This zero-to-sixty brand development is not just the stuff of legend. How else can you explain candle-making company sedafrance, based right here in Austin, getting an endorsement on the Oprah Winfrey Show and experiencing seismic growth and media pick-ups all over the place?

All it takes is a little creativity, a knack for writing and a defined objective. Almost any newsworthy story can go viral with the right kind of spin.

Just ask Jacqueline Hughes.

I met Jacqueline at Kick-Butt Coffee near Highland Mall this past week and learned that her nascent technology idea was just covered by a nationally syndicated radio show! Now when I say “nascent,” I mean so brand new she hasn’t had time to form a company yet. We’re talking raw, in utero, ink-still-fresh-on-the-cocktail napkin new.

Jacqueline is the founder of an exciting social calendar solution called Bridge the City, which aggregates events happening in Austin from lots of calendars on the Internet. Bridge the City is quickly becoming a go-to calendar for people wanting to stay plugged into Austin no matter what their interest: job seekers, live music junkies, outdoor enthusiast, hardcore Joomla programmers, inventor wannabes. You name it. If there’s an event in Austin, chances are, Bridge the City has the scoop you need.

How did Jacqueline get coverage for her “virtual” start-up? She found out on Twitter that Winston Edmondson from the Innovation at Work radio show – nationally syndicated on CNN Radio – would be in Austin for two weeks studying and documenting high-tech start-ups. Jacqueline used the twitterverse to track Winston down and gain an audience. (If that isn’t an endorsement for using Twitter to promote your company, I don’t know what is!) Winston stopped by Tech Ranch, which is a sort of high-tech start-up halfway house for underfunded ventures in need of nurturing, to watch Jacqueline demo her social calendar tool, which integrates to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, by the way.

It was an exciting day for this 2-month old start-up, which really began as a way for Jacqueline, a recent grad who had yet to find gainful employment courtesy of the recession, to execute an aggressive networking plan in hopes of finding a job. When she realized how painful it was to keep track of so many independent calendars on the Internet, in typical entrepreneurial panache, she set about to fix the problem. She cooked up an idea of aggregating events into one definitive calendar that would scrape other Internet calendars from all manner of websites so socially minded Austinites like her would have everything at their fingertips.

Jacqueline is a natural at PR, by the way. Her mellow demeanor belies the instincts of a shrewd showman capable of throwing out PR ideas as easily as Stephen King cranks out novels. How else could she have gotten her idea onto a national radio show, almost effortlessly? Her PR talent, and serious networking chops, has helped her build one of the fastest start-up trajectories in recent years. Fact is this 23 year old unemployed entrepreneur has pulled off some tricks that even seasoned PR professionals find difficult to manage.

So if you are a small company with an inferiority complex and think you’re company can’t possibly attract media attention, just think of Jacqueline. Throw off all doubts, play the PR game with abandon, and watch the press clippings start adding up!

Have you done something spectacular in the media that you want to share with me? Maybe we can learn a thing or two from your experience!

It’s true that writing an effective press release requires some writing talent. And turning a press release into something more than just a logical series of sentences takes a finely tuned ear and a knack with words. So, yes, there is considerable art – in the loosest sense of that word possible – in the making of a powerful press release. But that’s not where the art of a press release is greatest.

That honor goes to the story itself. A good press release writer knows how to take events, accomplishments and non-news items and find a compelling story that will hold readers’ attentions and get them to take action. The art is in knowing how to frame a particular event to do the most good for a company’s marketing strategy – brand development, new business generation, SEO.

The art of a PR pro is a bit like what an oyster does with a grain of sand when it makes a pearl. Admittedly, some stories sell themselves but many others take a trained eye for finding what's compelling, powerful and effective in what otherwise might be viewed as mundane or commonplace.

I have my best thoughts when my head is clear and my mind is free to roam. My thoughts can get as close to tabula rasa as possible short of deep meditation. (And I don’t do meditation!) That may be why I like to take walks in a park near my office. It de-clutters the cranium.

