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And, as an added bonus, we will send you our Newsletter with articles like, "Green Industry Marketing in a Digital World, Do You Need a Web site and 4 Tips to Jumpstart Your Day."
CATCH UP! (helping irrigators with technology)
My kids are involved in a group at church that has made a point of giving them permission to fail. It's like they have already established infirmaries to bandage skinned knees, shops that help you put training wheels on your bike–even if it's a full-grown bike and instructor/mentors that encourage you to "go ahead."
Maybe that's the reason I admire the men and women that take our classes. They DID something. They could take something banal. It would be easier and a total waste of time. Their attitude is, "I want to learn something."
For alums, thanks for attending in the past. Are you using CAD to wow your prospects and frustrate your competition? Are you using the business tools you learned or the marketing pointers? How's that skinned knee healing up?
Tomorrow we start Business Skills and CAD in Austin. We'll be in San Antonio on May 10-12 and Dallas/Fort Worth May 24-26.
Have you gotten your free copy of "3 Ways to Nurture Word of Mouth"?
Posted By Doug Saylor 4 Comments »
Social Media is changing the way we market our companies. But most of us get it wrong. How many times do you see, "Buy from me! WE'RE THE BEST!! THEY'RE A BUNCH OF CROOKS. BUY NOW!"?
No, no, no. Remember, your prospects listen to WII-FM–What's In It For ME?! The world we live in is selfish, so givers stand out. Here's the two tasks.
Open a facebook account for you and your company. That's task number one. It's easy and free. After your company has 25 "likes" you can get a custom, company URL like www.facebook.com/ceuwow.
Task 2. Make a list of every company you can think of that you have dealt with. Find their facebook account, "like" them and leave some positive note. "Hey Bob, thanks for the years of great service on my cars. I'd recommend you to anyone!"
Maybe they will do the same for you, maybe not. You have done a small act that steps into their world and leaves it a better place. Kinda sounds like the golden rule.
Have fun spreading the cheer!
Posted By Doug Saylor 1 Comment »
Most irrigation business owners wouldn’t be caught without a business card. You never know when you’re going to make a “first impression.”
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, May 2010, 79% of adult Americans use the Internet and 78% of them do online research before making a purchase decision. Your prospects’ first impression of you will likely be through Google–before you ever get a chance to hand them your card.
Google Is Your New Business Card
The way customers want to do business with you has fundamentally changed. That’s not a problem as long as you think about your business with the new mindset. But, if you’re still thinking your Marketing Program to find local customers is your business card, your yard signs and attending chamber events, you may be falling behind.
That’s because people are using the Internet for buying direction–even on local purchases, (20% of Google’s searches are local). Even if her first impression is seeing your crew installing a sprinkler system at a neighbor’s house, she will likely get online to check you out and to see about your competitors. Are you part of Google’s results?
Don’t think this is a plug for Google’s paid AdWords. According to Marketing Sherpa, 70% of the links search users click on are unpaid (referred to as “organic”) links. So, how can you show up on Google’s search results without paying for it? The short answer is
- Have a website.
- Make sure it is optimized for search engines.
- Publish helpful, valuable information so other, related sites will link to your site.
- Start a blog (short for web log) that shares helpful, valuable information.
- Generally, give, give, give–and be prepared to stay with it for the long haul.
Experiment
Next time you’re at a computer think of a word or phrase you would use to find a company like yours. Maybe something like “sprinkler installer ‘my town’.” I may be off base for what you do, so think like one of your prospects and type that in as a Google search.
How did you do? If you’re on the first page, you’re doing well, and your objective is to get your irrigation business closer to the top. If you’re not on the first page, keep looking to see how far back you are. Keep in mind that over 90% of searchers will not go past the first page. If that’s you, you don’t have a business card.
Perhaps we can help. Keep reading this blog, and we will pass along search tools other smart people have given us. And, if you haven’t already done so, get our free report on Nurturing Word of Mouth, (just fill out the form to the left of this post).
Thanks for reading.
Doug Saylor
Posted By Doug Saylor 1 Comment »