Monday, 3 September 2012
Let Your Survey Write Your Business Plan
Let Your Survey Write Your Business Plan
Most entrepreneurs first write their business plan and then
develop their services or products. This causes them to
generate and fulfill a marketing plan that requires them to
swim upstream using the backstroke. To save the stress,
consider placing the business plan on hold until first
completing a few customer surveys. Okay, some of you are
saying, "Catherine, how can you do a survey before you know
who your market is?" Yes, this is one challenging double
edge sword, that is, if you're mindset is set there.
Over the years, I've found that everyone I've worked with
generally knew what he or she wanted to sell. I don't
believe you are any different. This is the perfect place to
start. You have a clean slate to write on. You might be at
a place of seeing it in nonspecific terms with measurable
doubts as well. That is okay, doubts will always be there,
thus, allow them to be your friend instead of a foe. It’s
easy to start with a gender preference -- choosing either
women or men as having a higher purchasing balance for what
you are selling. If you don't have a majority gender in
mind, choose the one you feel most comfortable talking with
or asking questions to.
Let’s dive in a little deeper, its time to start thinking
about your surveys and what to ask. Okay, don't fade out on
me now. Generally, when people think of surveys, they
visualize or experience the sensations of long drawn out
processes that cost more money then they can afford or time
that they don't have the patience for. Boy, do I remember
those days of thinking.
Let’s play together on this concept of taking surveys before
writing your business plan. At least, allow the old
perceptions to sit outside your door until you've finished
reading this article and learning of a new possible
alternative perspective. The perspective that surveys come
first and don't need to be time-consuming, money-hungry,
must be done by professionals, mongrels.
Take the area you want to focus on, combine with your gender
preference, and begin there. For instance, if your area is
life coaching and you feel more comfortable with working
with women you have a starting point. This doesn't mean you
will never coach men, set those thoughts aside; they will
block your progress and keep you stuck.
From knowing just this basic information, you can now create
a few simple surveys in no time at all that don't require
any money. Even if you know more specifics about your
buyers, you might want to back it up to this point if you
are stuck in generating questions. To generate this survey
plan you don't need to know whether your focus is for a
product or service, or even if its for electronic,
telephone, or in-person delivery, at this time.
The first question you want to generate and ask is what your
gender wants to buy next. If asked in narrow terms, they
will answer. If asked too broadly, they will respond with
"don't know." If the latter, rewrite the question more
specifically, then ask again. Whenever I start, I sometimes
have to revamp my questions five or six times. Just an FYI,
to help you understand that even the experts refine as they
go. Surveying is an evolutionary process.
A second survey question is for people who have purchased
from you in the past. What are looking for next? What do
they want to accomplish in the next few months or whatever
future terms they desire to talk about?
If you don't have any customer history, then substitute.
Open the scope to what is the gender buying? What is the
cross between what you offer and what they want? What do
they want to do next (short-term) that falls within your
scope?
Continuing with the life coach illustration, what type of
women, what age areas, what type of self-development or
improvement topics are they purchasing now? What is the
regular step past this? What "new" hot topics in the
marketplace that meshes with your area? If you attend a
workshop, conference or seminar, examine the topic, and take
notes on the type of women attending. Record or ask their
age group. Ask a few to complete a survey while they are
there.
Ask one way, then another, and create a list of no more than
six multiple choice, yes or no, questions to ask. Then
continue to ask with whomever you meet, wherever you go.
Talk with the workshop leader or conference marketing people
and find out who they were targeting and why. If the event
is a match for you, collect copies of all their marketing
materials for language learning.
Ask friends, family members, or colleagues. Even if they
don't think these groups fit within your current focus.
Just remember not to stay off focus when doing so. If you
attend a coaching school, ask other coaches that do what you
want to do. What are their clients into, what are they
selling them or what ideas have their clients told them that
they are looking for?
