Physics is governed by laws and theories that help scientists understand how our universe works.  There is the Theory of Relativity, the String Theory, and Newton’s Laws.  So it is with business.  While there are theories out there that you can put to use in helping make your business successful, there are also business laws that you violate at your own peril.  One of the most famous laws is the Law of Location.

Your office, your shop, your website, and you attendance at networking events are proof of the Law of Location at work.  If you are where your potential clients and customers are then you will most likely be successful.  Conversely if you are in a place where there are no potential clients then… it is going to be very hard to be successful.

The same Law of Location applies to where your business should spend its time in social media.  Your chances of having successful engagements and conversations will be best served if you are in the right location.

I want to put a ding in the universe. – Steve Jobs

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Oh! My!

Facebook and Twitter are household names.  You may have a personal profile on both of them.  There is no doubt that both are growing and being used more by businesses to communicate with their customers.  The latest stats show that the trend for the use of Facebook will most likely eclipse the use of Google.1 Yet is that the right platform for your business?

A great place for a high traffic newsstand?

Twitter is a real time streaming platform that only allows you to communicate in 140 characters or less.  Dell, Starbucks, JetBlue, and Whole Foods are considered the most successful corporations that use Twitter.  Dell is even reporting that it has earned up to $3 million in sales through its use of Twitter.2 Can your business really provide value in a rapid-fire environment like that?

The answer to these questions comes back to knowing your market, your business, and your customer.  Before you even jump into social media, you better have that knowledge firmly researched and understood.  The best way to do that is… ask your customers!  Ask them if, when, where, and how they engage in social media.  Doing this diligent research will save you the time (which always equals money) that you will invest in your social media effort.

So get cracking and do the necessary research before you even begin your campaign.  You might even discover that social media is not right for your business.  Yet, I highly doubt that.  The reality is that you will most likely discover that there are only a few platforms that are right for your business.

I like the atmosphere, the food and the beer.  The location is perfect, very easy to get to. – Arun Das

Communicate Correctly At Your Location

This sounds like that should be something that is easy to do, but sadly many businesses do this incorrectly.  Each social media platform has its own rules for engagement and the community expects you to get it right.  Otherwise you will be ignored or worse… labeled as a spammer!

It is the same when you would research a physical location for your business.  Not only would you look at the traffic that will place clients at your doorstep, but also at the rules and laws you have to follow to advertise to that traffic.  The same applies to social media, although without the official laws and codes that can land you with fines.

Shouting! The best way to shut communication down!

One of the bet ways to understand the nature of the communication of the social platform you have chosen is to observe.  Watch how your clients communicate with your competition, other customers and in other markets outside yours.  Passively observe your competition and how they communicate with your market.  By listening – which can only be active when applied to social media – you will learn what works, what offends, and what is… boring.  This information will help you create content that engages and builds a conversation around it.

Remember that business is a transaction between people.  For that transaction to take place ideas, concepts, and values have to be communicated in a means that is easily understood by all parties involved.  That means you have to listen to be an effective communicator in the real world and in social media.

I like to listen.  I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.  Most people never listen. – Ernest Hemingway

Successful use of social media is being in the right location and being involved.  That means a give and take and letting the conversation flow like a river.  To allow that conversation to flow you have to give up control and trust those you have engaged with.  Most businesses have a hard time doing that.

Yet, if you are in the right location and you trust your customers, then there is nothing to worry about.  In the process you will learn the underlying needs, ingenious uses of your products/services that would remain hidden, and of new opportunities all by being open.

Do your homework.  Find the social media location where you and your business belong.  Listen, engage, and communicate in the correct way for your social media location.  Allow for the serendipity to begin!

What other ways are there for you to find the right social media location for your business?

2 Miller, C. C. “Dell Says It Earned $3 Million From Twitter” New York Times, 12 June 2009.

In a previous post I discussed five guidelines a business should follow when it comes to engaging in social media.  They are question, plan, location, test, and measure.  In the coming posts I will be discussing each of them in greater detail.  This post will focus on the questions you need to ask yourself and your business before you begin.

Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.

Tony Robbins

The Foundation Question

Why should anyone listen to you?

