First, we need to consider what exactly we are asking of our intended audience when we use QR codes as part of our marketing plans. Firstly, they require a smartphone to download a QR code reader to read the code in the first place. Then we are expecting them to have the phone nearby whenever they encounter a QR code, and on top of that we have to give them the motivation to actually scan the QR code for its information.   

This is quite a big ask really, so the way you approach the use of QR codes really does matter. Many companies are tempted to simply use a QR code in place of a standard web address on their advertisements and marketing materials, but to be quite honest this is a waste of the user’s time, and a waste of a perfectly good marketing opportunity.

Simply directing your intended audience to your website and hoping that they’ll be intrigued enough to browse the site is a futile effort. The key to getting the most of QR code marketing is to use them as a way for the end user to unlock information, rather than just sending them to a web destination and leaving them to find the rest.

So instead of just sending the user to your homepage, why not send them to a lead generation page where they can sign up for a free report or download your latest audio/video content? Or send them to a live forum where they can interact with both your company and other users to help generate discussion around yourself and the business.

Give them a reason to want to access the code in the first place, and give them exclusive access to valuable information they would otherwise not be able to have. Not only does this give the end user an incentive for accessing your code, but it also provides you with opportunities to capture new leads – which is such a better use of a QR code than simply sending them to your homepage and leaving them there!

The beauty of QR codes mean that you can put one on just about any kind of marketing material, and you can even update the information which is stored in a specific QR code so that you don’t have to keep reprinting them every time you want to create something new. 

This gives you the opportunity to be really creative with the information you choose to store within your codes, and how you choose to distribute them – so consider what information is going to be most beneficial to both your intended audience and to your business in order to make the most of QR code marketing.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

(Image by Stuart Miles)

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

To take a simple example, imagine that you were running a hotel. In looking to make your hotel the best one on the market, you could go onto a site like orbitz or expedia, and look at the reviews of your competitors, the other established hotels in your area and price range. However, by focusing on the lowest reviews, you could find exactly what customers didn’t like about the hotel, and find ways for your product to pick up on opportunities that were missed by your competitors.

You can do this in any industry, and with any type of business. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look, and how to properly turn the negative feedback into useful and constructive advice.

Begin by knowing where to look, and what to look for. This depends primarily upon your industry. There are hundreds of industry-specific review websites and social networks out there, some of them better known than others. Twitter and Facebook are obviously great places to start, as are social media sites like Yelp, provided that they are relevant to your industry.

To find additional review sites, just browse through what people are linking to on Twitter and Facebook, or do a Google search for “your industry + reviews.” You’ll be surprised just how many sites there are out there.

Once you find negative feedback, you’ll need to incorporate what you’ve learned into your business. So if you see a lot of customers complaining about a business practice that is common in your industry (even if the complaints are specifically directed toward your company), then you know to change that practice. For instance, if you see a lot of complaints about online marketers sending out too many useless emails, you might want to take a step back and think about whether you’re personally guilty of that sin.

On the other side, if you see a lot of people complaining about something that doesn’t exist, then you may have found a niche for your business to profitably expand into.

At the end of the day, it’s always good to know what customers are saying about your business, and the other businesses in your industry. And considering that people are 10 times more likely to post a negative comment than a positive one, looking for negativity is a great way to start.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

What’s more, many of the intended users of QR codes are still unaware of their real value or purpose so in this post I’m going to cover some of the basics and discuss the ways businesses can use QR codes within their marketing plans. 

What are QR codes?

The phrase QR code stands for “Quick Response” Code and in its most basic form a QR code is simply a barcode, in which you can encode many different forms of data which can then be read by a QR code reader.

How do they work?

QR codes are slightly different from barcodes, as although they are both a form of two-dimensional code, barcodes can only store data in a horizontal format (which is read through the spaces in between the vertical lines they are made up of), whereas QR codes can encode data both horizontally and vertically – meaning that much more data to be encoded in a smaller space.

How can you use them?

In order to view QR codes you need to download a QR code reader to your android phone (or smartphone as they are also known), and then use the scanner to take a picture of the QR code, which it will then scan and convert or direct you to whatever data has been stored in that code.

