Tomato Fish Marketing

From SoulSeedz.com:

The shortest known gestation period is 12 days for an Opossum, and the longest is over 700 days for an Elephant. Your countless ideas, visions and dreams gestate for anything from 12 to 700 days.

So, don’t rush, but be prepared to let the world know about your ideas and know what to expect in those first few weeks. Say to yourself: “I am the parent of incredible dreams. I release them in the world like children, to grow and become mature plans.” Then, start to create a business plan that is more general to start but becomes more detailed as your idea matures.

When you are ready to release this idea be prepared to begin branding and marketing it. Here are a few basic questions to think about when creating your business plan:

• 1. What is the purpose of this idea – mission and values?
• 2. What is my value proposition?
• 3. Who is my target market?
• 4. Where is my target market located?
• 5. How can I best reach this target market?

Then, contact a really good marketing or communications firm to help you build a strong marketing foundation in which to grow your idea into a successful business!

Hey, I think I know people who can help, just drop us a line.

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Social media is not necessarily the right marketing tactic for your business. Having a plan is key, but don’t assume that your business automatically will be successful with social media. Don’t believe me? Take it from Josh Miles:

“Should our firm be using Social Media?”

Josh says, “Nope.”

Read the full article here.

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Weekly, if not daily, I read something or hear someone talking about Social Media and how it’s the be-all-end-all for small businesses. Let me assure you that it is NOT.

Being a small business does not equate to “social media marketing is perfect for us”. And it’s unfortunate that there are so many companies and individuals out there pushing that if you are a small business you MUST add social media into your marketing plans or better yet – you must make social media your sole marketing strategy. Because it’s “free” and quick to set up.

First, social media is not free. The time it takes to manage and leverage your social media accounts alone is huge. And as business owners you know that “time = money”.

Secondly, what we fail to see amidst all the social media hype is that not all social media represents your target market. Some social media platforms might not reach your target audience at all.

So, what are we to do as Small Businesses? Research, research, and more research. You know your target market, so dive in and find out which social media platforms, if any, fit your requirements. And if you find one, talk with social media experts and get some quotes on what it will cost to implement. Be ready to increase that small business marketing budget of yours because, in most cases, social media requires on-going management.

Lastly, social media should be looked at as a tactic to your overall marketing strategy rather than the strategy itself.

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Recently, my good friend and client, Jon Speer of Creo Quality, sent me a post from the Marketing Tech Blog called “Using Social Networks for CRM“. Here’s a recap of the article:

Ways to use the “big three” networks for CRM:

1. Facebook – categorize your contacts into lists of friends, segment, and create privacy settings (Free).

2. Twitter – categorize those you follow with the unlimited lists feature that was recently added to Twitter (Free).

3. LinkedIn – categorize contacts into folders, add notes and contact information with the Profile Organizer ($24.95/mo)

It’s an interesting read and if you are an avid Facebooker, Tweeter, or LinkedIn user the tips given in this article could be fun to use and free as long as you don’t use LinkedIn.

The problem is that a strong CRM tool should not only be fun and easy to use, but allow you to leverage your CRM data to track sales and lead opportunities. At this point I have not seen this capability in Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

If you are looking for a good CRM tool that is inexpensive and not cumbersome there are plenty out there outside of social media. Drop us a line and we’ll point you in the right direction.

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Thank you to everyone who joined our Whiteboard Session last week. For those of you who could not make it, here are a few key ideas from the group.

TIPS
- Write Daily
- Read “43 Folders” –> suggestions on organizing your daily life
- Rewrite your biz plan often — become reconvicted as to your WHY
- Master workflow –> collect, process, and organize (and Review Daily & Weekly)
- Block Scheduling –> block out your time for the next month or more

TOOLS

- Mind Mapping –> MindManager software (from MindJet)
- Evernote –> enter notes and tag them (Free or $50/yr for unlimited data transfer)
- GMail for searching and categorizing, etc.
- Tungle meeting software –> good for getting meetings set up without a lot of admin
- Hipster PDA (aka “the Poor Man’s Moleskin”)

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Every month Jon Speer (Creo Quality) and I host a Whiteboard Strategy Session in my office and ultimately the discussion moves into Social Media and all that it entails. Most of the time we have at least one person who is Social Media adverse and is pained by trying to keep up with everything that is going on in the Social Media world.

This morning Harvard Business Publishing had a great post on this very topic – check it out…

“Social media trends happen fast. Just when you’ve got your Facebook account set up, everyone’s tweeting instead. When embarking on using social media at your organization, don’t get hung up on trying to keep up. Even technology gurus have a hard time keeping track of all of the emerging tools and technologies. Instead, focus on what matters most to you, your team, and your organization. Only a few technologies will truly be helpful in achieving your goals and those are the only ones you need. By shutting off the noise of trying to keep up, you free yourself to make the most of the tools that will support you in what truly matters.“

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This blog post was copied from the “Welcome to Management Tip of the Day”, a free daily alert from HarvardBusiness.org. This is a great excerpt from David Armano’s “Debunking Social Media Myths” post.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Social Media is Fast, Cheap, and Easy. Well, Not Quite.

The allure of social media is that it is easy to set up, costs nothing, and grows exponentially. Yet, many companies are discovering exactly the opposite. When considering your company’s foray into social media, remember that it requires time and effort. Invest upfront to grow your social ecosystem and regularly feed it new ideas, insights, and content. Whether it’s an internal wiki, a Twitter account, or a blog, all social media initiatives require careful monitoring and management to capture
value. Social media that isn’t well-tended risks lack of adoption and participation, and becomes anything but social.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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I found this fascinating quote today:

In a few of weeks, we will be offering another Free Whiteboard Strategy Session. The topic for next month’s event — 7 Tips to Market Your Business on the Web. Please come join us with any business development or marketing questions you’d like answered.creoquality.com, September 11, 2009 – FREE Whiteboard Strategy Session, Aug 2009

You should read the whole article.

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Social media is defined as content created by people that integrates technology and social interaction for sharing and discussing information.

How does social media translate into ROI for my business?

1. participate in conversations about your biz
2. enhance your relationship with your audience
3. become the expert in your industry/community

Is it right for your company?
• Seeding – You’ll have to invest time and possibly money into your effort to produce content. Man-hours are required.*
• Feeding – Your audience will need to be fed with continuous content in order to remain interesting and fresh. Man-hours are required.*
• Weeding – You must prune and weed out content that is not producing the your desired response. You will need to research and analyze your metrics and data. Man-hours are required.*

* From Debunking Social Media Myths, David Armano

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The Harvard Business Review Management Tip comes into my inbox daily and occasionally there are tidbits I feel compelled to pass along…

Yesterday, I read a post about Target’s ClearRx pharmacy system. Target was able to create a very successful customer experience with the new product design of their pill bottles which feature clear typography, color coding, and flat surfaces for easier reading. Target’s ClearRx provides a number of lessons for anyone wanting to create a great design and deliver a great customer experience.

1. Prototype early.

• Whether you are creating a new product design, developing your social media plan or developing processes for internal operations, you can get a win under your belt by prototyping early. This allows for your team members to see more realistically how you want the design or process to work and it ignites some rallying around the new project.

2. Prepare for a long ride and plenty of persistence.

• Be prepared to work on this prototype extensively and be persistent. Practice makes perfect and great ideas are often recreated or developed multiple times — the more revisions the better! Get your team together and brainstorm for potential roadblocks and modify accordingly in your design revisions.

3. Involve your team as early and often as possible.

• Many heads are better than one, so form a team of key people and be sure to involve them every step of the way. But be aware of having too many hands in the pot!

Read the full HBR Management Tip.

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