Is anybody listening?

That is a pretty humbling question.  It makes you have to justify your existence in social media.  It puts you on the spot and can make you feel narcissistic in answering.  Yet, in its answer you will find the foundation for your social media plan and how you will measure your success/failure.

When you started your business you asked yourself the same question.  Slightly different in its wording – Why would anyone buy your product/services? – but basically the same.  I am sure you answered that question with a burning passion to fulfill the unmet needs of your customers.  Only you could make them be better off.

You must have the same faith in yourself in engaging in social media.  You have a profound message and that those who listen to you will be better persons, will learn something new, will find answers to their questions, etc.

My client Rocky Mountain Roots knows that their services will lead their customers to lead healthier lives.  They know that their community has a few misunderstandings when it comes to alternative medicine.  So my clients engage their community to educate them.  They hold the passionate belief that they are the best people to educate their community.  That is their why.

What will yours be?

We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us.

Friedrich Nietzsche

The Voice Question

Some confuse this with persona, which is how your network perceives you.   Your voice is how you will write, post, tweet, and otherwise engage with your audience.  You need to determine what your voice is going to be and make sure that it is consistent across all social media networks your are engaging in.

Typically most businesses engage in the third person as their voice.  This only gives credence that companies are cold faceless entities that care little for their customers’ needs/complaints.  It is best to have a first person voice.

Speaking in the first person has to match with the social media persona you are going to be using.  The first person creates an individual bond with each person you are engaging with.  They feel as if they are speaking with a real person as opposed to a faceless entity.

Understand that you will not please everyone.  That is okay, because pleasing everyone pleases no one.  So define your voice that best represents your business and make sure that it is personal.

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.

Ernest Hemingway

The Listening Question

If you have been engaged individually in social media already you know that some people and/or businesses are only focused on themselves.  Just like in real life.  It is all me, me, me, and more me.

One of the tenets – one would say laws – of social media for businesses is to listen.  The question that needs to be answered is what kind of listening will you do?

Will you listen just to customers and potential clients?

Will you listen to your markets?

Will you listen to your competition?

Will you listen to learn?

Will you listen to bad/good news?

Will you listen to comments about you?

The answer should be a resounding “YES!” to all of them.

I hear what your saying but I am not listening

The great thing about the different social media platforms is that you can set up searches for items you want to know about, keep tabs on, and to educate yourself.  With many social media platforms providing real-time updates, you can passively monitor and listen.

The key to listening is being active in it.  This means that you cannot listen to everything or it becomes white noise.  When you develop your social media plan you will need to identify specifically what it is that you want to listen to.  Therefore you will be more actively engaged and focused on the information that matters to you and your customers the most!

HINT: Listening is always about them, never about you.

It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.

Karl Von Clausewitz

Once you have answered these and the other questions mentioned in the previous post, you will have a strong foundation to build a social media strategy and tactical plan.  You will be able to engage your audience and create loyal fans.  You will be in position to outmaneuver your competition and grow your business.  You will become a social media success!

Additional Reading For Your Success

Make Twitter Successful For Your Business

22 Traits of Successful Happy Bloggers

13 Truths About Social Media

5 Social Media Guidelines For Beginners

What questions would you ask your business, customers, or yourself before you jump into social media? Don’t be shy; share!

The alluring call of the Siren has finally gotten you to succumb.  You are going to market your business into the social media realm.  Here are five guidelines you need to follow to be successful in leveraging social media for your business.

Answer A Few Questions

We thought that we had the answers, it was the questions we had wrong. – Bono

Before you begin blogging, posting, tweeting, and linking you need to answer a few questions first.  The answers you provide will help you establish a focused effort that will result in a better use of resources.  So take your time to really answer them before you jump feet first into social media.  Here are the questions:

• Why should/would anyone listen to you?
• What is your persona?
• What is your voice?
• Where will you engage?
• Who will you want to engage?
• Who will execute your social media plan?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• When do you want to begin?
• How will you measure success?
• How will you listen?

Ten questions that you should have strong answers to before you begin your social media campaign.  All of them are weighed equally in importance.

