Willie's reply was classic... "Well, Hexter, nobody ever crossed the Atlantic just by staring at it - get in there."

Love it.

So, here we are, I'm going to take the plunge. I'm not sure what the content will be, but it will be relevant to No Money Marketing.

Now I'm issuing a challenge to all of you. Join me in learning to Squidoo.
Create a lens to tell the world about your business. What will your prospects find interesting?

I'm giving myself one week to create my lens. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. I can't wait to report my learnings and provide the link to you all next week.

Are you trying to be everything?

A wise man once told me "If you try to be everything to everyone, you are nothing to no one" - hmmm ... you could definitely apply this to your marketing plan. Actually you SHOULD apply this to your marketing plan.

When I was a newbie Marketing Director, I had this overwhelming urge to do everything... to sign up for every magazine ad that was pitched to me... to exhibit at every trade show I heard about.

Of course I could not do everything because that would have cost ridiculous amounts of money, so, like every other responsible manager, I had to choose. As time went on, and I gained confidence and experience, choosing became easier - I based my decisions on whether the marketing tactic would generate the biggest bang for the buck. I chose those that would generate the most leads and that fit in the budget

It is really that simple. Or is it?

What happens when you are marketing without spending money? I find it interesting that a concept that was born out of the limitations of having no money to market, actually provides limitless possibilities. With those limitless possibilities, comes the danger of overextending oneself to try to take advantage of all that is free.

So what am I saying?

I'm saying that though blogging, squidoo, emailing, newsletters, phone calls, etc... don't cost money, they cost time, and many would argue that time is THE most precious commodity.

No matter what - it is critical that you spend your time marketing via the best channels for you.

Your objective may be to build relationships through education, so a blog may be the best for you.

You may be wanting to improve your reputation and your goodwill so volunteering to speak at a high school assembly or rotary meeting may be the best for you.

Only you will know what works best. It starts with identifying clear objectives, and then matching the tasks to the amount of time you can afford to spend. Some of you out there might be well established with a staff to assist you, giving you the time to be great at a number of different marketing tactics, but some of you are starting out. You may be the receptionist, accountant, assembler, shipper, receiver, marketer, etc... To you, I say, don't be overwhelmed. You can do it. Start marketing through the best channel that meets your objectives and grow from there.

If you want guidance on which channel(s) to choose, let us know. We would love to help.

Viral Marketing Exemplified

One of the things that I have realized in partnering with Willie, is that, while I have a strong marketing foundation, I have much to learn about new world marketing. This is mostly due to the business that I came from, which could be called "old school" in terms of getting the message to the market.

As a result, my pre-existing passion for marketing has turned into a (healthy) obsession with learning everything I can about the new ways of the marketing world.

Viral Marketing is a practice that intrigues me, so, tonight, I thought I would show other bloggers a bit of love.

The idea presented itself to me after reading a great blog on increasing subscribers , where the author states that one of the best ways to increase traffic to your blog, is to help others increase traffic to theirs. The idea of helping others to help oneself strikes a huge chord with me, so here goes...

I subscribe to the RSS feed of a great site called DoshDosh, and, today doshdosh linked me to what I will refer to as tonight's main event - Top Experts Dish with their Best Kept Marketing Secrets. The content of that article is truly fantastic and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. I will definitely be conducting research to expand, in future blogs, about much of what they have shared.

So, I will sign off by requesting that you keep it viral by....

Digg this
Stumble this
del.icio.us

What's In A Name

Google is the master of all that is business.

They are in the business of words and you can only be found with the right words being plugged into the almighty search box.

So instead of spending big money on website addresses [the url] make sure the name of your company is something unique. A word that intrinsically means something but that doesn't stand for a particular service or product. Like Starbucks. What is the percentage of people in the world that know this is a reference to Moby Dick?

Do you think if I'm looking for business.com I'm going to punch in the website address directly to the browser or I'm going to go to google? Google is God. We actually take an extra step using it even when we know the actually web address.

The results when searching for "business" ain't pretty. Especially if you are new to the field. the other reason is that web savvy gogglers are going to avoid terms like this as well. We already know we won't find anything we are really looking for so we search for more particular topics or even ask a question.

So shelve the url fetish and embrace looking for a name that doesn't show up on google. Find a name that will show up today, at the top, in a perfect world. Not just any name or an ad-style name but a name that embodies something that your brand can be. Like boing boing and Starbucks and now Xango.

So, you want to start a business and you think branding is important. Start with a name that google won't eviscerate in the search ethos.

