Category Archives: Lead Generation

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Smart Strategies: How to Get Leads That Convert

Smart Strategies: How to Get Leads That Convert written by Shawna Salinger read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Leads are the fuel that drives the growth of every business. Without leads, you don’t have clients. Without clients – there’s no business! In this post, I’ll show you how to get leads through strategic messaging, increasing your visibility, and a systemized approach.

This post will walk you through shifting your mindset from selling to solving, and crafting messages that resonate with your target audience. Plus, we’ll dive into lead generation strategies, how to create content that actually gets leads, and how to network strategically by building relationships.

You’ll leave with actionable insights on attracting sales qualified leads online, nurturing them effectively via email marketing, and using lead magnets wisely—all without getting lost in complexity or hype. You’ll also understand how to use online lead generation to connect with your ideal clients. 

Table Of Contents:

Embracing the Mindset Shift for Effective Lead Generation

The journey from self-promotion to a customer-centric strategy is like moving from being the hero of your story to becoming the guide in your client’s narrative. This mindset shift focuses more on increasing trust than proving yourself, especially important for newcomers.

The Importance of Trust Over Proof

In today’s market, building a relationship based on trust with potential clients holds more weight than showcasing endless qualifications. For new consultants aiming to increase their lead generation success, it’s crucial to understand that people are looking for solutions they can believe in—not just another service provider trying to prove themselves.

Adopting this approach means prioritizing understanding and empathy over hard sells and cold facts. By focusing on solving customers’ problems rather than pushing services, professionals position themselves as trustworthy advisors—a key factor in turning prospects into loyal customers.

Solving Not Selling – The Key to Customer Engagement

Nobody wants what you sell, they simply want their problems solved. You need to flip the script from selling your solution to solving their problems instead. It’s not about you; it’s about how well you understand and address their needs. 

Rather than spending time talking about your own expertise and what you do, it’s more important to connect with a potential client about their pitfalls and challenges. What keeps them up at night worrying? That is what you should craft your message around. 

For example, As a personal trainer, market yourself not just as offering workout sessions, but as boosting confidence and empowerment. It’s about selling a better lifestyle, not just a workout session.

This approach also transforms how we network, fostering real relationships centered on mutual success rather than quick wins. Keep in mind, when you genuinely focus on helping others thrive, attracting new leads becomes seamless.

Crafting Your Talking Logo for Clear Communication

Developing a concise and impactful talking logo to effectively communicate your value proposition. You can think of the Talking Logo as a quick answer to that familiar question, “What do you do?” Remember, your talking logo should be about how you help your clients – not about you. 

But how do we get there? You want a phrase – ideally 15 words or less – that hooks people’s interest and clearly explains what problem you solve. If they have that particular problem, your Talking Logo should have them saying, “Tell me more about that…”

Establishing an Online Presence That Builds Trust

A foundational piece of lead generation marketing is establishing an online presence that builds trust. When  someone looks you up online, you want them to find plenty of evidence that you really can solve their problems. 

Especially now with AI noise and security concerns you want people to know you are the real deal and you are the trusted expert they needed. 

So how do you do this?

First, you should be creating content that solves customers’ problems and that means you need to provide value. They’re not just looking for products or services; they’re searching for solutions to their problems. This is where valuable content steps in. By crafting content that addresses their specific issues, you offer them the solution they are looking for. 

Let’s say you’re aiming to help real estate agents generate more leads. A post like “5 Mistakes You’re Making with Your Online Listings and How to Fix Them” directly speaks to a common problem and positions you as someone who can solve it. Remember, it’s all about solving, not selling. The latter happens naturally. 

The secret sauce? Make sure every piece of content has actionable takeaways that readers can implement immediately and it is so valuable to them that they want to give you their information. 

Your website should also showcase testimonials from existing customers. Ask your current customers how you’ve solved their problems and include these responses throughout your site and in all the content you produce.

Gaining Visibility and Authority Through Speaking

Speaking is a great way to build trust by positioning yourself as an authority and demonstrating your ability to solve your customers’ problems. One of the biggest advantages of speaking is the ability to get in front of a large audience in a short amount of time. Whether it’s a room full of potential clients at a conference or a global audience via a webinar or podcast, you have the chance to extend your influence far beyond one-on-one meetings or networking events.

There are a few ways speaking opportunities can help you reach new leads:

Hosting Your Own Events: This is an excellent way to educate potential customers on the problems you solve. These events can be tailored specifically to your target audience, providing them with invaluable information and establishing your business as a go-to resource in your field.

Webinars: With the digital age in full swing, webinars offer a versatile platform to reach out to a broader audience. Webinars are an effective way to demonstrate your expertise, engage with attendees through Q&A sessions, and generate leads that are already warmed up to your offerings.

Podcasts: Whether you’re hosting your own show or appearing as a guest on other podcasts, this medium has exploded in popularity. It’s a fantastic way to reach new audiences, share your knowledge, and establish a personal connection with listeners. Podcasts also provide the added benefit of being consumable on the go, making them highly accessible to a busy professional audience.

Networking Strategies for Lead Generation

Building strategic partnerships is a great way to amplify your lead generation efforts. It’s not just about attending in-person events and exchanging business cards anymore. The focus on networking has shifted towards creating meaningful relationships that can provide a steady stream of referrals.

To make this work, start by identifying businesses or professionals whose services complement yours but don’t directly compete. This way, you can refer clients to each other confidently, knowing it’s mutually beneficial. For example, if you’re a real estate agent, partnering with local home inspection services or mortgage brokers could be incredibly fruitful.

The key here is consistency and providing value first before expecting anything in return. Hosting joint webinars, co-authoring blog posts on topics relevant to your shared target audience, or even running collaborative social media campaigns are effective tactics to draw attention from potential customers while strengthening your network ties.

Mastering Social Media to Generate Leads

While Social Media is more top of the funnel it does have its place and if done right can be very valuable to your business and leads overall. The trick? Knowing how to effectively use lead gen forms on platforms where your potential clients hang out.

To convert visitors into leads, your social media strategy needs more than catchy captions. It requires value plus frictionless conversion. What do I mean by this? Make it as easy as possible for them to give you their information. Picture this: You’re scrolling through your feed and see an offer you can’t refuse, but the form is longer than a Monday morning meeting. Chances are, you’ll pass. Short, sweet, and mobile-friendly—that’s the winning formula.

Quality leads go beyond the form itself. It starts with engaging content that positions you not just as a seller but as a problem solver in their eyes. Focusing on solving customer problems rather than pushing sales pitches will make those lead gen forms work harder for you because when people feel understood and helped, they’re more likely to share their email address or contact info willingly—a win-win situation where trust builds even before any transaction happens.

Email Marketing Techniques for Nurturing Leads

Developing a sequence of emails is like telling a story. The goal here is to keep potential clients not just interested, but eager to see what’s next or even engage past clients. This journey begins with segmentation.

With email segmentation, you can tailor your messages so they speak directly and personally to different groups of people in your audience. For example, say you’re a marketing consultant with clients across different industries, including healthcare and real estate. By segmenting your email list based on industry, you can send customized emails that provide targeted advice, case studies, and insights relevant to each sector. For instance, your emails to healthcare clients might focus on patient engagement strategies, while your communications with real estate professionals might highlight the latest trends in home buying.

It’s powerful stuff that can turn lukewarm leads into hot prospects ready for conversion. In fact, according to HubSpot, segmented emails result in a 30% higher open rate and a 50% increase in click-through rates than those that are not segmented.

A killer email welcome series for your audience is the bread and butter of nurturing these relationships further. They guide potential clients through every step, from introducing themselves as problem-solvers in their first email, offering valuable insights in subsequent ones, providing value maybe a lead magnet or free training and subtle and overt CTAs throughout. Each email should be crafted carefully—concise yet packed with value—to ensure readers find them too good to ignore.

Utilizing Lead Magnets to Attract Quality Leads

Gated content is like the secret sauce in your lead generation recipe. It’s that irresistible piece of valuable information potential clients can’t help but want, tucked behind an opt-in form. Think of lead magnets as a trade-off: they give you their email address, and you give them access to something really useful—whether it be an insightful white paper, a handy checklist, or exclusive video content.

To craft gated content that truly draws people in, start by understanding your target audience’s biggest challenges. What keeps them up at night? Once you’ve got that down, create content that not only addresses these issues but also positions your brand as the go-to expert for solving them. Remember, this isn’t about just any leads; it’s about getting quality leads. Those are the folks who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer because it solves a problem they’re facing. If you can craft lead magnets that do this, you’ll always have a way to connect with potential clients. 

Solving Not Selling – The Key to Customer Engagement

Focusing on solving customers’ problems rather than pushing for a sale right off the bat is key in today’s market. Trust plays an enormous role here—trust that you understand their needs and have the solution they’re searching for.

A solid lead generation strategy considers not only how many eyes see your content but also how effectively that content speaks to potential customers’ pain points. Whether it’s through insightful blog posts or engaging social media interactions, showing that you get what keeps them up at night builds trust—and qualified leads will follow naturally.

You don’t have to do it all – in fact, consistency in just 2-3 of these lead generation strategies will prove to be far more effective than dabbling in a bunch of different areas. If you can commit an hour per week to the methods you enjoy most, you’ll see how your efforts lead to consistent growth over time. 

FAQs in Relation to How to Get Leads

How do I start getting leads?

Pick 2-3 lead generation strategies and commit 1 hour per week toward them. Want to stay consistent? Choose the activities you enjoy most:

  • Speaking
  • Networking
  • Attend or host events
  • Have conversations with potential clients
  • Cultivate a clear, trustworthy online presence
  • Be a guest speaker on podcasts
  • Join an industry trade group and volunteer as a speaker

How do I generate leads for free?

Create killer content that solves problems. Blogs, videos, and guides shared widely can attract leads without spending a dime.

How do people find leads?

Folks scour LinkedIn, engage in forums like Reddit or Quora, and join Facebook groups to unearth potential gold mines of leads. You can also get in front of potential leads through speaking engagements, networking, and podcasting. To be successful, make sure you start with a plan for how you’re going to guide those leads. 

Is it worth it to pay for leads?

That depends: do you have a plan in place for how to capture, nurture, and sell to those leads? If not, paying for leads won’t do you much good. Start with Strategy.

Conclusion

So, mastering how to get leads isn’t as hard as it seems. But you have to build the strategy first. so you can talk clearly about what you do (hint: if you are confused they will be too), and use online platforms wisely. Take advantage of industry events and places where your ideal clients hang out (both online and in person).

Remember, it’s all about solving problems—not just selling. Trust is your best friend here.

Networking can open big doors; don’t overlook it.

Email marketing? It keeps those leads warm. And lead magnets? They’re golden for pulling in quality contacts.

In essence: Solve, engage, grow. Rinse and repeat. That’s the way forward.

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Crafting Unforgettable Experiences: The 3 M’s of Event Success

Crafting Unforgettable Experiences: The 3 M’s of Event Success written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Janstch

 

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Phil Mershon. Phil Mershon is the director of experience for Social Media Examiner and author of Unforgettable: The Art and Science of Creating Memorable Experiences. He’s been designing the Social Media Marketing World experience for over a decade. Drawing from over 25 years in creating customized events, Phil loves to create memorable moments and transformational experiences.

Phil introduces the concept of the three M’s—Memorable, Meaningful, and Momentous—as the foundation for crafting unforgettable experiences. He breaks down how events need to stand out, provide personal value, and create significant moments to become truly unforgettable.

Key Takeaways:

Phil Mershon emphasizes the importance of understanding the customer journey, surprising and delighting attendees with unexpected elements, and transforming event audiences into a supportive community. Phil shares insights on measuring success through post-event surveys and a 30-day engagement plan, ensuring that the impact of the event extends well beyond its conclusion. Whether you’re an event planner or looking to enhance your understanding of crafting exceptional experiences, Phil’s expertise provides actionable strategies for hosting events that leave a lasting and meaningful impression.

Questions I ask Phil Mershon:

[00:57] What makes an event unforgettable?

