Tips to bring your email under control

Have you heard the phrase “inbox zero”? It refers to having no messages unread and not acted upon in your email inbox. With so many messages coming in all day long from colleagues, clients, retailers, and opt-in services (such as e-newsletters, newsgroups, and other subscriptions), is inbox zero even possible? In some cases, maybe not. But even if your inbox seems completely out of control, there are some things you can do to tidy it up and restore some sense of sanity.

For starters, create folders and sub-folders where you can store messages in a more organized manner for future follow-up. Start with folders for email from clients, email from colleagues, newsletter subscriptions, etc. Add a folder for urgent messages requiring immediate attention, and consider a folder for each day of the week, where you can drop messages that require action on those particular days.

Once you have your folders in place, set up mail filters to automatically route your messages to the appropriate place. Filters are especially helpful for subscriptions and newsgroup messages, which might otherwise clog up your in-box. By having those messages routed automatically, you can focus your attention on the rest of your mail or check a specific folder at a specified time and see just the messages that are relevant for you at that time.

Another option is to set up an alternate email address for opt-in newsletters, newsgroups, and online transactions. This will help to de-clutter your main email in-box, cut down on the “noise,” and help you feel less overwhelmed. It will also have the added benefit of reducing unwanted and unsolicited emails, as spambots won’t have a chance to grab your primary email address off discussion boards, comment screens, and the like.

And finally, once you’ve acted on a message, delete it or archive it for future reference. Many people who struggle with in-box overload exacerbate the problem by leaving messages in their in-box, even after they are no longer relevant. If you can’t bring yourself to part with old messages, archive them instead, somewhere outside the in-box, where they won’t get in the way.

Not all PR is good PR after all

Just weeks ago, negative comments on Internet review sites (Yelp, Google Places etc.) were as good for your SEO as bad ones. Google has changed the rules.

The argument used to be that Google couldn’t downgrade your ranking based on negative comments because that meant your competitors could hurt you, even when what they said wasn’t true.

Google’s policy seemed to make sense, but what happened was that Google counted the number of reviews (quantity) and how fast the reviews came (velocity), not the context (good or bad) of the review. Consequently, 1,000 horrible reviews that came in during a single week actually BOOSTED rankings, while four good reviews over a period of a year did little or nothing.

All of that changed recently. Now, Google is going to weigh good reviews over bad reviews, but this has a lot of issues, too. It means you need to watch out for mentions of you EVERYWHERE, and you need to stay on top of them. Seriously.

So how do you do that?

There are actually a lot of interesting services out there that can help you…and (of course) Google tops the list. You can set up a “Google Alert” (http://www.google.com/alerts) with the name of your company and get an email if there is a mention. You can have an alert sent to your phone if there is a mention of you on Twitter, too. But what about all the other stuff? What if someone disses you on Yelp or Facebook?

Here is a list of services that you can use to keep track of your brand online. http://is.gd/j5YgX

Celebrating Your Company’s Anniversary

We have a client who recently celebrated 15 years in business. Not that it matters, but 15 years is the average lifespan of a woodchuck. Being around for 15 years can be a big deal for small businesses and woodchucks.

It’s important that your customers know about your longevity. People like doing business with companies that have been around for awhile. It makes them confident you know what you’re doing. It’s that competency thing you’ve heard so much about.

Sometimes, people are shy about getting older. My mother said her birthday is “just another day.” When I’m 95, I’m going to celebrate every day as if it’s my birthday. I’m going to let everyone know that I’ve made it another day, and I’m not going to be shy about it. Party like a rock star.

You shouldn’t be shy about celebrating your business anniversary. It’s an important event and will cost nowhere near what it costs to marry off your daughter. Given all the goodwill marketing you will receive, getting out the word is extremely inexpensive. We all like inexpensive.

Start with anniversary labels. Stock labels have been around for years. Stock labels look like stock labels. If you take marketing seriously, spend a few more pennies and get some custom made. Stick them on everything. Next year, they will be as passe as today’s television network schedules.

How about some thank you cards for loyal customers? People like thank you cards, and it’s becoming a lost art. Thank you for being with us over the long haul. Here’s a 10% discount for being loyal. We need you, and I hope you need us. It’s a partnership we’d like to continue in the future. It’s a better deal than Conan O’Brien got from NBC.