Don't do it the way we've done it, find the name then the tag line. I wonder what No Money Marketing could become?

Your thoughts are welcome.

p.s. I'm not sure we'll really ever have to worry about the .com part again either. As long as the first words can be located at google you'll be safe with any combination of letters after the period.

digg this
Stumble this
del.icio.us

Did You Say Branding Was Dead?

Okay, okay. I took some heat for this but I'm standing pat. But I will help by explaining myself. I promise I'm not completely insane.

Transparent

Branding as your primary arsenal or as a pure marketing function is dead. The market place will not accept average products with extremely innovative marketing campaigns. In fact, if it isn't already, that will soon be the worst thing a company can do. Fancy marketing without any substance will not only cost bigger money but it will also cost reputation if the messaging promise and the reality of the product [including services] don't match. People will cut you to shreds like an infomercial on the Ginsu Knife. What will work is being a totally transparent company telling people about incredible products that will help improve their lives. The product or service as a remarkable brand is not dead. Creating a brand not based in reality is most certainly dead. Confused yet?

Break Through the Clutter

With the difficulty of owning the media because of the literally thousands of choices truthful marketing is becoming the only way to break the clutter. Breaking through the clutter is happening on the web, precisely where clutter is at it's highest. Why the web? Because this is where you can establish a one to one relationship based specifically on your product niche, and you can do that for free. Real, great and honest help break the clutter and they do it well.

Time As A Currency

Once someone is kind enough to buy your information with their time you can begin delivering your brand. Your brand, of course, is merely an extension of you, if it isn't you all together. What is more transparent than giving your customers you. Branding your customer, once you've worked with them in some capacity, is most certainly a great practice but don't think that it's the branding of ten years ago.

If you are a new age company or trying to roll with times in the belief you can survive, change and come out on the other side a great success, then you will embrace getting to know your customers, providing them with quality and won't waste their time. If you do, then you will fail. If you feel that you can merely do what you were doing, which is to say "advertising", then you will bleed to death.

New Branding

So how do you build your brand. If you are already bleeding to death you probably won't want to hear this. You build it one relationship at a time and you build it over time. There are no quick fixes. Here is a list of things you must do to establish a new brand in the hearts of today's consumers:

• Provide them copious amounts of bite sized information pieces
  
• Provide that information in only a relevant format. Relevant to them and not you. They don't care about you. They care about them.
• Ask them if you can continue to talk to them. Get their permission to delve deeper. Only continue to go deeper if they have agreed to hear more.
  
• Provide places for them to ask questions, rant, comment and seek your expertise but not on your terms...on theirs. [Most companies that understand this use blogs but voice mail that you answer, a 24 hr help desk, email of th actual CEO etc. are other examples of "on their terms".]

For those mired in doing things the old way this will seem crazy and costly. For those embracing the new market place this will seem inexpensive. Why? Old marketers will think they have to add labour to their bottom line. New marketers will think all they have to do is use more cost effective avenues to be excited about their fantastic products. New marketers will also realize that customer service is the top of the pyramid. How cheap. New marketers tend to already be excited about their great products, while old marketers are still trying to explain features and benefits [of mostly average products] that we already know about. It is great versus Goliath and as in the story, Goliath takes a beating.

Fight me if you want but the bottom line is this:

Branding in the hopes of building a great image for your product is most certainly dead. Ask Budweiser T.V. if branding works? $40,000,000 for a little bit of traffic. Letting your customers find out about you, learn about you, find your product incredible and then help build you and/or your company as necessary. This will ultimately build your brand and this will be how a brand is built. Probably the way it always should have been. But were human so we are slow.

What To Do?

So the answer to what you need to do is perfectly simple:

Go build incredible products and services. Simple right?

Stumble this!
Digg this
Del.icio.us

What is your Promise?

The other day, I had the pleasure of listening to a great speaker talk about branding. She used a common phrase to define a brand ..."Your brand is really your promise." Your promise to your market. So, what is your promise? How do you determine your promise?

I'll begin by telling you what your promise isn't ... it isn't about you. It is, however, entirely about what your market wants you to deliver to them. What is important to your market?

It's imperative to step back, separate your emotion, wants and needs, from your product, and take a good look at what your market is demanding from you. Your promise will be based on those demands.

Most importantly... once you make your promise, make sure you deliver. There is nothing worse than looking dishonest to your customers. You lose their trust and their business.

We see companies re-brand, successfully, all of the time. We also see strong brands lose sight of their promise to the detriment of the brand.