Your survey method you use is up to you. To ease into it,
you will want to ask in the form most comfortable for you at
the time. However, caution, most everyone chooses written
form first in order to avoid any negative responses. In a
B2B survey, negative responses never occur. Everyone knows
why a survey is important. In B2C (business to consumers)
be careful not to cross the line of interrogation or too
personal. Ask politely, with respect, and share why you
want to know.
The number one rule of getting survey responses -- is
KISSing the questions -- "keep them short, simple and as
specific as you can at the time." Special note: Don't use
the contraction and in your sentences. The contraction
"and" creates a multiple question, stacks questions, which
confuses readers and listeners on what you really asking.
As you go through the experience of completing your surveys,
new clarity will flower. The gender equation gets more
specific, the age group narrows, and the rest unfold. One
industry category might begin to show you where there is
greater revenue generation. Allow the data to drive you
towards the right direction. Don't try to control or drive
it yourself. That struggle will cost you dearly.
If you're survey request is in the form of writing, you can
offer something in return for an exchange of their time.
Usually saved for longer surveys, you can create a reward
for short surveys too. It’s its too early in your survey
process to know what prospects want, offer something
generic. Match the gift with the amount of time it takes
them to complete the survey. If this is the case, offer
something generic. Offer a $5 gift certificate from
Amazon.com. If local, ask you're favorite restaurant if you
can offer a discount coupon that they will honor. There is
some fr*ee portion to the amount donated on the restaurant’s
part because it increases their clientele list.
It’s time to survey. Allow patience, time, and you will
want to schedule this as a regular routine in your business.
Next, plan your services and products to meet those needs
and then generate your business plan around them.
develop their services or products. This causes them to
generate and fulfill a marketing plan that requires them to
swim upstream using the backstroke. To save the stress,
consider placing the business plan on hold until first
completing a few customer surveys. Okay, some of you are
saying, "Catherine, how can you do a survey before you know
who your market is?" Yes, this is one challenging double
edge sword, that is, if you're mindset is set there.
Over the years, I've found that everyone I've worked with
generally knew what he or she wanted to sell. I don't
believe you are any different. This is the perfect place to
start. You have a clean slate to write on. You might be at
a place of seeing it in nonspecific terms with measurable
doubts as well. That is okay, doubts will always be there,
thus, allow them to be your friend instead of a foe. It’s
easy to start with a gender preference -- choosing either
women or men as having a higher purchasing balance for what
you are selling. If you don't have a majority gender in
mind, choose the one you feel most comfortable talking with
or asking questions to.
Let’s dive in a little deeper, its time to start thinking
about your surveys and what to ask. Okay, don't fade out on
me now. Generally, when people think of surveys, they
visualize or experience the sensations of long drawn out
processes that cost more money then they can afford or time
that they don't have the patience for. Boy, do I remember
those days of thinking.
Let’s play together on this concept of taking surveys before
writing your business plan. At least, allow the old
perceptions to sit outside your door until you've finished
reading this article and learning of a new possible
alternative perspective. The perspective that surveys come
first and don't need to be time-consuming, money-hungry,
must be done by professionals, mongrels.
Take the area you want to focus on, combine with your gender
preference, and begin there. For instance, if your area is
life coaching and you feel more comfortable with working
with women you have a starting point. This doesn't mean you
will never coach men, set those thoughts aside; they will
block your progress and keep you stuck.
From knowing just this basic information, you can now create
a few simple surveys in no time at all that don't require
any money. Even if you know more specifics about your
buyers, you might want to back it up to this point if you
are stuck in generating questions. To generate this survey
plan you don't need to know whether your focus is for a
product or service, or even if its for electronic,
telephone, or in-person delivery, at this time.
The first question you want to generate and ask is what your
gender wants to buy next. If asked in narrow terms, they
will answer. If asked too broadly, they will respond with
"don't know." If the latter, rewrite the question more
specifically, then ask again. Whenever I start, I sometimes
have to revamp my questions five or six times. Just an FYI,
to help you understand that even the experts refine as they
go. Surveying is an evolutionary process.