Testimonials. Nothing is better than testimonials. Print a simple brochure you can stuff into every envelope you mail. “A good belt keeps your pants up, and there’s no better place to buy a belt than Ernie’s Belt Shop.” I’m a printer. A few years ago, I did a testimonial for a paper company. I got four orders from it. Testimonials work two ways. It’s a gimme.

There are so many more ideas. We can work together to see what fits you. Give us a call. Shoot us an email…and happy anniversary.

5 Keys to Putting Customers in Their Comfort Zone

It’s crazy out there. The market is bouncing like a basketball. Consumers are keeping their wallets in their pockets. The tried and true doesn’t seem so true anymore. So it’s more important than ever to keep your customers comfortable. They have to know you aren’t vanishing today, or tomorrow. You have to make your customers feel secure. If you lack credibility, your customers will lack that comfort! Here are a few easy, and few not-so-easy, things you can do to make your customers comfortable.

1. Put a phone number and address on every single page of your website. People are a lot more comfortable if they know it’s easy to get to you. So check your website. Is that number there, prominently on every page?

2. Update! Update your website, your marketing materials, your emails, your message. If you’ve got your Christmas message up in June, that doesn’t look very credible to your customers.

3. TELL people you’ve updated. Not only is this an opportunity to get in front of your customer with a new sales message; it’s an opportunity to let people know you are on top of things and remaining proactive and relevant. A new business card, direct mail piece, email, Twitter feed, or blog entry is a great way to let people know you’re still around… and still working for their business.

4. Surround yourself with credible people. Who do you think is the most credible person around you? Your lawyer? Your banker? Your local bed and breakfast? Look at what they do. What makes them feel credible to you? Surrounding your business with other credible businesses makes customers comfortable. It’s why testimonials and recommendations work so well… which reminds me…

5. Put testimonials on your website, blog, printed materials, and anywhere else you can think of to strut your (very credible) stuff.

I Am a Printer!

I have been around for 560 years
I invented the Renaissance and caused the Reformation
I have recorded war and peace
My pamphlets and documents created America
I take ideas and information and make them tangible
I print lofty Bibles and lowly forms
I am a printer
I help you promote and inform and entertain
My catalogs and direct mail are a spur to action
Like calling, clicking, or visiting
I communicate your brand and facilitate your marketing
I am a printer
I preserve and protect your most precious memories
My greeting cards say what you feel
My photo books are your families’ legacies
Freedom of the press began with me
I am still the reasoned and reliable history of our times
I am a printer
I put ink on paper and plastic and other materials
I produce packages and publications and products
My business is an extension of your business
Print and paper will transcend the digital age
Because print gets attention
Print is not a momentary image on a screen
You feel print in your hand even fleetingly
And that is its power: it moves you without moving
I am a printer
My industry and I care about the environment
I deal with responsible paper and ink suppliers
I recycle and conserve and reduce waste
I am your partner in progress
I am your printer

By Frank Romano
From a Poster displayed at the Museum of Printing in North Andover, Mass.

Museum of Printing

Too Much of a Good Thing

Choices are good, right? Yes… to a point. Neuropsychologist Susan Weinschenk wrote, “Resist the impulse to provide lots and lots of choices to your customers. Remember, they will say they want lots of choices, and you will think that lots of choices are a good thing (because you like them, too), but having too many choices means many customers won’t buy at all.”

Seriously, if your marketing is all over the place and you are offering a zillion different things in a zillion different ways, you are in real danger of driving customers away.

Study after study show that while people do want choices, having too many choices makes it harder for them to pick… and that means they might walk away in frustration.

So simplify your offers. Make it clear what the offer is and when that offer ends.

So simplify your offers. Make it clear what the offer is and when that offer ends.

Hick’s Law states that the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices. As decision time increases, the user experience suffers. Don’t make your customers suffer.

Can you answer a few simple questions?

If I asked you, in an elevator, “Who buys your product or service?” could you tell me? Are you business to business? Business to consumer? What does your typical customer look like? What does your ideal customer look like? Who are your competitors? How are you different from them?

In a market saturated with choices, few companies have the luxury of customers coming to them because there is no place else to go. Unlike the post office, you aren’t a monopoly. So knowing who you are going after, and what makes you different (and better), is pretty darn important.