Is your team asking the right questions?

It is has been my experience that where companies fail is in answering the first, third, and tenth questions sufficiently.  The result has been that these businesses present an unfocused approach that repeatedly misses opportunities to build a strong brand.  So take your time in researching your answers.

Make A Plan

The path to success is to take massive, determined action. – Tony Robbins

You made a business plan for your business, you made a marketing plan to market your business, and you may even have your salespeople use sales plans to beat their quota.  You know that plans keep your company focused and on target.  So why would you not have a plan for your use of social media?

This plan should layout the overall strategy for your social media campaign.  It will be particularly strong if you have successfully answered the questions above.  Primarily knowing what you want to measure and how you define success in social media are key components to your plan.   It will keep you focused and away from wasting time.

Your social media plan should be incorporated with your marketing, sales, and customer service plans.  It should not be a stand-alone entity.  Doing this will allow you to keep a

The Secret Recipe

single voice and representation of your brand not matter where your customers may engage you.

Your social media plan – like other plans for your business – should be a living document that is updated and adjusted to take advantage of opportunities for your business.  It is best to break down your tactical components of your social media plan into 30-60-90 day increments.  It is easier to execute in more manageable bites.

Choose The Right Platform

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. – Abraham Lincoln

It is important that you research which social media platform is right for your business.  Do not get caught up in the initial hype surrounding some of the platforms out there.  Facebook may not be where your customers are if you are a manufacturing B2B that sells ball bearings.  Go where your customers and where influencers of your customers roam.  This means that you might not go on to Twitter or Facebook, but set up a blog or network intensely on LinkedIn.  Business is still location, location, and location.

Test With Patience And Adjust

Distance tests a horse’s strength. Time reveals a person’s character. – Chinese Proverb

You need to measure your actions.

If you are entering into social media for the first time or coming back to it after a failed attempt, remember that patience is a virtue.  Social media is not a quick sale or a fast customer service resolution.  Social media is about being social and building relationships.  In essence social media is about what you and I do everyday at the office, with our customers, and how we make friends.  All of the things we have learned in the real world apply in social media: it takes time to get to know someone.

The great thing about that time is it allows you to test ideas, messaging, and service models while receiving feedback (that can be brutally honest) about your products.  If you enter into this medium with honest intentions you will be rewarded with insights that you would have most likely been overlooked.

Measure Your Effort

People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results – Albert Einstein

When you have established what it is that you want to measure in your social media campaign – measure it.  It could be gaining new followers, subscribers, fans, or customers.  Whatever it may be, the measurement you have selected is the best indicator of your efforts and if they are in alignment with your plan.  This is the same as how your measure your sales versus a quota or the return on a capital investment your business has made.  Otherwise how do you know what you are doing is correct?

Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.  – Ghandi

Odysseus had his crew put wax in their ears so they would not row his ship upon the deadly rocks where the Sirens lived.  Only he heard their song.  Your business needs to have the same focus.

When you decide to enter into social media as a marketing tool it can be easy for everyone to want to be involved.  That will tear you business apart and waste valuable resources.  Your effort needs to be focused.

There is no need to rush when it comes to social media.  Learn, observe, research, plan, and then execute a campaign that focuses on building strong relationships.  You will be rewarded.

The kingdom of your business is made up of two entities: the employees and the vendors. Each has desires that can compliment and compete against each other. Each provides your business with information that is tainted with bias and self-interests, yet valuable none the less.

The Vendors’ Desires

The desires of the vendor is to have a client use, promote, and re-purchase the products/services that the vendor provides. Each visit to a client is designed to move a decision further towards a purchase. The vendor rewards, showers with praises, and offers incentives to the client for each purchase that is made. When times are good the vendor is the client’s best friend.

This Vendor Wants You To Write More Rx's

Mere managers and executives mistake these overtures as testaments to their authority or their power. They become enthralled with the ability to get the vendor on a moments notice to fulfill any desire. These managers forget that it is the power of the purse and their capability to purchase that brings them such power.

