by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jun 17, 2013 | Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Small Business
Sure, you have a business, but whether you sell a product or a service, you must provide SERVICE. What makes you so much different from your competitor that your prospects are knocking down your door? Or are they?
Solving problems is your real product not your widget or your services. Anyone and everyone does that. It is you, your service and your ability to meet the customer/prospect needs that will drive your business.
You already know that people buy from people. You are “people” not just your brand or your company. It is your responsibility to meet needs, solve issues and instill a level of comfort and trust with your audience. The buying decision occurs in the emotional environment.
“Too many business owners and sales people try to sell their product or service, neglecting the fact that their customer is a person. In fact, the customer is a person who has feelings, influences and a mind of their own. They want to be connected with, and to trust and believe the person from which they are buying.” Rebecca Wilson
According to their findings in a Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, Brand Keys Inc, concluded that the buying decision is 70% emotional and only 30% rational. “Emotional engagement is the pivotal key to successful marketing.” It is up to you to build an emotional, personal relationship with consumers, conveying trust, comfort and understanding.
Social media affords you the platform of being personal, getting to know your audience, their drivers and their pain points. It is up to you to create your reliable brand persona instilling trust and generating a comfort level and feeling of confidence with you and your company. Georgina El Morshdy outlines 30 Ways to Build the “Know, Like, and Trust” Factor that Grows an Audience on Copyblogger. “Your audience won’t pick up real momentum until you’ve mastered the “know, like, trust” factor.”
The relationship building approach works to consistently develop trust, loyalty and a foundation for a long term partnership. It takes time to build any genuine relationship but isn’t your customer worth it? Being in business isn’t just about the sale; it is about fulfilling needs, valuing your customer and providing impeccable service.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | May 28, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Organization, Small Business
Really simple syndication or RSS Feeds are a mainstay for content curation and digital consumption. I need the news not just as an educational factor or to stay up to date on current events, but it is necessary component of the virtual assistant industry and for any business. Pushing RSS feeds to a news aggregator saves time from endless hours of revisiting websites, clicking, and research as it will populate desired content into one central location. It is all automatic. How simple is that?
Most websites do have RSS Feeds on their site to help share their content at a click of a button. This social share is very important with your audience helping them to freely distribute your information. Personally, I don’t care to provide my email address to overflow my inbox with newsletters and daily feed digests. I prefer Feedly or other aggregators to maintain and update my interests. It is meticulously organized by category and client, enabling me to sift through thousands of targeted articles, choose what I need and schedule social media content for my client base.
When I find a site that only offers the option of inputting my email, they have lost my attention. I receive enough digital dessert that there is always someone else I can find if you don’t have a feed.
Why should you have an RSS Feed on your site?
- Convenience
- Ease of distribution
- More returning visitors
- No barrier to subscribing
I love RSS Feeds as they simplify my life, content curation and digital candy to the central location of my choice. You can even create your own feeds for Twitter users or hashtags as well as almost any other searchable web content. Bruno Gebarski provides clear instructions on generating your own feeds for a variety of content and it is very easy to set up.
Make sure you have an RSS Feed on your blog or website to ensure your audience is able to be a part of your marketing channel. Is it visible? Easily found on your pages? Don’t miss out on opportunities by only offering an email opt-in to receive your updates. While building your email list is important, you also don’t want to alienate those who don’t want to provide their email address. Be available. Be accessible.
Feed your readers a healthy diet of your content at their convenience and comfort level.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | May 14, 2013 | Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Small Business
I love to read! One day I was sitting on the floor of a local bookstore, in the business of course, and picked up “Little Teal Book of Trust” by Jeffrey Gitomer. What a dynamic book about becoming a trusted advisor in business and life. Building and earning trust is a key foundation for any relationship. In operating a business, you want to be “THE ONE” customers and prospects call for assistance, products and services. Your customer wants to know he is valued, respected and you have his best interests at heart.
WHAT A CUSTOMER WANTS FROM YOU by Jeffrey Gitomer
Instead of simply telling you how important the elements that will make relationships happen are (because you AND the rest of the world already know that), here, for YOUR benefit, are the actual elements:
- Relate to me. Know my needs and issues. Engage me by showing me other customers who are benefiting from doing business with you.
- Prepare for me. Show me that you have done your homework about my situation, not just yours.
- Don’t waste my time. Don’t ask me what you could have found out on your own.
