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What’s in a Name? Here Are 4 Things to Think About When Naming New Products and Services

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Allison Rice

Bonus Content: Learn Strategies for Coming Up with Names

It’s easy to think that naming a new product, service, or business simply involves brainstorming ideas, testing the ideas out on some people, and choosing a name. But to do it right, it’s more involved than that. Here are four things to keep in mind when naming new products or services.

1. Does it quickly communicate what the product or service is? Unless you can pour thousands of dollars into developing and marketing an abstract name (e.g. Google), it makes more sense to come up with a name that communicates what the product or service is. Here are two examples: PayPal and OkCupid. They’re effective because you immediately get a sense of what each one is about. They’re also effective because they’re short and punchy, and also alliterative. An example of an ineffective brand name? Verbal branding specialist Nancy Friedman recently discussed this gem: Mycestro. Any idea what that product might be? (We’re guessing probably not.)
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Posted in Brand Awareness, Branding, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged naming new products | Comments Off

After-Hours Audit: How Well Does Your Business Operate Off Hours?

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Chris Wallace

Customer Relations: 4 Tips for Evaluating What Your Business is Doing Right and Wrong After Hours…and How to Fix Any Issues

Sure, you deliver outstanding service during business hours. But what happens on the weekends, the evenings, or in the middle of the night? Since we live in a 24/7 world, often times people look for the products and services they need after hours. So, how does your business measure up?

Here are four things to check.

1. How does your after-hours voice mail sound? Does your voice mail clearly state your hours of operation? If you have a company directory, is it easy to access and follow? Does the voice mail provide important information, such as your website? You want your after-hours voice messaging to be friendly, clear, and efficient. Avoid complex paths and number prompts. The best way to test it is to have a couple of friends or family members try out the system. Give your testers a specific task, such as contacting support, and see how easily they’re able to accomplish this task. Listen to their feedback, and adjust the system accordingly.

2. What’s the process for after-hours support requests and/or emergencies? Some businesses, such as IT and emergency services (e.g. veterinary offices), offer emergency contact info. How does this process work? You should make sure this information is available in multiple areas: through your after-hours voice mail that we mention above, but this info should also be in a prominent location (or multiple locations) on your website and, ideally, on various social media, like Facebook. Remember, when people have an emergency, they may be nervous, upset, and not thinking clearly, which is why you need to offer this information in multiple locations and make it as clear as possible.

The other thing to check is this: once people have the emergency information they need, how easy is that whole process? Test it yourself if you have to. Call the support number or send an email and see how well your staff responds.

3. How fast does your staff respond to non-emergency messages and emails that are left after-hours? Again, the best way to find out is to test this. Submit a fake name through a form on your website, and have a family member leave a fake name/message on a voice mail. If your staff doesn’t follow up as fast as you’d like, use it as a teachable moment and provide some fresh training.

4. Do the marketing messages you use in your after-hours communications reflect the messages you use during business hours? For example, if one of the messages you promote is how fast you respond to customer calls and requests, how do you handle this message during off-hours and on weekends? We’re not suggesting you need to have someone on staff 24/7 to field calls and emails. You just want to make sure you’re not promising one thing and delivering another. So, in this example, be clear: “We respond to all requests made during business hours within 2-3 hours. We respond to all requests made after hours within half a day.” (You get the idea.)

How about you? Have you ever evaluated how your business works after hours? What are some things you test? Share in the comments.

Posted in Customer Relations, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged customer relations, small business marketing tips | Comments Off

5 Things Your Employees Can Do to Help Promote Your Business

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Chris Wallace

If you have employees, even just one or two, they can serve as your own pseudo sales force off hours. The good news? If you treat your employees well (you do, right?), they’re usually more than happy to spread the word about your company, if you show them how. Here are five things you can ask them to do.

