In our bid to improve the way we communicate with our customers through our websites and blogs it’s easy to forget the best, numero uno, communication tool of them all…

Talking

I have been doing some tweaking on a couple of client sites and decided to put their phone numbers in BIG letters figures, bang in the top right-hand corner of their websites – on every single page.

We then sat back and took stock of the results

The results did all the talking

In both sites, the clients reported a marked increase in the amount of telephone leads generated by their website.

Interestingly though, there was a slight decrease in email inquiries from one of the sites.

Whoa! Isn’t that bad?

Glad you asked – no it’s not, because the increase in new telephone leads more than off-set this loss.

The logical theory is; the marketplace browsing this website is more mature and maybe not as web-savvy or web-comfortable as the younger generation.

Therefore, given the opportunity, they would rather phone and talk to someone than type out an email/contact form and click send (were it gets bolted through cyberspace, into the hands of crack identity thieves – who then use your email address to hack into your bank account).

Sounds Cool – Will it Work for Me?

There’s only one way to find out – and that’s to test it for yourself – because as with everything, there is a downside and an upside.

The upside is; your contact number is much easier to find, so people will call you more.

The downside is; you’re using up valuable real-estate on your web-page. If you study 100 websites, you will notice that most ‘Call to Action’ areas are situated in the top right-hand section of a page.

Therefore, unless you are getting real, measurable results from a “Call to Action” sitting in this section of your current website it will do you no harm whatsoever to give it a try.

After all – what have you got to lose?

The Sites

If you want to take a look at real-life examples (recommended) then here are the sites in question:

• The Law Practice – A firm of Solicitors in Birmingham
• The Notary Service – A Notary Public based in Birmingham & Coventry

Marketing disaster or marketing genius?  Whatever it is – trade-descriptions may have something to say!

Original image is here

A whole bunch of people out there think Twitter is all about kids telling each other what they ate for breakfast (you one of them?).

It may surprise you to find out that 34% of all users are over the age of 25. Teenagers make up 31% with the young 20-somethings taking up the remaining 35%.

So there you have it  – according to Sysomos – 2/3 of all twitter users are over the age of 20 (that’s a few million) and a vast amount of these don’t tell each other what they had for breakfast.

What they actually do is share information and make new contacts.

And you should too. If you’re not on twitter already then I urge you to at least give it a shot.

The very worst you will get out of Twitter is obtaining a whole bunch of new contacts and new knowledge on topics you’re interested in.

The best you will get out of Twitter is all of the above but with new friends, business, and profits on top.

Here’s a working example : this whole post was kicked off by a weekly email I get of Alan Stevens.

Alan is a media coach who as worked with the biggest names in the business and I wouldn’t have known he even existed if it had not been for Twitter.

Alan’s emails to me are always full of useful content which is always up-to-date and I look forward to his emails because they teach me something new.

And as a result; if I, or one of my clients ever need the services of a media coach guess who I’d call first?

So there you go – with Twitter you can learn, connect and profit.

It’s also completely free.

So what are you waiting for?

You can go across to Twitter and sign-up right now and two great contacts for you to follow first are you’re truly – @richerimage and Alan Steven (@mediacoach)

I would also recommend you sign up to Alan’s weekly emails. It’s free and you can follow this link to sign up for the weekly media coach newsletter.

That’s all for now but stay tuned – I’ll be posting more of my experience with Twitter and how it can help you very soon.

Best way to do this is to subscribe here.

"You want it for HOW MUCH?!"

I recently spoke with a supplier with whom I was looking to do some outsourcing with.

He gave me a price of £20 per widget.

I told him this wasn’t good enough.

“But Richard, he said, “I’m bleeding myself dry at that price as it is, I really can’t go any lower!”.

“I know” I replied, “that’s why I want you to charge me £25.”

Why did I do this?

I knew if I paid him peanuts, eventually I’d get a monkey service.

My take is, the lost £5 per unit in my profit would be more than made up by increased productivity through motivation on his end.

Am I crazy?  The answer’s “yes”.

(But everybody likes me and likes doing business with me)

Here’s a story from a recent networking group meeting I was sat in on…

(It’s a good one!)

The speaker gave us a demonstration on the ‘power’ of will power and promised to blow our minds…

To set the scene, there was about 15 of us sat in a circle, doors and windows closed (so there was no draft).

In the middle of our circle he placed a candle on a coffee table, lit it, and promised us that with combined will power alone, we will be able to blow out the candle with our very own power of thought!

I kid you not, this is exactly what happened next…

(oh, and by the way, the candle was too far away for any of us to physically blow it out without anyone else noticing).

We sat there and listened intently to our speaker…

Everyone, close your eyes, and empty your minds…

Now, with your minds completely focused on the task in hand, on the count of three, with every single sinew of mental power within you, visualise the flame beginning to weaken…

1, 2, 3.

We all sat there, willing the flame to die.  And, hand on heart, it started to flicker!

Again, on the count of three, take a deep breath and visulaise the flame extingushing.  Really, really, visualise it and MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!

ONE. TWO, THREE!

We all sat there, staring intently at the flame.

What happened next, I will never forget…

The speaker sat up from is chair, walked over to the candle and blew it out!

The moral of this story…

Will Power is all well and good, but you need to get off your backside to actually make something happen!

These guys are a great resource if you’re setting up a little number that will make you a millionaire next year.

This blog is regularly updated by some of the best minds in the business and offers great advice in all sorts of fields.

And yes, from time to time, yours truly will be on there as well!

Here’s the link: http://startupdonutblog.co.uk/

"....I was born at an early age!"

Your constantly being told to “tell your story”.

Like all advice from the great and good – it can be a bit of a sweeping statement and not specific enough for it to be of much use to you.

There’s my take on it….

