Do You Have Fun With Your Social Media Strategy? Posted on February 19, 2015August 5, 2022 by Jessica Lunk Does your social media strategy feel like a chore? Do you create posts that your audience doesn’t engage with? It’s easy to get discouraged when your social media strategy just isn’t working despite your best efforts. When social media marketing isn’t fun, it’s time to change something. “I live by the rule, if it’s not fun, I’m not doing it.” – Kim Doyal Social media can provide you answers, inspiration, and motivation. So how can you centralize your social media strategy around having fun? Use your heart. You’re emotionally and personally invested in your business, so replicate that in your marketing. Your biggest fans will be the ones that know without a doubt that you love what you do. Talking about your passions and having others respond is so rewarding. Get in front of your customers online. If you provide great customer service, they will provide the engagement you seek. Explore your creativity. Through my years exploring social media channels and the web, I’ve found that I have the most fun when I find my niche. Social media allows you to find like-minded people with similar interests, voice, and style. Get out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there! Explore and you will find your treasure chest. Break from what you know and dip your toe in other social networks; stick with the channels you enjoy participating in. Being creative and real will help you break from the noise. Show some personality. Don’t be afraid to be yourself on social media. If social media teaches us anything is that you can be yourself and still find acceptance. On top of that, it’s easier than ever! Your online tone and voice will take some work to develop. If it feels wrong, then it’s wrong. If it feels forced, it’s forced. Use your company values as the background to your online brand. Be wary of automated social media response tools because your audience will be quick to sniff it out. Context is everything on social media. You can be silly online but looking like a fool won’t get you far. “Take your time, find out what it is you want to do, and develop it by having fun with it.” – Steve Ewing Don’t be scared. Be human. Social media is a two way street. Once you get yourself out there, engage with others without self-promoting. Respond to every tweet or comment – not because a social media expert told you to but because it makes people feel good to be heard. Provide valuable feedback and conversation to build a relationship because you don’t just walk into a networking event shouting about your business. At the end of the day, life is all about relationship building. Don’t lose your human and don’t be afraid of being emotionally vulnerable. If it’s fun, you’ll have the time. Be emotionally invested in your social media marketing. “People don’t buy what you do but why you do it.” If you aren’t excited about it, how can anyone else be? If you are creating noise, you will not see the engagement you want. Get the social conversation going with great customer service and keep it going by having fun with it. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou Shout out to Nickelodeon for creating Spongebob Squarepants and years of fun inspiration!
How to Love On Your Audience in 2015 Posted on February 11, 2015 by Jessica Lunk This year, getting more personal with your audience is more important than ever before. Reuven Gorsht introduces us to Mike, your consumer in 2015: Mike never loses sight of his iPhone. He’s very opinionated and not afraid to share his opinion using his social media channels (whether good or bad). He doesn’t trust advertising and only connects with brands that he feels are authentic and stand for higher purpose. So how do you connect with Mike and the rest of your audience members who are just like him? Leverage Personalized Email Marketing 63% of female and 73% of male smartphone owners in the US don’t go an hour without checking their phone. This means that they’re also tied 24/7 to their email. With email so attached, so integrated with our favorite device, it is an extremely powerful business tool. But, with all of the competition for your consumer’s attention, you’re tasked with cutting through the white noise of a crowded inbox. Instead of sending the same blanket newsletter to everyone on your list, get Mike’s attention with email marketing that addresses his unique interests. Download our guide to personalized email marketing for a few ideas on how to reach your entire audience on an individual level. Turn Customers into Raving Fans 34% of consumers have turned to social media to share their feelings about a company. Consumers are quick to share products they like, and also quick to express dissatisfaction with a disappointing experience. In addition, 51% of consumers aim to influence others when they express their preferences online – and believe me, these peer-to-peer recommendations carry a lot of clout. Creating an awesome customer experience can go far to promote your small brand and business. Fumbling on the customer service side can cause consumers to air their grievances publicly. Channel good social media mojo and surprise and delight your customers. Here’s how to turn them into raving fans of your brand: Send swag to your most enthusiastic customers. Say thanks by inviting top customers to an exclusive event. Share a hot resource with your customers for free. Unveil a behind-the-scenes look at your latest product or service. As you continue to nurture, surprise and delight your customers, they’ll be happy to refer their expansive social networks your way. Align to Your Mission More than 88% of consumers think companies should try to achieve their business goals while improving society and the environment. Mission and purpose can set your small business apart from the pack – even from the competition you may have with large players in your market. Defining your mission and your purpose starts at the leadership level, but to truly impact your organization, your mission needs to trickle down to every member of your team. At Hatchbuck, our mission is to provide small businesses with easy-to-use, affordable sales and marketing software so they can grow. Everyone at Hatchbuck knows what our mission is, and we come to work each day not with the goal of selling more software, but with the higher purpose to help small businesses grow. So, when our customers talk to Jamie in sales, when they train with Lindsey their Hatchbuck Consultant, and when they call Eric for support, they receive a unified experience from team members who are all aligned to the same purpose. It’s one of the big reasons why our customers love us. Give Value to Gain Trust 75% of consumers don’t believe that companies tell the truth in advertisement. Consumers aren’t prone to fall blindly in love with your brand right off the bat. It’s going to take a greater effort on your part to gain their trust. Instead of focusing on selling, focus on adding value to your audience. The more helpful resources you can give away, the more good will you can build so that you’re the first brand your audience turns to when they’re ready to buy. You don’t have to have a large team or an unlimited budget to show your audience the love this year. Build individual relationships through personalized email, surprise and delight your customers, align your business to an overarching mission and purpose, and add value to your audience to gain their trust. With these simple tweaks, you’ll find your audience sending the love right back atcha.
