BizActions Marketing Blog

Mike Braun, Online Marketing Manager 
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Actually my title should read "Jack of All Trades." My career has been as meandering as a gently moving stream. The ebb and flow, from construction through telecommunications to insurance, securities, database design, musician, audio/video production and marketing however, has served me well.  I've learned a thing or two from both industry leaders and small business entrepreneurs.  And I plan, through this blog, to share with you my fascination of learning the tricks to mastering some new technology or understanding the complexity of a successful marketing plan. 

Strange how, in my teen years, I thought I should become a CPA simply because I was good at math - and though I never did pursue that noble profession, now I work for a company whose clientele include nearly one third of the top CPA firms in the nation.

Today my Jack of All Trades duties keep me busy developing and managing a number of BizActions strategies and programs including BizActions Web site, landing pages and blogs, implementation of the Online Tax Guides, creation of the Timely Opportunities widgets, audio & video podcasts, as well as NetSuite CRM, marketing and graphics support.

My posts will focus on Business Email Newsletter issues and general marketing ideas and solutions relevant to the industries we serve including CPA Email Newsletters and Chartered Accountant Newsletters, and B2B Newsletters for Payroll Services, Employee Benefits, PEO's, Human Resources, Financial Services, the Legal Profession, Manufacturing and Distribution, as well as other Business to Business segments.

Welcome to my blog and feel free to share your thoughts.  I guarantee I'm interested in YOUR unique perspective on this adventure called Life 101 - The Search for Knowledge.

I ended Part 1 of this post with a promise to give you some ideas that will allow you to stand out of from the crowd.  You’ve heard the saying “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”  Well that saying is true, but only to a point.  You want to embrace the function, but not necessarily the form.  Let me explain.

Function is using one of the largest search engines in the world to distribute your content.  Form is the content itself.  According to DemandCreationSpecialists.com, Salesforce.com partnered with YouTube and now has roughly 1,000 pieces of video content getting well over 7,000 views a day.  That might not be as much as a kitten playing the piano on YouTube, but Salesforce embraced function to deliver their own form of business content. 

So can you get seven views a day for every video you upload to YouTube?  It’s certainly possible, but remember “Content is King.”  You’ll need more than one video and each video needs to be valuable enough in the eyes of the viewer to not only watch, but pass along to their associates.  Oh and did I mention the video needs to be short?  Guess what?  Kids are not the only ones with short attention spans when it comes to keeping viewers focused on what you are trying to convey.

The steps to creating great business video for YouTube:

1. Brainstorm first. What would your prospects like to know more about?  Which is not necessarily what you’re dying to tell them about.  Some up with a list of ten topics that anyone who doesn’t know your business inside and out would find interesting.  Rank them.  Pick the top two to begin.  Two will make you feel like you’ve committed and three can seem like you’ve overcommitted once you proceed down this list of steps.



2. Write the scripts out.  Remember the tips you learned in your creative writing class at school.  Write a beginning, a middle and an end.  Lead from one to the next and tie everything together.  



3. The first sentence of the piece MUST engage the viewer.  An example might be: “Are you one of the one point three million people who failed to claim this deduction on their taxes last year due to recent changes in the IRS tax code?”



4. Assuming that caught someone’s attention, follow-up with a brief introduction of yourself and your company.  Do not say anything that sounds like marketing hype.  In fact, make it as personal as you can.  “Hello.  Mike Braun here for BizActions.  You may be surprised to learn that on nearly a daily basis I have clients who didn’t know about this unfamiliar deduction that could cost them a few hundred dollars this year.  Let me explain it in a nutshell …”



5. Go ahead, spill the beans.  Just keep it short and don’t say anything that you can be held liable for, due to a viewer misunderstanding you.  This is one of the reasons you want to write your entire script out in advance and let a few of your trusted advisers review it.  And yes, I understand that I’ve told you to give away valuable professional advice for free to anyone and everyone on YouTube to benefit from.  Remember as your writing this segment, the idea is to get the viewer to call you, not for you to solve everyone’s problem with one common solution.



6. This should go without saying:  Avoid industry jargon and acronyms unless you define them the first time you use them.



7. So now it’s time to close.  Make it personal and remember the last sentence MUST call for action to be taken.  “I hope that gives you a little insight into today’s tax complexities.  If you would like a free analysis of how you stand on this tax issue or if you need a little help making sure you get everything you deserve back this April 15th, give me a call at 866-240-8477.”  And if you want or need to, put in a disclaimer, although that can be text on the screen and not necessarily spoken.



8. Word count.  Edit until your word count is between 250 and 300 words.  That's about two minutes worth.  More than that and odds dramatically increase that no one will ever hear your closing Call To Action statement - and that is what the entire video is about and the only line that will generate revenue for you.



9. Now you’re ready to create your video.  Part 3 of Marketing Strategies for Accountants Competing in a YouTube World will lay out your options from cameras, lighting, software to editing, posting and distribution.  Come on back.

