!nnova Buzz

LinkedIn Spam Unabated

2011-07-25T11:51:00.002+10:00

LinkedIn Spam continues unabated - despite LinkedIn claiming that their security is unbreakable and that all 66 "people" listed as employees of !nnovabiz are geniune profiles, I contend that the bulk of these entries are bogus!

LinkedIn are "hiding" behind Privacy regulations to avoid taking any action. Can't wait for Google+ to get the business profiles up and running!

Anyone else having similar experiences with LinkedIn?

Interesting Mindmapping Tool

2011-07-21T17:40:00.001+10:00

I’ve just discovered a “new” (to me at least) online mindmapping tool that looks very interesting. It’s Flash (swf), which means it isn’t Mac-friendly, but for us Android geeks, that’s not such a problem! http://www.innovabiz.com.au/mindmapping/spicynodes/

SBS shows the way with their Tour de Force...

2011-07-21T17:27:00.001+10:00

SBS shows the way with their Tour de Force

For the last 20 years I have been glued to SBS during July watching their coverage of my favourite sporting event, le Tour de France. In recent years our multicultural broadcaster has upped the ante b...

View or comment on Jürgen Strauss's post »

The Google+ project makes sharing on the web more like sharing in real-life.

Join Google+

I've setup an email to Posterous redirection...

2011-07-21T17:01:00.001+10:00

I've setup an email to Posterous redirection, that allows my Google Plus posts to then be sent to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Blogger, all from the Posterous account. Had to do a redirection via my own email address, as I didn't see a way to verify the Google Plus email back in Posterous. Looks like this works for now, until the official Google APIs are available.

Does anyone have other means of automatically syndicating Google Plus posts?

View or comment on Jürgen Strauss's post »

The Google+ project makes sharing on the web more like sharing in real-life.

Join Google+

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Who is Sylvia Jansen? (Is LinkedIn becoming a Spam Magnet?)

2010-12-23T16:48:00.001+11:00

I ask this very pertinent question via the blog post, because, what I know (and I'm only the business owner), is that LinkedIn is apparently actively hiring new staff for my company! Sylvia is the new manager for !nnovabiz Pty Ltd in the Rotterdam Area, Netherlands.

I could ask the same question for Robert Adams, CEO of Greater Nashville Area; Harshal Bhati, Engineer of Nagpur, India; Bbb Bhhh, Jiioo (huh?) Greece (oh, maybe it's LinkedIn's rendition of the Greek alphabet); Brian Distler, Boss of Houston, Texas; Harlyn Espanol, Sales Clerk in Philippines; Anas Idlibi, IT Manager in United Arab Emirates; Aljohn Lagne, No (huh?) in Philippines; Ryan M, mmm (doh???) Kitchener, Canada Area; Darshan Mody, Marketing, Australia; Nader Mostafa, No (another one??), Egypt; Bharat Pal, Dr, New Delhi Area, India; Justin Pfa, Huj (huh?), York, Pennsylvania; and Priya Rajesh, Research, India.

All claim on their LinkedIn profiles to be employees of Innovabiz Pty Ltd and hold current positions with my company.

Well, since LinkedIn apparently is descending into the realms of a "Mickey Mouse" networking organisation and hiding behind privacy protection of scammers, I will have to take things into my own hands!

To all the people named above - you have 24 hours to submit to me your full annual report for the year 2010, complete with Profit and Loss statement, showing how you add value to !nnovabiz Pty Ltd. If I don't have this report in my inbox by midnight GMT on 23 December 2010, YOU ARE FIRED! After that, please remove !nnovabiz Pty Ltd from your employment history on your LinkedIn Profile. Thank you.

Oh, and LinkedIn --- if you happen to read this and indeed, give a *&!@, perhaps you might address this situation to achieve a satisfactory outcome.

The Mindmap Doc

LinkedIn Spam

2010-12-14T11:17:00.001+11:00

Imagine my surprise when I was notified via LinkedIn of no less than eleven new employees of my company !nnovabiz, 3 based in India, 3 in the USA, 1 in Australia (in addition to the current employees), 2 in the Philippines and 1 in the UAE!

That is going to blow out my payroll costs! My accountant will definitely not be impressed!!

What is worse, these new employees have names that just don't reflect the right image for our company - Ningning Dong, manager chez, huj, no at, boss (just to name some). I also have several managers, research, sales, sales clerks, IT managers, Marketing, engineer and CEO.

