As we head into February, hopefully you’re starting to see how the changes you’ve made to your marketing strategy for this year are manifesting. However, trends are hardly static, and as soon as you start implementing one set of tactics, new developments emerge that can help you decide how to fine-tune your efforts. One thing that is growing by leaps and bounds in the first quarter of 2012 is video advertising. Consumers are responding both to the rapport that can be established over video, and also the comfortable familiarity and resemblance to television ads. Online video advertising can be done for a fraction of the cost of TV ads, so there’s no reason not to branch out and connect with a bigger audience in this way.
Exclusivity is another feature that consumers seem to love. Having trouble getting your customers to “like” your Facebook page? Offer special, exclusive content or offers to those who do, and watch those numbers soar. Many businesses have even found success with offering a tiered paid subscription service that lets subscribers in on special deals or offers. Keep in mind, though, if you’re going to charge money, the reward customers get will have to be worth it.
On the flip side of the exclusivity issue is loyalty. Getting customers is one part of your goal, but keeping them is even more important. Establishing a loyalty program with rewards is a great way to make sure customers stick around, but you should also create a series of perpetual action opportunities that give your customers incentive to try various products or services
Social gaming is a huge deal right now. If your business has an actual bricks-and-mortar premises, location-based services like Foursquare can help you take advantage of all that social gameplay has to offer, by creating deals and offers for people who prove their loyalty with frequent visits. You can even create points-based social games on your Facebook page, giving your fans and followers some friendly competition, and keeping them interacting with you the whole time.
Probably the most important thing you can focus on right now is using transparency to increase your online integrity perception. Being completely open and honest with your audience about who you are, what you stand for, and how you feel about things like privacy can make potential customers more confident about trusting your company with things like personal data. That sort of connection is essential in this age of online purchasing. Let me know your thoughts!
Peg McDermott
Emerging Marketing Trends in 2012
January 31, 2012
Leave a Comment » | 
Business Networking, Online Marketing | Tagged: bni northern virginia, business growth, Internet Marketing strategy, networking events, online marketing trends, small business tools | 
Permalink
Posted by BNI NOVA
BNI and Social Media – Compare and Contrast
January 30, 2012Here is an excellent guest blog post from BNI NOVA member, Andrea Howard of Social Media Maxima.
BNI is to social media as personal contact is to _____________ (fill in the blank with the appropriate word).
BNI teaches new members not to expect many referrals in the first year. It is a commonly held belief that it takes that long for group members to know you, like you, and trust you enough to pass your business to their associates. Is it reasonable to expect someone to show up every week, bring guests, meet with everyone in the chapter on an individual basis, give referrals to other group members for an entire year, not to mention the financial outlay, and expect little monetary exchange in return? Talk about a leap of faith. Apparently it is reasonable, because people all over the world are doing it, and have been doing it for many years. The expectation of delayed gratification is set up front, it is clear that other group members benefit, and there is a level of trust that if this formula is followed, success will follow.
There is a parallel between BNI and social media – similarly, rewards come to those who commit to be there, are engaged, consistent, and give freely with no strings attached. As with BNI, businesses cannot expect immediate results from social media, and may not see the fruits of this effort for some time. When they do experience a positive gain, it is probably not going to be as obvious as receiving a referral slip for a prospect eagerly awaiting their call. The benefits of social media are often more abstract; such as having an effective online presence for potentials to see, creating a positive culture around the brand, or bumping up the website’s SEO. As an opportunity cost, the benefits of devoting resources to social media, and BNI, may not be exact – but not participating is rejecting an opportunity to grow business.
Two critical areas where social media and BNI differ:
- BNI is based on direct human contact that is largely absent in the social space. The most influential connections on social platforms still have their roots in direct human contact (people you have met and have an established rapport). Engaging in social media is still about making those powerful connections, but with an approach suited to the platform.
- With Social media you can spread a net that is bound only by the limits of the physical world – you can touch a limitless number of people all over the world.
BNI members are great prospects for my business because of this corollary. It makes setting expectations about social media’s impact on their business bottom line easy because they already get the model of long-term ROI. This they understand…helping them convert to a social media strategy, including BNI’s social media platforms into that plan is another challenge, and the focus of a forthcoming blog post.
What other insights do you have about social media and BNI networking? How do you see the two working together for the benefit of business owners?
Andrea Howard
Leave a Comment » | Business Networking | Tagged: bni northern virginia, business growth, small business growth, small business tools, social media marketing | Permalink
Posted by BNI NOVA
Networking and Sex (Not What We Think)
December 13, 2011The survey of 12,000 business people says… Those who scored much higher in success were the people who focused first on the relationship and then on business!