Dove created their campaign for real beauty after listening to a vast majority of women (their market) who expressed the desire to see women of all shapes and ages represented in the media. The Campaign for Real Beauty is their promise and the phrase has become synonymous with their brand. The result, in addition to prompting social reform, has been a huge increase in their market share.

Starbucks, on the other hand, had an amazingly strong brand that promised the best coffee, and an almost spiritual experience in their stores. Somewhere along the way, perhaps due to an inflated corporate ego, they lost sight of that and began taking on new products and markets because they could. Who would have thought that the latest music by a mainstream artist would only be available where you go for your premium cup of joe? Who would have thought that you could buy two of your kids' stocking stuffers at Starbucks in the form of mini stuffed penguins. OK... I admit I did this, but ask me when was the last time I actually stayed in the store to chat with a great friend over my Latte... but I digress...
The silver lining is that Starbucks seems to have had the foresight to catch this problem and should recover the brand before it's too late.

So how do you keep your promise? It really isn't that difficult. Stay close to your brand, don't hand it off. Stay in touch with your market... listen to them... don't get overly confident by assuming that you know what they want without checking in.

Do all of this and keeping your Promise is a given.

Stumble this
Digg it

Squidalicious

Organic. Real. Honest. Open. Informative.

Are you being all of the above to your potential clients? If not, it would be a good idea to do so pronto.

A fine way to demonstrate the above: Earn More At Any Job.

Stumble this
digg it

Old Marketing New Marketing Red Marketing Blue Marketing

I spent the day sitting on a tourism board over the past week. Our conversation naturally ebbed towards marketing our destination as our day progressed. In fact, marketing was the obvious topic within seconds of starting the day. It was inevitable as everyone had their ideas on how to make our destination the most sought after place on the planet.

Ultimately our round table came to strategies on how we could market this "place to be" and as is common, the ugly step child, social marketing was brought up as a last possibility.

A few of us were very adamant that social marketing, be it blogging or networking online, become strategies that we definitely should use. They were needed. In fact the statistic of 74% of people going traveling start researching their destination online was even brought up. Others still just couldn't grasp why we would even care to use such an immature marketing means. After all, the time necessary was debilitating and almost impossible.

It got me wondering why, after all the success of media darlings like facebook.com and the successes of bloggers world wide, there was any conversation at all. It seemed like something that we needed and that everyone would embrace. Because we didn't all embrace social marketing, or at least an online version of it, I came home to think about why.

There are a few reasons that I think that social networking isn't widely accepted by established business owners or managers. For some it could be the difficulty of developing a human resource plan but most of it I think comes down to one thing.

The fear of change.

Now before you say, of course, older marketers would fear the new concepts I will tell you this is a statement that is not age relative, even if on the whole established business people are a little older, and they in fact do consist of a larger number of the dissident marketers. Of course they have more of the jobs within established businesses. Just as a fact, some of the best social marketers are older. They are also smarter when it comes to how they market their product. Their product being the point.

This statement seems to be related simply to "classic" marketing training or the belief that all that was, is what will be. Let me explain. Marketing products has taken on a new form in today's economy. It is harder and harder to decide how to market a product. The old model of find the media [radio, newspapers, magazines, television] and spray out the advertising always worked. There wasn't a million places the consumer could go to get their information.

Now you have bloggers that report news faster and more cleanly, because they aren't limited to a five minute television section or a one page newspaper spread. You also have websites that deal with a particular subject niche specifically rather than mediums like newspapers that deal with a little bit of everything. All these new media are attracting advertisers as well. Every business in the world now has a newsletter and the great ones attract thousands of readers, which then let's them believe people could advertise within their newsletter as well.

The market has enormous options for advertisers - marketers if you will. Now here in lies the problem. Old style marketing is not getting the bang for the buck and longer. Why?

Partly because there is so much to spray with and partly because old world tactics are being applied to new world marketing. In short people are using blogs, websites and social networking as if it were a newspaper, television or the radio. It is tantamount to loading a cannon with a small bullet and expecting a ship to be felled. Social marketing, or the new marketing, is really like the Atom Bomb. It is bringing something completely different to the party. To use it's power you need to understand how it is best applied. You can't just all run around using old guns with atom bombs in them. But that is what we are doing with marketing.

10 years ago the most expensive spot to advertise was the lead banner on Yahoo.com. It was easy for a marketing agency to see that thousands upon thousands came to this site so we should put our "brand" in front of the masses. It didn't work. Net result: these new mediums don't work.