Why You Need a Love Connection Between Email and CRM Posted on February 6, 2015June 20, 2018 by Jessica Lunk In any relationship, communication is key. The same goes for your small business tools. Getting them to “talk” can keep your business running smoothly – without the drama of systems that just can’t relate. Integrating systems is valuable. You get better, more accurate visibility into your data. You can easily share information across your company so that everyone can do their job better. And, you can automate and streamline processes so you can scale. While integrating your tools benefits your business, it’s not always easy or feasible for smaller business that don’t have a boatload of time or money to spend on integrating tools they’ve already invested in. That’s where an all-in-one CRM and email marketing system can come in handy. You get the benefits of integrated sales and marketing tools without the pitfalls of integration. Getting Sales and Marketing On the Same Page If you’re like a lot of businesses, you’ve got a CRM that houses your customer and prospect data, managed by the sales team. On the marketing side, you may have an email marketing tool. When these systems are standalone and siloed, marketing is often left blasting the same content to everyone on their email marketing list. They have no insight into: Contacts currently in the sales process Hot prospects that are ready for a bottom-of-the-funnel call to action Cold leads who are still getting to know the brand At the same time, sales has no insight into which email marketing campaigns their contacts have received or what their contacts have indicated interest in. They can’t tell who their most engaged contacts are – the ones who open every email and click every link. Instead of speaking with their most interested and engaged prospects, sales ends up taking more of a cold calling approach. An integrated CRM and email marketing tool takes these pain-points away for sales and marketing. When there’s a love connection between your CRM and email marketing system, marketing and sales can ditch the one-to-many generic email blast and cold calls. Instead, sales and marketing can build relationships with their contacts, keeping them engaged and boosting sales. Here’s how: Personalize Correspondence With integrated CRM and email marketing, you can send personalized, one-to-one emails that resonate with your audience. Contact status and unique interests are tracked on the CRM side. Then, marketing can send highly targeted and relevant communication that feel like personal, one-off emails, instead of a generic newsletter blast. Personalization can go beyond first name and company to the products and services contacts are interested in and the main problems they are trying to solve. Automate Follow-Up We all know that the key to sales is follow-up. But sticky-note reminders to follow-up with prospects aren’t always super reliable. With an integrated CRM and email marketing, sales can create tasks and run simple email campaigns to keep in touch with prospects who aren’t quite ready to buy. In addition, marketing can automate processes like sending a thank you email to prospects who download a resource or subscribe to a list. Through automated follow-up, teams can spend less time trying to manage to-dos, and more time building important relationships. Email Nurturing According to KissMetrics, 96% of prospects who visit your website for the first time aren’t ready to buy…but that doesn’t mean they won’t be in the future. With a CRM tied to email marketing, you can offer a resource to capture contact information from new prospects when they hit your site for the first time. Then, you can automatically nurture these prospects with email over time, educating them about their pain-points – and your solution. Need more incentive to create sparks between your CRM and email marketing? Check out these stats:
