How do you walk your talk?

I ask the "walk your talk" question with all sincerity. No matter what you say, (or don’t) you’re building your reputation.

I first met Jason Varley in 1999. Young, talented and enthusiastic, Jason threw himself into the broadcasting business, living and breathing radio. From programming to voice-overs to sports play-by-play Jason did it all. In spite of a good connection, I lost track of Jason during the next few years.

Recently I met him for lunch and rediscovered his enthusiasm. He’s now in business for himself and has named his company High Five LLC. “I want raving fans, not just customers,” he explained. "This was a name to conjure that."

Jason fixes computers and does networking, server maintenance and more for small businesses with the same dedication he gave to broadcasting. His six certifications and specific list of tasks underscore the care and quality of what he does. I'm impressed with the fact that he works by referral only. His biggest concern when we spoke: “How can I be sure my customers are pleased?”

My reply: “Walk your talk.”

Jason didn’t write out his formula for success in exactly these words, but here’s how he gets the job done:

1. Do what you say you will do
2. Be fair
3. Ask for input and listen to what people say
4. Under promise, over deliver
5. Have fun
6. Be good at what you do
7. Start where you are

Think about your list. How do you walk your talk? (Hint: Do you walk the talk so well that your business can thrive on “referral only”?)

Add V-v-v-Voom! with a Kudos Sheet for Your Online Media Room

Building collateral materials for your online media room can be as simple as taking note of the kind words or praise you receive.

The word kudo has roots in the ancient Greek word kydos, and literally refers to “that which is heard of.” Your achievements on a nonprofit board for example, can earn you praising remarks known as kudos.

Leverage the success of your business by letting others know about your fame or renown with a simple kudos sheet. New authors, persons making career transitions, professional speakers and service providers of all kinds can make good use of a kudo sheet.

Kudos sheets begin as a collection of praise. I differentiate between a kudo and a testimonial in tone. The kudo is informal and frequently without full accreditation. Consider these kudo notes from seminar participants:

• “This presentation was useful for our business and humorous, too.”
• “You presented in a non-threatening way for the not-very-technical among us.”
• “This information is invaluable for all small businesses that want to grow.”
• “The before and after examples made this effective.”

The kudos sheet is a first step to add power to your web site. When a customer doesn’t give permission to use a name with a positive remark, it’s a kudo. Initials-only-comments are kudos at best. The specificity of a comment combined with a name, business or identifier and location build a kudo to testimonial quality. We’ll focus on testimonials in another blog post.

If you don’t keep a kudos sheet, begin one now. Use your kudo sheet to promote. Or, use it as an internal tool, one that generates positive feelings and reminds you how far you’ve come.

Even if you choose to never publish your kudos, you’ll enjoy reading through the comments. And, you can prime yourself to begin asking for additional specifics as well as permission to use names and then build a testimonial.

Clarity Begins at Home!

I confess to taking my own medicine. Fellow blogger Mary Schmidt emailed me a question about identity: “who do you want to be when you grow up?” she asked.

Truth is, I don’t want to grow up. However, I concede she had a point because I had identities – different emails, different company names – floating around. Schmidt referred to three URLs: Merrigan Group, Connecting Point Communications and ProfitMeister.

Had I thought, I’d have babbled to her: Merrigan Group, LLC, the name of my business came first. (It’s been difficult to let go of my name!) The business, Connecting Point Communications grew out of my expertise; connections were a focus. When I developed a newsletter I named it ProfitMeister, acquired the URL, and the rest is history. Confusion reigned.

I’m reminded of the adage: “The shoemaker’s children have no shoes.” My website development has been on the back burner for a number of reasons. It’s the conundrum that many solo-preneurs face: work on other people’s business or work on your own.

If one of my clients had this problem I’d suggest that they do a bit of both and begin immediately. That’s my assignment now through the end of the month. Good. It’s out in the open. I’d like to say that I feel lighter, as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders, but the truth is that the “to do” list just got longer. Nevertheless, I’m on it!

