Think On Your Feet or End Up On Your Ass

Your competition never sleeps – are YOU sleeping?

Thinking On Your Feet May Just Save Your Business

Surviving as a small business takes brass. Are you ready to make your business stand out amongst all the competition? Are you willing to invest considerable time and money to make it happen? Do you have a vision for your marketing? Are you trying to hand off responsibilities and say, “I have a Facebook account and it hasn’t increased sales”, Social Media must not work?

Some Questions for the small business owner to think about:

• Is your business successful now? Successful businesses are constantly evaluating the terrain, sizing up their competition and try to stay one step ahead at the least. Market leaders don’t have to be the biggest players, just the most informed. If you understand the web is the present and the future and just don’t know where to start perhaps some Internet Consulting services may be your best move initially.

 

• Is the market growing, shrinking, or stagnant? Have you carefully thought about the future? When was the last time you asked yourself, “Have my sales hit a plateau?” What can I do to increase sales? Thinking about your business is something that owners can forget in the course of day to day operations. One day they look up to find themselves chasing the market instead of changing the market.

 

• Are you looking to Social Media or a new website to save your business? Upgrading or adding a website is a good start but if your market is small and saturated with competition, you may want to explore a niche. Ask yourself, “What do I do better than any other business in my field?” Sometimes the best website and marketing in the world is not your answer. A different business or business model is. You’ll never hear that from the SOS. (short for snake oil salesman)

 

• Is your product or service still viable? It’s been said that the kiss of death for any business is gaining an increasing share of a declining market. At some point the well runs dry and then what? Have you thought about alternative uses for your products or services?

 

• Has your market shrunk or are your clients exploring alternatives to your products or services? Has your market shifted or dried up? Is there still room for growth in your industry? Can you sustain increased sales with your in-house talent?

 

• Why should we care? Glitz and glamour only go so far. Remember the Where’s the Beef ads? Where’s the steak in your offerings? Is your business prepared to give the kind of customer service that makes clients stay with you even if your not the cheapest? Advertising agencies call this the unique selling proposition which is just a slickster way of saying be unique.

 
There is a reason this post has 20 questions (well 23) and is written in an interrogational style. Consumers are more savvy than ever. Forget the fluff and deliver. We Do. Ask any Pittsburgh Internet Marketing clients of Blackball Online Marketing.

Facebook has a few of the Internet’s “biggies” rockin’ on their heels. This happens.

And one of them happens to be Google. From what I can see, Google has an impressive

advantage in competing (if you want to call it competing) with Facebook and any other “comers.”

A few of Google’s advantages, (at least the way I see it):

1)      First: Google is Google; they don’t, at least so far, feel they are bigger than the Internet,
or that they are the Internet, what Google does, (love em’ or hate em’) is leverage the Internet - to the max.

2)      Second: Google’s been around. It makes them the “crafty” veteran.

3)      Third: Google, for all intent and purpose is not about search. I know, you’re saying this guy’s nuts. If Google isn’t about search, what is Google about? Well, Google is about organization - first and foremost. High-quality search results are utterly dependent on the quality of information organization. And Google’s passion and obsession is organization.

4)      Fourth: and I believe this is important, and so painfully obvious as to be so easily missed, is with Google there is no need for a login…think about that.
(Gmail is email, that’s different.) For one, not having to bother with a login caters to a fundamental human desire, which is the need to be instantly gratified, and the freedom to roam – anywhere and anonymously. And as far as social networks go, any place that has a login pretty much makes for a “walled garden.” (Twitter may be the walled garden exception.) And human beings, by our very nature don’t like to be “walled in” for long, no matter how nice the garden.

5)      Five: Regardless of how lush a garden is, eventually, a lot of people get tired of looking at it, and they want to see a new one.

It could make things interesting if Google comes up with a no-login, (or the illusion of no-login) approach to the "Social Network"… or, have they already done that?

