Posts Tagged ‘Business’
Internet Marketing & Advertising Are Too Confusing To Small Business Owners
I have come to the conclusion that the online world has forgotten how to connect with small business owners. Talking in terms of impressions, traffic, page views and links just doesn’t compute. The small business owner doesn’t care about those events unless it means increasing revenue, they’ll make more money from it. Yes they are indicators and bench marks to determine if online efforts are paying off but the real truth is in the cash draw at the end of the day. For small business owners to understand all this jargon you need to keep it simple, dummy it down so to speak.
I recently met with a small business owner and they could care less about what all that stuff meant, they want to improve business that’s it that’s all. More sales, more traffic through the doors, more traffic to their website that they spent a pile of money on. Because at night when they go to bed they are thinking about how to pay the hydro bill, the phone bill and their staff. The problem is still the same even with Internet. Why is it that Internet Marketer’s think the problem changes just because it’s the Internet? Oh, to make it more confusing, there appears to be different types of Internet Marketers!
Granted, a well thought out marketing strategy should include an online presence and a good advertising program, but, the Internet is only one part of it not the end all answer. Cross promotion, making sure your websites address is on all correspondence, letterhead, business cards and the like. You bet!
That business owner told me that all the jargon was too confusing not to mention being told how it all worked! It could be that the person selling the online presence is not looking at the problem from the same side of the table as the potential client. Looking at it as a transaction instead of genuinely wanting to help, to help solve the problem, to sit in the same boat and go on the journey with them. If you did, you would find the client much more open to your suggestions, why, because they will feel you have something to lose too.
Keep it simple stupid (KISS) still rings in my ears, help your clients get there by joining them on the journey. I know you think I’m assuming all marketers are doing the same thing, but when you hear the same story everyday from small business owners you have to wonder what’s up.
Online Marketing is different, it’s not the same as traditional advertising even though the results might be the same. Take the time to help them understand, show them how simple it can be and stop trying to sound so smart because you get it. And if it’s possible, help them and yourself identify the different types of Internet Marketers there are in the world.
I had to share this with you today because it was frustrating to hear another story as to why their online presence was a negative experience, they felt stupid because the person selling didn’t take the time care for them.
Care for your clients and tell the truth, the rewards are great for all parties involved.
What Constitutes an E-Mail Business Record
I don’t recall when I wrote this or if it belongs to someone else but it is an important thing to keep in mind none the less.
Not every message that enters or leaves the organization’s e-mail system is a business record. E-Mail containing information about lunch appointments, work group discussions, and administrative notices are examples of messages that probably do not have to be managed as “official” business records and may be discarded when no longer needed.
The organization’s welfare depends on your ability to distinguish business records from nonessential to the annual company picnic has considerably less value than an external e-mail in which a contractor agrees to complete a specific project for an agreed-on fee. While the picnic announcement has little significance after the event, the contractor’s message may be needed in the future to hold the contractor to his price quoted or settle disputes over the quality or scope of work performed. Consequently, the contractor’s message is a business record and should be treated as such.
When it comes to business records, management faces a twofold challenge:
(1) You must establish a clear definition of a business record to protect the business and legal interests of the organization.
(2) You must communicate that definition clearly and consistently to all employees to ensure that the definition is applied properly, e-mail is managed effectively, and the organization’s legal interests are served.
The result: Valuable information is retained, and useless information that would otherwise overburden your system is purged.
Internet Marketer or Internet Scammer?
This past week I have attended a number of webinars and joined mailing lists as part of on going need to figure out what is it that makes the term Internet Marketer demand so much respect. I recognize that 90% of the Internet Marketers may fall under the term Internet Scammer, not because they are bad people but because they are merely following some elses way of doing things because it worked for them. I’m a bit old school in that, nothing comes without hard work and persistance, and they preach the same thing but with a spin.
I guess I’m bothered by the fact that almost every Internet Marketer has narrowed down the delivery to a point where I no longer trust it. If I got a nickel for every landing page that looks the same I wouldn’t have to work for a living…hang on I don’t! That’s another story for another time and I am looking. I’ll bet the landing page is the same for well over 95% of those who call themselves Internet Marketers, why? Because they say it works.
To be completely honest I’m more interested in the motives, why are they doing what they are doing, I know make money. But there has to be a deeper motivator, doesn’t there? What’s the real reason for being an Internet Marketer, what’s the WHY I AM I DOING THIS? I want to know I can trust you, I want to know there is a greater good to making the kind of money you claim to make.
If you did a search on Google for Internet Marketing you would find the results around 89 million related links on the topic, if you searched for How to Make Money Online you would find over 30 Million related links. If you changed it to say Make Money Online the results jump to over 40 million, then the big one, Get Rich Online, it has over 253 Million results. I wonder, if you were to click on every one of those links how many of them would look the same and or claim the same things? That’s alot of opportunity, that’s a lot of problem solving, they all want your money and they all say they have the answer to your problem, but do they?