I’m taking my own medicine and doing it now.

Art Marketing Advice Goes Viral

Preparing and promoting your online media room just got easier for artists thanks to art marketing advice from Coach Alyson B. Stanfield.
I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artists No-Excuse Guide to Self Promotion is a quick read full of practical ideas and action steps.

I contacted Alyson to discuss a presentation to graphic artists and was delighted to discover she shared my interest in and appreciation for online media kits. In her chapter, “Be a Media Magnet,” Alyson suggests adding a dedicated media kit to your website. Her must-have items align with mine (news release, bio, contact information as basics) and she outlines a specific treatment for high resolution images, perfect for artists.

Alyson walks the talk, providing a media room of her own and more importantly, including a clear self-promotion letter as part of her book review request. What I liked about Alyson’s package:

• She included a bookmark with my copy of the book
• The cover letter with the book gave me specific promotional options to consider
• A “REVIEW COPY” label clearly marked the book
• The tone of the letter was upbeat, conversational and friendly
• The book was well-organized and easy to read
• The stories were believable
• The testimonials were true
• A thank you to two coaches (creative writing coach Cynthia Morris and life coach Rachelle Disbennett Lee) made the book of special interest to me

Throughout I’d Rather Be in the Studio! Alyson challenges artists to move from the background to the foreground, keep art as a primary focus, and create a workable promotion plan. She also cautions: “no whining!” an admonition I love. Unlike many inspirational gurus Alyson also adds specific steps (applicable to real life) to make going from obscurity to familiarity a distinct possibility.

It occurs to me that this volume could work for any profession, particularly one that involves creativity. One thing’s for sure: the artists I know will hear about this work. Given an occasion, I may even buy their copy!

Online Media Rooms: 15 Considerations in Favor of Implementing an OMR for your firm

An online media room works 24-7. While you sleep, it’s garnering attention from latitudes and longitudes not even on your radar. As you play, your online media room presents ideas to customers, prospects, and yes, media types. During the time that you meet with others, your online media room presents your story over and over to anyone who looks, listens or otherwise stumbles on the site. The good news and the bad news: the online media room works 24-7.

If you have a plan to present your company to the world, an online media room can serve you well. Consider these 15 aspects of an online media room:

1. An online media room informs; your company’s current press releases, for example can be easily displayed. Each of your five critical audiences – stakeholders, customers, employees, your community or the general public and, of course, the media, can be served with an online media room.
2. The online media room provides a natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO) program so your site rises in search engine rankings. Studies show organic SEO like this is favorably regarded.
3. The online media room provides additional frequently updated content, another search engine attraction factor, for your website.
4. An online media room smoothes the way for a reporter, making it easier for them to do their job because they can access information at their convenience.
5. The online media room offers different story ideas to tweak interest; this can serve as a story generator, providing angles that might not have otherwise been considered.
6. An online media room shows you’re on the cutting edge, conscious of your firm’s online perception, a leader in your industry; it might place you ahead of your competition.
7. An online media room offers your version of a story, so you direct the news.
8. Online media rooms begin the viral marketing story so that you connect with the world. Digg this, for example, at the top of a press release lets readers more easily share information.
9. Online media rooms provide consistently updated information which means ongoing opportunities to connect with potential reporters, bloggers, or interested stakeholders.
10. An online media room collects key information placing background, general facts and current news in one place. This is convenient for media as well as other users.
11. Online media rooms represent a transparent way of accessing media and can give reporters and publishers access to the inner workings of your company.
12. An online media room requires planning of strategies and messaging for effectiveness; the benefits derived from attention to these themes spread to other communication methods within a company.
13. Online media rooms can link to previous coverage, company history, or meaningful accomplishments and thereby provide a more complete picture of your firm.
14. Online media rooms let a company show its character by providing an overview equivalent to putting the best foot forward.
15. An online media room partners you with technology in a way that lets you tell your story in your way to a variety of audiences on the web.