Now on to Facebook; why doesn’t FB let their stuff truly be crawled by Google? What makes them so special?  Well, let me see…hey… I know… it’s about the money. FB can come up with all the corporate jousting they want and I bet it still washes out to money; and it probably goes something like this: Facebook to Google; “hey Google, you want to crawl our exclusively exclusive stuff – pay me.” Then again, who knows how Google and Facebook may "buddy-up" to carve up the world in the name of "enhanced user experience."

Oh, by the way, you can Google us at Blackball Online Marketing Pittsburgh.

It’s not often I come up with advantages or praise for Facebook so let’s give it a try.

The Facebook advantages: (naming convention pun intended)

1)      They’re not Google. They don’t have to live up to a solid history. They can change things and test without global outcry so far.

2)      Google’s being the crafty veteran is also seen in Internet terms as an old company. Dare I say it; Microsoft-like. And not a place for the younger generation to hang out and converse.

3)      Facebook is about entertainment and interaction. Ever look into the traffic ratings of entertainment sites? It seems we want our entertainment far more than we want to work. (Trending Topics anyone?) This is one of the main reasons Google bought YouTube.

4)      Most Facebook users never logout. Thus eliminating the need to login. (Entertainment remember) If a user has to login to get in touch with all their needs, wants, wishes, desires so be it. Does Facebook log you out after 2 hours on non activity? I don’t think so. Why is that? Average time on site statistics ring a bell?

5)      Facebook’s ever changing design and user interface is what makes it appear different constantly. Pure hell for the companies trying to set up a page, but joy for the user apparently.

Our Facebook page is located at Blackball Online Marketing Pittsburgh. Like it if you can find it.

Image courtesy of Brain Waves LLC

Think about it. People “brand” every day, either consciously or unconsciously. We’re hardwired for it. And that’s because it gives us a mental “shortcut” via the storing of one primary attribute relevant to ourselves which simplifies things. It makes the journey between association-to-recall easier. This works for us by way of storing a mental snap-shot which is clear, memorable and distinct.

It sometimes goes like this; “oh yeah, I remember that guy, (or girl) he had that crazy laugh” and so on - you get the picture. We meet somebody that ignites a bit of interest in us, (good or bad) we then mentally and automatically distill the individual down to a single “stand out” attribute unique to them, which in turn gives us the best chance for recall down the road if needed. It helps us cut through the clutter.

Let’s use a restaurant example; you’ve been asked if you know of any good restaurants around here, you say I know this place that has great pasta, now, they may also serve great seafood, salads, and other stuff, but you’ve instinctively “branded” the restaurant by taking that one attribute about the restaurant which was relevant to you personally enabling a clear transfer of info to someone else.

The person who is the recipient of your “branded” information transfer may not be the pasta type, but they may think well hey, even though I’m not into pasta, and this individual (who seems credible) says they have great pasta, so maybe they’ll have other dishes that I’ll like which are great too.  One way or the other decision making for the restaurant seeker has been made easier via branding. Just like taking a shortcut.

Now, to really seal-the-deal about branding being a part of our DNA, let’s take the most powerful, prolific and the most well-known brand in human history; Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ contained a multitude of unique attributes; He was a carpenter, born of a virgin, preached, helped people, performed miracles and a whole lot more. (I’m sure there weren’t a lot of complaints about the water into wine thing.) But what is His relevant brand, or His relevant brand promise that stood out from everything else about Him? It was and is Salvation. (Talk about consistency in a message.) And what made His brand relevant? Well I guess you could just ask any Catholic priest on Easter Sunday, or any Sunday for that matter.  (And you thought I was going to say The Beatles.)

So, a brand which incorporates focus, relevance and follow-through has a good shot at cutting through the clutter and maybe “becoming somebody.”  And with the endless onslaught of messaging overload consumers are hit with through traditional advertising streams, the Internet and its Social Media offspring, “cutting through the clutter” is more paramount today than ever. Besides, it’s in our DNA.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?