Jim Henson’s best business advice

I recently came across this classic Jim Henson clip on the perils of business and thought it would be a great way to finish off the week.

Those at Make the Logo Bigger (where I found this great video) summarized the message perfectly:

“Business > creativity > business > creativity…”

Watch and enjoy …

Using social media for business, Step 1: Find your customers

If you’re a B2B marketer trying to get started with social media, you first have to find your customers, according to the marketers at Hubspot.

Last week Hubspot’s Rick Burnes met with two marketers from BatchBlue Software to find out how they have made social media work for their business.

“The trick is to find out where your customers are and go where your customers are already.”

BatchBlue has found success with Twitter and believe other companies can use the tool to connect with and attract new customers. They explain how they did it, and you can too, in the video below:

Training programs shown the door during recession

The training industry is facing some serious challenges this year, with the shrinking corporate training market topping the list.

In 2009, training marketers face the greatest decline in corporate training spending in more than a decade. Here are some of the latest statistics from Workforce Management:

Average training expenditures per employee fell 11 percent in the past year, from $1,202 per learner in 2007 to $1,075 per learner in 2008, according to a report issued Friday, January 23, by research firm Bersin & Associates.

Bersin said its figures include training budgets and payroll. Bersin also said the U.S. corporate training market shrank from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, the greatest decline in more than 10 years.

Another study released in November confirmed the old theory that training is one of the first victims when budget cuts strike. Almost half of corporate and government training professionals surveyed said their training budgets will decrease in 2009.

As they watch their budgets shrink, HR and corporate training professionals are looking for low-cost training options that can still get the job done without an expensive price tag.

The downturn is bringing new life to e-learning, where companies feel they’re getting the most bang for their buck. It’s easy to deliver and generally less expensive than traditional classroom training methods.

Learning experts are also watching a growing trend toward informal learning methods in which employees depend on managers and coworkers for training and on-the-job education. The trend includes using webinars, mentoring programs and brown-bag lunches to develop a strong learning culture and motivate employees.

While the recession is dropping a long list of challenges in our laps, it is up to us to decide how to attack each one. The face of corporate training is changing we’ll have to adapt right along with it.

Improve your marketing, ask customers to help

Sometimes, the easiest way to improve a part of your life is to simply ask for help. As it turns out, the practice of asking for help can improve your marketing, if you go about it in the right way.

I was reading a post yesterday at Rohit Bhargava’s Influential Marketing Blog (IMB) on the best “non-salesy” ways to ask your customers for help promote your business.

Rohit says the main reason why your customers aren’t recommending you to their friends is because either you haven’t asked them to, or you don’t make it simple for them to do so.

“If you ask them in the right way, however, the word of mouth referrals and additional business you can get from the experience will easily be more powerful that just about any other advertising or marketing you could do.”

Here are a few of his ideas on how to get your customers to do some business promotion for you:

• Share credit. If a company helped you produce something, like a new training video, share the credit with that company at the end of the video by mentioning their company name. The next time they go to a trade show, they may be more inclined to use your video as an example, spreading your message to an audience you couldn’t reach before.
• Make it easy to become a fan. “People often want to their circle of friends (and sometimes to the world) to know the brands they love.” Whether online or offline, give your customers a visual way to show their support for your brand – t-shirts, bumper stickers, a badge for their blog, joining your LinkedIn group.
• Encourage online reviews. Online customer reviews can have a big impact on someone’s decision to buy from your company or not. “Instead of getting customers to blindly fill out surveys or registration cards, try asking them to go online to a prominent site, or social network, or even their own blog and ask them to talk about their experience.”

Read more great ideas at IMB.

You can also get your employees to help out by asking them to become your company’s friend on any of the social media platforms you belong to (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.). This way, whenever you make an update or send out a message, there’s a chance your employees’ friends will also see the update and improve your online visibility.

Social media has opened the doors to a whole new world of marketing where you don’t have to go it alone anymore, where you can’t  go it alone anymore. Your success will be determined by the connections you make and how well you nurture those relationships.

