West End Marketing & Communications

Mar 15

Top takeaways for entrepreneurs at RISE Austin

Austin’s leading businesses came together last week at RISE Austin to share ideas, resources and support for the entrepreneurial community. This unique conference for entrepreneurs is independently organized by entrepreneurs and connects people from wide backgrounds with leaders in non-profits, high-tech, government and more. Business owners come to the conference for many reasons, but there is an overall spirit of collaboration and cooperation rather than competition. Here are my favorite takeaways from the conference:

Think big. Work small. A home-based business can still be big business if you’re resourceful, creative and passionate about your work. Lorie Marrero, author of The Clutter Diet, has grown her business into a very diverse and successful company. Yet, she still prefers the flexibility that a small home office gives her and doesn’t see this as a limitation. Big goals attract motivated people who can help you achieve them, so no matter what the size of your business it’s important to dream big.

Go fish. Leave the shrimp. This metaphor came from Anne Tiedt, owner of Momentum Public Relations. While it was meant in the context of media relations, I also found it useful when thinking about ways to grow a client base. The arduous process of shrimping requires casting large trawl nets and then sifting through the enormous catch to remove shrimp from seafood that isn’t of value. In comparison, fishing focuses your time and attention on producing the big catch. Rather than pitching your message indiscriminately, in much the same way as shrimping, first determine the most efficient media outlets and spend your efforts on those media for the big catch. Similarly, get choosy about the clients you want to work with and place your resources and efforts seeking them out.

On the far side of a fear is a freedom. Many of the RISE Austin presenters and those of us in the audience were interested in discussing ways to overcome fear, which was no surprise given the uncertain economy. Gay Gaddis, president & CEO of T3, reminded us that a setback is also an opportunity for innovation or change. Apart from finding opportunity even during a recession, I found roomfuls of encouragement for overcoming the very common fear of taking risks. Why not embrace it instead? Fear can keep us motivated, focused and aware of potential pitfalls. Melinda Garvey, publisher of Austin Woman Magazine, summed it up well by saying, “Your goals aren’t big enough if you don’t have fear.”

Give back to your community. Offering up your time and your talents ties in well to being passionate about what you do. Austin is a dynamic city and offers many ways to plug in to the community. Carol Thompson, president of The Thompson Group, reminded us always to ask, “How can I help you?” VolunteerMatch and Austin’s own I Live Here, I Give Here are excellent resources for finding a cause that you can feel passionate about supporting.

Jan 27

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Twitter tools to work the language

Twitter can be both efficient and maddening with its 140-character limits. Abbreviations have become acceptable, even when they aren’t correct. New words have joined our language and symbols can at times express more than words.

Mashable introduced me to several new tools this past week to make sense of the new language limits. My favorites? Thsrs (the shorter thesaurus), which offers less lengthy synonyms for long words so you can fit within the 140-character count. If you don’t mind the abbreviations, but have difficulty with self-editing, you can let 140it do it for you. Just close your eyes and hit “click.” While the site shaves down your tweets, you could end up sounding like a 12-year-old girl. Other tools define hashtags, analyze your personality based on tweets, and translate into foreign languages. I’m not giving up my AP Stylebook, but it’s always good to have the right tool for the job.

Jan 9

Creating conversions with your content

Driving traffic to your storefront or website is one thing, but getting those prospects to become paying customers is another. How many times have you stuffed items into your shopping cart, but then walked away before hitting the “Order” button? What converts a prospective customer into a sale? A good part of capturing that transaction comes down to trust. Have you established it with your customers?

How do you build trust? Every detail on your site and every level of contact you make should reinforce that trust with your customers. Of course, foremost you need to deliver on your brand promise. If your product erases lines and wrinkles within 14 days, you should back that up. But there are other ways to build trust as well. Be sure to include product reviews and testimonials on your website. Word-of-mouth referrals are the primary factor behind 20% to 50% of all purchasing decisions according to a recent article by McKinsey Quarterly. When consumers are buying a product for the first time, they especially tend to seek out more opinions and do more research.

Building trust can also be as simple as including your contact information, photographs of yourself and your storefront, a short company history, as well as seals of secure purchasing technology services such as VeriSign. Ongoing communications with your customers can also help build their loyalty. I like newsletters, either printed or delivered via email, to stay in contact with customers. These have the added benefit of establishing you as an expert in your field by providing relevant content.

In all communications, it’s important to be yourself and be honest. If you’ve received a negative review, address it and show your concern for the customer’s experience. With each interaction, you have an opportunity to build a relationship and, ultimately, trust.

Oct 7

Have some fun with your “About” page.

I read an interesting approach by Seth Godin to the “About” sections of websites. This section of the site is usually a grab bag of information, with bland descriptions of the company’s mission, business philosophy and contacts. Once the page has been written, why revisit it except to update phone numbers or new staff information? That approach misses a smart opportunity to express the personality of your organization and connect with your audience. As Seth Godin explains, be human. Tell a story — one that resonates with your readers. Videos provide a compelling way to do this, whether they capture the good work you do in the community or simply offer up a more personal introduction.

TOMS Shoes has one of my favorite About sections on their site. The page is named “Our Movement” and it inspires and connects through video, photos and compelling copy. Social media links are worked throughout the page, encouraging readers to get involved in the movement. The section isn’t a dead end, but thoroughly connected to other parts of the organization and their blogs.

I’m still waiting for Trader Joe’s to arrive in Austin. This “neighborhood grocery store” has grown much the same way as Whole Foods, but they’ve kept their quirky character and sense of humor. It shows in their About Us section, which shares a brief history of their roots, useful customer updates, humorous FAQs and very easy to find contacts and feedback forms.

Testimonials can add immediate credibility (assuming they are true). I like using them throughout the site, reminding your audience why they are in good hands when they do business with you. Other useful guidelines — invest in good photography. Stock photos can be an easy, affordable way to improve your marketing materials, but avoid them on your About page. Instead, use authentic, quality photography to introduce your team, show off your personality and put your business in its best light. And those older, embarrassing photos have a use — they can be a great way to liven up a company history or timeline.

While the About page can seem like the junk draw in your home, be careful not to use it as a catch-all for information that doesn’t quite fit elsewhere on the site. Give it some attention to keep the page fresh, interesting and full of personality.

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