The January 2012 release of the book, Business Networking and Sex (Not What You Think), will also reveal Dr. Misner’s survey results showing that men are more transactional, while women are relational. The data supports why women are usually more successful at networking.
Networking expert Susan RoAne applies this knowledge by reading the sports page everyday in order to be able to start conversations with men — even though she really hates sports. Armed with Susan’s successful recipe, men can follow suit and read Cosmopolitan or Home and Garden magazines to be able to more effectively talk with women.
If men make the effort, they will be more relational, and that commitment will pay off in networking.
Tammy, a third year BNIer says, “BNI has taught me how to talk to complete strangers and to be interested in their lives instead of trying to sell something to them.”
Contrast and compare this with Michael’s transactional style… “I don’t need to hear you bloviate. I know you think you’re important. I don’t give a care where you are, what you are doing or anything else about your life. All I need to know is the information, not how important you find yourself.”
Men tend to focus more on transactions than relationships. The survey shows that if you said you were not successful in networking, you were 60% likely to be a man. Furthermore, 60% of those who said they were not successful at networking and were transactional, focused on the business first, were men.
Dr. Misner created the GAINS Exchange in part because he wasn’t good at being relational. What I love about BNI is that it’s an even greater way to DO business, while continuing to be a great way to get business.
(To benefit from a more complete discussion, go to www.BNIpodcast.com <http://www.bnipodcast.com/> and enter Episode #234 in the search.)
—————————–
All the BEST,
Kirk E. Johnson
(C) 703-898-7171
BNI NOVA Area Director
Leave a Comment » | Business Networking | Tagged: bni northern virginia, business development, business growth, getting quality referrals, givers gain, Ivan Misner, networking, small business tools | Permalink
Posted by BNI NOVA
Selling vs Making Sales
December 1, 2011Are you normally “selling” whenever you get a chance to network with someone? Do you easily slip into your features and benefits speech and try to convince them that your product or service is the best thing since sliced bread? Do you find it easy to talk about your company and what you’ve done? Well, that’s okay, but you are losing thousands of dollars in sales and many multiple sales in the future!
What I mean is – listen and learn and educate. Stop yourself from trying to “make a sale” if you can and spend the time educating the other person on who you need to meet – what a good customer or client is for you. Spend the time learning about their business by listening and asking so you can find good customers for them and build a strong trust relationship.
If you sell the person they become just one of your customers. But if you build a relationship with them and spend the effort finding sales for each other, then this person becomes a referral source for life – resulting in multiple sales. Which do you prefer – one sale today or many multiple sales 3 months from now and from then on for years?
If you like building your business with multiple sales over the next several years, then stop selling and spend more time educating and learning.
Dave Boyd, BNI NOVA, dave@bninova.com
Leave a Comment » | Sales | Tagged: bni, bni northern virginia, bni nova, business development, business growth, getting quality referrals, givers gain, Ivan Misner, networking, networking events, sales & marketing, small business growth, small business tools | Permalink
Posted by BNI NOVA
Hurray the BNI NOVA Blog has arrived!
December 1, 2011This is our first post and hopefully not the last:) I want to take this opportunity to thank all the people who worked behind the scenes to make this happen especially, Peg McDermott of Cogo, because without her you wouldn’t be reading this.
Being the first post, I would like to share my vision regarding the blog and what I’d like it to become. Even though it is a BNI Blog, it is open to everyone, so the topics and comments posted should be relevant to the wider audience. I don’t see this blog as an opportunity to promote your products, services, or special offers. I do see this blog as a vehicle to share our experiences and perspectives and success stories and challenges regarding word of mouth and networking topics.
At the last BNI International Conference, Dr. Ivan Misner, promoted his latest book in a presentation: Business Networking and Sex, (not what you think) together with Hazel Walker and Frank De Raffelle. It triggered this thought that I would like to see posted in this blog: His and Her perspectives on the same topics, or as it was presented – he says/she says. We know that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus and we do have different ways of thinking and doing things. This blog would be a good place to explore those differences and commonalities and learn from each other so we can see how to communicate with the opposite sex in regards to business networking.
So here is the first topic for discussion: What is the best or worst thing that has happened to you at a Networking Event? You don’t need to identify yourself if you choose not to, but please specify your gender.
Looking forward to reading your comments!
Sam Schwartz, BNI NOVA
Leave a Comment » | Business Networking | Tagged: bni, bni northern virginia, bni nova, business development, business growth, getting quality referrals, givers gain, Ivan Misner, networking, networking events, sales & marketing, small business growth, small business tools | Permalink
Posted by BNI NOVA
