Channels of Communication for SMBs to Engage Customers

A common ability that many successful businesses share is strong communication. Communication empowers individuals, motivates teams, aligns strategy, sets standards, sells potential consumers and retains existing customers. As more and more companies work on their online presence, they sometimes fail to evolve their communication style so it works in new channels. To effectively reach your audience today, you need to build value for your followers, share content from other sources and get involved in conversations. At the same time, you can’t forget the reason you’re there—to sell.

An entrepreneur connecting with her audience through digital media

Here are the vehicles for small- to medium-sized business that will help build your brand online and keep your customers coming back for more!

Website

While building your website, small things can improve your visitors’ experiences. Think of the homepage as your shop’s show window. This is where most of your visitors come in and decide whether to explore further. Instead of confusing them, simple designs help customers navigate while highlighting your products/services, testimonials and samples. Informative and informal copy keeps interest levels high by talking in customers’ language. When you legitimately use keywords searched by target customers on your pages and in the tags, you improve your ranking in search engines results. You should also make the Contact Us tab easy to locate so customers can reach you.

Designing Powerful Presentations

You can find quite a bit of advice about creating content for presentations, selling more effectively, asking qualifying/closing questions and more, but I wanted to share with you some perspective on the design of PowerPoint documents and give you a few ideas to make your presentations more visually compelling.

Research

Of course, you should learn everything you can about the person you are meeting with and his or her organization to ensure you include applicable content. But you should also visit the website to make sure you are using the current logo (some companies even publish their branding standards online).

Get a sense of the look and feel of the website: is it clean with a lot of white space, jammed with links and information, or mostly images and very few words? The website is a good guideline on how you should structure your presentation.

Something else to look for is any visuals you can adopt for your content. For example, if your prospect has a graphic outlining their quality assurance process, you can adapt the format and add your own points.

Getting Your Voice Right in Content Marketing

Writing marketing content isn’t as simple as putting your thoughts on paper. Even after you’ve figured out what your audience wants and what you should talk about, you need to figure out what your voice should be like.

Plus, you want a different tone of voice for say, a press release versus a tweet, even if it’s the same person writing both or the same team working collaboratively on the press release and taking turns at the Twitter account. How do you ensure you come across as the voice of the brand as opposed to the person you are?

Step one: what’s your blogging persona?

The first step is to lay out what your brand sounds like (even if it’s just your own personal brand), and if it sounds different in a press release versus in a tweet (if it doesn’t that’s okay—just make sure that’s right for your audience and you’re still playing to the strengths of both media. For my money, I’d prefer to see a press release that looks like a bunch of tweets than a tweet that looks like a line off a press release.)

Put together the “author persona” of each type of content. Basically, ask yourself what kind of person they presumably are:

Designing Business Cards For Your Brand

With Mel Fernandez

“If you don’t get noticed, you don’t have anything. You just have to be noticed, but the art is in getting noticed naturally, without screaming or without tricks.”

–Leo Burnett

Despite the growing prevalence of smart phones and tablets, business cards are still important tools for sharing contact information and building relationships. You don’t have to use special apps or worry about compatibility, and they are cheap. They are also a branding opportunity to build credibility and share your company’s personality.

First and foremost, business cards have to provide the contact details that are appropriate for your industry, including at least two of these: an email address, phone number or website URL. The design should help you communicate this more effectively rather than distract or make information difficult to read.

Aside from the details, the starting point for designing a business card is the logo, as it will guide your choices for colors and fonts. Here are some other considerations:

Eight Tips on Organizing a Great Event

Event planning often falls under marketing, whether that means trade shows, client visits or corporate meetings. And if you are a small- to medium-sized business, the chances are you don’t have a budget to hire an outside firm or a consultant. We’re just back from the Affinity Express annual strategy workshop and I’m glad to say that it went quite well, from the hotel to the meals to the events. Based on this recent experience, here are some suggestions to increase the likelihood of success for your event, regardless of the type of meeting or the industry you are in.

1. Visualize the Details

This is probably the tactic that has helped me the most, especially when it comes to large events. You have to know the venues, details and agenda better than anyone. Plus, you should see them from the perspective of your participants. When you envision through how guests will enter, what they will see, what they will need and what they will expect, you can effectively cover all of the details. Your goal is to have the attendees relax and feel completely taken care of, even when you’re having a straightforward business meeting.

