In the, “what the $&%# was your web designer thinking” category …

In the last two weeks I have had three clients visit for consulting. We met in my office and chose different restaurants to have a meal after our session.

How did we choose?

Yelp to see what was nearby, then a visit to the potential restaurants web sites.

Oh, and like many folks nowadays, we used either an iPhone or an iPad to do the browsing.

So, we browse over to the site.

Look at the menu to see what is good.

And…

Some goofball web designer sold the restaurant a site that will only display the menu in flash.

Seriously.

Three restaurants lost out on a healthy check with a nice tipper because their web sites are not optimized for the mobile world.

Blogging.

“Ugh. Isn’t that a lot of work? Why bother?” you ask …

Here are 11 powerful reasons why.

Reasons that, ultimately, add profits to your bottom line.

1. When local retailer’s blog it gives your shop personality.

There’s a business principle that people like doing business with other people, not nameless, faceless corporations. Your blog is your local business’s “name and face,” and gives your customers and clients a way to interact with your business on a personal level.

And the more personal they feel their relationship with you is, the more often they’ll chose you over “x retailer” down the road … no matter how cheap or fast or whatever that competitor may be.

2. A well-run blog can highlight your retail store and balance out Yelp and other review sites.

If your customers all love you and say so on Yelp and other sites, great. Your blog will help to amplify that message.

But if you have an occasional crackpot … or someone with a legitimate complaint … having a substantial blog presence gives you a chance to present what makes your retail shop such a great choice.

Here’s the rule.

If your potential customers ONLY see an average or bad review, they’ll assume that is ALL your business is about.

If your potential customers see an average review, but also see owner-delivered information on a blog that makes the business shine, they’ll be much more likely to “average” the information and still come into your store.

3. Introduce new offers, specials and sales on your retail blog.

Instead of waiting until someone is in your doors to tell them about your new new product or service, tell them on your blog and bring them into your business.

For example, you can write a blog post that’s a version of, “The most common question I get asked is _______. So we searched far and wide for (the solution), and narrowed it down to (what you’re selling). Here’s why it’s great. And here’s what you’ll love about it. Come check it out.”

You’ll excite your loyal customers and clients who already know you provide quality products and services. And you’ll make prospects want to work with you because you’ve shown you have their best interest at heart.

This is much more effective than the “here’s what we have, take it or leave it” approach most businesses take.

4. Blogging makes your local retail shop show up higher in search engine rankings (SEO)

Google loves active bloggers. Even one post a week is all it takes to move you up in the rankings. Which means your next best customer finds you online, not your competition.

5. Blogging increases referrals and word of mouth marketing.

A viral blog post spread. Which means word of your business spreads, too.

All it takes is one great idea and one rant about it on your blog to increase awareness of your local business. Plus, you can actively encourage referals by making stars of your customers on your blog.

For example, highlight a customer who achieved amazing results with something you offer.

When you make a big deal out of someone, they’ll want to make a big deal out of you by referring.

6. Your blog keeps your retail business front-and-center with your market.

Most businesses do a transaction and then forget about that customer until they show up again. And when they stop showing up, the business owner doesn’t know why or where they went.

Blogging increases customer retention by maintaining your relationships even when those people aren’t in your physical location.

7. Local blogging gives your customers, clients and prospects a “say” your business.

Try this, pose a question to your blog readers about what they want to see more of, less of or done differently in your store and see what they say.

You’ll be amazed at the things they’ll tell you they want to spend money on. Things you may not have though of that they’re probably already buying online or from your competition.

For example, if you’re an upscale clothing boutique, you can ask your blog readers what designers they want to see in your store. Or what new fashion trends they’ve been dying to get their hands on. You can leave the question open-ended or give them the choice of a few options you’ve narrowed down that you know you can get in the store.

And once you have whatever they want in, you can announce it on your blog, too (see #3).

So now when you give your customer and clients what they want, they’ll know you listened to them, feel like they had a part in making your business great and be excited to hand you money.

8. Blogging gives you a platform to communicate your passion.

People love working with businesses who are in it for more than just a paycheck. Your passion for what you do and who you do it for will draw people in and keep them coming back for more. Plus, you’ll show that you take pride in providing quality  products or services.

If you run a home improvement shop, for example, and you’re angry at how many customers you’ve come across you’ve been ripped off by unqualified contractors, you can use your blog to let your customers know you’re dedicated to provided quality tools, supplies and know-how to get their next project done and done right.

Do you see how this helps you connect with your market on a deeper level? Now you’re more than just someone who sells tools, you’re an advocate for home owners who’ve been taken advantage of. You’re the one they want to buy from because they know they can trust you.

9. Blogging is a way to demonstrate your contribution to the community.

People want to be a part of businesses who add something to their local community. Whether you’re involved in a local charity or sponsor a little league team – or whatever it is – write about it in your blog. Not only will you further humanize your business, but you can raise awareness for a good cause as well.

10. Promote your retail business by “showcasing” it on your blog.

I might drive an hour out of my way for a business who’s a perfect fit for me. But I will not drive an hour out of my way to find out if a business is perfect or not.