- Tell me the truth. Truth leads to trust. I need to trust you in order to have a relationship with you.
- Tell me how I can use your product or service to build my business. I want to know how I can produce in my environment.
- Tell me how I can profit from the relationship. I want to know how I can profit from buying. And I want to know that you know.
- Show me the value, not just how it works. What are the elements of value attached to your product or service that relate to me?
- Make it easy for me to do business with you.
- Make service available when I need it.
- Be friendly to me. If I’m going to establish a relationship with you, I want it to be a friendly one.
- Respond quickly. If I call you, it’s because I need you, and I need a response now.
- Deliver on time. When you tell me it’s going to be there, I expect it. And it helps reinforce my feeling that you can meet my expectations.
- Have answers for me when I need them. I have questions about how your product works.
- Stay in touch with me. Keep me informed on a proactive basis. Make your messages more about me than you.
- Let me know when things or technologies change. Keep me informed about how I can stay ahead, even if it means buying more.
- Keep your promises. If you tell me something will happen, make it happen.
- Be a partner, not a vendor. Tell me how we will work together. And then prove it by your deeds.
- Serve me. I need to feel that service after the sale is more important than the emotion leading up to the order.
Do you know your customer?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | May 4, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Time Management
We all have goals and things we want to achieve but are you really ready to commit? To produce an impact? Can you make the pledge to maintain forward momentum and accomplish your objectives? Saying and doing are two completely opposite entities. Action begets action.
“Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change – this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.” Bruce Barton
Sure, we often THINK about the changes we want to institute, the direction we see ourselves working toward, but those are merely thoughts. It is time to step up and confront what is blocking our realizations for growth.
- Squander our time and efforts on needless busy work
- Lose ourselves in the abyss of posting and trolling social media
- Become sidetracked with tedious, nonsense task
- Lose focus
- Decide we just don’t feel like it
- Work IN our business instead of ON it
- We are undeserving
- Expecting other company partners to contribute more
- Afraid of success
- Waiting for bigger and better opportunities
The only way to facilitate change is to learn to become more effective and efficient.
To transform.
To revolutionize our thought process and actions.
Keep a daily log of time and projects, the interruptions, personal ambushes and at the end of the week, scrutinize what you truly accomplished. How you spent your time? What was wasted and where can you improve your focus and time management?
A recent post on Stepcase Lifehack, 3 Ways to Be Less Busy and More Productive, state: “How often do you actually achieve results while you are busy? Not too often, I bet. Switch your focus from being busy to being productive, so that you can accomplish more, see tangible results, and have time for fun.” They offered some very helpful hints to fine tune and remove the busy from your life.
“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Many become defensive when their aspect of busy is challenged and that is understandable, but in terms of accomplishable goals, growth, momentum and successes, busy and productive must be further defined to determine if being busy is just wasting time or working toward an end result. Entrepreneurship requires 150% dedication, focus and effort. It is not a part time endeavor to embark upon while meandering through life. If you are choosing to operate a business, then you must live and breathe your corporation, from top to bottom, every day.
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Calvin Coolidge
- Know your goals: long term, short term and daily.
- Plan your work and work your plan.
- Create your action steps.
- Eliminate distractions.
- Stay on task.
- Turn off notifications.
- Be consistent with your actions.
- Delegate your non-income producing tasks.
- Learn something new to advance your business.
- Read pertinent books/articles.
- Find a mentor.
- Ask for help.
- Do what it takes to bring your business to the next level.
- Be accountable for each step-each milestone.
- It is up to you
“At the end of the day we are accountable to ourselves – our success is a result of what we do.” Catherine Pulsifer
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | May 2, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
Do you want to dance offshore or dive in with an established professional entrepreneur to help manage your business? Building a company is hard work and takes an extensive amount of time and energy to successfully manage and facilitate growth. There are vast amounts of daily responsibilities that coincide with your SOP, business development, customer service, social media, troubleshooting and all of the other 98 hats we must wear.
Can you really do it all? Commit to every single task, project and activity for you, your company and your clients? Probably not. I know I can’t. Spreading yourself too thin wreaks havoc and diminishes your output, sometimes to the point that things either don’t get completed or they didn’t have 100% of your attention.
It is here you decide you truly need help.
Enter the Virtual Assistant.
Many are familiar with the online directories, freelancing job sites, offshore call centers and of course the established virtual assistants. What do you do?