This is one reason why you see signs with group names and directions in hotels when there are events. Having people wander around aimlessly, wondering where they are supposed to go, is not the best start to a gathering. The annual event for the Chicago chapter of Go Red For Women was a great example of effective signage. It was a large hotel and there was no doubt where to report, check your coat, find the ballroom, etc. They answered all the questions before they could be asked (and we were proud to have helped design the signage).

Dinner was a time to relax and have more informal conversations

For our dinners around the strategy meeting, I had perused the menus and arranged for special requirements in advance. Each day, I arrived early to meet the servers, select wine and appetizers, discuss the approach with the staff and ensure everything was set up the way I wanted. Over the course of four days, my boss never started a question with, “Did you . . .?” When our guests arrived, they didn’t have to think, just enjoy themselves, which they certainly did. I’m not naming names but there was spontaneous karaoke at one point!

Branding is NOT a Luxury

They’ll tell you, you can’t afford to think about branding if you’re a small business. They’ll tell you it’s a luxury because it’s only for the Cokes and the BMWs. They’ll tell you you have better things to focus on, like sales, for example.

They’re dead wrong.

Anyone who says any of the above doesn’t have any idea what branding is. Branding doesn’t mean you spend millions on an advertising campaign that features sports stars and TV celebrities. What it does mean is that all your communications—from the sign outside your office to your website to the uniforms your staff wear—all show the kind of business you are (or want to be). They communicate that you’re great at what you do and that you want to serve your customers. Branding says whether you’re a fun, casual workplace or a staid, old-fashioned one. It reinforces whether you’re in business for the long haul or a fly-by-night operator. It helps your customer connect and remember every experience they had with you and to like buying from you so much they’d be willing to drive across town or pay 30% more.

Now tell me that isn’t important to you.

So how do you brand if you’re a small business and can’t afford an ad agency? Here are some simple rules to follow.

6 Biggest Mistakes in Project Management

When managing a large project, there are many points at which you can go wrong, as I know from experience! Here are what I consider the six biggest mistakes in project management.

Not Setting Expectations

Different stakeholders often have different expectations for a project. It is critical to first understand what communications your sales team has had with the client to learn the client’s requirements first-hand, since it is likely you are coming in late to the conversation. You also need to have a detailed dialog with the client in about what the project is to achieve and what your requirements are in terms of collaboration, support, training, etc. Whatever was promised by sales, you have to roll up your sleeves and make it happen.

Lastly, you need to set expectations clearly with all stakeholders within your company as well (for example, at Affinity Express the stakeholders are the new client implementation, production, IT and finance teams).

We had a situation a couple of years ago about using a design practice within the Affinity Express Service Bureau, which one of our workflow systems. The client asked and sales responded it was okay without realizing that this was actually not allowed in the system. Collectively, we should have addressed this request properly at the beginning. Now, we always make sure our sales team has up-to-date feature lists along with any known limitations. Plus, we have plenty of communication across teams to ensure we’re all on the same page.

Marketing on a Budget

Web ad designed by Affinity Express

When you are a small- to medium-sized business, you have a few options when it comes to marketing your company:

• Hire an agency—“No way, that’s too expensive!”
• Do it yourself design—“That takes so much time and I’d have to learn different software for all the online and print vehicles!”
• Don’t do anything—“Yeah, I’m sure potential clients will find out about my company by telepathy and break down my door to buy my products and services!”

Many Affinity Express clients are large companies that provide services to small- to medium-sized businesses who are often challenged because they have limited resources for marketing—small teams, low budgets and a lack of expertise, especially when it comes to newer interactive tactics. So, as a company, we understand the problems.

But as a professional, I live with this every day.

The Dilemma

When I joined the company, and for several years afterward, “the Marketing Department” was Kelly Glass. My budget covered a salary and almost nothing else.

Why Commenting On A Blog Is Like Going To A Dinner Party

As several commenters pointed out on this post, there’s not much difference between virtual and “real” face-to-face communication except for the medium you use. The same rules apply: remember your manners, put the other person at ease, be cheerful, be gracious.

That is the premise of my post over at Search Engine People. In my several years of exploring the blogging medium, I’ve realized how powerful commenting can be as a way of making new contacts. If you leave witty insightful comments on someone’s blog, they or their readers may want to follow you back to your blog and see what you write. You can find people whose views you agree with, and a blog comment saying so might even lead to a friendship. (I have several friends whom I’ve got to know through blogging, and I know that’s pretty common.)

You can also get business opportunities. The reason why I was invited to post on the Search Engine People blog in the first place is because the editor liked a comment I left on a post there.