Why do so many follow Internet Marketers? The need is money of course. The problem I have found is that many of these Internet Marketers are selling the easy road, you don’t need this and that and you don’t have to sell! Prosperity teaching is not a good theology to live by, as I mentioned earlier, nothing comes without hard work and persistance. Therefore, being sold on how little you have to do should be a red flag shouldn’t it? It’s too good to be true and so on.
So what to do, who do you follow, how do you know who to trust without losing your shirt buying report after report on how to get rich online? I watched a video clip of three guy’s sit and talk about how they made money doing this and that without really telling how they did it, of course they want you to buy something thats why. My struggle with these fellows wasn’t that they figured out how to make money but it was there attitude, they laughed at how easy it was to make all this money. It was like they finally ripped off the man, the problem is they didn’t, they ripped you and me off.They took our money for something we believed was valueable. Ok, good for you, now what? What are you going to do with all that money? Are you going to make a difference in the world, feed the poor, clothe those living on the street? The list is endless. I have only heard of a couple gentlemen who are using they’re Internet Marketing business to do missionary work, to make a difference, now that tells me just maybe the motive is right, but is it? How do we find out? How we find out is another topic to cover at a later date.
I’m not a highly suspicious person but I do smell crap easily and I can tell when something is rotten in Denmark. I’m no scholar and I’m definetly not an English major ( you can tell by my writing). If the goal is to make money and lots of it, and your not going to use the money to help those in need, why are you doing it? What’s the point of all this money making?
I would suggest to you that knowing the why is where to start, check your motives, why do you feel the way you feel about what you are going to do. It’s taken me a lifetime to figure what I’m truly passionate about, why I write, why I share and why I care about those around me so much. Including you. I’m not crying sour grapes because I spent so much time and money trying to duplicate someones Internet Marketing business model and failed. No, I have two passions that drive me, one is sending a messsage about the advancements of technology and how you will be impacted by it and to help you realize that you can make a difference, you are special, you can be and do better than you are. And that means asking the tough question of why, why become an Internet Marketer, why do you do what you do, what is the reason you spend your time and your money the way you do.
I know some Internet Marketers will take offence to this post and you may believe your motives are right, and that may be true, I would love to hear about the great things you’re doing in your community with the money you make from your business. I would love to hear what makes you unique, what makes you different and what you are passionate about. I am merely suggesting that the majority of Internet Marketers don’t give a minutes thought to how they could make a difference in a world that is suffering. They believe that making money from you so you can do the same to someone else is a noble thing to do even it doesn’t help you. I can only hope you will be different, I can only hope your motives are right and you truly want to help those around you.
So I ask you, are you an Internet Marketer or an Internet Scammer? Do you give or do you only take?
How many people are better off because you lived, not for how much money you made or what you have materially, but because you got involved in someones life and made a difference. After all, in the end, you can’t take it with you.
An Online Success Story for You!
I have to admit that Internet Marketing has really changed it’s shape over the years. Affiliate Programs have found there way into the mainstream and create cash flow for those who are dedicated.
I came across a program called ” The Super Affiliate Handbook ” by Rosalind Gardner and gave it a read. Yes you have to buy it, but it also gives you a great step-by-step way of participating. If you have the stomach for Affiliate Marketing then read below and test your will to make money on the Internet. It’s not for everyone but you can earn extra income from home.
Read the amazing true story of how one woman, with no previous business experience, earned $436,797+ in 2002 and now earns MUCH MORE than that … just by selling other people’s stuff online!
In her down-to-earth, sincere and often humorous style, Rosalind Gardner guides you through the entire process of building an affiliate marketing business on the ‘Net.
Frequently revised and updated to reflect industry changes, the Super Affiliate Handbook now consists of 236 pages and 124 screenshots that will show you step-by-step how to become a Super Affiliate. You’ll learn how to pick the best affiliate programs, negotiate a commission raise and save time, money and effort on everything from affiliate software to web hosting.
To learn exactly how she does it, Click Here.
The Entrepreneurial Seizure
Michael Gerber said it best in his book The E-Myth revisited, many of us think we can run a business better than our boss does because we know how to do the technical work. When that happens we start the self talk, I can do what he or she does better, I know more about this and that, before you know it you have convinced yourself you should step out on your own and setup shop. That is called the Entrepreneurial Seizure.
The truth is, just because you know how to do the work does not mean you know how to run a business! The gap between a technician and an entrepreneur is huge, failing to see this gap is why the majority of all small businesses fail. Even at my age I am embarrassed to say I didn’t see the problem earlier in my life, my father, (may he rest in peace) always said, ” I can do anything another man has done”. Was he talking about the Entrepreneur or the Technician? The technician of course.
Deciding to go into business for yourself takes serious work, take the time to do a good plan an take an inventory of yourself, strengths, weaknesses and so on. There are many ways to do this inventory but if you read Michael’s book you will find you have a bigger problem lying inside of you. There is a fight that takes place in everyone who has this seizure, there is a way to win the fight but it’s not for the weak of heart. Till next time.