QR codes can be encoded with almost any form of data, which means that they can be scanned to show text, images, videos, maps or the entire content of a webpage.

In terms of using QR codes from a business perspective, there are numerous free QR code generators online through which you can create basic and permanent QR codes which you can then place onto any space you like, including giftware, advertising, clothing, printed products, packaging, signage, exhibition materials, as well as being placed in store windows – as they can even be scanned through glass.

You can also purchase QR code systems which can track the combined total of scans a particular code has received, as well as allowing you to produce one code that can have its data changed time and time again – meaning that you could print one code to be distributed and then update the data of this code every time you had a new offer or wanted to change the current promotion you were running, without having to generate and redistribute a new code for each.

How to download a reader to your smartphone

From a user’s point of view, there are a variety of QR code scanners that can be downloaded to most Android phones such as iPhone, Blackberry and HTC. Some newer models now have QR readers built in as standard as QR codes popularity and frequency of use increases.

iPhone

iPhone has a basic free QR code reader app by TapMedia Ltd, but you can upgrade to a HD version by DDQ for £0.69 and there are numerous other customisable versions to buy and download as well.

Blackberry

Blackberry Messenger 5.0 can read basic QR codes but if you are looking for something more sophisticated you can download either the Mobiletag scanner or the I-nigma app for free.

Mobiletag app allows you to create lists of results, track your decode history and search saved scans.

I-nigma allows you to save up to 50 decode results, which you can then share through SMS, Facebook and Twitter.

Other Android Phones

There is a whole heap of great free QR code readers available for other android phones, so here are some other suggestions:

·         QR Droid – free to use and can read, scan and generate QR codes,
·         Quickmark – fast scans and it reads both QR and Martix codes.
·         Redlaser – free, fast and superbly accurate.

QR codes are slowly catching on, as more and more businesses and users are starting to get to grips with how to use them to their advantage, but we seem to still be a fair way from the QR code becoming a staple of the UK marketing industry.

In future posts I will be discussing the ways businesses can really benefit from using QR codes as a legitimate marketing tool – so stay tuned for that.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

While the elevator pitch isn’t actually used in elevators (although it could be), the name alludes to the fact that it should ideally take about the same amount of time as a typical elevator ride.

The basic idea of the elevator pitch is to give potential customers an idea of what your business does, why it does it better than your competitors, and how you can translate your past successes into future benefits for them.

Keep it Updated

It’s essential to keep your elevator pitch updated as your business changes, and as your role within your business changes. You wouldn’t air the same commercials year in and year out, would you? Neither should you use the same sales pitch to clients from year to year.

Related to this is the importance of tailoring your speech to different groups of customers. While one subset of customers may care more about the potential cost savings afforded by your product or service, another group may be much more concerned with effectiveness, quick delivery, or any other aspect of your business. Stress the parts of your business that are most likely to appeal to the customer you are currently pitching to.

Nail the Delivery

Like with any kind of face-to-face sales, the key to your elevator pitch is in the delivery. You only really have one chance to delivery your pitch perfectly, which means that you have to understand your customer and understand what they are looking for.

Even more importantly, you have to make your pitch relevant and exciting. Open with an appeal to emotion, with a surprising statistic, or with anything that will catch your potential client’s attention and get him engaged. Once you’ve done this, you  can move into statistics, or the nuts and bolts of what benefits they stand to gain by using your product or service.

Above all, be confident. If you aren’t 110% sure of your product, then nobody else will be either.

Keep your elevator pitch relevant and updated, and when you get a chance to use, make sure that your delivery is perfect. In this way, you can make sure that when you get a chance to speak with a potential customer, you can bring them in every time.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

All Work, No Play

I personally know a lot of small business owners and freelance contractors out there who are working day and night, producing excellent products and services, but they simply don’t have much to show for it. This is because they are not communicating with clients effectively enough.

There is an ancient Chinese proverb, that “he who rises before the sun 360 days per year cannot fail to make his family rich.” Yet many small business owners are in violation of this proverb, simply because they don’t know how to advertise themselves.