And if that’s not enough to get you to go over and read my post, here is one of the tips I share:

How to Be an Effective Conference Call Participant

I’ve mentioned before that the virtual world at Affinity Express means we have many conference calls on a range of topics all week long. In another post, I suggested ways to structure and lead these sessions to produce results as the organizer or facilitator. Today, I wanted to take a different angle and cover ways to improve the experience for you as a participant and for the rest of the team.

Prepare

Read agendas, project lists and other documentation sent out ahead of the meeting. Scanning material while trying to listen means you are not giving your full attention to the conversation and you missed the opportunity to ask questions or get clarifications prior to everyone dialing in. That wastes time and leads to longer, repetitive calls that waste everyone else’s time. Recently, I was in a meeting where a salesperson brought up a new product that was under consideration for development. It was clear he did not listen the last time or read the minutes because he was actively selling it when we de-prioritized the offering. We had to “remind” him that we were not moving forward. That was ten minutes of our lives we’ll never get back!

5 Rules For Prioritizing That I Live By

I used to be a proud self-professed perfectionist. I’d spend days over one campaign email: researching, testing, editing, trying to get it just right. Then I got this job. (Kidding.) (Umm, not really.)

Now I have to turn out more work in a week than I probably did in a whole year then. And I quickly realized that my ‘perfectionist’ habits would hold me back if I didn’t learn to use them to my advantage. Also, I’d much rather write a blog post than research that new product we’re developing: and if I didn’t hang the latter one higher in the list and put an asterisk next to it, it would never get done.

I was a little surprised when my boss told me I’m good at judging priorities on my long list of tasks and doing just the few that will get us through that week (I’m also very good at procrastinating: watch out for that blog post.)

So, from a late-learner, here are some tips on prioritizing right (because you know as well as I do, you’re not getting everything on your plan done in time.)

12 Rules for Managing Conference Calls to Get Better Results

Another consequence of being a company with employees scattered across many locations (including our three offices, client sites and employee’s homes) is that a lot of the communication that doesn’t take place via email happens over conference calls. My mornings are often so packed with calls it’s difficult to take a bathroom break. (If you think I’m exaggerating, this week I have my weekly team call, calls with each sales team, weekly calls with the new product development team, a call to discuss improvements to our website, a couple of calls with the CEO, a call with a client, a brainstorming session with the team, a call with HR . . . )

So how do I keep sane through all the calls? How do I make sure I disconnect from one call and start another while ensuring I make the best of my time and the time of the other parties in the conference?

Here are the rules I follow when I am hosting or organizing a conference call.

11 Tips for Managing Virtual Teams

It’s great to have a team reporting to you that is like one big family all working toward a common goal . . . but easier said than done, especially in this global economy. In fact, it’s been more than a decade since I was able to sit in the same room with my direct reports every day. Most recently, I’ve managed a department in upstate New York from Atlanta, one in New York City from Atlanta and, now, one in India and the Philippines from Elgin, Illinois!

The first thing to know is that, when building a virtual team, you have to search for different qualifications than you otherwise might. Employees must be more mature (in terms of work habits) and independent. Those that have to be micromanaged or are weak on problem-solving tend to flounder in this kind of environment.

But even if you have the best team members with all of the right traits and experience, a virtual team poses numerous challenges. Although you might have overseen outside agencies, technology providers and other companies, this is a different relationship. With internal personnel, you have the added challenge of building teamwork and enhancing employee satisfaction. If you don’t take proactive measures, your department will be a revolving door with people leaving faster than you can hire and train them.

With that in mind, here are few lessons I’ve learned that may help you oversee your virtual teams effectively, as well as improve relationships with employees right in your office.

Tips for Business Emails: Sending the Email

(The previous two posts in this series: addressing the email and drafting the email)

This last post covers just four basic tips you can use to prevent an email you sent from coming back and hitting you with embarrassment.

Be prompt.

Many of us are connected most of the time. We check emails on our phone when we’re not attached to the computer. We want fast results. And with the volume of email everyone gets, issues can sometimes get buried under the pile. For all these reasons, it’s a good idea to reply to emails (that have you in the “To” box) promptly. If you will take some time to work on the issue mentioned in the email, say so, so that the other person knows when to expect a resolution.

Proofread before sending.

How basic, right? Yet you’d be surprised at how often people ignore this rule. I do too, sometimes, when I’m in a hurry—and almost always, when I’ve hit send before reading through what I’ve written, I look at that email later and cringe. Even when it’s a basic one-line email to your co-workers, it helps to spend a few seconds to read it through. And if it’s a message to a new client—read it over twice, and then ask your colleague who sits next to you to come over and take a look too.

