Revenue growth focused posts

Wikipedia – Getting to Yes!

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Wikipedia is amazing: a plethora of information at your finger tips. Let’s face it, my kids will probably think an encyclopedia is a large coaster by the time they are in middle school. A client had asked us to submit their business to Wikipedia. I knew this would be a challenge as most businesses on Wikipedia are the large corporations like Coca Cola, GE, Ford, etc, you get the idea. Wikipedia is a lot like Facebook, getting a straightforward answer on how to do something is difficult. Essentially, you search Wikipedia to find out how to use Wikipedia and then click though from one link to another until you have found the answer.

Submitting this was tricky, it had to sound authentic and like an encyclopedia entry, straightforward, and unbiased. They had their PR company write up the entry, I figured out the convoluted coding system and we submitted it for approval by users. It was declined again and again for a total of three times. What makes this entry complicated is that it is technically a business, but more than anything it is a location. Not like Starbucks on 3rd Ave, but an entire community. So how does one make an entry similar to this one and have it approved?

Here is what we learned:
  1. Do your research- find similar people, topics etc on Wikipedia and learn from them, hey, if they are posted, they were approved!
  2. Use references- entries are approved by other users, you need to show that what you are posting is legitimate. Link to articles, press releases, etc.
  3. Don’t use adjectives- any words describing a person, place, or thing in a positive of negative way can come across as promotion (or sabotage), either way, it will be declined.
  4. Use links to other Wikipedia topics
  5. Follow their format- there is a format/language to Wikipedia. It is not unlike HTML, but it is easy to learn, you just need to take the time to read the articles on Wikipedia to figure out how to do it.
Bottom line, our next try will have no adjectives, lots of references, and a celebration at the end when it finally is approved!

 

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Revenue Architect's Presentation to TiE Boston – Aug 10, 2010: Designing the New Revenue Engine in the Age of Digital Marketing

Revenue Architects had the pleasure of presenting a workshop entitled “Designing the New Revenue Engine in the Age of Digital Marketing” to members of TiE Boston. Unfortunately, A/V malfunction, room reshuffling, and a little “musical chairs” delayed the presentation. We had to cut the workshop portion examining the revenue engine in greater detail (my personal sweet spot). Rats.

The workshop participants were engaged and raised many good questions. Several questions were centered around the metrics and cost/benefit benchmarks of social networking and digital marketing. Is it worth investing the time, energy, and expenses in building a web presence strategy, or is this all just a fad? I’m pretty sure we agreed that social media and digital marketing are here to stay.

Why? The explosive growth of social networking – with tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, BlogTalkRadio, and YouTube – has fundamentally changed the way customers learn, evaluate and ultimately make their decisions. Anyone trying to grow their business and generate revenue knows that they need to have web presence, beyond just a website.

What role does social networking and digital marketing play in the revenue engine?

First, fundamentally, a revenue engine is comprised of:

  • A well thought out market strategy, at any level (enterprise or campaign specific)
  • A customer-centric process for finding, attracting, nurturing, acquiring and caring for customers
  • A set of tools/technologies that enable the process
  • The people who are skilled and organized to follow and execute the process
  • GOOD CONTENT (not just quantity, but quality and different from the competition)

Next, you need to determine what kind of social networking / digital marketing makes the most sense for your business. For example, would your target customer…

  • Use LinkedIN?
  • Follow you on Twitter?
  • Subscribe to other sites/groups to get more information?
  • Are members of special interest groups?

Then, examine if your sales and marketing teams have the process, tools, and skills to deploy social networking /digital marketing to:

  • Attract leads
  • Nurture leads who are “on the fence”
  • Convince leads to buy
  • Create advocates / best customers

Finally, but most importantly, determine if you have or need to create valuable content.  Also, it helps to determine the right mix:

  • Written (papers, briefs, emails, blog posts, new website content)
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Web or live events
  • Direct mail
  • Email drip campaigns

Let’s face it. We’re in a social/digital world. There are massive amounts of information out there. If you’re going to include social networking / digital marketing in your revenue engine, at the very least, be sure your content doesn’t get lost in the crowd. Make sure it is searchable and relevant. Also, don’t forget the “long tail.” If you’re very focused in a certain niche or in a specific target industry, you’ll have a better chance of standing out and increasing your conversion rates with “a long tail” approach.

Anyways, these were some of the key points we hoped to discuss in the workshop.

Maybe we’ll just have to record a webisode and post it on our youtube channel.

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PLANADVISER National Conference

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John Stone will be a panelist at the PLANADVISER National Conference scheduled September 21, 2010.

More information can be found here: https://www.planadviser.com/PANC2010/

Topic: Technology and the Modern Adviser

How to use social media, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs to better promote yourself and your practice.

