tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-207814072010-02-24T09:01:41.104-05:00We help small business owners grow their sales through Reality Marketing™. Follow the thoughts and recommendations of Mike Lieberman, President and Co-founder of Square 2 Marketing through this "no fluff" blog.Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.comBlogger205125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-58229076092694561772010-02-24T09:01:00.000-05:002010-02-24T09:01:41.114-05:00

Yesterday's blog was about blogging and turning people into fans of your company.  How do you do that?  First you have to have a position, the bolder the better.  Take a stand, any stand and make it core to your business.  Create a philosophy, a methodology, an approach anything that makes you and your business different. Next, put it out there.  Tell people about it.  Write a short white paper

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-79000576092756272232010-02-23T12:28:00.000-05:002010-02-23T12:28:28.701-05:00

Many people ask me if they need a blog on their new websites.  The answer is of course, YES!  But that really isn't the right question.  The right question is how do I use a blog to drive leads.  So let's talk about the answer to that question.  Just like advertising distributes your message to the masses, your blog distributes your message to THOSE PEOPLE WHO CARE.  Every time you blog, people

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-57928182813470482852010-02-22T10:22:00.001-05:002010-02-24T08:49:02.295-05:00

We hear it every day.  We really want to invest in the marketing program but it is just out of our price range, or we didn't budget for it, or we really need it to be less money, or the worst is...we are a $10 million dollar business but we only have $1,000 a month allocated for marketing.  I understand the realities of cash flow and paying for stuff but today I read a story about a meeting

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-39794641425084791802010-02-19T13:55:00.000-05:002010-02-19T13:55:50.991-05:00

This blog talks a lot about business marketing and making a business remarkable but in a time when there are so many people out of work and looking for jobs this concept rings true for individuals too.  Just think about it...how many times have you interviewed 5 people and in the end you can barely tell them apart.  They all went to decent schools, they all spoke intelligently, they all answered

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-49748638084295352282010-02-17T12:04:00.000-05:002010-02-17T12:04:49.011-05:00

Everyone love to talk about email marketing.  It is so cheap, it is so easy, it is so targeted and that is all true, but it still needs to work right?  So how do we know if it is working?  And, what do we want it to do?  What are the goals and objectives of an email marketing campaign? First Goal of Email Marketing - Stay in front of your customers and prospects.  This is the same goal as

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-79805500626486163422010-02-16T12:15:00.002-05:002010-02-16T12:16:55.390-05:00

We had an interesting comment on the blog a few days ago. It had to do with the importance of building your email list in-house, as opposed to other ways to get email addresses. I thought that warrented a conversation. I hear this question all the time. ”Where do we get more email addresses?” Most of our clients start out with only a couple of hundred email addresses in their business databases

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-67666579567353688902010-02-15T16:51:00.001-05:002010-02-15T16:51:41.054-05:00

We have chatted about regular rhythmic communications with suspects, prospects, clients, partners etc. We have talked about regular marketing meetings to keep your progress moving in the right direction. Are you hearing a pattern here? Marketing, like all professions takes practices, it takes commitment, and it takes work. It isn’t easy! So if you are doing a monthly, weekly, bi-weekly,

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-74884580489524190292010-02-11T15:16:00.005-05:002010-02-11T15:25:04.997-05:00

Let's hope you have been paying attention to my blog and you actually do some email marketing already. If you do, you should be watching your stats. Is your open rate over 25%? Is your click through rate over 5%? If not, you might want to make some changes to the content of your emails. Here are a couple of insights from some recent research I saw on email marketing. Insight 1 - Buyers

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-69968628404351792392010-02-10T10:38:00.000-05:002010-02-10T10:38:43.945-05:00

We all agreed that if marketing is a strategic initiative then it needs regular attention for at least 1 hour at least once a week.  We also greed that these regular marketing meetings keep you moving forward making little changes and adjustments each week.  If you have been following along and working with me, then you have some idea of your 2010 marketing plan and you have already started

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-2933690040018406862010-02-08T09:21:00.001-05:002010-02-10T10:13:24.503-05:00

What kind of marketing blogger would I be if I didn't comment on yesterday's Super Bowl ads?  First, let me ask you if you can remember anything special about any of the ads?  Here goes... Doritos...cute stupid...certainly didn't make me want to buy any Doritos.  No special favor, no special package, no new shapes, basically, nothing new. Career Builders...cute, funny, maybe even a little

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-43625670198710114732010-02-05T08:35:00.000-05:002010-02-05T08:35:51.696-05:00

So from time to time, I blog about experiences related to marketing.  Today, I wanted to chat about how you, as a customer, can get the kind of service you think you deserve.  Remember, this typically isn't the level of service businesses provide, but as a connoisseur of good service, I know how to get it...even when they conspire to keep it from me.  The main tactic I employ is called, "

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-7107383221224251702010-02-03T13:33:00.001-05:002010-02-03T13:36:34.023-05:00

Hopefully, you have applied the Red/Blue Test and are meeting with your marketing team (even if its just you) regularly on the updates and upgrades to your current website. Here is one final tip to finish up the two basic upgrades everyone should make to their website. Is the site designed around you? If the site design focuses primarily on your products, your services, your team, your