A Content Strategy Playbook for Your Small Business Posted on January 29, 2015June 1, 2016 by Jessica Lunk Imagine you’re Tom Brady suiting up in the locker room on Super Bowl Sunday. You wouldn’t walk out onto the field without a plan – that would be crazy! Instead, you’d feel prepared and confident with a solid playbook and defined strategy for defeating the Seahawks. If Deflate-Gate taught us anything, it’s that the best teams – forthright or not – definitely come to the game with a strategy to win. You should approach content creation the same way – prepared with a strategy instead of just winging it. In fact the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs reported on the small business content marketing trends, budgets and benchmarks for 2015. The report shows that 39% of companies who have a documented strategy are “more effective in nearly all aspects of content marketing than their peers who either have a verbal-only strategy or no strategy at all.” How To Build Your Content Marketing Playbook So how do you get your content strategy on paper? Start by tackling these steps: 1. Identify and Segment Your Audience You wouldn’t just slap together a bunch of plays and hope they work against your opponent – that would be crazy! Instead, you’d study game tape like a boss and uncover each specific rival’s weaknesses to prepare for game day. It’s the same in content marketing. Know who you are trying to attract, then pin-point their greatest challenges so you can serve up content that engages and appeals to your ideal buyer. According to CMI’s report, small businesses that have seen success with content marketing segment their audience. In fact, the average small business content strategy targets four segments. Don’t know where to begin when it comes to zeroing in on your ideal buyer segments? Check out: A Simple Introduction to Buyer Personas Buyer Persona Workbook 2. Generate Topic Ideas The great teams have great leaders who do more than just write up game-winning strategies. The best coaches are able to inspire their teams to victory with an emotional battle cry. We all know that “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.” 58% of small businesses surveyed say that creating engaging content is the most challenging aspect of content marketing. It’s one thing to present the facts, but to build trust in your brand, you need to tap into your ideal buyer’s emotions. Now that you know who you’re targeting, it’s easier to determine the hot-button topics that hit an emotional chord with each segment of your audience. Brainstorming topics that appeal to your ideal buyer can also help you build your SEO keyword strategy, giving you ideas for new keywords to target throughout your website as well as any ad campaigns you may be running online. 3. Decide How to Deliver Every team has their own strengths. A hall-of fame quarterback and wide receiver combo. A defense that creates turnovers. An unstoppable running back. Successful execution means drawing-up plays that involve your core abilities. The same is true for the content tactics your team chooses to employ. According to the report, the average number of tactics small businesses use to create content is 12, including: Social Media Content (outside of blogs) Blogs eNewsletters Articles on Your Website Case Studies Videos In-person events Illustrations or Photos Online Presentations White Papers Infographics Webinars/Webcasts You don’t have to tackle each of these content avenues, but pick the ones that align most closely with your talent as well as with your ideal buyer. 4. Create Content You’ve identified your audience, uncovered engaging topics, and have decided how to deliver your content. Now it’s time to put your strategy to work on the field. Create content based on the topics you’ve outlined, tweaking pieces for each of your distribution channels. 5. Evaluate Success Did your content get the job done? In football, it’s simple to track points and declare a winner at the end of the game. You may not have a scoreboard, but determining upfront how you’ll score your content can make it just as easy to track the success of your content strategy. According to CMI, 87% of small businesses surveyed said that lead generation was a priority for their content strategy. If that’s the case for your business, you can track the lead source for each of your content channels to measure your success. Or, if brand awareness is a goal, track social media activity and web traffic. Set an end goal so you can measure and adjust your content strategy against it. Like a championship Super Bowl team, you’d never come to the game without a plan. So don’t try to just wing your content strategy. Identify your audience, brainstorm compelling topics, pin-point the right content channels, create your content and measure and repeat your way to content marketing success.