Old marketing is not dead but old marketing applied to new mediums is never going to work. Social networking, blogging and website interactions are about delivering a complete experience and a better product. A product customized to the consumer.

Old marketing is telling people "we have a product you should buy" while new marketing is asking people "what do you want within our niche and how can we make it just yours?" You can't apply the old marketing mentality to the new weapons. You need to completely change the concept of the business. In my time on this tourism board, social networking is the exact medium to help deliver a beautiful, complete and interactive experience. In fact, the traveler would and should become the content via testimonial observations. It would be perfect and I expect it will be a large part of the end result.

So yes, the entire business model must change or unfortunately you will be changed [probably financially] even if you don't want to. Why are some people reticent of using social media/marketing? Because so far, when they try it they don't get the result they want or had. There is still a place for commodity items and traditional marketing to still work. However, I'm betting your marketing will begin to focus on the retailers or distribution channels that are able to break through the media clutter. You'll have to focus here because your marketing dollars won't be able to do it alone. A distribution channel will use all the commodity dealer's marketing money combined to try and be the loudest in the market place. Risky business though; especially if your competitor is talking nicely with your customer via the phone, blog and a social scene create online. If you are unique the only place to be is on the web. We're not telling you to think established mediums won't work. We are telling you that you'll just have to get better at using them to make them work for you like they used to. Each medium, including social marketing, has a place in your marketing plan. It is going to get even crazier in the next ten years so get researching and start evolving.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." - Benjamin Franklin

So the question remains; does social marketing work? Yes, if you are committed to using it in the manner it was created. That is to say, to socially connect people with you, not just your business idea, directly. You and then hopefully your organization. This is not just a new weapon you can throw an ad at and hope for the result you used to get.

This is about embracing how you give and get information from your customers. Your customers who might even be your designers.

Digg It
Stumble It
del.icio.us

Referrals - Ask And Ye Shall Receive

If you deserve them, referrals will come to you, just by asking for them. It's that simple.

Today, I had the opportunity to catch up with a very dear old friend who has owned and operated his own security company for over a decade now. When I asked him how business is going, he quipped, "There's always crime."

Of course my friend was being facetious... he hasn't been so successful by just assuming that "There's always crime"... he has always known that, in order to stand out in a huge crowd of alarm companies, he had to be one step ahead of his competition. Yes, a "mom and pop" company has the opportunity to be one giant step ahead of the giant competition.

How?

Service

• My friend's company stands out because of the little things...like "You tell me the best time for you, and I'll make it work"...or..."Here's a discount for paying for the year in advance."
  
• My friend works extremely hard for his customers and that heart shines through.

Quality

• Let's face it... without delivering a quality product or service... you have nothing... well nothing but a fight to the bottom of the barrel because everything will become about being the cheapest.
• My friend does excellent work, using excellent materials, and, if there are any problems... he makes sure he fixes them to his customer's satisfaction...wow
  

Basically, my friend excels at providing excellent quality and service, which yield the most important result... REFERRALS!! Referrals are precious gems to the No Money Marketer... to any business. No amount of advertising can bring a lead as great as a solid referral.

My friend knows that he can confidently look any customer in the eye and ask to be referred. People love to tell their friends about great service they received or a great product they bought. Why not?

Assess your business. How can you increase your referrals? It might just be a matter of asking... or saying thanks.

While we're on the topic, is there anybody you can refer us to? Please spread the word, and let us know. We promise to send you a thank you note!!

About Newsletters...

Newsletters can be a highly effective marketing tool, and, if done well, your customers will look forward to them.

So, you ask, how do I create success with a newsletter? Let's break it down.

General Overview

• For starters, the content must be interesting, and relevant to your market. What do they care about - what do they want to learn? It's a great idea to ask your readers what they want to see.
  
• The subject lines should grab the reader's attention.
  
• The typeface in the body of the message should be easy to read.
• The overall look and feel of the newsletter should mimic your website or your literature. You want the reader to recognize who is sending it.

Get Permission

• Your newsletter will be most effective if those receiving it actually want it. You need to ask for permission before adding a recipient to your list.
• If you operate a brick and mortar store, ask for permission in person. Can you add the customer to your database? Will they provide their email address? Do they want to receive your newsletter? You will get a warmer reception if you let the customer know how you will use their information.
  
• If you are asking permission online, here are a couple of options...
  
• The first is a subscription option on your website homepage. The Johny Henry website has a good example (they also have a good newsletter for your reference).
  