If you maintain an online media room on your website, tell us why. Do your reasons differ from the ones listed here? If you’ve not yet committed to an online media room, when do you plan to start?

5 ways to build Customer Loyalty

ProfitMeister guest post by Heather Johnson

Heather Johnson is a freelance business, finance and economics writer, as well as a regular contributor at Business Credit Cards, a site for business credit card and best business credit card offers.

Many companies deny the truth that about 80 percent of your business comes from the same 20 percent of their customers. But if you are aware of this crucial fact then you’re ahead in the game and it’s important you keep this in mind at all times. If you can retain a solid customer base you’ll have a better shot at being a success. Here are some tips to consider when you try to build customer loyalty:

1. Reach out to your customers. It’s important to make your customers feel respected. Keep in touch with your customers through mailings, e-mails or simple holiday greetings. If you communicate with you customer base at a rate that doesn’t annoy them, then you more likely to keep your customers coming back for more.
2. Customer service is crucial. The way a customer feels when his experience is completed with your company is the most important thing in building customer loyalty. If you train your staff to deal with customers in a thorough, respectful manner then you’re on the right road. Fellow customers talk to each other and if your customer service is poor it will spread through the grapevine very quickly.
3. Train your employees properly. If your own staff is unprepared to meet the challenge of dealing with customers then that will be evident immediately to your customers. Many employees groan when training sessions roll around but it’s crucial that you take the time to thoroughly train your employees. This will shine through when they deal with customers.
4. Create incentives for your customers to keep coming back. If you’re offering services that your customers will need more of, it’s a good idea to make it worth your customer’s while to come back to you. If it’s a sandwich shop that you’re operating, make customer’s tenth sandwich free. Customers will be more apt to go to a company that has these types of offers because everyone wants to get something for free.
5. Be reliable. If you’ve said a product will be shipped to a customer by Monday then make sure it happens. Keeping a customer waiting will foster bad blood and leave them less likely to return to you. If something happens that slows down an intended process then explain the issue to your customer and refund them or offer a rebate to compensate for the delay.

Heather welcomes comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com .

Lauding the Simple, Under-rated, Under-appreciated Fact Sheet

Thanks to Marie Longserre, CEO, I had the opportunity to discuss the Online Media Room in a presentation at the Santa Fe Business Incubator yesterday. SFBO is home to more than 20 diverse businesses ranging from high tech to green, sole proprietors companies with several employees. One thing the group has in common: a desire to learn, to grow, to explore new opportunities.

As I told participants, the OMR doesn’t need to be difficult or mysterious but organization and presentation of collateral information deserves careful consideration. Because none of the firms had an OMR, I discussed the “starter” online media room which includes a fact sheet, a bio and a current press release. The simple fact sheet is frequently overlooked as a meaningful tool.

Fact sheets make it easy for a reporter to find information. Members of the media like fact sheets because of their brevity and succinctness. Here’s what to include:

• List your information in bullet points or make it easy to follow.
• List your entity (corporation, partnership, non-profit 501 C3).
• Use simple language.
• Define technical terms exclusive to the industry.
• List products, order terms, payment options.
• List affiliations or meaningful alliances.
• List contact information including after-hours contact information; if a reporter is working on a deadline, this may be crucial to getting coverage.
• Brand the fact sheet with your logo and the look of your company.

Here are two examples of a Fact Sheet from companies with products:

• Download a one page pdf of Perennial Toys’ Fact Sheet
• Download a one page pdf of Cervantes Products’ Fact Sheet

I’ve also included a fact sheet from a service provider:

• Download a one page pdf Fact Sheet from Original Impulse.

Now, get started on your own fact sheet; I’m happy to publish your example if you send it my way. (Email maryellen at profitmeister dot com) Good luck!