These managers begin to believe that the desires of the vendor is akin to friendship. They forget that the information the vendor provides is biased with the vendor’s desire for more business and more sales. Unlike a business owner, these managers will allow declines in service and response times to slide because they “know” the vendor. They are willing to put up with poor quality because searching for a new vendor is difficult and time consuming. They are blind to the subtle and incremental price increases the vendor adds over time. These managers and executives are always surprised when the vendor folds.

The successful business owner knows the relationship to the vendor is about one thing only: business. A successful business owner uses this fundamental understanding in every dealing they have with a vendor. It does not mean that they will disrespect the vendor or maltreat them, instead the business owner will never forget that through all the pleasantries business is the underlying purpose for every visit.

This keeps the owner vigilant about quality, delivery, and experience it’s business has with the vendor. The owner does not tolerate anything that would fall below its own standards for products and services. The business owner challenges each price increase and requests by the vendor that its business “upgrade”. The business owner is always willing to find another vendor that will meet its needs and standards for service.

The successful business owner knows that it is in the customer where all the power lies.

Unlike the manager that is blinded by the “friendship” with the vendor, the owner recognizes that price increases, frequent request for new purchases, and declines in service are all signals from the vendor. Information that when placed next to the signals from the marketplace can be warnings of threats and opportunities to the owner’s business.

Unlike the executive that enjoys the power of the purse and the accolades it brings from the vendor, the business owner seeks a vendor that will compliment the productivity of their employees. The business owner will award a vendor with a contract or purchase only when the vendor helps the owner’s business increase its value to its customers. The successful business owner knows that it is in the customer where all the power lies.

The Employees’ Desires

A decent wage, promotion, titles, benefits, bonuses, and job security are but some of the desires of employees in any given business. When an employee feels that these desires are met and at times exceeded by a given employer than productivity increases. When these desires are not met and are sub-standard then productivity

Without Customers There Is No Need For Staff

decreases with quality and the business is in dire straights. Or is it?

The manager who treats their employees like servants should never be surprised that their work is substandard, quality is shoddy, and productivity poor. That part of the equation is a truth. Yet, the manager that compensates employees without discernment or overly provides too much, is placing their business at risk when conditions change. Those managers are blind by their wanting to be loved and liked. They do not see that by giving into the desires of employees can create discontent when salaries, benefits, awards, and jobs have to be taken away. These managers are blind to fact that by overly spoiling their employees can erase the desire to stretch for the finish line or push for the extra mile.

The successful business owner understands that the employer/employee relationship is about one thing: business.

The owner believes that employees should be rewarded for hard work, yet it recognizes that not all employees are the same. The business owner knows that employees will always desire greater wages, greater benefits, and job security. They also know that these desires are measured on a scale with the realities of the marketplace as a counter weight. The business owner seeks to obtain a close equilibrium as possible, never allowing the desires of the employees outweigh the realities of the marketplace. The successful business owner understands by doing this he/she keeps people employed, rewards success, keeps merit the focal point of promotions, keeps benefits funded, and keeps employees motivated to service the customers of the business.

The successful business owner hires the best, compensates above the competition, motivates the workforce, and moves employees up or out.

The successful business must forever be vigilant in listening to the members of their business kingdom. Not doing so puts them and their business in grave peril. So like with the marketplace, the successful business owner must train their ears to determine what desires are to be fulfilled and which are not.

What are the most successful businesses?  What is that they do that makes them unique?  How are they able to ride out a crisis after another crisis?

The first answer most likely is… they offer great products and services. I’d agree with that.  The second answer is… they compete in a unique market space or after a specific niche.  I’d say that is part of the answer.  The third answer is… they execute their plans to perfection.   Hmmm, okay I’d give you that one as well.  Here is a fourth answer:  These businesses have built up a tremendous amount of wealth in their relationship accounts.

What Is A Relationship Account

How Are Your Deposits?

It is the trust your customers and everyone outside your organization has in you, your brand, and your business. This account is built slowly over time and cannot be rebuilt on a dime.  The relationship account represents your integrity, your outward perceptions, and your value to the community.  A relationship account lets you get the benefit of the doubt in troubled times.

…value is delivered free through service, information, and time.

