Developing a Social Media Strategy

Marketing Tip #5 | Identifying Customers’ Pain Points

By Karen Emanuelson

How to ID Your Customers’ Pain Points

Try to understand your customer in terms of the Pain Points they are experiencing. Learn to recognize these Pain Points by asking questions and listening. Here are a few ideas:

Imagine a day in the life of your customer
What problem does your product or service address?
Ask current customers about their lifestyles and goals
How do they perceive themselves?
Ask customers what motivates them – and what doesn’t.
Find out what the customer really needs
What is the true source of pain?
Sometimes, you’ll need to read between the lines and listen past the immediate requests
Who sees the most value in having that pain removed?
These will be your best customers
Who will ultimately pay for a solution?
The end user of your product/service is not always the one who pays i.e. child/parent or pet/owner

Example Pain Points

Imagine you own a restaurant. You might be addressing not only a customer’s Pain Point and need for nutrition but also the Pain Point for a place to gather with friends without having to clean the house, a place to watch sports on multiple screens, somewhere to escape from work or home, or a place to celebrate. And the type of food you offer – healthy, inexpensive, ethnic – also might address your customers’ Pain Points.

This is the second in a series of Marketing Tips on Pain Points. Click here to read Understanding Pain Points. Additional posts, including a Customer Pain Point Analysis Template, will be posted in the next few weeks. Click here to sign up to receive weekly Marketing Tips from Reciprocate LLC .

Marketing Tip #4 | Understanding Pain Points

By Karen Emanuelson

Understanding Pain Points

Do you understand why your customers buy your product or service? I mean really understand what makes them buy?

Nothing motivates a person quite like pain.

While that might sound harsh, one of the best ways to increase sales is to identify your customers’ Pain Points and then position your company to deliver solutions that relieve these issues.

Customers with a burning need for something – their Pain Point – are highly motivated to alleviate this pain by buying what you have to offer.

What Pain Points do your customers have? Sample Pain Points include:

time pressure
social pressure
work pressure
family pressure

Pain Point Solutions

Do you provide fast service?
A status symbol?
An efficient way to do business?
A solution for a busy parent?

This is the first in a series of Marketing Tips on Pain Points. Additional posts, including a Customer Pain Point Analysis Template, will be posted in the next few weeks. Click here to sign up to receive weekly Marketing Tips from Reciprocate LLC .

Marketing Tip #2 | Check Your Online Reputation

By Karen Emanuelson

Check your Online Reputation

Do you know what others are finding when they look for you and your company on the internet? Do you know what is really out there?

To check your online reputation, Google your name, your company name, your product name, your industry, and your competition.

You can easily discover your online reputation by clicking on all the links you find. Are you pleased with what you read?

Claim company listings on directory and review sites. Add information and your logo.
If you find negative reviews, address them immediately by positively responding using your real name. Don’t ever create false reviews.

Here’s a link to a Google Search Results template to help you track your online reputation.

If you would like help turning around a negative online reputation, contact Reciprocate LLC today for a free consultation.

Click here to sign up to receive weekly Marketing Tips from Reciprocate LLC .

How to Create a Marketing Myth Guaranteed to Increase Sales

By Karen Emanuelson

Marketing doesn’t have to be hard — or time consuming — and can even be fun. Here’s a simple way to use a modern twist on mythology that is guaranteed to increase sales whether you are a B2B or B2C.

Marketing Mythology

Create a mythological character, MTC (MyTypicalCustomer), based on your target market. Artist talent is not required; you can even use an online photo of an anonymous person. As you create MTC, answer these questions to help you determine what is important to MTC and why MTC is your target customer.

What does MTC look like?
Do you have several MTCs — male, female, different ages or even different education levels?
What does MTC do for a living?
Does MTC work/study in the city, suburbs, at home?
How does MTC spend his/her spare time?
Does MTC have any hobbies?
What is MTC’s family life like? Does he have kids? Aging parents?
Where does MTC live? Does he live in the city, suburbs or rural area? On a farm, in a mansion, or in an apartment?
Does MTC recycle or place high importance on green companies and products?
What pets does MTC have?
Does MTC donate to charities? Which ones?
Is MTC tech savvy? How much time does he spend on the computer each day?
Does MTC own a smartphone or mobile device? What apps does he use the most?
Is MTC active on Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter?
What problem does MTC have that your products or services can help solve?
What words does MTC use when looking for the solution to this problem?
These become the keywords you should use everywhere online — on your website, in your social media profiles and posts, and in directory listings.