Solutions
Why do accounting firms use BizActions? CPA firms require a consistent and reliable stream of new business to sustain and grow revenues. Our strategic solutions for client communications and lead generation, including our proprietary CPA email newsletters, are proven and effective because they work together toward the same goal. For over ten years, BizActions has been helping CPA firms dispense valuable information such as tax and legislative updates, generate and identify qualified leads, enhance your brand, improve your market visibility, retain clients, measure your return on marketing investment and build your business one impression at a time. We specialize in CPA email newsletters and accounting firm online marketing with products like our Online Resource Library. Our Online Resource Library is a custom-branded stand-alone website that houses hundreds of resources for your clients - all while increasing your firm’s SEO. We have multiple solutions for Lead Generation, e-Newsletter and Email Communications, Client Retention, Business Growth, Cross-Selling, and Accounting e-Marketing. Learn more on our website, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We have the tools you need to accelerate your business success.

When it comes to marketing, especially of conservative professional services, the vast majority of the public has an overwhelming impulse to lose attention quickly, change their focus, and forget your name, the name of your firm and most emphatically the name of whatever service it was you were encouraging them to pay attention to in the first place.

Relax, this isn’t a doomsday post, because there is an answer to your dilemma; but first let’s take a moment and focus our attention on what it is you may be trying to accomplish with your marketing.  Here are a few possibilities:

• Are you trying to explain how great your firm is?  Yes, but if you’re smart, you’re not actually saying that.  The surest way to turn someone off is by boasting about yourself.  Remember that saying, “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care”?
  
• Are you trying to tout the advantages of your service?  Again this is a version of the first possibility.  Besides, how do you really expect to explain the details of any service so that it resonates in a personal, emotional way to the wide-ranging demographic of the generic audience being force-fed your marketing piece?
  
• Are you trying to close the sale before you’ve earned it?  The last time I looked few professional services were sold via a shopping cart on a website.  Maybe do-it-yourself wills could be considered professional services by some or do-it-yourself tax returns, but this post is for professionals who interact one-on-one with their clients.

Read that last line again.  I just gave the solution to the problem away.

The purpose of any and all marketing, whether it is an advertisement in a paper or  magazine, a successful CPA Newsletter, a Financial Advisor Email Marketing blast, a huge highway billboard, a video, a PowerPoint presentation or a telemarketer’s call, is always the same. 

Your goal is to get the prospect to talk to and interact with a living, breathing, knowledgeable person; someone who can feel their specific pain, understand their unique needs and offer a real solution that the prospect will accept and demand as being in their best interest.

So how do you get someone to want to talk to you if you can’t simply tell them how great you or your services are?  Well in fact you have to touch on those features and their benefits, but you have to do it in a way that captures and holds their attention.  Your message can’t sound boastful or go on and on like a dry lecture from a really smart, but very out-of-touch professor.  You have to do it in a way that they will remember.  Hopefully so much so that they will not only talk to you, but they will remember because they want to tell other people they know who may be in their situation as well.

Have you heard of Lady Gaga?  Of course you have - and don’t worry I’m not suggesting you dress like her.  But you can still benefit from her strategy.  She separated herself from the pack in such a way that people listened to her music long enough to realize that she had talent too.

What insurance company does Flo with her price comparison match work for?  If you don’t immediately respond Progressive then you probably don’t watch TV.  Flo isn’t the traditional slim, buxom, attractive model.  She is their representative because people find her memorable and slightly quirky, but mostly because she is someone they can laugh at and laugh with - in short “relate to”.  She probably looks and acts like one of your relatives or friends.  I wish some of my relatives were that cool.

So what can you do to make yourself stand out?  There will be plenty of ideas in my next post, but this one has already gotten too long.  Come back soon.  You won’t be disappointed.

Solutions

When it comes to planning your marketing strategy, does it feel like there are too many choices? Email, newsletters, direct mail, social media, SEO, blogging, content management, branding... the list goes on and on. How do you sort through all the options and come up with a solution that is not only affordable and easy to use, but that will also help boost your bottom line? It's easier than you think - BizActions has all the tools you need to implement and maintain a consistent marketing and communication dialogue with your clients, prospects and referrals - all in one convenient package. Now is an exciting time to be a part of the marketing landscape! If you would like to find out how BizActions can help you launch or enhance an email newsletter campaign, please contact us at 866.240.8477, visit our website, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. BizActions has all the tools you need to publish your own email newsletter or B2B email campaign.

Three reasons why this economy is the perfect opportunity to grow your firm:

During a poor economy management level positions are often restructured or eliminated as a means for a firm to reduce expenses.  Those experienced employees may get hired by a competitor or they may choose to start their own business, often in the same industry.  Whichever of those two paths, you can benefit if you’ve built a relationship along the way. 

When you hear of someone leaving a firm you’re acquainted with, get in touch with them if possible without jeopardizing your relationship with the firm.  When you do, keep your comments positive.  Offer to keep an ear out for job opportunities for them and actively try to help them.  If they get hired by another firm, you’ve got a foot in the door (and maybe a whole leg if you helped land that job.) 

If they start their own business, they may quite possibly need products or services you offer.  Worse case they’ll remember your caring when they were down and the saying “What goes around, comes around” is a true statement.

When the economy is urging you to tighten your belt, it’s doing the same to your clients, making them the perfect candidates for you to step in and strengthen your relationship in ways that would seem foolish during an up economy. 

If you believe your client is hurting, offer to reevaluate your services and pricing and see if you can save him or her some money.  If you can offer a discount, do it before he or she asks.  They won’t know what to think, except that you have their interests at heart. 

