Business Networking in the Time of COVID

 Many are finding that the normal in-person networking events, even if permitted, are risky for themselves or their customers. In the service business, there are two “types” of business networking that are critical to business survival, despite the current pandemic:

•       Networking to find new customers
• o   Networking to remind friendly contacts and customers that you are still ready to service them.

If you’re looking for new customers, it’s a great time to sharpen your social media skills and open yourself up to new possibilities. Consider a tool like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, which gives great access to lead lists that fit the profile of customers you are already serving . You can also use blogs and social media content (combined with options like Facebook’s Boost  to help get fresh eyes on your business content and ideas. Both of these can provide great intros to new contacts. Further, careful audience selection will allow you to titrate your ad investment to the preferred customer location and profile.

“With all the new electronic (touchless) lead generation, I remind people not to forget the older techniques. Postcards to a tested list, and joint venture outreach with trusted professionals serving the same market can be highly successful,” says Service for Profit’s Tom Pencek.

But what about reaching out to friendly contacts? Well, it turns out that it’s easier than ever to do that while staying home – especially if you have the contact info of the people you’re trying to reach. In this case, it is all about choosing a method of contact that is most convenient for your audience.

I’m a big believer in periodic emails that are tailored for your target audience. I recommend MailChimp for this, as it is free for smaller lists (<2000 names). Podcasting is becoming more accepted as an outreach method for some customers as well. Walking with earphones and listening to recorded content seems to be common these days in Silicon Valley. Google has stepped up to create an educational series on Podcasting, and provides new podcasters training on how to get into this outreach method .

Bottom line, some contacts prefer a light touch. It’s a good idea to make an initial contact and ask permission before routinely sending them an ongoing series of emails or other content. Once that’s done, you can use anything in your newly expanded toolkit to effectively market your services and connect with customers.

The Need for Speed

 I was talking to my friend who is a year into a new sales role at a local company. I asked him how it was going, and he assured me he had found the secret to doing well. Unlike his previous direct service sales position, his new role required he work with a variety of outside sales partners to meet customer needs.

“When they call, I jump. No matter what my plans were, I change them and try to be the most responsive resource they can work with!”

How many professional service providers and sellers, when asked what makes their service better than others, talk about their experience, or the quality of the service they provide. No doubt those are important elements to distinguishing yourself. But in some cases, being quick and flexible can be more important. Indeed, by demonstrating your willingness to be prompt and flexible in the face of needs from your sales partners, a consultant can distinguish himself from other colleagues, and increase referrals.

There are software solutions to help you be a nimbler provider and seller of your professional service. Some solutions are tailored to your industry, and others are tailored to your size of business. There are even websites that allow you to compare features and select from a field of solutions.

But the most important thing is attitude. Are you willing to quickly revise your schedule to respond to a need from an outside sales partner? Do it often enough and you earn friendship and professional loyalty.

Nothing says “We Love you, Mr. Customer!” like 31 years of Onions

Onions for distribution

I walked into my local bank the other day and by the window I found a huge pile of produce.  Turns out that these 10 lb. bags of Walla Walla onions are this year’s supply to continue a customer gift tradition begun 31 years ago by the then-owner of this small bank in Silicon Valley, University Bank and Trust. Carl J. Schmitt, who attended college at Whitman in Walla Walla, hit on the idea of gifting his customers with something unique. Each year his customers left each one of the three bank branches with a bag of onions personally conveyed to them with thanks and a handshake from a bank employee.  Although Schmitt’s UniversityBank and Trust was acquired in 1995 by the far larger, multi-branch Comerica Bank, Comerica decided to continue giving away onions at the former University Bank branches. 

Since 1996, one 10 lb bag at a time, Comerica Bank has sent out its doors more than 370,000 pounds of onions. 

“Comerica is committed to our customers,” said J. Michael Fulton, President, ComericaBank--Western Market. “By giving away Walla Walla sweet onions, we can thank our customers for their patronage.”