Your story is…

• How you help your customers
• Your beginnings
• Your future
• Your principals
• How you approach the challenges facing your industry
• More importantly – how you approach the challenges facing your customers industry
• How you pay your staff
• How you answer your phone
• How you dress
• Where you play golf – you do play golf don’t you?
• Your logo
• Your website
• Your shop sign
• etc

In short, your story encompasses everything about you and your business.

The purpose of your story is to make people want to do business with you because by telling your story you break down the walls that divide you from your customers.

Nobody likes fumbling around in the dark (well, there is one exception) because we all want to see what we’re about to get into.  If a potential customer knows your story more than your competitors story then they’re going to deal with you – and not with the other guy!

In closing let me say this to you…

You cannot tell your story too many times.

Keep on drumming, keep on singing and keep on winning.

Personally, I think you should go with the Nokia! )

Here’s a novel idea…

According to a radio ad I heard this morning the Carphone Warehouse are now paying staff bonuses based on how happy their customers are – not on how much they sell!

Read this Times article to find out more

They do this by texting their customers a couple of days after buying their phone asking them to rate the service they received.

This is a great example of ‘Purple Cow’ thinking by a big corporate.

The Mobile Phone marking is one of the most crowded and competitive retail sectors there is.  Margins are wafer-thin and the only way merchants can make money is by shear volume.

Think about it – you can stroll down your typical High Street and buy the same phone and package at the same price from any number of different vendors (Easy Street this is not).  Carphone Warehouse has taken a brave punt with this – but I think it’s going to work for them.

Instead of walking into a mobile phone shop and being pounced on by a ton of hungry vultures (sorry, ‘Communication Advisers’) gorging on your very carcass – popping into the Carphone Warehouse may just be a very pleasant experience!

Who would you buy your next mobile phone off?  A vulture or a dove?

We come as pair!

One of the most common questions I am asked is:

Is there a difference between marketing and sales?

The answer is very much disputed.  But yes, there is a difference.  Like a pair of identical twins it can be tricky to tell them apart but there is a definite difference.

So what is it?

Marketing is everything that leads to the ’sales pitch’.  It whets the appetite and opens the door for your salesman to do his thing.

It does this by telling your story and making it appealing enough to at least grant you an audience with your buyer.

Once the salesman is through the door – it’s then up to him (or her) to close the deal.

(That’s sales.)

I experienced two big own-goals this weekend.

One by Nick Jr. and the other by Gullivers Kingdom theme park.

My little one saw an advert on telly citing the new Dora the Explorer attraction at Gullivers Kingdom.  Knowing I am a soft touch and armed with the fact it was her 4th birthday she asked to be taken on a fun-filled family day out!  The grand finale being the of meeting her hero Dora and as an added kicker her cousin Diego!

We got to Gulliver’s and noted the ‘Dora Show’ was to be held at 12pm and would last for 30 minutes.

Show? What show?

Around halfway through the tedious queuing process amongst excited children (and even more excited hoards of killer wasps) news filtered back that there was in fact no show at all.  It turned out that we where queuing for a ‘meet and greet’ (yes, that’s what they called it) and a photo-op with the over-sized Dora and Diego mascot-type-characters in what can only be described as an above-average shed.

Tiny Tears and Toddlers Tantrums!!!

Needless to say, this would not do!  Not for my little one or the hundreds of other 3-5 year olds.  They wanted the show, they wanted the rides, they wanted happy memories – they wanted what was marketed to them!

Red Tape

According to the staff, they where restricted by the red-tape Nick Jr. wrapped around Dora and Diego – they couldn’t do a show, they couldn’t even let the Dora and Diego Characters wander around the theme park to interact with the kids in case they where photographed with other ‘non-Nick Jr.’ characters (oh the horror!!!!!!).

And get this….

Dora and Diego had to be kept in the shed to ensure Gullivers made every effort to prevent any camcorder footage of Dora and Diego being accompanied with any ‘non-Nick Jr.’ background music such as High School Musical, etc.

Dora’s been Dumped!

After the disappointment, the ‘little ‘un’ asked to go on the Dora rides…

“Sorry, sweetheart, it’s not like Thomas Land, there are no Dora rides here…”

“BooHoo, I don’t like Dora any more…”

So the own goals are…

By Nick Jr.

The kids are now all a bit miffed with Dora – they don’t understand a big corporate ‘rules’ – as far as they’re concerned, Dora is real, Dora is their friend and their friend has cheated them.  Net result, they now get new friends, like the Mr Men – and get Mommy and Daddy to buy their merchandise instead.

By Gulliver’s Kindgom

Gulliver’s where no-doubt disappointed with the handcuffs Nick Jr. must have placed on them but they signed the paperwork regardless and marketed their new Dora non-Experience with all the tricks we know marketers have to get the bodies through the gates.

Trouble is – I ain’t ever going to back trough those gates again if you paid me.  What’s worse for Gulliver’s is when school starts again, the Missus is going to tell all the other Moms about our experience – and believe me – nothing gets a message going ‘viral’ quicker than play-ground Moms – not even Twitter!!!

So where are the Lessons?

Nick Jr. – Stop being so anal! If Dora is photographed with Micky Mouse in the background the world is not going to end.  (Honestly).  Have faith in Dora and Diego – the kids love them because they’re not Micky Mouse, if they where, then you was too late anyway.

Gullivers – You signed Ronaldo but Man U kept his left foot! You tried to sign up a couple of big players in the transfer window.  Trouble is, Dora and Diego didn’t pass the medical. Real Madrid wouldn’t have gone through with signing Rolando if Man U insisted on retaining his left foot.  Would they?!

In both cases, customers have been alienated because of half-arsed efforts on both parts.

In business you either commit 100% or you don’t.  You offer the full package or not at all.  There’s nothing in the middle except disappointment.