Leverage Social Media

Fortunately, the rise of social media provides small business everywhere with a way to advertise, (almost) totally free of charge. It would be a crime not to take advantage of this opportunity.

Actually putting together a social media campaign goes way beyond the scope of a simple blog post. My purpose here is just to get you started on your way.

If you haven’t already, set up a Twitter account, a Facebook page, get LinkedIn, and create an account on YouTube. Then start engaging. Engage with thought leaders in your industry. Learn from them, and re-share their information.

Then start sharing information of your own. Just remember that the key is looking at things from your customer’s point of view. Only engage them with information that you think will benefit them, and information that you think they will want to re-share.

For instance, don’t just put up a YouTube video that talks about how great your product is. If I wanted to see another dull advertisement, I would turn on the television. Make a video which is humourous, informative, or both. Maybe mention your product briefly, maybe just use it to promote you name. But definitely don’t just upload 5 minutes of satisfied customers talking about your product.

The best thing about social media is that fakers get weeded out fairly quickly. When you are communicating with your customers on a daily basis, it is much more difficult to pretend that you know what you’re talking about.

On the other hand, though, if you’re confident that you provide the best service in your industry, then a social media marketing campaign will make this shine through, and new customers will come flocking to you.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker 

How to Design a Flyer

The largest part of making a flyer campaign successful lies in the layout and design of the flyer.  A flyer is very limited in scope and must be targeted specifically to make it a worthwhile advertising effort.  You only have one page to convince people to come through the doors at your store.  This means that you must show off sale prices, incorporate visual interest and demonstrate your expertise, all with the minimum amount of text.  A flyer that is a block of text will not have the same impact on consumers as one that uses pictures to convey concepts.  In order to be successful, a flyer must generate interest, which means that it must be eye catching. When designing your flyer you must:

• Use images where ever possible.  Images convey much more than words, and draw attention.  A thoughtfully chosen image can convey as much as pages of writing.
• Consider colour.  Colour printing is more expensive, but it is also more effective.  A nice glossy sheet is much more appealing than a print in black and white.  The extra expense may or may not be out of your price range, but if you can afford it, colour is an excellent choice.
• Do not give everything away.  A flyer should be designed to draw interest rather than explain everything about your store.  Only provide enough information to pique their interest and lure them in the door, do not give them all of the details up front.

Distributing Flyers

Once you have your flyers, distribution is the next step.  They do not do you any good sitting in a stack.  There are several options with flyer distribution.  You can have employees hand them out on busy street corners and leave them at local coffee shops.  You will need to carefully monitor the number of employee hours you set aside for distribution, but even a couple of hours can be enough to pass out hundreds, if not thousands, of flyers.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

Using LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the social media site for the networking professional.  The site focuses on recruiting only professionals, and only those that are looking to build additional business connections.  On LinkedIn you build a network of different providers that you can go to for different things.  Building a broad network that can allow you to help anyone that asks for a referral can be difficult, but it is worth the challenge.

How Network Building Works

The first step to building a big network of disparate professionals is to ask everyone you know to join.  Instead of simply pulling from your email address, contact anyone with which you do business and ask them to join your group of affiliate clients.  Many will do so as long as you include a brief reminder about how or where the two of you met.  By continuing to pursue new additions to your network and asking others to mention your name, you will gradually expand your existing network.  Do not rush this process, quality connections are worth much more than quantity. Once you have an expansive network, it is time to start leveraging it to bring in more clients.

How Cross Referrals make you Money

In the business world, what goes around definitely comes back around.  Cross referrals work, because the more people you refer to others, the more likely you are to be their go to guy for your services.  For example, if you offer bookkeeping services and recommend the same firm for legal advice to everyone that asks, with the request that they mention your name, eventually, the firm will do the same for you.  After all, if you bring them a lot of business and they do not return the favour, you will simply start recommending a firm that will.  Of course, you will need to be cautious and ensure that any company you refer offers excellent service, because in a way your recommendation is then tied to your reputation.  Only refer the best, to keep people coming back for advice time after time.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

