Tweet to the World. These days, you have to be on Twitter if you want to be clued in on what's hot and what's not.
Now, more than ever, Twitter has become an invaluable tool for business. The Twitter Marketing Action Cashmap teaches Twitter users to harness the power of the online platform by emphasizing these functions:
1. It's a technology gauge. It's a prime source for the feedback of early adopters to new social technologies. It keeps you wired to the technologies being developed. As such, you won't ever be out of the loop.
2. It's a traffic tool. Your Twitter page can be used as a contact point for possible clients. You can use it as an extension of your professional identity or your business. In a sense, it functions as non-obtrusive advertising for your goods and services.
3. It's a sounding board. Through Twitter, your customers and other interested parties our fans can follow your company to get the latest news, inside information, and special offers. You can also get immediate feedback from them through your Twitter page.
The Twitter Marketing Action Cashmap cuts down your learning curve with its user-friendly guides to making the most out of your Twitter page.
The science of satisfaction. Andrew Brown of Small Business Guru explains how customers form opinions about products.
There's no doubt that businesses focus on satisfying customers. In fact, many businessmen consider customer satisfaction as the lifeblood of their companies. But with the attention given to gauging customer satisfaction through surveys and focus group discussions, businessmen sometimes forget that keeping tabs on the company's reputation can be done in more subtle ways. In fact, doing so has become easier--as well as more cost effective--these days.
This is one of the things that's emphasized in the Voice of the Customer Strategy Cashmap. The course has a lesson called "Execute Reputation Monitoring," which is all about "leveraging social media--as well as other online and offline techniques--to monitor the reputation of your personal or company brand."
Here are three ways through which you can implement the lesson's tips:
1. Google yourself. Go to Google and conduct a search using your company's name or the product that you are selling. Take a look at the first 50 items that come up in your search. Try to see if there are people who have mentioned or reviewed your product. The results in the search will also give you an idea of what people will see each time they conduct a simple search for your company or product.
2. Set up a free blog. One of the most effective ways to get closer to your customers is to set up a blog. You can use free blog hosts such as Wordpress and Blogger. Even people who don't like taking surveys will be more likely to leave comments on blogs. This way you can easily what they think about your products or services.
3. Establish a social media presence. Set up an account on Facebook or Twitter. These social media sites make it even easier for customers to get in touch of you via comments and quick questions. Aside from helping you monitor your reputation, your presence in social media sites would probably raise customer satisfaction, as more and more people choose to patronize companies that they can easily get in touch with. Somehow, it's a bonus when they find out you can be their social media "friend."
Businessmen should take advantage of the online resources available and make use of them to expand their horizons. It'd be a shame to waste such readily-available tools that could help your business grow.
Starting Young. Self-made tycoons often start young. Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy of The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet feature teen moguls who used their common sense to rake in millions. But don't despair if you're past your teen years. Anyone can be a tycoon if they're willing to do what it takes to be one.
Simpleology 102: The Simple Science of Money teaches us that achieving financial stability doesn't involve complicated math. All it takes is a solid commitment to make your money work for you.
Self-made millionaires like Jill Blashack Strahan and Rick Sikorski--who are featured in Kristyn Kusek Lewis' article "Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires"--would tell you the same thing. The two tycoons also share three of the moves you have to make so you can make your own fortune:
1. Set your sights on the prize. You must adapt intense concentration when you're working on your goal. You have to be determined to put in the long hours and do all the hard work to ensure your success. In this sense, you have to be passionate about what you're doing. When faced with setbacks, you must do as Strahan did. She told herself, "No, this is your dream. Recommit and get to work."
2. See the possibilities in the money you have. Don't despair over starting small. All successful self-made tycoons start out that way. Lewis writes: "When extra money rolls in, it's easy to think, 'Now, I can buy that new TV.' But if you want to get rich, you need to pay yourself first, by putting money where it will work hard for you--whether that's in your retirement fund, a side business or investments like real estate."
3. Curb the urge to spend. Every self-made mogul will tell you that you must live below your means. Do not spend any single cent on things you don't need. Simpleology 102's first lesson, "The Grand Law of Wealth:
Increase Your Incomings and Decrease Your Outgoings," expounds on this mindset.
Remember that you don't have to be a genius to be a millionaire. (Although that wouldn't hurt.) Loral Langemeier, author of The Millionaire Maker, advises, "Everyone has a marketable skill. Just keep in mind that when you start making extra money, you have to invest in yourself first." This way, you would empower yourself with the insights to improve your skills or come up with more awesome innovations for your business or product."
Bottom line: The combination of financial savvy, hard work, and business smarts will take you very far. Perhaps, one day, you'll be right at the top of the list of self-made millionaires.
Suggested Resource: Start your journey towards becoming a mogul on your own terms. Sign up for Simpleology 102: The Simple Science of Money and get insights to the strategies that will help you build a solid fortune.
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Great Offer. Simpleology user Pascale Azzi credits the book for making her more aware of the strategies she should use in building her network of contacts and potential clients.