HELP........ how am I going to keep all these people busy and how am I going to be able to pay them?

Seriously, it would appear that LinkedIn have a spam problem. I reported the issue to them and was notified that "The appropriate actions have been taken upon the profile." Unfortunately, it didn't have any effect - the said employees remain in LinkedIn on the company profile. When I enquired about what the "appropriate actions" were and pointed out that nothing had changed, I was told "Please note, we give members 10 days from our initial inquiry to make the necessary changes to their profile. If we do not receive a reply or see that the necessary changes have been made to the profile, we may take further action on the profile. For privacy reasons, I am unable to disclose the actions that may have been taken upon the profile."

So, let me see if I understand: anyone can place a LinkedIn entry on MY company's profile without restriction, but when I question that, I'm blocked by "privacy reasons" from protecting myself and my company from fraudulent entries???

C'mon LinkedIn, get your act together! I thought you were a serious networking site!

The Mindmap Doc

Random Acts of Culture

2010-12-13T16:48:00.001+11:00

The Knight Foundation, based in the USA, was established about a year ago to promote informed and engaged communities. One of their initiatives involves using the arts to engage people and bring communities together. Recently they have staged a series of "Random Acts of Culture" in public places in US cities. Here are a couple of examples.

Now this is something I get excited about - surprise in the day, but in a nice way. And what a great way to support local community talented musicians. Now they just need to leverage all that viral marketing to help promote (and raise more money for) their foundation and the musicians.

The Mindmap Doc

Bottle Band - Light Entertainment for the Weekend

2010-11-27T12:55:00.001+11:00

Now this is a very creative and humorous form of music entertainment! I wonder about the drinking session to get all those empty bottles!

Enjoy!

The Mindmap Doc

United Breaks Guitars - Viral Marketing par Excellence

2010-09-24T12:00:00.001+10:00

Now you may have never heard of Canadian musician, Dave Carroll or his band Sons of Maxwell. But, after their bad experience with United Airlines, Dave's response has been just brilliant and catapulted him to instant fame and attention.

Dave's guitar was damaged by United Airlines in transit and their response to his subsequent claim for damages was less than satisfactory. In a very clever, innovative and quite entertaining use of "internet video marketing", Dave managed to achieve a satisfactory response (albeit belated) from United Airlines and has not only publicized his bad experience, but at the same time, made quite a name for himself, his band and provided opportunities for others (Taylor Guitars, Comedienne "Latriciawhiteagain" and more to come I suspect) to use this experience for their own marketing.

This is just a wonderful example of the power of video marketing through the internet going viral because of:

The power of the message
The entertainment value (music, parody, personality, professionalism)
Social marketing (and yes... I'm caught up in it!

Make sure to watch all 3 videos (see links in You Tube) and also Taylor Guitars response.

Google Realtime Search is now live!

2010-08-29T14:53:00.001+10:00

Google Realtime Search is now live. This tool is amazing - showing how Google can index posts within the social network within minutes, if not less.

Check out Google's demo video of the new features and quick tips on how to use them:

You can access Realtime Search by typing www.google.com/realtime directly into your browser, or clicking the “Updates” link in the left-hand panel of your search results.

I tried out the new search with a current news topic (a disaster of epic proportions, with victims that deserve whatever support we can give!) - Pakistan Floods.

Here is the result - note the "age" of the latest entries.

Check it out, adds to the power of Google Search.

The MindmapDoc

Yet More on Syndicating Blog Posts to the Web

2010-08-24T20:31:00.001+10:00

Further to my earlier articles on syndicating blog posts to the web, I have now implemented a more comprehensive system, that has Posterous at its hub. I am still using twitterfeed and hellotxt to keep Plaxo in the loop, until Posterous includes Plaxo in its services. Otherwise, all is driven through Posterous, publishing my blog posts as widely as the services that I choose to implement.

Here is the Mind Map illustrating the system:

What’s the Difference between a Web site and a Web Presence?

2010-07-28T16:32:00.001+10:00

If you are looking for a Web design, you will succeed most if your Web site will emerge as a real Web presence.

A website is, by definition, a singular online entity. It has a unique address, internal links and menus, some level of Web design elements surrounding the site content and is , for all intents and purposes, a standalone resource. The general design approach since the 90’s until now was to design a website as a digitized, online version of a company brochure. In fact, many companies simply copied their brochure content over from print to their new site. Of course, the Web changes quickly and as a result, search engines and marketing methods must also change. Add to these factors that more advanced dynamic functionalities are reduced in price or even are free, the the website from a few years ago can easily get lost or outdated.