[02:50] Describe the 3 M method?

[05:22] How can you utilize social media marketing to convey the purpose of an event?

[07:52] How can you serve both audience and community ?

[09:45] What are some of the ways to make both customer and employee experiences unforgettable?

[12:29] What are some of the best practices for virtual event planning?

[15:17] How do you measure the success of an event?

[17:54] What are some of the ways to get people engaged before, during and after an event?

[20:39] Where can people connect with you and grab a copy of Unforgettable?

More About Phil Mershon:

Get Your Free AI Prompts To Build A Marketing Strategy:

 

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Connect with John Jantsch on LinkedIn

 

This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign

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John (00:08): Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Phil Mershon. He’s the Director of Experience for Social Media Examiner. It’s been designing the social media marketing world experience for over a decade, drawing from over 25 years in creating customized events. Phil loves to create memorable moments and transformational experiences. In addition, Phil is a jazz saxophone, so I didn’t know that. And a pickleball enthusiast who isn’t, and the author of Unforgettable, the Art and Science of Creating Memorable Experiences. So Phil, welcome to the show.

Phil (00:47): Thank you, John. It’s great to be here.

John (00:48): So I guess a lot of times I pick on titles. I don’t pick on ’em, I just want to pick ’em apart a little bit. So the first obvious question is what makes an event unforgettable?

Phil (01:00): So I just find it this way. There’s three M’S that go into it. So you make this easy, like the company three M. So it’s memorable, it’s meaningful, and it’s momentous. So let me break those down for you. It’s memorable. So it’s got to do something that stands out, something that’s going to get your attention, something that maybe you’re not expecting. It’s a surprise, it’s unusual, it stands out, but it’s also memorable in the sense that it’s engaging as many of your senses as it can. Even virtual events can do this, but live events, especially if you tap into all five senses, then it will become memorable, meaningful, it’s significant. It’s something that you personally are getting value out of. It’s going to stand the test of time for you. And momentous is leading on the work of Chip and Dan Heath. I don’t know if you’ve read that book, the Power of Moments, but it’s knowing that some moments are more meaningful than others. It’s Andy Stanley’s quote, you do for one, what you wish you could do for everyone. So you’re trying to do things that you’re leaning into those moments that really matter, and you’re causing those to stand out. And when you’ve got a bunch of meaningful moments, it’s been designed for you. So it’s like a customized, personalized event, and it’s memorable. Now all of a sudden we’re leaning into something that’s become unforgettable. You’ll be talking about it for years, hopefully decades, maybe the rest of your life.

John (02:26): Alright, so I’m going to put you on the spot a little bit because I know you’ve designed or been very instrumental in designing a certain experience that’s quite large. I’ve attended, I don’t know, you said a decade. I’ve been there at least six years, maybe seven years. I’ll be back this year to social media marketing world. Obviously I have a lot of context. Maybe listeners don’t kind of frame how you think about that experience based on what you just described, the three M method.

Phil (02:53): Yeah, so some of it comes down to looking at the customer journey. A lot of your audience are in marketing, so you’re used to looking at customer journeys. Well, the customer journey for an event believe starts the minute they buy a ticket and it’s all the way up until the event. So you’re looking at the phases of someone’s experience and saying, how can we make this more meaningful? What are they looking for right now? And three months before an event, people aren’t looking for a lot. About six weeks out, they’re starting to think about what’s the agenda? Who am I going to meet up with? What am I going to do before and after and during the event? So you’re trying to anticipate that journey. You want to make people feel as comfortable as you can. You want to understand what their goals are so meaningful.

(03:34): I’m trying to understand who are these people? What are their goals? How do I create experiences for them that they care about? Momentous. I’m looking at what are those key moments that are going to make the event better or worse. Again, you can’t pay attention to every single moment within an event. If you did that, then you would go crazy. So what are those moments that I can make a big impact that will become memorable? And then I’m looking at what are those opportunities to do something that is maybe unexpected? So you’ve been there for six or seven years. You’ll remember probably one of the years at least, where we had a musical that was on stage and people were not expecting that, especially the first year we did it. Mike finished his keynote and instead of getting up and making announcements, we broke into a 10 minute parody on Wizard of Oz.

(04:22): Totally memorable, totally unexpected. People who left the room had FOMO because they missed out on it. Not everybody did, but it was unexpected, and so it gave people something to talk about. So we’re trying to look at things like that, but also leaning into what did they really come for? They came to, first of all, learn from people like you, John, right? So how do we make space where you can show your expertise in not only in the classroom, but in the hallways and the conversations that you have. We want you to walk away having had a great experience, not just the people who’ve paid money to be there. We want the vendors that we work with to have a great experience. So the three M’S helped me to work with all those different people and create that experience.

John (05:07): I read in a book somewhere, it was called The Art of Gathering. I can’t remember the author’s name, but pretty big book, and she gets into dinner gatherings even. But one of the things I was struck with is she talks about this idea of before you ever design any thing logistics, it’s like what’s the purpose of the event? Do you feel like social media marketing world starts there?

Phil (05:27): We do start with what is our purpose? What’s our customer? I mean, some of that hasn’t really changed in the 10 years that we’ve put the event on, but we definitely start there. What’s changed in the industry? Who are these people? When we’re designing the content, we’re doing deep analysis on what’s going on in the industry, how do people respond last year? What are they responding to in terms of the things that we published, the research that we do, making sure that we have a lineup that matches the people are coming to the event so that we can put on the best thing. And then we’re doing the same thing with the experiences that we create. How did they respond to that last year? Who are the people that are really coming? We’ve made some mistakes over the years because we didn’t understand who the people were.

(06:11): And this is one of my mistakes, and this is something any marketer can do this. If you start to assume that your audience thinks and responds the same way that you do, you’re probably on a path to trouble. So John, I’m a jazz saxophonist, and so I assumed that people enjoyed jazz and that it would be good background music. That’s really all it was supposed to be is background music for people to network. Well, it turns out not everybody received it that way. They said it’s good, but it actually was taking my energy down. I want something that’s going to build my energy up. So when I started to realize that the average attendee at our conference is a 40 year old woman, not a 58 year old man, which I’ve been doing it for a decade. So I started in my forties, but that’s when I said, oh, they’re probably not listening to the same music that I am. I should probably figure out what they do listen to, and it’s an obvious point, but it’s easily overlooked. When we get busy, we start to think, well, everyone kind of looks at things the way that I do, and that’s not the case.

John (07:17): Well, I love jazz, but I am reminded of the joke. Country music is three chords played to thousands of people, and jazz is a thousand chords played to three people. That’s

Phil (07:25): About right. Yeah, there’s a thousand starving jazz musicians in New York, but they’re really good.

John (07:31): Oh, that’s every town. I mean, I live in this little rural town of Colorado, and they’re incredible bluegrass musicians just hanging out in bars. It’s amazing. So audience is a big part of an event or really of any marketing. Talk a little bit about, because I think, and I hate to keep leading on social media marketing world, but that’s certainly something we have in common. How do you view audience versus community? I know that the social media marketing world community is something that you talk a lot about as well. So how do you differentiate those? How do you serve both of those?

Phil (08:04): So yeah, that’s a really good point. We are trying to build community and certainly social media Examiner itself has a community. People who follow us, whether they’re getting emails from us, whether they’re reading our content, whether they’re following us on any of the social channels, I would say there’s that broad sense of community, but they’re really more consumers, the things. So people who come to the event now, they have the chance to become a community, and we are intentional. Usually about 60 days prior we launch. Right now it’s a Facebook group. In prior years, it was a LinkedIn group, and we’ve done other various ways to bring community together, but we try to get people together, meeting each other, knowing each other, making plans, supporting one another. That community ends up being something that people take part in all year long. And obviously there are deeper forms of community.

(08:57): So when I say audience, that’s, I’m a performer. And so when I look out from a stage out at a group of people, it’s an audience, but we want them to support each other as if they’re community, they know each other, and there’s clearly different levels of that emerge based on people’s own behavior, but also by our intention. We get a group of people that their whole job is to help people make connections before the event and while they’re on site, and it’s actually two different teams of people, and that’s what they do. Make connections with people and help them meet other people like themselves or that would be supportive of them.

John (09:35): So we focus primarily on a physical event, which obviously is an experience, but we have customer experience and we have employee experiences. What are some ways that that unforgettable should, could be applied to those environments?

Phil (09:51): So I think again, this principle of doing something that is unexpected or beyond expectations might be a better way to say it. I heard someone say creating little moments of wow, I think that’s in customer experiences. That’s what you can do when someone clearly goes above and beyond. I had this happen with an insurance company yesterday, John, where I was trying to get some information, and a lady literally spent an hour on the phone with me while she made all the phone calls for me to all the places and just let me stay on hold so that I didn’t have to go chase this information down myself. To me, at the end of that hour, I was like, okay, yeah, I spent an hour, but I actually probably only spent 10 minutes talking to her while she did all the work. I was wowed by that.

(10:36): So she went above and beyond my expectations. So I think that’s one of those things we can do in customer experiences, even in employee engagement. I think if we get to know who the people are and listen to them instead of assume we can start to create unique experiences. If I knew when your birthday was, and I happen to know that you’re a Chiefs fan living in Bronco country, I think we did this for you one year, didn’t we, John? Didn’t I buy you a hat, a chiefs hat or something like that when I know I’ve done that? You did.

John (11:07): You did. You did.

Phil (11:07): Yes. Yeah. So I think when you get to know people and you buy things for them, they don’t have to be expensive, but you do something special for a birthday or for a celebration. Those are things that when they’re not expecting it is when it’s the best.

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Phil (12:37): Well, number one, I think when you’re doing things virtually, we know that people’s attention is very short. So you’ve got to keep things moving. You’ve got to have some things that you’re interrupting patterns that keep their engagement. The same is true for you, John, when you’re speaking on a stage, I’m sure you probably are having to design your talks in a different way than you did 20 years ago because people are not sticking with you. But I think in virtual environments it’s even more so because before this call, I had 20 tab jumping. You told me to shut them all down through the app that you sent me, so I did, but I could have 20 tabs open and then I’m tempted to go look at one of them when a notification shows up. That’s what’s happening in virtual events. People are being tugged by things on their screen as well as in real life, most of us are working remotely anymore, and so there’s things happening in our real life that the dog’s barking the cat, the kids are crying, the other phone’s ringing.

(13:33): So I think that’s one of them is looking for ways to keep the content engaging. That can be the visuals that you’re using. That could be you’re interrupting patterns by telling a story. Stories are awesome, but it could also be just the way that you present something. One of the things I did, the core analogy in the book, John, is about baking bread. So in one of the talks that I did, I actually had a table set up on the stage and I had all the ingredients for baking bread laid out there, and I mixed it together on the stage while I talked about the importance of each one of these ingredients. And then we had some real life lessons where I didn’t have enough water. I had misdiagnosed how much I needed because the recipe I used was not fully accurate, which was a great learning because if you don’t have enough water flour or the dough becomes very lumpy, and some of it just the dough or the flour never gets folded in. Well, water is communication. So if you don’t have enough communication, people are getting left out, people aren’t getting folded in. The whole experience is going to have clumps of good stuff and bad stuff. And so it was just like this great visual learning that we had right there on the stage, on the screen. It was on video too, where people got to experience, huh. That’s real life right there,

John (14:55): Especially events. I mean, you can plan all you want, but something’s going to happen, right?

Phil (14:59): Something’s going to happen.

John (15:00): So I’m sure, well, I don’t know if you get this question all the time, but I’m going to ask this question. A lot of folks are cutting back on budgets and things and easy place to cut sometimes or frills at events, but a lot of that goes because we’re not measuring the success. So talk a little bit about how you measure success. I mean, let’s say our goal is we want people to be engaged and energized and happy. I mean, how do you measure stuff like that?

