From the category archives:

Professional Development

What’s Trending in the Digital Space?

by Daria Steigman on January 9, 2012

ditigal, 2012 trends, communications, IABCWeb 2.0 was so last year. Or last decade.

Either way, we’re moving on.

So what’s going to be trending in the digital space moving forward?

If you’re in the D.C. region, join me and my fellow panelists for an IABC/Washington breakfast meeting on January 12 as we discuss trends in digital communications.

I’ll be joined on the panel by Dan Horowitz of Fleishman-Hillard’s Digital Group; Steve Radick of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Digital Strategy and Social Media Practice; and Rick Dunham, Washington Bureau Chief of the Houston Chronicle and chief author of the Texas on the Potomac blog.

This should be  fun. If you’re in the Washington area, please do join us.

Photo by Rosaura Ochoa (Flickr).

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6 Sales Questions Every Business Must Know

by Daria Steigman on November 1, 2011

sales, business, value proposition, Independent Thinking, Steigman CommunicationsI’ll be the first to admit that conversations about CRM, lead times, funnels, and sales systems make my eyes glaze over.

Maybe it’s because I’m a small business. Or that I’m a fan of paper, pen, business cards, big red desk calendar.  Or that every time someone starts talking about sales systems all I hear is jargon, jargon, jargon. Or that it really isn’t rocket science.

Mike Schultz broke the elements down nicely during a Webinar last week on The Art of Sales Conversations. The gist of his message was that it’s all about bridging the “conversation gap” between what you deliver and what your prospect wants. And then understanding how to talk the (right) talk.

Which brings me to the six sales questions every business must know.

Can You Answer These Questions?

My big takeaway from Schultz’s presentation is six questions you better be able to answer about your business:

  • Who are your ideal customers?
  • How do you help? (What needs do you address?)
  • What value do your clients gain from working with you? (How do they describe it?)
  • What are your core offerings?
  • What is the proof that you can do what you say you do?
  • What makes you distinct? (How do your customers describe it?)

If you can’t articulate your target clients, the target need, the business value, your offering, your proof points, and what makes you unique–then how do you expect anyone else to buy what you’re selling?

Photo by Holger Zscheyge (Flickr). 

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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3 Surprisingly Awesome Ways to Use Location-Based Marketing

by Daria Steigman on October 24, 2011

location-based marketing, Foursquare, dataI really dislike the early iterations of location-based marketing.

They’re interruptive rather than integrated.  And gamification turns me off.  (Seriously: being the mayor of your local coffee shop matters to you?) Then there’s the whole tweeting-about-it thing. People are all indignant about Triberr, but I find all those “I’m at…” tweets are far more irritating.

There has to be a better way to use this technology–and to get me to give up my data.

In a recent MarketingProfs Webinar, Aaron Strout and Mike Schneider talked about some of the more forward-thinking ways that companies are using location-based marketing to engage with both customers and prospects. Here are my top takeaways:

  1. Showcase your smarts. USA TODAY’s foursquare page includes a “10 Great Places” feature that gives users “tips”–information on places ranging from The National Mall to the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone, Arizona. In doing so, the media company has found a way to engage with a broad, geographically dispersed audience. I can see ways that all kinds of organizations can create campaigns that give me a reason to check in.
  2. Make it participatory. Buffalo Wild Wings teamed up with SCVNGR to create a series of challenges around the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Most required small actions (a picture of the sauciest wing in the bucket, a snapshot of you with a fan of the opposing team). The campaign drew almost 200,000 unique players and 1.3 million challenges. Sure, there was a big gamification element–but it also fit the personality of both the venue and the forum (sports). If my favorite sports bar did this around the NFL playoffs, I’d probably be all over it because it’s social and it’s fun.
  3. It’s not just for B2C. Strout and Schneider talked about how cybersecurity firm BreakingPoint has created a foursquare location for its conference booths and encourages check-ins via its marketing collateral. The strategy, which also includes prizes for checking in, has led to hundreds of demos with key prospects. It’s just another example of how business-to-business companies can take advantage of location-based marketing.

During their Webinar, Strout and Schneider also provided a peek into the future of location-based marketing, including passive check-ins (addressing the “interruptive” problem), location-at-point-of-sale strategies, and better use of meta data. There’s some terrific stuff here.

What creative uses of location-based marketing have you seen? What would you like to see?

Photo by sophiea (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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3 Ways to Strengthen Customer Experience Online

by Daria Steigman on August 4, 2011

Customer Service, Social Media, Independent Thinking, Steigman CommunicationsI heard Linda Ireland speak last week about how to strengthen the customer experience on social media platforms. A key point she made during the MarketingProfs Webinar is that customers are demanding–to be heard, authenticity, speed, support, interaction, reaction–and you’d better be ready to meet their needs.

Ireland also walked through 10 tips for connecting more effectively with your customers. My top three takeaways:

1. Know which platforms work best when. A blog can be a great way to connect with prospects or to educate existing customers with ongoing or evolving needs, but it’s probably not the best platform for addressing customer service issues. The more you understand where your customers are in their buying cycle and how they interact, the more proactively you can plan where you should be engaging with them.

2. Customer experience is about what happens AND how customers feel. Ireland’s point: you (the business) impact both.

3. Focus on your customers, not your competitors. Ireland glossed over this at the end of her presentation, but I think it’s the most important takeaway. Too many companies are so busy worrying about what the competition is doing that they forget why customers interact with their brand in the first place. Don’t imitate. Instead, create your own customer experience.

What’s your top tip for strengthening the customer experience online?

Photo by lulu (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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6 Tips for Creating Awesome PowerPoint Presentations

by Daria Steigman on July 25, 2011

PowerPoint, Entrepreneurs' Organization, Independent Thinking, Steigman CommunicationsMention PowerPoint, and just about everyone will tell you they hate it. But why do we blame the tool for the fact that presenters abuse it (a lot)?

In Speaking PowerPoint: The New Language of Business, Bruce Gabrielle makes a compelling case for Microsoft’s oft-scorned presentation software. In a well-written, easy-to-read book crammed with actionable advice, Gabrielle demonstrates how PowerPoint is a “critical tool for driving strategy” that uses “the power of visual thinking to make ideas clearer and more persuasive.”

Over at the Entrepreneurs’ Organization blog, I’ve compiled my top 6 takeaways from Speaking PowerPoint. A sample:

Your Deck Is an Iceberg. Gabrielle writes that “when planning your main message and support points, think of your slide deck like an iceberg.” In other words, about 10 percent should be above the waterline–what you want your audience to do and the 1-2 key points that support that most broadly.

There are also tips for storytelling, chunking, and mapping your slides on paper. Some good stuff–so check it out here.

Photo by cogdogblog (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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