Epiphanies bubble up when my mind is less focused on pounding out emails, racing to meet a deadline or talking with customers.  Last Sunday, for instance, I realized I was missing a huge opportunity by not partnering more closely with some of my small business marketing buddies, Rick L’Amie of Moxie Marketing and Dawn Westerberg of Dawn Westerberg Consulting. As Duct Tape Marketing Coaches, they both are incredible resources for small businesses in need of marketing strategy and execution plans. Rick and Dawn, if your ears are burning right now, it’s because I’m thinking about how we can collaborate and grow our businesses together!

Another item that made last Sunday's strategic laundry list is the launch of Dave Manzer PR, a business I hadn’t even contemplated starting until three months ago when I began a PR campaign offering free press releases to businesses in Austin.

Note to reader: It’s amazing how many new doors of opportunity will open when you offer a valuable service for free. I highly recommend you try it out!

Suffice it to say, leaving the office has become integral to keeping my business on track with a strategic plan. What are ways you keep a sharp focus on your business’ strategy so that you don’t get bogged with busy work?

Myth: A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology.

I recently spoke with a marketing executive at a technology company about doing some press releases for his firm. He voiced a concern that is common among many small and medium-sized businesses, which is that he doesn’t have any big news worthy of a press release.

It’s a recurring theme in PR. Businesses either don’t know how to toot their own horn, or don’t know what to say and when to say it, which leaves them paralyzed and unable to act when they should be shouting their news from the rooftops!

Check out my list of common myths that keep many businesses from enjoying the business-building benefits of good PR.

1. “I don’t have any earth-shattering news to announce.” A frequently encountered PR myth that keeps businesses from reaching their full potential. Many companies think they have to open a new office or acquire another business to get attention. Not true! Press releases are designed to educate customers, prospects and media about your latest happenings. Ideally, you want customers and prospects to respond to a call-to-action in your press release, usually an inquiry into a product or service you offer that ultimately leads to a sale. While media coverage is great and does wonders for brand development, it’s not always the sole purpose for issuing a press release. Stories you put into a press release can be as simple as a new product upgrade announcement, how you saved a customer a ton of money, or news about your sales growth and what makes you so darn good. Believe me: you have stories that will impact people at a gut level, get them to take action, and maybe even lead to more sales and press coverage!
2. “We’re not a big company.” This one is so common it could have made the top of the list. Most small companies think that you have to be a big company to issue press releases. That couldn’t be further from the truth. If you’re a company with customers and prospects, then press releases are perfect vehicles to educate them on your latest products and services. What’s more, customers often respond more favorably to your offerings in a press release because it’s perceived as “News” and people tend to be curious by nature. Promotional emails, direct mail, cold calls—these traditional marketing techniques have been overused and jaded customers are now much less likely to respond to them.
3. “Press releases don’t result in new sales opportunities.” Excuse me? I beg to differ. I’ve seen press releases carefully crafted to tease a response from customers that result in tens of thousands in project opportunities and new sales. Think of a press release as the best indirect sales tool you have to prompt action from an otherwise unresponsive customer base. Presenting your marketing message as “news” gets far more people to pay attention than if you were to send out a brochure or product data sheet. Press releases sent out in an email regularly get 50-80% open rates compared to, oh, maybe, 20-25% for a direct sales email. Which one would you rather use to inform your customers about your latest offerings and promos?
4. “PR is for building brand recognition.” True, it does do that. But PR does so much more. From building a brand and helping launch a new product or service, to putting your company at the top of Google searches and engaging your customers and prospects, PR has evolved into the most cost-effective way a company can broadcast its message and generate new business. PR has evolved elegantly to embrace social media outlets such as Twitter and LinkedIn because people are searching for good content; and news updates about companies make for good content.
5. “There’s no ROI for PR.” This usually comes from somebody who’s never used PR in a strategic way for a business before. It reminds me of my daughter, who happens to be an extremely picky eater. If she’s never tried and liked something before and we try to give her something new, she automatically thinks she won’t like it and pushes the plate away. It’s a knee-jerk reaction, just like some business owners’ or executives’ response to PR. They have formed opinions about the effectiveness of PR without ever really pursuing a PR strategy. I have collaborated on campaigns involving a press release, sales letter and website landing page that drew click-throughs, obtained new leads and resulted in new business. I’ve witnessed a $400 press release bring in $10-20 thousand in new projects. If that’s not an ROI, then what is?

Okay, I’ve said my piece.

