Sell Them with a Story: How to Use Storytelling to Grow your Small Business Posted on October 28, 2015June 27, 2016 by Jonathan Herrick One of the most effective marketing strategies for your small business has been around since the beginning of time. Storytelling. Even before the modern digital era storytelling was used by ancient leaders to move crowds to action, preserve history and change nations. Storytelling is a powerful tool that you can use to market your brand and connect in a more real and personal way with your audience. The Power of Storytelling “We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” – Jonathan Gottschall (@jonathangottsch), The Storytelling As a small business, cutting through the noise and getting more of your audience talking about you can leave you feeling like David in a match against Goliath. Lots of companies create content, and it’s getting crowded out there. Getting attention is tough, unless you can connect with people on a human level and tap into their emotions. Crafting a compelling, memorable story that shows why your business is unique is a powerful way to stamp your brand on the hearts and minds of your audience. Create a story worth sharing, and your audience will reward you by passing it on to their family, friends and colleagues. But does storytelling really work? The answer: It sure does. The reason storytelling is so effective is because the buying process is not just a rational decision backed by data points for your customers; it’s also an emotional one. In Chip and Dan Heath’s Book, “Made to Stick” they describe why some ideas stick and others don’t. Overwhelmingly the stats show that people remember a powerful story over cited statistics. Stats like the often regurgitated: “We grew revenue by 200 percent.” In fact, in one example, students at Stanford were asked to share facts with their classmates: 63% remembered the stories and only 5% remembered the actual statistics that were cited. I know what you’re thinking…if you’re anything like those Stanford students, you probably won’t remember that stat. So to illustrate, here is a great example of a business using storytelling. Subaru, as you know, is in the car business and like everyone else they could have talked about safety, gas mileage, etc. Instead they connected with their potential buyers and customers with a powerful story, Making Memories: Now I have to tell you I don’t own a Subaru, but as a dad (their ideal buyer) this pulled on my heartstrings in a way that no other car company has. I have shared this video and nearly 340K people have as well. But you are probably asking, so what? Is it driving results? Subaru is outpacing their competitors in growth and recent sales have been up as much as 28% as a result of their focus on leveraging storytelling to connect in a more human way. That’s huge. The Art of Storytelling You’re probably thinking, I don’t have a Subaru-sized budget. So how do you craft your own compelling story that captivates the attention of your small business audience? Start with the 6 Elements of a great story: Understand Your Purpose: Whether you sell a product or a service, don’t make the story about what you do, make it about “WHY” you do it. It is often said if you are in the shovel business you don’t sell shovels, you “Give them a better hole”. People gravitate towards the “why” not the “how” or “what.” Create the Conflict: If everything is running smoothly for your ideal buyer, what do they need you for? It’s human nature to be slow to embrace change, but a pain-point or point of conflict for your ideal buyer can be the catalyst they need to make a buying decision. Show your readers what problem your product/solution solves and what tension it relieves. Create the Character: Develop a character that your reader or audience can relate to and cheer for. Someone that experiences the same challenges and struggles your ideal customer goes through every day. Focus on WIFT: Your prospects and customers want to know what’s in it for them. The fact is, no one cares about your business’s sales and marketing goals. Believe it or not, your audience doesn’t wake up every day waiting to be a lead in your sales pipeline. They do, however love hearing and sharing a remarkable story about themselves! Keep it simple: We all suffer from overstimulation produced by too much content. Attention spans are short, and everyone reads in 140 character, bit-sized chunks. So, keep your story short, easy to digest and impactful. A great example of simplicity is Apple. Deliver a great ending-With a great story, you’ve got readers in the palm of your hand. While you have them engaged, don’t forget to include a clear call to action to help them take the next steps to happily ever after. Describe how doing business with you will improve their lives and emphasize why it’s worth the tradeoff of changing their behavior. Bonus-6.1 Share your story: Now, more than ever, you have a platform to spread your story. Social tools like Facebook, Twitter, Slideshare, and Instagram make it easy to connect with your prospects in customers in real-time and share an engaging story. Social media is also a great place to find elements to craft a great story for case studies, your blog and your website. We are moving into an era where “Personal” Brands will separate themselves from the pack by delivering on authentic and real messages. By using storytelling in your marketing, you give your prospects and customers a reason to care about your business. And to quote the great Mark Cuban: “When you’ve got 10,000 people trying to do the same thing, why would you want to be number 10,001?”