If you are looking for a vested partner, a real team player who has an honest interest in your business, then choose an entrepreneurial virtual assistant instead of the offshore tasks doers. I would believe your ideal assistant is someone:
- Who understands what it takes to start and grow a company
- Who has administrative experience
- Who has an extensive skill-set both on and offline
- Who consistently goes above and beyond being a task master
- Who takes a genuine interest in you and your business
- Who wants to be a part of your team
- Who prefers a long term partnership to help build and fortify your company
- Who drives to learn and educate themselves on related technologies, platforms and current industry news
- Who can and wants to see you succeed
- Who can provide you with testimonials and samples of their work
- Who “gets” your mission, values and ethics
- Who is available at your convenience, making allowances for work life balance, family and time zone differences
- Who timely responds to your emails and other communications
- Who values and respects your feedback to ensure your 100% satisfaction
The Virtual Assistant Industry | A Network of Professionals will provide you with a list of tips and questions to ask your potential virtual assistant.
When you team up with another like-minded entrepreneur, you are given the opportunity to have a dedicated partner in your success not someone who merely receives a task oriented email to complete. While the call centers and other off-shore operations may seem like a financial win, consider what you are opting out of for a few dollars.
I began my business in 2002: Virtual Assistants, Passion, Preference and Persistence and like the other virtual assistants in my network, we are here for YOU, helping to drive your business to meet your aspirations and dreams of entrepreneurship.
Think about your business goals, direction and management. What is important to you? Who most will benefit your team?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jan 10, 2013 | Delegation, Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
Now I know you are not living in the dark ages and have read all of the recent articles regarding the prominence of content marketing. as an essential component of your marketing mix. It helps to build awareness, visibility, trust, branding, lead conversion, digital bandwidth and your reputation as a thought leader. Content marketing is delivering relevant and valuable content to your customers and prospects without selling.
In Social Media Examiner’s article, 8 Content Marketing Trends for B2B, they reviewed a recent study of 1,416 B2B marketers to learn how they leveraged content marketing in 2012, as well as the future prospects for 2013. “In 2012, 64% of marketers said that producing enough content was their number one challenge. More than half of the B2B marketers said that they plan to increase their budgets for 2013.”
This is ALL important data! Your customers and prospects are searching for relevant data to help them in their buying decisions. You want to be that driver. You want to stay one step ahead of your competition, even industry colleagues, but to do this, you must be distributing value. Meeting pain points. Making sure your content conveys the information your audience is chasing.
John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing created a “Total Content System™” approach which allows you to “plan, delegate, curate, create, collaborate, repurpose and generally get far more out of every piece of content you produce.” If you would like to listen to his instructional podcast click here. His system revolves around creating a monthly list of content themes, choosing your delivery platforms, and then, integrating it with your business goals.
Picture this, you must
- Duct Tape Marketing Content Calendar
1. Create a content calendar (this is John’s example ) The Experience Farm offers you a FREE 2013 Editorial Calendar
2. Choose your delivery platforms. This could be social media, podcasts, webinars, e-newsletters, hardcopy, guest blog posts, ebooks, online newspapers, chat forums or any venues where your audience lives. John lists at least 10 platforms where he will deliver his content to reach his target market.
3. The last step is to integrate your monthly themes and delivery platforms with your company goals
“When you know what your theme is this month and next month all of a sudden books, tools, articles and conversations take on new meaning and seem to somehow organize themselves for the benefit of your ongoing, long-term approach.” John Jantsch
At this point, let’s review your already busy day, full of appointments, business development, revenue generation, client appreciation, troubleshooting, maybe speaking engagements and all the rest of your core competencies. How many other tasks and projects do you manage that represent other low payoff activities that would be better outsourced?
My direction here? You are well aware of the significance of content marketing for your 2013 business growth and exceeding last year’s goals. Correct? So what is next?
The drumroll please!! As an entrepreneur, I certainly understand your excessive use of company hats and believe me, it gets heavy. I wear too many myself, but I will share with you that I too have been outsourcing to my team of Virtual Assistants. I cannot and do not want to do it all myself. If I want to continually expand my business, then I must delegate and so must you.
“The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.” Anthea Turner
Maximize your potential. Focus on your core genius and let Ace Concierge manage the rest. We are not just here for your “one off” tasks and projects. Consider us your vested partner.
Let’s get your content marketing plan in place and kick off this year with a plan and a bang.
