Finding opportunities for business growth starts out with a need to know and ends with a final disposition of your product/service.

The question is: Where and when does the customer think about your product? Many a client gives me a puzzled look when I ask them to describe when a customer first realizes they have need for what they're selling. Many answer that they first think about it when the need arises. That is partially true depending on the need or the problem, but certainly not a complete answer.

And, as I tell our clients, without a need or a problem, you simply do not have a sale. Solve the problem or fill the need and you have a customer for life.

So the question remains: Where and when does the customer first think about? At what points in the chain can you offer unique services to your prospect that will change them into a buyer? When I initially asked customers that question, they have no clue. Oh sure, they would come up with the fairly obvious answers like the one given above.

 OK, so when is that…exactly?

 The look given back is similar to a deer in the headlights. They’re perplexed because they thought they had given me the answer already. The reality is not really. If it was that simple, we would all be making more money then we could possibly handle.

 I like to use an example of when do you first realize that you need a plumber. A plumber is not someone you think about until you really have a problem. Yeah, there are other things a plumber does like install a whole new bathroom for you (you know, new shower, new vanity, etc). But, generally you don’t think about the plumber until you really really need him.

 So precisely when does that happen?

 I can best describe that moment with a story of what happened to me many years ago. I was in the bedroom folding laundry (yes, I do many things, of which folding laundry is one) when my 5 year old niece comes running into the bedroom yelling at the top of her very young lungs “Uncle Richard, Uncle Richard, Uncle Richard (ever notice how kids say things multiple times in a row?), there is water coming out of the toilet!

 So, put yourself in this position and answer this question…what precisely would be your first thought at that moment?

 Now, you and I both know it would not be “I have to call a plumber”. Why in the world would you call a plumber, especially since the only information you have is that a 5 year old little girl is screaming at the top of her lungs that there is water coming out from the toilet?

 As a business owner, when answering these questions along the consumption chain, you need to be realistic in guessing what one would be thinking at any given moment. Remember, it’s what they’re thinking, not what you’re thinking.

 The first thing I’m going to do is to think…”What the heck is she screaming about?” Once I have her calmed down enough to understand her, my next move is to go into the bathroom to see what she is talking about. After all, it could be she plugged up the toilet and it’s a simple matter to unplug it.

 OK, perhaps you’re getting the idea here is that you want to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer of your product/service at every possible moment to determine what their thoughts may be at that time. So, ask yourself…”is this a moment I could be addressing my potential customer with marketing that shows how my product/service can help them with a problem or a need?”

 When I walked into the bathroom I discovered that there was water coming out from underneath the vanity.

 Now, what am I thinking about at this moment?

 Well, I’m not thinking about a plumber. Why would I? At this point I’m going to be trying to figure out where the water is coming from. My immediate thought is that I have to stop the water from leaking, immediately. So I’m looking under the vanity to see if it’s coming from there and if I can shut the water off from there.

 I managed to successfully shut the water off.

 So what am I thinking at that moment?

 No, I’m not thinking about the plumber yet.

 Now I have water all over my floor and my brothers kids want to play in it. I need to clean this mess up before it starts to leak through the floor boards and the kids are all a mess.

 Once I got the mess cleaned up is probably the first moment I would think about the plumber. I have a moment in which to assess the situation and I know I need to get it fixed. I also know that I know enough about plumbing to know I don’t want to do it.

 So how does the plumber get into my head? Now that you have identified a potential marketing moment you can begin to answer that question. And there are many ways in which to position you in the mind of the consumer. But now that you have identified a moment, you can address it with the proper type of content.

 With each business, identifying those moments along the consumption chain will be different. Once you have that moment of awareness the next question to answer is: “How do customers identify alternative solutions? Why would they pick one solution over another?” and a myriad of other questions, each related to the moment that you identify as being a potential marketing moment. Answering these questions helps you to develop content that delivers an answer to the consumer.

 As you go through the presentation you will see other instances where you could position yourself in the consumers mind and capture their businesses. Be truthful, be thorough. It can only help benefit you in the long run.

 I hope that the plumber story gives you an idea on how to use the information contained in the workshop presentation. I want to give thanks to my good friend Dave Verbeten of Action Coach for his help in how the consumption chain works.

It's been shown that there are over 250 million active blogs on the Internet today. So the question is "How do I get my blog seen?" In this presentation we show you some of the basics of blogging as well as how to get it noticed in the blogosphere.

Finding your target market online takes a little bit of work, creativity and perhaps a bit of ingenuity. You really need to be aware of your market, your product and its usage. With that in mind Yellowbird Marketing shows you in this next seminar how to find your target market online.

