Where do you advertise?

Today on the Small Business Think Tank Network on RYZE the question was asked "Where do you advertise?" This is one of my favorite questions and often elicits some controversy and interesting points of view. Here's what my response was:

Although I seldom pay to advertise as generally it is just throwing money away unless the audience is highly targetted (at least 50% my target market).I do advertise on my own sites, in my own publications and those of business associates (we trade when appropriate).

Once in a while I advertise in the classified section of my trade magazines. I have found the classifieds to be the best bang for your buck in terms of dollars spent and exposure.

And of course there is the obligatory yellow page ad that I have actually decreased in size over the years since most new business comes from referrals and our website.

And finally, we do advertise with postcards 2 to 3 times a year to our list of people who have purchased from us in the past.

In 27 + years in business I have tried ads in business journals, newspapers, flyers and door hangings, movie theater advertising, chamber of commerce inserts, local restaurant menus, church bulletins and more. Most of them a HUGE waste of money. Mainly because its either not my target market or they are already customers.

At that point Brian asked me ~ Heidi, How did you create and define your target market?

I have a retail florist (for more than 27 years) and learned early on that my market is generally women (except on Valentines Day when 70+ % of my customers are men). Women buy for their household, for their companies and when they are the gatekeeper, they buy for their boss. So I market mostly to women.

~ Also, do you survey your customers in order to find out HOW they found you???

We have a form next to all our telephones and computer entitled "measure your advertising effectiveness" - we ask every new customer (well, almost every customer) how they heard about us? If it was a referral we ask who referred and then send the referrer a card with $5 Daisy Dollars they can use toward a purchase. We have had some customers get as many as $50 daisy dollars in a months time and they cannot wait to redeem them.

We are not as good about asking this question when our days are nuts - but we do send everyone who uses us the first time a thank-you card and a frequent flower miles punch card.

When someone purchases from the internet we ask the same question, which person or search engine or service did they find us from (links etc.)?

The two most important questions in business - "How did you hear about us?" and "May I quote you?"

My most important business phrase - "Thank you for your business!"

So, where do you advertise?

Heidi

Heidi Richards Mooney, Leader "HER Mastermind Network"

Check out The WECAI Network™TODAY!

Chief Goddess - Eden Florist & Gift Baskets

Leah Jackman-Wheitner, Ph.D is the leader of Monday Morning Marketing on HER Mastermind Network. In February she asked us the following: If you only had an hour to use for marketing all week this week, what would you do?

And here’s what I wrote:

Leah,

What a great topic... and the funny thing is I have been thinking about it since I first saw your post!

So I wanted to come up with something that would be a little different for my hour, and I did!

Here's what happened:

Today Gina (my office manager) brought her 5 year old daughter to work - she is not feeling well and we have a "kids room" for such times. Anyway last week was her birthday and we have not yet celebrated so I thought it would be a good time to get an ice-cream cake and sing happy birthday to Angelina.

Normally I send a driver to pickup the cakes and today he was not yet back from his deliveries so I decided to go to the local Carvel and pick it up.

While there I asked Roxane (the owner) how business was. She said it was a little off from last year. So I asked if she did coupon advertising (knowing she does) and would she like to include a coupon in all our deliveries and in my business mailings to my customers. She loved the idea and said she would get the coupons together and call me when they were ready.... it get's better!

I asked if she would mind handing out my coupons for free flowers or a $5 discount (the coupon is for either or). She said absolutely! I rushed back to work and gathered the coupons, had a designer make her a vase of orchids and my driver is dropping them off as we speak. This took less than an hour so I had a few minutes to spare and thought I'd write about it here. And btw, I sent a stack of at least 200 coupons which is potentially 200 new customers! We also put a “C” on the back of each coupon so we will know where they came from.

Anyway, that's what I did with my hour!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO if you only had an hour to marketing your company this week?

Heidi

Stand up and Shout TA DA!

That's the headline on Denise Michael's Real women Real success RYZE forum every Thursday. And I love this day. You get to read about the ta-da's of some fabulous women. And it's so fitting, especially since it's Women's History Month. I don't always participate, however this week had lots of great things to report.

