If you’re looking to harness the power of testimonials for your business, this conversation with Danielle Klemm, a positioning and funnel strategist, is packed with insights.

She packed so much information into the short conversation:  Here are just a few highlights. 

There is a structure to a great testimonial

Testimonials should follow a story structure with a beginning, middle, and end. When asked to give a testimonial, customers usually describe their experiences from the end point, but that isn't where your next customer is in their process  You need to guide the conversation starting from the problems they faced before using your product or service.

Ask specific questions to prompt customers to talk about their initial challenges, the aha moments they experienced, and how your product or service solved their problems. This approach not only enhances the testimonial but also provides valuable marketing language directly from your customers.

Do more with testimonials

Beyond just posting on social media or your website, testimonials can be used creatively across various platforms. This includes integrating them into blog posts, case studies, media publications, and even at physical booths using QR codes. The goal is to make these testimonials part of your natural sales process, helping to build credibility and trust.

Learn More https://www.danielleklemm.com

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Seven years ago, I chatted with Luke Magsamen, who was a member of the Roundpeg team at the time, about marketing automation.  While tools have changed, the strategies we discussed are as relevant today to help you keep a business running smoothly, even while you sleep. Here are some key points from our discussion:

1. Automated Messaging: Automated emails and messages can engage both new and existing customers without constant manual effort. This includes sending birthday wishes or reminding customers about abandoned carts.

2. Essential Tools: To implement a successful automated marketing campaign, you need a good email program, engaging landing pages, and a comprehensive database of customer information.

3. Personalized Campaigns: Personal touches, like birthday discounts or anniversary reminders, can re-engage customers effectively. Luke shared his experience with Dollar Shave Club, where a birthday discount prompted him to make an additional purchase.

4. Ongoing Engagement: Automated emails can keep customers engaged over long sales cycles. For instance, sending a series of emails with different resources after a proposal can guide potential customers towards a purchase decision.

5. Evergreen Content: Ensure your automated emails contain evergreen content that remains relevant over time. Avoid seasonal references or outdated information by linking to updated content on your website.

6. Complementary Follow-up: While automation is powerful, it’s essential to complement it with personal follow-ups, such as phone calls, to maintain a human touch in customer interactions.

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Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with start-ups, as they look for name for their new business or product. The process is rarely easy, but always interesting.

The process should start with a look at the ultimate customer and the unique elements of the solution being presented. Even in traditional industries, looking for a unique twist will help set the business apart.

So what else should you consider on your quest to find the perfect name?

• Simple and Memorable: If the name isn’t short, punchy and relevant customers may struggle to remember it when it is time to buy! Prospective customers may do a Google or voice search for your business. If you name is hard to pronounce or spell, they may have trouble finding you.
• Relevant: It may or may not be descriptive, but it should evoke a feeling, perception, or impression in the mind of your target audience.
• Unique: If you want to trademark the name, it needs to be unique in the category.

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One of the things that happened during Covid was that virtual events exploded.  And today, even as we return to in person activities, there is still a place for virtual events in your marketing.  That was the topic I dove into with Michael Tucker. 

Here are some key points from the interview with Michael Tucker about virtual events:

1. Building Trust and Credibility: Michael loves virtual events because they are a powerful way to quickly build trust and credibility with an audience. They offer an opportunity to teach, engage, and build relationships, which can expedite the sales process.

2. High Energy and Engagement: Successful virtual events require high energy and engagement. Keeping the audience's attention is crucial, and this is best achieved by showing up with passion and enthusiasm, even if you’re not naturally an extrovert. The content should be crafted with the audience in mind, focusing on what is relevant and valuable to them.

3. Starting Small and Focusing on Quality: It's important to start with the resources you have, such as an existing email list or social media following. The goal should be to attract a quality audience, not necessarily a large one. A smaller group of highly interested and relevant attendees can be more effective than a larger, less engaged group.

4. Crafting a Clear Goal and Transformational Content: Every virtual event should have a clear goal. The content should be designed to help attendees achieve their goals and should lead them to the next step in their journey, which could be making a purchase or booking a call. The content must create a transformation by shifting their beliefs and actions, rather than just providing value.

5. Selective Value and Strategic Content: It’s important not to give everything away in the event. Instead, provide enough value to create a shift in the audience’s thinking and leave them wanting more. This makes them more likely to take the next step, such as hiring you or buying your product.

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In this conversation from our archive, I had a chance to talk with Brenden Kumarasamy from MasterTalk. Brenden shares practical tips to enhance communication and public speaking abilities. Here are four simple exercises you can add to your daily routine.

1. Random Word Exercise: Pick a random word and create a 60-second presentation around it. This helps improve your ability to think on your feet and make sense of unexpected topics, which is crucial in business settings.

2. Question Drill: Practice answering one question about your business every day. This prepares you for the unexpected questions you might face in sales calls or networking events and builds your confidence and expertise over time.

3. Video Messages: Send 20-second video messages to people you appreciate without retakes. This exercise helps you practice spontaneous communication and strengthens relationships.

4. Jigsaw Puzzle Strategy: When preparing for a big presentation, practice your introduction and conclusion multiple times before tackling the middle. This ensures a strong start and finish, which are critical for making a lasting impression.