Monday marketing links: Feeling overwhelmed, website check-ups and the fear of reviews

My list of blog topic ideas is growing faster than I can write, so I’ve put them all in one post. Here’s some of the latest and greatest information covering topics from business to business marketing to social media, all wrapped up in one convenient little package:

Does your website have a clean bill of health? Improve your search engine traffic and give your website an SEO health check. PluginHQ’s list of 16 things to look for in a website health check is a great place to start.

Finding time to fit blogs, Twitter, Facebook and the 10 other social media sites you visit into your day can be tough. There’s no reason to feel overwhelmed, according to Adam Singer at The Future Buzz, because you have complete control.

Think about your favorite restaurant – delicious food, warm atmosphere, good company. Now ask yourself: “Is your website as good as your favorite bistro?” Read MarketingProfs’ post-holiday recipe for online success, developed with a few lessons from the restaurant industry.

Though text wears the online crown, video has its place and will continue to grow as a valuable medium, according to Darren Rowse at ProBlogger. Read why he thinks video is worth experimenting with on your blog.

Not everything written online about your company will be positive and how you deal with negative feedback can make or break your online reputation. But, what if that negative feedback is coming from members of your own staff? Read what Jacob Morgan thinks you should do when your staff turns against you with social media.

On a similar note, you shouldn’t be afraid of what customers have to say about your company online. The opportunities social media provides heavily outweigh the perceived harm that it could cause. Read this recent tip from BusinessWeek and don’t fear online customer reviews.

How social media is like the seventh grade

Making new friends in social media can sometimes make you feel like the new kid in seventh grade – you don’t know anyone, talking to people you don’t know makes you feel awkward and you’re tired of your mom pushing you to make new friends.

In seventh grade terms, it sucks. But after you get the hang of it, learn the social norms, it becomes fun. In no time you have a great group of friends who always have something interesting to talk about.

Then automated responses make it weird again …

Making friends in social media

(Thanks to Hubspot for the awesome cartoon.)

Tip: Fear doesn’t improve customer loyalty

As marketers, our final goal in business is to persuade the customer to perform a certain action – visit our website, try our service, buy our product, and so on, through a series of targeted communication efforts.

When our marketing efforts fail to get the attention of new customers and keep existing customers coming back for more, they leave. Especially with our current economic situation, customers are more sensitive to the messages they receive and those they choose to reject.

I came across a great blog post over at Marketing for Technology where author Paul Dunay shared some valuable advice on how NOT to create customer loyalty in tough times.

As a loyal customer to a major hotel chain, Paul was taken aback when he recently found this email in his inbox:

Dear Mr. Dunay

We miss you! We noticed there hasn’t been any activity on your Hotel Loyalty card for 9 months and in order to keep your Hotel Loyalty card you must maintain activity at least once in a 12 month period. If we don’t see any activity in the next 3 months we will cancel your card and you will forfeit your points.

Signed the SVP of Customer Loyalty

So what’s a loyal customer to do in this situation?

Paul’s actions:

Immediately spent all my points on a gift for my son, called their hotline and cancelled my card and emailed the SVP of Customer Loyalty to tell him – I won’t be coming back even when the economic climate gets better.

The hotel permanently changed my behavior AGAINST them – way to go SVP of Customer Loyalty and thanks for the clock radio for my son!

Marketing tip of the day: Don’t try to scare customers into coming back. It doesn’t work.

Using facebook to promote your business blog

You may think Facebook is just another social networking site dedicated to young college students, but you may be surprised how Facebook’s demographics are changing.

In the years since it’s creation in 2004, Facebook has become a major meeting place for adults in the working world, according to a new study by O’Reilly Media featured in a recent SHRM article.

O’Reilly Media found that since September 2008, the number of Facebook users between the ages of 35 and 44 increased by 51%; those ages 45-54 grew by 47%, and those 26-34 increased by 26%. More than half of the 140 million Facebook users are out of college.

