Have Google always included "Code Snippets" in their SERPs?

UPDATE: Yes, Danny Sullivan notified me that Google has included Code Snippets since at least last year.

6. Make Friends with a Competitor

You’ve been in business long enough to know that you can’t please everyone. And why would you want to? There are some customers out there who just wouldn’t be a good fit to work with your company. But guess what… some other business is a great fit. And that’s okay. Because most of your customers wouldn’t be a good fit with their company.

Now that we’ve clarified that, working with the competition becomes a great opportunity. If you’re too expensive for some clients, refer them to someone less expensive. If you don’t offer exactly the service someone is looking for, tell them who does. You’ll quickly realize that you’re spending less time dealing with frustrated clients, and more time with the profitable ones. And what’s more, your competitors will start sending customers to you. It’s all about building good karma. Cost = FREE

5. Accept Payment Online

Do you offer online payment to your clients? If not, you probably should be. These days, people expect to be able to pay with their credit card. And they don’t trust letting that card out of their site. Offering online payment options through a reputable provider makes your business that much easier to work with. And the best part is, it’s not that difficult. Just 15 minutes to set up an account with PayPal or Google Checkout and you’ll be ready to accept payments from Visa, MasterCard, AmericanExpress, and Discover.

Your customers can feel safe that you won’t ever have access to their card, and you can rest easy knowing that nobody can break into your office and steal valuable information. Cost = FREE

4. Stop Mailing Invoices

How much time does your receptionist spend printing/folding/stuffing/addressing/mailing invoices each month? How much money do you spend on postage? paper? envelopes? Is tracking down late payments sucking up time that you could be using to make money? Enough is enough!

There are a mountain of companies that can automate your invoicing process including: Zoho Invoice (my personal preference), Invoice Journal (my 2nd favorite), FreshBooks, and Blinksale. These products take all the complication out of billing your clients.

For example with Zoho:

• Just click on “Create a New Invoice”
• Choose a client and the service performed
• Verify the correct amount
• Click “Save and Send”.

An invoice will be emailed to your client along with a link to make a secure payment via PayPal. If they forget to pay, a reminder will automatically be sent to them later. Zoho shows you at a glance how much you’ve invoiced, how much you’ve collected, and how much is still outstanding. Cost = FREE to send a few invoices; up to $35/month to send a lot of invoices.

Jump to the next page for 3 more suggestions…

3. Hit the Pavement

Nothing brings in business like a little pavement pounding. Go out, get some fresh air, put a smile on your face and hand out some flyers. Just finished a job? Don’t leave the area until you’ve introduced yourselves to the neighbors. Even if nothing comes of your efforts (not likely) you will have gotten some good exercise. Cost = FREE

2. Boost Sales with Email Marketing

Research consistently shows that email marketing is the least expensive way to generate new business? Not sure where to start? It’s simple. Do you have the email addresses of all your current clients? (If you’re sending online invoices, you should.) Put together a little message to them with an update on any current promotions. Tell them that they can get some sort of reward for referring their friends. Whatever you do, stay in contact with them. Next time they need some work done, they’ll know who to contact.

You’ll be tempted to just send the message using Outlook or some other program on your computers. Be aware that there are strict federal laws regarding email marketing. Your best bet is to spend a few bucks a month and get an account with a reputable email provider. (Call or email us if you’d like some free advice.) Cost = $9-30

1. Stop Advertising to the Wrong People

Are you still advertising in the phonebook? How much is that costing you each month? How much business is it bringing in? Is it really worth it? Think about this, if you’re a landscaping company that offers snow removal in the Winter does your phonebook ad mention snow removal services? If it doesn’t, how will people know to call you in the Winter months? If it does, isn’t that a waste of space in the Summer?

Now, consider online advertising:

• You only pay when people find your business.
• You can change your ad any time for free (landscaping ad in the Summer, snow removal ad in the Winter).
• You set a daily or monthly budget cap and can stop advertising any time if money gets really tight.