Four Things You Didn’t Know About Marketing Automation Posted on October 27, 2015June 18, 2018 by Jessica Lunk Running a small business requires being ultra resourceful when it comes to managing your time and your budget. We know you’ve got limited bandwidth, but we also know that neglected leads result in a dry profit pool down the road. No worries – marketing automation is here to help. Here are four important things you might not realize about marketing automation and how it can boost productivity for your small business. 1. ROI May Take Time – But, Your Patience will be Rewarded! Focus Research found that 75% of companies using marketing automation see ROI within 12 months and see positive results even sooner. This is both a very quick and very slow period of time to wait to see your investment bring about profit. Too often, when a new tool is implemented, companies are impatient to see immediate results. It is important to realize that the ROI is measurable and real, but it may take time to create the kind of impact that moves your audience towards purchase decisions. In the long run, this is a short-term investment that will pay out in a great way for the company if implemented correctly. 2. Your Leads are Segmented While 61% of B2B marketers send all of their leads straight to sales, only 27% were found to be qualified, according to MarketingSherpa. This is why it is so important to analyze the position of leads and then nurture them accordingly. Yet, gathering the right data to sort and segment leads would require exorbitant amounts of time and energy from your marketing team that they just don’t have. Instead, marketing automation systems gather information and do all the sorting for you, putting your leads in the right buckets. And once you’re leads are segmented, you’re on your way to nurturing them with personalized content to achieve a 20% higher level of sales, according to a report by DemandGen. 3. Your Leads are Nurtured Marketing automation tracks your leads’ activity and determines their sales potential every step of the way. With leads properly segmented, you can meet each lead where they are in the sales funnel and take the right steps to direct them toward conversion. Marketing automation software automatically nurtures your leads by sending them personalized content they value, instead of slamming them with sales tactics and generic taglines. This lead nurturing approach is exactly why most companies see excellent results within several months of implementing their system. 4. Your Costs are Lowered When companies implement a nurturing strategy and automate mundane processes, they save money. Employees don’t have to do the mindless work of sorting through lead behavior, they can focus on answering questions and cultivating relationships. Allowing the work to be done automatically means a faster and more efficient process for everyone. Forrester Research found companies that excelled at marketing automation were able to generate 50% more leads ready for sales at a 33% lower cost. When a software system can do the busywork, your employees are freed up to work on tougher tasks that have a bigger impact on your business. Are you ready to move towards solid and sustainable growth? Marketing automation is an important next step. Get on board now and ride the wave of marketing automation’s newest trends for successful brands.
Donut Mondays and Free Lunch Friday: Do Workplace Incentives Make a Difference? Posted on October 26, 2015July 6, 2016 by Jessica Lunk The workplace environment has changed through the years.In many companies, even the terminology has changed. Employees are “associates” or “team members” and bosses are “team leaders” or “directors”. This change in the work environment, in most cases, is for the positive. Today’s “work” is more incentivized and even gamified. “Company culture” has become a term engrained in business spawning casual Fridays, in-company day care, and everything from bagel Tuesdays to free lunch Fridays. At Hatchbuck, we certainly have our own unique culture. The real question is do workplace incentives make a difference? We Went Right to The Top For the answer, we went right to the top, going to Hatchbuck’s Chief Sales/Marketing Officer Jonathan Herrick. Already knowing our culture it was no surprise to us that Jonathan felt company culture is critical, especially in the early start-up years of an organization. “I believe our culture has been a key catalyst for our growth here at Hatchbuck.” Jonathan explained. “I wanted to be purposeful about giving team members the power to own and drive the culture. I wanted to better align them to the purpose of the business.” Hatchbuck’s Core Values A good place to start is with a discussion of your company’s core values. While mission statements have their place, for modern companies, especially small companies, mission statements can sound corporate or disconnected. Core values, however, simply get down to it. They express what should be the focus of everyone involved, every day. At Hatchbuck our core values are broken down as follows. Be yourself. Do the right thing. Keep it simple. Work hard and have fun. Make a difference. If this sounds like something you may have learned in kindergarten you may not be far off. Core values are not complicated. They reach to the core of a company’s culture. The Effect on Our Culture We see the effect of these core values every day at Hatchbuck. We see it in the energy our people bring into the office. It manifests itself in how they seek solutions for our clients. It nurtures a culture where each person’s talents are respected and valued. It encourages everyone to find simple answers and have fun doing it. The fact is, in almost any situation, an environment that exudes positive energy is going to be more enjoyable and productive than one that is lethargic and negative. This isn’t rocket science. Creating an atmosphere where people feel valued and are encouraged is one that will likely attract and keep talented people. These people themselves add to the culture and it organically grows. But it first must be guided and nurtured. So, Do the Freebies Make a Difference? The answer is more obvious when the question is rephrased. “Can freebies help you nurture your company culture?” Of course the answer is yes. It can build camaraderie and help people be themselves. Freebies can be fun and help relieve pressure. Not every company has the ability to provide in-house day care or offer free steak dinners on Fridays. But even small companies can encourage activities and offer incentives that make the work environment more enjoyable and productive. The ROI on a couple dozen donuts can be pretty impressive.