Charen Smith writes, “Getting to know your market makes you aware of the individual peculiarities of the people that make up this particular sector.” The more you know the people who buy what you sell, the more exactly you can market to them. The more exactly you market, the more “right” customers will come to you. So know your market… and your competition!

10 Google Search Power Tips You Might Not Have Known

Google may be the world’s most popular search engine, but it’s also a digital Swiss army knife. In addition to traditional searching, here are 10 lesser-known uses for Google search:

World clock. Find the time in any city by typing “time ” and the city name, city and state, zip code, or city and country (e.g., “time New York City”). Google will tell you the current time in that city.

Dictionary. Type “define: ” and the term you wish to define (e.g., “define: monarchy”). Google will give you a list of definitions from a variety of online sources.

Currency converter. Enter the amount you’d like to convert and the two currency types to convert to/from. For example, “345 USD to CAD” will show you the Canadian dollar equivalency to 345 US dollars.

Calculator. Enter a mathematical problem to calculate (e.g. “3*2+(9sqared)”), and Google will give you the answer (e.g. “87″).

Weather. Find the current weather conditions and forecast for many major cities worldwide by simply typing “weather ” and the name of the city, city and state, zip code, or city and country (e.g. “weather Houston, TX” or “weather 90036″) in the Google search bar.

Flight tracking. Enter the airline and flight number (e.g. “american airlines 18″) to see if it is arriving/departing on time or is delayed.

Package tracking. Enter a UPS, FedEx, or USPS tracking number into the Google search bar, and Google will tell you the status of the package in question.

Stock quotes. Enter a stock ticker symbol (e.g. “AAPL”) to see that stock’s current trading value and information about its fluctuation for the day.

Unit converter. Not sure how many cups are in a gallon? Google can tell you. Enter your query (e.g. “cups per gallon”), and Google will do the rest (e.g. “1 US gallon = 16 US cups”).

Sunrise/sunset times. Want to know when the sun will rise in Singapore? Just enter “sunrise ” or “sunset ” followed by the name of the city (e.g. “sunrise Singapore”) in the Google search bar, and Google will let you know not only the time, but also how long from now the sunrise/sunset in question will occur.

For even more search tips like these, visit http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html.

I’d Buy That for a Dollar

There are only two ways to make more money in any business: reduce costs and sell more products or services. There are lots of ways to “sell more,” but the easiest way is to get more work from your existing customers.

80% of your business is typically repeat customers. But about 80% of most marketing campaigns focus on new business. Marketing campaigns that are heavily focused on bringing in new customers ignore the fabulous potential of what you already have: a viable relationship with your current customers.

One marketing method that is tried and true for reaching an existing customer base is the customer survey. It allows customers to voice their opinions, share their concerns, and see how much you truly care about what they have to say.

Creating a survey is a fairly straightforward process. Getting your customers to respond to it might require a little extra work. One way to boost your response rate is to include a little cash with the survey as a way of thanking customers for their replies.

That’s right. I said cash. Send a dollar or two with each survey. Not “we’ll pay you on completion” or “here’s something worth a dollar.” Let your customers open up the mailer and have a dollar bill fall out. You may be amazed at the return you get!

The benefits of a survey are well worth the cost. Remember you are sending this to your EXISTING customers. They already know you, and they will give you invaluable information about what they aren’t buying from you… and WHY!

Is Your Brand Suffering from an Identity Crisis?

The brand personality of your company can help attract the clients you want and keep you away from the clients you don’t.

Branding goes hand in hand with marketing, and like marketing, haphazard won’t cut it. It’s very important that a brand reflect YOU. If you are being talked into pastels and soft colors and you’re a rock-and-roll, edgy person, you are never going to be able to use your branding with confidence. So, be deliberate about injecting your brand into every aspect of your marketing. Colors, logos, design elements, writing style, where you advertise, office decor — these are all important components of your branding. So are confidence, value proposition, and core values.

Randy Shattuck of The Shattuck Group writes: “Your company’s brand strength is the sum total of opinions that the market holds of your business. If you were to poll your top 20 clients, what would they say about you? What about 100 companies that fit your target profile and know about you but don’t do business with you? How about your top five competitors? These polls can be eye-opening.”

A consistently communicated brand exudes confidence, goes hand-in-hand with your marketing plan, and can powerfully attract customers.