• The second is to include sign up options in any "interaction" with your market. For example, if a customer orders a product online, as part of the process, include a section where they are given options which may include...
• Newsletter, please confirm subscription
• Special offers and promotions, please confirm subscription
• Special In store events, please confirm subscription
• I do not wish to subscribe at this time

• NOTE: When people do subscribe online, entice them with a call to action in the responder. For example, the response might read, "Thank you for subscribing to the (Insert your company name here) Newsletter. As a special thank you, we have included a coupon for $10 off your next in-store purchase of $50 or more..." Not a polished example, but you get the idea.

Frequency

• There is no steadfast rule for Newsletter frequency - you will need to conduct tests to find out what works best for you and your market (see Willie's previous blog Testing 1,2,3). A good determinant is the content....is it there? If not, then it's not the time to hit send.
• It's important to set a consistent schedule, preferably on the same day and time each week or month. In spite of the previous point, we recommend that you do not extend the frequency past monthly... today's consumer has a short attention span and a cluttered inbox. You increase the risk of being forgotten if you leave too much time between newsletters. Make sure your content is there at least monthly.
  

A Great Example

I receive a particularly great newsletter at the beginning of each month... it always arrives at the same time, and I look forward to it.

So what makes it so great? It's visually attractive and easy to read. The content is always highly engaging, and, they have the determined the perfect frequency. When you sign up with them, you are asked whether you want to receive emails from them, including their newsletter, so permission is sought and granted.

An interesting observation I've made is that, after each "issue" is released, people actually talk about it... you know you've got a successful newsletter when it's the topic of water cooler discussions!!

You, too, can create your own great newsletter... can we help?

Testing 1, 2, 3

If we've heard it once we've heard it a million times.

Test every single marketing idea that you decide to implement so you can see if it made an impact on the bottom line.

This is simply one of the greatest things you can do to affect the bottom line of your business. Simple changes in what you are already working with can have dramatic differences. Why spend more on increasing traffic if you aren't already converting the traffic you have?

Here is how you test within your business.

Where Are the Goal Posts?
But before you test you'll need to know what you are testing for. Do you want more email subscribers? Are you looking to increase walk-in traffic? Do you want an increase in high margin pick up items?

Exactly what are you testing? Meaning before you engage in a particular marketing tactic decide what you want for your business. If you aren't aware of what you want you might as well be testing a math class for grammar. Know what you want with complete clarity and then test each and every marketing tool you put into place. Try one thing at a time until you can handle more.

What Is Your Starting Point?
So what is the exact place you are starting from? Do you have subscribers at all or are you looking for a modest increase in pick up items? Perhaps you just want to be noticed by the press so that an end goal of increased traffic and sales will come through your door.

Make sure you find out where you are starting from by looking at your business with a very honest eye. If you think you are doing more business but the numbers are saying differently then your test results will be completely messed up. An honest eye means knowing exactly where you are and then knowing exactly where you want to go. Be honest so that the test results are actually real.

What Should You Test?
There are literally hundreds of items a business can test for. If you want a result from your testing you must stay focussed on only that marketing tactic.

Here are some areas that you can test. Remember marketing is about increasing your bottom line so this really constitutes a marketing tactic. One I'm afraid that gets all too little press.

Brick and Mortar Store:

• Change the front of your store, dubbed the landing strip by Paco Underhill - retails godfather of display. Can you move products further back so that there is at least 15 feet for people to walk into your store. Often products get passed by that retailers are trying to sell the most. Put them further back and then check the sales results...daily!
• Try putting your XL items higher on your shelves and smaller items lower to the ground. Big people hate to bend down and small people hate to be seen on their tippy toes. Guaranteed results here. Test your results.
• Test things like having a service representative at the front of the store welcoming customers. See if ambiance and a personal touch makes a difference.
• Test to see what time of day most of your sales occur and add or subtract staff accordingly. Do sales people make a difference in your business. You can save wage and gain sales with this tactic.

Service Businesses Without a Location

• What time of day do your customers respond best to sales calls? What about just friendly chats and touching base calls? Don't know...it could be the difference between a five star hotel holiday or nothing at all.
• What makes a great referral? Plant five friends with a specific way you want them giving a referral and then try that versus another group that does it the "normal" way. Of course there are variables here but we are looking for a difference so we aren't picky and we aren't writing a paper for University. Try it and see if you can help your roving sales people increase your leads.
• How does your email signature work? Try different ones with different groups.