Tackling The Whole “Automation” Thing Posted on October 21, 2015July 27, 2016 by Lindsay Randazzo Everyone’s talking about marketing automation software and how life changing it can be for a business. I agree completely. Automation can make your workplace life a lot easier. For some though, marketing automation is a bit daunting. Trying to come up with your process and set up the steps correctly can take some time at the beginning, but automation will ultimately become your favorite coworker. Start small Jumping right into an elaborate automation strategy is 1) time-consuming and 2) overwhelming. Instead, add automation here and there as you learn more about the system and your strategy. For example, webpage tracking will help you gauge customer interest. Once someone has visited your pricing page, create an automated task for a sales rep to follow up with them. Small step, HUGE result. Instead of someone manually remembering to check and see who visited a webpage for calls (or not knowing at all), automation systems know to tag website visits and link automated actions based on that visit. Automation helps reduce clients slipping through the cracks. Now your sales team will have a list of tasks to call prospects and offer more information faster than your competition. Add pieces along the way Once you have small one-step automation in place, you can start to link multiple actions to accomplish what you want. Let’s say you have a tried and true sales process that works for your business; why not create a campaign with your sales steps? My own sales process looks something like this: Day 1: Send email Day 3: Call client Day 8: Send testimonial. I can automatically start prospects on this sales campaign when they fill out an online form or click a link in my email. This exemplifies marketing automation managing your workflow. Now you don’t have to rely on post-its and reminders cluttering your desk! Find the hidden gems Ask your consultant or the support desk, “What is your favorite feature? What will save me time but be relatively simple to get going?” Hatchbuckers all have their favorite feature, but mine is tag rules. It’s simple in theory, but oh so powerful. For example, if someone gets a tag two times, Hatchbuck triggers an automated action. This can be anything: creating a deal, starting a campaign, sending an automated email. When your prospect hits that magic number that you deem to show significant interest, it triggers the appropriate content. Instead of going through my thousands of contacts and figuring out who should get my drip campaign, or who my top prospects are to call, tag rules do everything for me. My prospects that have the tag rule triggered will get that campaign, or I’ll come into the office with tasks to call anyone with that interest. Super simple, super life-changing. Stop thinking about you It’s not about you… Really. Automation is about customer experience. Take a step back and think about the content they will be receiving and what actions should trigger campaigns or follow up tasks. When a customer visits your services page and have read testimonials twice in one week but have yet to fill out a form, continue to educate them slowly until they are ready to buy. Maybe they have questions but are afraid to ask. Maybe they need a more personal touch. Start building a relationship with these prospects using the knowledge you have about their interests and their behavior. Think about how your clients journey from the start to finish of a campaign and what comes next. When you are providing excellent customer service along the entire sales funnel, loyalty and trust will build as your relationship blossoms. Happy customers turn into your advocates and repeat sales. Get automating! Take it in steps, it’s always easier to add steps to your automation process. Think about your client and imagine if the steps you have make sense for your ideal buyer. Utilize the tools and resources that your marketing automation software provides for you. Those help videos and articles can really help set the stage and give you great ideas for your own process based off system-specific best practices. If you prefer a real person to see what you are missing, reach out! If you feel that you’ve mastered automation and want to really step it up, ask for advanced level suggestions. Let your system do the work for you!