Other customer “courting” tips from University Bank

Onion love offerings may seem an unusual way to honor customers, but, as a customer myself, I can tell you that they build brand loyalty and strengthen personal relationships between the bank and its customers. I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Schmitt, but he seemed to think like me with regards to customer delight. I did some research on some of other practices he employed that helped triple the stock price of the old bank within its first 4 years of operation:

• ·         Free shoe shines provided at a stand in the bank lobby
• ·         Pens not chained down and easy for everyone to use
• ·         Oriental rugs and fresh flowers in the vault of safe deposit boxes
• ·         Stamps sold by tellers and all statements mailed on the second day of the month
• ·         Non-cash deposits picked up from some customers’ office by drivers of vans humorously decorated with lifelike paintings of safe-crackers at work.  Customers appreciated the wit and not having waste time going to the bank.
• ·         Free traveler's and cashiers checks
• ·         Free photocopies of papers and signature verification

What about your service business? 

Should you be doing more to court your customer and let them know you value and appreciate them? It seems to me that Schmitt had some great ideas about making it easy to do business with University Bank. Is there more you can do to make it easy and enjoyable for customers to do business with you?

If you’re interested, I know where you can get a good, bulk deal on some onions.

Push, Pull and a Hand Shake: The Importance of Mix in Marketing

“We’ve got a killer website. I don’t understand why we aren’t doing well!”  If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that complaint . . . 

Most people going into business for the first time don’t understand that marketing and business development necessarily involve a mix of approaches. While the idea that one single silver bullet will hit the target is understandably appealing, it’s NOT going to work because the target is never one individual who always has the same feelings and needs.  Putting it that way makes obvious the need for multiple techniques and avenues to gain customer awareness and trust.

When I begin helping clients with their marketing plans, I always tell them that we need to plan for a mix of marketing techniques and investment. I use a mnemonic to help them remember the idea: Push, Pull and a Hand Shake.  They need to blend Push marketing techniques with Pull Marketing investment and use personal marketing—that Handshake—for outreach and message correction.

Push Marketing – the Virtual Tap on the Shoulder

When marketers talk about push marketing, they are referring to the wide variety of techniques that can be used to attract the attention of potential customers and motivate them to take the first step in doing business with their clients. Telemarketing, advertising, direct mail—all are examples of this type of “interrupt” activity designed to call attention to a business and responsive action from potential customers.

Although all of these techniques have their quirks: some are more effective for certain products and services than others. But as a rule of thumb, the more you spend, the greater your success: frequency plus good execution yields desired outcome.  Most of these techniques have the advantage of producing results fairly quickly.  

But marketing campaigns based solely on Push, or Interrupt, marketing techniques inevitably fail. Why? This year, the average consumer will see or hear 1 million marketing messages, almost 3,000 daily.  Since most automatically screen out most “interrupt messages,” other techniques must be used to get our attention. 

Pull Marketing Investment

Many marketing tools do not interrupt the customer but, rather, support his intention when he seeks a product or service. The best example is search marketing, which is enabled by a website or blog that, when searched by a search engine, leads your prospect to your online information. You can also pay a fee to have him directed to your online information (pay for click). The more information you put online, on your website, your blog, your social media outlets, the more likely you will be found by a prospect interested in your business. Creating this online footprint can be expensive, and you must shoulder some of the cost before you sell your first widget. 

Why assume the cost of implementing a Pull strategy? Simple: it works.  MediaPost recently reported that U.S. spending on search engine marketing (another pull marketing technique) will grow from $12.2 billion in 2008 to $22.4 billion in 2013.  Indeed, companies are embracing the idea of building entire campaigns around content that is shared through a variety of online and social media platforms. But just like efforts based solely on Push techniques, using Pull techniques in isolation may be self-limiting. For one thing, the expense of investing in and perpetually refreshing content in the absence of immediate demand (and business) is risky. Without continuing feedback from the target market in the form of measurable traffic, engagement, and commitment to the buying process, companies will be hard-pressed to continue to invest in Pull marketing. 

Pressing the Flesh

The least expensive and the most effective marketing technique is personal marketing. It  has long been employed by the smallest businesses. From the business card and referral swapping in networking groups to the attention-getting and positive reinforcement from public speaking events, actually meeting and touching your potential customers can be very gratifying. It provides a level of information and affirmation about you and your offerings that cannot be equaled.  A little time spent honing your 30-second commercial can garner you new business in a single afternoon of networking.  It also gives you immediate feedback about what parts of your message seem relevant and which parts don’t resonate with your prospects. You can also use that information to tweak your push and pull campaigns if they are running at the same time.

Marketing efforts that embody all three of these marketing modalities stand a good chance of being successful. They generate needed immediacy, higher conversion, and lower cost per lead.