Online Businesses or Your Website

• This is where it can be taken to a whole new level but it really does come down to how humans interact with your business.
• Does the position of your newsletter sign up box change the results of sign ups?
• If you have multiple choices of actions for your customer to take on the font page do your click throughs increase compared to having only one option to choose from?
• Are your customers going where you want them to?
• When are customers coming to the site and from where? A different country may require cultural differences. Think like your customer and adjust the display accordingly.
  

Case Study
You really are leaving a lot on the table. Marketing costs are so high these days if you just continue to try new things without first seeing if there is more you can get from what you are already doing. In other words it is better to do 10 things really well and reap every bit from the things you are already doing than it is to do 100 things poorly.

So that you can get an idea of how this is one of the better NO MONEY MARKETING tactics check out this example from one of my businesses, John Henry Bikes. Like I've said before on this blog, we are really people who have tried these marketing concepts in the field and put our own money on the line. NO MONEY MARKETING is two people that have stood on the front line of all types of businesses.

The test:

• can the discussion of theft within a bike selling situation increase lock sales

The execution:

• staff to mention theft problems within Vancouver of higher end bicycles during the sales talk
  

Sales stats to start:

• Every 2.5 customers out of 10 were buying a bike and for every 10 bikes only one lock was being sold

Result:

• 2 out of 10 people bought a bike but 5 out of ten bike buyers bought a lock. Net decrease in revenue because people were scared off of buying the bike! Increased margin because more locks were sold but we scrapped the plan because less people were riding.

This example shows that you need to have a starting point, you need a simple execution that you can measure and you need to adjust based on the results. Testing is a day by day event.

How much traffic converts to sales or click through in your business? That's a starting point.


Don't Do This
This study would have never made sense if we had changed to much to our overall program or if we had added multiple differences to the sales floor or pitch. For instance, if we had added the theft conversation and put a pile of bicyle locks in a big sale bin, displayed for appeal, we would have received skewed numbers. Was it the sale, the display or was it the conversation? You can't change everything all at once otherwise your test is negated. Often businesses aren't getting the results they want so they change everything. Radio advertisers are notorious for changing their ads just as the public is starting to remember them. Maybe your product offering needs more repetition messaging than others. Don't know...

TEST!

Where Do I Find the Time?
Don't think you have the time? Your not alone. Testing can be daugnting. Testing takes patience and it takes continuous maintenance. The best businesses do it and do it a lot. But many of you are one-man bands or one woman shows. How do you make the time?

You don't.

That is why you must work your plan [the one you set out to work in the first place!] and make it a practise of testing a small variety of things. Even one test is better than nothing.

However, if you are ever in doubt and testing is out of the question because you are a seat of the pants flyer and a sell, sell, sell kind of person then always aim for free press. It is easy to test. If you get some, you are better than before!

I know sounds simple but it is true. If you get in the paper, on day time television, or get featured on a special blog site then you can guage whether sales increased or not. Free press is never a bad thing because at minimum your website gets content, your brochures have a new tag line or picture from the newspaper and your credibility instantly takes a jump. So when in doubt aim for press because testing is a breeze. If you are this type of person you are also the type of person who buys lots of advertising. Put your energy into free press opportunities and sit on your wallet. You will never know if your advertising works. Hire someone to do this job and do what you do best. Sell yourself, sell your product. Trust us. Saving your money is the best thing you can do because right now you are already getting enough referral business by being a busy and active individual.

Test For Simple Stuff First

• Do cold calls work or not?
• How many people sign up for your newsletter on Monday's? Can you increase it by making it a part of your sales script? Can you increase it by sending your newsletters and asking for more referrals?
• Open later? Have more/less staff? Say hello to everyone that walks in your door for three days straight? Answer your emails within two hours instead of twenty four.

The Ultimate NO MONEY MARKETING
I have consulted with many businesses [online, service and brick & mortar] where we change just a few subtle things, that they are already doing anyways, and they increase their sales conversions. No money. More money.

Simple.

Test, test, test.

What can you test starting today?

p.s. Willie's social networking test: The two Squidoo lens tests. Emailed five friends my lens on Swim Upstream, one of my books and a blog I contribute to, but left the lens unchanged. Didn't email anyone the NO MONEY lens but added content. Both were hovering around mid level rankings. Next morning, Swim Upstream had jumped 30,000 ranking points as compared to about 4000 ranking points for the NO MONEY lens. Conclusion: visitors count more than updates but both can make a difference. Double win but still a test. Onwards.

What Is Your Biggest Tool

Well we have been honing our skills on Squidoo.com and so we thought we'd get your thoughts on our lens. Check out the best of list of NO MONEY MARKETING tactics.

Let's find out what you want to see more information on.