What are some signs of an outdated Web site?

Dated Web Design – most web designers now build for a 1024 wide screen resolution, however the past standard was 800 wide, so simply designing to the narrower width can make a website look dated. Dated designs will have dated functionality and scripting as they were built using less advanced coding standards. The best scenario is a web presence that is refreshed visually with a newer web design, has updated coding and functionality and has current content with past content moved to an archives section.
Dated Content – an obvious factor is web content that is “old news”or last updated a year or two ago. This goes for broken external links to other sites that no longer exist…or have been updated.
Dated copyright Notice– Need I say more? If you or your Web designer update the site at least once a year, get them to update the copyright notice to include the current year.
Simplistic Communication Levels– most older and simpler sites rely on basic email and maybe a contact form, which works well, these are standard levels of communication on the Web. These days, however, web sites can offer live support chat, active forums and interactive flash media to their site’s interactivity.
Poor or no Search Engine Marketing– chances are if the site is not updated regularly or built to newer standards the owners aren’t going to be out promoting it. This will include organic search engine optimization and external paid ad campaigns such as Google Adwords.

So, if you have a website that sounds like this, you will want to read on to see how to turn your Web site into a Web presence.
The difference in a Web presence is the difference between the wall flower at a party and the chain of people doing the conga around the entire room to the beat of the music.
A Web presence is considered a living document as it expands and gains attention and gets people involved.
To take your current Website or if you are planning a new web site from the start, you must consider the following key features to make your Web site a bonefide Web presence:

The Web presence:

Have a custom web design that is uncrowded, professional and attractive, but does not impede navigation through the web pages, nor access to any of the content in the site.
The design should not limit expansion, but rather encourages it– your site can easily have new web pages and the latest functionalities added. Think about a blog or forum – these tools are built to expand and manage new content easily.
Intuitive Menus and Supporting Navigation are needed to define which sections are passive, which are active, which functionalities are dynamic or static and which areas are most likely to expand. Ideal navigation will provide for the user to access all pages from each page, with the least amount of click throughs. This is only possible with proper initial planning to provide clear, hierarchical levels of sections and pages.
Written content on the site is unique and crafted for the Web, not just lifted from a Print document or technical paper. You can make these documents into White Papers or single PDFs for downloading, leaving the Web content to be search engine optimized and edited to flow from one page to the next.
Keep Functionality Realistic– you don’t need an “Live Online Support” function if you don’t plan to use it. Determine early on who will do the Web site updates and maintenance and then decide on a back up person to ensure the updates are done no matter what, either the Webmaster or a trained editor who can manage the site using a CMS. If you have a portfolio, use a dynamic gallery to show it off. If you enjoy writing, then get a blog, make sure you understand how to use it properly. If you want to start e-commerce, be prepared to learn how to manage the catalog and admin areas.
Search Engine Optimization – starts with the organic results generated by how the site is built, how accessible it and its content is, and how it relates to other websites. Then get your site manually listed in the top search engines and directories and start building reciprocal or back links to your site to help increase exposure and build popularity.

Once the site is live, you will need to:

Continually review and develop effective Search Engine Optimization
Expand into e-commerce, so your site can make money for you.
Start to develop targeted ads using CPC paid listing campaigns like Adwords, Adbrite, etc.
Collect Information about your visitors using Opt-in newsletters and special offers.
Survey your existing customers to gain user experiences and update your Calgary Web site accordingly.
Make your website as interactive and personal as possible.
Investigate different media such as graphic design/print, vehicle signage, mobile, radio, personal business relationship building to raise your Web presence to a higher ranking.
Update your content regularly and find related niche sites and post on any blogs and groups for your key search terms and links back to your site.

A Web presence is more powerful and successful than a website because it has an active audience on the front and an active administrator in the back.

A website is good as a channel for your regular business model, but a Web presence is innately active and is a successful means of communication and separate revenue stream.

Syndicating Blog Posts to the Web

2010-04-11T22:00:00.004+10:00

I have set up my blogs to automatically syndicate to the web via the major social networking sites:

The excellent posts at Nimopress describe exactly how to do this:

Blog Building Part 1

Blog Building Part 2

From now on, any posts that we publish to this blog, should automatically appear in our Twitter page and Facebook page, as well as several other social networking sites.