Phil (15:26): Funny enough, I was on a call yesterday with some people at Google xxi, and their whole goal is try to improve engagement at events. Like Google is putting aside a lot of money to help events get better at what they do, and particularly serving the neurodivergent communities. But there’s a company out there that can measure people’s delight through their face at an event. So if you’re online or even in person, they had cameras set up and they determined that eight out of 17 sessions that we did had above expectations in terms of people’s delight in what was happening. And that’s based on smiles in their eyes and who knows what, all kinds of things. So there’s that level of measurement that can be done. That’s next level, and that’s probably something that’s coming where all of us can do it. But I do think it’s the surveys that you do and what questions you ask, obviously will need to be things that you’re going to act upon, but they’ll tell you, did they really enjoy the way you did this or that?

(16:30): And so to me, very important, we send out several surveys after the event to understand the quality of the content. That’s obviously what people paid for. So we measure that. We want to know every single session, how did they do? Is there any feedback that we want to give the speaker so that they can get better at their craft? I think every speaker should want to get better. If they don’t, then maybe they ought to stop. You bet. But we’re also looking at all the other things, the intangibles, what did they care about? I had this suspicion that people really cared about the quality of the video on a camera in the recordings. Then I went and looked at the data of what people told us and like, well, nobody mentioned that. Maybe they don’t care about it as much as I thought they do. I mean, we do expect to see faces, but what we’re really there for is the learning. Maybe we don’t care to see what the speaker looks like when they’re saying, here’s how to do a Facebook ad.

John (17:28): So you started to go there, and I was going to ask you about, I think a real opportunity for a lot of people. I think a lot of people put a lot of energy into the actual event or the actual experience, but I know that you’ve hinted a little bit at some things you do to get people fired up ahead of time, and then some things that you do to keep them. Now, in your particular case, you want them coming back next year. You’re probably going to do it. You’ve probably signed a contract for three or four years on that convention center. So what are some things you do to get people fired up before they come, and then what do you get them to do to stay engaged with the experience they had? So it wasn’t just a Oh, that was nice.

Phil (18:03): Yeah, so I learned this from Aaron King who used to do social media for the Oscars, and she came up with a 90 day social media plan, which I don’t mimic perfectly, but I mimic to the way that works for us, and that looks like this 60 days before. You’re doing a lot of content that’s slowly building the engagement and the enthusiasm and getting people talking to each other, making plans, suggesting plans, giving guidance to the newcomers. We do a newcomers orientation so that they can come and learn, here’s the things that you want to make sure that you take advantage of. Then there’s the actual event itself, and so that’s also got this slow burn, and it’s kind of like yeast. You want it to slowly rise. So we’re trying to get it to slowly rise to this place where everyone’s really excited and happy to be at the event when they leave.

(18:59): Then there’s another 30 days. So we spend 30 days after the event, and most events I’ve noticed, and ours is included, after about a week or two, the attention drops off dramatically. I’ve tried to do a 21 day challenge to get people practicing the things that they learned at the conference, and I’ve noticed that it doesn’t happen. So this year, we’re actually going to make it seven days. Let’s make it realistic, something that people can actually do. Just say for the next seven days, here’s a prompt and we’re going to do this together, and we’re going to have some prizes. We continue to correspond with them, but eventually they become part of the broader social media examiner community. Again, that group, that Facebook group does stay open all year long, but we don’t keep pumping it with content after 30 days. 30 days, we do.

(19:46): We’re actively managing it, promoting it. We’ll even do some follow-up meetups after the event. But those are mostly just for networking and encouraging people that I’ve found that the majority of people, once that one week after Mark hits, they’ve moved on to the next thing. So we do everything we can during the event to help them make plans for how they’re going to follow through on this, and then they’ll get the videos, they get the recordings. We remind them of those things for a couple of months, and that’s pretty much where we are. It’s not a year long community for us. I know it could be, but that’s just a business decision we’re making of saying, you know what? We’ve got another paid all year long community that’s called a social media marketing society. So for us, that’s where we want people to be engaged all year long, the conference is more of a seasonal but annual event.

John (20:36): Yeah. Well, Phil, this was great. I appreciate you stopping by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. You want to invite people to where they might connect with you, and then obviously check out a copy of Unforgettable.

Phil (20:46): Absolutely. So philmershon.com is probably the best place to go. There’s a way to get on email list with me. All of my social handles are there on the top. If you want to buy a signed copy of my book, there’s a way to do that directly there, or there’s a page slash purchase that will give you all the links to most of the places in the United States where you can buy books and you can support local bookstores or go to the big boys, Amazon, target, any of those that sell books, they’re all there.

John (21:15): And you’ve got a podcast as well, right?

Phil (21:18): Well, my podcast is currently doing it, so I would say I plan to start one related to events and experiences, but that’s going to be a next year project.

John (21:27): Well, for people who haven’t done a podcast are not a simple thing, let’s put it that way. They take a fair amount of work to get right. So again, I appreciate you stopping by and we’re going to run into you soon out there in San Diego.

7 Steps to Tame the Marketing Chaos

7 Steps to Tame the Marketing Chaos written by Sara Nay read more at Duct Tape Marketing

How to Tame the Marketing Chaos…

What’s wrong with small business marketing today?

I’ve spent years in the business world, and these are some of the most common statements I hear from struggling business owners and entrepreneurs trying to build successful marketing and operations system for their business;


I’ve spent most of my marketing budget on a new website, and it looks great, but it’s not generating any leads.

I’m paying an SEO company thousands of dollars each month. And I have no idea what kind of results I’m getting.

I’m sending out direct mail, and I think some people are calling me from it, but I am not sure. 

I’ve started to invest in paid advertising, and people are going to my website, but no one is calling me.


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What do these examples have in common? First, they focus on single tactics and not the entire customer journey. Second, they are focused on one thing and not the entire system.

The opportunity in small business marketing today is to focus on your customers. And you focus on your customers in two main ways other than the product. First, see where your customers are trying to go and how you can better understand them. Second, you need to map out all of the systems that contribute to that journey. This will allow you to repeat the process that works and give every customer the same awesome experience every time. 

This post will cover;

This is a long blog post packed with tons of great information for your business. So feel free to bookmark and come back to it later, but whatever you do, make sure to take the time to digest all of this information. I promise it will help in the long run. 

everyone is not your customer - seth godin

“Everyone is not your customer.” – Seth Godin

Know Your Customers

Before we talk about the marketing hourglass, it is essential to take a step back and understand who your ideal clients are on a deep level. I am not just talking about demographic information either. You need to understand what motivates your target audience, their behaviors, and what solutions they are looking for? After all, how can you guide them if you don’t know what they’re looking for?

Obtaining that level of knowledge is really important before you start developing anything else from a marketing standpoint. First, you have to fully understand where your clients are trying to go to help them get there.

Once you understand who you are targeting, the second part of marketing is to understand your differentiators and how to communicate them to your ideal clients. Next, you need to answer the questions; How are you going to stand out? What’s your competitive differentiator? How are you going to build brand awareness?

After you have clearly defined those steps you can then dive into your marketing and operations systems.


The Marketing Hourglass

The Marketing Hourglass is a proven system that I have installed in thousands of businesses around the world. The marketing hourglass reverberates around a new kind of customer journey for your business.

the marketing hourglass steps are know, like, trust, try, buy, repeat, refer

There are two different types of systems that you need to have in place in order to effectively move people through this journey. They are your marketing systems and your operations systems.

The top of the hourglass holds the first 4 phases – know, like, trust, and try – and they make up the ‘marketing system.’ This part is about getting in front of your target audience, and it flows until they are ready to become an actual client. 

The bottom of the hourglass holds the last 3 phases – buy, repeat, and refer –  also known as the ‘operations system.’ When someone becomes a client they’re in the buy phase, how can you absolutely blow them away and exceed their expectations so that they become repeat customers and refer you to everyone they know? That is your operations side. 

Every business needs both marketing systems and operations systems. You need marketing systems and sales systems in order to grow and generate demand. Then, once you create that demand, you have to be able to deliver the promised value to keep them coming back.  

The Marketing Systems: Know, Like, Trust, Try

They can also be thought of as the marketing and sales system. This system is defined by a clear path to help you convert your target audience based on the customer journey.  

Ask yourself, how can you get someone to know your business all the way to their ready-to-purchase moment? Some examples of this would be conducting a free webinar with a client consultation as the end goal or launching some paid ads in order to sell a product or service. 

First and foremost you need them to know about your business. You can do this in several ways. One recommendation would be to use the P.E.P system.

A lot of marketers put marketing media into 3 buckets; paid, earned, and owned. At Duct Tape  we took a new approach and relabeled those buckets Paid, Earned, and Person or P.E.P. 

Paid is stuff that you will always continue to pay towards. Examples are; advertising, direct mail, and sponsorships. 

Earned is the work you put in, it takes time and patience, but long term, it can pay off big. These are things like; search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and referrals.

The last category is Person and it means that an actual person has to do something. That is networking, speaking, and outbound outreach. 

For best results, your journey should focus on at least a couple of these mediums so you do not have all of your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

customer-journey-marketing-operations-systems
The Operations System: Buy, Repeat, Refer

Your marketing systems are how you generate demand which then leads into your operations systems. The operations half of the customer journey defines a clear path to deliver the value promised to your clients. Therefore, every marketing system should have an operations system to go with it.

Once someone purchases, how do you move them along as a customer and generate repeat revenue? And if you’re focusing on referrals, what does that process look like?

Onboarding a new client is an example of an operations system. The client went through your marketing system, they signed up, and now you need to onboard them. What are those steps?

Your operating systems do not necessarily relate to a sale, but they are processes that need to be documented in order to keep your business moving forward. 

Now that we have the basics covered let’s get into how to build a successful system


7 Steps to Build A Successful Business System

Map Your Core Marketing and Operations Systems

This first step is vital for many reasons. First, mapping out your systems allows you to be efficient and effective. It also allows you to consistently deliver the same level of experience to every single one of your new clients.

Step 1: 
Is to get started. Don’t let the unknown paralyze you. Identify your most important (or most profitable) product or service and start with that. You will not go wrong by focusing on the most profitable part of your business.
Step 2: 

You need to define the start and stop of your marketing system for that product or service. Ask yourself, “At what stage is the process beginning, and at what stage does it end?

Step 3:

Brainstorm tasks and activities between the start and the finish of each system.

Once you understand your system, you need to document the steps. Start by brainstorming all the steps that need to happen between the stop and the finish of each system. Note; It is important to identify which steps are the most critical to the process and be sure you nail those every time.

Someone attends a webinar, and then what happens? They get an email nurture campaign, and then what happens? You are mapping out the journey to land on your desired end result.

Step 4:

Make this process repeatable. The system needs to be identifiable and easy to follow. Write it out in plain English or better yet have a visible outline. Also, make sure everyone on your team has access to the steps and follows the process. Next, physically go through the plan you have mapped. This exercise will help you identify any holes or areas of opportunity. 

Get started mapping our your first system

Step 1

Identify your most profitable business system

Step 2

Define the start and stopping points in this system

Step 3

Brainstorm tasks and activities between the start and finish of the system

Step 4

Clearly label all stages and make the process easily repeatable

System Mapping Tool

We use a product called Whimsical. It’s a free tool to help you mind map and brainstorm in a clear and visual way. 

Below are a few tips for organizing your visual system map;

  • Use a terminus shaped symbol to define your start and endpoints
  • Use a rectangle to identify your tasks, activities, and processes 
  • Use a diamond shape to identify important decision points 
  • And use arrows to indicate the flow and direction of each event

Remember to start from the beginning and keep asking yourself, “What needs to happen next?”

Example Marketing System – made with Whimsical
example-webinar-process-map

The start of this marketing system is a webinar and this is made clear by the terminus shape. The arrows are pointing to the right so you can see which way the process flows and the next step. A rectangle indicates that the next step is a task where the client enters an email campaign. Then there is a pivotal call to action for a consultation booking.

Here you see a branch in the system. Do they book the consultation? If not, they are put into the down-sell campaign because we can see that they are not quite ready to get on the phone.   

However if they booked the consultation, they continue through the system to the next task or CTA. And so on and so forth until they are either onboarded as a new client or put into a future email automation bucket. 