Now it’s your turn. Do you agree, disagree, or have another myth you want to add to the list? Respond with your ideas, your opinions, your personal stories. Let's put some long-held myths into the History Books!

With the economy gradually heating up, I’ve been receiving periodic phone calls from prospects acutely aware of the need to do something to attract new business. After 12-18 months of economic white-out, these prospects are gun shy, hesitant to invest in marketing activities that may not bear fruit. They have serious doubts about the old marketing activities that used to win them business. They’re looking for new, innovative and value-oriented ways to attract customers. In short, they're hungry for ideas.

Here’s how a typical conversation with these recession-hardened prospects has gone.

Prospect: We’re seeing an uptick in the economy but we’re not sure how to get our name out there, be seen and generate leads. What we used to do to doesn’t seem to work anymore, or maybe it never really worked well in the first place and we grew despite ourselves. Either way, the aftermath of the recession has customers clutching their pocketbooks in a defensive posture. It’s a tough sales environment and customers must be convinced before buying. It looks like the times of liberal spending are over, at least for now.

Me: What are you doing right now to create interest in your products or services?

Prospect: I’m doing some SEO to drive leads and seeing some limited success but no real business as yet. I send out a monthly newsletter when I have the time and try to add some value for customers and prospects. We have trouble getting high click-through rates on the newsletter and other information we send out. Cold calling doesn’t seem to work either, although we still do it.

Me: Do you have multiple customer segments with distinct needs and identities?

Prospect: We do, several, in fact. Each segment has different goals  and needs. The conversation we have with each one is quite different.

Me: Which customer segment is the one you’re more interested in pursuing? Have you prioritized them based on ideal customers and profitability?

Prospect: Er, well, not exactly. You see, I don’t have much time on my hands to do that, nor does anybody on my staff. I am, however, pretty sure which one I want to pursue.

Me: Fair enough. What can I help you with?

Prospect: I want to get my company’s name out there more. I want to generate interest in my company and its products and services. Most of all, I want more business opportunities. I saw what you’ve done with press releases for different companies. I’m looking for new ways to reach out and generate leads and interest.

Me:  It’s true that press releases are powerful tools that can get many a hardened business owner or manager to open up an email and read about your “news.” In fact, I’ve seen some get as much as 76% click-through rates on certain press releases. But it helps to have compelling news to share. Press releases are effective indirect-selling pieces but are worthless if what’s sent out is just thinly veiled advertising.

Prospect: That’s pretty high click-rate compared to the 10-15% I’m seeing on my emails.

Me: It’s all about how you “package” your marketing message. If you take even the most basic information about your company and package it as breaking news, you can generate renewed interest in your products or services.

Prospect: But how do I “package” my message as you say? I don’t have any big, breaking news stories.

Me: What are you trying accomplish? What customers are you trying to win?

Prospect: Well, I’d really like to win Boingo Technologies away from the competition, Nettlesome Inc.

Me: What makes you better than or different from Nettlesome?

Prospect: For starters, we offer a lot more value. We provide additional training, support and guaranteed performance for one whole year. The competition doesn’t offer that.

Me: That’s a pretty huge value. Here’s what I suggest you do. Announce a new “bundled service” offering that’s guaranteed to give more than what the customer typically expects. Say you’re “rewriting the rules of the game” or some such thing. Send it out to customers, prospects and media. Follow up with prospects to make sure they received the press release and possibly engage them in a conversation.

Prospect: Nice idea about packaging up our services into a new offering and making that a news announcement. It’s amazing what you can make into an eye-catching news item when you really think about it. So if I understand you right, we need to create a new bundled service to introduce value into the marketplace, then send our news to prospects like Boingo?

Me: That’s right. You’ll want to send it to customers and prospects alike, then follow up as best you can. I also recommend creating a landing page for this new “bundled service launch” so interested parties can get the details and request additional information. You may want to consider putting up a whitepaper or webinar announcement as a call-to-action and give visitors a reason to leave their information. Be sure to put Google Analytics on the page so you know exactly how much traffic you’re generating with various aspects of your campaign.

Prospect: I hadn’t thought about the landing page, but you’re absolutely right. A unique landing page would be perfect for driving traffic to the website and measuring the results with Google Analytics.