The 140 Character Email Approach to Sparking Conversations Posted on October 1, 2015June 1, 2016 by Lindsey Stroud There are 3 things we can assume about the people we send emails to: 1) they receive a lot of email, 2) they don’t have a lot of time to devote to sorting/reading/responding, and 3) they receive a lot of the same requests. The minute Outlook opens, most people are swarmed with a pile of 25-50 emails, with the goal of QUICKLY eliminating the majority. The first consideration is going to be – “Which subject lines looks like mass produced junk?” Ok delete those. Once the bad subject lines are sent to trash, the next thought is going to be “Which emails have the highest priority?” If at first glance an email appears to be flirting with the lines of a best-selling novel – most won’t think twice about tossing it to the trash alongside the bad subject line victims. So with the assumptions that people don’t have time or energy to devote to long emails and elaborate requests – Which emails do get read? What makes up good email? How do you get a greater response? I think we can take a lesson from our friends over at Twitter with the 140-Character Approach (roughly 20-30 words). This method allows you to quickly get information to your contacts in a digestible amount. It can be a challenge in itself to downsize your emails, but is a practice that will help spark more conversations as the world changes the way it prefers to receive content. Let’s look how to apply the 140 Character Approach to your email marketing best practices: Segment Your Audience – There is no one-size-fits-all approach to email. The minute something does not relate to your audience, you will lose them. Breaking your contacts down into segments will help you to drill down and tailor the messaging directly to their needs, wants, and likes. Consider segmenting by the following to help stay relevant: Status (Former Customer, Prospect, and Customer), Potential Product/Service Interests, Title, Company Size, and Location. Make Every Word Count – When you are squeezing your message into a short blurb, each word is important. The easiest way to grab your reader’s attention and create impact is by using power words, which often create a feeling or awakens an emotion within the reader. Check out this list of 317 Power Words. Have a Conversation – If you are taking time to segment and learn about your contacts through a system like Hatchbuck, you should have all of the tools you need to drill down into a great conversation. Great conversations consist of back and forth communication, so an open-ended question is a good idea to begin the line of communication. Here are 21 Open-Ended Sales Questions to Ask. Redirect – If you have a lot of information you need to get out, don’t throw it all into an email to be disregarded. Consider it a great opportunity for you to use a call-to-action to drive your contacts to your website or landing page. Landing pages are great because you have the ability to place additional descriptions and images that may cloud your email conversation. If you are looking for a cheap landing page builder, try out Wix. Marketing automation helps to put a human touch back to your sales process by giving you key information to spark meaningful conversations. Keep your process simple, clean, and targeted and turn more handshakes into raving customers!
B2B Company? Here’s 3 Reasons You Need Marketing Automation Posted on August 27, 2015June 18, 2018 by Jonathan Herrick Are you getting enough attention to keep you sailing strong, or are you fighting against the currents without the right tools? Other businesses won’t know about your company or trust you if they don’t know you exist. You need to prove your value, show your company can be trusted and captivate interest. Companies are able to do this by marketing their products and brand to the companies they want to work with. You can improve your reach by implementing marketing automation. Here’s three reasons why: 1. A Stronger Approach Towards the Key Decision Makers Business to business marketing automation is often overlooked as a marketing tactic only for B2C companies. However, B2B companies are struggling to reach their key decision makers. Forrester Research reported that 2 out of 3 marketers say identifying key decision makers is their top challenge. Automated B2B marketing helps companies to keep content working the pipelines. Think of automated marketing like the sails on your ship. While you could manually row your boat with sales reps working round the clock, you could take a great load off with sails. Your sails, or automated marketing, offers a flow of content that snags the wind and moves the ship without as much time and effort wasted. Businesses who initially board your boat are able to move through your sales funnel smoothly, with little or no interaction from a direct sales team. When your sales team is reserved for the harder jobs and more difficult questions, your company is able to work more efficiently and accommodate more customers. 2. Marketing Automation Improves Marketing Jobs It’s important to understand that automated software makes the process of posting, emailing, tracking and reporting easier, but it does not make the marketer obsolete. The marketing professional is still needed to establish a strong, strategic and well-defined course. But marketing automation makes that job faster. Eliminating the unnecessary busywork leaves more time for brainstorming, creating and crafting content. 3. Craft More Relevant and Diverse Content Don’t get caught into a bad habit of email blasting a list of not interested contacts. You waste valuable time and burn potential leads when content is irrelevant, sloppy, unwanted or spammy. Instead: Require your entire contact list and all future contacts to opt-in to a list for receiving content and send a thank you email as soon as they sign up for content from your company Segment your lists so that different types of leads are receiving appropriate types of content (don’t send new leads the same content as loyal customers, etc.) Revisit your marketing goals and send out highly-targeted content to very select audiences – never send out generic content or blast general messages to your whole list Use resulting analytics to inform your sales team of which leads they should reach out to and what has prompted interest for that specific decision maker Continue to send content to specific contacts with intelligent marketing based on their behavior Establish customer engagement campaigns for your loyal customers to achieve higher retention rates and improve your marketing ROI (keeping loyal leads is more cost effective in the long run then solely chasing new leads) Use your marketing automation to build stronger relationships with your decision makers, individually nurturing those connections over long periods of time without spending a lot of time personally working with each lead Are you starting to see how important marketing automation is to the B2B company? So, raise your sails and stop fighting every wave the hard way. If you need more help, we would be happy to provide you with a compass to get you where you need to go.