Perhaps you need to create a sustainable competitive advantage.

You have probably wondered why it is taking so much effort to sell this one particular customer, or perhaps you're wondering why it takes so much to sell any of your potential clients.

Perhaps the biggest reason is that you're not answering the one question all customers have on their minds when you ask them to buy...

Why should I buy from you and not the other guy?

And in order to be able to answer that question you have to create a competitive advantage over your competition. A competitive advantage exists when your company is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a lower cost (cost advantage), or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products (differentiation advantage). Thus, a competitive advantage enables the firm to create superior value for its customers and superior profits for itself.

And to gain that competitive advantage requires that systems be set in place. One of these systems is marketing.

How does marketing fit in?

Traditional marketing theory talks about the “Four P’s”: Product, Place, Price and Promotion. All marketing campaigns use a mix of these ingredients to build customer awareness and loyalty. Differentiation is a key goal of any good marketing program. The Four P’s are sometimes referred to as the Four C’s: Capability, Convenience, Cost and Communication.

How do we use this framework to differentiate our product or service?

The Unique Selling Proposition

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a promise to deliver a unique product or service, or deliver it in a unique way. The USP often derives from the Sustainable Competitive Advantage, but not always.

Your USP = your brand

There is no one approach to creating a USP, but what you choose to do must be honest. Start by analyzing your personality, capabilities and goals. Do not create a USP based on superior service if you are not 100% committed to that in your DNA. Do not create a USP based on low price unless you can sustain those prices through low-cost sourcing or low overhead.

Be unique through personality

No one can duplicate you. That's right, only you can be you. So let folks see the real you in  the content you share with others about what it is you do. Let the customer see the product/service you sell the way you see it.

Be unique by combining old ideas

You don’t have to invent something new, but you can find a new spin on a familiar product or service.

Be unique by narrowing your focus

Choose your target audience and cater to them exclusively.

Be clear, concise and repetitive

Simple messages resonate because they are quickly understood in the clutter of daily life. Consumers do not have more than a few seconds to decide whether your message is important to them. A great USP can often become a great slogan.

Here are some examples of USP's that give you an idea of what we mean. Note how each of these USP's spells out precisely why they're unique and how they aim that message to address a need or solve a problem.

• The Greatest Show on Earth
• Is it live, or is it Memorex?
• When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight
• The ultimate driving machine
• We're Number Two. We Try Harder.

A copy of the workshop is available for downloading at

A New Power Hits Washington

Washington’s old guard of media lobbyists — including the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Recording Industry Association of America and the motion picture lobby — was forced to make way for the new on Wednesday as Web powerhouses backed by Internet activists rallied opposition to anti-piracy legislation.

Whose Protest was Stronger, Googles or Wikipedia?

Should Google of closed the number one site for the day as Wikipedia (number 6) did?

U.S. online ad spending to increase by 23% in 2012

Total spending closing in on $40 billion.  $$$

Nine things you didn't know about Twitter

Look closely because there is more to Twitter then meets the eye.

Facebook Announces Tighter Integration of 60 Apps to timeline, more a coming...

Facebook is making it so we can choose which apps will appear in our timelines.

  Young, in love and Sharing Passwords

Teenagers sharing passwords with each get life lessons when the relationship turns south.

An Introduction

 We started a series of workshops at the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce office last November and they will be completed next month. They explain how Internet marketing and all the various pieces fit together. We thought it would be nice to share these with a wider audience. This entry, as well as subsequent entries, will be brief and to the point. As we go along we will be including links to video and/or articles that will explain more in depth portions of the topic being discussed.

How the pieces fit together

Imagine the pieces of the Internet as a series of gears and cogs in a complex and constantly turning engine. Now imagine that the largest, most powerful gear in the engine is your website.

 What do we find there?

 Content:

Now, as we know, Content is king. It's the information you provide that tells your customer how your product or service helps them solve a problem or fulfill a need. Content is where you sell yourself to the public. Content is your message. It can be the written word, it can be pictures or graphics, it can be a video. Your content needs to relate to your customer.

Basically it's pretty simple...if your product/service doesn't solve a problem or fulfill a need then you don't have a sale. Every sale has to solve a problem or fill a need for the customer, other wise it's just conversation.

No matter how important your product/service may be, unless all the gears (parts of your Internet presence) mesh together and lead to your website, none of this will work. Unless your content can help a customer it's pretty much meaningless.

