How a Well Crafted Vision Statement Can Make you a Winner

This much ignored activity is at the heart of success in fitness endeavors, or any endeavor for that matter, business included. It has gotten a bad name over the years because it has been asked to do things beyond its range of usefulness by people who are unconscious to its possibilities.It’s not magic but it does have indispensable usefulness when properly used. Your personal fitness program will undoubtedly benefit from sound visioning practices as will your business.

What constitutes sound visioning in this context? Well for starters, visioning is the foundation for goal setting. If you can’t visualize something better, how can you set a realistic goal to achieve? Without goals what chance does a business have? So the process is sound and of value. There should be solid emotional content in the statement. A vision should be more than a picture of what could be. Andy Stanley, a popular minister and motivational speaker, defines a vision as “a picture of what could be compelled by the conviction that it should be.” (emphasis added) That’s a little different than just a picture of what could be. Stanley’s definition is something that will connect with people, the standard definition, not so much.

Something that connects emotionally with the reader is what’s required. This may take a little more thought than most usually put into this exercise. If the statement is flat it will not be remembered.  If not remembered , or at least respected,  it won’t be used. A vision statement should be guiding all decision making that goes on in a company or any planning exercise. It should also be the basis for evaluating day-to-day performance.  Think about it for a minute: It’s what you hope you or your company will be someday. An effective argument can be made that anything that does not advance you or your company toward achieving that vision is probably not a worthwhile activity or outcome.

Goal setting in general and the lengthy exercises involved in establishing a worthwhile vision statement have fallen into disrepute. Like the proverbial “brainstorming” session that generates undifferentiated detail for consideration the necessary thinking required to reach useful levels of thought is difficult and frequently avoided by participants as too painful to accomplish. The results, because of this shortcoming, are often lacklustre and of limited usefulness even when used properly. Hence people rightfully resist being held to these second rate commitments. Make the effort. Pay the price. A well crafted goal or vision statement is often all the motivation required to exert the discipline necessary to succeed over tough times either personally or in business. We all know tough times will come. For what valuable prize are you pushing ahead? More information please visit this site www.merrimacmarketing.net

The Ease of Blogging

A lot of business people worry about having a blog to which they have to contribute regularly on their website. They ask themselves, “Who cares what I think?”; ”Oh, I can’t write worth a hoot!”; “I never got good marks for writing in school.”; and the list goes on, and on and on. People have as many excuses not to write publicly as there are people.

The reasons for writing a blog for your site have really very little to do with you. Your blog is for your prospective clients, primarily. It will serve as a place where they can get answers to their questions about you and your offering. Ideally, they will be able to get enough information from your blog and from other parts of your site to become comfortable making a buying decision, to buy from someone they have come to like and trust. A blog is a place for you to supply information, yes, but more importantly it is a place where people can get to know you and what you stand for. Don’t write off the importance of what you stand for. It is what helps your business stand out from all the rest. For one thing it can help establish you as one of those rare people for whom no question is too small or too silly. That is rare, indeed. Such an attitude among prospects would be invaluable.

It really is as simple as, if you can say it, you can write it. The type of writing you will do in your blog is different than what you did in school. No one is marking you here. You speak to people when you sell your product or service, don’t you? If you are successful enough at that to survive, that standard of communication will serve you fine as a writer in your blog. Say it first. If spelling or punctuation is a problem find someone you like and trust to be your proofreader. Their only criteria need to be what you want them to correct for you and whether or not they get your point. You obviously make a point when you sell. Your writing needs to make the same point(s). Grammar is secondary to the point(s) you wish to convey.

More important than technical quality in your blog writing is your “voice”. This is a concept many people have trouble understanding but it is important in relationship building and branding, which are two of the key things you are doing with your blog. Everyone has a way of expressing themselves; the way they use contractions, or not; the metaphors (funny expressions) they use; their peculiar (sometimes) grammatical habits of expression. Our voice is one of the things that attract people to us. This is one of the reasons a conversational style is important. This is also why it is important to “be yourself” when you write. If you talk and write the same way, people will recognize you when they meet you. If they have come to like and trust you as a source of hassle-free information, help and ideas, you will have a leg up on the buying process. (You should have twigged by now to the value of social media in this “friending” process) For example, Merri writes a column for the local paper which I proof-read for her. The first thing I check for is that it sounds like her. It is not my job to critique her choice of topics, just whether it works as a communication in her “voice”. Punctuation and spelling is usually an important part of that.

Anyway, we will revisit this topic in more detail later but that, I think, takes care of three very important considerations. Most important, what do you think? Take the time to drop your thoughts in the appropriate box. More information please visit this site www.merrimacmarketing.net

Do You Know Your Competition?