A relationship account is one of the most valuable tools for any business – heck any individual.  It begins to be built up over time through the consistent offerings of valuable products, services, and information to customers.  What compounds the interest on relationship deposits is the continuing delivery of value to anyone that passes by.  This has traditionally taken place through volunteer activities, participating social gatherings, and being involved in the community.  That value is delivered free through service, information, and time.  Now with the interconnectedness of social media you and your business can provide more value to a larger audience.  This will bring exponential deposits to your relationship account.

How Do You Build Up Your Relationship Account

Your interactions must be sincere.

You make every communication you exchange, whether it be in person or online, about your audience and not yourself.  You provide valuable information and resources that

How Much Is Your Account Worth?

your audience can use immediately.  You listen to your audience, you engage them in a meaningful way, and you thank them for their time.  Your interactions must be sincere.  You will have to be consistent in treating each member of your audience as the individuals they are. You will build a foundation of authority and credibility.

How Do You Use Your Relationship Account

It depends on the situation but it comes down to two types of withdraws from the account:

1. One you choose to make by asking for business/favor
2. One taken by the general community during a time of crisis

The first withdraw you get to choose when to use it.  It can be that you ask your customers or the general audience to follow you, purchase a product/service, or stand-up for you and your business.  If you have built up enough capital in your relationship account your audience will help you cash in.  If you have not, they will walk away and any good will you had tried to build up will quickly vanish.

The second withdraw you have no control over whatsoever.  Your audience and the general public control it during a time of crisis.  If you have worked diligently, sincerely, and openly to build up your relationship account then withdraws will be minimal keeping your reputation in good standing.  Your audience and your customers will rally around you, your brand, and your business.  If you have not spent the time to build up your account, they will be at the barricades with the pitchforks and torches.

Building a relationship account takes and time.  It is a process that is continual and must always be maintained.  Each business plan, marketing plan, and sales plan must take your relationship account in mind.  They must work to build deposits into your account.

Do you know what your relationship account status is?  How do you build up your account?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

This post is from my recent article on ezinearticles.com.

“Is my business and/or I am ready to be coached?”

Businesses, like yours, at various times need guidance. It could be that you are experiencing new growth and you need help in adjusting. It could be that your management team is young and inexperienced with the demands of their positions. You might need help keeping focus on your goals for your personal and professional life. The point being is that there are many reasons to select a business coach. The ultimate question is do you know how to choose a business coach at all? When should a business choose a business coach? To answer this question you first have to ask yourself a very important question of your own, “Is my business and/or I am ready to be coached?” The question of when is answered by you knowing if you are ready to be coached.

If you and your business have decided your ready for coach then you have already crossed the largest hurdle in your search.

Business coaching is a process and method that will challenge you and your business to be better than it already is and to reach for the unreachable. A coach does this by being an objective observer, asking uncomfortable challenging questions, and laying down fundamental plans double hold everyone accountable. So if the business is not ready (or if it is you) to be held accountable, challenged, and face the uncomfortable observations then it is not ready for a business coach. If you and your business have decided your ready for coach then you have already crossed the largest hurdle in your search. So what else should you look for when you search for a business coach?

There is no cookie-cutter approach to searching for coach for your business. Yet, but there are some standard criteria that you should use. Here are just a few of them:

• Do you get along with the coach?
• Can the coach explained to you what they can cannot do for you?
• How accessible is the coach to you and your team?
• What expectations does the coach have for you?

Of course there are many other criteria that go into selecting a business coach. There are countless blogs, websites, and brochures that can give you other questions you can use in your search. Let us go through in detail the four listed above.

At Least The Doors Are Open

You are going to be spending quite some time with your coach. So you better like them. Here is a tool that you can use when you are interviewing your coach. Imagine yourself on the longest road trip you have ever taken for your entire life. We have enough fuel, food, and no need for rest stops. The only unfortunate problems that you have on this road trip is that there is no radio, no rest stops, and it is just you and the coach that you are interviewing. You are alone in the car with the coach. You both know that this trip will take at least one month to complete. If you cannot get along with this person in the first few minutes, that is going to be one very long road trip. No no matter how many degrees, books, and clients this coach is served if you like him you are not going to listen to him. Is that plain and simple.