Sidewiki Use

2010-03-16T14:57:00.001+11:00

Hi Jim, enjoyed your last video. Question of Sidewiki use - did you know you can link Sidewiki to your blogger account(s) and then on to Twitter, Facebook etc, and so get social traffic back to the site you commented on? It may even get you backlinks to your own site, which, of course! you have in your Google profile.
cheers, Jürgen

Twitter Site Blocked

2010-03-09T18:16:00.003+11:00

My Twitter account is locked and looks like it has been hacked - there is a dubious entry posted there, which I didn't put there!. I searched the Twitter help pages to see what I needed to do to restore my account. I like how they say "If you are having trouble logging into your account, lodge a ticket here". Clicking the link takes you to the login page "You need to login to your account to lodge a ticket". Maybe they should read Catch22!

I sent an email to support - three times in four weeks, no response. Does their support service even check their email?

So, what now? Well I suppose it is a FREE service after all, so what can you expect?

Looks like I'll be a convert to Google BUZZ!

(connect with me on Facebook or LinkedIn, but forget Twitter for now!)

Google Sidewiki Use

2009-09-25T18:12:00.001+10:00

Hi Richard - Take a look at Google Sidewiki, as a tool to get more exposure to your website. Particularly the ability to add a comment as the page owner, see the green section above.

in reference to: Independent Web Advice | Web Optimisation | Web Planning | Web Solutions (view on Google Sidewiki)

Innovative Internet Marketing Ideas with Mindmapping

2009-09-25T18:10:00.001+10:00

Welcome to the Google Sidewiki page for http://www.innovabiz.com.au

Here you will find useful information about innovative internet marketing and mindmapping, and how both techniques uniquely complement one another.

We welcome all constructive input via the Sidewiki. If we can be of any assistance, please contact us via the website.

in reference to: Innovative Internet Marketing | effective internet marketing with mindmapping (view on Google Sidewiki)

Productivity Ideas

2009-09-25T18:03:00.001+10:00

Welcome your feedback - please visit regularly or subscribe to the RSS feed, to keep updated on productivity ideas. Of course, suggestions and comments are very welcome too. If you like this site, you might also like to visit my other sites - http://www.innovabiz.com.au and http://www.juicywebdesign.com.au

in reference to: !nnovative Productivity Tips (view on Google Sidewiki)

Keep Bad SEO from Blowing Up in Your Face

2009-05-21T14:56:00.002+10:00

SEO can be stressful if you don't know what you're doing.

But I've found some relief right here.

http://tinyurl.com/seo-rescue

Just like that guy in the movies who gets stuck defusing the bomb as the timer counts down to the last second...

If you don't know what you're doing, the search engines can blow up in your face. Fortunately, StomperNet's back with a free 7 part course for us called "7 Deadly SEO Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)" - and it is SWEET!

http://tinyurl.com/seo-rescue

I signed up yesterday and they've already started sending me unannounced bonus case studies to go along with the course.

Seriously, this is more content than some SEO courses I've PAID for. And the quality is - well, it's StomperNet. So as usual it's so good I can't believe I'm NOT paying for it.

If you feel like your SEO strategy is a ticking time-bomb, this report is like getting a visit from the bomb squad just in time.

*snip* *snip*

SEO Disaster Avoided! :)

I'm really pleased with what they've sent me so far, and like I said, I'm only on the first day! I think you can use this stuff, too. These simple instructions might just save your bacon.

(Mmm, Bacon!)

Check it out - full details and a video detailing the course right here! You can sign up for it right on that page.

http://tinyurl.com/seo-rescue

I know you'll love it.
Jürgen

P.S. The little "joke" at the end of the video is worth a couple of minutes, even if you don't want the report. If you want a well-needed giggle, just click here and watch.

http://tinyurl.com/seo-rescue

2009-02-07T18:55:00.001+11:00

47.9 deg in Lara and Avalon - highest ever recorded temperature in Victoria's history! Cool change through now, only 38.5 deg!

2009-02-03T14:21:00.001+11:00

testing GMail offline with Remember the Milk and Soocial. Is it goodbye Outlook??

Seven Keys to Business Growth

2009-01-29T14:14:00.001+11:00

There are just 7 key areas in which you grow your business. Using all 7 of these will let your business reach or get very close to its potential very quickly.