A second survey question is for people who have purchased
from you in the past. What are looking for next? What do
they want to accomplish in the next few months or whatever
future terms they desire to talk about?
If you don't have any customer history, then substitute.
Open the scope to what is the gender buying? What is the
cross between what you offer and what they want? What do
they want to do next (short-term) that falls within your
scope?
Continuing with the life coach illustration, what type of
women, what age areas, what type of self-development or
improvement topics are they purchasing now? What is the
regular step past this? What "new" hot topics in the
marketplace that meshes with your area? If you attend a
workshop, conference or seminar, examine the topic, and take
notes on the type of women attending. Record or ask their
age group. Ask a few to complete a survey while they are
there.
Ask one way, then another, and create a list of no more than
six multiple choice, yes or no, questions to ask. Then
continue to ask with whomever you meet, wherever you go.
Talk with the workshop leader or conference marketing people
and find out who they were targeting and why. If the event
is a match for you, collect copies of all their marketing
materials for language learning.
Ask friends, family members, or colleagues. Even if they
don't think these groups fit within your current focus.
Just remember not to stay off focus when doing so. If you
attend a coaching school, ask other coaches that do what you
want to do. What are their clients into, what are they
selling them or what ideas have their clients told them that
they are looking for?
Your survey method you use is up to you. To ease into it,
you will want to ask in the form most comfortable for you at
the time. However, caution, most everyone chooses written
form first in order to avoid any negative responses. In a
B2B survey, negative responses never occur. Everyone knows
why a survey is important. In B2C (business to consumers)
be careful not to cross the line of interrogation or too
personal. Ask politely, with respect, and share why you
want to know.
The number one rule of getting survey responses -- is
KISSing the questions -- "keep them short, simple and as
specific as you can at the time." Special note: Don't use
the contraction and in your sentences. The contraction
"and" creates a multiple question, stacks questions, which
confuses readers and listeners on what you really asking.
As you go through the experience of completing your surveys,
new clarity will flower. The gender equation gets more
specific, the age group narrows, and the rest unfold. One
industry category might begin to show you where there is
greater revenue generation. Allow the data to drive you
towards the right direction. Don't try to control or drive
it yourself. That struggle will cost you dearly.
If you're survey request is in the form of writing, you can
offer something in return for an exchange of their time.
Usually saved for longer surveys, you can create a reward
for short surveys too. It’s its too early in your survey
process to know what prospects want, offer something
generic. Match the gift with the amount of time it takes
them to complete the survey. If this is the case, offer
something generic. Offer a $5 gift certificate from
Amazon.com. If local, ask you're favorite restaurant if you
can offer a discount coupon that they will honor. There is
some fr*ee portion to the amount donated on the restaurant’s
part because it increases their clientele list.
It’s time to survey. Allow patience, time, and you will
want to schedule this as a regular routine in your business.
Next, plan your services and products to meet those needs
and then generate your business plan around them.
KEEP SALES SIMPLE
Keep Sales Simple
For those of us working in the exciting world of sales, we are all too familiar with the pressures of meeting our daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly goals. This pressure can sometimes cause us to loose focus on the simple things that made us successful to begin with.
When we make a sales presentation, it is all too essential to look and sound the part. A professional appearance and product knowledge are to very important ingredients involved in sales.
But don’t ever loose sight of the fact that sales is supposed to be fun!
A personal story . . . Jay Conners
I can remember a time a few years back, when I was managing a bank branch inside a supermarket, otherwise known as In-Store banking.
At that time, we had daily goals that we were required to meet, and those goals were unit and dollar driven. It was a fast paced environment and every technique we could think of was incorporated into our sales. Nothing was taken for granted.
Including the simple stuff.
One particular afternoon I received a phone call from a woman who informed me that she was new to the area, and she was shopping around for a bank.
We had a pleasant conversation, and I explained to her all of our products starting with our free checking, and ending with our more exclusive products.