This systems mapping process is the first step towards transitioning from tactic to strategy and from hacks to systems. It’s getting all of these pieces in place by answering the question and then what happens next?

Determine What You Can Automate

The next step is setting yourself up for success and avoiding burnout by asking yourself, “What can I automate in order to be more efficient?”

I recently went through this exercise with a client. She was spending hours making custom agreements for her clients. Mapping her systems allowed her to see this and we got her a proposal software. Now, she changes a few key terms and is done in seconds. She uses the time that used to be spent creating, editing, and sending the document to acquire clients. 

Now see what you can automate. If there is a task that ties you down, ask yourself, “How can I automate this?” Call reminders and email follow-ups are great examples of processes that you can easily automate.

Document Critical Stages and Processes

Next, take a look at the most important processes in your systems. The areas where things fall apart if they’re not handled correctly. 

Create these stages so that someone else could conduct a consultation call just by accessing your documents and jumping into a checklist. These steps should be very detailed, so that if you are not there someone else will know exactly what to do and how to do it, from start to finish.

Identify Key Metrics 

Identify the specific areas in your business where you want to track metrics. A good rule of thumb is to track metrics for all of the critical steps in your system. 

Using the example above, you would want to know how many people got on a consultation call or how many new clients were onboarded. This would help you to see the performance of each stage. By tracking key metrics, you can see if there are gaps and where you need to focus to improve your system moving forward.

spark-lab-scalable-factors
Team Member Accountability

If you have a team, you need to assign key stages and metrics to them depending on their role. This way they have more accountability and you can see the results they are driving. 

If you have a marketing team, you might assign digital ads performance tracking and reporting to them. And if you have a sales team you would assign a different stage to them. Then you would look at all of your systems, and you and your team would divide and conquer. 

This is also an important stage for solopreneurs. For example, we started Duct Tape Marketing with just two team members. So we would say, “Okay, this stage I’m in the marketing role, this stage I’m in the sales role, this stage I’m in the customer service role.”

You need accountability and metrics for each of these stages, and you need a person behind those metrics. Completing this step will also make it easier when you do decide to expand or hire because you will have clearly identified roles and responsibilities.

Schedule Weekly Review Meetings

From there, schedule weekly review meetings with your teams based on your systems. In these meetings, you should go over their systems, metrics, and accountability chart. 

These meetings also allow you to lead, congratulate your team on their successes, and see where you need to step in. 

Hold Quarterly Strategic Planning Sessions

Next, you need to start holding quarterly, strategic planning sessions for your business. If you are not sure where to start, know that your systems should direct these meetings.

Once you install this process, you will be able to quickly identify what your growth opportunities are for both halves of the hourglass. For example, you could see what steps are holding you back from converting more clients in your marketing system. And on the operation side, you can start to understand why clients aren’t becoming repeat clients. 

When you build these systems, you are taking out the guesswork and creating essential strategies that can scale—resulting in a business that scales. 

Why go through all of this process mapping?

Predictable lead generation and growth are two main benefits that come from documenting new systems. In addition, you can make quicker and better business decisions based on metrics and evidence. 

Following a system allows you to develop processes to help you avoid errors and  significantly reduce the number of mistakes. In addition, you will build an accountability culture for yourself and your team. I know from experience that employees work better with a clear direction and a culture they support.

The clarity in these systems allows you to have hyper-focus and to get the most out of weekly meetings. Resulting in strategic planning that is not crowded with excess and focused on your most important goals.

Predictable lead generation and growth are two main benefits that come from documenting new systems. In addition, you can make quicker and better business decisions based on metrics and evidence.    Following a system allows you to develop processes that help you avoid errors or significantly reduce the number of mistakes. In addition, you will build an accountability culture for yourself and your team. I know from experience that employees work better with a clear direction and a culture they support.   The clarity in these systems allows you to have hyperfocus and to get the most out of weekly meetings. Resulting in strategic planning that is not crowded with excess and trimmed down to zero in on your most important goals.

The Value in Systems – Spark Lab Consulting

The goal of identifying and mapping your marketing and operations system is to increase demand for your business.

And along the way, it also helps you have more clarity and control in what you’re doing. This clarity and control will allow you to grow and scale in a smart and sustainable way. Not only leading to more profit but more peace of mind. 

This post was written in partnership with Spark Lab Consulting – a new initiative from the founders and team that brought you Duct Tape Marketing – designed to help you operationalize your marketing AND fulfillment systems. 

Referral Programs: A Guide for Small Business

Referral Programs: A Guide for Small Business written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Running a business is hard

But with a good referral program it doesn’t have to be

As a small business owner you are probably thinking about helping your current customer or trying to figure out how to increase sales. But you’ve also got to think about increasing leads, and that is where referral programs come in. 

As a business owner myself, I know you just want your customers to be happy with their purchases. But wouldn’t they be even happier if they could get something more? One of the best ways to accomplish this is by having good referrals program in place.

In a recent survey of 2,000 business owners by Texas Tech, 83% of the respondents claimed that they have a business that they love so much that they’d recommend it to others, yet 29% do so.

There is a lot of potential and profit in closing that 54% gap, but where do you start? You start by building referral programs. Read on to learn more

Why are referrals programs a thing?

I am willing to bet that you have made referrals to other people and you have had a time in your life when you needed a referral.

This symbiotic relationship leads to a level of understanding. A type of survival mechanism that comes from referral reciprocity. Referrals are also seen as a type of social currency. There are people that crave the social currency of being the go-to person, that connector. 

Most importantly, referrals remove risk. Referrals help us solve a problem. They reduce the amount of work we have to do to find the right solution to our problem, and they come prepackaged with answers to common questions: Will they work? Will they know? Can I trust them?  

That is the best way to think about referrals, as the ultimate way to lend and borrow trust.

Why do referrals programs matter so much?

Easily attract your ideal customer.

Frankly, most of the people that get referred to me are much closer to my ideal customer because my ideal customer is the one referring them. They understand our business and they know who would make a good fit for us. 

Shorten the sales cycle

A strong referral program can significantly shorten the sales cycle. Referred leads were likely sent to you from someone you trust, so you can skip the know, like, and trust stages and jump straight to the try stage. 

Increase your premium pricing

Referrals also allow you to diversify your pricing portfolio and charge a premium for your product or service. Customers that are familiar with your brand and have a positive perception of you are willing to pay more. 

Magnify Lifetime Value

Referral programs increase the lifetime value of your current customers. A real estate agent might receive 12 to 15 new referrals from just three initial leads if he or she creates an exceptional experience for those first three leads. Therefore, your customers’ lifetime value can be multiplied to a great extent if you focus on referrals.

Referrals are invaluable to any business. By ignoring customer referrals or not incorporating customer referral program ideas into your marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a valuable source of revenue.

7 Types of Referral Programs

How can you start building referral programs that actually work and what do they look like? That is what I am going to share with you in this post;

Get started with referrals for only $17

Every Client Referral Programs

Every business should have everyday referral offers that work for any type of customer.  So what do these referrals look like? How can you make them successful? And what elements should they consist of? 

I like to group client referrals into four main types; direct, implied, tangible and community. For more explanation on these referral types see my post, How to Make Your Business More Referable. Every client referral programs are probably the ones you are most familiar with, a gift certificate, refer-a-friend model, donation matching offers, etc. 

Each of these types of referrals offer something different, but they all need the same elements to be successful.

Client Referral Keys to Success

First, everybody needs to win or feel like they have won. The person giving the referral should not be the only one rewarded. If that referral turns around and does business with you, they should be rewarded too. 

Next, there should always be a strong tie back to your brand. A referral program with a strong connection to your brand should also have a strong connection to your most loyal customers.

The last key is consistency in your approach. You need to be consistently nurturing and developing these programs. Referral programs are not set it and forget and they are not a one time play. These programs need to be scheduled regularly. They should be weekly, monthly and quarterly depending on the program type. 

Client Referral Elements

Create easily shareable content

If you want to increase the likelihood that you will be referred then you must make it easy. Build content for your referral programs that are clear and concise so your customers can easily find what they need. This can be done through special referral program landing pages or posts. You can also offer pre-written emails or social content for your referral clients to seamlessly share with their followings. 

Have a special process for referral leads 

Not all referral leads will be ready to buy right away but they are definitely at a different stage in the sales funnel than your regular leads. They have a far more intimate relationship with your business through direct recommendations and should be treated as such with a special funnel built for them. 

Recognition is important to everyone, especially those who go the extra mile 

Your referral clients should receive a special thank you note. You can also publicly thank them through your newsletter or on social media. These thank-you notes can also include special offers for just your referral clients. 

Appreciation is a wonderful thing; It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. – Voltaire

Find Your Referrals Champions

Customers and clients who are already referring business to you are what I call ‘Referral Champions’. They are a great customer, they are a returning customer, and they have had a good experience with you. In a lot of ways they are your ideal customers and they know how to connect with someone like themselves. 

Types of Champion Referral Programs

Offer Lunch

Get a handful of your best customers together for a free lunch. The lunches and get-togethers are offered as a thank-you, but the networking that occurs can be mutually beneficial to you, your business, and your referral champions as well. 

Peer-2-peer Teaching

Gathering all of your champion referrers to meet creates an opportunity for them to build a peer-2-peer teaching relationship. This could have further positive impact for everyone involved. 

Exclusive Events & Offers

Create exclusive events or offers just for your high value clients that have continually supported your brand. Track who these people are and target them with something that is more lucrative or enticing than your Every Client Referrals. Highly exclusive offers are more than $10 of your next purchase. These are offers for premium products at cut-rate prices. 

Exclusive Content or Advisory Board

You can create exclusive content or an advisory board of your champion customers. For example, the advisory board could facilitate a quarterly meeting to brainstorm ideas on topics such as expand your target market or unique ways to broaden your customer reach. There could even be incentives involved such as product discounts for ideas that win. 

Keys to Champion Program Success

Have a specific ask

There needs to be a very specific ‘ask’ for champion referral programs. The more specific you can when describing exactly the kind of customer you are seeking, the better your chance of success. 

A client of mine used to take his champion referrals to lunch and show them a list of people he wanted to meet in this client’s church or club. This approach was very direct and as a result, the customer had an easy time connecting my client to the names on his list.

Make it easy and reward them

With any champion referral program, you should make your champion referrers’ job as simple as possible, and you should definitely acknowledge them and publicly thank them for referring your business.

marketing strategy

If you prefer to learn at your own pace -check out the Marketing Action Plan Course

Ecosystem Balancing

Ecosystem balancing is the idea that you should take your existing clients and think of everyone else who serves them and find ways to form relationships with those people in order to add even more value. 

The benefits for B2B companies

If you work with clients that also work with other professionals or have a B2B model, ecosystem balancing is a great option for you, but not only for referrals. Knowing the individuals in your mutual client’s ecosystem can help you understand what they do for your customer and help you to better serve your customer.

Speaking from experience

A past client of mine, who is an author, wanted to expand her brand.  When we were developing her marketing strategy she told us that she employed an executive coach and an accounting professional. So after we built her brand plan, with her permission, I reached out to the executive coach and the accountant and had a quick session with each of them explaining the newly created plan. Afterward, they had a better understanding of our mutual clients business than ever before and were able to better serve her. 

They were both so blown away by this process that those two individuals actually became referral sources. They wanted to introduce me to their clients because they realized their other clients needed that level of innovation and collaboration. 

Understand the client ecosystem

If you work with any clients that also work with management consultants or executive coaches or accounting professionals, or even have advisory board members, think in terms of how you could actually add value to the relationship that they have with your mutual clients by holding strategy sessions or giving presentations. 

By doing this you will have a better understanding of who the other players are in that person’s ecosystem, because there is real value in meeting those other professionals. For the right business, the ecosystem balancing approach could be really potent. If you want a deeper understanding, I talk more about ecosystem balancing in my book, The Ultimate Marketing Engine

Internal Referrals

One of the most valuable referral systems you can build comes from within your organization. When given the right information, incentives, and tools, your internal team can be a great referral source.