Now that you have created your Mythological Marketing character, keep MTC with you. Hang MTC on your office wall. Attach MTC to your monitor. Use MTC as your screensaver or wallpaper. Throughout the day, ask yourself these questions:

wwMTCt? (What Would MyTypicalCustomer Think?)
Would MTC be moved to action by your decision or bored by your message?
Create calls to action that will inspire MTC to pick up the phone/email/purchase your product or service.

There, as easy as that, you’ve created a Marketing Myth guaranteed to increase sales. By keeping MTC top of mind when making business decisions, you will find that your business becomes more focused on your target customer and your sales will increase.

We’d love to see your MTC creations. Please share them on our Facebook page www.Facebook.com/ReciprocateLLC.

8 quick ways to GRAB attention during the holidays

By Karen Emanuelson

Engaging customers at holiday time

Yes, holidays are hectic for most of us. But there are ways that you can still engage your customers and make November and December profitable months for your organization.

Below are 8 tips for attracting customer’s attention:

KISS — keep it short and social
Less is more. We’re busy. No time to read volumes.
Offer holidays specials — that are truly special
Provide incentives that make it worth the effort. If you ask me to answer a 10-question survey or enter a contest to get a $1 off coupon, I might not bother, especially in November or December.
Consider adding a countdown promotion
The 12 deals of December. What a great reason to contact your customers via email daily. Just remember tips # 1 and #2 above.
Take Tip #3 a step further and add a progressive deal
Customers must open each email to receive the next — and each deal is better than the one before. With an email provider such as Contact Contact, you can segment your mailing list based on who has opened each email.
Create a sense of urgency
We all wait ’til the last minute. Make your offer a priority.
Subject lines matter
Communicate the offer and deadline in your subject line. We’re busy. A well-written subject line may keep your message from being trashed without being opened.
Provide special offers for VIP customers
Everyone likes to be a VIP. Let them know they are your VIPs. Thank past customers with great incentives.
Partner with a worthwhile charity or organization.
Offer your customers a way they can buy from you and be philanthropic at the same time. Win-win-win

These 8 simple tips can help you stay “top of mind” with your customers even during these hectic holidays and throughout the year. We’d love to hear your ideas on how you’ve engaged customers, particularly during the holiday season.

Is Email Marketing Dead?

By Karen Emanuelson

Is anyone reading email anymore?

Q: What do Mark Twain and email have in common?

A: Those tolling the death bell for both may have been premature on their proclamations.

If you’re like me, you spend hours each day creating and responding to emails. Yet, there are some in the industry who would like you to believe that email marketing is a waste of time.

I beg to differ. Reciprocate’s results have me encouraging clients (and prospective clients) to jump into email marketing as a viable, and profitable, marketing vehicle. Last month, less than 48 hours after I emailed the October issue of the Reciprocate newsletter, four prospective clients contacted me for more information. In less than a week, each of the four had signed a Reciprocate Letter of Engagement for services!

As a Constant Contact Solution Provider, I constantly study email marketing. Here are some interesting email tips I’ve learned:

4 email marketing tips

When should you send an email for the best open rates? Send emails between 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursdsay
How long are the best subject lines? 5-8 words with a maximum of 40 characters
What is the average time spent reading an email? Just 52 seconds. Wow! Be brief!
What are 3 ways to write the best subject lines? Make them:
1. Useful
2. Urgent
3. Unique

The Value of Email

We found this infograph by Smarter Tools Incorporated that shows the value of email in relation to social media powerhouses Facebook and Twitter as well as some other interesting statistics. Did you know that the total number of searches on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing combined equals only 1.1% of all email traffic?

Imagine how powerful your email would be if you sent valuable content to people who had money to buy. Contact Reciprocate today for help with your email marketing strategy.

Promotion Idea: 31+ Unique October Holidays

By Sydney Anne

Build your business and reputation with a little creativity

Marketing your small business with creativity builds interest and gets your business recognition. So why not find a unique way to get your name out there? Fun and wacky holidays and business promotions can attract customers and help with word of mouth PR.