Once the conversation was over, she thanked me and told me she would consider us.
I thanked her as well, and ended by telling her my name again, and that she could ask for me, if she decided to come in.
The next day, that same woman walked into my branch and asked for me, she reminded me of the conversation we had the day before, and than proceeded to tell me that she came in because I was so nice on the telephone.
The fact is, I was really nice on the telephone, I knew I had a potential customer on the phone and I killed her with kindness. Not because I was being slick, but because it was easy, it was simple, and I had fun doing it. And it worked.
There was no selling involved in that conversation. I was just being a nice person.
Salesmanship is important, but people want kindness to.
My point is, take some of the pressure off of yourself and start having fun! Be nice, smile. It is not always necessary to act and speak so professionally, it can come off fake, and worst of all boring.
So starting tomorrow, take a load off, roll up your sleeves, smile, laugh out loud, and most of all have fun and keep it simple!
When we make a sales presentation, it is all too essential to look and sound the part. A professional appearance and product knowledge are to very important ingredients involved in sales.
But don’t ever loose sight of the fact that sales is supposed to be fun!
A personal story . . . Jay Conners
I can remember a time a few years back, when I was managing a bank branch inside a supermarket, otherwise known as In-Store banking.
At that time, we had daily goals that we were required to meet, and those goals were unit and dollar driven. It was a fast paced environment and every technique we could think of was incorporated into our sales. Nothing was taken for granted.
Including the simple stuff.
One particular afternoon I received a phone call from a woman who informed me that she was new to the area, and she was shopping around for a bank.
We had a pleasant conversation, and I explained to her all of our products starting with our free checking, and ending with our more exclusive products.
Once the conversation was over, she thanked me and told me she would consider us.
I thanked her as well, and ended by telling her my name again, and that she could ask for me, if she decided to come in.
The next day, that same woman walked into my branch and asked for me, she reminded me of the conversation we had the day before, and than proceeded to tell me that she came in because I was so nice on the telephone.
The fact is, I was really nice on the telephone, I knew I had a potential customer on the phone and I killed her with kindness. Not because I was being slick, but because it was easy, it was simple, and I had fun doing it. And it worked.
There was no selling involved in that conversation. I was just being a nice person.
Salesmanship is important, but people want kindness to.
My point is, take some of the pressure off of yourself and start having fun! Be nice, smile. It is not always necessary to act and speak so professionally, it can come off fake, and worst of all boring.
So starting tomorrow, take a load off, roll up your sleeves, smile, laugh out loud, and most of all have fun and keep it simple!
SOME FASCINATING SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS!
Social Media / Social Networking
1. The average midsize or large company (1000 employees or more) has 178 “social media assets” (Twitter handles, employee blogs, etc.)–yet only 25% of companies offer social business training to their employees.2. B2b marketers believe social media is critical to organic search success. Marketers rate social media as the second-most imporant factor (64%) in search, behind only strong content (82%).
3. Although Facebook is the most important social media lead generation tool for b2c marketers (with 77% saying they had had acquired a customer through Facebook, compared to 60% for a company blog), among B2B companies, LinkedIn was the most effective, with 65% having acquired a customer through the professional network, followed by company blogs (60%), Facebook (43%), and Twitter (40%).
4. The best way to “go viral” is to engage millions of users, each of whom share through small networks. “Online sharing, even at viral scale, takes place through many small groups, not via the single status post or tweet of a few influencers…Content goes viral when it spreads beyond a particular sphere of influence and spreads across the social web via ordinarily people sharing with their friends…the median ratio of Facebook views to shares (is) merely 9-to-1. This means that for every Facebook share, only nine people visited the story. Even the largest stories on Facebook are the product of lots of intimate sharing—not one person sharing and hundreds of thousands of people clicking.”
5. LinkedIn generates more leads for b2b companies than Facebook, Twitter or blogs. Yet only 47% of b2b marketers say they are actively using LinkedIn vs. 90% on Facebook.