An interior designer with a double MBA, Pascale Azzi of Lebanon stumbled upon Simpleology through Mark Joyner's The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in Three Seconds or Less:. "I read the book and I found it very authentic]. I couldn't let it go until I finished it," she says.
Authentic Tools
Though Pascale doesn't run a business yet, she applied the principles of the book to her life. "The book and the Simpleology website are very powerful tools," she states. "They helped me make new decisions in my life. I am building up my experience and my credibility [as an interior design professional] so that people will immediately be assured that they will get a high return when they invest in me."
Indeed, The Irresistible Offer is all about using a "a new, effective, and ethical way to sell based on what you're selling, not how you're selling it." Rather than impress people with flashy antics, it champions authenticity and puts a prime on substance. In fact, it's all about exceeding people's expectations--so much so that, yes, they can't resist you.
Solid Commitment
Moreover, Pascale is also working on making the principles of Simpleology a part of her life. "I have not mastered it yet," she reveals, "but I am committed and decided to get the best results."
As such, Pascale adds, The Irresistible Offer and Simpleology are both "major contributions" in her life.
Sign up for The Irresistible Offer course and use it to empower every aspect of your life.
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Harnessing friendly power. Having friends who will enrich your life in any way is always great. They often also contribute to your success--no matter what profession or line of business you may be in. Take, for instance, stand-up comedy, which is very serious business.
Your friends can give your business a boost.
This was what Simpleology user Nancy Hall realized when she signed up for the 7 Day Business Turnaround Kit. On top of imparting valuable information, the course has paved the way for her to connect with peers who give her added feedback and insights. "I'm so blown away by the 7 Day Business Turnaround Kit," she states. "It addresses different levels of business and provides juicy new ideas to create cash injection machines."
Nancy goes on to expound on how the course has helped her so much:
1. It cuts the learning curve. The course's multimedia approach makes it easier for anyone to master business strategies. Nancy explains: "The daily checklists are great. The videos of experts are so amazingly inspiring and full of wisdom and tips. They [enable you to leap through] a costly, time-sucking learning curve."
2. It makes information stick. "The material is brilliantly organized and structured. Thus, the course's blueprint is crystal clear," says Nancy. The course has been designed to flow at a pace that maximizes a person's ability to absorb information.
3. It sets you up for peer support. Nancy points out: "Having access to the peer and expert support on the Simpleology community board quadruples the value of the course." By connecting with other Simpleology users who are in the same industry, you get a lot of advice and perspectives that would enrich your own business strategies. Bottom line: Simpleology doesn't leave you out in the cold after you've gotten the 7 Day Business Turnaround Kit.
Overall, Nancy is certain that she has gotten " immense value for her investment." "There is a wonderful, grounded ethic woven through the content. This is a course that over-delivers," she says.
The customer always comes first. Multinational company Convergys emphasizes the importance of caring for one's customers.
All too often, customer service representatives take the brunt of everyone's frustrations. Not enough credit has been given to these individuals who are tasked to soothe frayed nerves and put out fires.
In her article "To Serve, With Love," customer service expert Susan Brooks states that businessmen and other professionals can learn a lot about how to forge a lasting bond with customers from the customer care crew. Brooks goes on to enumerate the tips that we can all use:
1. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. Research may help you get the data you need to run your business, but only empathy can give you the insight to what your customers really feel. Customer care specialists have perfected the art of seeing things through customers' eyes. Thus, they are able to deliver the information or the support needed as soon as possible. They know the answers to the questions even before the customers ask them.
2. Know what you're selling. You have to figure out all the nuts and bolts of your products, as well as identify its benefits and quirks. Thus, you can give your customers an assurance that if ever they might be stomped, you would provide the answers. Customer care personnel always assure customers that solutions are available for any dilemma that they may encounter.
3. Act on it. You can't just leave your customers in limbo when you're tackling a dilemma--even one that you've never had the chance of handling before. Like any customer care representative, you have to think on your toes and present practical solutions that will ensure customer satisfaction at all costs. Otherwise, you could be losing customers.
According to Brooks, these courses of action are all part of what she calls "service enthusiasm," a quality which ensures customers of an "over-the-top" experience with you or your company. In fact, it's an element that could help in your word of mouth marketing efforts.
So, don't knock customer care until you try it. Understand how this department has become a necessary part of business. It's not just there for damage control. It's there as a value-added service to your customers.
It's all great talk. Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, explains what makes people talk about your business.
It's easy to get spooked about starting a business--especially if doing so requires you to give up a nine-to-five office job that you've grown comfortable in. But there comes a time when you have to take a leap of faith so you can have a go at doing something you enjoy to for a living.
After years of deliberation, Simpleology user Phillip Harris made the leap.
Day Job Blues
"I had been working as an accountant for a financial management office for the past 10 years," says Philip Harris, 33. "The company provided financial management services to individuals and companies. I started out as an intern there back in 1996. Then, I rose through the ranks. In 2005, I became one of the firm's senior accountants."