Maybe you can combine some package that, even if it costs them a bit more, will really save them money or boost their business.  Just make sure you can demonstrate a very real and plausible Return On Investment.  You don’t want them to think you’re trying to scam them.  Speaking of which, anytime you adjust your price down, make sure the client knows that, first of all, you’re doing it to insure they remain in business and your customer and secondly, that when the economy improves, prices will rise as well.  Get them to not only understand, but agree to a return to pre-discount prices by a certain date in the future. 

Then stay in touch with professional email communications that are focused on their industry and how you play a part in their success.

The big payoff in a downturn economy is your competition’s clients.  They are all looking for a better deal. 

If you can offer an enticement that will lure them away and that enticement won’t put you in the red - do it.  A smart business manager knows that he can grab market share most easily in a down economy and a significant portion of those clients will remain with the firm once the economy returns like a sunny morning. 

The key to getting these new customers is not backing away from advertising.  Just do the smart thing and make use of the most power-packed and cost-effective marketing available.  Forget TV.  Forget the newspaper.  Effective Email Management will get you the most business for the least amount of investment.  BizActions offers the tools you need to not only stay in the game, but to succeed at it.

Learn to ride the wave now or risk being an amateur in a sea of pros. This past year has seen a steady increase in the wide-spread use of low-budget video for business marketing. Shaky shots and audio heavy with background noise are moving past the silly humor caught on a cellphone and posted on YouTube into a more deliberate and professionally thought-out presentation (still posted however on YouTube or Vimeo or one of the other user and search-friendly video sites).

Literally every magazine you open or TV show you watch will at some point bring up do-it-yourself video. The world no longer wants read.  And by "world" I mean the world that includes your clients, prospects, and referral sources. They want what the marketing moguls have been training them to accept - short, visually appealing content that elicits an emotional response that can be shared with friends.

Now that doesn't mean that text is going away anytime soon, because its value can't really be compared to video for fundamental business operations. A quick example: Do you ever think the IRS is going to let you send in a video instead of your annual hard paper copy of their Form 1040?

But make no mistake there are aspects of your business that will cease to function efficiently if at all in the near future without video.  What kinds of things you ask? 

Well ask yourself these questions: 

• If you visit a web site and there is an obvious video embedded in the page surrounded by eight paragraphs of text, which are you going to fill your brain with first? 
• If your customers received an email newsletter in their computer's in-box (or better yet on their mobile phone as so many people do these days) and that email contained an intriguing image soliciting you to play the video or alternately read the content on their tiny cellphone screen, is there any question which MOST your recipients would prefer doing?

BizActions is rolling out a new Video of the Week program that will do the heavy lifting for users of our email newsletter platform, as well as planned presentations and exciting new integration that will help you develop your own video content.  Next year is going to bring a lot of change to corporate communication.  Make sure you're a part of it!

Body Language - It’s instantaneous.  As you cross the room to greet your potential client, the prospect’s eyes have already listened to you - before his or her ears have heard you utter, “It’s great to meet you!”  The ensuing smile on your face and confidence in the grip of your handshake convey more subtle and more powerful clues than the words you use to introduce yourself.

Although it’s true that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression, I’m going to give you an even more valuable bit of advice.  I’m going to tell you what it takes to make a lasting impression because I believe that continued relationships are far more valuable than an initial feel-good moment.

Let’s consider a few irrefutable facts:

1.    No one ever does business with someone they don’t like if they can avoid it.

• I’ll do business with the DMV without striking up a friendship with the clerk on the other side of the counter, but I won’t engage a CPA, buy disability insurance, retain an attorney or buy a home from a Realtor until I have put in a little face-to-face time and came away feeling we had something in common.  A feeling of security is critical to most transactions.
• I still remember something a customer service rep told me back when I was a salesman selling telephone systems to businesses.  She said, “When I meet with our customer to schedule the installation, I can usually tell which salesperson sold the account, without ever seeing the sales person’s name on the paperwork.  Our customers all share rather obvious traits or interests with specific sales people.”

2.    The more commonalities you share with another person the more you will both like each other.

• Here's an example. I’ll probably be able to relate to you better if we are approximately the same age.  Granted, that difference could be overcome if we both share other traits or interests.  Discovering common ground is an ongoing process.  The strongest personal and business relationships can only be built over time, because only sharing an interest in golf or both having children you love are tenuous ties.  You remember the other person’s children’s names and birthdays demonstrate ties that bind loyalty and friendship over years of contact.

3.    All relationships are fluid.  Maintaining a relationship requires contact.

• Every work with someone you considered a friend then they change jobs and you never hear from them again?  Maybe you really only had the job in common.  Ever do business with an office manager who changed jobs and three months later they call you to see if you can talk to their new boss about your services?  Odds are you saw that office manager fairly regularly at his or her old job.  When you did, the conversation was most likely a warm exchange and extension of thoughts, ideas and friendship with business not being the sole objective (although you certainly valued the business and worked hard to maintain).

4.    Contact is valued more, the more personal the relationship.

• Think for a moment what type of contact has the greatest impact on how much you value any business relationship.  Here’s my list from least favorite to most valued:

So here’s my advice that will help you make a lasting impression.  Concentrate on being a friend.  Do what friends do and business will follow.

