In a service business, sometimes you have to identify who your client should really be. I used to say in the web design world that I would rather have one client at $40,000 then try and manage eight different projects with eight different clients for $5,000 a piece. It’s a whole lot less work for me, less people to deal with and more of my time can be dedicated to making the one client happy. It also seems to be easier to deal with someone with a realistic budget because the clients you try to service as a “favor” tend to be the pickiest. Typically, because the project could be a large financial commitment in their eyes – even at $5,000 – the smaller clients want to make sure every penny is spent wisely, and the project can easily become micromanaged. Needless to say, there are multiple benefits when servicing the larger clients.
However, with larger clients come larger responsibilities.
The Ten Steps I Take When Writing a Company or Product Tagline.
The right process is always to keep your main objectives in mind. “It’s not to be clever for wit’s sake, but to imbed a lasting sales message into your prospect minds.” Be clear, not clever. A snappy tagline tied to your firm’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) can answer the prospect’s question “Why you, not your competition?” before they even ask it. Slogans like DeBeer’s “Diamonds are forever”, Quizno’s “Mmm, Mmm Good.” and Maxwell House’s “Good to the last drop” can make it easy-peezy for consumers to justify a decision.
We are all familiar with the term viral video. But for those of you that have been locked in a basement without internet access for the last three years, let me explain in a very simple manner. So basically, you create a video and post it on a site like YouTube, then it get’s embedded into a bunch of blogs and Myspace profiles, it gets shared on Facebook, it gets pushed up on Digg, the link is passed around via instant messenger, and before you know it you’ve got over a million views. Think of a virus that’s very contagious and how fast it can spread. Now relate that to video.
LinkedIn - Onesheet
LinkedIn is a relatively “closed” social network – “closed” in that you have to be somewhat active to get the most out of the network. While it is possible to see someone’s online resume without being logged in, LinkedIn is most useful when you see his or her connections and references.
How LinkedIn works..
According to LinkedIn, you should only link to people you know and trust. That way, other clients and contacts will have more trust in that person and your other resources based on your opinion. However, you can utilize your connections to introduce you to knew connections, and by LinkedIn partnering with resources such as Businessweek, its now even easier for you to find out who’s doing what – and who their connections are.
…In the real world.
Most just try to connect with as many people as possible. For someone trying to reach an audience of potential employers, they want to make as many connections as they can to become that much closer to someone who may be looking for their services in the future.
Dream Success!
If you’re going to begin socially networking online, you mind as well do it productively. “Productively”, that scarey word that requires you to set goals and objectives, and then continue to monitor the progress and outcome to best analyze the results of your efforts. In addition to your SNAPs (Social Networking Account Procedures), you'll also want to monitor your SNAGs (Social Networking Account Goals).
The initial goals of all social networking efforts should be the following:
1. Reach Customers & Colleagues Directly
2. Drive Awareness
3. Listen to Community
4. Respond Quickly to a Crisis
5. Connect Service Teams with Customers to Build a better Service/Marketing Campaign
Of course there’s always room for more...
Ever wonder what’s in an online poll? Everyday millions of online polls tell me everything I need to know about myself – what kind of car I should buy, what Disney character I’m most like, and what my internet age is, but what’s really the purpose of all of this? If used correctly, online polls can collect valuable information from your website’s users, as well as recruit some of their friends. 