Teach your team marketing strategy 

Teach them about the core message, explain who your ideal customer is and what makes your business unique. By doing this, they will feel more involved and have a better understanding of the business. Ultimately leading to a better understanding of your ideal customer and improved internal referral generation.

Make it easy for them to share good news about the business

You can do this by developing simple ways for your employees to share business news and offer their feedback or opinions. For example, you could produce easily shareable content for you internal team to re-post on their social media platforms.

Create buzz

Keep things exciting by offering rewards or contests for referrals. This adds an element of fun to the work and can create a positive and productive internal culture for your business.  

Customers and Hiring

Use your referral system for hiring. Some of your best candidate recruitment people are the ones that already work for you and love what they do. Use them as a resource and leverage their insight.  

Your Referral Partner Network

Create a strategic partner network by building a best-in-class team that offers services your customers might need. 

Start by identifying key players and recruiting them for your partner network. You can find them by polling your best clients and seeing who else they work with, who else helps them, and who else solves their problems for them. 

After you have identified six or seven potential strategic partners it is time to begin the conversation. Start by writing, what I call, the perfect introduction in reverse. Which is a process that lets a potential partner tell you exactly how to refer your customers to their business.

Example

The Perfect Introduction, In Reverse

“Hello,


We have customers that we believe could benefit from your services. And we’d love it if you would take a moment and tell us the best way to refer you to our clients. In order to make it easy for you to tell us how to spot your ideal client and refer your services to them we have included a form with this note. We have also included a completed example for your reference.

Regards,” 

After you have built the relationship, establish how you can continue to work together to build up each other’s referral business.

Some examples are; create content together, create special offers for each other’s clients, create co-marketing opportunities, interview each other, host webinars for each other’s audiences, hold events together, etc. 

I built a great deal of my following by going to organizations that I knew had small business owners as part of their universe and offering to do educational webinars for their audience or offering free eBooks that could be co-branded. These deals helped me gain exposure to new referrals and helped them win with their audience. 

Below are some examples of partner network ideas 

Notice how they all are unique to the industries involved, provide value to clients, and both businesses involved win.

  • A partnership between wedding caterers and florists. This could include a third party, a wedding planner, and they all offer each other’s services to their clients that are getting married.
  • Service technicians and painting contractors. Upon completion of services the technician can offer 10% off of the painting contractor services, increasing exposure for both parties. 
  • This one is creative; a financial planner and massage business. Once a year around tax season the financial planner can bring in a masseuse for a 15-minute shoulder massage while the customers are waiting to speak to their accountant. The masseuse could hand out their business cards and give samples of their services. In the mean time the accountant is getting more business because all of their clients will be talking about their unique practice.

Start Your Very Own Expert Club

Create a program for your ideal customer by starting an expert marketing club. You can host a monthly breakfast or webinar for your audience and bring in additional experts to speak.

Best Practices

There’s an example in my latest book, The Ultimate Marketing Engine, where I worked with a real estate agent who moved to a new town. She was having trouble establishing her business so we brainstormed how she could start reaching out to the local community.  

The result; she started her own networking club for business owners where she talked about social media and marketing because she was also experienced in that field. In these meetings she didn’t sell her business as a realtor at all, but guess who the members thought of when it was time to buy or sell a home? She built her entire massive real estate business by hosting these monthly networking clubs.  

Another great example is Derek and Melanie Coburn in Washington DC. They have an organization called Cadre. Derek was a financial planner who wanted a better way to network. He brought a group of folks together and they started curating content for their businesses. This small group turned into a 300-person networking organization. Eventually he sold his financial planning business and now he and his wife run the networking organization full-time.

Referral Mastermind

Lastly, you can create a mastermind group for referrals. This option is very beneficial to B2B industries. If you’re a coach, consultant, or marketer it is a no brainer. The referral mastermind approach is similar to the partner network approach, but you work directly with your own clients instead. 

How to get started

Start by setting up monthly training for your clients around a specific topic. You can charge money, but my gut feeling is that it would generate so many referrals for you that it would be worth it if you made it complimentary. 

Once you build a reliable audience for these smaller training sessions you can start to offer them the mastermind concept. You wouldn’t even need to teach anything necessarily, just facilitate everyone coming together to learn from each other.  

Offer even more value

If you wanted to add another layer to your referral mastermind you could offer to run one for your client in exchange for referrals. In this system you would bring their clients together to help them make their business more successful, but it would benefit both parties in the long run.

Example monthly meeting agenda

Through the mastermind process you are naturally sharing referrals with each other. And that is where the magic really happens. When you start working together and build up each other’s businesses, leading back to that everybody wins mentality. 

Now it’s time to implement some of these referral program ideas and best practices to generate your best customers yet. Don’t wait, get started today!

4 Steps To Create A Perfect Marketing Strategy

4 Steps To Create A Perfect Marketing Strategy written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

The 4-step marketing strategy – How to stand out from your competition in the minds of your ideal customer  

With the current obsession around marketing tactics, it has become increasingly harder to figure out the best marketing strategy for your business.

From hacks and quick fixes to the next big idea and new trending platforms. It is harder than ever to decide the right direction for your marketing. 

In order to help alleviate some of the marketing confusion, I’ve created a definitive outline for you in this post, 4 concrete steps to the perfect marketing strategy. You can use this article to help you create a clear marketing message, direction, and plan.

The 4 steps needed to create a perfect marketing strategy in 2022;

Want to get all the worksheets you need to complete your perfect strategy?


Customer Focus

First, you need to narrow your focus to somewhere around the top 20% of your clients. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you chuck the other 80%, but experience tells me that if you are working with customers and clients today, some percentage of them are not profitable for your business. 

The majority of your customers are actually detractors from your business because they didn’t have the right problem or they didn’t have the right business situation for your product to solve. 

Think about your client base today and rank them into groups by profitability with your most profitable customers at the top. You want to think in terms of profitability because profitability is linked to an ideal client fit.

profit-referrlas-quadrant-chart

Typically a client is a profitable client because they received value, they had a great experience, their problem was solved, and they referred your product to others. If you understand who your profitable clients are you can start to do two things;

First, you can generate more business from that top 20% of customers because that top 20% want to do more business with you. It is far easier and less costly to continue to do business with people who already trust you vs trying to gain a new person’s trust. If you focus your efforts on creating an amazing experience for those clients who already trust, get value, and are referring you to others. You could actually build our business around serving and attracting them and no one else. 

Second, if you know who they are and what brought them to you, you can begin to build the ideal customer persona for your business based on historical data and profitability. Then you can design your marketing around that customer persona and attract more of the ideal customer, more of the top 20%.

When building your customer persona you want to organize your customer base into three customer groups; must-have, nice-to-have, and ideal.

For example, a remodeling contractor must-have customers who own a home that they want to remodel. Imagine that same remodeling contractor works with his wife who is an interior designer. Now customers who are looking to remodel and redesign their home go in their nice-to-have bucket. Next, that husband and wife decide they want to focus the business on high-quality materials and modern home design. Now their ideal customer owns a home they want to remodel and redesign with a modern theme and is in the top 10% income bracket.

Ask yourself, what are those ideal customers for you? Who are your must-haves, nice-to-have, and ideal customers? My ideal customer workbook contains the same tools and worksheets Duct Tape Marketing uses to create our ideal customers. 

Ideal-customer-behavior-worksheet

Ideal Customer Behavior worksheet from “How To Create The Ultimate Marketing Strategy” workbook

Solve the problem

Now that you know who your ideal customer is, the next step in creating the perfect marketing strategy is to figure out what problem you are actually solving for your customers. 

The truth is, nobody wants what you sell. They just want their problem solved. So instead of just selling a product, communicate to them that you understand and that you get their problem. Help them see that your product or service is the solution to their problem. That is when they will start to listen to you and begin to trust you. 

So how do you do this?  

– You create a core message that promises to solve that problem. 

For example, public universities have a problem. In many cases, their funding is dictated by their graduation rates. How many students graduate is directly correlated to the funding that universities receive and therefore what they must charge for tuition. They are constantly looking for ways to curb tuition rates. So we have a client that provides scheduling software for universities. We went and talked to the universities that used this company’s software. They confirmed that the software worked well, but what they really loved was the great data and analytics the software provided. It allowed for more efficient scheduling and ultimately made tuition more affordable. We discovered that this software company makes great software, but they also make tuition more affordable. Tuition cost was the differentiator, the problem that they were solving.

Now, you are probably asking yourself, how do I do this for my company? How do I know the problem I am solving? What you need to do is get on the phone or in-person and talk to your ideal clients and ask them; how did you find us in the first place, what made you hire us, why did you stick with us? 

Those are some questions you can start with, but be sure to go deeper in your line of questioning. Have your customers go into detail with their answers. Don’t just ask, “Were you happy with my service?” Instead ask, “Can you tell me a specific time when we provided good service and what we did to make it such a positive experience?”

After enough of these informational interviews, you are going to start hearing themes that are addressing the real problems that you solve. 

Another great resource is Google reviews. But instead of just paying attention to five-star reviews, read the actual reviews line by line. When people voluntarily turn to a third party like Google and leave a glowing review it is an indicator that they have been thoroughly impressed. You have exceeded their expectations. You have solved their problem. 

What is the real problem that you are solving? That is what you need to uncover. And once you know it needs to be what you lead with for all of your messaging, it is your core message.

strategy forms

Create an end-to-end customer journey

A lot of people talk about the customer journey like it’s a funnel. As if we create demand through this funnel. We shove them through this funnel process, they pop them out the other side, and voila that’s the end of the journey. Well, that is not at all true, at least not anymore.

In just the last five years, marketing has undergone many changes. The thing that has changed the most about marketing is how people choose to become customers. That marketing funnel and that linear path no longer exist. The customer journey today is holistic and nonlinear. You no longer see an advertisement for a product, visit the store, and purchase that product. The steps between awareness and purchase are diverse and varied and oftentimes intertwined. People make decisions about the products and the services that they buy out of our direct control. Marketing today is less about demand and more about organizing behavior. 

This obsession with funnels and funnel hacking and tactics is really driving a lot of challenges for small businesses. First and foremost, we have to understand how to guide people on the journey that they want to go on. 

I know it is hard to keep up when it seems like there’s some new thing that we have to do as marketers every single week. There is so much we have to do across so many platforms just to stay relevant, look at the data.

61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact the local business if they have a mobile-friendly website. So we’ve gotta really look at our websites and all these different devices.

87% of potential customers won’t consider a business with low ratings. Now there are all these sites where people are able to go and leave reviews about our brand. And we have no control over that narrative.  

64% of consumers say watching a video on Facebook has influenced a purchase decision. So not only do we have to be on all of these channels. Now we have to mold all of our content to the exact same way or to the specifications and algorithms of the platform of the month.

92% of consumers will visit a brand’s website for the first time, for reasons other than making a purchase. Our website is not there to just take orders. It provides a service as well.

So I get the obsession with tactics and channels, but with this constantly changing landscape how can you possibly stay up to date? The answer lies in rethinking the customer journey. 

86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience and 83% of business owners claim their main source of new business is referrals. These stats prove that the customer journey does not end at the point of sale. There is profitability in focusing on what happens after somebody becomes a customer.

This leads me to the third and linchpin element of the perfect marketing strategy; the marketing hourglass. 

If you think about the hourglass shape the top of the hourglass borrows from the traditional sales funnel idea. After all, you have to get some percentage of the market out there to know about you and an even smaller percentage to realize that they are an ideal client for your business.

For so many businesses, that’s where it stops right at the throat of the hourglass. But with the marketing hourglass, the excitement really needs to happen again, after the sale. 

The marketing hourglass consists of seven stages or behaviors. The seven stages are; know, like, trust, try, buy, repeat and refer.  

marketing-hourglass-journey

The Marketing Hourglass – Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, Refer

The first three stages are where you create the relationship. By guiding people through these stages, showing up, educating them, and building trust. That’s how you attract your ideal customer and show people why they should pay a premium to do business with you.

Know

If we have a problem we want to know who’s out there. What are the answers? What are the solutions? 