Chicago Go Red for Women Event is a Big Success

That's me with Amie Schumacher

Friday was a great day. After quite a bit of last-minute work to help the Chicago Go Red team design signage, a slide template and some printed material for their annual event, as well as a push to improve our fundraising efforts* on their behalf, the big day finally arrived.

Vice President of Global Human Resources Tinna Hall joined me on the long ride to downtown Chicago from our company headquarters in Elgin and, when we walked into the Palmer House Hilton Hotel, we were surrounded by Affinity Express designs.

As we got closer to the designated rooms, red dresses were everywhere! Women of all ages, races and sizes were decked out and looking absolutely gorgeous. To add to the festive mood, those who donated their personal funds to the cause sported white and gold boas.

How can you not smile when you’re dressed all in red topped off with feathers?

Tips on Business Emails: Drafting the Email

(The first post of this series is here.)

Every means of communication has its own strengths, and sometimes the medium is part of the message. Email is particularly tricky to get right, because unlike a face-to-face meeting or a phone call, you don’t have the aid of gestures or tone of voice. Unlike online chat, it’s more formal and often referenced later. Yet, if you work closely with colleagues or clients in remote offices, email often is the default mode of communication.

So here are 20 tips on how to craft your message.

1. Words are powerful, so use them well.

Use the right word (hint: use a dictionary or a thesaurus when you aren’t sure) and not merely an approximate one. Use simple and direct language, and get straight to the point.

2. Include a clear subject line.

For busy recipients, your subject line will decide whether the email is read immediately or shelved to be looked at later (or forgotten). Make sure your subject line accurately represents what’s in the message (e.g., “Newsletter Draft: Please Review” instead of “Urgent” or worse, “Hello”).

If you’re sending a document or picture from within the application, remember to edit the automatically-inserted subject.

Never put the entire email content in the subject line.

Tips on Business Email: Addressing the Email

My last post on business communication was well-received, so I thought I’d expand upon a crucial aspect of communication. There are tons of articles on the subject, but here is what I have learned personally. Some of these were suggestions from bosses or co-workers, and some I’ve picked up through observation or the hard way – by making mistakes.

This is long, so I’m breaking this up into three parts: the “who” (addressing the email), the “what” (drafting the message) and the “how” (sending the email). First, I’ll cover the “who”, or what to keep in mind about your recipients.

Address people correctly.

How do you know what’s correct? How do you know whether to write to Kelly Glass starting with a formal “Dear Ms. Glass” or with a breezy “Hey, Kelly!” Here are the tips I follow:

100th Blog Post

We started this blog back in May somewhat tentatively, wondering what we would ever write about. Turns out we are much more voluble than we thought: this is the 100th post on the blog!

Thank you all who have been reading. If you are a regular reader, or if you just dropped in today, do comment and tell us why you come here. Or just say hi. We want to know you better.

And here are some of the posts I like best on this blog. Have you read them yet?

Salespeople–What Are They Good For?

Salespeople.  We all know several.

• The slick car salesman twisting your arm about buying a car
• The salesperson that leaves useless daily messages on your voice mail and fills up your in-box with email
• The helpful clerk in the store locating an item for you
• The doctor trying to convince you to take your medicine everyday
• The teacher trying to tell your child the value of doing his or her homework

We encounter quite a few salespeople and, in various ways, we are all in sales—trying to “sell” our ideas to our family, friends and associates.

Salespeople often get a bad rep because of how they are portrayed in movies or because of bad personal experiences with pushy people.  However, salespeople  can be of help too.

What a good salesperson will do for you:

6 Tips for Working “Virtually” with Remote Offices and Clients

I have been marketing to U.S. customers for the last few years. Nothing unusual in that, except that I live in India. And for the most part, my bosses and many of the other people I work with have been based in the U.S.

With the increasingly flat world we live in, many people (especially those of us who work in the outsourcing industry) work with clients, teams or managers who are based in different offices and often different continents. This brings a whole different set of challenges to working in close proximity to your team with your boss sitting in the next room.

The biggest disadvantage of not communicating face-to-face is that you lose out on the non-verbal cues in a conversation. The same statement, without the context of tone or body language can be interpreted as an earnest suggestion or sarcasm, an honest apology or a defensive excuse.

Here are a few suggestions I have for how those of us in such a situation can communicate and work effectively. These are by no means exhaustive, and I’d love to know what you would add to the list.