In Sight

There are some homes near the downtown area of the small city in which we live that are undergoing a very interesting maintenance. The homes have been moved off of their foundations so that the foundations can be rebuilt. Clearly, the homes are still viable, but the foundations are crumbling under them. Without drastic work to rebuild those foundations, the homes would be lost.

It seems to me that there is a parallel with established businesses. Each and every business had a beginning. Each and every business had to fight to convince real people to buy their products. Each business started with a foundation that allowed them to become viable. But along the way, a business can lose their focus and the foundation can begin to crumble. When a business becomes comfortable, it can begin to relax on things like quality control and customer service. As a business grows, sometimes complex bureaucracies and/or silo structures form. An established business loses the desire to take chances—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

When these things happen, a business needs leaders who can see that the foundation is crumbling, leaders that will make the decision to make drastic changes when necessary to restore the strength of the foundation. What choices can you make now to ensure you’re destined to be one of those leaders?

Websites are one of the best marketing tools any organization has at their disposal. In their most basic form, web pages can provide much needed information that visitors are looking for. However, effective web pages go much further than that. An enthusiastic and inventive marketer can use web pages to take a casual interest and turn it into a decision to buy—they can even create interest by introducing new ideas or helping a visitor to see how valuable your product or service might be for them. Ideally, the page will even give the visitor an option to take action, to take the next step or make the final purchase online.

However, website creation and design is a HUGE task that often has layers and layers of bureaucracy entwined in it. The marketing department often has to compete with other departments with regard to content and sometimes has very little influence. And once the website is built, the opportunities to change it are limited or non-existent. Because of this, landing pages are a must have for today’s savvy marketer.

Small and medium sized businesses are often saddled with websites that have too little or no relevant information on their websites—especially information relevant to current marketing efforts. Landing pages provide an easy way for the marketer to make attractive, branded pages so visitors can receive relevant up to date information.

Businesses of all sizes can use landing pages to get around the red tape involved with changes to the main website, so that even larger businesses can have online marketing efforts that are agile and responsive—something that every business needs to survive in today’s fast paced buying and purchasing world.

But how do you make effective landing pages?

The key to an effective landing page is to keep the marketing message compelling, short and focused and to include a call to action on the landing page—a signup for more information, an application, etc.

Using landing pages can help any marketer effectively convert online advertising into greater interest and closed deals. So, if you aren’t using landing pages yet, why not?

What’s your Social Media strategy?

HINT (and the good news): It doesn’t have to be complicated!

It doesn’t matter what industry analysis or media report you read these days, it’s quite obvious that the time that people are spending on social media is growing.  And growing…

*According to a new Nielsen report, social media’s growth connects people with just about everything they watch and buy.

Yet, many businesses have yet to venture into this new territory with their presence.  Many have ventured in, but with what I would call a cursory approach.  They may have a Facebook page and a Twitter account but these just continue to languish.   However, a few brave souls have done a lot more.  I can virtually guarantee that these businesses are reaping solid returns as a result, and that this is just the beginning of good things for them.

One reason that businesses hesitate is because they just don’t know what needs to be done. So, I thought I would piece together some ideas for your consumption and thought process so that you can potentially arrive at a strategy and plan for your business or financial institution.

Let’s begin with a basic premise –

Sooner or later, you have to create a presence on social networks.

If you disagree with this, you should probably stop reading now.

Now, I’m going to pretend that I am speaking to someone in the marketing department of a financial institution.  Important message to you:

Social media marketing is a journey, not an event.

You have to:

1. Connect
2. Engage
3. Communicate
4. Keep the Connection Alive

Here are some steps I would recommend that you take in order to begin to establish your social media presence.

There are numerous social networks available today for consideration. Your plan and strategy can start with one and then evolve.

So, let’s start with Facebook.

• Why? Because they have 750 million users today and counting.
• And you have to start somewhere….

So, here are steps you can take to create and establish your presence on Facebook:

1. Create a compelling Facebook page (think of it as your website on Facebook)
2. Attract Facebook users to your page
• Use other marketing channels and Facebook sponsored ads to drive your customers there
• Use interesting games and apps to draw and keep them
• Get them to “like” you (games and apps help!)
• Get them to share your page with their friends (leads!)
• Get them to keep coming back (hint: Use games, offers, prizes)
3. Use targeted marketing to create compelling offers
4. Watch your leads and income grow!

There, that was not so complicated was it?  Of course, it was just an overview and the devil’s absolutely in the detail.

But the good news is that there are marketing agencies and consultants that offer all of the above services – no matter what size business you are, there will be one that fits your size, need, scope and scale.  Therefore, it would be beneficial for you to start looking into them.

BOTTOMLINE: It’s a huge missed opportunity if you are not investing in your social media presence now.

There has been a lot of activity lately with companies and services promoting merchant offers and rewards to your customers and members.  These programs are typically prearranged discount offers from national and local merchants based on membership, or they are targeted from analyzing transactions to pinpoint relevant offers and additional savings opportunities.  These offers are easy to redeem, attractive to customers, and provide a potential significant revenue source to the financial institution.

Two of the new features of these programs, and I think the most important to their success, is that they are communicated through online channels and they are easy to use/redeem.  But are we giving the same attention to targeting and promoting our own products through online channels?  As more and more customers log in rather than drive in, are you maximizing the opportunity to anticipate what they need from you, their financial institution?  And are you making it easy for them to see your offer, get more information, or apply?

The financial industry is changing in both products and delivery channels.  But we have to remember one of the basic reasons we are in business in the first place – to be consistently available to our customers/members when their life stage, or life events, drive the need for financial products and services at a fair price with great service and convenience.  As your customers take advantage of the convenient online options you have given them, you should also take advantage of this dedicated opportunity to remind them that you are ready to provide the financial products and services they need today.

Today I woke up to a world that is a little different than it was yesterday. Collectively, we have experienced a loss. The loss is not tragic on a scale like so many things we see in the news—no, compared to those it is a small, quiet loss. But the loss is real.

I am a Microsoft guy when it comes to computers and an Android guy when it comes to phones and tablets, though I have to admit that I love my iPod Touch. I tell myself, and others when the opportunity arises, that I make this choice because of the developer tools and options that are available for my chosen platforms. In order to develop for Apple products, you have to have a Mac.

Many of my colleagues and friends like to joke with me about my love affair with Microsoft, often sending me articles praising some recent win by Apple. My brother-in-law is a Mac guy and takes special pains to rub it in when Apple accomplishes something noteworthy. They all seem to think I see Apple as a personal adversary.

Not so. I have admired Steve Jobs for a very long time. He has been a giant in the industry, an unrivaled visionary, and an inspiration to entrepreneurs. His competitors are what they are today largely because of his influence.

Steve Jobs brought the master craftsman’s mindset to the process of creating hardware and software. Although he was eccentric, he refused to create anything that wasn’t great. In a world where businesses regularly insist on cutting corners and doing things just good enough—in order to keep costs down, Steve Jobs showed us that reaching higher could really pay off—and by doing so, he lifted us all. The story of Pixar, in which Steve Jobs also played an essential role, is one of my greatest sources of professional inspiration.

I have no doubt that in his new, smaller circle of influence, Steve Jobs will continue to be an inspiration. Perhaps, if each of us made the choice to pursue excellence within our circles of influence the way Steve Jobs has, collectively we could lift our world just a little bit too.

I know Steve Jobs has just moved on to other things, but he will be missed.