Adding visuals and videos to your blog is one of the best ways to show your prospects what you’re all about before they step foot in your doors. Which means you’ll attract the best match-and-fit customers around.

11. Blogging is a way to establish your authority in your industry.

One of the best ways to use your blog is to demonstrate your expertise. Write about the problems your customers face that relate to what you sell. Offer solutions. Offer how-to posts. Offer tips and tricks-of-the-trade.

For example, if you’re a gourmet grocery store and you blog about the latest exotic foods recall, you demonstrate that you know your products, you’re up on the trends and you have your customer’s best interests at heart.

The more you educate, the more you establish yourself as a leader in your field, and the more you build trust.

And trust is the key to loyal clientele.

How many e-mails do you get everyday that you delete without ever reading?

If you’re like most people, it’s a lot.

Just the other day I got an e-mail from a local wine shop I love and deleted it without a second thought.

• I love the shop and their wines.
• I even know the owners and like them.
• But I signed up for their mailing list, and I NEVER read their e-mails.

And here’s why…

They only send me two types of message: 1) a sale announcement and 2) a special event announcement.

That’s it.

Now, I’m neither a price-shopper nor a special events kind of guy, but beyond that, I don’t open their e-mail because I know exactly what to expect.

So why bother?

Translate this to your business and here’s the lesson.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t use e-mail to promote your sales and special events. You should. And if you have a responsive e-mail list, you can make a lot of money doing it.

But to get a responsive list, you have to send a variety of e-mails that a) appeal to all your customers and clients and b) keep ‘em guessing what you’ve got for them that day.

If your customers and clients think they know what you have to say or think it isn’t for them, they’ll never open your e-mails.

So back to the wine shop, what messages could they send to mix things up?

How about “The best South American wine under $30.”

Or “5 perfect wines to pair with your summer grilling.”

Or “You won’t believe the shipment we got today…”

Or even, “The most amazing thing just happened!”

I’d *never* be able to resist opening their e-mails for stories like these. And more than that, this content would pull me into their store and get me spending.

So the big local e-mail marketing DON’T?

Don’t be a one-trick pony.

Mix up your e-mails so that they cut through the clutter and your customers pay attention to them.

Be well,
Michael Cage

P.S. Stumped what message you could send that isn’t about a sale or special event?

I have a comprehensive program on local e-mail marketing, called The Local E-mail Marketing Strategy. It contains *12 easy e-mail templates* you can use and reuse for years on end to turn your e-mail subscribers into your best customers and clients.

“What other people say about you is more powerful and more believable than what you say about yourself.”

This is the principle that makes word of mouth marketing so important for local businesses like yours.

That, and the fact that word of mouth marketing costs next to nothing

So if you’re like most local business owners, you rely on word of mouth marketing to keep new customers, clients and patients flowing through your doors.

But how do you stimulate it? What can you do to make word of your business spread like wildfire?

Today’s audio freebie reveals the 3 simple secrets you need to know to stimulate word of mouth marketing for local businesses.

[flashvideo file=wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Word-of-Mouth-local1.mp3 height=50 player=overlay provider=sound /]

Plenty of ingredients go into a successful business.

In the early stages, one of the most important is having the energy and the will and the desire to stick with something even when it appears to be not working. And even when the world is telling you it’s just no good.

Having a great idea and being passionate about it helps with that.

So does being surrounded by great people who believe.

And being pissed off helps a lot.

A little “righteous indignation” can help push people through the rough times.

For years now, I have been very aware of how much local businesses contribute to my (and other) communities.

Put aside the pragmatic things like jobs and products and services they provide, look around your community, and my guess is there are a few small businesses run by passionate owners that improve quality of life, contribute to a sense of connection in your area, and just make you feel good.

It could be an amazing restaurant, the handyman who always comes through, or any of hundreds of others of local businesses run with passion and pride.

And for years now I have been pissed at how limited or outright bad the advice these business owners have to choose from when it comes to growing their companies.

While “small business” advice includes them … the truth is that LOCAL businesses are different. Different rules, different media, different measures of success. This is even more true with the advent and acceleration of local internet marketing.

I’m doing something about it.

We are building a website specifically for local business owners, called Inside Local Business.

I’m contributing marketing articles and tutorials there, and an array of experts in everything from advertising to finance to employees will be publishing there soon.*

Frankly, I just got so tired of being so pissed off … that I couldn’t not do it any longer.

What do you feel that way about?

And what are you waiting for?

Be well,
Michael Cage

* If you are interested in contributing and have *real value and expertise* to deliver to local business owners, reach out using the contact tab at the top of this page.

I love when people tell me social media isn’t for local small businesses…

Sometimes I debate with them.

Other times I smile and nod, knowing it’s a futile argument.

Most often I point them to examples like the ones I’m sharing with you today: 6 real-life small businesses profiting from social media.

Here’s an excerpt I especially like. From Justin Levy, co-owner of Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse:

As far as our ROI on social media efforts, of course it’s always hard to determine that. But, what I do know is that since we turned our focus to social media, attracting inbound links, more internet marketing/less print advertising, etc., we have seen an approximate 30 percent boost in sales (year to date) in a time where a lot of restaurants are down 10-20 percent.