6. One-third of global b2b buyers use social media to engage with their vendors, and 75% expect to use social media in future purchases processes.
7. “Best in class” b2b companies are significantly more likely than average firms to integrate their social media efforts with their email marketing (65% vs. 51%), SEO (61% vs. 49%) and webinars (47% vs. 31%).
8. As for “best in class” practices, 51% of best-in-Class companies use website social sharing tools, compared to 36% of average firms while 49% use keyword-based social media monitoring, compared with 39% of their more average peers.
9. Top executives need to be involved in social media. 77% of buyers say they are more likely to buy from a company whose CEO uses social media. 94% said C-suite social media participation enhances a brand image. And 82% of employees say they trust a company more when the CEO and leadership team communicate via social media.
retail jokes
A retailer was dismayed when a competitor
selling the same type of product opened next-door to him, displaying a
large sign proclaiming "Best Deals."
Try This
While sitting at your desk, make clockwise circles with your right foot. While doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. What direction is your foot going now?
Marketing moral: Focus, focus, focus!
Not long
after that, he was horrified to find yet another competitor move in next
door, on the other side if his store. It's large sign was even more
disturbing—"Lowest Prices."
After his
initial panic, and concern that he would be driven out of business, he
looked for a way to turn the situation to his marketing advantage.
Finally, an idea came to him. Next day, he proudly unveiled a new and
huge sign over his front door. It read,
"Main Entrance!"
While sitting at your desk, make clockwise circles with your right foot. While doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. What direction is your foot going now?
Marketing moral: Focus, focus, focus!
THE POWER OF VIRTUAL MARKETING
Even though it may not have a postal code, a Web site may be a business
school’s most important piece of real estate when it comes to
sheer marketing power. Much more than an online brochure, a Web
site is the virtual mirror of a physical academic campus, complete
with its mission, personality, and voice. And as a primary point of
contact for hundreds of thousands of potential students, alumni, and executives
around the world, a b-school’s Web site is quickly becoming the main
conveyor of its marketing message.
But while Web sites are among the most powerful marketing tools for
higher education institutions, some schools may not use their sites to the
fullest to convey their branding messages. This may be, in part, because of
their belief that a majority of users are still limited by the slow pace of dial-up
connections. While dial-up connections are still common, schools currently
planning Web site redesigns should consider how quickly slower connections
are being replaced with more efficient broadband lines.
Broadband is now mainstream, with more than 50 percent of the U.S.
market using broadband. That trend holds true globally as well, according to
“World Broadband Statistics,” a quarterly report from U.K.-based research
firm Point Topic. The report found that the number of broadband subscriptions
school’s most important piece of real estate when it comes to
sheer marketing power. Much more than an online brochure, a Web
site is the virtual mirror of a physical academic campus, complete
with its mission, personality, and voice. And as a primary point of
contact for hundreds of thousands of potential students, alumni, and executives
around the world, a b-school’s Web site is quickly becoming the main
conveyor of its marketing message.
But while Web sites are among the most powerful marketing tools for
higher education institutions, some schools may not use their sites to the
fullest to convey their branding messages. This may be, in part, because of
their belief that a majority of users are still limited by the slow pace of dial-up
connections. While dial-up connections are still common, schools currently
planning Web site redesigns should consider how quickly slower connections
are being replaced with more efficient broadband lines.
Broadband is now mainstream, with more than 50 percent of the U.S.
market using broadband. That trend holds true globally as well, according to
“World Broadband Statistics,” a quarterly report from U.K.-based research
firm Point Topic. The report found that the number of broadband subscriptions
worldwide
has
increased
25
percent,
to
190.3
million
in
September
2005
from
152.4
million
in
December
2004,
with
the
Middle
East
and
Africa
showing
the
sharpest
rise
in
broadband
services.