5 Sure-Fire Lead Generation Tips for Your Blog Posted on January 23, 2015September 8, 2022 by Jessica Lunk Blogging leads to small business success. In fact, small businesses that blog gain 126% more leads than businesses that don’t. When it comes to building business, blogging is a no-brainer. But, is your business blog working as hard as you do to generate fresh leads for your company? Here are 5 fool-proof lead generation strategies that can turn your blog traffic into revenue for your business: 1. Add a Blog Subscription Sign-Up There are over 78.5 million WordPress blogs across the globe. That doesn’t even include the millions of blogs on Tumblr, Blogger, Technorati and more. People love blog content, but there is so much info online. It can be tough to build a loyal following of visitors. Adding a form to your blog so that visitors can easily subscribe to new posts helps you stay top of mind, instead of getting lost in a sea of millions of other blogs. To make sure you don’t miss out on sign-ups: Include a clear call to action to sign-up on your blog Indicate how often you’ll be emailing blog updates to avoid spam complaints Losing out on connecting with ideal prospects who are visiting your blog is scary. Instead, capitalize on the excitement visitors feel when they’ve hit your blog. Capture prospect info by offering a subscription to your awesome content so that you can stay in touch. 2. Tap Into Evergreen Content for Conversions Some content never goes out of style. Those blog posts or articles that light up your prospects and customers long after they’ve been written are pillars of content that bolster your brand and messaging. Evergreen content strikes a harmonious chord with your ideal buyer independently of time or place. Evergreen content is powerful, because your audience will continue to share it with their social networks regardless of when you published the content. In addition, pillar content also appears in coveted top-of-the-page search results, driving valuable organic traffic to your site. You can turn organic visitors that come to your website via social and search engines into a wealth of opportunity for your business. So how do you make the most of evergreen content? Here are a few places to start: Spruce Up Evergreen Content: Give your evergreen content a refresh from time to time. As your business evolves, update evergreen content so it remains appealing and relevant to your audience. This includes making sure that evergreen content falls in line with your keyword strategy as search terms and phrases change. You can use Google’s Keyword Planner to help generate keyword ideas. Drive Visitors More Deeply into Your Site: Don’t let potential buyers bounce from your site once they’ve hit your evergreen content. Add links to relevant pages on your site, like a related blog post or article. This will keep them engaged with your brand, raising awareness of who you are, what you do, and the problems you can solve. Capture New Leads: For top-of-the-funnel evergreen content, add an enticing call to action to gather contact details from new visitors to your site. For example, encourage visitors to subscribe for more great blog posts, or to download a game-changing resource or guide. The key to turning these captured leads into new customers is not just to capture their information and let it sit on the sidelines, but to keep your business top of mind by nurturing them with relevant content over time. Drive Opportunities: For bottom-of-the-funnel evergreen content, drive opportunities and customers by adding a call to action to learn more about your products or services. For example, ask visitors to schedule a consultation, take a demo, or request a meeting. Here’s an example from the Leadpages.net blog. At the end of the post, they include a call to action to sign-up for a resource. This helps to capture information from strong prospects who have hit their blog from social media or organic search: Evergreen content is fertile ground for tapping into a rich channel of prospects. Optimizing evergreen content can help fill your pipeline with both top-of-the-funnel leads that are just looking, as well as bottom-of-the-funnel opportunities that are ready to buy. 3. Syndicate Your Blog Content Consistent blogging is more than an awareness exercise – it can add to your bottom line. The key is to get your riveting, targeted blog content in front of the right audience. Email marketing and social media are both avenues that can increase traffic to your blog. But if you want to extend your reach to an even larger audience, there are lots of sites that will push out your content by syndicating your blog’s RSS feed. Where to start syndication? Check out these sites: Alltop shows readers what’s trending in the topics they’re interested in. By syndicating your feed here, you can reach an audience that is enthusiastic about thought leadership and news in specific categories. Business 2 Community is a reputable content aggregator for business professionals. They manually screen contributors, maintaining a high quality of content that attracts a large number of readers. The site’s content is also picked up by third parties including Yahoo Small Business Advisor and Google News. Scoop.It lets you curate content on the topics that apply to your interests and industry, but you can also share your content there. Sign-up for the free personal account to share up to 10 links a day, and get your content in front of a new audience. Social Media Today is a community of PR, marketing, advertising and other professionals that require a social media background. If your content has a social media spin to it, this is a great place to become a contributor and submit individual blog posts or submit your RSS feed. Syndicating your blog content can help a brand new audience gain awareness of your brand. For syndication to really work for your business, choose sites that align closely with your ideal buyer to generate quality leads for your business. 4. Gate Your Best Blog Content Repurpose your best blog content and recycle it into downloadable bundles. Offer these blog bundles as resources to your audience, giving you another tool for generating new leads for your business. Pull together related posts to put everything you have to say about a popular topic at your audience’s fingertips. Or, bundle together all of your posts so your audience can download your blog as a whole. Gating blog content is a great strategy because the content already exists, so you don’t have to create anything new. In addition, your original, individual posts stay live on your website so they can continue to do their job to boost organic search traffic. Turn your blog posts into lead generators by bundling them up in exchange for the contact details of prospects in your audience that fit the profile of your ideal buyer. For example, here is a bundle of our most popular blog posts on lead nurturing: 5. Feature Your Team Members When it comes to generating new leads, a little transparency can go a long way. We do so much business online, so giving your audience a glimpse behind the scenes of your company generates trust in your brand and opens the door to create new, fruitful relationships. Feature your team members on your blog to put your talent and expertise on display. Introducing team members to your audience also drives home how your business’s mission and values are aligned with your team members and the culture they’ve created. J/E Bearing & Machine does a nice job of highlighting their employees and also adding social links, making it super simple for potential prospects to reach out to team members. While you’re highlighting team members and your awesome company culture, take the opportunity to attract great talent your way. Mention job openings, emphasize opportunities for growth, outline employee perks, and let interested job candidates know how they can get it touch. Not only does an open call for talent attract potential team members, but it also sends a positive message to your audience – your business is growing. No one wants to work with a business that is going to disappear the next day. Calling attention to opportunities within your company sends the message that you’re not going anywhere and are here to stay. Providing that sneak peak into your company’s culture and talent pool not only attracts the right employees, but attracts the right type of customer. With a few improvements, your business can be wildly successful at generating quality leads from your blog.