What do spaghetti and blogs have in common?  At BizActions, more than you might think!

Blogging isn't exactly new, but that doesn’t mean we all understand how to do it – especially when it comes to business. 

Business is always looking for a way to profit from whatever is new and blogging is on the latest menu sweeping the corporate world.  CEO’s or Marketing Department heads declare after a little research that their firm needs a blog to remain relevant in their industry (and they’re right about that) – but in the process of preparing their social media meal, an ingredient called capitalism creeps into the recipe and dinner suddenly becomes less social and more formal. 

Now I like to dress up and take my wife out to a really elegant restaurant now and again, but like most of you, we hit the more “social” chain-store restaurants infinitely more often.  That is a metaphor for how a business should conduct its social media strategy, if it wants to join the mass of diners we call prospects that hopefully will become clients.  Let me explain with an example based on BizActions blog:

BizActions hasn’t done everything correctly when it comes to our own blogging strategy, but we’re learning.  Here are a few things we’ve done right and something we didn't anticipate that we missed the mark on, but are working to correct. 

Step One: When we started our blog, we analyzed what we wanted it to accomplish.  Our top priority (at the time) was to drive up our SEO ranking.  So we elicited the services of a company called Compendium.  Why?  Because their platform is geared to increase SEO for blogs.  It works and it works well. 

Step Two: We got almost everyone in the company involved in writing blog posts, that way each department was only responsible for a blog post a week and individuals in that department only had to write once a month or so, depending on the size of the department.  You’ll never get everyone in the company involved and that’s okay.  In fact, you probably don’t want everyone in the company writing, but you can’t let people throw up wimpy excuses like they can’t write.  If they can’t compose a paragraph or two about some aspect of their daily work routine that would be of interest or relevant to your blog’s readers once a month, then they don’t know their job very well and that raises an issue the employee won’t be comfortable talking about either.

What happened?  Well within a couple of months, many key word phrases we targeted and included in our blogs resulted in BizActions being in the top five (and often top one or two) in a Google search.  Hooray!  But wait … as it turns out our strategy wasn’t resulting in the reward we thought would naturally occur with the increase in SEO.  We were throwing a plate of spaghetti at the wall and expecting most of it to stick.  I don’t know if you’ve ever really tried that, but you might get a single strand to stick, but the whole plate?  Not a chance.  Still we wanted; we expected, interaction and sales to result from our efforts.  That was the REAL dinner we were trying to prepare and get our prospects to digest.

Step Three: What did we change?  We started writing blog posts that weren’t just about getting those keyword phrases into the content.  Oh, we still write posts that target those keywords, but we also are focusing more on a social interaction - writing posts that are informative without being so laden with marketing words.  I mean really, how often can you squeeze “CPA email newsletter” into a post and make it sound socially intriguing? (But if you do a Google search on that phrase you'll find BizActions listed multiple times on the first page). We never used to get comments, (which is after all is the prime “social interaction” of the Internet variety).  This last week, Gary Kravitz, our Executive Vice President got multiple comments on his post “Your Price Is Too Expensive – Part 2”.  We encourage you to read Gary's insightful thoughts, that will help you boost your own sales and then comment on this blog post.

Why did this particular post resonate and start a conversation?  Read it and perhaps you’ll understand why BizActions will be writing many more post of this variety in the coming months – and why we suggest you business blog posts tone down the sales pitch and focus on the substance of the meal that will satisfy your readers.

"With corporate computer networks, there is always the potential for becoming the victim of computer crime.  With a few clicks, technology savvy thieves can steal your personal information and your company's confidential strategy plans, customer information and financial data." - excerpted from "100 WAYS TO PROFIT IN A VOLATILE ECONOMY" By Barry R. Schimel, CPA and Gary R. Kravitz

Tech security is a very serious issue that can pose challenges to almost anyone.  I'm a techie and even I have to admit that computers sometimes make me want to blow them into a billion pieces.  Of course having answered numerous questions from others who always think I know more than I do or having asked some poor tech support person a question I'm sure he or she has already answered "more than once" that day (and it's only 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning), I also know that computer issues are often simply a case of user-error.  In fact over the years I've found that admitting it isn't the computer or the new software, but voluntarily telling the tech right up front that you have no doubt it's user-error, will instantly allow you to you hear the smile come into their voice.  But remember when it comes to technology security no matter how sophisticated your system is, only you can take the steps necessary to protect yourself.

Here is one of my favorite test questions from the book I mentioned above.  You may not have heard this one as often as some of the better know security tips, like "back-up your data", "use strong passwords including different passwords for every access portal or program" and "never download an email attachment from someone you don't know".

True of False? The more anti-virus software you install, the better protection you'll receive from malicious software that can damage your computer or business network.

False. Anti-virus programs may often be in competition, slowing down the network, potentially interfering with each others purpose, and even delivering false positives when they scan for intrusive software.  One anti-virus software program is sufficient, but be SURE you keep it updated.  Your anti-virus software should check for and automatically update the latest version of their virus signature database daily or every time you boot up.  And buy update every year if you're happy with the protection you've received.  I must admit that I've used a couple of well known anti-virus products that failed to protect me more than once.  I kept switching until I've found the one I've been using now for the last 5 years, without a glitch. 