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-37354602983979247022010-01-28T10:38:00.007-05:002010-01-28T10:49:16.065-05:00

We talk a lot about changing the way you market your company. We talk a lot about changing the rhythms and the process by which you manage your companies day to day, week to week, month to month. I was in a meeting yesterday with a client who asked me to help them learn how to facilitate a meeting and then create a system so actual work, action, and results would be an outcome of their meetings

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-24778331239538100702010-01-25T13:33:00.003-05:002010-02-03T13:38:38.452-05:00

So, by now you would have had your weekly marketing meeting.  You did that right?  If you had your first meeting and you took an objective look at your website, you see there is work to be done.  Here are a couple of items that should have surfaced.  First, your website is about you and not about your clients/customers.  In short, your website failed the famous Red/Blue test.  If you aren't

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-76236992382349176262010-01-21T11:37:00.003-05:002010-01-21T11:47:42.925-05:00

Since you are all working on your websites this week, let me share one of my classic service experiences. We want to add some plants to our office. Wouldn't you think that would be an easy process? Unfortunately, we have some big planters and a big space so out of the ordinary plants are needed in our case. Do you believe that after emailing four local nurseries and plant providers I have yet

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-37948194516068186322010-01-18T11:14:00.003-05:002010-01-18T11:27:46.958-05:00

I am going to assume that you all set your weekly marketing meeting. If you were smart, you met last week and filled your team in on what you were doing scheduling a weekly marketing meeting. If you didn't include your team or you didn't set your meeting to it today for this week.Why include the team? Good question, well first, there are going to be tasks that require others besides you (the

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-91862216138238651712010-01-13T10:20:00.002-05:002010-01-13T10:41:54.492-05:00

Let's take a break from all this serious planning to talk about a way to get additional revenue from your current clients. This will give you another day or two to finish your plans and set your weekly marketing meetings. Yesterday, a tree service firm stopped by my home (unsolicited) to take a look at my property and provide me a list of items that need attention. WOW! That sure was proactive

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-62347479697495666702010-01-12T17:41:00.001-05:002010-01-12T17:47:37.978-05:00

Ok! Congratulations, you have a new marketing plan for 2010. So what! The good news is you are ahead of more than 80% of the business owners in this country. They don't even have a plan. But what do you do with the plan? Put on the corner of your desk so your employees are impressed? Share it with your spouse? Those are good options, but I have a better idea.Let's implement it. But,

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-53765381105863199492010-01-08T17:01:00.002-05:002010-01-08T17:07:12.536-05:00

Creating the messaging for your marketing plan is the most important part and the most challenging. If you have been following along, you are well on your way to an effective marketing effort in 2010. Now you need a set of tactics, a time line for when they will launch and a set of goals for each tactic. So, to help you with this...create a calendar. Each month for the next twelve months pick

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-36851247839338130002010-01-07T17:11:00.003-05:002010-01-07T17:19:26.626-05:00

Now that you identified your customer's pains...you have to solve their pains and most importantly, you have to solve them in a way that NO ONE else can. In our words, you have to solve them in a remarkable way. You have to solve them in a way that allows your customers to tell YOUR story. Take each of the pains you identified and make sure you have a remarkable solution to each of the pains.

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-78270498101434546542010-01-05T09:44:00.003-05:002010-01-05T09:57:28.564-05:00

Your plan is coming along nicely. You have goals, you have a clear target market in mind and how you have to come up with engaging messages that appeal to your target customer. How do you do that?The first part of deciding what to say...is understanding what they want to hear about. It's not too complicated if you think about it from THEIR perspective not yours. Typically, business owners

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-49669220555267306242010-01-04T09:35:00.000-05:002010-01-04T09:42:46.639-05:00

If you did your homework and set some goals for 2010 congratulations! Now that you have some targets to shoot for, let's talk about how to get there. First, we have to know who we are going after. Who we are talking to. Who we want to do business with and who we don't. That's right...there might be people we DON'T want to do business with.Now, think about your best customer. What does that

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-5514314620259778912010-01-01T14:08:00.005-05:002010-01-01T14:44:05.891-05:00

Here is a statistic that should shock you.80% of the businesses in the U.S. don't have a marketing plan. Guess what? That is just those who are OK publicly admitting they don't have one. My guess is that this number is actually much higher.Here is another statistic. I am in a Business Owners Peer Group called Vistage and when I asked 12 business owners if they had a marketing plan, even one

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-31829963679226829522009-12-31T18:13:00.003-05:002010-01-04T09:02:03.210-05:00

People make mistakes. Since people make up businesses...it's safe to say that businesses make mistakes too. But the real challenge is not about eliminating mistakes but what happens if you or your business makes a mistake. That's where the RECOVERY comes into play.Look at professional athletes, many of them get hurt...those that come back, work hard, and play there way back into the line up

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20781407.post-8199249008655158772009-12-28T16:44:00.002-05:002009-12-28T16:51:17.855-05:00

This is tough, especially at this time of year. Customers are challenges. They require care and feeding. They require attention. They require your respect. They require and in fact are paying for your expertise, advise, and your counsel. For those of you with retail businesses, customers need a lot of attention this time of year and their ability to treat you with respect might be

Mike Liebermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02346044065973349949mike@square2marketing.com0