Moderator:

  • Jaime Benedetti, Owner/Financial Advisor, Benedetti, Gucer & Associates (Ameriprise)

Panelists:

  • Jim Stueve, President, Ridgeworth Investments
  • John C. Stone, III, Founder and President, Revenue Architects
  • T Henry Yoshida, Retirement Plan Advisor, The Maresh Yoshida 401k Group

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Schwab Impact 2010

John Stone spoke at the Charles Schwab Impact2010 for a second year. At this event, John led two sessions on digital presence and social media as well as hosted guests for informal presentations at the cyber lounge on the main floor:

  • One session was focused on emerging digital trends and social media explore ways an RIA firm can use social media and web presence effectively for growth and relationship development. John presented a “Day-in-the-life” of an advisor engaging social media naturally to drive and extend relationships.
  • A second session focused on the emerging trends in web digital media and explored ways that an RIA can plan and build a Revenue Architecture to deepen and expand relationships with existing clients.

 

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Social Media Guidelines for Estate and Financial Planners

Event Date: September 29, 2010

Time:   1:00 pm ET (12:00 pm CT, 11:00 am MT, 10:00 am PT)
Length:   1 hour 30 minutes

Benefits

Attend this teleconference and learn how to diagnose and score current digital/web presence. You will be able to identify steps to build an effective experience taking advantage of the latest web 2.0 features. This teleconference will teach you how to apply a top-down messaging model to craft positions along the ‘long tail’ and organize communications to reinforce your brand. Gain a better understanding of the role of integrated marketing campaigns to syndicate content into the market with tools like webcasts, videos, articles, podcasts and PR promotion. Learn how mapping the level of social media presence fits specific practice strategies and understand how these tools can help you build new multigenerational relationships.

See more information at: https://www.lorman.com/teleconference/teleconference.php?sku=386424

Continuing Education Units

CFP (Pending)
CPE
Additional credit may be available upon request. Contact Lorman at 866-352-9540 for further information.

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Is Content Marketing Over-hyped?

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This week, I was invited to speak at a Content Marketing Webinar with BrightTalk (https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/21775 ) – Other than learning to turn off the mute button when speaking (gulp!) it was a good discussion.  In preparing for the meeting, I was asked to consider best practices and thought I would offer a few from my perspective here.

Is Content Marketing over-hyped? 

My answer is yes- but I think it is still critical to an effective online presence. By embracing some solid practices, content marketing is an effective and a critical component of a marketing strategy, sales strategy and revenue architecture.

Today businesses need to attract and engage audiences with content – the trick is to make sure you focus on relevance!  There is a proliferation of content as businesses are scrambling for search visibility and placement and it is easy to get caught in the noise.  This article may be hard to find through search unless I pack it with the right key words that are relevant to the searching audience. For broad topics like this, I recognize that the article may get a little lost among the noise – but at least I am engaged in the conversation and offering a perspective, perhaps maintaining a level of credibility.  If a potential client is considering Revenue Architects, they will at least see that we are engaged in these important revenue architecture topics.

I advise my clients to really think long-tail and relevance if the content goal is visibility and awareness through search marketing. With so much content on the web, what can you add to the conversation?  For Revenue Architects, we will start to write more about how integrated sales and marketing is applied in different industries we work with – these articles will increase relevance for our target segments.

What were these best practices we were talking about? Here are a few from our perspective:

1) Relevance – as just discussed, try to ADD to the conversation by bringing in new relevant content to your audience. Repeating and repurposing what is already out there is not “digital native” and also not helping differentiate.

2) Integrated Programs: Think about the mix. More digital video combined with blog posts, white papers and briefs. Webinars and video together? Connected into a trackable program with tools like Marketo or Eloqua and applying personalization.

3) Audience Aligned – obvious but we often forget. Are we writing for the CIO? CTO? CEO? VP of Sales?

4) Pipeline Aligned: What content works to generate interest? Educate? Facilitate decisions? Modular content will help your audience get just what they need and not be forced to navigate through your entire story.

5) Top-down:  Use persuasive communications to drive your message forward.

6) Peanut Butter:  Make your content sticky and spreadable: These are Amy Hunt’s words. Make your content sticky “I want to check this out” and spreadable “I want to share this with Jim”

7) More Free:  We all think we have premium content and that we deserve your personal information in order to share our great insight. Increasingly your content will need to be more distinctive and value-add before you should expect to get people to register for it – or hand over extensive demographic information. Permission marketing suggests a value exchange – make sure you have one. Premium content should be valuable enough to collect profiling information from your audience – and the more relevant the questions are to the content, the better.

These are a few thoughts on content marketing, there are many more. What do you think?  Good luck and good selling…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Avoid Digital Video Stage Fright!

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As we develop digital videos for clients as part of integrated marketing campaigns, we often see nervous executives that are concerned that their Hollywood training may be inadequate and they might both embarrass themselves and the company with a poor acting performance on the corporate video. 

Our message: Relax….

 

Today audiences are looking for authentic messages from companies and when the CEO speaks to us on video, we feel a greater connection to the company.  The face of the company becomes more human. So rather than rely entirely on “Madison Avenue” advertisements, your strategy should include digital videos and conversations about your company, your brands and your offerings.