A final word of advice: If you are web surfing and you go to a web site and suddenly a pop-up appears from ANY company that is NOT the company's anti-virus software you are using and that pop-up tells you you have a virus and need to download and install their software to fix it, DO NOT TRUST that message.  Odds are very high it is a scam and the very software they are enticing you to fix your problem will actually create a problem you never had.  If and when that happens, close your browser, then do a scan of your computer with your existing anti-virus software to be safe.  And then don't visit that site again.

Overkill?  Perhaps?  But if you get caught in a security trap and some geek starts tracking your keyboard entries and mouse clicks you may feel like blowing your mind into a billion pieces before long, especially if you have to keep sensitive payroll, legal, employee benefits, financial or accounting data on your computer.  An ounce of prevention ...

BizActions WebTrust Certification through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants ensures we are in compliance with the highest possible confidentiality standards.  BizActions has policies, controls and agreements in place to protect you, including those provided by ControlScan, WebTrust and GoDaddy.  Your email newsletter data is safe with us.

Perhaps like most of you when it comes to movies I tend to watch the creative digital juice oozing out of hits like "Avatar" or an escapist pseudo-reality comedy like "Date Night."  Whatever genre you gravitate towards, inevitably you wind up sitting in front of your TV, thinking, "I wish I could find something on one of these 900 satellite feeds that might actually teach me something of value that I could use in my life.  As a marketing guy I tend to analyze everything I watch and last Saturday I was being lulled into a mindless stupor by yet another totally offensive commercial when I decided to see what was in my Netflix instant play queue.

I found "Art & Copy" just waiting there under my remote control button and I can't express how much I enjoyed discovering that the movie confirmed some of what I already believed was 100% dead on right.  Unfortunately it also pointed out some facts that I now realize, I completely missed the boat on.

The tag line for the movie Art & Copy is “Creativity can solve anything.”  Whether you think that tag line is true or false, this movie demonstrates how putting "creatives" in charge of the image your firm can make your brand extraordinarily memorable or disastrously forgettable, depending your marketing philosophy.

Just a note here: Art & Copy won the 2009 Newport Beach Film Festival Achievement Award for outstanding Achievement in Film-making and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.  So although the film didn't win a kazillion Oscars, it isn't some boring film student documentary either.

This documentary primarily consists of interviews with top advertising and marketing execs who did some pretty legendary campaigns for companies you would recognize instantly like Nike, Apple, Volkswagen, and Hilfiger and even generic products like milk.

Although the interviews in the documentary are compelling, the film is more than just talking heads.  It points out the contradictory approaches to the creative process, which we all face daily from competing personalities.  Then it demonstrates the reasoning behind different thought processes by showing you the actual marketing ads created.  Believe me; you will recognize every single one of these Ads as though they were part of your own DNA.  Who doesn't remember the 1984 inspired Apple ad that only aired on television once during a Super Bowl game or something we've seen on a million billboards and ads with the simple phrase, "Got Milk?"

What I found most engaging about the film was that the interviews pointed out that not only are most ads junk and harmful to a firm’s success, but business leaders most often stifle any except the most minute changes in their marketing by playing it safe.  I suppose that is easy enough to understand since all corporate heads rose to their positions of authority through self-assurance in their own competence. Sadly however, they often lose their focus on the creative spark that began their journey. 

Here’s how to regain that focus.  Think of one core business concept that exemplifies why you believe your prospects should do business with your firm? – and no I’m not talking benefits or features.  Apple doesn’t sell computers and iPods, they sell innovation.  Innovation is a concept.  Describe why that concept is important to your prospects and how it sets you apart from your competition.

That focused concept is all any marketing person worth hiring should need to be able to create an advertising campaign that will define your firm in a way that your competition can't touch.  If you focus all of your marketing efforts solely on that singular concept you will have increased success.  The moment you start to focus your advertising on your bullet list of features and benefits, your status as an industry leader will start to slip.

Anthony Robbins, motivational speaker and business adviser said, “If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results.”  The point of the film is to copy the creative process of innovators in your industry, not to be so conservative that you are indistinguishable from your competitors who depend on unoriginal ideas to generate success.

Finding that potential customer is a valuable thing. We spend marketing, telemarketing, and advertising dollars as well as countless hours of labor to capture that data and then we often let it slip away after the first contact.  What a shame!  Especially when you find out perhaps weeks or months later that the prospect purchased your product or service from a competitor.  What did you do wrong?  Perhaps your only  mistake was you simply didn't have the tenacity to develop a relationship with the prospect.

You aren't alone.  According to a blog post by Brian Carroll, the founder and CEO of InTouch, "80% of marketing expenditures on lead generation and collateral go to waste for lack of commitment and discipline, ending up in the scrap heap because the sales department doesn't know what to do with them."

The simple fact is just because you found a potential customer it doesn't mean they are ready to buy at that moment, no matter the quality of your service, amazingly low price of your product, or immense ROI you promise. You just can't short circuit someones own unique logic and emotional responses to fit your time frame, especially for a purchase that they hadn't even considered before you approached them.  The ONLY way to turn most "cold" leads into "warm" accounts is through a process called "lead nurturing."