Two important notes: We don’t recommend bombarding your employees with all of these ideas at once. Pick and choose what makes sense, or give them a run-down of the ways they can help and let them choose what works for them. And we weren’t joking above when we mentioned the part about treating your employees well. The ideas we outline below will only be embraced by employees who are genuinely happy in their jobs. That’s the foundation you need to build first.

So let’s first talk about ways to build that strong foundation:

Listen to your employees. We mean really listen to them. Address grumblings, complaints, and dissatisfaction swiftly and fairly.
Invite their feedback and their participation. If they have a marketing idea, seriously consider it. If it’s a good idea and you implement it, give your employee kudos for the idea (and perhaps a bonus if the idea yields sales).
Create an open, welcoming culture. From subtle things like incorporating an open floor plan to more direct examples, such as the business owner making an effort of stopping to talk to everyone every day, the company vibe will go a long way in determining whether employees will want to help promote you or not.
Share the wealth. Bonuses, monetary or otherwise, are not only great incentives, but also great gestures for a job well done. And if your employees are going to promote you outside of their normal business hours and help increase sales, they should receive some sort of perk for doing so.
Provide regular training. As you roll out new products or services, make sure everyone on your staff, from reception on up, understands the new products/services and their features and benefits.
Provide resources. Make sure your staff has plenty of resources at their fingertips so that if someone they know has a question or wants more information, they can easily access the info and freely share it.

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Posted in Branding, Employee relations, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged business promotion, Employee Relations, small business marketing tips | Comments Off

Why Seasonal Menus Are So Effective (& How to Use This Strategy for Your Business)

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Allison Rice

It happens without fail: as the seasons change, so do restaurant menus. We experience this firsthand when we go out to eat, but we also see evidence of this with TV commercials that some of the big chain restaurants release. And now, thanks to social media, smaller players—those favorite restaurants of yours that have a social media presence on places like Facebook—are also taking advantage of the marketing boost that comes from promoting seasonal menu changes.

Here’s why seasonal menus are effective (and how you can leverage the magic in your own business).

1. Seasonal menus capitalize on the “Look, something new and shiny!” concept. If you keep talking about the same old boring services and products, in the same way, day after day, year after year, well, you know that’s not necessarily going to light a fire under your prospects and customers. But by launching something “new” every quarter or so, you give people a reason to give your business a second look.
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Posted in Brand Awareness, Branding, Customer Relations, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged marketing strategy | Comments Off

5 Signs You’re Overthinking Your Marketing

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Allison Rice

Small Business Marketing Tips You Can Use Today

You want to make the right decisions when it comes to your website, your email newsletter, and the copy you’re going to use on the packaging for your new product. You want your marketing to shine because, after all, it’s a reflection of your company. In essence, you want things to be perfect—or, at least, you’d like to strive for perfection.

However, somewhere between “we need to get this done” and the pursuit of perfection, things fall apart. You start questioning whether your tagline is strong enough. You start wondering if you should change your website from three columns to two. You start tinkering with the copy for the new product packaging, changing a word here and there, a sentence or two, and then throwing it out and starting all over again. Sound familiar? It happens. So how do you know when you’re being productive or when you’ve reached the point of “overthinking”? Here are 5 signs.

1. Your marketing has completely stalled. This is the biggest red flag that you’re overthinking things. If you’ve gotten to a point where you’re overwhelmed by everything marketing related and/or you’re unsure of what to do next, even when it comes to basic decisions, you’re likely overthinking things.

What to do about it: There’s a good chance you’re either too close to your marketing or that you’ve taken on too many of the marketing responsibilities. When you’re too close to your marketing, it’s easy to forget about the big picture and, instead, to obsess over and sweat the small stuff. For example, if you’re questioning something like the font style in an email newsletter, stop and ask yourself if the font is going to affect sales. The answer is “probably not.” Is the font readable? Is it a standard font that most people can read on their computers and devices? Then it’s good enough for now. Don’t obsess. Hit send. If you allow enough of these situations to build up, suddenly your marketing will stall.
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