These areas are:

1. Lead Generation
2. Boost your Conversion Rates
3. Increase the Size of Customer Transactions
4. Increase your Profit Margin
5. Increase the Number of Purchases
6. Increase your Customers “lifetime”
7. Get More Referrals

There are numerous proven strategies …..

Read the full article on our innovative internet marketing website.

Unique Selling Propostion

2009-01-29T14:12:00.001+11:00

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) differentiates you or your business from your competitors in the minds of your clients and prospects. Your USP is found in your business – you just need to articulate it in a way that makes you stand out. Your customers need to be able to quickly see what it is YOU do that is so UNIQUE and BENEFICIAL to them. This is very important to you!!!

Having a USP will …..

Read the full article on our innovative internet marketing website.

Marketing to a Target Audience

2009-01-29T14:10:00.000+11:00

Marketing to a target audience or niche market (a specific group of people or businesses that want and need your products or services) represents your best chance of getting an excellent return for your marketing efforts. By focusing on select groups of people or businesses that are more likely to want or need your products, you can substantially increase your success from marketing campaigns.

Certain groups of people …..

Read the full article on our innovative internet marketing website.

Guarantees and Risk Reversal

2009-01-29T13:59:00.003+11:00

Customers gain the benefit of your product or service AFTER the sale is made. This places an enormous risk on their shoulders. Will they get the benefits of their investment? Is your product as good as you say it is?

It’s this risk that often prevents people from buying. However, customers are more likely to buy from you if you lower or eliminate their risk.

Think of products with money ....

Read the full article on our innovative internet marketing website.

"Baker's Dozen" Productivity Tools Updated

2009-01-27T20:45:00.005+11:00

I have recently updated the "Baker's Dozen" Productivity Tools list on our website. Thirteen (bakers dozen!) very useful software productivity tools that help make your business and life a little less hectic. Read the full article on our innovative internet marketing website.

Get your Website Indexed Quickly

2009-01-27T19:59:00.006+11:00

Here are two tips that can result in having your websites indexed by the search engines in a matter of minutes!

Tip 1 - Article Marketing and Propeller
Write an article on a subject related to your website and post. You can post to a blog with a link back to your main website, to an article directory (again with link back to your main website) or on your main website. Once you have posted the article, submit it to Propeller. Check the backlinks to the article on the search engines five minutes later - you should see the link from Propeller. Whalla!

Tip 2 - Google Notebook
Google Notebook, one of the Apps that Google provides, allows you to highlight text and save it, right on your custom desktop. If you make your Notebook public (shared), it gets indexed by Google within the same day! So write something in your notebook (could be a "tweet") with a link to your website, and again, Whalla, your website gets indexed very quickly.

Now why would you go through the process of submitting your sites manually to the search engines and waiting anything up to 6 months for them to index?

Referral Marketing Presentation

2009-01-09T17:38:00.003+11:00

Get your own - Open publication

Mindmanager 8 Released

2008-11-14T16:08:00.015+11:00

Mindjet this week released version 8 of its popular mind mapping software Mindmanager. See http://www.mindjet.com/ for details, software available through !nnovabiz at http://www.innovabiz.com.au/ (send an email).

For people who need to make the most of their time at work but are inundated with information , MindManager helps you focus on what's important with a visual canvas to capture information, organize it, share it, and use it to act on a wide variety of business tasks.

Unlike today's productivity tools that force business thinking into linear outline-oriented docs, working in MindManager keeps you in the most effective mode so that you can quickly transform information and ideas in action.

One really neat new feature is the Mindjet Player, which lets you share maps with others who don't have the software. The maps can be embedded in pdf files or in web sites and are interactive with collapsable branches, resizable window and active hyperlinks.

The example below shows a mind map created with Mindmanager 8, on the topic of getting more traffic to your web site.

SlideShare App Launched on LinkedIn

2008-11-01T14:30:00.004+11:00

This email, received from the SlideShare team, introduces a really neat feature. Worth checking out!

Hi Jürgen

We would like to invite you to share presentations on LinkedIn.

With the SlideShare app on LinkedIn, you can display presentations on your LinkedIn profile. You can browse presentations from your network and find out what's going on with your connections.

You don't need to upload your presentations twice. Just sync your LinkedIn and SlideShare profiles and all your SlideShare presentations will start showing up on LinkedIn.

How to add SlideShare LinkedIn app (learn how to)
1. Go to the SlideShare App
2. After installing app, click on the tab: "Share on SlideShare.net"
3. Put in your SlideShare username & password, and viola! All your presentations
will appear on LinkedIn.