Here's what I wrote:

It's been a fantastic week for me!

This week Floral Management magazine came out and my shop was featured. It was a five page spread and 70% of the article focused on my practices - the topic was on Ethnic Weddings and how to attract them. My photographer was hired to do much of the photos including the cover and we had a picture too. Floral Managment is published by the Society of American Florists
(I was inducted into the American Academy of Floriculture in 1999).

In addition yesterday, Wendi from Charlie Jane Speakers let me know that I am the speaker of the Month for March on their site - you can check it out here: http://www.charlijane.com/dir_speakers.htm (gotta update my bio and picture! SMILE).

And finally we had the first day of Virtual Woman's Day today and it was a huge success! Lisa Moren Bromma our kickoff Speaker and author of "Wise Women Invest In Real Estate" shared some fabulous tips. I got one idea that saved me at least 2,000! And several that will result in a nice income.

She also gave a copy of her book to everyone who attended her session. Her session will be posted on the site next week. Anyone who goes to http://www.virtualwomansday.com and leaves a comment will get a link to her session.

There's more, however I will have to save it for next week (just in case I don't have anything else to ta da about).

See you in the HERstory books!

Heidi

Ideal Careers for Introverts

Do you cringe at the thought of networking with strangers and secretly pray to come down with the flu so you can avoid such situations? Ever feel like you’re the only person who despises working in teams or breaks into a cold sweat when giving presentations? If so, you’re in good company.

Consider the following icons: Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, Katherine Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, and Albert Einstein. Each of them has been labeled an introvert and chances are—if you’ve ever experienced the symptoms above—you have too.

“Although introverts make up only 25 percent of the population, they make up a majority of the gifted population. Many highly successful people are thought to be introverts—even some presidents of the United States,” says Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., co-author of "200 Best Jobs for Introverts" (JIST © 2008).

But what about introverts who aren’t vying for the presidency or hoping to direct an award-winning film? What do they do?

“Introverts sometimes get very frustrated working in today’s service-based economy, with so many jobs that emphasize serving the public or working in teams. Fortunately, there are plenty of good jobs that let people work by themselves and without interruption,” says Shatkin.

To read the list of occupations as some of the best jobs for introverts who want a career that complements their personality Visit MSN Careers.

Who Do You Know?

Who do you Know? The Art & Science of Asking for Referrals


“Who do you know?” A question many professionals forget to ask during the sales cycle. Sometimes it’s because they don’t remember to do it and sometimes its because they don’t feel comfortable asking, most often it is because they have not made asking for a referral a habit. A referral from a friend or business associate is a powerful way to introduce yourself to a prospective customer.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a Women Certified™ Seminar presented by Delia Passi, President of Medelia Communications and the founder of the Women Certified™ program. To say it was wonderful would be an understatement. For many reasons, two of which were getting certified and meeting other business owners and professionals who also had the desire to do so. It was a great learning experience AND networking opportunity.

During her program, Delia talked about asking for referrals and raised the question of how many of us ask for the referral DURING the sales process. A few of us raised our hands. Then she asked “how many of you ask for referrals once the transaction was complete?” And more hands were raised. There were, however about a third of the room who did not make it a habit. I thought, WOW, they are really missing out on a huge chunk of business. After all, my business is built on referrals and I learned how important it was to ask my current customers “who they know who could use my products, who has a special event coming up, anyone they know getting married that I should contact?” And so forth. All good questions to ask.

I have found that a number of professionals will thank clients for referrals once they receive them, and even reward them. I do that too. In fact, in my retail florist, whenever someone sends us a new customer, we send them Daisy Dollars. These Daisy Dollars™ can be accumulated and used toward a purchase. I designed the Daisy Dollars Rewards™ after many of the point systems merchants use to get their clients to spend more money with them.
The best way to encourage this type of referral to ASK for it!

