Follow Up Marketing Experts Blog

Buddy and Fancy, The Follow Up Marketing Cats are back!

 

Yes, it has been 10 days since our last post.  We have taken several classes and have a ton of information to share with you.  Thomas Dos is going downhill rapidly which hasn't helped our mood.  It is hard when someone that you have lived with for many years is about to leave you.

Ok, today we are going to talk about networking.  I know we have talked about this in the past but we have found a few new ideas that we want to share.

First, ask them to share their story.  This could include their work, but they will also tell you about their family and other activities they enjoy.  Just listen as they talk and by the time they are through you will know a lot about them.  Be sure to jot down notes about what they shared.  If they love to hunt and fish, you could send them an interesting article on the subject.

Second, ask them questions as they tell their story.  People love to share.

Third, if you hate to go to networking events alone, take a friend.

Fourth, have your elevator speech ready.  This is hard for Buddy and me.  We are still working on the perfect elevator speech.

Fifth, before you ask for something from them, be sure you have given your all.  Get to know them.  Much of this will be done by asking for their story but then you need to spend time with them besides this first meeting.  Have lunch or coffee and talk about how you can help each other.  Think about it this way, do you know this person well enough and know what they do to recommend them to your best friend?  This is where I have a hard time with lead groups.  Suppose there is an person in that group that you could not recommend for one reason or another.  How do you give them leads?  Buddy and I really like the one on one meetings to really get to know that other cat.

Sixth, you can volunteer.  Local charities are always looking for help.  Think about all those cats that need your help!

Seventh, when you go to a networking event, seek out someone that you don't know.  Also, if you know someone is new to the city, take them to lunch and offer your help.

Ok, that is it for today.  Buddy and I are going to go lie in the sun and take a nap!  Meow and Purrs till next time!

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Buddy and Fancy, The Follow Up Marketing Cats define a Tribe.

We have been asked about what is a Tribe.  We found this really cool video by Seth Godin on You Tube.  It is about 18 minutes long but he discusses Tribes and what they are.

Again, Buddy and I are trying to form a Tribe.  This tribe will be businesses that really want to learn how to market their business.  If you are interested, just put your email in the box on the top right of this page.  Perhaps you should be a cat lover too, LOL!

Tell us what you think of the video.

 

Meows and Purrs till tomorrow!

Buddy and Fancy, The Follow Up Marketing Cats talk about cool marketing ideas!

Here is a picture of Buddy and me.  We really love each other!

I just read a cool post about ways to market your business.  It was written for retailers but many can be used for any business.  Here you go!

Do "How To" videos.

If you have a flower shop you could do one on putting together a centerpiece for fall.

If you are a service provider, like we are, you could do one on ways to network.  Show the right way and the wrong way.

Put the video on your website and social media sites, like Facebook, Pinterest etc.  If you have a physical location, you could have the video playing in the store.

A clothing store could be demonstrating how to use scarves.

Think about what you do and then do a video!

Partner with another business.

This might be displaying their product in your store and they will display yours!

You could also give out gift certificates for the other business and they give out yours.

Share information about community events.

We are having a Quilt Show this weekend at the high school.  Tell people if they bring in their receipt from the show that they will get 20% off their total purchases.  It would be great to have a booth there too to promote your store and show your support for the community.

You might want to put together a list of events each month and give it out to customers.

Give out gift certificates to volunteers.

For example, the people that help at the Quilt Show might receive a $10 gift certificate to your store as a thank you for helping.

Create your own event.

Our town does Trick or Treat Street.  You might want to add to that by offering pictures of the kids in their costumes.  Be creative with this idea.

Well, Buddy and I are going to go get the red dot!  Wish us luck!  Meow and Purrs till tomorrow!

Buddy and Fancy, The Follow Up Marketing Cats talk about customer reviews.

Thomas Dos is still eating and again watching out the window.  I think I might make him write the next article.

I just read a great article about Customer Reviews.  Most businesses just don't think about this aspect of a business and how it can affect you both good and bad.  It is so easy today to leave a review.  You can leave it on Facebook, Twitter and many other sites like Yelp and Merchant Circle.

I would like you to go into Google and put in your business name and see what comes up.  We did that for my master's son and found tons of mistakes.  The wrong address, wrong email, wrong website and other information that needs to be corrected. We will be doing this in the coming weeks.  So, go to Google and put in your business name.  I will take a nap until you return.

Ok, what did you find?  Be honest and share the information below.  What, there was nothing about your business?  This is not a good thing.  You want people to find you when they put in the keywords.  For example, when people type in "Why does blowouts in Johnstown, CO" we want Lutey's Landscaping to come up.   Does it?  No!  Time to regroup and get it found on Google.  I really hope you are not in this situation but if you are it is time to regroup.