Some things to try:
1. Share your expertise by uploading your latest talk slides.
2. Evangelize your company or product by sharing presentations about it.
3. Make your LinkedIn profile come to life with a slide resume. If you haven't already, go Meet Sarah.

SlideShare Inc., 739 Bryant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94107

Small Things in Strategic Places

2008-03-13T16:46:00.006+11:00

Small Things, Done in Strategic Places, Make a Huge Difference

I was reminded today of an incident which occurred several years ago, but which has had a significant and ongoing impact on two businesses. All because of a "little thing" NOT DONE!

Several years ago, my young daughter needed chiropractic treatment. My wife made the appointment with one of our local chiropractors, then arranged for our daughter to take time off from school (an undertaking in itself, but that is a different story!) to attend the appointment. When my daughter arrived at the chiropractic practice, everything was locked up and the building was in darkness. So she left. Because she wanted to have treatment quickly, she went to the other local chiropractor near where we live. There she was welcomed and, despite not having made an appointment in advance, given the treatment she needed. Her condition improved and she now has regular maintenance treatment with that chiropractor.

Two days later, the chiropractor where she had made the original appointment phoned to apologize and say that he had been ill. He wanted to arrange another appointment for the one he missed, but of course, "the horse had already bolted"!

Now, sudden illness is not something always within our control. However, if we need to reschedule appointments with our clients, would it make sense to do it in advance? (Yes, that IS a rhetorical question!) What about something "simple and creative" like having someone put a sign on the door of the chiropractic practice, stating that the chiropractor is ill, that the practice will be closed and apologizing for any inconvenience?

Well, that little thing could have rescued not only one potential client - as a result of my daughter's outstanding success with her chiropractic treatment, she has referred both her mother and father to that same chiropractor. We are now all three regular clients and will likely be for many years to come. Now that could have been business for the first chiropractor she had made the appointment with! But that little thing NOT DONE, made a huge difference!

Reactivating Customers

2008-03-08T06:49:00.005+11:00

If something cost you, say, $100,000 in marketing expense to obtain, would it make sense to just ignore it and never use it after you paid for it? Of course not! However, that is what a lot of business owners do. What I'm talking about your list of past customers and lapsed customers. Each name on that list represents every dollar you've spent on marketing and all the time you've spend on creating fancy ads, networking, writing letters and all the other marketing you do to capture customers and get them into your database.

It costs some 8-10 times as much to acquire new customers, so the "past" customer list becomes even more valuable. These customers already know you and presumably trust you, which makes them far more likely to buy from you again if you have something of value to them.

So, don't think of these customers as "past". Think of them as "inactive" customers with the potential to come back and do business with you now and many more times into the future. But you will need to help them and give them an incentive.

One good way to get "inactive" customers back, is with a letter - this should be highly personalized and begin with something like: "We miss you! We want you back!" Remind the customer that you consider them just that - a valued customer - and give them a reason why they should come back and do business with you again. Make an offer or give them an incentive to come back, such as a discount or two for one offer. Ask them to take action and place a time limit on your incentive offer.

Another way is to phone your "inactive" customers. The message should be the same as in the letter. Also, take this opportunity to get their updated contact details.

Your "inactive" customer list is almost certainly a far richer source of future business than customer you have yet to attract and sell. You still need to continue your efforts to find new customers to constantly build you database, but once you have those names, "never let them go"! (That reminds me of a song!!)

Making Sense of Customer Value

2008-03-06T20:43:00.004+11:00

Your business could be worth much more than you think!

What is the true value of a customer? How would you ascertain this? If you know the true value of your customer, you get a better sense of how much money you can afford to invest in customer acquisition activities.

The true value of the customer is the total lifetime purchase of that customer and more! The "total lifetime" value of a customer is the average purchase value of that customer, multiplied by the average number of times that customer buys in a year multiplied by the average number of years they remain a customer PLUS the value of referral business that customer generates for your business.

Let's revisit my weekend Café where my cycling buddies and I stop for a coffee every Saturday and Sunday (actually a different one each day due to the location we ride to!). The Café owner may consider the $3 I spend on a cup of coffee as "small-fry". But that is actually far from the truth!