One thing you have to be sure to do on your website...ask for the sale! You have to ask for peoples business in some form or fashion. The prospect remains a prospect until you get their business. And you don't get their business unless you ask for it. Otherwise...you're just have a nice conversation. You need to include a specific call to action: fill out a form, make a phone call, comment on a blog entry, like us on FaceBook, buy our product/service. In our case we ask that you call us or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. us. Keep it simple, straight to the point and easy to do.

Next, you want to grab up as much "turf" on the Internet as you can...but be sure you put relevant content on that turf. You see, the more space you occupy the better the chance your customer will find you, look at you, like you, trust and then buy from you.

And the places "turf" where that content resides:

Blogs

Blogs are where you get to show off your expertise, where you show your customer that you’re the “Subject Matter Expert”. This is where you can show your customer why it was a good thing they stopped over to your site. There is much you can provide; tips on how to use your product solves certain problems is just one of many topics you can provide to fill the pages of your blog. You can engage your customer and develop a relationship with them. Blogging sites include: Blogger, Wordpress, Tumblr, Technorati to name a few.. There are more than 250 million bloggers posting on-line regularly today. What that means is there is a lot of competition and clutter you have to get through in order for your customer to find you. So, there is much more to blogging then simply writing a post. More on that in later posts.

 Social Media

Where you create and build relationships. Some sites provide both individual and business account setup, some don't. Some are strictly text only, others allow for a mish-mash of content. It's best to get to know the personality of each site first by listening to the conversation before jumping in with both feet.

Popular Social Media Sites include:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Foursquare
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

Newsletters 

Newsletters are where you tell your customers about new and exciting things happening with your company or you provide little tidbits on how to use your product or services, or inform them of the latest and greatest you have to offer. Popular newsletter sites include: Vertical Response, Constant Contact, and Mail Chimp. Most are relatively easy to use and provide most of the analytics you would use to measure the success of each newsletter. Costs vary, but it's usually pennies per email address.

 Articles and PR Releases

 •       Another great way to let people know that you’re relevant and continue to add value to your offerings.

 •       Google has new restrictions on re-using content

Some article sites include:

•         Ezine

•        Squidoo

 Video 

 •       The next best thing to a personal meeting.

 •       If a picture is worth a thousand words,

 •       Then video is far more valuable than static text on a web page.

 •       Why tell when you can show?

 Popular Video hosting sites:

•  Daily Motion
• Vimeo
• You Tube
• MetaCafe

 SEO

SEO is not some magical thing where someone waves their wand and poof, you're on page one. Oh, if only it were that simple. It can be very challenging trying to find the precise term or phrase that best describes your business and that people use when searching for you.

•  Search engine optimization helps your website rank higher using the content you've been creating and the "keywords" or phrases that your audience uses when searching for you or your product/service. Targeted Keywords your audience will use to find you.

•  SEO helps to create relevant backlinks to your site from other relevant websites, blogs, articles, etc. It shows Google how popular you are.

•  But it takes more than keywords to reach page one ranking. It takes a lot of hard work, smart thinking, and in some case, speed.

SEM/PPC

 Search Engine Marketing seeks to raise you in the ranks through paid advertisements and strategic locations on the Internet. Several ways of accomplishing these tasks are:

•  Pay-Per-Click is advertising that helps your audience find you quicker. PPC helps you control your destiny in an internet crowded with competition. You can control how much you spend, you can target your audience and you can change direction in a heartbeat.
• Article submissions as seen previously in this post.
• SEM takes into account all the tools we have been discussing and will drill into in future posts.

As you can see there is much to confuse those new to the Internet. You know you have to use it, but how to use the various pieces, when to use them, will they fit my business? These are just some of the questions we will attempt to answer in this blog.

These workshops are available to company's and individuals. We have various programs available for you to consider Just call us at 815-236-9342 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

  Next up: How does your customer or prospect see you? How to begin to develop your message.

We're proud to announce the addition of new local search engine marketing programs. These programs will get your website on page one ranking for local search for selected keywords. As you know, 98% of all traffic is generated from page one. So it's very important to make sure your web site appears on page one. If you're on page two...you don't exist to 98% of the web traffic looking for you or your competitor. As you know, local listings appear on the top of every page in a search on Google. Yellowbird will put you on the top of every page in local searches so which works very effectively for small to medium size companies whose targeted market is geographic dependent. So the local painter, or home repair, or grocery, or real estate agent will find these programs to be a great tool for attracting the right kind of traffic to your website. Give us a call today and learn how these programs can work for you at 815-236-9342 or e-mail us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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