“Now Bill Bill. . .” my mother used to say. I always knew what came after that: the rule. Now Bill Bill, always wash your fruits and vegetables because you never know where they’ve been. (Hamilton is my middle name, I’m a Bill Jr. and was Bill Bill to my Dad’s Bill).
If you have a mother, you’ve heard this rule too.
Good advice. Simple, obvious and correct. Except few of us consistently follow it. Like lots of marketing advice that may not be as familiar, but is as simple, obvious and correct. And, that too few of us follow. Consistently.
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Make sure your customers know everything you do. A shockingly high percentage know you for what they buy from you now and nothing more. Change this and sales can grow.
Use Webmaster Tools. It’s free, it gives you good information about where your organic rankings stand and it’s simple to install and use.
Use Google Analytics. Notice I said USE Analytics. All our sites have Analytics installed. . .but when was the last time you looked at your Analytics? Look at your Analytics weekly. It’s a must-have, must-use tool.
Customer satisfaction is a moving target. Whatever it was that you did three years ago for your customers that was defined as “great service” or “great quality” or great anything, isn’t that great anymore. If it was great, your customers are used to it now and your competitors have probably started doing the same thing. You need to be greater today to stay great.
Make sure you have a site map. Site maps make it easier (logarithmically easier) for search engines to index your site. They also add to the certainty all your pages will be indexed, or will be seen, by search engines.
Marketing messages wear out. Customers’ wants change. Your message needs to change with them.
Be where your customers are. Are they still reading that aging, boring, thinning industry publication or are they on LinkedIn groups? Are they still going to that trade show or are they on Google+?
Ask your customers. Then shut up and listen. They will tell you what you need to know.
It’s okay to fail. Fail small and fail often.
And. . .always wash your fruits and vegetables because you never know where they’ve been, because Mom’s always right.