Lead nurturing is all about building relationships. And no it is NOT the act of calling the prospect every few months to see if the prospect is ready to buy yet. Although calling a prospect may be required to close the sale, we recommend a less intrusive approach to get that prospect to the point where they are interested in buying, not being sold to.

We at BizActions recommend lead nurturing campaigns, sometimes referred to as drip marketing campaigns, a series of targeted messages that are sent based on each lead’s response. Lead nurturing campaigns allow you to focus effort on the leads who express interest in your marketing messages, gently moving them toward becoming customers.
 
For example, your firm may send a webinar invitation to a number of new prospects via an email message or targeted B2B newsletters.

If a prospect opens the message and clicks the link to the webinar information, a second email message is sent three days later with a link to a free white paper that documents a particular aspect discussed in the webinar.

If a lead does not click the link in the webinar invitation, a different message is sent two weeks later later with an industry comparison to reinforce the reputation of your firm and the value of your information.

If the lead does not click through to the industry comparison, a free trial offer is sent a week later.

If the lead does open and click through to the industry comparison, the lead is sent a message that links to an article with customer testimonials.

On and on the flow chart goes with common "if then else" scenarios until two months later the prospect is familiar with your firm, understands the scope and value of your service and is ready to take that phone call and engage in a meaningful discourse.

Email marketing professionals know that lead nurturing is like dating. No one ever accepts the marriage proposal before holding hands or that first kiss.

By far the topic we have been finding that garners the most attention and requests for more information from professional services firms today is social media.  Social media covers a wide range of applications from Twitter to Facebook, LinkedIn to blogging and more.  Today I'm going to pass along a few tips for the firm considering starting a blog.

Some firms begin their foray into blogging by hiring a blog consultant, while others charge ahead on their own.  If you are one of those “DIY” types here are some of the most basic and necessary practical tips for marketing and optimizing a business blog:

1. It is critical as I see it to create a stand alone domain name www.myblog.com or directory off your existing site www.mysite.com/blog or a sub domain option of your existing web site like blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!


2. Use customizable blog software.  BizActions utilizes a firm called Compendium for our primary blogs as well as TypePad for content delivery.  WordPress and MovableType are also excellent choices.


3. Customize the look of your blog.  Templates are all fine and good, but at least modify them with a custom masthead so your blog is branded to you while maintaining its unique marketing purpose. Use a minimalist template, preferably one with a white background. This format is easier to read and when you add pictures to your posts (which we highly recommend), they aren't going to clash with the background.


4. Create a Google Feedburner account and enable feed tracking.


5. Setup a Google Analytics account. Validate the blog's URL. Establish statistic fro tracking and explore Google's tools, tracking and reporting metrics.  You need to know how your blog is performing.  If you don't pay attention, you are probably wasting your time on your blog.


6. Post regularly. Posting frequently can boost your search engine traffic.  Most professional services firms utilize a blog to promote their firm as an expert in their field.  To have an impact, you need to post 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value. Don't have that much time?  Get buy in from partners.  One post per week per person should only take an hour of that person's time and will allow them to focus on the topics of most interest to them and the topics they have the most knowledge in.


7. Check your posts for spelling and grammatical errors. Yeah we know you've heard this as many times as you've heard "back up your data", but not using spell check at a minimum just shows you don't care about quality, which in turn says "I'm not going to care about you as a client either."


8. Always respond to comments on your blog. Professionally of course, regardless of the comment's positive or negative aspects. You can only serve your image by offering rational thoughts and additional insights that the commenter may not be aware of.  If the commenter has mentioned or linked to your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.


9. Comment on Other Blogs. When you leave relevant, useful comments on other blogs, that blog's followers will notice and most likely follow the link back to your blog to learn more about you and read more of what you have to say.


10. Remember to advertise your blog's URL.  It's just like your web site, email address or phone number.  You can't get followed unless you can make contact.  Include Your Blog Link in Your Email Signature and on Business Cards.  Every sucessful CPA newsletter should contatin a link to your firm's blog.


11. Use Twitter to link to your blog posts.  In fact services like Twitterfeed can do it for you automatically.

There are many more tips and resources you'll want to explore to boost your CPA Business Development and blog fan base, but these will get you started down the right path.  Good luck and happy blogging!

Once upon a time communication ran at a slower pace and business was generally conducted face-to-face. Today the pace of business has accelerated to such an extent that B2B email campaigns and voice mail have replaced handshakes and no single method of communication can satisfy the needs of every prospect, client or associate.

Knocking on doors has become a thing of the past and our customers coming from an ever increasing geographic area.  All the more reason for you to make use of tools that can boost your productivity; gather valuable customer relationship data and turn your communications into a powerful lead generating resource.

Here are some tools you may want to consider:

• Business-grade Survey Tool  – Because long term business relationships are built on two-way communication.  Short, multiple choice surveys make it easy for your clients to communication their needs back to you.
• Event Registration Tool – To help you create, promote, manage and track upcoming events, from employee benefits webinars to those face-to-face financial planning seminars.
• Email Drip Campaigns – An extremely effective way to build prospect interest and confidence in outsourcing services from payroll to human resources by delivering professionally crafted content over a specific time period.
• Web Site Content Widget – To drive more traffic to your Web site through topical and relevant, business content articles.

Watch this video to learm more about these tools.