“With web sites and social networking tools like Facebook, companies now have the ability to be the master of ceremonies and create communities for their customers to join,” Scott Townsend, marketing director with United Linen and Uniform Services, recently told The Examiner-Enterprise.com. “And customers have the opportunity to become a fan of your Facebook page. If you are a small company, you don’t want to reach the whole world; you just want to reach those customers that are jazzed about your business and what it is you have to offer.”

As Facebook continues to attract older professionals, it is becoming one of the best places to promote your business blog or website.

In a recent guest post at ProBlogger, Steve Schwartz, a professional LSAT tutor explained how he has used Facebook to promote his blog and expand his community of readers.

The social network gives his blog readers the opportunity to interact with each other in a way that comments can’t. Facebook’s discussion boards allow users to exchange messages and interact through conversation.

Here’s some of his advice on how to get started:

1. Create a Facebook group. Don’t make the group about your blog directly. Instead, choose a broader topic so people searching on Facebook for a certain topic will feel welcomed to join.

2. Invite your friends. Some of your existing friends may want to join your new group, and some may not. Either way, the invitation will show up on your friends’ news feeds, turning it into a viral marketing mechanism.

3. Tell your blog readers about it. Post a link to your Facebook group in the sidebar of your blog. Write a brief post on your new group for those who didn’t notice the new link. Tell your readers how they will benefit from becoming a member.

4. Join other groups. Look for Facebook groups related to your blog topic. Post messages on their Wall or discussion boards notifying the group’s members of your group and your blog. Spread out the information over a series of posts to make sure you don’t get banned from the group for spamming.

With his efforts, Facebook quickly became one of Steve’s biggest sources of traffic, without having to spend much time on maintenance.

“In order to get more readers, you need to have a presence where they are. For me and for many bloggers these days, our present and future readers spend their time in social networking sites.”

Tips from the White House on how to do business online

Along with President Barack Obama’s weekly web video addresses, appointments and nominations, executive orders and slideshows, marketers can use the new Whitehouse.gov as a great example of how to do business online.

At exactly 12 PM ET, as Obama was giving his inauguration speech, his official presidential website has switched over to a new design.

Adding to all the information available on the Obama administration, the website of the President has something that no other presidential site has had before – a blog.

The first post, written by the White House director of New Media, Macon Phillips is titled: “Change has come to Whitehouse.gov.”

Phillips explains how the initial new media efforts will be centered around three priorities: communication, transparency and participation.

From the post:

“Millions of Americans have powered President Obama’s journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country’s future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration’s efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.”

“One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.”

They’re also taking suggestions on how to improve the website by asking visitors: “what sort of things would you find valuable from Whitehouse.gov?” Anyone can send questions, comments, concerns, or well-wishes to the President or his staff by filling out a simple form.

How cool is that?

Whitehouse.gov is a great example of how to do business online. It succeeds by keeping customers (citizens) informed, involving customers in business decisions that affect them and engaging customers in conversation directly with the CEO.

Have you seen the new Whitehouse.gov? How could you use some of the engaging features in your own organization’s website?

B2B websites top choice among business decision makers

Business websites are “a highly valued and indispensable source of information” in the eyes of business decision makers, according to a survey released late last year by the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) in the UK.

Their research showed that 97% of business decision makers choose B2B websites as the media most used for work.

Other key findings include:

• 51% of business decision makers choose business websites as their preferred source of business information.
• 60% ranked business websites as an “essential” source of information in their work.
• 60% consider business websites as sources of information that they couldn’t get anywhere else.
• 56% visit B2B websites first when researching/informing business decisions
• 55% visit B2B websites first when researching/informing purchase decisions

The survey also revealed that 82% of all business decision makers use at least one business to business digital delivery mechanism for work, rising to 91% among regular B2B websites users. Email alerts/newsletters are the most popular (51%) form of delivery.

When it comes to advertising, 43% of business professionals are more likely to respond to ads on a business website than advertising in other media.

Of those surveyed, 70% reported that business to business websites offer more engaging content and advertising than other business information sources and considered them to:

• Offer instant access to information (79%)
• Save time (77%)
• Offer innovative ways to access information (74%)
• Allow business decision makers to interact with peers more efficiently (69%)

Visit AOP UK for additional details from the report.