That’s quite the question, isn’t it? Most business owners try very hard not to think, or speak about their competitors. They say it’s enough to know they are out there.

However, isn’t it better to know what you’re up against?  Isn’t it better to know what they are doing great so you can steer clear and make yourself great at something else?

If your competitor has you beat on price, why not beat them on customer service?  It isn’t always just about price. Sometimes value prevails. People buy from those they like and trust. If you offer things your clients value sometimes you get the business even if your price is a little higher.

No one wants to compete in a race to the bottom.  But a race it is and you can decide which one you are willing to enter.  Make it worth your while.  Don’t compete where you can’t win.  Compete where you can!

You can determine the kinds of products you offer; the type of service; the quality; the guarantee and lots more.

Find out what your competitor is doing and be different.  Check to see if what they offer is just standard fare. Then offer better.

Don’t be caught up in avoidance.  For your success, meet them head on.  Determine your own race and WIN!

What do you think? We would love to know someone is reading. Tell us right here on this page!

For more information visit: www.merrimacmarketing.net

Do a Twist

There are things in this world that everyone does the same as everyone else. For example, everyone sends out Christmas cards. Do you ? 

Then maybe you could do something entirely different. How be you send out Groundhog Day cards? Actually, it was Groundhog Day buttons I handed out.

Yes, on a cold February day I ventured downtown to go into businesses and give all there a button. Some were thrilled to have someone come and brighten their day. One office worker actually snarled at me. But, I did get a write up in the local paper because I did something different.

What can you do?

While some people send flowers, you send a basket filled with coffees from around the world; or maybe cheeses; or everyone’s favourite – chocolate.

While everyone is busy using email because it is fast, easy and very inexpensive, why not send your own designed hand-written cards?

Get the idea. Look at what others do, then do a twist and do something that differentiate you from the crowd.

Make a list of 10 things that everyone does in your industry. Now put your own twist on them. Take your time and think it through carefully. The best ideas always take time. Let your mind mull over your ideas as you are falling off to sleep. That way your subconscious mind works at it all night.

You don’t need to do them all; just use them as jumping off points for other ideas.

Become aware. Watch and see what is going on in other industries. Look for oddities and specialties that can be twisted and flipped and turned on their ear to create a whole new use.

For more information visit: www.merrimacmarketing.net

The Implications of Mission and Vision

Having well thought out mission and vision statements is not the end of the process for you and your business. These statements should be intimately tied to how your business is structured and how customers are treated today and long-term. Let’s take the ones developed for our business and see what that means.

Merrimac Marketing Mission – Building on the strong information foundations underpinning the Merrimac Marketing offering, we are committed to helping our clients identify solid, worthwhile, marketing goals in their businesses. We work with them as coaches to avoid the inevitable risks they face achieving them online. An important first step in our unique service offering is to facilitate the opportunity represented by establishing the unique Merrimac Marketing coaching process.

Merrimac Marketing Vision - In its community Merrimac Marketing is recognized as the first, best choice for information, products and services in the area of online marketing for small businesses. Merrimac Marketing differentiates itself by the exceptional level of personalized service and coaching that it can provide to its clients who are business startups and other small business owners. Merrimac Marketing attracts new clients regularly and easily because of the strong referrals that its clients provide.

First off, look at the structure of the website, www.merrimacmarketing.net. Notice that the business is geared to help people get established online quickly and easily without needing a lot of expertise right now. Secondly, the whole business is directed toward the development of a strong coaching relationship. We have actually built this into the process from the get-go by providing a lot of advice in the development process. (Most people select options initially without thinking about all their information needs down the road.)

The website has been based on providing information to our clients and potential customers. Eventually it will be a place where customers can find all they need to take advantage of online marketing opportunities that put them ahead of their rivals as sources of expertise and information in their chosen field. It will allow for marketing opportunities in line with modern expectations. Such positioning makes them and their business “findable” in the marketplace.

Modern customers increasingly show a marked preference for control and initiative in starting the buying process. It used to be that the business owner/marketer controlled this process. To them belonged the initiative to contact, or not. They controlled all the important information and its dissemination. Well, things have changed.

You can deliberately fashion your business to take advantage of these important demographic changes or you can leave your online efforts in “old mode”, providing brags about you and your company, your products and providing basic contact information “serious” prospects. It’s a recipe for financial ruin.

For more information please visit: http://www.merrimacmarketing.net

Blog Policy

Adjudication is a Reality

 It seems appropriate, now that there are more than a few posts and comments on our site and we have some real-lifeexperience to go on, to comment on the feedback we have received so far and why many comments do not get posted. We are trying very hard to approve comments regardless of content. The only restrictions we have been placing on comments to date are focused around honesty and willingness to share information. To date, we have been in the practice of rejecting comments that are blatantly nonsensical, have a non-functional email or list a site for the sale of fake items (usually stated as such in the title).