Brenden emphasizes that these simple exercises can significantly improve your public speaking skills and overall communication effectiveness. For more tips, check out MasterTalk on YouTube.

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Social media is a lot like going to a singles bar. You’re going to meet a lot of nice people and have some interesting conversations.  But at the end of the day your goal is to bring your date home.

In the world of digital marketing home is your website and your email list.  This is where you can have that great one on one conversation without all the distractions like silly videos, cat pictures and baby images.  This is where you can control the conversation.

As your creating marketing and advertising for social media, remember, you want to bring your date home. 

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I enjoyed the time I spent with Deborah Bowers, a seasoned marketing expert, to discuss the essentials of digital advertising for small businesses. Here are a few key points from our conversation:

Importance of Digital Advertising: Deborah emphasizes the necessity of incorporating paid advertising alongside organic marketing to reach a wider audience and drive more sales

Starting with Digital Advertising: For those new to digital advertising, Deborah suggests focusing on directional advertising, targeting people who already know they want a product or service. Spending more of your budget on people who are closer to the point of purchase is an effective way to stretch limited marketing funds.

 Digital Search Ads: These ads appear to users based on their search behaviors across multiple platforms, allowing businesses to target potential customers without the need for a separate budget for each platform.

Targeting and Budget Management: Deborah explains the importance of targeting specific demographics and setting limits on how often ads are shown to avoid overspending and annoying potential customers. She emphasizes the need to capture leads effectively through well-designed landing pages.

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Do you feel overwhelmed by social media if you do you're not alone but I've got some good news for you because there are things you can do to manage the chaos and make the time you're spending on social media productive.

Our guest, Andrea Jones explains one of the challenges with social media is that it's a mixture of our business and our personal life.  She suggests dividing platforms by purpose—some for personal use and others strictly for business. This helps manage focus and reduce distractions.  She has some other great suggestions in this lively conversation

Time Blocking: Instead of stressing over posting frequently, spend a set amount of time each day engaging with your community and creating content.

Content Strategy: Balance your posts between connection and conversion. Andrea recommends the 80/20 rule—80% of content should aim to connect with the audience, and 20% should focus on conversion.

Reflect Business Activity: Use real business interactions and questions as the foundation of your content, keeping your updates relevant and engaging

Define Social Media Goals: Understand what you want to achieve with social media, whether it’s building authority or driving sales. This clarity can help turn social media from a chore into a valuable tool.

For more insights, check out Andrea's podcast, the Savvy Social Podcast, and her website, http://onlinedrea.com.

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The internet is fueled by cats. Cute cats, funny cats, grumpy cats, cat photos and cat videos. It's cats, cats, cats, all day long. I'm actually okay with that because I like cats. We even had two cats, Clyde and Truman who lived Roundpeg  and if you followed us on social media you would see them regularly featured.  Clyde even had her own Facebook page and probably has more fans than I did.

And it is this love of cats that kind of inspired us to do a fun promotion for our marketing seminars. We designed an ad with a headline that said:  Free Kittens with every seminar. If you read the fine print, we weren't giving away kittens but you did get a chance to play with our cats

It was a little bit out there, so we wondered how our audience would react, so we created a more traditional version as an alternative.  We both graphics on Facebook and on LinkedIn, thinking we  we knew exactly how this was going to play out. We expected the kittens to do well on Facebook and  the more traditional version to score points on LinkedIn. 

We were wrong!.  The cats got barely got a ripple on Facebook, with few people noticing and interacting.  It certainly didn't t get the viral shares I expected. Instead the traditional graphic, when reshared to my personal page with a bit of text telling friends and family where I was going to be in the next month got lots of engagement.  

LinkedIn just the opposite. The traditional schedule got a few thumbs up but the cats went viral. The image was shared and reshared.   People kept commenting and talking about it, long after the seminars were over.

The lesson we learned:  Don't be afraid to shake things up. Be a little silly and to go outside your box or simply look for ways to do exactly the opposite of what everybody else is doing.  If you can do that, you are more likely to get noticed.

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Monica Pitts, founder of MayeCreate Design and host of the "Marketing with Purpose" podcast brought her energy and humor to this conversation about your website.    Like me, she considers it a critical part of your overall marketing.

1. Authenticity and Realness: She emphasizes the importance of using real images instead of stock photos and writing website content in your own authentic voice. Being genuine helps customers connect with you.
2. Storytelling: Your business is unique. Even in a cluttered industry, you need to find your unique stories and tell it on your website instead of using generic marketing language.
3. Consistency: Once you embrace your unique voice, you need to maintain it is message across all platforms, from your website and social media, to in person interactions.  This cohesive brand experience helps prospective customers understand who they will really be working with. Not everyone will appreciate your unique voice.  That's ok, the ones who do, will make the best customers.
4. Practical Tips for Content:  Content is everywhere.  One great source are you sales and customer service teams. Every day they hear the questions customers want answered.  Use the questions and answers to fuel your content.
5. Website Performance: Speed is everything.  Beyond the great content and effective conversion forms, your website must be driven by a powerful and fast engine to deliver information to visitors quickly, before they click away

What To Put On Your Website - A page-by-page website content checklist. Learn what to put where and how to make it all come together for a website that’s as easy to use as a coffee cup. GET STARTED NOW 

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