1.1m and growing - Why you need to pay attention to increasing VoIP usage

What is VoIP? It stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. That is, making phone calls, or using a person-to-person voice service like Skype. Why should you care? Because there are 1.1 million users of VoIP in Australia. And it is growing. And one of the leading international providers (Skype, owned by eBay) is planning to launch very very cheap phone calls via the internet in Australia. They will join other Australian VoIP providers like engin.

What does this mean for your service business?

It isn't really about the extra phone calls you can make at the cheap rates.

It IS about the growing use of online services by the general population. And that includes business users as well.

As they become more familiar with using online services, clients will expect more from your business online as well. So get your act together and ensure you are capable of keeping pace with the increasing demand for services, information, and access via the internet.

Making sure your website is well-structured and fully functional is a great start.

Just passed 100 posts on this blog - woohooo

A bit of trivia for regular readers of this blog. I have just published the 100th post!

What does this mean? Not much really. Just that I've stuck around at writing extra tips, posting links to research and resources, and spreading my own perspective on marketing for service businesses for quite a while.

Thanks for sticking around with me!

The client really is in charge - just ask them.

If you still think you control how your customers buy your services - think again. This latest research clearly shows that buyers DO take the lead in the sales process. And they are very happy to do so. From the research...

After 50 years of sellers markets, buyers are taking widespread control of buyer-seller relationships, and many companies don’t know how to respond. At a high level, customers are basing purchase decisions significantly more on customer focused company behaviours than on pricing, information sharing and traditional marketing. Customers rate price second to customer focus in buying influence, with traditional marketing practices—including brand-building and automating customer service—rated least important by a wide margin.

Another key finding is that general marketing tactics such as "brand building" and "automated customer service" are no longer seen as important. Clients now want real service from real people in real time. Is that how you operate your business?

My tips:

• Make sure you are able to respond to clients in a personal way.
• Recognise their unique needs. Even if they are similar to those of other clients.
• Make sure your front-row client contact staff are well trained in communication skills, and know how to respond to various requests.
• Don't rely on "getting your name out there" style of marketing (unless you already have a well-known ie national/international brand name to promote)
  

6 Rules to be a Trusted Advisor to Your Clients

In my sales training course for service providers I explain 5 ways to create trust with clients. Trust is essential for service professioanls to build strong client relationships - and it also helps you to get a commitment from clients (i.e. sell to them).

Recently I was reading this article titled The Making of a Trusted Advisor. In it the author - Mark Hordes from Alexander Consulting - mentions 6 golden relationship rules. Those rules are very similar to the 5 ways to create trust covered in my Selling With Confidence course.

It is great to have this information validated, because it is so important to get right.

The 6 rules mentioned in the article are:

1. Transparency (being open and honest)
2. Commonality (being familiar and liked)
3. Respect (value the uniqueness of others)
4. Caring (have clients interest at heart)
5. Credibility (demonstrate proof by sharing information)
6. Reliability (do what you say you will do)

Using a One-Page Marketing Mind Map

In case you didn't see my latest article...

The mind mapping concept is based around having one central idea or theme. From that you develop a set of related ideas that radiate out from the central theme, connected by lines, or flows.

However, for creating a One-Page Marketing Mind Map we need to alter the mind map format a bit. In our marketing mind map we need to show relationships between marketing tactics.
Read the entire article and download example ...

Earthquakes; your web site; and tips for emergency planning

I've often stated that all service businesses need a website. It is an asset that appreciates over time. But take note... When you have your website you also need to protect it - and your future business success.

Just last month an earthquake near Taiwan caused 10,000 Chinese websites to lose their .com domain.

It has happened before too. When undersea cables have been severed. Internet traffic can be stopped. Or slowed to a crawl if traffic is diverted through other congested lines.

Even if you have a secure website, and you back up your data (don't you?), I urge you to remember to stay on top of your emergency planning.

My tips for being prepared:

1. Backup your website data at least monthly, and know where the backup is stored.
2. Keep your domain registery and website hosting details in an easy to find location. Username, password, registry key, website host login, etc. Even better is to keep it all together in a handbook or manual.
3. Have alternate email address/es ready, in case your own domain (website and email) is unusable for a period of time.
4. Have an alternate domain name registered, in case you need to activate it at short notice.

You never know when disaster will strike. But you can be ready to recover from it.

Tips for 2007: Advertising Growth & 'Brand' Promises

Is advertising your 'brand' as effective as it used to be? Many experts say not.

The chart above (from UK-based Business Zone) highlights the growth in internet-based advertising/marketing. It also shows the decline in local newspaper and radio advertising volume.

Some interesting thoughts are presented in this article from Business Zone. One is from, Simon Knox, a Professor of Brand Marketing.

"The old model is broken." By that he meant, advertising or pushing out messages to potential customers has lost much of its power. There were no longer big bucks to be made off the back of TV advertising and he cited a McKinsey study which showed that while the cost of advertising continued on an upward trajectory, its impact mirrored it downwards.

And another point made is that successful companies have...

competed on value not empty promises. They had shifted their branding focus up a level to the corporation, but also, they put considerable effort into delivering a rewarding experience to customers.

There are some valuable lessons here for marketing in 2007 and beyond.
Pay attention to what works now, not what worked in the 80's and 90's.

1. Focus on improving your client experience.
2. Compete on value, not basics like price and options.
3. Know your clients even better.
4. Consider your Client Relationship Management process in its entirety. Not just each aspect on its own (i.e. on a transactional basis).