3 Quick Ways to Build Traffic to Your Next Blog Post Posted on January 16, 2015October 7, 2022 by Travis Arnold A Guest Post by Chuck Aikens, Founder & CEO of Volume Nine You already know how valuable blogging is, which is why you already have one. But if you don’t have enough people visiting your blog, the whole purpose of having a blog is lost. Ever wonder how some bloggers arrive out of nowhere and skyrocket their blog’s traffic and subscriber numbers, while some others struggle forever to move the needle? With over 164 million blogs already out there, you need to do a lot more than just write good content and present it well. You need to begin the groundwork even before you press that “Publish” button. Want to know how? Read on. You spent all week writing a great piece of content that your industry is going to love, and now you’re ready to relax. But wait a minute, this new blog post is going to get published on Tuesday morning and you have to get the word out. Don’t worry, go enjoy your weekend! Here are three things painlessly simple you can do on Monday morning to increase the traffic to your blog post. 1. Boost Your Facebook Post Facebook has an astonishing 1 billion active users, and an average user spends about 22 minutes every day on this social network. No matter who your target audience is, chances are high that they will be on Facebook, so you should try everything possible to leverage this. Facebook’s Boost Post is a good starting point. Boost post is a feature that allows a post from your business page to appear higher up on the News Feed. Facebook charges a fee for this service, depending on how many people you intend reaching out to, and the number of impressions your post gets over time. By boosting your posts on Facebook, you earn an extra degree of visibility for blog posts that you think are important. There is a much higher chance of a boosted post being seen by users who have liked your business page, that relying on organic Facebook impressions alone. To boost a post, all you need to do is click “Boost Post” button next to the post, select the target audience, set up a budget, and you are good to go. 2. Use Coschedule to Schedule Social Media Follow-ups A major mistake that many bloggers make is that they publish the blog, notify the social networks, and do nothing after that. By doing this, they lose the opportunity to get the click-throughs that the content deserves. The good news is that there are there are tools to help you promote your blog with social media in a more effective manner. Coschedule is a tool that lets you leverage the full power of social media. With Coschedule, you can implement a sharing schedule, and maintain a more consistent social presence. More than an editorial calendar, Coschedule is a Plugin that connects to your WordPress site and social media connections. Once added to WordPress, Coschedule lets you publish to your social connections, all through a calendar format. You can add as many social connections as you want, integrate with Google calendar, track analytics, interact with team members, and more. Our recommendation is to use it to schedule 5 Tweets and 2 Facebook Follow-ups – a solid game plan for your next post. 3. Write Some Teaser Articles and Send it to a Few Influencers A simple secret to rapid blog growth is blogger outreach. You can get other key bloggers in your niche, or influencers, to promote your blog for free. Just write some teaser articles and send them to a few influencers. By doing this, you can actually put your content before the movers and shakers in the niche, increasing changes that your blog is well received and highly circulated. For example, in the following snippet, an SEO influencer, references an article from another SEO website’s blog, increasing the reach and audience for the blog post: How to Create an Awesome Hashtag for Your Business https://t.co/XxpynQxmvR via @v9seo #socialmedia #marketing pic.twitter.com/zdKTZzeDjw — Chuck Aikens (@chuckaikens) September 14, 2016 With better tools and an air-tight strategy, you’re ready take your blog to new heights of success. About the Author Chuck Aikens is the CEO of Volume Nine, an SEO Agency which has been helping clients build organic traffic to their websites for over 9 years. Chuck enjoys living in Denver with his wife and 2 children where he enjoys running, skiing, and working on his golf game.