Tasked with training the growing firm's newly hired accountants, Phillip logged close to 80 hours at the office each week. Phillip reveals: "The hours were quite long. Within eight months of getting the promotion, I was getting crabby because I no longer had any time for my family or my hobby, which is tinkering with old cars."
Cool Change
By late 2005, Phillip decided that he didn't want to "grow old" in the financial management industry. "Some people thrive under such conditions. I know I'd crash and burn if I stayed in it. I was a competent accountant and I got things done. But I resented the hours that the job demanded from me. I wanted to have a life outside work. At that point, I was always too exhausted to do anything else when I was out of the office. On weekends, I would spend my time catching up on sleep. That wasn't what I wanted," he states.
After talking things over with his wife, Linda, a social worker, Phillip decided that he would work as an accountant for three more years. During that time, he and his wife agreed that they would streamline their finances in anticipation of his career change.
"My initial plan was just to get away from the killer work hours," says Phillip. "But, then it was actually Linda who said maybe I should think out of the box. She pointed out that I enjoyed tinkering with cars and doing restoration work on vintage vehicles, a skill I learned from my grandfather, who had worked as a mechanic for 40 years. She said, 'Why don't you start a garage or something? I'm sure you can make it work.'"
Simple Jumpstart
From 2006 to 2008, Phillip and Linda cut down on all unnecessary expenses and saved as much as they could. "We simplified our life. We learned to enjoy simple pleasures. We didn't go on vacations like we normally did. We sold one of our two cars. As much as possible, we didn't eat out. We happily pinched pennies, so to speak. We kept things simple as we focused on saving up for my career change," Phillip discloses.
Meanwhile, all throughout this time, Phillip diligently set aside his Saturdays to talk shop with his uncles and cousins who had gone into the auto repair business. On Sundays, he spent at least three hours refining his car tinkering skills. He recalls, "I came up with a plan to set up the garage in a space that was near several offices, as well as mall. I would hire two mechanics. Three of my college-age nephews also wanted to be apprentices at the shop. They told me that it'd be a cool idea because they'd be free labor."
Then, finally, in September 2008, Phillip turned in his resignation letter at his office. Many people were baffled by his move. However, despite many persuasive perks offered to him, Phillip stood his ground and only compromised by agreeing to work until the end of the year. "The job would get the best of me if I didn't get out right then," he says. "So, despite my jitters about not having that reliable paycheck anymore, I was determined to go through with my resignation. Besides, I was ready for it. Linda and I had put away enough money to see us through about a year and a half of a worst case scenario."
While he served out his remaining months at the office, Phillip gradually let the junior accountants he had trained take over his tasks. He also groomed a couple of them to take over his functions. It was around this time that Phillip signed up for the 7 Day Word of Mouth Marketing Accelerator Kit. "I signed up for the course because I wanted to have a solid plan
Pilot Projects
The great thing about his bosses' request for him to work for the firm until December last year was that Phillip was able to implement an informal referral strategy among his co-workers. Phillip's colleagues, who all wanted him to do well in his new venture, happily referred his services to their friends and family.
This was where the principles taught in the Day 6 lesson, "WOM Key Area of Improvement: Referrals," came in handy. Phillip reaped the benefits of inspired referrals.
As it turned out, he had clients lined up for his yet-unnamed garage long before he formally set up shop. "My being an accountant helped. I was able to give the people who wanted their cars restored an estimate of their expenses. I even devised a savings scheme for those who wanted vintage cars restored. This way they would have the necessary amount to pay for my services by the time I formally opened my shop. I went to the homes of those who wanted immediate work done," states Phillip.
1. It gives you a head start. You can build relationships with clients even before your transaction transpires. This way, your potential market already invests trust in you and your product. This gives you the boost you need to launch your venture effectively.
2. It helps you focus. You are able to direct or use the referrals that come your way systematically. You aren't caught unaware or overwhelmed by the sudden influx of inquiries or job orders.
3. It gets rid of your jitters. Right before you commit to running a business, there will always be that moment when you ask yourself if what you're doing is right. The buzz created by the referrals help you muster the courage to do what is necessary to get the business started.
Beginner's Buzz
"When I really think about it," Phillip admits, "I guess I could say that the 7 Day Word of Mouth Marketing Accelerator Kit didn't only help get my business off the ground. It helped me get the life that I wanted to live."
Nowadays, as Phillip and his crew are putting the finishing touches on their shop, he is happy over the fact that he now can't wait to get to work. "It's because it doesn't feel like work. Yes, there are challenges, too. But I have never felt more optimistic about my job. I was a competent accountant...but now I'm a competent and very happy mechanic," he states.
Phillip's experience also proves that it pays to be nice because then you're sure that there are people who trust you enough to endorse your services to others. It's the most effective form of zero-cost marketing.
Use Twitter to Fuel Your Success