Me: Finally, I’d be sure to spread the news about your new bundled service on social networks like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. You can use a URL shortener to track the responses to your social network postings. It’s just another way, in addition to Analytics, to measure the effectiveness of your campaign. Post your news a few times to make sure people see the message; it may take a several postings to catch the attention of most of your followers. Finally, if you have an e-newsletter, I’d be sure to announce the new bundled service in an article. That way, you’re coming at your customers and prospects with a consistent message across all communication platforms.

And so the conversations have been going. I’m happy to give the advice knowing it will help prospects sort out a strategy that works. In the end, I’m trying to help people succeed at finding new leads, converting them to customers and creating a deeper relationship with those new customers.

Mind you, press releases are not a perfect antidote to what’s ailing a business. But they do effortlessly combine a persuasive, targeted marketing message with news that impacts the thinking of more prospects and customers than any other form of marketing communication I’m aware of. That’s why I’ll almost always recommend a press release campaign over any other marketing campaign.

Are referrals hatched or do they just appear?

I just started reading The Referral Engine by John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, the legendary guide to practical marketing for the small business.

I’ve seen John speak on a couple of occasions and I can tell you one thing – the man knows marketing. What’s more, he comes at it from a very authentic place. The advice he dispenses is often what he’s employed to raise his Duct Tape Marketing business model to fantastic levels of success, or advised his customers to employ to their own benefit.

I just cracked the book. In chapter 1, John begins to outline the basis for his argument, which is that businesses should create a system around the generation of referrals by their customers, vendors, friends, family and any other sentient being in a position to throw a friendly word-of-mouth.

Consider that in a survey John conducted on referrals fully 63.4% of businesses responded that they derive new revenue from referrals, yet only 21.1% had a system in place to stimulate new referrals. That’s leaving a lot of new business opportunities on the table, my friends.

One thing I wonder, and hope to find out as I read through The Referral Engine, is why some companies receive more referrals than others. John does a terrific job explaining the nature of referrals, by the way. It turns out that, as humans, we’re predisposed to give them. It has something to do with our Darwinian survival mechanisms. Referring helps us to survive and operate as a high-functioning member of an extended community. [I’m probably not doing John’s explanation justice so just buy the book already!]

What I’m wondering is this: if only 21.1% of businesses have formal reference programs yet some companies are a smashing success at generating referrals, what makes some companies more referable than others? Is it because of the referral system John refers to, or something inherent in the company itself that makes it more biologically pleasurable to refer?

If giving referrals is a biological necessity, as John points out, hardwired back to our human survival genes, do some companies make exercising that referral reflex more predictable? Companies like Apple and Southwest have made brands into referral weapons of mass construction in the marketplace. Try and go against Apple in cyberspace and it’ll feel like the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse have ridden roughshod over your Facebook profile.

Chicken or the egg?

Do you know why some companies receive referrals more than others? Does it go back to the old adage: which came first, the chicken or the egg? Could it be that some companies do such an outstanding job pleasing their customers that they trip the referral reflex in their customers more frequently?

Does it begin with creating a memorable experience for customers, whether in the form of a product or service, so that more people are apt to speak about it? Could it be an intangible quality such as ‘fun’, ‘humor’, ‘hip’ or ‘high-brow’ that gets people talking around the water cooler? Or maybe it’s just the commonality of the topic itself such as the name of a good restaurant to go to for Valentine’s Day or what cruise line to take on a spring vacation to the Bahamas.

One thing’s for sure, I’m looking forward to learning what John has to say about this and many other aspects of referral marketing. I have Duct Tape Marketing on my bookshelf and refer to it frequently so I have no doubt The Referral Engine is going to be similarly engaging and fulfilling.

Wait a minute. Did I just make a referral of John’s new book? Now how did that happen? Was it because of John’s outstanding content and the experience I gained reading Duct Tape Marketing last summer? Or is it because he’s sending out a subliminal referral request to me to start engaging in my primordial penchant for handing out referrals?

Darn that John Jantsch! Oh, he’s good…

So the light bulb flashed on with the aforementioned idea. Give Austin companies a taste of what I do best – press releases, in my case – in order to stimulate more interest, generate buzz and quite possibly write myself out of this customerless black hole I find myself here in Austin.

Side Note: I have customers, but most of them happen to be software resellers spread about the planet.

