Holiday Happiness from Betsy Linnell Marketing Management

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Is social buying a good fit for your business?

Social buying is pretty hot right now. Sign up for 'Groupon' or other social buying sites and you will be bombarded with screaming deals on goods and services in your geographic area. Sounds like a great way to boost business. It is right for yours? It can be - if you use it wisely based on your strategic direction and tactical objectives.

Social buying is based on volume. Businesses provide a substantial discount on a product or service to members of the network. The 'offer' is based on achieving a minimum number of purchasers. When the minimum is met, the offer is "ON". From a revenue perspective, the assumption made is that additional volume generated will exceed the cost of the discount provided. That depends on your strategic direction and your tactical objectives.

Some reasons to participate include:
- Attract new customers
- Generate trial of a new product / service
- Increase traffic to your location (awareness, exposure to your other products and services)
- Move inventory
- Fill white space (generate business during typically slower times)

Sounds great right? Now we just have to develop an offer that will deliver on your objectives - here lies the challenge. Fortunately, you have lots of variables to play with to ensure that you are not simply discounting sales to your existing customer base. Product, time of day, location, and valid dates are just some of the tools that you have to craft an offer that meets your needs.

When used strategically, social buying is a really exciting new marketing tool that can help to boost business. If you are thinking this might be right for your business, give me a call. I would love to work with you to ensure your business gets the boost you want.

Leveraging your Fan Base

I frequently advise my small business clients to start blogging. It’s a great way to add content to your website and provide additional information to support your brand position and key messaging. Blog posts also tend to be a bit less formal so they have a different feel. A voice that is consistent with your brand can go a long way towards deepening the reader’s connection with your brand / product / service.

More often than not, clients are reluctant to blog. At first, I interpreted this as a fear of technology. That’s not what it is – it’s time. Small business owners are already doing a little bit of everything and don’t want to take on one more thing. That is where leveraging your fan base comes in.

As consumers, we already know that a 3^rd party product endorsement is seen as more authentic than messaging direct from a particular brand. So, why not leverage the power of your fan base to help develop content for your website? Invite your customers to contribute!

Whistler Blackcomb is in the process of doing just that. In a recent ad in Pique Newsmagazine http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?cat=C_Classifieds&content=careers+1745, Whistler Blackcomb advertised “Bloggers Wanted”. In exchange for weekly blog posts about their Whistler Blackcomb experiences, successful bloggers will receive a season pass, VIP access to special events and WB swag. What a great way to engage your fans, develop website content and benefit from 3^rd party endorsements!

The goal is to deepen the relationship that customers have with your brand. Putting your customers to work and rewarding them for their efforts is a great way for small businesses to benefit from social media AND save time.

Marketing Tips from the Yellow Toilet.

There is a yellow toilet on my front lawn! I didn't put it there, I didn't ask for it, yet I am about to pay to have it taken away. I'm also glad to do it!

I LOVE this campaign. A local group of Pemberton women who call themselves "The Good, The Bad and The Bubbly" are participating in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life. They have set an aggressive goal to raise $20,000 and this is one of the ways they are doing it. Here's how it works: The yellow toilet arrives on your lawn with an note telling you how you can help to "Flush Away Cancer". For a minimum donation of $25, the toilet can be removed and you get to decide where it is delivered next.

This is a great fundraising initiative. It is also a great marketing tool in action. The yellow toilet is raising awareness, involving community, demonstrating support AND generating revenue. In practical terms, we can learn a lot from the yellow toilet. The team has created a need for their toilet removal service and have priced it well to appeal to their target market. They have built a compelling story that their target market can relate to and they have made the campaign fun so that people want to be involved.

There is a lot to be said for being true to your brand, meeting the needs of your market, keeping the message simple and having fun. What is your "yellow toilet" going to be?

Cutting Through the Idea Clutter

Betsy Linnell Marketing Management is pleased to announce that Betsy will be participating as a "storyteller" in a really interesting workshop that is being offered next Tuesday May 4th by the Whistler Chamber of Commerce and the Women's Enterprise Centre.

"Path Clearing: Cutting through the Idea Clutter" is about helping you determine your most direct path to achieving the business results you want. The session is being facilitated by Heather Martin of the Women's Enterprise Centre and will include "stories" and real life examples from several local business women including myself. Also participating are Kendra Mazzei of Burnt Stew Computer Solutions and Connie Millard of Millard Consulting Group. We had an opportunity to speak with Heather earlier this week and discuss the content to be covered and I'm really excited about it. You will leave with some practical ideas as well as a few different strategic tools to help you put the theory into practice. This is a great opportunity to learn from each other. I hope you'll join me!

For more information and to register click HERE.

Spring Forward.

I just had the winter tires taken off my car. It's only the beginning of March but there is no more snow on my front lawn, I've been running outside again for about a month and the trees are starting to bud - Achoo! So, changing my tires seemed like the logical thing to do. How does this relate to business and marketing? Lots!

Just like your car, your business needs regularly scheduled maintenance. With spring coming early this year, this transition for my vehicle was natural. It was triggered by the weather. What are the maintenance triggers for your business?

Here in the Sea to Sky, February was dominated with Olympic fever. The event took over our lives and we celebrated along with the rest of the country and the world. So, all of a sudden it's March and I'm realizing that I haven't accomplished all my goals for Q1 and Q2 is right around the corner. Just like the weather triggers my car maintenance, March 1 has me thinking about my business. Here are a few of the questions I'm asking:

1. What were my Q1 goals?

2. Am I on track to accomplish them?

3. What has been going well and what hasn't?

4. How can I build on the strong and improve the weak areas?

5. How has Q1 impacted my progress on my annual goals?

6. What do I need to accomplish in Q2?

7. How am I going to do that?

Ideally, I will set aside time to work through the above questions and document my plan moving forward... But, I'm feeling time crunched so can't I just think about it? While thinking about it will help move me in the right direction, I have a much better chance of actually achieving my goals if I write them out. This is proven - and not just by me! So, I will walk the walk and set aside a few hours to devote to my business. I am going to Spring Forward!

2010 is Gaining Momentum!

Well, 2010 is certainly off to a brisk start! The New Year has signalled a fresh start for many local businesses and Betsy Linnell Marketing Management clients are no exception.

Many of our projects from the end of 2009 have now launched and we have lots of new stuff on the go for 2010.

AC Petroleum launched a brand new website right before the holidays. The site at www.acpetroleum.com showcases their new logo and look. The site was created in conjunction with Ink Design, provides information on the company's range of services as well as the ability for commercial customers to order their fuel deliveries online.

The Tourism Pemberton 2010 Media Gateway launched in late November and has received great reviews to date. Most recently, the story starter content was updated and a press release has been distributed locally to share news of the site with the community.

Spierings Automotive expanded in late 2009 opening a second service facility in Pemberton. The new shop located on Hwy #99 across from the Industrial park increases their capacity and range of services to better serve Pemberton and surrounding area. Spierings ran ads locally along with the distribution of a press release to local media. 2010 will see promotion of the new location continue. Stay tuned for more!

Finally, Whistler Dental has hired BLMM to develop a Strategic Marketing Plan for their busy dental practice. Welcome aboard! This plan will include a full situation analysis and strategic direction and action plan for the business.

We're also in discussion with several other local businesses - 2010 is going to be a great year. Stay tuned for more on what we're up to in the coming weeks.