Of course, the best times to ask for referrals are after you've finalized a sale with a new client, when a potential client has decided not to use your services, but clearly respects what you have to offer, when you follow-up with a satisfied customer several weeks or a month after the sale, and anytime you talk with someone who might know another in need of your services.There’s no time like the present When you first interact with a potential client (or they contact you) if you don’t already know the answer, ask how they heard about you. Stress that your business is built on referrals and you want to be sure and thank the person who made the introduction. Sharing this plants the seed in the new client’s mind for a referral down the line.

Ask for the referral during the buying process. Once you have established trust with the client, it is appropriate to ask for a referral. Not all prospects will turn into clients. They may not need your product or service right now, but they know someone who does. In fact, the prospect may feel bad that he cannot buy from you right now, but he knows someone who could use your service. This is a perfect time to ask.

If you do ask a new client for a referral right away, and she hesitates or feels awkward, make it easy on her by asking her for a commitment to refer someone in her circle at a later date. This will take pressure off her to act now, when she has not had time to think about it. Be sure you follow up on the commitment by calling her at a later date.

When you do follow up, make sure you reinforce the positive experience they had dealing with you as your remind them of their commitment to give you a referral(s). You can do this by saying something like: “Jane, it has been a pleasure serving you, and I look forward to working with you again in the future. By the way, when speaking to your friends about (the experience, my products, my service….) be sure and ask them to let me know that they were referred by you. I want to give them the same great service you too have come to expect.”It’s also okay to ask for multiple referrals. After someone gives you the name and contact information of one person, simply ask, "Do you know anyone else you could refer me to?" You will be amazed at how often someone will think of two or three additional referrals.

If you don’t ask, you will never know. Sometimes that’s all a satisfied customer needs to jog her memory.

Use every meeting as your opportunity to ask for a referral. Make it a natural part of your conversation.

Make it a habit to ask for a referral the way you ask for the business! Doing so will make your business soar!

BTW, at the end of the program, Delia asked for referrals from participants. I and several others in the audience went up to her afterwards and referred companies and individuals who would benefit from taking her course.

I am delighted to be a new member of the Women Certified™ program and will proudly display the Women Certified™ Seal on my websites. Be sure to check out their online course today!

Tell them Heidi sent you :)

note: in addition to founder of Medelia Communications, Delia Passi is also the author of Winning the Toughest Customer: The Essential Guide to Selling to Women which everyone receives upon completion of Women Certified™)

What's Your Plan?

"You must learn day by day, year by year, to broaden your horizon. The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about, the more you have left when anything happens." Ethel Barrymore

" What are you doing in order be the leader in your industry? What is your plan? How is it working out? What are you using to educate yourself?"

These were questions recently posted on a RYZE network to which I belong... and here are my responses:

To be a leader in my industry I have found that being a resource to others has been a huge advantage over the competition. I love meeting new people and what I am really good at is making business connections. Being a business owner in South Florida for 30 years means that I have met a lot of people, many of whom I often refer others to or refer to myself when the need arises.

My plan is to continue doing what I am doing and to find other ways to be a resource. I often attend networking events that the competition does not.

Here's what I mean: In addition to being founder of several women's organizations including the Women's eCommerce Association and Inventing Women, I have owned a retail flower shop for 27 years. In that time I have attended and joined dozens of organizations that one would think have nothing to do with flowers. For instance, many years ago a friend invited me to attend a meeting of the American Society for Training and Development as her guest. She told me how wonderful and visionary the members were and that I would enjoy it. I don't even remember the program that day, however I do remember the people. They were just as she said, and I joined on the spot! 3 1/2 years later I became president. This has happened over and over since then.

Doing this has given me the opportunity to network with people whose paths I might never cross, it has helped me grow my business and it also helped me discover things about myself I didn't know existed such as how much I love "training and teaching."

I am a firm believer that Education is the key to success and it does not have to be a formal education, it simply needs to be the willingness to learn. I look for opportunities each and every day to learn, from others, from books and from my surroundings. Attending organizations events that I might not have a direct connection to often turns into an enlightening experience. And when you do that you also have a greater understanding of how others live, work and play.





Happy Monday!





Heidi