Let's say for arguments sake that his profit margin on that cup of coffee is $2. Now, I try to cycle each week, even in bad weather (yes I know I'm an obsessed cyclist!). So, that makes roughly 50 cups of coffee per year or $100 in profit. If I keep this up and visit the same Café (if they keep me happy, I will!) for say 5 years, then my business is now worth $500 in profit to the Café owner. Still "small-fry" in the overall scheme of things...................., maybe?

Now, I don't cycle alone! In fact, our group varies from 6 (on the rainy days) to 25 - let's take an average of 15 over the year. Now "my" business is worth $500 x 15, or $7500 in profit to the Café owner - not to be laughed at now. And that doesn't take into account our "Cyclist's Christmas in July" dinner that we had there with partners (some 40 people all up with an average spend of about $100 - say $50 per head profit to be conservative). So, now "my" business is worth $7500 plus $2000 x 5 years, or $17,500 in profit to the Café owner! Hey, I'm starting to feel mighty important!

But wait.........

There's more! Because I really like this Café, and they always treat me well, I love to tell other people about it and suggest they try it out. If only two other people, directly as a result of my telling them about this wonderful Café, visit, then that is additional business that I have brought to the Café and increases my value as a customer.

Now, the BIG question - would it hurt the business owner to occasionally provide a cup of coffee for "free" (even to the whole group), or a few bottles of wine complements of the house at our dinner? On a cost basis, that might be an investment of $15 occasionally (coffee) or $30 (wine). Isn't that investment well spent, to secure a customer worth at least $17,500?

So, what is the true value of your customers?

Ultimate Outcome and Unique Selling Proposition

2008-03-05T09:30:00.005+11:00

There is a lot of talk, and lots written these days about your "Unique Selling Proposition". What is your unique proposition to sell your services or products? This is important to understand, because it is what differentiates you in the market place from your competitors. It is also important to ensure that your customers and prospects KNOW what makes you unique. Recently I read a newsletter from Robert Middleton, of Action Plan Marketing where he talks about your "Ultimate Outcome" and your "Unique Service Offering". The ultimate outcome is essentially your value proposition or more simply stated, the actual result you deliver to your customer. The unique service offering is the way (product or service) in which you deliver the ultimate outcome to your customer. I like this concept much more than the unique selling proposition, because it focuses on the customer - after all, the customer is less interested in what YOU are SELLING, but much more interested in what THEY need and how you might be able to fill that need! Worth thinking about......

Be Outstanding, to Stand Out

2008-03-04T11:41:00.004+11:00

Seth Godin in his book "Purple Cow" describes the principle of Remarkable Marketing, by using the purple cow as a metaphor - if you are different, and stand out from the herd, you'll be noticed. You can be different in a number of ways. One is by looking striking (like the purple cow). In business, you can be different by being outstanding. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for those of us who are outstanding in what we do!), not everyone approaches business, customer service or product quality with this mindset. So stand out by being outstanding and watch you business grow as a result.

Customer Delight vs Customer Disgust

2008-03-04T04:01:00.003+11:00

What is the difference between customer delight and customer disgust? Very little! But, the impact of the difference is huge! Whilst that may be bad news to some, the good news is that to delight the customer takes very little effort. It just takes the right attitude!

Let me explain by describing two recent experiences I had.

On my weekend bike ride with a bunch of friends we always stop off for a coffee mid-ride. On one of these occasions at the Café we'd stopped in, we had been waiting over 40 minutes for just a simple coffee! When we enquired as to what was happening, we were told it would be another 15 minutes by one of the wait-staff! Having already waited what seemed like an unreasonable time for our coffee, we requested a refund. The Café owner was behind the counter and did not even acknowledge us, let alone offer an apology! We took our refund and headed off on the rest of our ride never to return to this Café!

On another ride, we stopped at a different Café. There, while our coffee was being made, we received a complimentary plate of warm raisin toast from the Café owner, some fresh bottled water and then had our coffees served in under 5 minutes! The Café owner chatted with us and enquired about our ride. For those of you near Geelong and the Surf Coast in Victoria, Australia, that Café is the Rhino - well worth a visit! We get a similar reception at Annie's Providore in Barwon Heads.

Can you see the subtle difference between providing your customer with a disgusting and a delightful experience? And how little cost and effort is required to achieve customer delight? Now guess which Café is our regular coffee stop each weekend? Yes, no prizes for that, although if you worked out that it is the Rhino on Saturday and Annie's on Sunday then that is impressive!

It takes just a little effort, but the right attitude to delight the customer and get repeat business!