We run advertising and we show up. When somebody goes out and searches we have our content out there. We are participating in social media and building communities.

And then once we land on somebody, what do we do? We immediately go to their website and investigate. We assess if the site looks out of date or tacky. It might load really slowly or the forms might not work. All of those small moments contribute to our larger assessment of whether we like the company or not.  And we ask ourselves, is this a company that can solve my problem? Do I think they have the answer? All of these are things we take into account when moving people past that first impression threshold. 

Trust

Next comes trust. We start looking for visual cues. We start asking ourselves, who else trusts them? Who else have they delivered results to? We start to look for familiar logos and referrals from companies we know. Do I see people who are really smart and reputable? Do I see the company being featured in publications? Is there social proof? Are there reviews? Are they working with people that I know? And most importantly, are they working with people like me, people that have the same problem as me? 

The next two stages, try and buy, build the bridge for long-term success. Scaling and growing a business with your ideal customers does not happen after you get the customer, it happens at these two stages. 

Try

The try stage does not just include a 30-day free trial offer. It is much bigger than that. Every time a potential customer picks up the phone and calls your business they are given a trial run of what it might be like to work with you. So what does this stage look like for your business? What is your inbound caller process and what trials do you offer? Do you offer a free quote, free evaluation, or introduction call? Do you provide forms or worksheets for them to try? What are you giving them that allows them to try before they buy? If you can offer value in your free or low-cost options people will be more likely to invest their money in you because they have seen what you can deliver already. 

Buy

Next is buy or how the transaction happens. Most of us have been let down at some point when we’ve bought. Buyer’s remorse is a real thing. We want the buying experience to be just as great as all the other experiences leading up to it. 

So you have to think about how you deliver your product? Do you have onboarding? Do you have an orientation? Can you communicate how you’re going to communicate? What is the actual content?

Content is not just created to get an order or customer. In fact, one of the best uses of content is after the sale to teach people what they purchased, show them how to get more value, show them what else you sell. 

The final two stages of the marketing hourglass lead to scalability. Learn to scale with your clients, as opposed to constantly relying on going out and getting more clients. 

Retention

What does your retention process look like? Are you continuing to educate? Do you have special offers for existing clients? Are you cross-promoting? If you focus on discovering what else they need and consistently delivering value even after the sale those customers will stick with you.

Refer

Texas Tech just surveyed 2,000 consumers and 86% of them said they had a business they loved so much that they would happily refer. But only 29% said that they actually made that referral. So maybe there’s some money in closing that over 50% gap of those customers of ours that love us, but never tell anybody about us.  

What are you doing to stay top of mind with your clients? What are you doing to nurture those champion clients? There is a huge amount of business in co-marketing and developing strategic partners outside of your client base. 

These all have to be intentional processes that you build into your overall marketing plan. Marketing doesn’t stop after running a couple of Facebook ads and delivering some free content. It is the entire process. It is the entire end-to-end customer journey. If you really want to build momentum, if you really wanna scale your business, then marketing doesn’t end until someone else is telling other people about your business.  

marketing strategy

Content 

The last stage in creating the perfect marketing strategy for your business is content. Are you tired of constantly creating and delivering new content? What if I told you that you did not have to.  

So many people, like myself, stood up on stages 10 years ago and said, content is king and everybody believed it. The content was like air, you needed it to survive. You could not play in the marketing game without a fair amount of content or a real focus on content. 

People started to try to create so much content, so quickly that there was just a content dump without any real strategic goals. Content is not a tactic. It is the voice of strategy. 

Content is not just blog posts. Your emails, videos, case studies, referral events, what you do and say when networking; it is all content. And content needs to be focused on guiding people through each of the stages of your marketing hourglass. Content is a tremendous lever to help you guide people through the stages. 

Landing pages, blog posts, core web pages, free tools. These are the types of content that people are going to consume when they’re doing initial research and getting to know your business.  

content-strategy-quote

Next, when they go to your website what happens? Are there tip sheets or how-to videos? With this type of content, they will decide if they like you and if you know what you are talking about. 

Then in the trust category, the content is a little more segmented. Your customer is starting to ask themselves if you understand what their needs are? The content strategy here is case studies, webinars, comparison guides, and engagement. 

 The next question they will ask is, is there something I can try? Do you offer communities to join, free assessments, or samples as part of your content strategy?

 At the buying stage do you have content created for demos, audits, FAQs? 

 When it comes to producing content for the repeat stage, how do you go about it? What do your social media content, cross-promotion, and user roadmaps look like?

Last but not least, your referral content includes reviews, referral training, strategic partnerships, and co-marketing among others. Ask yourselves where are you leading your customers after they purchase? 

Each one of these stages has a need for a specific type of content. As a marketer, you need to consider every piece of your content that you’re thinking about producing and make sure it focuses on a stage of your end-to-end customer journey. Your content will become the voice of your strategy. Your content will be useful instead of just another tactic. 

Duct Tape Marketing is a big part of my firm’s success! First it was the books, then an assessment and then a long-term coaching relationship. I would not be where I am today without their insights and focused counsel. Most importantly they are just a pleasure to work with and I wouldn’t hesitate engaging them. 

Jack McGuinness

Relationship Imapct

“Working with Sara and the Duct Tape Marketing team has been beyond what I could have hoped for! As a doctor who is very busy dealing with patients and trying to run a business, I can’t say how much I appreciate how organized, efficient, and goal-specific they are. I truly had NO idea what went into building a brand, a website, and marketing a business.

Dr. Elizabeth Turner

Fox Point Dental

6 Step Guide to Keyword Research that Turns Your Content into a Lead Machine

6 Step Guide to Keyword Research that Turns Your Content into a Lead Machine written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

A whopping 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. Making sure your business ranks well is imperative to being found online. 

Keyword research is the first critical step in developing your SEO strategy. But the way that you undertake keyword research for your homepage will be different from how you settle on the right search terms for your content like blog posts and podcasts. Plus, keyword research and content creation should have a symbiotic relationship. 

As you research your keywords and begin to understand how prospects are searching, you can plan and create content that speaks directly to searchers’ intent and needs. 

Here’s a quick, 6-step guide to help you get your content research off the ground and drive the right kind of traffic — traffic that is more likely to convert.

We’ll start by talking about what keyword research is.

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing popular search terms that people enter into search engines like Google, and include them strategically in your content so that your content appears higher on a search engine results page. 

Keyword research can help you find ideas for your next blog post, learn more about the needs of your audience, and keep up to date with the lingo of the ever-changing search landscape. Researching what people type into search engines and using this data to create targeted content will ultimately help you drive the right traffic to your site.

Here are 6 quick, easy steps to help you get started. 

Step 1: Start with Your Own List of Keywords

Start by brainstorming on your own. You know your business and what you offer to your customers, so you probably have a solid sense of the terms they’re searching for to find you.

It’s important to note that in recent years there’s been a shift in the way that Google handles search queries. Google is now more invested in ranking results based on intent. The person who searches for “home remodeling ideas” is probably looking for something different than the person who searches for “best home remodeler in Kansas City,” right? The latter searcher is probably ready to start knocking down walls and ripping out tile, whereas the former might be daydreaming about redoing their kitchen someday in the next couple of years. Therefore, the results are going to vary.

Google acknowledges that the intent behind those searches is radically different, and so they’re now displaying results differently for those search queries. Because of this trend towards semantic search, it’s now important for businesses to consider long-tail keywords.

While your homepage might have keywords that are broader and more likely to cast a wider net, snatching up searchers at various stages of the customer journey, you want the keywords associated with your individual product pages and informative content to be more targeted.

If a home remodeler has various pages for the types of services they offer—kitchen, bathroom, home additions, basement finishing, and so on—they should have long-tail keywords for each of those pages that speak to that subset of the broader audience.

Step 2: Turn to Auto-Suggest

Another great starting point for your content keyword research is to start searching in Google yourself. Autocomplete is a great to use early and often when developing content calendars and general organic search strategies. You can uncover quality long-tail phrases that are commonly searched across the web by your audience.

Take some of the broader keywords you’ve identified for your business and see what comes up in auto-suggest.

Let’s return to the home remodeling example. When you type in home remodel, you get some auto-suggestions that indicate a few trends. One is about technology; the fifth and sixth suggestion have to do with apps and software. The other is about financing; people often search about loans or government incentives associated with remodeling.

This tells you something important about what prospects are thinking about when considering remodeling for themselves. They’re worried about the financial aspect (we all know renovations aren’t cheap!), and they like the idea of being able to have a hand in the design process, accessing technology that can help them plan out and visualize their dream kitchen or bathroom.

If you don’t already have content on your website that speaks to those major areas of interest or concern, maybe it’s time to consider adding some! It’s also helpful to go through and click on those auto-suggestions to see what content does appear when you Google “home remodel incentive,” for example. Who is already ranking in those results? Are they direct competitors? Is there a gap in the type of information you can find in that search—one that you could fill with original content on your site?

Step 3: Check out the Competition and See How They’re Ranking For Your Keywords

While it’s important to think about your own strategy, it’s also a smart idea to consider what your competitors are up to. There are plenty of tools out there that can help you do some opposition research into the keywords your competitors are using.

A site like SEMrush can help you see your known competitor’s keywords, identify other potential competitors that you hadn’t previously considered, and monitor shifts in where your domain is ranking (you can access a free 14-day trial of SEMrush Pro using this link).

You can also spend some time on your competitors’ website. Take a look at how they organize their content. Is there a way for you to differentiate your site and content from theirs—a unique approach that you can take to sharing what you do?

Step 4: Ask Your Customers

By this point, you’ve done a lot of digging into keyword research on your own. Now it’s time to ask your customers what they think. Sometimes the people who know and love your business will have a unique take on what’s so special about you, and it will help you to hit on a vein of content to mine that you wouldn’t have found on your own.

Don’t think of this as a daunting task. Asking for feedback can be as simple as sending a quick survey or simply asking people as part of your conversation with them while you’re on the phone.

There are a few helpful questions to ask, like:

“What search terms did you use when you were researching how to fix your problem?”
“What search terms ultimately led you to our business?”

Plus, it’s helpful to ask what it is that they think sets you apart from the competition; writing about what makes you different is a way to help your content stand out.

Step 5: Look at Google’s Keyword Planner (and Google Trends)

Once you’ve gathered up this bundle of keyword suggestions, it’s time to head to Google’s Keyword Planner tool. While it’s designed to work with paid search, it can also help direct your organic search efforts. Keyword Planner can help you get an idea of the right keywords you want to target by considering monthly search frequency, competition, and even cost-per-click (CPC) pricing.

 You do need a Google Ads account to access it, but once you’re in, you can begin to get information about the size of the audience you’ll be able to reach with each keyword, and more. 

Google Trends can help you determine which terms are trending upward, and are thus worth more of your focus. (This can be accessed without an ads account.)

For local businesses, it’s best to hone in on keywords that are not overly competitive and have a manageable reach. If you go for broad keywords that are highly competitive and can reach millions of people, it doesn’t do you much good. You’ll then find yourself coming up against giant brands, and you’ll never be able to rank well in that arena. Plus, you don’t need to reach tens of millions of people; you’re serving your specific community, so those are the people you want to see your name in SERPs.

Step 6: Create Hub Pages

Once you’ve settled on the keywords for your content, it’s important to mold the content itself to speak to the intent behind these keywords. You understand now what your audience wants, it’s time to create content that gives them just that.

I’ve talked a lot about building hub pages recently, and that’s because they’re an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to establishing trust and authority plus dominating in search results. Hub pages allow you to build what’s essentially a mini-Wikipedia for your area of expertise. You put all of your content related to a given topic on a hub page and tie it together in a way that addresses the questions a prospect might have.

Let’s return to the home remodeler example. One of their hub pages could be “The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Remodeling.” On that page, they’ll link out to content (blog posts, video, podcasts) that cover all the ins and outs of a kitchen remodel, from initial research to picking finishes to project management once the renovation is underway.

Through keyword research, you learned that financing the project and using tech in the design stages were important issues for a lot of homeowners, so you want to include content that addresses those issues.