There also were no reviews.  This is bad. Do you have any reviews?  If not, time to ask for some.  Both good and bad will do.  Bad tells you what you need to correct and good is great!

We also would suggest that you go to Google Alerts and put in the name of your business.  That way if anything comes up you will be notified.  Again both good and bad.

Customers are your life blood and you need to know what they want and need and then you need to give them those things.  You also need to know when they aren't happy, so you can make them happy, happy, happy as they say on Duck Dynasty!

Ok, time to be bad!  I am really good at that!  Meow and Purrs till tomorrow

Buddy and Fancy, The Follow Up Marketing Cats talk about customer service.

Thomas Dos is AOK today.  Still eating and drinking and even looking out the window.

Yesterday my master's went to a new restaurant that just opened.  The inside was decorated great and lots of TV's so they could watch the Bronco Game.  They had to share a table with another couple but that was ok and they enjoyed their company.  You could tell that the only waitress for tons of people was new.  I think it was her second day on the job.  She was trying but you could tell that she hadn't had proper training.  Their POS system wasn't up yet and they could only take cash.  The food was OK but will they be back???  Probably not.  What is the lesson to learn from this?  Many things could have been done differently but they are new and so we will see what the future will bring.  So many small businesses forget the small stuff which is really the big stuff to customers.  I also listened to a super cool video on customer service and I am going to share some of the tips that were shared.

We all know that good customer service is common sense.  We all know what is needed and required to provide that service.  However, humans are complex and different and what pleases one person is not good enough for another.  That is why we have to get a really understanding of customer service at all levels.  You need to read your customers.  Some want lots of attention and others not so much.  It is like me.  I love attention!  I could sit on my master's lap for hours but not Buddy.  He is happy with about a minute of attention.  So, like I said everyone is different and you need to really get to know your customers.

So what is the essence of good service?  Is it about friendliness?   Is it about consistence?  Under promising and over delivering?  Wowing the customers? Of course all of these are important but according to experts, what you need to do is make the customer feel better about themselves when they are with you or in your store.  How do your customers feel when they deal with you?

Remember, people have many choices and when they leave your store, restaurant or office do they feel great about themselves because of the service that you provided?  If they do, they will love you and tell others about you.  If they had a great experience or meal, they will tweet it or check in on Facebook.  This tells others that they enjoyed yourselves and they would like others to try this place too.

Sometimes we slip up and don't offer what we should.  However, they will let that go and remember the good times.

We must be good at looking at their body language to see if they are happy or unhappy.  Ask them how everything was.  I am very honest about what I think.  If the master's give me a new cat food and I don't like it, I just don't eat it.  If they buy a new toy, I will try it out but if it isn't any fun, it will end up under the sofa...gone forever.  Find out what your customers want and need and then provide it.  Ask them again and again.  Always be listening to what they are saying.  You could also have mystery shoppers, discussions, and surveys.

So before I go take my nap, I want you to think about what was just said and try applying it to your customers.  We know this will help to make your business a super success!  Meow and Purrs till tomorrow.

Be sure to join our tribe.  Just put your email in the box at the top right hand corner to receive your meows each day!

 

Buddy and Fancy, The Follow Up Marketing Cats want a tribe.

Thomas Dos is still eating and somewhat active. 

Today we are going to discuss some items that as a business owner you need to review.  These are things that will be discussed at our meeting today with my master's son.

Insurance-Review this and make sure you are covered.  Look at the people that didn't have flood insurance.  They now have to depend on the government for assistance.  You always want to make sure that you are covered for all aspects of your business.

Phone- We discussed this before but be sure you have a person answering the phone instead of an answering machine.  A lot of business is lost as a result.

Email- This can take a ton of time.  If you have someone screen these, it will save you tons of time.

Schedule- We will be discussing the monthly schedule and making sure we are not wasting time.  It would be a good idea for you to put together a schedule weekly, monthly and yearly and review it often. A weekly board meeting is always important plus one with employees. 

Budget- It is nice to know what has come in and what must go out.  Are you ahead or behind?  This is super important to know.

We will see how this meeting goes.  I am hoping for the best since we are dealing with family.  The sooner you keep on top of your business, the better it will run and be successful.  This is something we didn't do and it shows.  Hopefully next year will be better.

Ok, Meow and Purrs till tomorrow.

P.S. Please sign up for email notifications in the top right hand corner.  We really want to build a tribe of interested business owners!

 

Buddy and Fancy, The Follow Up Marketing Cats want a tribe.

Report on Thomas Dos is he is better today.  He is still eating and drinking and a little more social.  We will keep you posted.