I began by posting announcements on several Austin LinkedIn groups and tweeting about it from time to time. Then lo and behold, a couple of interested replies trickled in. No, it wasn’t the landslide of inquiries I hoped I would get. The offer didn’t go viral or anything. I didn’t strike a common nerve among Austin businesses looking to break out of the recession-induced funk that has us all so clenched and paranoid about spending.

An observation: If it’s this hard to give away something with a street value of $300 and potential to bring much-needed attention and marketing goodness to a company, I can only imagine how hard it is to actually sell something right now!

I quickly realized that giving away what I thought was a great offer for a free press release was actually going to take a lot more sweat and ingenuity on my part. I mean it’s not like I was Starbucks telling everybody to come on Tuesday to get a free pastry then seeing legions of coffee addicts show up in search of free scones. I really had to work at giving my $300 worth of PR goodies away!

I plugged away at LinkedIn and Twitter, my two main social networking sites for business. I posted discussions on Austin LinkedIn Groups, then added updates to those discussions in order to keep them in front of readers.

A few more press release requests came in last week and I immediately set about writing them as though I were preparing a speech for a Nobel Peace Prize. Happily, I exceeded the expectations of my new “free” customers.

Let me be honest. Part of my end-game in writing free press releases for Austin companies is self-serving. In exchange for a professionally-written press release, I am having my “free” customers give me glowing testimonials for my website, as well as reviews on LinkedIn and Yelp. But to make it as painless as possible on them, I agreed to write the reviews. [See, I told you I was self-serving!]

One other item I expect in return for my free press release, an important item which I cannot do for them, is a warm referral of at least one other company in need of a free press release. This I have to earn. I realize that. Their reputations go on the line when they make a referral, even for a free service. If I disappoint their referral, it will invariably come back to haunt them.

Still, if I do a great job on my press release, if I please them and surprise them with how I capture their story, I know they will be willing to make that all-important referral. And referrals to new customers, even if they're "free" customers at first, are what this exercise is all about. The more “free” customers I can touch, please and impress, the more chances I have of gaining new business, a great reputation and a steady word-of-mouth source of new customers.

This week, I also attended a wonderful event organized by Rick L’Amie of Moxie Marketing featuring a talk by John Jantsch, renowned author of Duct Tape Marketing. Rick is a Duct Tape Marketing Coach and was helping John promote his latest book, The Referral Engine, which in my opinion promises to be another bestseller for John - he can’t help himself, really, the guy just oozes great ideas for small businesses.

I had contacted Rick the week before after reading his LinkedIn announcement for the event. I called and offered to give away a free press release as a door prize, which worked out great for him as he was looking for free give-aways. Attending the event turned out to be well worth my time. I got a new “free” customer and had several stop by and ask me for my contact information. John didn’t disappoint and gave an insightful presentation from his new book. In the era of virtual events, it’s nice to know a real live event can be so fruitful for all involved.

So here it is, Friday, and I don’t know where the last week and half has gone. Like I said, I never imagined that giving away something for free would take so much work. But at the end of the day, I’m still fighting against the competition for the minds of Austin companies.

I still have to go through the motions to get my name and message out there. Just like everybody else, I’m operating inside a jittery, if not jaded, market that’s waiting to see what the future holds.

Free is good. Free works. But free is not an excuse not to market, be creative, and deliver exceptional service.

So what do you think? Am I crazy to just give away my services like that? Have I completely lost respect for myself, my writing abilities and my PR profession?

Or am I onto something that just might work?

I’ll let you decide. But before you do, check out the testimonials and press releases I’ve done. Only three so far, but I’ve got two more almost completed plus a couple scheduled for next week.

Free Austin Press Release Testimonials.

If you’re an Austin company and think you’d like to have a free press release written about your great news, then go to my Free Austin Press Release page and fill out a request.

But most of all, tell me what you think on this blog. Hey, talk is free, right?!?

Krispy Kreme gives you a FREE doughnut when you enter the store!

In Part 1, I was searching for a way to grow my Austin customer base but wasn't sure how to do it. I realized I needed a Hail-Mary pass, a lightning strike to score some points with the elusive Austin market. Now here's what I decided to do:

The word “FREE” popped into my mind like an idea bubble on a cartoon. What if I offered FREE press releases to entice more companies to test drive my PR and marketing services? It made a lot of sense. After all, I can churn out top-notch press releases the way a Krispy Kreme assembly line fries up doughy morsels of glazed goodness.

