Using Social Networking to Build Professional Relationships – part 2

A quick
Googling turns up a number of outstanding social networking sites for
professionals such as:

  • Biznikhttp://biznik.com/  is an award winning community of entrepreneurs and small
    businesses dedicated to helping each other succeed.
  • Meetup – http://www.meetup.com/ is the world's largest network of local groups.
    Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of
    the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get
    together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of
    improving themselves or their communities.
  • Ecademy – http://www.ecademy.com/
    – A business network for creating contacts and sharing knowledge.
  • Jigsaw – http://www.jigsaw.com/ – Jigsaw is an online directory of free, downloadable Company
    information and more than 17 million business Contacts.
  • Others  – Fastpitch (http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com/),
    PartnerUp (http://www.partnerup.com/),
    Perfectbusiness (http://www.perfectbusiness.com/)

The most
popular and widely used site for professionals though is LinkedIn –www.linkedin.com – and will by the focus for
the remainder of this article. According to the LinkedIn website they now have
over 53 million members in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second, and about half of their
members are outside the U.S. Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are
LinkedIn members.

One of my
favorite marketing guys is John Jantsch. John is a marketing and digital
technology coach (www.ducttapemarketing.com)
and he says, “Social media participation has proven to be a great way to cast a
wider net, create exposure for your expertise and initiate relationships with
partners, supplies, prospects and customers.” LinkedIn is the perfect platform
for doing each of the things John describes.

Using Social Networking to Build Professional Relationships – part 1

Over the next few days I'm posting an article that I wrote and was published in the January issue of CBA Retailers & Resources

Like many
people you’ve probably ventured into the social networking waters of Facebook
or MySpace. Maybe you have jumped into the Twittosphere even though you don’t
quite “get it” yet. If you are a frequent reader of CBA’s R&R then you no
doubt have learned and gained some great insight on using these tools to
connect with your customer’s from one of my friends, Gunnar Simonsen – http://gunnarsimonsen.wordpress.com/. Social networking websites are not only a great tool for connecting with your
customers but they can be a powerful platform to connect with suppliers and
service providers.



In today’s
competitive marketplace professionals are looking to one another – online – to
gain feedback and insight on brands, products and vendor experiences. If you
want the low down, social network sites are the place to discover what you are
looking for in quick and efficient way. As more and more professionals are
charged with cutting costs during a tough economy social media rises as a
viable and extremely valid method for marketing
Web 2.0
tools are some of the most cost-effective set of marketing media.

While
connecting through the Web may be free, social media does require an investment
of time and money. But when you stack up the dollars you spend in traditional
media channels vs. online social media the savings are substantial.


In
a recent MarketingProfs – www.marketingprofs.com
– article, writer Christina “CK” Kerley continues to make the case for business
leaders to engage with social media. Christina says, “The B2B purchasing
behavior of performing extensive up-front analysis to limit risk has not
changed, but the way that professionals now conduct their research, and who
influences their purchasing decisions, has undergone dramatic transformation.”

10 Reasons to Buy Local part 2

6. Invest in Community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in the community and are less likely to leave, investing in the community's future.

7. Put Your Taxes to Good Use: Local businesses in town centers require less infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services compared to nationally owned stores.

8. Conserve Your Tax Dollars: Shopping local business allows more money to beautify your community.

9. Invest in Entrepreneurship: Creativity and entrepreneurship is what the American economy is founded upon. Nurturing local business ensures strong community.

10. Make Us a Destination: Making our community more unique and interesting attracts new neighbors and visitors. This benefits everyone!

10 Reasons to Buy Local part 1

A couple of weeks ago I was in Atlanta and had the opportunity to visit a number of retailers who do business with the company I work for. One of our last visits was with a small retailer in Loganville, GA – just north of ATL. They shared with me a flier they hand out to all of their customers about the benefits of buying local. The sheet doesn't have copyright information on it and the store owners don't know where they got it so my apologies if you wrote it and aren't getting credit.

Here are the first five reasons:

1. Keep money in local community: For every $100.00 spent locally, $68.00 stays in our community.

2. Keep our community unique: One-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of our distinctive character leading to the benefits of tourism.

3. Create local jobs: small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community.

4. Reduce environmental impact: locally owned business make more local purchases requiring less transportation, contribute less to urban sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

5. Get better service: local businesses generally hire people with better understanding of their product and more time to get to know the customer.

What are your thoughts? Does it matter if we buy local?

Don't Lose Your Passion for What You Do

Comments from Rusty on my posting from the other day brought to mind something Megan Dorn over at The StartUp Blog said. Megan said, "If you find yourself in a rut, try thinking back on the reasons you initially wanted to start your own business and don't lose sight of them. If you need to, write them down."                                                                                                                                                                   

Stuck-in-a-rut

Image from Living Beyond Limits – check them out for a great article on getting out of ruts.

How do you keep yourself out of ruts? How do you stay motivated and passionate about your work?

Don't Talk Like a Robot to Your Customer

Earlier this evening I was reviewing my file of saved quotes and came across this one from Andy Wibbels. He said, "Show your passion for helping your customers solve problems – and talk to them like you talk to your friends. A real, enthusiastic, human voice is every small business's edge"

This is a great reminder from Andy. With so many different things competing for our time and energy, it's easy to become robotic in our responses to our customers. Keep your human voice strong and your business edge sharp.

What is one thing you do to maintain your enthusiasm for what you do?

eMail Still Has the Best Shelf Life

Steve Rubel has some great conversation on the continuing hot topic of email vs. social network platforms and the future of email. 

If you need something with staying power – something that will last more than a few seconds then email is still the tool of choice. Email is still the work-horse when it comes to driving sales effectively. I absolutely believe in and see the power of multiple social network platforms (I'm here participating in one) but if shelf-life is what you are looking and what you need then nothing beats email.

Respond and WIN!

From customer service to sales reps to the HR department – no response is the NEW response. It's the simplest thing to do that will make you stand out above your competition, but sadly it's the thing that doesn't happen consistently. 

If you want to get the attention of a prospect – respond. If you want to gain the respect of your team members – respond. If you want to be noticed – respond. Your competitor's aren't responding and are paying the price.

"Respond. This is the single biggest advantage you have over the big guys. Not only are you in charge, you also answer the phone and read your email and man the desk and set the prices. So, don't pretend you have a policy. Just be human." – Seth Godin



Fantasy Inspires Fiction

My fantasy football commissioner passed along this video to me earlier this week. It just confirms the impact and power that fantasy football has as a marketing tool. What do you think, will it last longer than the Geico caveman inspired TV show?

Community Connection = Loyal Customers

It's the customer experience that is the core asset of any business. When your community experiences your business, your service, a connection is made. The type of connection (good or bad) depends on the type of experience (good or bad).

There has never been a more critical time than now to create an amazing experience for the customers who walk through our doors, call us on the telephone or send us an email. Those who you connect with during the hard times will be with you in the good times. And those who connect with you will spread the word.

As you walk into your office tomorrow morning ask yourself this simple question, "What can I do today to connect with my community?"