4 Resolutions You Can Stick to with Marketing Automation Posted on January 9, 2015June 18, 2018 by Jessica Lunk We’re just over a week into the new year…have you broken your new year’s resolutions yet? Each year, small business owners strive to get more organized, build better relationships with their customers and prospects, create a sales and marketing process and drive sustainable growth. Marketing automation tools built for small businesses can help you achieve and stick to these four resolutions in 2015. Get More Organized Fresh year, fresh start. If you’re like a lot of small businesses, you probably have one homogenous bucket of contacts that you would love to clean up and organized. Maybe you have two lists – one of customers, and one of prospects – but you can’t get much more detailed than that. Marketing automation helps you automatically and dynamically segment your contacts by their unique interests, their stage in the buying journey and their readiness to buy. It’s a bit like going from grayscale to a rainbow of contacts that each fit in their own ribbon of color. Contacts fit nicely into their own compartments. With an easier way of keeping your contacts organized, you can deliver more strategic, organized communication, increasing engagement. Build Better Relationships with Customers and Prospects This new year, many of us are striving to put away distractions – like our smart phones and tablets – and put more time into building better relationships with the people who really matter. While you may think that marketing automation is just one more technology that separates us from the people we should get to know better, it actually helps to cultivate more meaningful conversations. Marketing automation automatically tracks the online history of each contact automatically, so you can see what pages on your site they’ve visited, what emails they’ve received, and what types of content they read. With more information, you come to conversations with your customers and prospects prepared to have a productive, meaningful dialogue. In addition, marketing automation takes those ho-hum administrative tasks off of your plate, and triggers notifications to let you know which contacts are highly interested in your product or service. This makes it simple to connect with prospects that are really interested in learning more about your business. With marketing automation, you can focus more time on building strong relationships with ripe opportunities and loyal customers, rather than chasing cold leads. Create a Sales and Marketing Process You’d like to see your business grow this year, and you know you can’t do it without building better processes. When your database is more organized and everyday tasks can be automated, you can put a much smoother sales and marketing process in place. Without marketing automation, many businesses build up a large sales team that chases after cold leads. However, with a scalable marketing automation system in place, marketing nurtures prospects with personalized content, heating them up for the sales team. Then, the sales team is automatically alerted when hot prospects are ready to buy. The result is, individual sales and marketing leaders can be much more productive and process-driven because they are actively pulling in the right prospects to have meaningful conversations with. Drive Sustainable Growth We could all be a little less wasteful, whether we’re trying to recycle more or striving to get the most out of the talents of our small business team. With marketing automation in place, you can build high-quality relationships with many more prospects and customers – without adding supplementary team members. In addition, since marketing automation provides insights into which marketing channels are performing the best, and which sales leaders are closing the most business, you can make smart, sustainable investments in growth. Finally, marketing automation continually nurtures new leads you acquire. So if a new contact is not ready to make a purchase today, they aren’t tossed away. Instead, marketing automation continues to educate and nurture them, recycling them into a hot prospect. Get more organized, build better relationships, be more process-driven, and drive sustainable growth – imagine if you could stick to each of these resolutions in the new year. With the right tools for your small business, you can make 2015 the year of marketing automation, and the year of growth.