My experiment with FREE needed the right venue, too. There had to be enough companies plugged into the communication channel to yield several legitimate leads. That's why I selected Twitter and LinkedIn. I already have a following of Austin companies on Twitter. Plus, referencing Austin as “#Austin” would give my tweets extra mileage in the Twittersphere since anybody tracking “Austin” would see the offer. LinkedIn was a no-brainer. I belonged to a couple of Austin-based groups where I could post my FREE offer as a discussion for Austin companies and residents to see.

Virtual venues chosen, I set to work. First, I tweeted: “Free Press Release for Austin based company in exchange for testimonial!” Next I created a new discussion in one of the better Austin LinkedIn groups: Austin High-Tech.

Within the hour, I had my first interested response on Twitter. Let me add that I posted the offer OVER THE WEEKEND yet there was still a business owner highly motivated enough to engage me in a serious discussion. In the always-on world of Social Media, business never takes a minute off!

Another qualified prospect, a technology company on the verge of launching a new product, answered my LinkedIn posting. Cool thing is I knew neither of these two individuals prior to my free offer. I made sure to add them to my LinkedIn network and set them up as Twitter followers. I even made sure they knew to join The Sage Closer Facebook fan page. I covered all the requisite social media bases!

Right now, perhaps you’re thinking that two responses hardly constitute a landslide response to my free offer. You’re right. But remember I ran a very limited posting (3 different posts to be exact) over a weekend and yet still netted a couple very interested prospects. One of them has even made referrals to other Austin businesses that might be interested in my services. That’s a small but measurable victory for me.

What’s the Future of "FREE"?

I’m rolling out a more comprehensive strategy based on my free press release offer. I’ve developed a landing page to provide more information and began posting more tweets and LinkedIn group postings. My objective is to create enough buzz so that as many as 25 companies will sign up for a free press release.

Why FREE, you ask? Aren’t I devaluing the worth of my press releases by making the first one free? Won’t it create an expectation for free or discounted services in the future? I don’t think so. At any rate, it’s a calculated risk I’m willing to take in order to grow my business.

I strongly believe Free press releases will get me in front of more potential customers a whole lot faster than simply marketing my press release writing services for hire. Plus, some companies that otherwise might never have thought to do a press release now have an opportunity to try one risk-free. And if they like what a release can do for them, they’ll become repeat customers.

When you do the math, it makes sense. Say I get 25 prospects responding to my offer. That equates to 25 testimonials for my website, 25 recommendations on LinkedIn and 25 positive reviews on Yelp. It will also yield at least 25 new prospect referrals, which may in turn provide additional referrals. With a little luck (read consistent marketing) the cycle will continue on.

Finally, one fact about the Power of FREE is immutable. FREE strips away inhibition. FREE breaks down barriers. FREE rouses the reluctant.

Many prospects today are afraid to spend money to try a new service or a new service provider. Perhaps they’ve been burned in the past, or maybe their bank account leaves them with little room for experimentation. Many prospects would like to see their service partners put some skin in the game. By committing a free press release up front to prospects, I’m essentially saying I care enough to share your risk. Their risk becomes my risk, and their success in turn becomes my success.

This is my strategy for getting exposure to more companies in Austin, forging alliances with prospects and creating good karma that will one day translate into happy customers willing to give me new customer referrals.

Have you ever considered what the “Power of FREE” can do for your business? Do you offer the same old whitepaper or are you putting some real skin in the game? I'll bet you this: your once and future prospects are expecting you to ante up for their business!

FREE is a poweful attention-grabbing word.

Last week I decided to test the power of the word “FREE” to attract new customers.

First, let me give you a little background for my decision. I have almost no customers in Austin, my hometown. Because of a curious turn of events in my career and business, most of my customers are niche software technology companies based outside of Texas – some are even outside of the U.S.