You are going to be spending quite some time with your coach. So you better like them.

If your coach has passed the car test, the next test is basically simple common sense. While every human being on the planet believes they all know the answers to everything, the reality is that we all know that is not the case. When it comes to business coaching is important that your coach can give you in great detail what they can do for you. It is even more important that they give you in greater detail what they cannot do for you. If your business is suffering from poor acquisitions and mergers than you want to know if your coach has experience in those particular areas. It would be a disservice to you and your business if you hire a coach that is excellent at executive committee cage and in public speaking for job they have no experience in. At a minimum that make the problem worse than it already is. Any coach that cannot detail what they cannot do for you is not worth hiring and you are better off containing your search.

In your search for business coach you will mostly come across the infamous, the famous, and notorious better part of this industry. That being the case it is important for you to know how open and accessible they are to you and your team. A coach that is difficult to get a hold of is not worthy of your investment. Would you hire a business coach they should be dedicated to your team and to ensuring that you reach your goals. How can a coach hold you accountable to the plans that you have both developed that they are not around to watch you put them into action? Quite simply it is difficult for them to do that.

Would you hire a business coach they will have expectations for you and you will have expectations as well. In your interviewing process for business coach you need to be honest with what your expectations are. For instance, if you want to turn a flagging organization from a poor performer to a multimillion dollar business in two months, then it might not be realistic for your coach to be that expectation. Another example, your management team is having problems communicating with each other and spend their time pointing fingers. Are you hiring your coach to be a referee? Or are you

Detailed Action Plans

hiring your coach to improve teamwork and communication skills? Without knowing what your expectations are your coach and you may devise a plan that does not solve your problem or need. Coming to an agreed expectation is important for any successful coaching relationship.

When a coach meets your expectations, aligns with your desired goals, gets along with you to provide honest feedback, and is on call when you need them, you will find that you and your business team can achieve the unachievable. A business coach can provide actionable plans that keeps you accountable and focused on obtaining your goals. A business coach can be an integral part of any team. Many business coaching relationships have become part of the many small business and corporate success stories across the globe. If you are careful and take your time in selecting a coach you too will experience success.

What has been your experience?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

Most organizations give praise from the top down.  This puts employees in competition with each other to receive praise and rewards from their bosses.  It is almost akin to a feudal system where each employee begs for the attention of their king – er, I mean boss, in court – oops I mean workplace.  This type of competition brings about a great amount of productivity, but it also stops the sharing of information between divisions.  Companies become blind to new markets and opportunities because the best ideas are not shared.

This video gives you a sense of what could happen if employees seek praised from their peers as well as their bosses.

Watch Peer To Peer Praise

Before you start smirking and thinking that I have gone stupid, give me at least the next three sentences to bend your ear.  I am not talking about being mean to one customer and super nice to the other.  I am not saying that you should have extreme differences in how you service your customers.  Instead you should start treat them how they want to be treated.

…give me at least the next three sentences to bend your ear.

Going Over Market Research

Companies spend large amounts of cash to segment their markets and define who their ideal customers are.  When it comes to the execution of their marketing and sales plans all that research gets thrown out the window.  Customers that are treated to exactly the same messaging costs companies millions and more in lost sales.

Treating your customers the same can and will result in leaving money on the table.

Still think I am little off?

Run this little exercise.  Take a look at your top performing customers.  Then look at the other eighty percent that make up the rest of your customer base.  Have those customers responded to your latest marketing and sales efforts?  Have they made a move in buying just like your top performers?  (I will give you a hint: the answer is most likely no.)

Companies spend large amounts of cash to segment their markets… then throw all that out the window when it comes to execution.

Now look at the marketing and sales message that you are currently using.  Your top customers are responding to it.  The rest of your customer base is not.  The messaging you are running with is the same… FOR EVERYBODY! You are losing potential sales and new fans because of it.

Male executives will take a product launched to men and just “make it pink.”

If you still think I am wrong, look at the recent article in the Wall Street Journal, about a Boston Consulting Group survey of 15,000 women and 5,000 men across 22 countries.  This survey discovered that male executives make large mistakes by treating their female customers the same as their male customers.