1. Promote video testimonials.  Many customers are more than happy to write a product review or provide a brief testimonial for your website.  If they are willing to offer a written testimonial, why not a video instead?  Offering incentives to customers that upload video content expressing their satisfaction with a product or service is a great way to get content for your site that really sells the products.  Testimonials from other satisfied customers are more convincing than any amount of advertising.
2. Offer free video hosting.  Allow your audience to contribute videos to your site.  Spend some time viewing user content to ensure it meets quality standards and is on topic, but otherwise let the content come to you.  When you encourage other industry professionals to post videos on your site, you benefit with increased web traffic.
3. Create in-house corporate and/or product videos.  It is easier than ever to make quality videos in-house for online posting.  The only things you need are a video camera, microphone and good lighting.  Clear sound, a defined message and succinct wording will allow you to create a video that works to drive sales.  Complex products and services often sell better when there is a video offering a demonstration or explanation.  Take advantage of the opportunity to give consumers the next best thing to hands on with video.  Keep them short, below two minutes whenever possible, but pack them full of information.

Technological advances and free hosting sites make video marketing a free advertising method that really delivers results.  Internet users are more likely to view video than any other form of online marketing.  Do not wait to take advantage of this free advertising method, start implementing the tips listed above and watch as your sales dollars increase in direct proportion to your video use.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

Video Branding

A video allows you to create a multi-media presentation that explains your company’s mission and basis for success.  In sixty seconds, you can show customers what you have to offer and how you put their needs ahead of your own.  For a general marketing video you may want to spend more time generating a script and creating different graphic images for inclusion, rather than a talking head, but the low quality of many online videos can help you keep costs down.

Relationship Building with a Video Presentation

Physical retail locations have an automatic advantage over online retailers.  Consumers can hold products in their hands and discuss the merits directly with a sales person.  Consumers can build relationships and learn trust for different sales people, so they come back again and again.  Building those same types of relationships online is difficult, but not impossible.  A video allows you to give them the same one-on-one attention they receive in store.  Make your video presentation broad, but with specific examples of products or services you offer to help consumers.  Explain your overall business plan, and how you expect to continue to create innovation that will improve consumer’s lives.

Establish your Expertise

With many client based businesses, it is your expertise that will drive sales.  If you do not establish your unquestionable ability in your industry, you will lose clients to those that have.  The best way to establish your expertise is to create content that is unique, informative and helpful for your website.  How-to videos are a great way to show off what you know in a way that is helpful to consumers.  Some examples would include a makeup artist performing a look, a home repair service walking through the steps on a simple home repair, an accountant explaining how to keep a daily ledger, and much more.

If you include video marketing, you have an opportunity to increase your sales potential exponentially.  People respond more quickly and deeply to video advertising than any other medium.  Plan out several video releases, to best display your company and products.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

1. Never go for quantity over quality.  Fewer tweets that provide quality information are much preferred over spamming your feed.  Keep your tweets on point, current and informative to gain a growing network of subscribers.
2. Tweet regularly, not constantly.  It is important to distinguish between regular and constant.  If you are constantly posting new tweets, it is highly doubtful that all of then contain unique and useful content.  Tweet at least once per day, and as often as three or four times a day, but use the minimum number of tweets to post the most current information.
3. Concise is the way to go.  Tweets are designed to me very short, 150 characters or less.  That is often only enough to write a phrase and post a link.  Write out your tweets ahead of time to ensure they will meet the character requirements, and play with the wording.  Try to say as much as you can with as few words as possible.
4. Expert and informative is the tone to take.  Provide valuable industry information to consumers, and they will be back time and again to get your take.  Demonstrate your expertise and maintain a professional tone while doing so.
5. Never fear a bit of controversy.  The really nice thing about social media is that it allows an opportunity to be social with potential customers.  Consumers would normally never have a chance to get to know you personally, rather than the corporate façade.  Allowing people to see you take a stand on issues can generate conversations that will gain you additional followers.

When you tweet, make sure to include plenty of links to other sources.  Post a link to longer articles or blog posts that you have written or a link back to your store.  Twitter can be used to successfully announce new sales or product lines, along with other industry information.  The subjects are endless, so it is usually not a problem to find quality information to post for consumers.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker