by Chris Daley on September 26, 2010
With over a trillion websites active on the web, attention is the GOLD of the information economy.
If your client cannot know you from the competitor you are hurting your success
So if you are not intentional about your web presence, you will be placing your business into the dust bin of a customer protection program.
Here is the challenge you business person is up against in an information drenched age.
1) Your prospect has more relevant information than they can even begin to process.
2) Your prospect is bombarded by unsolicited information, e.g. spam and frankly
most advertisement and marketing is perceived as an intrusion or a nuisance at best.
3) Your prospect lives in an age where the speed of this new information is accelerating exponentially.
4) Your prospect is thus inundated and so the real value of information starts to fall.
5) Your prospect is obtaining devices to eliminate or manage their information tsunami (DVR, don’t call).
6) Your prospect trusts the recommendations of their friends way over advertisements.
How does a business owner thrive in such a tough messaging and branding environment?
Well, YIE has some insights for your consideration.
In order to cut through the client’s clutter & filter, and make connection with them, you need to effectively answer these five key questions.
1) Why should I do business with you?
2) What makes you different?
3) How can I trust you?
4) Who are you?
5) What can you do for me?
In short, folks need to know, like and trust you.
In a world increasing dominated by the internet one better have a systematic means of answering these questions.
The relevant tools has to deliver:
a) Compelling content (become great story tellers not just sharers of facts)
b) Connectivity through your persona (teacher is popular as its most respected profession).
c) Community (social media platforms) – they become your business evangelists (virtual word of mouth)
YIE not only have insights, but we have in a compelling tool kit to refuel your client engagement and let you heart hear some merry ka-ching! Let us help you today!
by Chris Daley on July 27, 2010
It’s Saturday evening and you’re out on the town, planning an evening of chillaxing with the buds. You are first to arrive and place the reservation at your favorite joint. Well blow me down! You have been told that the wait is 45 minutes. So, why just stand there waiting around? You whip out your phone and “check in” on Foursquare. Why not make your way to a new bar down the road for a few drinks? You check in again to let your network of friends know exactly where you are.
So goes the plot for the where is Waldo marketing plan of Foursquare.
Foursquare is the allegedly hot new social media play. It receives some 1.6 million “check-ins” each week and users have skyrocketed in the past couple of months – to the point where many people are now touting it as the next Twitter.
As you would expect with any media platform that attracts such a huge following, the usual suspects are watching very closely.
Yahoo, for one, has already made one bid of $125 million for the start-up.
Google, is also watching wide eyes open.
The success of Foursquare is based on the assumption that your friends and family actually want to know your exact whereabouts 24 hours of the day. Sure, Al Gore’s wife might want to know why he checked into a massage parlor and your boss certainly would be very curious to know what you were doing at the mall for lunch when you had just called in sick for the day.
But while your circle of friends might not really care to know your precise geographical location on the planet at any given time, there is one group of people in particular who will find that information hugely appealing – advertisers.
Here is a profile of who is usig this service:
Profile of Four Square Users
YIE will be keeping a sharp eye out to see if this capability will have the ROI benefits .
Stay tuned, and take this as more evidence that social media is not a fad.
By the way, what is your social media game plan?
by Chris Daley on July 25, 2010
What business asset are you most proud of:
Your physical storefront
Your website
For me, this is a no brainer, my website.
I will boldly declare that a business’s actually loosing money when it doesn’t develop a decent website.
Your Website Possibilities
Yes, your website should be your biggest office or storefront. Unfortunately, most of us still has a physical property only mentality, and undervalue the capability of the virtual presence. Think real estate: Would you cheap out building your headquarters, manufacturing plant, distribution center, customer service center, or store? And yet, a website can be all of these. This piece of property is available to customers and prospects all over the globe 24/7.
It is nothing short of shocking that businesses are not allocating adequate funding to properly build their sites.
Many times, we find businesses budgeting a fraction of what they should invest. I have actually met with some small business owners who have a shack of a web presence and are failing to do a return on investment analysis to see that investment into developing their web presence is by far the better investment. This is also before one includes social media and mobility capabilities.
As digital media continue to evolve, allowing information to be shared across more and more channels, it is more important than ever that your site meet the needs of your users. Your site’s content, usability, and technologies are the foundation for how well you’ll be able to expand into cross-channel media such as mobile, social, and extend your reach globally.
My biggest tip to most business owners is to consider their website as just another marketing asset, like a piece of collateral, rather than as a true location where a company can do business.
Just think about it. You are invited to attend an important business meeting. Your partner shows up wearing shorts instead of a suit. What would you think that would do to your respect and credibility as a business person?
Your website is even more than your office – it’s your face, face of your company, available 24/7 to your clients and prospects. We all try to look our best, so why not do the same for the website?
YIE would be more than happy to schedule a ROI analysis with you should you still need persuasion. Contacting YIE is the most important action you can take today!
Technorati Tags: Chris Daley, mobility, social media, website, Your Internet Energizer
by Chris Daley on July 21, 2010
Three (3)important business milestones occurred on July 20, 2010. I am sure you remember where you were on 9/11. I want you to remember where your business was on 7/20.
Twin Giants of the Digital Economy
The three key events that will make 7/20 memorable are:
• Amazon Says E-Book Sales now Outpacing Physical Books
• Apple had it most profitable quarter selling over 8.5 million Iphones and over 3.3 million Ipads.
Facebook announced reaching 500 million members.
Connecting us in remarkable ways
Imagine if you were in Gutenberg when the printing press was announced or when Alexander Bell called Watson to making that historic first phone call.
Do you have any idea how fundamental a shift this is in the marketplace?
I want you to think about what this move towards digital information means for your business. Let me share a hint. When I chose a byline for my website, I made sure I included the digital economy.
If you think about it, this idea of people paying to download digital information is actually kind of crazy.
Facebook connects us and reconnects us with old friends and new acquaintances.
Just think about it. If I whipped out my Kindle and you whipped out your computer and we raced to purchase a book, I will have the speed of Usain Bolt, while you will have the speed of a tortoise. It is less than one minute for me versus three days via your order on Amazon.
Never before have we all had access to information at our fingertips than ever. Google is now the verb that powers our search economy.
Amazon and Apple sales of information products and packages are heading towards the moon because they are satisfying our information thirst.
The sheer volume of information we have access to, we actually are paralyzed and unable to use the information as most companies have not figured out an attractive means packaging and thus extracting the value. That is a big part of the genius of Facebook.
Regardless of what business you’re in right now, what your prospects and clients are seeking most is the right information packaged in a readily accessible form to solve their problems.
No matter what business you’re in, you must think about how this new era affects your business and how you can profit from it.
Like it or not, Information is the new money and this isn’t going away! This is your chance to read the tea leaves, and take action.
Is your business ready for the post 7/20 era?
YIE is here to show the way.
Technorati Tags: Amazon, Apple, Chris Daley, facebook, ipad, iphone