The Last Minute List: 5 Ways to Give the “Perfect” Gift this Christmas Posted on December 18, 2014February 20, 2024 by Jonathan Herrick There’s only one week until Christmas and if you are like most holiday gift givers you’re probably waiting to the last minute, struggling to find that perfect gift for that loved one or coworker this time of year. Let me guess – another pair of socks? A gift card? Or how about another necklace for the wife? Before you throw the towel in and go to the old stand-bys, it’s not too late to boycott the traditional go-to presents and give the perfect gift this year. In his transformational book, “The 5 Love Languages” Gary Chapman talks about how everyone feels loved (valued) in the following ways: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. You, your family, friends, and coworkers can take the test here. I recommend it to anyone wanting to master the holidays and have an A-plus relationship with family members, friends and coworkers. For instance, if your primary “love language” is receiving gifts, getting another thoughtless gift – like pair of gold toe socks – can really deflate your love tank this time of year. Also, because your love language is receiving gifts, you’re probably an awesome giver, showing love to others by giving great gifts (You know who you are. Everyone in your office always wants to get your gift during the white elephant exchange at the company Christmas party) But what if your spouse or son’s primary love language is quality time? Maybe all they want for Christmas is for you to put down the laptop, quit updating your status on LinkedIn, and spend more time with them this holiday season. So here are a 5 ways you can be a bit more personal and spread joy with your last minute gift giving: 1. Words of Affirmation.Those who feel loved (valued) through words of affirmation want to hear you say you care about them. Card shopping? Don’t just pick up the first card you see. Take the time to pick out just the right card and write something meaningful in it. Trust me, they will know the difference and see that you have spent valuable time on them. Write a poem, letter, or create a photo album with past memories and personalize it. Customink is a cool company that lets you create custom t-shirts or sweatshirts, making your gift say “I know you & I care.” My mom passed away a few years ago and I knew the first Christmas would be tough without her. So I gave my dad and my brothers and sister a little bear: “Until we hug again.” It had a recording of my mom’s voice that said “I love you”. I had her voice on an old voicemail, and it didn’t take much for me to upload it to the bear. For my dad, who thrives on words of affirmation, it was just what the doctor ordered and an easy way for him to know that I care about him. 2. Acts of Service. Those who feel loved (valued) through acts of service will know that you care through serving them in some special way. A great gift of service could be to hire someone to clean the house for your significant other, enlist someone to take care of the yard work, or have their car detailed (if your minivan looks like ours that’s a great gifts for the whole family). You can also give them a “coupon book” to redeem services by you that they see as helpful or valuable. Serve them breakfast in bed over the holidays. Or, how about cooking the big holiday meal this year or doing the pile of dishes after your Christmas feast. What about your kids? I know it sounds crazy, but how can you serve them this year? When thinking about your team members, find ways that you can go beyond the mundane corporate holiday gift. Try working together on a service project, serve at your local food pantry or homeless shelter or find other ways to serve in your local community together. 3. Receiving Gifts.Those who feel loved (valued) through receiving gifts want to receive gifts from you that are thoughtful. So if you are getting a gift for someone who loves receiving gifts, make it count. Bag the gift-card. Say no to the personal check and the money holder card. A bad or thoughtless gift can make them feel unimportant. Instead, think about the recipient, what they like, what interests they have. If you’re stuck without ideas, don’t fret – ask for help. Talk to their family, friends and co-workers for creative ideas. And if you still feel in the dark about what to give, check to see what they have been pinning on Pinterest or liking on Facebook. It will give you a good idea of what they are interested in so you can give a gift that won’t end up on the return pile at Target. You can also check out what gifts are hot for 2014 on Pinterest here: https://www.pinterest.com/smileatmydreams/gifts-ideas-2014/ In the end, according to Chapman it’s not about the amount of the gift it’s about the purpose behind the gift: “Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift.” So here are a few ideas for the gift receivers: Get something from their favorite store that they normally wouldn’t purchase on their own. Maybe it’s a painting or artwork they noticed with you 3 months ago that they never purchased. Or start today and give them something small but meaningful to open every day until Christmas. I know it’s not 12 days of Christmas but 7 days can work just as well to remind them every day that they matter to you. Bonus tip: If you have someone in your life whose love language is receiving gifts, don’t just use the holidays to tell them that they are important. Look for opportunities throughout your week, month and year to let them know you’re thinking of them. Give something thoughtful to the people in your life who feel loved by receiving gifts – like your spouse, kids or coworkers – something thoughtful from you from time to time, even if it’s small. 