 

We need to walk the talk. I just won a Flip Video Camera at the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium (and I never win anything), so this must be a sign!  Videos will come for Revenue Architects….soon.  In the meantime, I am focusing on our clients and their vision to embrace digital video as part of a broader Revenue Architecture and integrated marketing campaign.

So, how do we ensure the executives are comfortable in front of the camera?

The answer is to forget the camera, trust the Creative Director…!

 

Some things to consider:

 

  • Share in advance a list of the key discussion points so the video team can facilitate a conversation, not a script
  • Trust the video team. A talented creative director will guide the conversation so you don’t need to think about it
  • If you know your company and your message, your story will come out naturally in the video
  • You don’t have to get it “just right”. The magic of video editing will allow the story to come through for you.

If you have an experienced creative director, relax, you are in good hands.

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I will pretend to sell if you pretend to buy

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“I will pretend to sell if you pretend to buy” This is one of my favorite quotes from Sherwin Uretsky, one of our Revenue Architects advisors and one of the top revenue architects that I know!

What does it mean?

So many people engaged in sales imagine that they can win business after gaining access to a particular client – or after a warm meeting with a prospective client. But too often, they fail to really listen to their gut . They fail to perform the basic qualification that they need to do:  BANT –  Budget, Authority, Needs and Timeline. Or SCOTSMAN: Solution; Competition; Originality; Time Scales; Size; Money; Authority; Need.

They are kidding themselves… meeting after meeting of friendly banter with the client….pretending to sell, and the client pretending to buy.

  • Wrong opportunity
  • Wrong decision maker
  • No BANT
  • Free consulting
  • Long sales cycle

When you see it, stop it. Ask yourself the question – what is the compelling event? What is the implementation date? What happens if the client doesn’t buy? There likely won’t be an answer and you will see that there likely is not an opportunity after all!

 

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How a Consultant Can Use Twitter: Coffee with Nat

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I enjoyed a Harvard Square coffee visit at Peet’s the other day with Nat Welch, a consultant at CFAR: Center for Applied Research.  I checked in on Foursquare of course 🙂

Nat and I used to work together at Viant and it is always good to catch up. Nat is already an expert in collaboration and in particular in helping people impact change in organizations.  Naturally the conversation led to marketing digitally and using social media. I was giving Nat a few of my headline perspectives on why he might want to use Twitter to establish an online presence.  There is a lot written about this already and for many of you this is “101”, but here are some of the points that I shared that I think might provide a summary framework for management consultants and business professionals on how to think about using Twitter vs. other tools like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Summary takeaways – for those of you getting started:

  1. Pick your place on the long tail. Clarify your unique position and area of expertise. Identify your perspective and core messages. It is hard to track all the conversations that may interest you – the more focused your area of expertise or offerings, the easier it is to follow and be followed in the space.
  2. Set up your Twitter account and link it to your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts
  3. Use nice tools like Tweetdeck where you can set up columns for the areas you like to follow. HootSuite is good for team collaborative tweets and managing multiple identities.
  4. Set realistic expectations. Most of your clients are not looking for you on Twitter, but over time a presence will reinforce your credibility in the space. Think of Twitter as another outpost in your digital presence.
  5. Listen and follow. Find people talking about and sharing information about your area of interest, follow them,  Retweet the good ones, click on and follow the blogs that interest you. Very quickly, you will have a mosaic of content and people that surround the subject that you are focused on. Good etiquette suggests we do not use Twitter as a bully pulpit, but rather add to the conversation. Ask yourself if your tweets are adding value and adding content. Twitter is not for direct self-promotion.
  6. Weigh in on the conversations – offer your perspectives
  7. Set up a Reader account and follow the blogs.
  8. Syndicate your own blog. If you don’t have one, it may be worthwhile to set up a blog where you can share your content and articles about your area of expertise. Blogs use RSS standards that make it easy to share through tools like Google reader. You don’t have to write something every day- even once a month would be valuable from a presence and credibility perspective
  9. Maintain presence. LinkedIn is particularly valuable for the management consultant and business user. Facebook extends your personal networks online.
  10. Do what I say, not what I do. I wish I had more time to follow and engage in the conversations. Pick a window of time each day or two to follow the conversations, people, and weigh in with your comments, share your posts and find the valuable expertise that you can bring to your clients and enhance your value.
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NAPFA Presentation for Financial Advisors

Speaking with NAPFA at the Bentley University Campus

John Stone and Kristen Luke (via Skype from San Diego!) spent the morning with a group of financial advisors as part of their monthly program.

We discussed the landscape of new marketing including the key elements and concepts that drive the adoption on digital marketing strategies. We also took a tour of the “tools of the trade” and discussed ways that advisors are using social media today. Finally we discussed the call to action – how to get started with social media and new marketing.  Our new program: Digital Marketing for Financial Advisors is launching this Spring and offers advisors an opportunity for hands on workshops to build their web presence – social media, content development and website strategy.

Read more

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