Bartering Prices

One of the most obnoxious points: male executives will take a product launched to men and just “make it pink.”  The executives fail to address even the basic needs of this customer segment and treat the female shopper the same as the male shopper.  (There are nine other mistakes that are made when marketing to female customers mentioned in the article.)

What can you do to avoid these mistakes and not lose potential sales?

• If you are in marketing, test your message with the different customer segments.  Pay attention to what they like and dislike.  Be willing to market to them in how they want to be marketed to.
• If you are in sales, use your pre-call planning to make sure you fully understand your customer.  Do you know where they come from and how they got where they are today?  Can you detail all their biases? Do you know how they make their decisions? Those are just a few questions, but there are many more.  If you cannot answer those three… ask your customer to tell you and then listen!
• Speaking of listening… Listen. Listen. Listen.  Your customers are telling you how they want to be treated.  They tell you in person, in social media, and by where they use their ultimate voice: their currency to purchase from your competitors.  If you still cannot figure it out, ask them and listen.

Treating your customers the same can and will result in leaving money on the table.  Get to know them, understand them, and treat them they way they want to be treated.

Still think I am nuts? I look forward to your comments!

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

I am honored that I know Shelly Kramer and that she took the time to be a guest writer on the Finding Answers Blog.  Her wit, charm, and above all unworldly eighth sense when it comes to social media are very apparent in her writing.  That leads me back to first rule and cornerstone of publishing online: content is emperor of all things Internet.  Without content, there is not a single reason for any of us to visit anything on the web.

Great content will compel anyone to understand more about you and seek your services.

As a business coach, I have had the pleasure to work with numerous organizations on how to embrace social media and the Internet.  From physicians to bar owners, all of them want to drive foot traffic to their stores using social media.  I tell them that great content will compel anyone to understand more about you and seek your services.  It sounds so easy!

All these advice posts about great content and it is amazing how many of us are so poor at it.

So Many Directions

This lesson is espoused in numerous blogs that have been typed feverishly across the world.  When you read any “how to’s” about blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. everyone mentions the importance of great content.   (In fact I know that some of you are rolling your eyes at this post right now saying in you minds or perhaps out loud, “Dude! Where have you been living?!?”)  Yet with all these advice posts out there about great content it is amazing how many of us are so poor at it.

Let’s face it.  You and I have been there, on Twitter, and we have clicked on one of those links.  You know… one of those links that goes with a tweet like “Learn three ways to _________.” So we click.  We are all excited to learn some secret that no one else knows or will make us smarter or will make us sexier, whatever.  As the page loads in our browsers our glee quickly fades into disappointment, for once again we have read a post with horrible content.

I will admit that at times I want to find that person who wrote the bad content and ask for my seconds back.  Demand that they not be allowed to post for a period of time.  Then I remember that I am just as guilty of placing horrible poorly written/thought out items online.  I would have to give time back to numerous souls.  I too would be banned from the Internet.

So how can we compel readers to visit our blogs and share its information across the world?

Write compelling posts and increase readership

The answer is easy enough.  Follow all those other advice blogs about great content.

Instead of applying them like steps in a recipe or what you need to complete when upgrading a software program, use those instructions as tools to analyze some of the blogs and articles you have loved.  Like with the guest post by Ms. Kramer on this blog.   If you look at the topic of her post, her prose, her call to action, and her argument you will see all the key elements of what is needed to write great content for the Internet:

• She speaks with authority – Social media is her bread and butter.  You can tell with her word selection and paragraph structure that Shelly knows her stuff.
• There is passion in her speech – This blog is not written by a timid spirit.  She calling out all men and saying that traditional marketers don’t get it when it comes to social media.  Wake up! It is a woman’s world!
• Shelly speaks in her voice – she does not put on airs or makes an academic objective stand.  You can almost hear the mighty Mississippi in the background as you read it.
• She is open for opinions – Ms. Kramer ends her post with a call for responses.  She wants to know what you think.

We Love What You Wrote!