With global broadband use on such a precipitous rise—and Internet users
growing more savvy by the day—it’s more important than ever for a Web site
to capture each visitor’s imagination. Features such as virtual campus tours, student
video diaries, podcasts, and other brands of multimedia can provide users with
has
increased
25
percent,
to
190.3
million
in
September
2005
from
152.4
million
in
December
2004,
with
the
Middle
East
and
Africa
showing
the
sharpest
rise
in
broadband
services.
With global broadband use on such a precipitous rise—and Internet users
growing more savvy by the day—it’s more important than ever for a Web site
to capture each visitor’s imagination. Features such as virtual campus tours, student
video diaries, podcasts, and other brands of multimedia can provide users with
a rich, interactive campus experience, even if they are thousands of miles
away. Schools are continually experimenting with different mixes of these online
elements to ensure their Web sites suit their marketing message perfectly
away. Schools are continually experimenting with different mixes of these online
elements to ensure their Web sites suit their marketing message perfectly
Even though it may not have a postal code, a Web site may be a business
school’s most important piece of real estate when it comes to
sheer marketing power. Much more than an online brochure, a Web
site is the virtual mirror of a physical academic campus, complete
with its mission, personality, and voice. And as a primary point of
contact for hundreds of thousands of potential students, alumni, and executives
around the world, a b-school’s Web site is quickly becoming the main
conveyor of its marketing message.
But while Web sites are among the most powerful marketing tools for
higher education institutions, some schools may not use their sites to the
fullest to convey their branding messages. This may be, in part, because of
their belief that a majority of users are still limited by the slow pace of dial-up
connections. While dial-up connections are still common, schools currently
planning Web site redesigns should consider how quickly slower connections
are being replaced with more efficient broadband lines.
Broadband is now mainstream, with more than 50 percent of the U.S.
market using broadband. That trend holds true globally as well, according to
“World Broadband Statistics,” a quarterly report from U.K.-based research
firm Point Topic. The report found that the number of broadband subscriptions
school’s most important piece of real estate when it comes to
sheer marketing power. Much more than an online brochure, a Web
site is the virtual mirror of a physical academic campus, complete
with its mission, personality, and voice. And as a primary point of
contact for hundreds of thousands of potential students, alumni, and executives
around the world, a b-school’s Web site is quickly becoming the main
conveyor of its marketing message.
But while Web sites are among the most powerful marketing tools for
higher education institutions, some schools may not use their sites to the
fullest to convey their branding messages. This may be, in part, because of
their belief that a majority of users are still limited by the slow pace of dial-up
connections. While dial-up connections are still common, schools currently
planning Web site redesigns should consider how quickly slower connections
are being replaced with more efficient broadband lines.
Broadband is now mainstream, with more than 50 percent of the U.S.
market using broadband. That trend holds true globally as well, according to
“World Broadband Statistics,” a quarterly report from U.K.-based research
firm Point Topic. The report found that the number of broadband subscriptions
worldwide
has
increased
25
percent,
to
190.3
million
in
September
2005
from
152.4
million
in
December
2004,
with
the
Middle
East
and
Africa
showing
the
sharpest
rise
in
broadband
services.
With global broadband use on such a precipitous rise—and Internet users
growing more savvy by the day—it’s more important than ever for a Web site
to capture each visitor’s imagination. Features such as virtual campus tours, student
video diaries, podcasts, and other brands of multimedia can provide users with
has
increased
25
percent,
to
190.3
million
in
September
2005
from
152.4
million
in
December
2004,
with
the
Middle
East
and
Africa
showing
the
sharpest
rise
in
broadband
services.
With global broadband use on such a precipitous rise—and Internet users
growing more savvy by the day—it’s more important than ever for a Web site
to capture each visitor’s imagination. Features such as virtual campus tours, student
video diaries, podcasts, and other brands of multimedia can provide users with
a rich, interactive campus experience, even if they are thousands of miles
away. Schools are continually experimenting with different mixes of these online
elements to ensure their Web sites suit their marketing message perfect
away. Schools are continually experimenting with different mixes of these online
elements to ensure their Web sites suit their marketing message perfect
.
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