Super Early Bird now available Feb 2008 for Selling With Confidence courses

Are you looking for relationship-based sales training in 2008? Check the new dates and special rates for Feb '08 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane at this page.

My Selling With Confidence program has been running for the last 4 years.

Read dozens of testimonials here.

Also, referred to as 'conversational selling' this course is ideal for professionals, consultants, technical advisors, business owners, sales people, and anyone who needs to sell a service or complex product.

I nearly forgot... you can save 25% (that's $224.00) by registering now. This Super Early Bird offer ends in November.

Note: This course is not suitable for people in retail or impulse type of sales situations.

A Lesson on Marketing Consistency from the Franchise Industry

Being in a franchise group often creates real challenges for entrepreneurial business owners. The Franchisor goes to great lengths to create a proven system. But the entrepreneurial Franchisee sees opportunities to tweak and change the Franchise marketing format.

In a recent article on Brand Channel, Karyn Kozo says:

When franchisees deviate from the established visual and verbal language that has been endorsed by the corporate office because they don’t think it will be effective in their market, they diminish their ability to build on the brand equity that they bought into. Creating their own ad formats and communications pieces is like starting at ground zero and building a brand from the ground up.

Many smaller businesses ignore the impact that is created by using a variety of advertising messages. Their thinking is usually reactive - and short term.

The truth is that customers are easily confused by receiving different messages from the same business. People receive thousands of promotional messages every day. They wont stop and try to figure YOU out. They will just MOVE ON to an offer they can understand... and that is consistent.

Karyn Kozo goes on to say:

But, no matter where the idea originates, the key is to anchor it in strategy, assess the value to the target audience and execute it at a level of consistency and flexibility that’s appropriate for the organization and the brand.

See what she says... "anchor in strategy"... and ... "value to target audience".

Effective marketing is rarely achieved by reactive "we need more sales" advertising or special offers.

If you are in a group or franchise system, be prepared to discuss your local marketing ideas with your Franchisor. Most established groups offer a local area marketing program to help you combine the best of corporate branding and the needs of your local market.

If you have an individual business, pay attention to what the 'big boys' do with their consistent approach to marketing. You may not have (or need) their marketing budget... but a consistent approach can pay dividends.

Less can be more.

Less confusion. Fewer special offers. A more consistent marketing message.

Cement your position (and value offer) by being consistent with your marketing messages.

Your customers will thank you by buying more from you!

What makes you successful?

Business 'incubators' are designed to help fledgling businesses get support and access to resources to succeed. But does that work? What do you need to make your business a success? Do you need a complex (and maybe expensive) support network?

This post from the Sydney Morning Herald blog discusses the pro's and con's of government sponsored business incubators. It includes this key point:

Here lies a harsh reality: small and open markets, as opposed to closed and coddled regions, force businesses to think and act globally.

Many new ideas languish because they dont have a good connection with what the market wants. It is important for start-ups to have a sharp focus on market needs, and direct communication with their target audience.

In short, start-ups (and new business units of larger companies) need to be innovative and push through barriers, taking advantage of market opportunities. Waiting on help from others - be it an incubator or other advisors or partners - can often lead to a lack of responsibility on the part of the founders to take action.

Business incubators can provide valuable connections with universities, government agencies and business support services. The danger for startups joining the incubator is that founders may lose momentum and focus, whilst they deal with the various parties now involved in their venture.

More detail on email - opt-in confirm rates

There is a stack of (very necessary) detail to keep abreast of within the marketing world these days. Today I was reading this blog post by Email Service Provider AWeber about their email confirm rates.

AWeber says recent tests have shown they achieve a 78% confirm rate. That means 78% of people who sign up for email updates actually hit the confirm link in the confirmation email they are sent (immediately after they sign up).

That seems pretty good to me. If you are running a confirmed opt-in email newsletter (or blog update) have you measured your confirm rate?

Also, in comments on that blog post AWeber cites an average open rate for their emails of 37%. That's pretty good, as other research shows average open rates of around 30%

To improve your business you must be aware of relevant statistics. It's like the old management mantra - If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.

Martha Stewart website and the missing content

No need for me to repeat it... read it for yourself here. Even the people behind the Martha Stewart website admit that fancy design got in the way of usability for visitors to their site. The result was only 5 links appeared on the home page to useful content that visitors really wanted.

As David Armano (VP of Experience Design for Critical Mass) said in his post...

Folks, we really need to start understanding what really motivates users. There are literally millions of enthusiasts out there producing quality content in highly search engine friendly formats. Not only is much of their content easier to find on the Web—it's engaging, relevant, and the people who produce it actually talk back to us. It's time to wake up.

Understanding your clients... and what they want, is the second step to effective marketing. The first step is to clearly define who your audience is.

My guess is that if the gang at Martha Stewart followed this simple approach they would have found out what their customers/readers really wanted to see on the home page -- before it was designed.

Should web designers know about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

This is an issue that gets my frequent attention. And it has been discussed on a thread at Jill Whalen's SEO Forum. 89% of people in a poll at the forum said they expect web designers to at least have a basic understanding of SEO... as it is such an important part of web design these days.

My work through Solutions Found is aimed at educating business owners and marketers about how to manage these online elements of the marketing mix. For most businesses, the website should be generating leads. It's not just about looking pretty.

In my opinion I think web designers should know about SEO, as well as about blogging, forums, shopping carts, online payments systems and the like. Because the website does not exist in isolation. Web designers should be in a position to advise clients - even if they can't do all the technical work themselves.

It can be a lot to ask of a web designer to keep up to date with these areas. But that's the difference between being a professional in your field, and just doing enough to 'get by'. All leaders in their field go to great efforts to stay in tune with developments related to their industry.

If you'd like a bit more information, in a previous article titled Website Optimisation Tactics Explained I cover some of the SEO basics that are extremely important.