More than a Few Words

Why do reviews matter?  Part of the answer to that question lies in the psychological phenomenon of social proof. We look to others for advice and ideas.  Whether it is contagious laughter at a comedy show,  or turning around in an elevator to face the door, behavior is observed and replicated. Particularly when buying something we have never bought before reviews provide that social proof. How do...

“I can do that,” I said calmly, as I looked across the table at a potential client.  All the while in my head, I could hear a loud frantic voice saying, “Are you crazy? You have never done that. You don’t know how to do that!” That was the early days of  Roundpeg  and people were not exactly beating down the doors to work with me. I was excited to be sitting in front of someone who actually had mo...

Since starting my first Twitter account in 2008, I've had a love hate relationship with the platform. It's fast moving and entertaining.  There are days that I can scroll through and just enjoy the conversations. Sometimes it's great for business, and sometimes it's just a complete time suck. So how do you get the most out of the Twitter platform? That's a question. I've asked a number of people o...

Nobody told me when I was a kid how much harder it was going to be to make friends when I got older. Changing jobs and moving to new cities, I always felt like I had to start all over again. The same is true as you start your business. Sure you have friends from former jobs and other positions, but they may or may not necessarily travel in the same circles that you're moving in now that you're a b...

Want to grow your business from zero to 1000 fans?  Start by asking people what they want from you. Sounds simple, right? But that's exactly what my guest Josh Tapp, The Lucky Titan,   said he did to grow his business. In this episode we talk with Josh about building an audience of raving fans, customers who are so passionate about you, they will pay you, no matter what your offer. They're willing...

Let’s face it, everyone is not your customer. Even if you sell the most basic of products like crackers or toilet paper, some people will like your particular brand and others won’t. And trying to make your product as generic as possible so that it will appeal to the widest group possible means that you’re probably not going to satisfy the demands of any one group. So, today’s tip is really to sta...

Think Instagram is just for pretty pictures of food, fashion and flowers will think again. With Instagram stories, your business can deliver relevant messages to an audience that really cares. Our guest today Bobbi Baehne will share tips and tricks on how you can use powerful Instagram stories to grow your business. Instagram was about pretty pictures and celebrity chefs until it was purchased by...

Have you noticed that everyone seems to be changing their name lately? I mean, every time I turn around, Dunkin Donuts is now Dunkin and Weight Watchers is WW, Burger King is trying to slide in there with BK. What's going on? These brands that have been around for a long time and they are trying reinvent themselves. They think a shorter name makes them sound cooler and maybe a little bit hip. Also...

Let's face it, things happen. Businesses take twists and unexpected turns. But are they really all that unexpected? In today's conversation, Sam and I talk about how you can proactively plan for the crises, you know, are going to occur at some point.

Wouldn't it be great if your marketing could get people to buy from you? Unfortunately, as our guest Chris Hoyt  explains, that's not how marketing works.  What can marketing do?  Marketing can help people know you exist.  if you are just starting out, marketing can help introduce your new company It can communicate your value  It can give people an incentive to try your services or your products...

The Marketing Minute: Patience Let's talk about patience, because that is something  small business owners typically don't have. We start our businesses with grand plans.  We go out and start marketing our product and we expect results righ away. Unfortunately,  good marketing takes time. This is true of all types of marketing, but particularly inbound marketing and content marketing.  These activ...

The problem with automated marketing is that well, it feels automated. There's a not quite human sound to the way those emails and chat bots respond to questions from real customers. Your challenge is to humanize your automated marketing and make those communications sound like they come from you. To help us discover how to create personal campaigns that really bring people to you we invited Ellen...

Today's conversation is a bit of a departure for us, but it is such an important topic, property taxes. I know , nobody wants to talk about property taxes. But  if you don't talk about it, and you don't think about it, you're gonna pay more. Our guest Joshua Malancuk, founder of JM Tax Advocates explains the two components of property tax calculations; the tax rate and the assessed value. While yo...

Is email marketing or social media a better tool for your business. The truth is, it’s not an either or situation. Each of these marketing tools has a very specific purpose. Social media is where you meet lots of new people with your messages. If your content is interesting you can reach new audiences through your existing connections.  But at the end of the day, it’s like going to a singles bar....

What is a rich snippet?  Rich Snippets is the term used to describe structured data markup that site operators can add to their existing HTML, which in turn allow search engines to better understand what information is contained on each web page. However, the major search engines have taken this a step further, and now use this markup to present richer search results, enabling users to more easily...

What if you had an employee who could be hard at work as you were doing something else. Sounds wonderful, right?  Well that is the idea behind marketing automation.  With a little planning, you can create campaigns which will reach out to customers and prospects, with just the right message at just the right time. As our guest, Travis Merle explains automation isn't one size fits all. It is about...

If you're like many business owners, you started your company to do something you enjoyed. Maybe you were a chef and you started a restaurant, or a doctor who wanted to take care of people, or a marketer who enjoyed the creative challenge of engaging customers with a product. Whatever it was, you started your company to do that thing. Along the way you learned running a business required sales, bo...

These days inboxes are overloaded and social media news feeds are controlled by the platform algorithms.  So, as a small business owner how do you break through the clutter to be sure customers see your messages? In this episode our guest Alfredo Salkeld explains how texting can be the answer for many small businesses with the ability to deliver simple, timely messages to an audience interested in...

If you have ever read a comic book you know that the Super Hero has amazing powers, but also the one critical weakness.  Business owners are marketing super heroes with amazing skills and talent, but weakness which can bring us an our business to the ground, like kryptonite does to superman.  Our guest, Karen Sullivan suggests that a good marketing strategy can help your overcome your kryptonite. ...

Do you have a plan for your business? I don't mean a vague generic, "Yeah, we kind of want to do this." I mean, a specific plan that outlines the steps that you're going to take to reach your goals. If you're like many small business owners, I already know the the answer to that question is no. And that is not going to cut it. Working without a plan is like getting in your car and saying, "I'm goi...

The next time you go to a networking event, ready to launch into your hard sell pitch stop and try something new.  Don't ask the same tired questions.  Instead, our guest Patti Farmer suggests three quick questions which will help you quickly qualify each conversation, so you know who to follow up with and how.    About our guest Patty Farmer is an award-winning Marketing & Media Strategist, Inter...

Small business owners are often very short sighted when they consider the value of a customer, looking only at what they are going to spend today and maybe in the the years to come. But if you delight that customer, they will bring something worth more  more than the value of all they will buy from you. A customer who really knows and loves you, will be willing to talk about you to their friends a...

Are you looking to expand your organization?  If its a struggle to find qualified candidates. you might need to change your focus. Typically the focus is on the candidate. The hiring company tells them to change their approach, resume, writing style, and exceptions to meet the company's needs. In today's competitive job market however, it is often the company that needs to change. Before you look...

Does your heart sink when someone suggests having a meeting to discuss something?  If you are like me, you have attended so many bad meetings, that it is hard to be excited about the prospect of another one.  But Dr. Rick Brinkman believes it doesn't need to be that way.  If you treat  your meeting like plane flight, with air traffic control ( the agenda) a flight recorder ( capturing all the idea...

This is a marketing minute with Lorraine Ball. When was the last time you updated your website? If the answer is more than two years ago, you're doing a disservice to yourself and your customers. You are not providing up to date information to your clients, and you're missing out on a chance to improve your search engine ranking with frequent relevant updates. You can freshen you content by adding...