Small Business Can

Hi all

Like many of you, I'm looking back over 2011, with a mixture of disappointment that I didn't achieve all I had hoped, but also with some relief (and a little pride) that my business made it through the year and paid most of the bills - and of course, making some business resolutions for 2012, to use what I've learned in 2011. Here are the two questions I've asked myself:

* What went wrong in your business in 2011, that you can learn from, and share here? What does this mean for you in 2012? How will you avoid the same pitfalls?

* What went right for you in 2011, and how will you build on that in 2012?

So here are my answers below: I'd really like to hear yours too.

* I made a lot of mistakes in 2011, and the root cause of all of them was saying "Yes" too often. I agreed to do things that were not part of my original service offering to my clients - which resulted in me spending a lot of time and effort for little profit. All the time I wasted on these non-profit activities meant that I was not spending enough time recruiting new business. So my cash flow has been erratic and unpredictable. I woud have been better off saying (and this is my plan for 2012) "No, I don't do that, but I can find somebody who does, and help you to define your needs to them". I'm hoping this will keep my relationship with my client sweet, and ensure that I have the time to pursue other new clients. Also, by forging new relationships with other service providers, we can all serve our clients better by providing our unique expertise as "best of breed" - by forming a loose virtual co-operative.

Rather than spending late nights and weekends to provide a "complete" online marketing service, only to produce something that is overall mediocre (though excellent in the parts that are my forte), I'd rather not compete with people who are better then me, but collaborate, in the interests of our mutual customers. I've put up a sales letter at webmarketingireland.ie to explain what I'm doing for web designers and developers, and how it will benefit both us and our clients.

Another mistake I made was taking on clients whose businesses were not yet at a stage that they could benefit from my services. I'm putting the finishing touches on a low cost online course (to be online in January 2012) that will help them to understand the processes, and how to implement them themselves, so that they can grow to the point that my services make sense for them.

* I worked with several businesses in 2011, and for my biggest client, our relationship was mostly good, with some frustration on both sides at how slow things moved at times, mainly due to the historic structure of their business. At the end of the year, I made a short video to review what had been achieved - a 500% growth in organic web traffic, multiple first page search engine rankings, high organic search click through rates, and (at last) sales conversions - compared to the previous four years of dwindling start up funds, with no growth or sales before we met. As I made the video, I started to appreciate just how significant the changes I had made to their business are, what I had done right, and how it may just make them a household name in their market in 2012 or 2013 if they continue as we have started. (don't mistake this for boasting - I made plenty of mistakes too, which cost me a lot of time that I could not charge anyone a cent for - which caused me a lot of financial stress).

Although we have parted ways (most likely temporarily while they implement and expand on the strategies we set up in 2011) they have already referred potential new clients to me. I have learned a huge amount about how best to set and manage expectations of what is actually achievable, the internal business barriers to achieving results quickly, and how to ease the pain a little (there is always going to be pain in change and growth - as anyone who remembers their adolescence, or has children, knows).

So in 2012, I'll be asking a lot of hard questions about their business before I accept a client - so that they understand the commitment, time and likely results, and understand what I can and (importantly) cannot do for their business.

Thanks for taking the time to read this far - If you have any advice for me, I'm eager to hear it.

All the best for Christmas, and I hope that 2012 is your best year so far.

Thanks and regards,

Sal
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Hi Wandsoft



I disagree: Social Media works for any business, of any size, in any industry, because it is just a communication channel. It is just like using a telephone or talking or email - they all work for any industry, any business, etc. Or am I misinterpreting your message?



I disagree for the same reason. It is a different communication channel, and one that is becoming more and more accepted as the main channel of communication in younger people and early adopters. Here we are, two not so young people, communicating via text in a social media forum. Are we wasting our time here?



I wasn't trying to convince you or anyone else - only to explain as simply as possible the most effective use of social media. If you think it won't work, there is probably little I can say that will convince you. Only trying something out and getting or not getting results would convince me. I have personally used this technique to get new clients. So I know it works.



The bottom line may be simple to you, but implementing a metric system that will measure the ROI of social media is not so simple for everyone else on this forum. I assume you don't need help with this, but others here may - my offer still stands for those who are interested.



I agree, there are a lot of self proclaimed "experts" who will not produce results. I hope that you are not suggesting that I am one of them. I have not tried to solicit business here - I have offered freely my advice based on personal experience and testing done with my own clients. If you have an issue with my methods or believe there is a better way of doing things, please share your knowledge - I think that is what this forum is for - sharing what works. I would love to hear your experience and advice as to how to improve our businesses, with or without social media.
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Social Media can and does lead to sales - if done properly. Ask any business owner who has been in business for anly length of time where most of their new customers come from and they will most likely answer "Word of mouth". If your customers are talking about you to their friends or business associates in the real world, then all that social media does is make it easier for them to spread the (hopefully) good word. Unfortunately social media is often used as a broadcast medium, instead of a communications medium, and as a shotgun rather than a laser.

Here is a very short video which explains how you should be using social media to get the most return on your time invested

screencast.com/t/QT7zQkH1dqla

Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them here.

If anyone is interested in how to measure your social media efforts to find out what is working and what is not (so you can stop wasting time doing the 80% that is pointless) then please post your request here. If there is any demand for it, I'll create a short video to explain what to measure, how to measure it, and how to interpret the results.

Regards,

Sal
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I was being a little tongue in cheek with that - but I did say social media "tool" (although of coure it would not exist without the social media that provides the data). I agree 100% that Facebook ads are laser focused direct marketing. We are on the same page about what social media is
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Hi Alex,

Glad to be of help. As Anthony has already said - don't overthink this, go on courses or read too many books before you get started, just get stuck in. Don't wait for your website to be ready, you can start writing blog posts now and publish them later.

Get onto Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube (start with these four and get familiar with them first - and extend to other social media sites once you master these - keep testing!) and start joining groups, conversations and answering questions. If you get something wrong, just say sorry, and explain that you are a beginner. Tweets disappear in a matter fo hours, buried in the noise, Facebook posts disappear in a matter of days or weeks usually, so your mistakes will be forgotten if not forgiven.

Don't be afraid of negative feedback or complaints - use them to improve your service, your messages, to help you set realistic expectations for future customers, to build your reputation as a person who takes responsibility for mistakes and then fixes them. You will make mistakes - and you will get complaints. Nobody is perfect, and nobody's online marketing strategy is going to be a perfect fit for you. Make your mistakes quickly to find what works best.

Try something that nobody here is suggesting - if you think it is a good idea, give it a go, and then share the knowledge you gain here - for the next small business owner starting up with less experience than you have - because in a few months you will be an expert.

Regards,
Sal
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