The Follow Up Marketing cats have posted many ideas that you can use in your business.  However, not everyone that gets this blog is a business owner.  We are hoping to get a few more people as part of our Tribe.  If you are a business owner and like the ideas we post, please sign up for a email notification in the upper right hand corner.

Tomorrow we sit down with our Master's son and discuss his business and what needs to be done.  Goals are on the agenda.  We are doing monthly, quarterly and yearly plus long term goals as well.  Do you have your goals written down?  If not, it is time to do this.  As cats, we have our goals.  Daily we try to catch the red dot, eat and drink and play.  Yours should be more detailed since you are a business owner.

If you have others that can help you, ask them.  It is always more fun to do this with others.

Some suggestions might be:

1.  Goal for your weekly income both net and gross

2.  Goal for the number of new clients or customers

3.  Goal for the number of repeat clients or customers

4.  Goal for the number of referrals you will get from clients or customers

Please share any ideas you have on Goals.  This is such an important part of your business and will mean the difference between success and failure.

Ok, back to catching the red dot...my goal for the day!  Meow and Purrs!

Buddy and Fancy are now the Follow Up Marketing Cats

Thomas Dos was up and eating this morning.  Not sure if that is good or bad.  We will keep you posted.

We are still trying to help our master's son in his landscaping business.  One important thing that came up is using the phone.  The owner is the one that has the phone and answers all the calls.  He also mows, puts in sprinkler things and a ton of other stuff.  It is affecting his business and needs to be addressed.  I came across some great suggestions for using the phone that I am going to share with you today.

Are you losing customers over the phone?  Here are some useful suggestions from experts.

1. Let the caller know who you are when you answer the phone.

2. Smile over the phone.  This really works!

3.  Keep your caller informed.

4.  Invite the caller to get to the point- ask "How may I help you".

5.  If you don't have the answer, tell them when you will get back to them and then be sure you do it.

6.  Thank the caller for calling.

7.  Don't put them on hold.

8.  Track your leads- Get their name, email, phone number, address, etc.

9.  Ask them how they heard about you.

10.  Be sure you have someone available during working hours to answer the phone...No Answering Machines!

Ok, I am off to check on Thomas Dos.  Do some thinking about how you handle the phone.  This can make or break a business.  If someone calls and gets an answering machine, do you think they call back??  Probably not.  They just take the next company listed in Google.  How much business are you losing as a result?  Just some cat food for thought!

Meow and Purrs till tomorrow.

 

 

Buddy and Fancy are now the Follow Up Marketing Cats

 

 

Thomas Dos is doing worse and we feel that the end is in sight.  We are all very sad at our house.  Buddy even has a hard time chasing the red dot and I am feeling down too.  It is so hard to loose someone that is with you day in and day out.

I did listen to a great You Tube video that I am going to share with you.  It is a great presentation and something to really think about.  So enjoy and meow and purrs till tomorrow.

 

Thomas Dos, The Follow Up Marketing Cat - Is having a bad day.

I, Fancy, am writing this post for Thomas Dos because he is having a bad day.  The stones are kicking up again.  We will see what happens. 

I am going to try to think of something cheery since we need that around here.  I am trying to think as I watch Buddy chase the red dot around the floor.  Why does he like that red dot so much!  I guess it gives him exercise and he enjoys it.  Are you chasing a red dot and just can’t reach it?

A red dot could be something you really want.  It might be a new car, new job, new body etc.   What is the best way to catch the red dot?  From what I have heard, if you write something down you have tons more chances of achieving it.  This is really important for any business.  This is one mistake that my master’s son made in his business and now he has to regroup and practically start over.  This will be done this evening in a board meeting and we will see what happens.

So, if you don't have goals for your business, perhaps you should get a pad and pen and start writing down what you want to accomplish in 5 years, 3 years and this coming year.  After that, you can break down the steps that it will take to reach that goal.  The more you break down the steps, the better chance you will have of achieving them.

This should be based on a niche.  Maybe it is doing landscape work in Johnstown, CO.  Once you know your niche, it is easy to put together your goals.  Be sure these goals are very specific.  The more specific you are the better.  Small steps are easy to accomplish and will probably get done.  Big chunks look like mountains and may never get done.  So get the pen and paper and start writing down the goals that you want to accomplish.  We will be doing this tonight.  I will try not to purr too loud or be too much of a problem but sometimes I just can't help myself.

Until tomorrow, Meow and Purrs!

Again, remember to sign up for this blog.  Just put your email in the box at the top of the page to receive some great meow topics on marketing.  Marketing just gets under my fur!

Also, if you want any advice about marketing, you can click on the business card at the top right hand corner to reach my master...and me!  We love to help small businesses!