It all sounds so easy does it not?  It is, when you apply those tools to great content that you already know.  Using them to see what fundamentals are necessary will help you write compelling posts and increase readership of your thoughts, opinions, and tips.  Heck!  You might even get someone to take you up on whatever it is you offer!

How do you write great content?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a coaching and consultancy provider for businesses and medical practices. He has over eleven years experience working within the pharmaceutical industry in various levels of leadership across six continents. He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on twitter at @Erroin

Marketing and PR have long been fields dominated by women and, as we move into the world of new media, especially all things related to social mediums, it’s no surprise that this is an area where women are amazingly adept. I’ll be the first to admit that, right now, men seem to dominate the field. You can’t toss a stick without hitting guys like Chris Brogan, Brian Solis, Jay Baer, Gary Vaynerchuck and other heavy hitters in the world of new media.  My advice to those talented gentlemen: enjoy it while you can, because it won’t be long until you’re overtaken by the Estrogen Team.

I am joking – but not. I just read a brilliant post Why Women Thrive In Social Media written by my good friend and occasional colleague, Owen JJ Stone, a/k/a @ohdoctah on Twitter. Owen is a big presence in the social media realm and is especially well known for his vlogging.  He understands video in a way that not everyone does, and is a sought after consultant when it comes to businesses wanting to integrate video and other tactics into their social media marketing efforts. But the beautiful thing about Owen is that he also understands women – and why they are so good at what they do.  His latest post on women in the social media realm is insightful and right on target.

Women make the majority of the purchasing decisions in most households

Women make the majority of the purchasing decisions in most households and nearly one-half of the workforce is comprised of women. In fact, in a recent poll done by Time magazine, some 40% of women surveyed indicate they are the primary breadwinners in their household. So, when it comes to brands and their never-changing objective of reaching their target audience, it’s a no-brainer that that audience is, in most cases, women. And women instinctively know not only how to connect with other women in effective ways, they also know what moves women and compels them to make buying decisions.

Our male counterparts… have to work infinitely harder… men are not, by nature, givers.

Power Exercised In Social Media

As such, it only makes sense that women are front and center when it comes to marketing and PR. And, in no time, we’ll see them really dominate (if they aren’t already) the world of social mediums. Women have been unloading on one another since the beginning of time. We dish dirt, we ask advice, we share tips and ideas, we offer shoulders upon which to cry and take them just as willingly when needed in return. We are often unflinchingly honest, with ourselves and one another, and share pieces of ourselves that would – and often do – horrify men. We are empathy personified and are conditioned to nurture from literally the earliest stages of toddlerhood on. As such, with the very fibers of our beings, we completely and totally “get” how important it is to listen within the social media world. And to give before we ever expect to get. Women are born givers. As such, we understand that giving is a natural part of the equation. Our male counterparts, no matter how accomplished, have to work infinitely harder to understand that concept, simply because men are not, by nature, givers.

And so, I leave you with this. The world of social mediums, while filled with manly movers, shakers, book writers and pontificators is, ultimately, a world that will be lovingly and most capably conquered by and led by some amazing women. They are out there already, quietly doing their thing. Some members of the Estrogen Team to whom I look for inspiration are @Laura_Lake @adamsconsulting @BuzzEdition @LizStrauss @Nongling @BethHarte @SSmirnov @zenaweist @BridgetAyers @SarahRobinson and @AnnEvanston. Some of them don’t even know me, or barely know me, yet they still inspire – thus, the beauty of Twitter.  And, please know, this is only a drop in the bucket of the many, many female voices singing so beautifully in the social media choir that so consumes me on a daily basis.

Who inspires you?

About The Author

Shelly Kramer is a Co-founder of V3 Integrated Marketing and founder of Kramer & Co, both headquartered in Kansas City, MO, and doing business with clients all over the world. She’s a sought after consultant and speaker, well-known for her “keeping it real” persona. She’s irreverent, irrepressible and possessed of a wicked sense of humor.  In short, when she’s in the room, you know it. And, when it comes to business her clients will be the first to tell you she is, without question, their secret weapon.  You can read her blog here: http://www.v3im.com/blog and find her on Twitter @shellykramer http://www.v3im.com