Now I happen to believe my PR and marketing skills are highly transferrable to other industries. Indeed, quite a few of my press releases were written for businesses outside the software industry I serve. Still, going from a market defined by a specific industry’s needs to one defined more by geography presents a few challenges. For instance:

• Where in Austin do I find prospects for my PR and marketing services?
• How do I establish credibility in a market known for being cool, hip and cutting-edge?
• What mix of services might appeal to a sophisticated Austin business echelon made up of more Gen-X entrepreneurs than Boomers nearing retirement?

I felt like I had to come up with a different marketing approach than the usual suspects: networking, telemarketing and direct mail – all old-school and increasingly ineffective at courting new customers.

For starters, I needed a message that would make sense. My free offer had to have a perceived “main street value” and prompt companies to reply immediately. I also needed a way to get in front of as many potential leads as possible without requiring a huge investment in time or money – both of which are in short supply these days.

In short, I needed a Hail-Mary pass, a lightning strike to score some points with the elusive Austin market.

To be continued...

Happy customers love to talk!

Yesterday, I went to a Starbucks just in front of my office. I’ve been going there since it opened almost two years ago. It’s not an everyday thing but I’ll drop by two, maybe three times a week.

If you’re like me, when you go to your favorite coffee shop, you almost always order the same drink. The baristas probably know you by name, or at the very least they already know what you’re going to order. For me, it’s a Grande Iced Green Tea without sweetener. I’m such a creature of habit – I can’t think of the last time I ordered something different!

So yesterday, when I walked into Starbucks and made my way to the cash register to order, I noticed my Grande Iced Green Tea was already waiting for me at the counter, a straw lying beside it. The barista (she’s my favorite!) must have seen me in the parking lot and whipped up that special green tea blend ahead of time to show how special a customer I was. Okay, maybe I’m not that important to Starbucks, but it sure made me feel like I was.

I don’t know about you, but I consider that to be great customer service. And it got me thinking that the basics of great customer service, and fundamentals for business growth, are remarkably similar to what our favorite coffee shops do for us every morning.

Which is why I’m writing this post about five Customer truths we can all learn from our favorite coffee shops:

1. Know your customers! Our favorite baristas know what we like. They may have our favorite morning beverage waiting for us or know what we want as soon as they see us walk in. Shouldn’t we know our customers just as well? Are we doing what we can with surveys, polls, phone calls and social visits to learn how they like to do business, or how we can improve our service delivery?
2. Be proactive! Baristas at our favorite coffee shops sometimes prepare our drinks in advance of our order. Because they know us well and know what we like, they can make suggestions to complement our beverage – a scone, a chocolate croissant, perhaps a new beverage. How often are we thinking about really fresh new ways to help our customers conduct their business better? Do we take time out of our busy days to come up with ways to surprise and please our customers?
3. Make it a memorable experience! Part of what we like about our favorite coffee shop is the quality of the product, the ambience of the place, the friendly staff. If your favorite barista is not there whipping up lattes at seven in the morning it’s as if something’s missing from the morning. Are you making your customer experiences special too? Do you coach your employees on how to give customers a great experience? Are you giving your own employees a great experience that inspires them to do the same to their customers?
4. Convenience is key! For all their wonderful qualities, we probably wouldn’t frequent a coffee shop if it weren’t for the convenience they offer us. Not having to prepare mocha lattes before work is a big plus for many of us. The friendliness, the quality of the beverage, the cool vibe found at our favorite coffee shop – all of that’s just the whip on the tasty caffeinated brew we order. How do you make it easy on your customers to do business with you? Do you utilize new technology to provide better service? Are you investing in product development or making sure you’re offering the products and services most in demand?
5. Reward Good Customers! Most coffee shops have reward programs where if you buy a certain number of beverages you get one free. It’s not the only reason you go there but when you get a complementary café au lait you’re pleased as punch – or espresso. Do you reward your customers for their referrals? Do you show your gratitude to your better customers so they know how much they’re appreciated? Do you send birthday cards, seasonal gifts or comp them the occasional product or service?

As you can see, from the humble corner coffee shop comes some great ideas about how to make customers happy, and turn them into loyal shoppers with a tendency to talk about their daily caffeine fix with others. The same applies to how we run our businesses.

Why not think of your best customers then write down all that you do to make them happy and feel special. Can you do more? Or can you do more of the same with your other customers so they feel special too?

Maybe you should send each customer a surprise gift card to their favorite coffee shop. That’ll make them happy!