Have you ever read an intriguing email newsletter article delivered by a firm you respect and want to share that article with a friend or business associate and then realized there was no easy way to accomplish it? 

Sure you could copy and paste the whole article into an email, but that practice has hazards. The images may not be delivered and that may be crucial to the topic.  Or if the article is exceptionally long or contains some words that appear on anti-spam blacklists, you could not only not have the email delivered, but also find yourself and your email account marked as a spammer.

The best way to pass that article along is through a social media link to your Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook account.  That was all of your contacts can see it.  It's quick and easy - at least if you publish an email newsletter through a service that gives you that option.
















(NOTE: The links in the image above do not work, but rest assured the links in BizActions email newsletters do. Sign up for BizActions Pulse of E-Marketing Newsetter today and check it out for yourself.  Click here.) 

Email newsletter creation through BizActions gives you the option to share any of the professionally written articles they provide directly to your Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook account.

This blog post is based on one of my favorite chapters from "100 Ways to Profit in a Volatile Economy - Battle-Tested Business Strategies" from Barry R. Schimel, CPA and Gary R. Kravitz.  The book is an easy read, with a wealth of sage advice on business to business communication, from authors who not only know the answers, but live what they preach.

Why is the chapter title "Learn To Negotiate Effectively" a favorite of mine?  Because most of us don't have a clue how to negotiate to a win-win scenario.  And not understanding one of the most useful skills in both your business and personal life, I feel, is paramount to suicide.  Learning to successfully negotiate maintains your integrity ("integrity" being one of the key words my parents taught me to hold sacred.)

Most of us enter any negotiation thinking "me win - you lose", which always ends badly and results in an eventual, if not immediate loss of a mutually rewarding relationship.  Here are the key points from this chapter:

My Disclaimer: Since Barry Schimel and Gary Kravitz are part of BizActions Management, and since I work for BizActions, naturally my review of the book is biased and even perhaps self-serving.  But I'm hoping that you believed my statement above about the value I place on "integrity."  This is a great book that deals with other topics  that are often presented as articles within BizActions business email newsletter system.  I honestly think you'll want to share these insights with your clients, for your own self-serving reasons, as well as the value it will bring to them.

Have you heard, "If you're not publishing an email newsletter you're missing a great opportunity to connect with your customers and prospects?"

Have you taken it to heart and acted on it yet?  Well, you're not alone.  The thing is, hearing that statement and connecting the dots as to why may not be all that obvious, so let me list a few that may get you started down the path to Email Newsletter creation.  Hopefully one of these will be the one that finally makes sense for your business and compells you to act.

1.  An email newsletter campaign works with your Web site in ways that can't be accomplished in any other way.

Thinking of a career change?  Maybe you're unsatisfied with some aspect of your current job, or maybe you've been laid off recently and want to find a more secure profession.  Whatever your circumstance, becoming a Certified Public Accountant is a occupation worth pursuing.  Being a CPA isn't the boring, nerdy occupation that is commonly portrayed on television and just having the education can open doors and lead to greater opportunities.

Take for example that two of BizActions founders, Barry J Friedman and Barry R Schimel are CPAs.  Although BizActions isn't an accounting firm, their knowledge and experience as Certified Public Accountants gave them the professional insight and contacts to start a firm offering CPA Email Marketing Newsletters.  They wisely focused their start-up back in 2000 by serving an industry they were thoroughly knowledgeable in.  Today BizActions has diversified into many markets and offers much more than just the email newsletters that launched our success.

Whether you're fresh out of college, or looking to get a fresh start, choose a career (any career) that others value and respect as the pinnacle of professional achievement.  You may find your new career satisfies you completely, offers job promotions, travel opportunities, personal growth and a excellent salary.  One thing I can promise you, you'll never look back on a decision to improve your status as taking a step backward in your life.

You'll find that many of the top CPA firms across the country utilize the services of BizActions.  Many of them are looking to hire individuals who understand values like integrity, honesty, establishing goals and working diligently to achieve them.  Indeed BizActions routinely hires unique individuals based on those same qualities, as well as the individuals experience as a expert in a discipline that reinforces BizActions worth to its clientele.

How do you get started?  First immerse yourself in a field.  Subscribe to newsletters in that field and learn what its about from the inside out.  Sign up for BizActions Marketing Newsletter here.  Look at your options. Find out more about BizActions Gold Certified Partners here or investigate some of the industries that might fit your goals and link to a few of BizActions highly valued clients here.

Whether you are asking for information on a Web site form, such as getting me to sign up to receive your Business Email Newsletter, or if you're conducting a business customer survey, there is a fine line between too much and too little information.  Usually it's not really the quantity, but rather a combination of the necessity of the information requested and the value offered in return for that information.

The "Basic" email newsletter signup form accepts First Name, Last Name, and Email Address. Sign-up for our e-Newsletter First Name: Last Name: Email Address (required):

Let me give you a couple of quick examples.  Suppose you are a Certified Public Accountant that I've used over the last couple of years.  I've been satisfied with your service.  One day I get an email from you asking me to visit a landing page on your Web site and complete a brief Business Customer Survey about the quality of the services I've received.  Odds are I'm going to take a few minutes and fulfill your request.  I'm willing to help you as long as the questions on that survey don't take more than a few minutes to answer and they all relate to your stated objective.  If it takes too long or starts asking questions I deem too invasive, I'm finished and you've broken the bond of trust we once shared.

