In a recent study conducted by B2B Magazine the “big three” social media channels being used by business are LinkedIn (72%), Facebook (71%) and Twitter (67%). YouTube and blogging are also gaining popularity, at 48 and 44 percent respectively. Choose the best channels based on your target market and marketing objective.

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Your social media tactics should be part of your marketing plan, which should be in support of your business
objectives. Another way of putting it, your “inbound marketing” (social media, search engine optimization and
blogging) must be linked to your “outbound marketing” (advertising, publicity and sales), to achieve a synergistic effect.

Like it or not, social networking is here to stay. The platform and channels will evolve, but it has legitimate
business applications…incorporating social media makes good business sense. Here is a three step overview on how to integrate social media into your current marketing mix.

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by Andrew Ballard

Last month was National Start a Business month. A common denominator in all of the “how-to” guides I’ve read on starting a business is that of writing a plan. Ironically, this “start a business” best practice is also the best approach to staying in business. Does your business have a plan?

The most common complaint I hear from business owners is, “I’m having trouble growing my business.” My typical response is, “Why do you think your current plan isn’t working?” The typical answer is, “what plan?” I conclude with, “You just indentified your problem!”

Many of the businesses I meet with, regardless of how long they have been in business, do not have a documented strategic plan to direct their actions and resources. Businesses that have a plan know where to focus and rarely grapple with business decisions.

We walk our clients through a straightforward process to develop or update their strategic plans. It is a sequential approach we developed called M.O.S.T. (Mission, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics). My February column covered how to craft a mission statement. Once you have a mission, the planning process involves three steps.

• Step 1: Develop objectives that articulate accomplishments toward advancing your mission. A well crafted objective is specific, measurable, realistic and assigned. Example: Increase sales revenue on X product 17% to $3, 875,000 by December 31, 2011. Assigned: X Product Mgr.
• Step 2: Create strategies that define a specific path or initiative designed to accomplish an objective. A well crafted strategy defines a course to take as all or part of achieving an objective. Example: Establish a new distribution channel to increase Western region sales.
• Step 3: Establish tactics to coordinate activities for each strategy. Tactics cover all actions, from group projects to individual tasks, necessary to effectively implement a strategy. They define “who” does “what” by “when” and are based on your available human and financial resources. Example: Interview the top three manufacturer rep companies to determine which has the greatest distribution in the Western region by April 8, 2011. Assigned: Marketing Mgr.

Each level of planning—objectives, strategies and tactics—are aligned to the planning level above it, e.g. strategies support an objective, and tactics support a strategy.  One objective will be supported by one or more strategies, and each strategy will be supported by several tactics (which represent an action or work plan).

It doesn’t matter whether you are starting a new business or trying to grow an existing business, nor does it matter the size or sector of your business; strategic planning is a best practice that should not be overlooked.

Bring your team together and develop objectives, by department or functional area; then brainstorm a set of strategies to accomplish each objective. Finally, have the manager and team in each department develop tactics to create an action plan for each strategy.

Because of the exponential nature of plans, limit the number of objectives you want to accomplish, and keep to a short set of strategies for each. Otherwise, you may end up with too many actions to deal with…in strategic planning, less is more. I suggest you also align the timing of your plan to your fiscal year to make budgeting easier.

Use the M.O.S.T. planning process to make what many experience as an arduous undertaking far simpler. This best practice will increase the likelihood of your success and longevity. May your business live long and prosper (I’m holding up my hand with the Vulcan sign).

To accompany the book, “Your Opinion Doesn’t Matter,” be sure to buy the Workbook, including guides and worksheets.

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If you are a small business owner, startup, or entrepreneur—anyone with marketing or sales responsibilities—this book can help you deal with the unrelenting pressure of growing your business.

The premise of Your Opinion Doesn’t Matter is simple: A great idea, product or service isn’t enough to survive in today’s competitive marketplace; to truly thrive, you need to accept the fact that it’s your customer’s opinion that counts.

I know what you’re thinking, “As if anything a multibillion-dollar global brand has done would be germane to my business!” Trust me, it’s relevant.

Make Your Unique Value Proposition The ‘Real Thing’

It doesn’t matter how many zeros are in your P&L, sound marketing principles are applicable to every business situation and marketing challenge. The fundamentals of positioning (owning a place in the minds of your target consumers) and promotion (generating awareness, interest and sales) still apply regardless of your budget.

McCarthy talked about how making the product relevant to the consumer — from a value perspective — is imperative to acquiring new customers and creating loyalty. It all boils down to developing and leveraging a “unique value proposition.”

The purpose is to differentiate your company from those competing for mind share in the same space. It’s also refered to as a “unique selling proposition” or “value proposition”; those are only half right. The two non-negotiables of positioning are being “unique” and being “valued.” That’s why I call it a “unique value proposition” (UVP). Just what we need, another marketing acronym.

To ensure your UVP has traction in the marketplace it needs to distinguish you from your competition, and that distinction (unique competency) must be valued by your target market. Here’s how you go about it.

First conduct a SWOT Analysis to catalogue and prioritize actionable strengths, weaknesses (internal conditions in your control), and opportunities and threats (external conditions outside your control).