Ideally, in the blogging world, it would be nice to just approve all comments for publication as they come in. Having a Word Press based website, one of the benefits is that we get to pass on all comments that come in before they get posted. As business owners we have standards, both for our readers and ourselves. One of the benefits of business ownership is that you get to decide who you will associate with.

As stated, it would be great to be able to just approve all comments as they arrive. That’s the “blue sky” intention. In reality we have clouds and a few of those have arrived. In reality, we need to worry about our branding and what our potential readers may be exposed to when they come onto the site. All we ask in return is that you observe a few courtesies.

Given that, we have received a few comments that were simply a string of nonsense words having no discernible meaning or any other demonstrable connection to the entry in question. The intent of the response appeared to be blatant self-promotion, offering no other value or insight. We didn’t feel it was fair to post these.

We have received a considerable number of comments from readers who have included an email address that does not pass our simple return email test. In this case, as in all comments received, the email given is copied and pasted into an email with the subject heading, test, and if our ISP returns it as undeliverable the comment is not posted. The bad news is we have lost some good comments and better questions to this policy. The good news is that the trashed comments can be restored if the person in question so desires. All it will cost is an email that works. The bonus is that the comment gets acknowledged and the question will be answered. Promote your business if you wish, just offer some value in return.

It is company policy that people who have a legitimate question or comment will not be subjected to a long string of sales letters or other email harassment. That’s a trust issue and the only way to find out the truth behind that statement is to provide that working email.

We have received a number of comments with links attached to advertise a website. These have been posted on occasion when the comment was particularly useful or there was a good question and the site offered seemed to offer a straight forward value. For those where the seeming intent leaned toward self-promotion we tried to draw the line at those sites that promoted cheap knock-offs of name brand goods and mentioned that fact on their Home page. For us that was a branding issue, ours. We simply did not want to be associated with such sites. We may have been guilty of some misjudgments early on, but c’est la vie.

Well, there it is. There are no other rules, as the saying goes. Tell us what you think. Follow these simple guidelines to become part of the discussion.

Why a Smaller Company May Be Your Best Bet to Do or Redo That Business Website II

To be successful at internet marketing, one must keep up with the current state of the business; learn how to write, in other words. Innovation is everything in this business and people are constantly innovating. The biggest innovation is that marketers must get into blogs.  Marketers are numerous and constantly looking for new ways to serve their clients, new ways to engage people through to a sale. That is only one way that innovation happens. The other side of the coin and perhaps the one that gives marketers the most trouble is what people do with technology. Sure QR codes were invented by somebody and marketers were sure to come up with lots of applications but who knew that many people would use smart phones as a cheap replacement for computers and tablets to access the internet? Maybe just a few who developed the concept.

Many things people do change the marketplace forever and have to be adapted to by marketers. It takes some time for some to clue in. Generally, there is no shortage of people in marketing circles who identify and teach about new trends in marketing but there are many who don’t respond for a variety of reasons. This is a bad thing for those who don’t respond quickly but a boon to early adopters. People who are constantly on the lookout for those little tweaks people and their habits cause and are ready to move when the market does as a rule. It’s a little like The Law of Attraction says, when you are looking for something it is amazing how often it comes along. Be ready to change your mind on short notice.

Specialized help

 Every company has things they are good at, even best at. Few large companies are best at the basics because of who they serve most often. Even some smaller companies will have a focus that does not match your own. Some will be most suitable to people with a background in applications, software and rudimentary programming and the companies they select will have a similar focus in what they offer. If you don’t have a similar background you may get left high and dry. You may be offered solutions that are overkill for where you happen to be skill-wise.

Other, smaller marketing firms may be centered more on the introductory level with skill sets that are better suited to the man on the street. Here you can find the technology you need to get started; help with establishing a professionally functional website; help with the writing you need to do to create copy for your site and to produce words that will populate your blog and other parts of your site. With smaller firms you will be more likely to find the help you want and need rather than being hammered into the shape required to fit an off-the-shelf program. Think of the definition of help: What you need and want to assist you in doing a task, not what someone decides to offer.

Time

 Getting started in the area of computer based marketing is possibly a time consuming and technically challenging activity that may or may not be a good use of your time. There is no shortage of people with the necessary skills. Make no mistake, all the skills you will need to do this well are ones you need to master if you are serious about your business, just not today. Find a firm where you will get the time to identify the help you need and get it in the time and the way that works for you. This will usually involve spending the time needed in relationship with someone who will guide you through the learning process while seeing to it that you are up and running with what you need online.

If this is something you want to explore, leave a comment and contact information as requested. The talk and the answers to questions are free.

More Information Please Visit This Site www.merrimacmarketing.net