(If you’d like some advice about how to get started, give us a call or send us an email. We’ll be happy to explain how it all works and how you can get started for free.) Cost = You decide

Summary

Hopefully I’ve given you a lot to think about. We’re in a tough economy right now and you can’t afford to waste money. Implementing just one or two of the ideas above could save you thousands of dollars each year. Have some suggestions of your own? Add them in the comments below. If you’ve got questions or are interested in learning how we can help you cut costs, give us a call (801.335.4941). We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.

Seth Godin always has some great things to say about marketing and he has done it again. As you may know, Pepsi recently released a redesigned logo. If you care to know my opinion, I think it’s ridiculously ugly. They’ve gone from owning an iconic shap to owning a lopsided… something. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to the the corner of a smirk, a masked superhero’s eye, or a Pringle. 

Naturally, they are hoping that the new logo will help them to make more money. I’m not sure how it’s supposed to do that exactly, but then, I don’t work at Pepsi. 

Don’t get me wrong, I think that logos can be important. If you’re a small startup company trying to compete in the business world and your logo looks like it was made by your 9 year-old neice with construction paper… it’s probably time to hire a designer. But the concept that a mega-corporation is going to suddenly gain tons of business because they’ve redesigned their logo is beyond me.

In all actuality it’s going to cost them millions of dollars. Not only will they have to pay the overpriced agency that developed the logo, but they’ll have to redesign/repaint their trucks, redesign/reprint their stationary and business cards and ovehaul their website. And if they have any schwag to give away (and corporations always have schwag), they’ll have to start from scratch. 

So if it costs so much money, why do corporations do it? Because the CEO got tired of the old logo.

So, after two and a half hours in the car yesterday, I decided that I wanted something to eat. I saw a billboard that said, “McDonald’s, next 4 exits”. I thought to myself, “McDonald’s is okay. I know it’ll be fast, I know exactly what to expect, but…if there’s a better option, I’ll go there.” Now, I would MUCH rather have a B.K. burger than a McD’s burger anytime so I was pleased to see a little combination Chevron/Burger King at the bottom of the offramp. I went there. BAD CHOICE.

It took me about 18 minutes to get through the drive-through! Now I understand that sometimes things are going smoothly. Maybe they’re short-staffed. Maybe they ran out of fries. Let me make it quite clear that the fact that it took me so long is not the main reason I’m disappointed. Here’s the main reason. When I finally did get up to the window, I asked the girl working what took so long. She just shrugged and said, “Training. Here’s your order.”

No apology. No “Thanks for Coming”. Nothing. Just pure apathy. Ok, so they’re training. They have to train at some point. I understand that. Unfortunately, they’re training all these new guys to be apathetic and rude. “Don’t you get it? You have a job because of me! You’re at my mercy. BE NICE.”

Next time, I’ll try Wendy’s.

In fact, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is…in a way. I’m issuing an open invitation to you to tell me how to run my business. Look over my site, rip it apart, tell me what needs to change. Everything is fair game from site design to product pricing to body copy. Let’s hear what you have to say.

I’m interested in your thoughts. Are there any business-to-business companies out there that still have a sense of humor?

Ok, so I’ve posted about bad customer service…but what level of customer service should we expect (or provide if you own a business)? Here are two examples:

Old Navy

My wife used to work at Old Navy. They had a store policy (I’m not sure if it’s everywhere or just in our store) that they can’t tell customers that the store is closing. That’s right, it could be 11:30 at night and if you’re in there shopping, the most they can do is approach you and ask, “Can I help you find anything today?” There are no announcements over the P.A. system reminding you that they appreciate your business but only when it’s convenient for them. “Now wait a minute, isn’t that lame for the employees?” Yes. But Old Navy isn’t in business to serve themselves, they’re in business to serve their customers. Any company that forgets that, has another thing coming.

Lands’ End

I bought a messenger bag from Lands’ End. After about 3 months of carrying books in it (imagine that), it tore. More specifically, the fabric began to tear where the strap joins it. I checked out the Lands’ End website and it said all their products are “Guaranteed. Period.” So, I called them up. A woman answered (not a computer). I explained my situation and asked what options I had.