Then you’ll need to gather two data sets to determine which of your competencies will stick. You have to know the strengths and weaknesses of your key competitors. You’ll also need an accurate understanding of what your customers’ value most about your offering.

A POS (point of sale) survey will reveal customer preferences. If you’re in retail, your POS is the cash register, e-commerce/Web site, service/delivery. Find out (from your best customers) what they perceive as hot and what’s not.

To do a competitive comparison, I use a UVP matrix (two-dimensional chart). The rows in the first column identify each factor or value measured, e.g. target market, core product attribute, price and key features crucial to your category (quality, service, guarantee, delivery, selection, etc.).

The next column (to the right) is where you’ll document how you rate in each area measured. Next to your data is one column for each competitor you’ll be evaluating. Document how each of them stacks up against the same factors. This will likely require some competitive research.

Review the data and circle all of your “unique” competitive strengths. If you can’t find any, you don’t have a competitive advantage; time to refresh your offering. Finally, align your unique competencies to the top customer values and choose the strongest match.

Once you’ve landed on the best UVP, incorporate it in everything you do. When you make a brand promise, you should live up to it. You don’t have to be Coca-Cola to make your UVP the “real thing” for consumers in your niche.

An elevator pitch is that intriguing sound bite intended to peak interest and stimulate conversation. No more, no less.

Recently, I was in an elevator discussing this very concept with a new client. I asked, “What’s your pitch?” He rambled, “By codifying proprietary technologies, we deliver a superior enterprise application to an under-leveraged vertical market.” I thought he was gonna pass out before we hit the lobby.

We wonder why it’s not obvious to all humanity that our doohickey is the latest and greatest. This is usually because marketers have a supply-side mentality. We focus on features, while those on the demand side of the equation just want to know “what’s in it for me?”

Put the customer’s hat on and use some “elevator etiquette.”

First, if you have to take a breath midstream, your spiel is too long. Bill Joos, VP of Business Development for Garage.com (a successful venture-capital firm) says, “Brevity brings the best results.”

He’s right! If you can’t hook ’em in 10 seconds, a laborious dissertation won’t magically win friends and influence people. There isn’t always high-rise when you need one. Assume you have three floors instead of 30 to get your point across.

Open with an attention-getter designed to draw a question.

My personal prologue is: “I help companies increase their sales velocity.” The typical response is: “How do you do that?”

They’ve just given me permission to go into more detail. When I lead with, “I’m a marketing consultant,” they struggle to get the elevator doors open.

Next, lose the techno babble! Use simple and clear language that communicates how you increase your customers’ advantage or reduce their risk. Most people buy on emotion rather than logic — make sure your intro has an emotional appeal. Said another way, sell the sizzle instead of the steak.

Along that line, what you say is important — how you say it is imperative. If you don’t have passion about your selling proposition, prospective customers will find someone else who does. Finally, incorporate a call to action.

Zig Ziglar gained notoriety in the ’70s by concluding a “benefit statement” with a closing question. That’s how you should wrap up your elevator pitch — with a question. Ask to exchange business cards so you can follow up. Keep in mind that an elevator pitch is not designed to sell, only to set up a selling situation.

The same principles apply to marketing communications such as brochures, direct response, e-marketing and advertising. Your message should be short, simple and emotional. And be sure to close with a call to action.

A great pitch doesn’t just happen; it takes preparation and practice. A good exercise is to test it among associates. Use these elevator principles and your prospects won’t go running for the stairwell.

My biggest concern is the typical self fulfilling prophecy that intensifies the affect of a slowing economy. Trust me, this is no time to get weak in the knees and cut back on marketing activities. Studies have proven it leads to an unnecessary and lengthy sales drought.

Still, many are tightening their belts. Typically, the marketing budget is first to get chopped. There are two very good reasons why lowering the ax on marketing can have a devastating (and long-term) effect.

First, it would cost you far more than the amount you’d save to regain the ground you’d lose. Brand recognition (recall) has a very short shelf life in the mind of a consumer. In other words, if your market presence diminishes, so will your customers.

A study done by McGraw Hill Research concluded that “at the end of 1985, those firms that had maintained or increased their advertising during the 1981-1982 recession could boast an average sales growth of 275% over the following five years. Those who cut advertising realized a paltry increase of only 19%.”

Secondly, it is much easier to gain ground during tough times than during a boom cycle. Why? Because your competitors are cutting back. Stay the course…you’ll have less market noise to contend with and your share market will likely grow with a greater share of voice.

I subscribe to the long-term investment strategy. Many of my closest colleagues harassed me in the late ’90s for being “too conservative” in the stock market. These are the same geniuses who want to borrow money from me now.

I have the same philosophy about marketing. If you look at your marketing budget as an expense item, it’s much easier to cut. Think of it as an investment, a long-term investment, and your dividends should be much higher.

If you have to cut look to other line items than your marketing and advertising budgets:

• Look at you operating expenses line by line
• Look for areas you can improve productivity and supply chain
• Look into ways to restructure your debt
• This is a good time to renegotiate vendor and media contracts 

Peter Drucker (undisputed management guru of the 20^th century) said, “Business has only two basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results. All the rest are costs.” Times may be tough, but don’t cope by cutting costs that are associated to business development.