|
||||||
|
Here is a great list of content resources from my friend and trusted colleague Pete Brown of Gateway Sales Development in St. Louis, MO. http://gsd.sandler.com/content/show/47603 http://gsd.sandler.com/content/show/47631 http://gsd.sandler.com/content/show/47606 http://gsd.sandler.com/content/show/47613 http://gsd.sandler.com/content/show/47615 http://gsd.sandler.com/content/show/47607 http://gsd.sandler.com/content/show/47608 http://gsd.sandler.com/content/show/47604 AdvertisingAge is running a poll, asking ” Have you found the new Google Instant function helpful in your web searches?” As of right now 35% of respondents say “Yes” and 65% say “No”. I voted “No.” I find this Google feature Instantly annoying & turned it off. (Just click on the link to the right of the field where you enter search terms to disable Instant.) In my view, Google Instant is really aimed at mobile users who, in a few years will be the majority of Google’s potential revenue. More on that trend here. You can cast your vote with AdAge here or share you comments below. What do you think? Love it or leave it?
As surprising as it may sound, we don’t really know the effect that entrepreneurship training has on start-up company success. Relatively little research has looked directly at the benefits provided by entrepreneurship education; and the results to date are far from conclusive. Studies by researchers at the University of Arizona, New York University, and other institutions have found that people who have received entrepreneurship education perform better at running their own businesses. However, these studies don’t necessarily show that entrepreneurship education causes better start-up company performance. The same people who are good at running their own businesses might also be the most interested in studying entrepreneurship, so any relation may be a correlation not causation. Additionally, a recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report on entrepreneurship training showed mixed results from several countries and recommended further study. Here’s what I think. From my observations, the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training depends most on the student and what that student wants to get out of the training. Another good indicator is if the person has paid for the training out of his/her own pocket. I’m basing these observations on teaching the following - Entrepreneurship training to high school students with exceptional math & science skills at IMSA (Illinois Math & Science Academy) - Sales training to sales people & business owners - Leadership coaching to sales managers & business owners - Member of the board of advisors for the Illinois SBDC (Small Business Development Center) What do you think? Does entrepreneurship education make better entrepreneurs? What do you base your opinion on? Referrals are great, right? In fact, for many businesses referrals and word-of-mouth marketing represent one of the biggest streams of revenue. Lately though you may have noticed a change in how your “warm referrals” are acting and converting to new customers. Here is what’s going on… Today, referrals are far more likely to seek out additional decision making information on the web rather than simply take the word of the referrer. Sometimes they will do their investigation of you and your competitors before they speak with you and sometimes they’ll wait till after they meet you but rest assured you will be checked-out. What Will They Find? This is why having a true marketing system in place, ready to engage and educate is so important. Of equal if not greater importance is how your brand and reputation fair in the search engine results. If your new referral searches for your services and you are NO WHERE to be found (not on Page 1) what impression does that leave? Hmmm, maybe I’ll take a look at some of these other service providers. Now imagine that your new referral searches for you and finds 3, 4 or 5 search engine results all pointing to you. What is the impression now? This guy (or gal!) is a major player and someone I can feel confident in. My advice – Stop sabotaging your referrals! Get the kind of web presence and marketing systems in place that your business and your referral sources deserve. Market research is critical to your local online marketing success. Period. And yet, 9 out of every 10 websites I am called into “fix” have been built by someone who: a. Knows nothing about marketing b. Knows nothing about SEO c. Has never and will never take the time to conduct proper market research BEFORE building a website! I guess I shouldn’t complain since it makes me a nice living but the professional marketer in me just can’t help but be frustrated by web designers who don’t understand that a website, when built on proper research and tied into a complete marketing system, is a powerful marketing machine. So, if you are considering a new site or a site redesign ask your prospective designer about their research process. If they give you a blank stare RUN! Your business and you deserve more than a pretty brochure that NO ONE will ever find! Oh, and of course, you can always call us and get it done right the first time. |
||||||
|
Copyright © 2012 FetchLocalCustomers Blog | Local Online Marketing That Works! - All Rights Reserved |
||||||
Call us at: 888.505.6162
According to the
Connect with Us