With this hub page, you become the comprehensive source of information on the entire kitchen renovation process. Not only does this allow you to become an authority early on in prospects’ research (making them all the more likely to turn to you when they’re ready to hire someone!), it also does great things for your SEO. Prospects stay on this hub page for a while—there’s a lot of information to soak in! They click on a couple of articles, navigating back to the hub page in between. They may even share an article with their spouse about the renovation process, or send a video to their friend who’s helping them pick new appliances.

When visitors spend a lot of time on one page, search engines get the message that it’s a well of great content. They want to provide their searchers with the best results, so they bump your hub page up in SERPs to ensure that it gets found by a broader audience.

Great keyword research for content is about using that research to guide your content creation process. You can learn a lot about search intent and what prospects are looking for by undertaking effective keyword research. Armed with that knowledge, you can then create content that speaks to those prospects’ wants and needs, ensuring that you stand out from the competition.

The 5 Funnels Every Consultant Should Build

The 5 Funnels Every Consultant Should Build written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Starting your own consulting firm can be overwhelming. You feel confident in your knowledge and expertise, but being great at what you do doesn’t automatically translate to having a whole host of clients, clamoring at your door.

To guarantee that you have a stead flow of clients, you must establish a client generation system. With the acquisition of just six to eight more clients, most marketing firms go from surviving to thriving. So if you can take these simple steps to establish a process for attracting prospects and nurturing them appropriately, you can make a world of difference for your business long-term.

Here are the five marketing funnels that every consultant must build in order to grow their business.

1. Prospect Nurture Funnel

Of course, the first step to landing new clients is attracting new prospects and appropriately caring for them. In today’s digital marketing landscape, there are many places you can turn to if you’re looking to attract new prospects.

Search remains a major channel for B2Bs, so making sure you have a strong SEO strategy and are running AdWords campaigns is one critical way to get noticed by new prospects. Social media ads, on Facebook and LinkedIn, especially, are another way for B2Bs to reach the appropriate audience.

And even in our digital world, old school tactics still hold weight. A study out of Temple University demonstrated the effectiveness of print ads; people spend a longer time reading them, have a stronger emotional reaction to them, and are more likely to recall information they read in print than online.

Once you’ve made initial contact with a prospect, creating an email series to nurture the relationship is the logical next step. Start with an offer to welcome them into the fold. From there, create a series that’s set to trigger based on certain actions the prospect takes. By personalizing the content they receive, you go a long way to building up their trust in your business.

Share the most useful content and tools from your consulting practice. Once you’ve proven your value over the course of several emails, follow up with a call to action. If they take you up on the offer, you know that they’re a hot lead and worthy of additional time and attention.

2. Speaking Funnel

I’ve been talking about the idea of speaking for leads for many years now. When you have the opportunity to get up in front of an audience for 45 minutes and prove your expertise and value as a marketing consultant, it’s an incredibly powerful thing.

Whether you’re hosting a webinar or giving an in-person speech, presenting on a topic you’re knowledgable about and sharing information that adds value for your audience is essentially like giving a sales pitch to a room full of prospects all at once. Rather than having to set up 30, 60, or 100 separate sales calls, you’ve done it all in one hour-long presentation.

After you’ve given your talk, follow up with your audience via email. Present them with a limited-time offer—something just for them that will entice them to act right away. This encourages them to take the leap immediately after they’ve had a great experience hearing from you about your business.

Continue to follow up with emails that add value: an FAQ series, meaningful content, a case study showing how you helped one of your existing customers achieve their marketing goals. With every email they receive, they’ll reflect fondly on the value they received from your initial presentation. And hopefully, they’ll eventually move towards being a hot lead that can be nurtured further.

3. Partnering and Network Funnel

When it comes to finding new leads, it’s often best to tap into your existing networks. Cold emails or calls can easily be ignored. But when you reach out to your network of connections and partners, you’re likely to find greater success.

When you meet someone in the real world, follow up with them by connecting on LinkedIn. It’s also possible to connect with new people through LinkedIn alone, but if you do that, it’s best to do your research before reaching out. People can tell when they’re receiving the copy-pasted introductory message. Taking a few extra minutes to get to know something about the individual you’re messaging and referencing that in your first message can go a long way to them accepting your request to connect.

Once you’ve made that initial contact with someone, do not move right to the sale! We’ve all gotten that cold pitch from a stranger before, and it often feels icky. That’s because they haven’t gotten to know you, and so their offer for help feels insincere.

Instead, the best way to reach out to those in your network is to start by adding value. Share something that you think would be of interest to that individual. If you’re talking to someone who owns a commercial real estate firm, send them that article you just saw about the state of commercial development in your city. Once you’ve shown that you can add value, ask them about their goals. What do they want to achieve with their business, and how do they hope to get there? If there’s an opportunity for you to help them reach those goals, let them know about your relevant solution.

If they have a goal that’s outside the bounds of marketing, you can still help! Take a look at your network of partners and refer them to a fellow business owner you know and trust to get the job done. Even though this won’t immediately lead to business for you, when this prospect has a great experience with your trusted partner, they’ll think of you fondly as the person that brought them together. And your partner will appreciate that you referred a great client their way, and will look to do the same for you in the future.

4. Sales Follow-up Funnel

These first three funnels were for prospects who were earlier on in the process. But what about those prospects with whom you’ve met and presented a sales pitch? As you might have guessed, there’s a funnel for them, too.

Once you meet with someone in-person or over the phone, this is the time where they might start to get cold feet. Sure, they think you’re great, but now they’re considering the very real commitment of signing a contract and writing you a check.

It’s your job to continue to dazzle them and convince them that the work you do is well worth the price. Start by sending your prospect a personalized video recap of your discussion. This shows that you listened and took careful notes during the meeting, and it allows you to ensure that you’re both still on the same page.

From there, send them a case study that demonstrates the potential value of working with you. You have the power to eliminate the problems they’re facing in their marketing, and you have proof that you’ve done it for other happy customers in the past.

If you haven’t won them over totally yet, offer to meet up again. This is your opportunity to address any lingering objections and to prove once more that you’re a great listener who understands and cares about the problems they face.

After that second meeting is the time to send another set of follow-up communications. Begin by sharing a piece of information or content that made you think of them. This is a low-pressure way for you to stay top-of-mind with your prospect as they continue to weigh their options. Finally, give it one last check in. Sometimes your success in winning over a prospect is more about persistence than any of your marketing skills.

5. Referral Funnel

Once you’ve gotten more happy customers on board, it’s time to establish a referral funnel. Referrals are the engine that will power your business; creating a situation where happy customers can easily pass your name along to others in their network guarantees you a steady stream of business for years to come.

Start by setting the table with an email. When you get a referral from an existing customer, reach out to provide a brief outline of what you do, and indicate that you’d love to set up a time to chat to learn more about their challenges and see how you can help.

Once you’ve met in person or over the phone, follow up—just as you should after a sales pitch—with a video recap. Again, this provides you the opportunity to send your prospect a personalized video that outlines their questions and concerns, and indicates the solutions you’d propose and next steps.

Follow that up with a list of FAQs that you often get from prospects and customers. People who are just dipping their toes in the waters of hiring a marketing consultant often have many of the same fears and concerns. You sharing this list of FAQs can help your prospect see that their doubts are normal and may help to assuage them.

Next up, share a valuable resource or tool you have on hand. This can be something like an ebook or recording of a webinar, or it might be a checklist or infographic. No matter what it is, make sure it’s something that adds value and addresses the specific concerns this prospect outlined in your initial call.

From there, offer to hop on the phone or meet in person again. Very often, prospects need a second opportunity to ask a whole new set of questions that have arisen as they’ve been thinking about partnering with a marketing consultant.

Finally, after that second call, share a case study from your business. Now that they’ve had the opportunity to meet with you twice and feel confident in your abilities and expertise, an additional example of you doing great work for another business owner can be the final bit of information they need to seal the deal.

Most consultants have the power to transform their business from so-so to stellar with the addition of only a handful of clients. But to win over new business, you have to build a series of simple, repeatable funnels to nurture your leads and take them through the process to become full-fledged customers. This client generation system empowers you to continuously move prospects down the customer journey towards becoming happy, long-term clients who repeat and refer your business often.

The Key to Online Advertising Is Tracking Results

The Key to Online Advertising Is Tracking Results written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

In the olden days, advertising was an expensive and risky prospect. Brands would spend lots of money up front on print ads, television commercials, or radio spots. Next, they’d hire an advertising firm to create and execute the concept. Then, they’d have to buy the air time or ad space. And they did all this without much insight into whether or not the concept would actually be successful.

Fortunately for today’s small business owners, tracking online advertising is possible! And it provides insight into exactly how each campaign performs. Armed with that information, you can tailor your messaging in future campaigns. You’ll lean into tactics that resonated with your audience and ditch those less-successful approaches.

If you’re advertising online but aren’t tracking your results, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Tracking online advertising empowers you to better understand your customers and boost your ROI on each and every campaign. Here’s what you need to do to effectively track your online advertising.

Create Conversion Goals in Google Analytics

The first step to tracking how your ads perform is defining your goals. Every ad campaign that you run should be driving viewers towards a specific action. You might create an ad designed to encourage someone to download your white paper. Or maybe it pushes them to sign up for your newsletter. Or perhaps it invites them to request a free trial of your product.

The ads should also be directing viewers to your website, where they can take the desired action. And that’s where conversion goals come in.

In Google Analytics, you’re able to define your conversion goals. A conversion is a desired action that someone takes on your website—something like filling out a form to request a quote or successfully completing check-out in your online store.

Google Analytics allows you to create up to 20 conversion goals for your business. Focus on the goals that make the most sense for your industry and business strategy. For example, a contractor might be more interested in getting folks to request a quote, whereas a clothing retailer might be more concerned with that successful check-out metric.

No matter what goals you define for your business, Google Analytics can help you track the steps that people take on your website to ultimately reach that conversion; this is called a goal funnel. Creating a goal funnel provides a visual representation of your data. That way, you understand where people drop off in the process towards completing a given conversion.

For example, if the ultimate conversion goal is a successful check-out in your online store, you can see if you lose people in the product browsing stage, or whether people are putting items in their carts and then abandoning them.

Check out this video from Google for a more detailed look at how to set up your goals in Google Analytics.

Link Your Ads to Google Analytics

Now that you’ve defined your goals in Google Analytics, it’s time to get your advertising and analytics metrics all on the same page (literally). By linking your Google Ads and Analytics accounts, you can keep all of the data on both your ad campaigns and website performance all in one place.

Google Ads allows you to track performance for each individual ad campaign, so you can see things like impressions and clickthrough rate. And when your two accounts are linked, you can then draw a direct line between how people interact with each ad and the actions they took on your site.

So let’s say you own a marketing consulting firm. You’re running an ad encouraging people to download your latest white paper on social media marketing trends for 2020. When your Ads and Analytics accounts are linked, you can see both the CTR on the ad itself. Then, you can see how many people actually follow through with requesting the download once they get to your site. This gives you insight into how each piece of the marketing puzzle is working, and it can help you identify any weak spots in the conversion process.

Monitor From Click to Client

While it’s great to be able to see how ads influence visitor’s behaviors on your site, for most businesses that still doesn’t offer a complete picture of the ad’s performance. What about people that call your business to follow up on the ad they saw online? Or the people who stop by your brick-and-mortar location in person?

This is why it’s important to implement offline tracking methods to generate a full picture of your advertising campaign’s effectiveness.

Call tracking services, like CallRail, allow you to track how ads drive prospects’ behaviors on the phone. The service works by inserting a line of code into your website. That code allows you to associate online and offline interactions with your business. It integrates with your Google Analytics and Ads platforms so that you can determine your exact cost per lead.

It’s also a good idea to track in-person interactions you have with customers. Tracking purchases at your brick-and-mortar locations can help you see whether people who found you online ended up becoming customers in real life. There are a number of ways for you to bridge the gap between online and in-person interactions. If you’re a retailer, collecting an email at checkout to send an electronic receipt can help you put a face to the email.