4. Quality Time.Those who feel loved (valued) through quality time want your undivided attention. Sometime the best gifts don’t come wrapped with a bow on top. This holiday season find time for those around you who need a little more “You Time.” I know the tendency is to try to get more work done during a slower time of year, but put away the work (it will be there in 2015) and take some time off. Disconnect to connect. Spend time with your family and friends. After all, that is most likely what they really want if quality time is their love language. Don’t believe me? Here is an actual response to a post I found online. “What do you want for Christmas?” So go catch some light displays, go ice skating, build a fire or a snowman. Slow down, watch a movie together, like “A Christmas Story.” There are no excuses here, it’s on TBS for like 24 hours straight! At the office take the time to get out to lunch with the team and have meaningful eye to eye, heat to heart conversations. If you’re looking for a gift for a quality-timer, think about tickets to a movie or play , or a trip where they can spend time with the people they care most about. 30 years from now the people you care most about may not remember what you bought them this Christmas but they will remember the memories that you made together. Time is one of the few things you don’t get back in life, so invest some this holiday season. 5. Physical Touch. People who feel loved through being held or touched. An easy gift is utilizing the 3 H’s: Hugs, High Fives and Holding Hands. Know when and where to use them and make sure that the type of contact is appropriate for the relationship. If it’s your spouse holding hands may seem insignificant, but shows that you outwardly care for them. If you are hanging with a coworker this holiday season, don’t forget the high 5 and occasional fist bump. Maybe you need to give that someone special this year the gift of a massage, a pedicure or spa treatment. Book as session at Massage Envy or send them off to the spa at The Four Seasons. It’s a great way to speak their love language. If you’re like most of us, you really do want to give the perfect gift to show that you care, but it’s easy to get distracted by trying to spend the right amount or even just trying to get it all done around the holidays. Put those holiday distractions aside and pause for a minute this season. Use the 5 Love Languages to take a closer look at your relationship with the ones who love and support you all year round. By spending a little extra quality time getting to know your family, friends and co-workers you can give the perfect gift – and stay off the Naughty List…
Entrepreneurs Share Their Secret Sauce in Hatchbuck’s #FirstBuckStory Contest Posted on December 17, 2014June 3, 2016 by Jessica Lunk What does it take to be successful as an entrepreneur? 12 of our small business contestants in our First Buck Stories contest talked about how they got their start and what keeps them going as entrepreneurs. Here are some awesome takeaways: Age doesn’t matter.“If you have something that you think is a good idea, then you should go for it, especially when you’re young, but even if you’re old…it’s an opportunity to make a difference,” says Mark of Displays That Pay. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.“If we could just make a swimsuit that fits, we’d have a goldmine,” was the idea that kicked-off Lori Coulter’s swimwear and apparel line. That idea turned into a presentation, then a business plan, and eventually Lori’s first check from an order with Macy’s. Lori’s competition is fierce in the fashion industry but she perseveres to continue doing what she loves. Have fun with it.Steve Ewing of Steve’s Hot Dogs made his first buck with his band, the Urge. He had the idea of selling hotdogs so he bought a hotdog stand and hopped off stage after a show, and then started cooking and selling them to the attendees. He encourages entrepreneurs to “take your time, find out what it is that you want to do, and develop it by actually having fun with it.” “Take a class, meet new people, try something new” with Dabble if you’re looking for inspiration to become an entrepreneur. Being around others who are passionate about turning their hobbies into a business is a lesson we learned working across the hall from Jay of Dabble. “Anyone can help someone.” – Karen of Gateway to Dreams If you’re from St. Louis, you probably know Karen or at least know someone who knows her. She uses her wide network to help others grow their idea with Gateway to Dreams. Starting a business requires support. Steve relied on his friends, family and business partners to help grow Steve’s Hot Dogs. Denise of Black Mermaid’s Natural Soaps and Products started by making her products for her family members but it was her coworkers that helped spark the idea of creating a new business. Support can make or break a great idea or business. Order business cards. Share your expertise.When you have a business idea, print business cards associated with it. Multiple of the First Buck Stories entrepreneurs got their start this way like Nathan of Haskins IT. He found his niche creating custom IT experiences for his clients by handing out business cards pre-Geek Squad days to aid customers buying new computers at Staples. Brian of Dead Inventory Management System is an expert in inventory management. He took what he knows best to create a system around it to help manufacturers sell their dead inventory; giving others access. “In order to get something done, you have to do it.” – Joy of The Fountain on Locust Failure is an inherent part of being an entrepreneur. The best entrepreneurs were successful because they knew how to work with failure and kept getting back up into the game. The key is to (like Nike) just do it. “Keep trying new things until you get it right” is the biggest piece of advice for entrepreneurs from Shawn at Fick, Eggemeyer, & Williamson, CPA’s. Ideas are fleeting but success takes action. The best quote that came from the contest came from the winner, Bob Brazell of Byrd & Barrel, after he was notified that he won. All he said was, “I haven’t slept in 3 days.” Bob embodies everything listed above and we’re so excited to continue to help him grow his business. Our goal was to celebrate and connect the community of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Through collecting these inspiring stories, we discovered that entrepreneurs are cut from the same cloth with the similar struggles and successes. We can’t wait to hear the first buck stories and the big buck stories of more small businesses!