Want me to sign up to get your CPA Client Newsletters?  The only information you should really need is my name and my email address.  Beyond that I'm going to begin to think you're just trying to sell me something, deluge me with emails or worse pone calls and junk mail.

But what if your REALLY do need more information to provide something of value back to me?  I'll be happy to give it, if you make it perfectly clear why you need to know my phone number or company Web site URL or what types of services you offer that I might be interested in learning more about.  Just tell me up front - and keep your reasons clear and believable.

BizActions provides custom branded email newsletter samples when prospects want to see what a successful CPA Newsletter would look like with their logo, contact info, links back to their Web site and even a custom article written based on content from their Web site.  Obviously we need a bit more info than simply a name and email address to accomplish that.  But prospects are more than happy to provide it when we explain why.

That is one of the great things about starting off with minimal information like only a name and email address as part of a request to send someone a newsletter, it builds trust and gives you the opportunity to ask more more information as your relationship develops over time. So why not give us a chance to prove our value over time to you? Sign up to receive "The Pulse of e-Marketing", a newsletter geared toward business executives from BizActions.

Most community banks have three primary departments although they may be identified under different terms.  They are:

• Personal Banking/Branch Services,
• Business Banking/Commercial Lending, and
• Financial Services/Wealth Management.

Obviously each department is staffed by officers and employees who concentrate their efforts on a unique market segment of the banks clientele.  The effectiveness of their marketing efforts is critically dependent upon how well they connect with the needs of that segment.  It is a well established fact that email is the most cost-effective means of marketing, but how can a small community bank address such a diverse group with a limited budget and an even more restrictive amount of time to develop content that will attract new prospects to the bank or help cross-sell existing clients?

Fortunately BizActions allows each department to selectively market to its unique segment.  BizActions provides Community Banks the easiest method of email newsletter creation and delivery with ready-stocked content, designed specifically for their market - over 5,000 articles and banners in over 50 categories in fact are available for newsletter inclusion.

With a BizActions Email Newsletter, Personal Banking can write their own branch specific custom content and still add timely professionally written BizActions articles on subjects such as Personal Tax.  Business Banking will be able to segment the banks newsletter recipient contact database to send out it's own unique newsletter to include content topics valuable to business owners, such as Business Tax, Sales, Operations, Marketing and more!  While Financial Services will relish sending out a newsletter that include individual contact information and links to specific department personnel - and articles on financial services that have been  FINRA reviewed  to assist them in marketing to affluent customers under SEC regulations.

With all the trouble the BIG BOYS in Banking have been having, this is the perfect time for local Community Banks to step up their promotions with content that proves their honest value and integrity within the neighborhood.

Even if you pride yourself on offering a consultative approach, you're still trying to sell something.  Sure Financial Services Marketing may be all about general topics like selling your integrity or reputation or even your smile when you are first getting to know a prospect, but eventually a Financial Advisors Email Newsletter is going to bring up a topic that will bring lead to a sale of a tangible product or service.

Now of course financial services are a regulated industry so you have to be careful never to promise results etc.  Luckily BizActions has FINRA reviewed articles to help you out there.  But before we get to that here are some basic email newsletter sales tips you need to consider.

What traits set a compelling Financial Planner Newsletter apart from it's competitors?

1. Write a compelling (and truthful) subject line.  Write a subject line that lets the potential reader know there is real value in the content.  We have found that using the title of BizActions weekly Timely Opportunity does just that.

2. Deliver a clear message in your opening sentence of your article or announcement.  Your readers are busy and they're impatient, so be direct and succinct.

3. Deliver a single message in your article.   Everyone has a short attention span in today's world of constant advertising bombardment, text messaging and twitter updates.  Luckily  a Financial Planning Newsletters are a better format for multiple messages than email alone.  And BizActions consistent delivery over time gives you a reputable platform to expose prospects to all your ideas - one at a time.

4. Within your article you must let your readers know how they will benefit. It's not enough just to tell them what you're offering you have to tell them how it will benefit them as specifically as possible.  Targeting readers through BizActions Master Accounts allows you to send the right message to the right group of recipients.  For example:  You can send a group in the 50+ age bracket an email newsletter with an article that let's them know that if they attend your "Retirement Advice for the Soon to be Retired" Seminar you'll provide a FREE copy of your booklet on how to turn past investment strategies around to take advantage of personal financial goals in today's economy."

5. Finally, include a call to action.  You MUST tell your readers exactly what you want them to do or guess what? - they won't do it.  Don't just tell them to check out your Website. Tell them what action to take.  For instance Schedule a Live Demo of BizActions Today or Watch a Video Demo of BizActions.

Whether you are an Administrative Assistant in charge of implementing your Law Firm Email Marketing, or a Director of Marketing for a firm providing Financial Services Marketing for multiple agents, you often need to direct your marketing efforts towards a landing page.  That page must be compelling and bring results or you've simply wasted your time.  So what are the Best Practices for building a landing page?

Consider the following in the creation of a great landing page:

And if you want a GREAT NEWSLETTER to offer in your landing page, consider BizActions.  We have the compelling content to capture your prospects and turn them into clients for you.