How Big is Your Sales Force?

How many people work in your company? Every person earning a pay check is a member of your sales team. 

No, not every employee will be cold-calling prospects and closing deals, but they will all have the opportunity to use other, very important, sales skills. 

Every one of them will have the opportunity to interact with prospects and to exhibit the skills that lay the foundation for every sale. 

These skills are... the ability to observe behaviors, to ask questions, to empathize and, finally, to assist in providing a solution. 

As the leader, or a leader in your business, you must ensure that your people are continually on their game. When a prospect walks through your door, the person greeting that prospect should immediately be assessing the person's demeanor, asking the right questions, deducing what that prospect needs, and then, they must either satisfy that need, or start the process of satisfying that need.  

Too many times people become concerned with their own "kingdom" and neglect to concern themselves with what will benefit the greater good of the company. 

Too many times, companies become departmentalized and, instead of working as a team for the greater good, each kingdom becomes focused on just doing their job and covering themselves so that they can remain blameless if something goes awry.

Here's an example of bad service and missed opportunity...

Last month, I had to take a product for service under warranty. First of all, it was not going to be a quick fix, so, instead of calling me to let me know, the "service" department advised me of the situation when I called to see what was happening after they had it for a week. Then I was told that the product would be ready the next day (a Friday) and that they would call me when I could pick it up. The following Tuesday, I received the call to pick up my item.  When I went to pick it up , I made an inquiry about purchasing an add-on product from the retailer, but, the "service guy" said "Um we don't have that." ... and that's that.

Behind me on the sales floor, two sales reps were engaged with other customers, but I'm sure that if the "service guy" had made the effort to ask them when they could get me the product I needed, they would have been happy to help. 

So, why the terrible service? 

Other than the fact that this store is the "only game in town" (no excuse!!), I would say that the service department got caught up in their service kingdom and forgot that selling products keeps them working.  As for them being the only game in town, their store is a franchise and I have found an alternate location that I will be patronizing in the future.

So what should have happened? 

First of all... I should have received a call giving me a status report... "Just wanted to let you know that we need to order a part and it's going to take a week." 

Then... after a week, I should have received a call telling me it's ready. 

Finally... when I arrived to pick up my item, the "service guy" as a member of the company wide sales force, should have noted that I was (surprisingly) interested in spending my money there, then asked the necessary questions so that he understood what I needed, and then he should have bent over backwards to ensure that I was satisfied with his proposed solution. 

That didn't happen... so, as a result, they've lost me and I will never recommend their location.

No Money Marketers simply can not afford to let situations like the one I experienced occur. It costs absolutely nothing to teach your people to observe, ask, empathize and assist your prospects and customers. On the other hand, the failure to do so could wind up costing everything!!

Do You Squidoo?

Social Networks are the topic of the moment. With companies like facebook valued at exorbitant amounts [try 15 Billion!] the media is swarming for stories. These social networks are literally changing the way the economy and world works. Changing the economy in many ways because they aren't selling anything but are worth so much. A virtual economy of free.

Broad Concept: The New Economy
They are changing the manner that we connect and are actually illuminating the fact that people really do like people and not products as in the 90's. Relationships are valuable. Branding is dead or needs to be evaluated very differently. Relationships are the brand and the business. Literally. Thousands upon thousands of people connecting is extremely valuable.

Breaking Down the Concept
Now unless you have been living under a rock you are probably aware that these networks exist but may not be familiar with exactly what all the names are. If you are familiar with facebook, digg, del.icio.us, and the other myriad of social sites then count yourself among either the flock or the curious. For those unaware of these communities, it is time to do some homework because you are getting left behind...and so is your business. For this discussion, no matter your social media knowledge base we are interested in the concept of why they exist and why you need to maximize the macro concept. That concept is 'building relationships'. The question is, "Are you prepared to build solid trusting relationships, online as well as off-line?"

What Is The Building Block?
From a NO MONEY MARKETING perspective building relationships is the top of the pyramid. You need to network and foster great friendships. Friendships are what online social networks are about. People don't want to hear your offers and they don't want to listen to the online version of a bright pink sign yelling "SALE!"
Ignore.

Social networks take work because building any relationship is a serious matter. Just like being a friend takes work. Building a relationship requires commitment but the rewards it can yield are incredible. People will reward your hard work, honest opinions, regular contact and updated content with their permission and hopefully their purchases. Build your network online the same way as you build off-line [and if you aren't doing it off-line then you are in trouble. More on relationships and physical networking in the future.]