If yours is a business where it’s difficult to collect email at checkout (say, a restaurant or cafe), you can gather that information in other ways. Restaurants can use online reservations systems to capture email addresses. Cafes can create digital loyalty programs that collect email addresses at the point of sale in exchange for a free cup of coffee every ninth purchase.

Unifying this in-person and online data is easily achieved if you’re using a CRM to manage customer interactions. CRMs make assembling all customer data in one place simple. From contact information to every past interaction with your brand, it all lives in your CRM. This kind of click to client information is invaluable in understanding the performance of your advertising.

Learn From Your Campaigns

Once you’ve created a picture of your online advertising campaign’s effectiveness, you may feel tempted to kick back and relax. But really, you’re just getting started.

By tracking online advertising, you’re now at a huge advantage. This information can propel your future advertising decisions. Maybe in tracking your ads you found that the messaging in one campaign performed well, while another failed to result in conversions. Or perhaps you learned that your ad was driving folks to your website, but they were getting lost along the way and not reaching your ultimate conversion goal.

Every advertising campaign—whether a raging success or a big old flop—is an opportunity for you to learn and improve. You can recreate the tactics that worked well in your next campaign. For those less successful campaigns, you can try a new approach next time.

How to Generate Leads for $100 a Month Using Facebook Ads

How to Generate Leads for $100 a Month Using Facebook Ads written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Facebook ads are an incredible way to generate exciting new leads for your business. There are nearly 2.5 billion monthly active Facebook users worldwide, meaning that you have the opportunity to reach a huge audience if you play your advertising cards right.

The other benefit to the platform is the relatively low cost of advertising. Across industries, the average cost per click for Facebook ads is $1.72. It’s entirely possible for a small business to get great results spending only $100 per month on Facebook ads.

But the secret to getting the most out of a small investment in Facebook advertising is creating really effective campaigns. And to generate leads using Facebook ads, you need to take a step back and revisit everything you think you know about advertising.

Reframe How You Think About Advertising

When you think about print, television, or radio ads—more traditional advertising media—you likely picture an ad that’s selling a specific product. However, this sales-focused messaging that’s worked for decades in other channels will not net results on Facebook.

People expect to be sold to by a television or radio commercial or in the direct mailers they receive. But they go to Facebook for an entirely different reason. People are on Facebook to build connections and community, not to be marketed at. So your Facebook advertising needs to be less about “buy my stuff” and more about creating content that builds awareness and trust of your brand.

When people see useful content from your brand on their feeds, they come to know, like, and trust your business. You establish yourself as a source of knowledge and become more like a trusted friend than a pushy, anonymous salesperson.

Start With Great Content

So the place to start on Facebook is not with a sales pitch, but with meaningful content. In order to identify content topics that will resonate with your audience, start with keyword research.

Take a look at your existing content, and see which search terms are leading people to find that content. Using Google Search Console, you can access a list of the real-world search terms people are using to discover each page on your website.

Look for patterns in the types of queries that are leading to your content. And look for intent in those queries. Understanding the intent, or the why, behind a person’s search term can help you craft new content that speaks to the needs and wants of your prospects.

Competitive research can be helpful in this pursuit as well. Identify gaps in your competitors’ content offerings, or find ways to expand upon the successful content they’ve created. That’s a great way to give your audience what they want.

Make Sure the Right People See It

You know that old saying about the tree falling in the forest with no one around to hear it? The same principle applies to your online content. If no interested parties are around to see your Facebook ads, it won’t move the needle and generate leads.

Let’s say you own a home remodeling company. No matter how great your content about preparing for a remodel is, if it only gets seen by a bunch of renters who aren’t in the market for your services, you might as well flush your advertising dollars down the (newly installed) toilet.

Once you’ve created meaningful content, you’ll turn to Facebook to share it with the world. Start by sharing your content organically on the platform by posting on your Facebook page. For your advertising purposes, you’ll want to focus on those pieces of content that get the greatest engagement. When a noteworthy portion of your existing audience likes and comments on a particular piece of content, it’s a sign. You know you’ve hit upon something that really resonates with your ideal audience.

From there, you can boost the post with Facebook via their advertising platform. Using their custom audiences tool allows you to show your content only to people who are likely to find it relevant. Meaning, if yours is a remodeling business, you can direct your ad spend at people in certain neighborhoods, age groups, and even those who Facebook knows recently purchased a home.

By boosting your posts, you expand your reach beyond your existing followers. And by boosting to a custom audience who looks like your existing best customers, you ensure you’re getting the greatest ROI on your advertising investment.

Follow Up With Your Best Prospects

Once you’ve boosted your content, it’s time to track how it performs with the broader world. Facebook provides detailed analytics that allow you to see how people react to and interact with the content. They’ll show a breakdown of organic versus paid reach. Plus, you can see likes, comments, and shares on the post.

You’ll also want to create and install a Facebook pixel on your website. This tool allows you to track customer behavior on your website. Adding the pixel enables you to see how your advertising on Facebook is affecting prospects’ behaviors on your site.

With these analytics in hand, you’ll want to follow up with those prospects who are showing the greatest promise—the people who are interacting with your content and exploring your website. Once someone expresses that interest, provide them with a next step towards conversion.

This should be advertising content that invites them to try. Show them an ad for a free trial or evaluation. By reserving these ads for those who have already expressed an interest in your brand, you’re boosting your advertising ROI once again. Save your serious advertising offers for your serious prospects, and you’ll be more likely to get a higher conversion rate.

Facebook advertising doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get results. If you’re smart about the content you create and the audience you target, you can generate impressive returns with a small monetary investment.

How to Do Keyword Research for Content that Generates Leads

How to Do Keyword Research for Content that Generates Leads written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

I’ve written about the importance of keyword research before. It’s the critical first step in developing your SEO strategy, and making sure that your business ranks well in organic results on the major search engines.

But the way that you undertake keyword research for your homepage will be different from how you settle on the right search terms for your content like blog posts and podcasts. Plus, keyword research and content creation should have a symbiotic relationship. As you research your keywords and begin to understand how prospects are searching, you can create content that speaks directly to searchers’ intent and needs.

Here are the things you must do to get your content keyword research off the ground.

Start with Your Own List of Keywords

It’s always a good idea to start by brainstorming on your own. You know your business and what you offer to your customers, so you probably have a solid sense of the terms they’re searching for to find you.

It’s important to note that in recent years there’s been a shift in the way that Google handles search queries. Google is now more invested in ranking results based on intent. The person who searches for “home remodeling ideas” is probably looking for something different than the person who searches for “best home remodeler in Kansas City,” right? The latter searcher is probably ready to start knocking down walls and ripping out tile, whereas the former might be daydreaming about redoing their kitchen someday in the next couple of years.

Google acknowledges that the intent behind those searches is radically different, and so they’re now displaying results differently for those search queries. Because of this trend towards semantic search, it’s now important for businesses to consider long-tail keywords.

While your homepage might have keywords that are broader and more likely to cast a wider net, snatching up searchers at various stages of the customer journey, you want the keywords associated with your individual product pages and informative content to be more targeted.

If that home remodeler has various pages for the types of services they offer—kitchen, bathroom, home additions, basement finishing, and so on—they should have long-tail keywords for each of those pages that speak to that subset of the broader audience.

Turn to Auto-Suggest

Another great starting point for your content keyword research is to start searching in Google yourself. Take some of the broader keywords you’ve identified for your business and see what comes up in auto-suggest.

home remodel auto-suggest

Let’s return to the home remodeling example. When you type in home remodel, you get some auto-suggestions that indicate a few trends. One is about technology; the fifth and sixth suggestion have to do with apps and software. The other is about financing; people often search about loans or government incentives associated with remodeling.

This tells you something important about what prospects are thinking about when considering remodeling for themselves. They’re worried about the financial aspect (we all know renovations aren’t cheap!), and they like the idea of being able to have a hand in the design process, accessing technology that can help them plan out and visualize their dream kitchen or bathroom.

If you don’t already have content on your website that speaks to those major areas of interest or concern, maybe it’s time to consider adding some! It’s also helpful to go through and click on those auto-suggestions to see what content does appear when you Google “home remodel incentive,” for example. Who is already ranking in those results? Are they direct competitors? Is there a gap in the type of information you can find in that search—one that you could fill with original content on your site?

Check out the Competition

While it’s important to think about your own strategy, it’s also a smart idea to consider what your competitors are up to. There are plenty of tools out there that can help you do some opposition research into the keywords your competitors are using.

A site like SEMrush can help you see your known competitor’s keywords, identify other potential competitors that you hadn’t previously considered, and monitor shifts in where your domain is ranking (you can access a free 14-day trial of SEMrush Pro using this link).

You can also spend some time on your competitors’ website. Take a look at how they organize their content. Is there a way for you to differentiate your site and content from theirs—a unique approach that you can take to sharing what you do?

Ask Your Customers

By this point, you’ve done a lot of digging into keyword research on your own. Now it’s time to ask your customers what they think. Sometimes the people who know and love your business will have a unique take on what’s so special about you, and it will help you to hit on a vein of content to mine that you wouldn’t have found on your own.

Don’t think of this as a daunting task. Asking for feedback can be as simple as sending a quick survey or simply asking people as part of your conversation with them while you’re on the phone.

There are a few helpful questions to ask. One is, “What search terms did you use when you were researching how to fix your problem?” And, “What search terms ultimately led you to our business?” Plus, it’s helpful to ask what it is that they think sets you apart from the competition; writing about what makes you different is a way to help your content stand out.

Look at Google’s Keyword Planner

Once you’ve gathered up this bundle of keyword suggestions, it’s time to head to Google’s Keyword Planner tool. While it’s designed to work with paid search, it can also help direct your organic search efforts. You do need a Google Ads account to access it, but once you’re in, you can begin to get information about the size of the audience you’ll be able to reach with each keyword, plus insight into how competitive each keyword is.

For local businesses, it’s best to hone in on keywords that are not overly competitive and have a manageable reach. If you go for broad keywords that are highly competitive and can reach millions of people, it doesn’t do you much good. You’ll then find yourself coming up against giant brands, and you’ll never be able to rank well in that arena. Plus, you don’t need to reach tens of millions of people; you’re serving your specific community, so those are the people you want to see your name in SERPs.

Create Hub Pages

Once you’ve settled on the keywords for your content, it’s important to mold the content itself to speak to the intent behind these keywords. You understand now what your audience wants, it’s time to create content that gives them just that.

I’ve talked a lot about building hub pages recently, and that’s because they’re an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to establishing trust and authority plus dominating in search results. Hub pages allow you to build what’s essentially a mini-Wikipedia for your area of expertise. You put all of your content related to a given topic on a hub page and tie it together in a way that addresses the questions a prospect might have.

Let’s return to the home remodeler example. One of their hub pages could be “The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Remodeling.” On that page, they’ll link out to content (blog posts, video, podcasts) that cover all the ins and outs of a kitchen remodel, from initial research to picking finishes to project management once the renovation is underway.

Through keyword research, you learned that financing the project and using tech in the design stages were important issues for a lot of homeowners, so you want to include content that addresses those issues.

With this hub page, you become the comprehensive source of information on the entire kitchen renovation process. Not only does this allow you to become an authority early on in prospects’ research (making them all the more likely to turn to you when they’re ready to hire someone!), it also does great things for your SEO. Prospects stay on this hub page for a while—there’s a lot of information to soak in! They click on a couple of articles, navigating back to the hub page in between. They may even share an article with their spouse about the renovation process, or send a video to their friend who’s helping them pick new appliances.

When visitors spend a lot of time on one page, search engines get the message that it’s a well of great content. They want to provide their searchers with the best results, so they bump your hub page up in SERPs to ensure that it gets found by a broader audience.

Great keyword research for content is about using that research to guide your content creation process. You can learn a lot about search intent and what prospects are looking for by undertaking effective keyword research. Armed with that knowledge, you can then create content that speaks to those prospects’ wants and needs, ensuring that you stand out from the competition.