As I look around I’ve noticed competitors selling their businesses, closing their doors or simply getting small. It’s not just my competition, it’s the business world around us. Whether you’re starting a business or want to build your business in this economy, here’s 7 simple ideas to consider.
1. Acquire: Growth through aqcuisition could be your key to future growth. Find businesses within your industry that are distressed or tired. Or stretch a bit and add a business that has synergy with your core business. But don’t wander too far from your core business. Look for a business that adds to your cross-sell initiative since new customers are hard to find in a tough economy.
2. Inbound Marketing: Invest wisely in marketing. Although traditional marketing still has it’s place, use your spare time or consider getting your marketing folks onboard with Inbound Marketing initiatives. Become a thought leader within your industry. Use the web to get found by your buyers. Today, people want to buy rather than being sold too. Using Inbound Marketing (blogs, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more) help your potential buyers find your company when they are ready to purchase. Inbound marketing creates credibility with your buying audience and it’s cost effective! It’s also timely since people who find you are already in the buying /sales cycle. Read the book Inbound Marketing. It’s full of ah-hah moments that will get you rolling with new marketing strategies. Check your web site grade against your competition with this free tool; website grader. Here’s a shout out to our friends at Hubspot for a great product too!
I’ve recently discovered the beauty of bit.ly, a simple URL shortener. URL shorteners are good for many things, but especially for Twitter. When you’re limited to 140 characters, you can’t waste them on a long URL. When you shorten with bit.ly, it keeps track of your moves. Create a free user login and you can track how many hits your shortened URL gets and from which source.
Bit.ly makes you rethink Twitter. Why does one tweet get your URL 25 clicks and another gets ignored completely?
Tips for tweet clicks…
Keep it short
Get sexy! I know you just read that, use some catchy words.
Get creative too! Say things in that appeal to a wide audience.
Don’t get too specific, that’s the beauty of having a bit.ly URL for people to follow, they can get the details there
I’m supplimenting my google analytics obsesion with Bit.ly now. Use your tweets to see what grabs peoples attention. It works!!!
Hubspot founder Dharmesh Shah related outbound marketing to killing kittens at our Accelerator event last month. We don’t like doing it, but it’s necessary sometimes. Depending on your business, you may be able to use inbound marketing so much that you’re running an animal shelter. Others aren’t so lucky.
BrainSell still finds outbound marketing valuable. It’s a way to engage customers who aren’t buzzing on social media sites all day. With the right pitch and implementation, outbound marketing can work.
A method we favor is still email marketing. However, you have to be careful! Getting blacklisted is easier than you think. Using an automated email program can build consistency, leads and follow-through. You can also integrate these programs into CRM systems so the correspondence doesn’t get lost.
Dharmesh Shah wowed an audience of 100 at BrainSell and SugarCRM’s Social Media and CRM event last Tuesday outside of Boston.
BrainSell’s recorded the entire event and the frist two installments of Dharmesh’s talk are ready for consumption. Check our YouTube channel, BrainsellTechnology, for more posts. Thanks again to all of our wonderful speakers!
BrainSell and Sugar’s CRM Acceleration event went off without a hitch yesterday. 100 people attended at the Hilton Woburn. Thanks to all for braving the rain!
We learned a few things from all of the planning and marketing.
1. Inbound marketing WORKS!
Over 75% of our registrants found out about the event through social media outlets. That would be re tweeting, messages on linkedin and facebook, and a few facebook and linkedin advertisements. People spread the word for us!
The event takes place this Tuesday, March 23rd. This has been one of the most exciting and dynamic events I’ve ever been involved in. We’re very lucky to have great presenters who are focused on delivering “remarkable content”. From Dharmesh Shah, co-author of Inbound Marketing, Umberto Milletti, CEO of Inside View, Mitch Lieberman, VP of Strategic Solutions at SugarCRM, Martin Schneider, Director of Marketing at SugarCRM and Chip Meyers, Sales Operations Manager at Insource Performance Solutions who pulls the whole story together as Inbound Marketeer and user of technology that allows his sales staff to take advantage of qualified prospects that his Inbound Marketing efforts identify.
What’s been so remarkable is that we have 190 sign ups. Which reinforces the power of Inbound Marketing. The bulk of those who’ve signed up for the event have done so by Inbound Marketing efforts through Social media.
In preparation for the event for those who have signed up, pick up Dharmesh’s book, Inbound Marketing. He’ll be signing books post event. What you’re going to find is genuine and authentic information. I fully expect attendees to walk out with information they can use.
That’s right, at BrainSell we’re eating our own dog food, and loving it!
This whole social media thing has got us buzzing. After we read Inbound Marketing; it was clear that our marketing methods needed to change. We planned our Accelerator event with SugarCRM around Social Media. That was step 1. We’ve been pumped about the agenda for months!
We’ve been working hard here at BrainSell to promote our headline social media event in Woburn, MA on March 23 (sign up here). We’re now TOTALLY SOLD on social media as a means of marketing, advertising and networking.
I’m a whiz at everything Facebook, or at least I thought I was. I’m only now uncovering the marking potential of the social media outlets I grew up with. Yes, I’ll admit it, I’m a recent college grad with 600 Facebook friends (no big deal).
1. Facebook and LinkedIn ads are easy and relatively cheap
Facebook pay per click ads are easy to create and the targeting methods are very detailed (you can choose which college the target went to, their relationship status, age, all imperative sales information of course). And a major plus, Facebook ads are much cheaper than LinkedIn ads, about $0.60 per click vs LinkedIn’s $3 per click (ouch). LinkedIn ads work the same way, but you can’t segregate people by relationship status (-= You can manage your ads through your account settings too.
2. Twitter stalking is easier than you think
We all know how you can find pepple on Twitter. But it’s not easy to find people by more than one criteria. Say, for example, interest, geography, age, profession. All of that can be done on Twellow, the Yellow Pages for Twitter. Try it out, it’s awesome, and a great way to up your numbers tactfully.
3. Use your friends!
Virtual or not! Your friends are a valuable resource. Send out a message to your FB friends who may have interest in your venture or event. People generally like to help out. Create an event on LinkedIn and invite your connections. Scan through your Facebook and LinkedInFr and post a link to your event on the comments page.
Even a seasoned user as myself can learn new tricks!
Here at BrainSell, we’re ramping up for next month’s big social media event in Boston on March 23.
Dharmesh Shah, Co-Author of Inbound Marketing and Founder of Hubspot will deliver the keynote and other speakers will be there to address the big question: Is Social Media Marketing just a fad???
We don’t think so! And neither does Hubspot, InsideView, SugarCRM or BrainSell.
Sign up now on our events page!
Author Dharmesh Shah will sign books, bring your copy!
However, you have to be careful! Getting blacklisted is easier than you think. Using an automated email program can build consistency, leads and follow-through. You can also integrate these programs into CRM systems so the correspondence doesn’t get lost.
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