She explained that I had three options. (1) I could return the bag for a full refund, (2) I could exchange the bag for a product of equal or lesser value, or (3) I could return the bag for credit. Now these were all great options but I still really liked my bag. I asked if there was an option to have it repaired. After about 5 seconds of researching, she told me, “Sure, we can repair it if you’d like.” She then emailed me a label that I could use to ship my bag back to them (at their cost). They repaired the back and returned it to me (again at their cost) in no time.

What did all of this cost them? Shipping both directions, and the time for someone to repair my bag. What did they get out of it? A customer for life.

Conclusion

Companies spend inordinate amounts of money trying to differentiate themselves. They come up with unique logos, crazy television commercials. Viral internet videos. But they don’t do something very basic…astound their existing customers. Do this and your customers will do your marketing for you.

My wife and I are pretty patient people. We don’t easily get upset. We aren’t picky eaters. We seldom argue. But we have decided that we will never go back to Blockbuster Video.

“Why” you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because they treat their customers like crap. You’re thinking, “Wait a minute, I’ve been in there plenty of times and I never noticed anything wrong.” Here’s why…because you’re used to getting treated like that gum on the bottom of your shoe. We’ve become so used to mediocre service, that it has become acceptable…even normal. We’ve become so used to shopping at WalMart that we don’t remember what it’s like to go into a store that actually has helpful salespeople.

A Bad Example

Here’s what irked me. A couple of summers ago, my wife and I were temporarily living across the country. We didn’t have family or friends nearby so we often resorted to renting movies. The problem was that I didn’t usually get home from working until about 10 PM and the local store closed at 11 so by the time we chatted about our day, decided what to do, and then made it to the store, it was about 10:40.

We would walk into the store excited to find just the right movie only to be reminded by the associate at the cash register that, “We’re closing in 20 minutes!” (As if I had somehow missed the big sign right next to the door handle that said, “Open ‘till 11 PM”). This wouldn’t have been too bad except that every two minutes, another associate would approach us and repeat, “We’re closing in 18 minutes.” I’d think to myself, “Wow, really? How weird, that’s the same time the girl at the cash register said you’d be closing.” To add to this frustration, if we happened to arrive at 10:55, the doors would already be closed. “Wait I thought the store was open ‘till 11. Maybe you should change the sign to read, ‘Open ‘till 10:55’.”

After two or three nights of this, we got fed up. We decided that we’d go somewhere where we were appreciated as customers. Hollywood video was just another block away, open ‘till midnight and we never once heard anyone say, “We’re closing in X minutes.”

It’s true, you can spend entire days ordering inventory, sending invoices, calling suppliers and customers, organizing your desk, and putting out various brushfires but if you haven’t generated any more business, you’re not really making any progress.

This is not by any means intended to be a comprehensive post about how to get new clients. Instead, I just wanted to point out a valuable post that Carolyn made over at the Hundred Dollar Business blog called, “42 Ways To Get Customers!”

Her list offers some ideas that might spark your creativity again. It’ll remind you of things you could be doing but aren’t. So go on, check it out. Then come back here and tell me your thoughts.

Historically, marketers have focused on getting the attention of the general majority of consumers. The problem is, these people are so inundated with marketing that they ignore nearly every attempt to pique their curiosity. Seriously, think about the billboards you passed on the way to work this morning. What were they for? What were the phone numbers they asked you to call? Do you remember any of the commercials you heard on the radio?

Seth explains that if you want to get people’s attention now, you need to have a purple cow. For example…have you ever seen an ad for LinkedIn? I haven’t. I don’t think they advertise. They don’t have to. Their members do it for them. They’ve developed a unique solution to a common problem and their customers tell their friends about it.

Watch the video and then come back here and post your comments. Tell us about other companies (that you’re familiar with) who have successfully utilized the “purple cow” philosophy.