Confused about where to start? Take some of these October holidays and run with them.

Try October 7, National Frappe Day: ask your customers which coffee drink is the best and offer 50 cents off each purchase for them to put towards a coffee shop coffee for the day.

Not your cup of coffee? How about National Dictionary Day on October 16: have a contest to see which customer can find the wackiest word in the dictionary and send them a coupon for 10% off a later purchase.

Looking for a different type of contest? October 25^th is Sourest Day. Run a photo contest with the best sour face winning a sample product. (Thanks to mlblogselisha06.wordpress.com for the great sour face photo above!)

For a more traditional holiday idea, use Halloween to your advantage. “Dress up” your prices for the day, playing your pricing scale as the “ghost of good things to come”.

You can also create your own holiday to match the needs of your business. Celebrate it yearly, make it fun and get creative. Creating holidays to celebrate your business’s milestones and successes is another good way to draw attention to what you have accomplished.

Whatever unique holidays you find on the calendar, or whatever holidays you choose to create, make sure they are fun and exciting! They are a great marketing tactic to get customers to notice you and spread the word!

October Month Long Celebrations

Computer Learning Month

National Cookie Month

Energy Awareness Month

October Week Long Celebrations

Oct. 3-7 National Customer Service Week (first week)

Oct. 10-14 Home Based Business Week (second week)

Oct. 17-21 Business Women’s Week (third week)

October Holidays

1 – Walt Disney World Birthday 1971

2 – National Custodial Workers Day

3 – Virus Appreciation day

4 – Leave It to Beaver Birthday 1957

5 – Balloons Around the World Day

6 – Physician Assistant Day

7 – National Frappe Day

8 – American Touch Tag Day

9 – Leif Erikson Day

10 – Columbus Day

11 – Eleanor Roosevelt’s Birthday (1884)

12 – Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day

13 – World Sight Day

14 – national lower case day

15 – Sweetest Day

16 – National Dictionary Day

17 – Boss’s Day

18 – No Beard Day

19 – Hagfish Day

20 – Get To Know Your Customers Day

21 – Electric Light Birthday 1879

22 – Make A Difference Day

23 – TV Talk-Show Host Day

24 – World Development Information Day

25 – Sourest Day

26 – National Mule Day

27 – Cranky Co-workers Day

28 – Statue of Liberty Birthday

29 – Hermit Day

30 – Haunted Refrigerator Night

31 – Halloween

What is Google Plus?

By Karen Emanuelson

Google Plus defined

With all the recent changes to Facebook, there has been a lot of noise about a fairly new social network option called Google Plus. So what exactly is Google Plus and how does this fit into the marketing plans for small businesses and nonprofits? The best description of Google Plus comes directly from Google. Visit their short tour by clicking on the graphic to the right.

As of mid-September, there is not a business option on Google Plus. There is talk of a business option along with a number of other updates and improvements to Google Plus in future releases.

Will Google Plus replace Facebook?

Early on, there was speculation that Google Plus would overtake powerhouse Facebook. According to comScore, Google Plus reached 21 million visitors in 21 days and 25 million users in its first month. Google reached that benchmark 36 times faster than Facebook, which took 36 months to reach 25 million users. Tthe jury is still out.

Here’s what several social media industry heavy-hitters had to say about Google Plus:

What’s ahead for Google Plus?

According to Google Plus Product Manager Christian Oestlien, “The business experience we are creating should far exceed the consumer profile in terms of its usefulness to businesses. We just ask for your patience while we build it. In the meantime, we are discouraging businesses from using regular profiles to connect with Google+ users. Our policy team will actively work with profile owners to shut down non-user profiles.”

In the meantime, Reciprocate is recommending our clients continue with their current social media marketing strategies. The 25 million Google Plus subscribers were early adapters curious to see what the buzz is all about. Google Plus is not currently being used by the mainstream. Entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits who are working with limited resources — time, money, and staff — should take a wait and see approach before devoting time to Google Plus.

We encourage you to register for the Reciprocate monthly newsletter where we’ll include updates on Google Plus and other internet marketing opportunities.