Don't Be Scared
You need to be a friend and a friend is someone that can be counted on to help, listen and just plain old be there with no strings attached. If there ever are strings attached those need to be transparent. Like this: one day we want you to purchase our NO MONEY MARKETING book. Our friendship is based on us saving you thousands of dollars and, better yet, making you more money. Hopefully we have your permission to discuss our concepts. Otherwise you will and can just leave. The point is we want to help and that is what we are basing our end of the relationship on. What are you providing your customers? Why do they want to be your friend?

The Over Excited Networker Loses
One note on the concept of friendships is that if you can't manage your "friendly" accounts because their are too many then, like in your off-line world, your friends will stop calling and inviting you to their party. I choose to run my blogs, like this one, with the most solid content I can provide [my commitment], answer my own emails, and operate only one, maybe two network sites. I don't facebook or myspace because I'm committed to the mediums I can handle. I'd rather have 10 great friends that would listen and respond than thousands that ignore me. Handle your affairs in a similar manner and you will honour those that you can help rather than nobody at all. A point we will continue to make.

Take this knowledge to the street and online. I am thoroughly engaged with the social network scene and how it can benefit a business [for free]. The thing I see is that many people make the same errors as their business enters into the online scene, whether with their own website, blog or their social network location. They think there is millions to be made over night and they egotistically think people want to hear from them, all the time or at all. Get over yourself. You have to assume you are writing for yourself but put yourself out there to be appreciated. If people like you it is because you are trying hard and putting your best foot forward, every day and every play.

A Bad Example
In January of 2007, in the hopes of promoting their PSP units, Sony created a blog that was based on a fictional character who wanted their video game unit. The problem was that they didn't tell anyone it was fictional, promoted the heck out of it in the search engines and hoped it would yield many people wanting a PSP as well. They were trying to dupe the public and that is egotistical. People are smart and they busted Sony like crazy. The site has now been modified, Sony was basically forced to apologize and they have since received countless amounts of bad press. They abused people's friendship and in the end were rewarded accordingly.

People will gravitate to great ideas, smart thoughts, good products and open communication. Hype is hype.

You Don't Have The Time
What's that you say? You don't have time to build your relationships one at a time. How can you possibly succeed at running your business if you are always building your friendships? The nature of your content, the layout of your website, the deal you make with your prospect and you never breaking your code of ethics are your basis point for growing a relationship with many people all at once. Lots of people want your information but don't need more than that from you. When you write you are talking to individuals and never groups. Bob in Maryland doesn't care if Sue in California is getting anything out of your information. He cares about the one to one relationship he is getting. Same with Sue really. It's the same with everyone. However, if someone does reach out and buy something from you, ask you a question or comment on your take then you need to respond in some way. You need to acknowledge their effort as part of building that relationship. There are blogs that get thousands of subscribers because the content is what they want and they continue to come back by choice. They come back because they get value. They are asked to come back and promised they will get great content without strings.

Social networks are just another way of connecting lots of people who are like minded. Don't abuse your right as a friend and you will grow your group accordingly.

Squidoo You!?!
I've recently tried my hand at Squidoo, a newish network on the net. It is a way to showcase one of my products and quite honestly very addictive. I have seven lenses, as they call them, and so far I'm not getting tons of hits or views but I'm having fun. I think this is a great site, easy to use and a place where you can grow friends, expose products and ideas, and more importantly build another voice for your business. It feels more professional than facebook or myspace and thus I think the type of person arriving there has a more mature expectation. There's nothing wrong with any of the sites, although most have discussion boards that would rival a war zone.

Squidoo seems to fit my personality better and it looks good. I'll give you an idea of how I fare with this NO MONEY tool as I use it to a greater degree and see more responses. You should check it out. Here are a couple of lenses for two of my books, Hire Me & The Principles of the Ride. Please give me your thoughts as I value your opinions. I've been live for about two weeks real time even though I discovered the site about three or four months ago. Hey, I've already made 20 cents in ad commissions!

Tread gently when you start your foray into social networking but make sure you try at least one of these relationship fortifying tools. Just don't commit the cardinal rule of disrespecting your friends.

Another Winner
Below is another network which is an article related site that help boost traffic to your site and exposure to the world. It doesn't require friend building but you can help others by promoting their content. The idea being that you help and someone will help you. Of course use your ethics and only promote what you feel deserves it. Please help us out while you explore it. I'm new to Digg from a networking stand point but have used it to research before. The concept is brilliant.

Digg this article please.
Thanks and how can we help you grow your numbers?