Read about social media success from a steakhouse, compost and gardening company, and web design company here … and a custom home builder, non-profit organization, and Asian dessert shop here.

Master Grinding Service, a knife-sharpening business in Rockaway, NJ, recently added a new website, Knifespa.com, to their online marketing mix. Since then, they’ve seen a 40% increase in business in just two short years.

Co-owner, Emilio Ambrosi, admits he resisted the idea at first. But when asked about being a business owner in an economic downturn, Ambrosi told the New Jersey Business News:

“You need to be more creative and think of alternatives to create cash flow, not just get mired in what you’ve done your whole life.”

According to the New Jersey Business News,

The success of the website has given the family the confidence to venture into other social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter. For Emilio Ambrosi, the experience has led him to abandon his old belief that “we’re craftsmen, we don’t know how to market a product.”

Read the full article to learn how Master Grinding’s new website:

• Increased business 40%
• Helped them break into a new, untapped market for their service (which now accounts for 25+ news orders per week)
• Brought their own line of knives, Knifepro, national publicity when they were used by celebrity chefs at Food Networks NYC Food & Wine Festival

And think about how you can use the Internet marketing principles Master Grinding Service employed to achieve the same staggering results for yourself.

I found a cool video I want to share with you today about a local non-profit organization, The Blood Center of Central Texas, using Twitter to promote their cause.

The Blood Center’s Austin location, which serves 10 counties and 34 hospitals, is responsible for supplying blood to over 1 million people.

Using a “Tweet Up” (which you’ll learn about in the video), The Blood Center organized a community blood drive and brought in over 100 pints of blood from over 100 donors, double the number of donations they collect in an average day.

Watch the video now to discover why blood donor, Jennifer (last name anonymous), calls Twitter “social media for social good.”

You’ve undoubtedly heard Aesop’s famous fable, The Tortoise And The Hare …

If not, or if it’s been a while … here’s a 10-second recap:

The tortoise, ridiculed by the hare for his slow plodding, challenges the hare to a race. At the onset, the hare bursts into the lead and, confident he’s got the race in the bag, stops to rest under a tree. When he accidentally falls asleep, the tortoise pulls ahead and wins the race.

So what’s the moral?

Slow and steady wins the race.

That’s what you’ve been taught and, if you’re like most local business owners, you believe that slow growth equals long term success.

Which it can … IF AND ONLY IF … it’s slow for the right reasons.

Slow because you want to build your business on a solid foundation, yes.

Slow because you’re afraid to make a move for fear it might all fall apart, no.

Now, the way most people teach marketing your local business only gives you two options for growth: either the get-rich-quick, become-a-millionaire-overnight or the slow, steady plod.

And these days, the money-making “gimmick of the month” is one of the easier ones to sell overworked, time starved local business owners like yourself.

Now don’t get me wrong, those gimmicks’ll probably make you a buck or two pretty quickly. But gimmicks are rarely, if ever, sustainable.

Let me be very clear on two points:

1. A gimmick is not a business and never will be. A business scales overtime; a gimmick creates peaks and valleys in your income.
2. It is possible to achieve rapid growth AND sustain it over time. Slow is not the only way to build a business correctly.

So the real takeaway from Aesop’s fable, then, is STEADY. Steady growth is the key.

And steady growth becomes the biggest challenge when you’re already experiencing success.

That sounds odd; I know. But think about it.

When you’re just starting out and have nothing, or when you’re “in it” and scrambling like hell to pay the electric bill … you’ll do everything possible to bring in a extra customer or client that month.

But when you’re comfortable, when you’re in the black and things are going well, you likely won’t try as hard for that one extra customer.

Big mistake.

That’s the fastest way to put the kibosh on your steady growth.

I tell my local  business clients all the time, “Good is the enemy of great.”

Your “good” success is usually your biggest roadblock to your really “great” success … the success you always dreamed of.

So today’s lesson: Don’t “take naps” in your business (like the hare).

When things are good is best the time to step on the gas and speed ahead of your competition.

And in order to do that, you need to always ask yourself, “What can I do in the next month, 6 months or year to take my local business to the next level and beyond?”

Keep your eye on my blog. It’s my personal mission to answer that question for you.

I read a great article today that I want to share with you about using social media to generate leads for you local small business.

There are lots of “how to’s” out there on social media, and this is one of the better I’ve come across: it’s simple and to the point.

Of the 20 tips in this post, one of my favorites is #16.

Write About Personal Experience. Write about the way you experience your business on a daily basis. Talk about how you are helping people. Talk about how you are solving the problems on a daily basis. Use Twitter. Use Facebook. Tell stories on your blog. People engage in stories. They connect with stories.

I couldn’t agree more. People like doing business with people. And there’s no faster way to humanize yourself and your business than through storytelling.

You might think, “No one wants to hear about what I’m doing.” That’s not true.

Your best customers and most qualified leads (the people you want to do business with anyways) absolutely care about how the day-to-day of you business helps them solve their problems or achieve their goals … when you tell them through an engaging anecdote.

Click here to read the full article and discover the rest of the “20 Ways To Drive Leads Through Social Media.”