(This one doesn’t deal directly with the internet but it makes an important point about profitability… a topic important to all of us!)

 You’ve heard of the 20/80 rule?  This rule says that “20% of customers provide 80% of sales.”

Well here’s another PROVEN rule:

“20% of customers generate 150–300% of total profits.”

Some customers are a pleasure to serve and their demands are minimal.  They are profitable to serve.  Some customers are a pain and costly to serve.  They want re-work & rush jobs, require special attention and are slow payers.  They may not be profitable.

Here’s a “whale curve” for a typical B2B business.  It shows all customers ranked from the most profitable to the least profitable and their cumulative contribution to the company’s profits.

This whale curve reveals:

– Top (first) 20% of customers generate 150–300% of total NET profits

–  Next 70% of customers generate a break even

–  Bottom 10% of customers LOSE from 50-200% of total profits  …thus leaving the company with 100% of final NET profits

OBVIOUSLY, YOU WANT TO PROVIDE GOOD SERVICE & QUALITY.  THAT’S WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM THE COMPETITION.  But, you must be properly compensated for your effort and you must remain profitable to remain in business.  And, if you lose money on customer “A”, you have to make up that loss on customer “B”.

High-Cost-to-Serve Customers (Here’s what can make a customer more costly to serve.)

• Orders custom products without paying a premium
• Only orders small quantities
• Orders irregularly
• Price shops constantly and spreads business
• Requires customized/rush delivery routinely
• Verbally places orders by phone or in person (vs. computer or mail = less time, less errors)
• Requires excessive amounts of pre-sale support (i.e., marketing, technical, & sales)
• Requires excessive amounts of post-sale support (i.e., installation, training, warranty, field service)
• Requires you to hold excessive inventory
• Pays slowly, wants special terms, requires hounding for payment (i.e., high accounts receivable)

So, some customers are profitable and some aren’t. What do you do?

1.  Keep profitable customers
2.  Convert unprofitable ones to profitable
3.  FIRE those who remain non-profitable

 Low margin/high cost customers offer the greatest challenge for business managers.

1. Seek ways to reduce costs  i.e.: Use internet or telephone sales on less profitable instead of sales people or yourself
2. Work with customers to change their actions, requirements & procedures… Help them understand
3. Charge additional for extra/special services.  (They’ll either change their requirements, pay the price or go elsewhere.)

 Try everything to make a customer profitable before firing them. If, after trying, the customer remains reluctant to change, and the relationship remains unprofitable, you can say, “YOU’RE FIRED!” Or, better yet …let the customer ‘quit’ by raising your prices, reducing or charging more for services, eliminating discounts, etc., until they either become profitable or find another supplier.  Let your competitor have the loss! 

Be careful!  You do not want to create an enemy or a bad reference.

 Does your website enable your customers to order 24 hours a day?  If not, we can help.  Established in 1999, MetaSense grew up along with the internet. Our extensive knowledge of the web, IT capabilities and marketing expertise enable us to offer you the right, cost effective solutions.

It’s a vicious cycle.  You started a blog to drive more traffic to your website.  But, your blog obviously provides little benefit if nobody sees it.  So, your job’s not over just yet.  Like your website, your blog needs exposure – traffic.

 Content:  Obviously, whether it’s a website or a blog, content is king.  Fresh content, the ability to post comments, and a blog that people will link to and comment on will grow your online visibility. Yes, it’s a challenge and time consuming to generate enticing, interesting blog content, but there are tricks you can employ.

What are you doing? Write about it. Write about your progress. Second, think of a question you’d want someone to ask and respond to it in your blog.  Better yet, respond to a question a client or prospect actually asked. Also, ask questions in your blog.  This starts a dialogue. Start conversations and encourage discussion. Conducting polls and asking questions about a related topic can provide results for future blogs as well as press releases. 

Put yourself in your prospect’s place. Is there something simple you can talk about that would help them? Help them solve a problem or get a sale and they’ll return the favor.

Social networking:  Just as you should be getting your website out there, you should be promoting your blog via social networking… LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Put lead-in copy on these sites with a link to your blog.  If your prospects and influencers are there, you need to be there… listening, engaging, sharing, and helping.

 Site link:  Oh yes… this is probably the most common mistake bloggers make.  Make sure your blog is either part of your website or linked back to your site.  Otherwise, only those who know who you are will ever know who you are.

 Blog directories:  There are numerous blog directories and other sources that readers turn to when seeking specific subjects.  Many of these offer free listings.  If you are going to take the time to write a blog, you might as well take a little more time to list it.  Here are a few prominent directories:

www.blogcatalog.com              www.bloghub.com           www.blogged.com                   www.bloggapedia.com                   www.technorati.com

 Do you have a blog?  Are you writing one now?  Tell us about it in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you. And, let us know if we can help!

 Finally, please feel free to post any questions you might have (for us or our readers) in the comments section.

Jerry Steinhoff

Many small to medium sized businesses depend heavily on local customers to keep their business thriving.  Local customers are easier to service and, depending on your business, they may be your only or primary source of business.

So, what can you do to maximize your local business?

1.  Geographically target your website:  Are you using “keywords” that reflect your geographic location or target areas?  Your website should be rich with such words… the page title, the URL, tags and text.  Use terms such as “serving South-Jersey” or “serving the Delaware Valley.”   Geographic keywords or phrases should appear on every page.  This will help the search engines, and your customers in turn, find you.  

Such terms can also be used to expand your market.  If you are an electrician or a sign shop in Voorhees, let them know you are “serving all of South-Jersey.”

2.  Take advantage of FREE search engine listings!  If you’re not doing this one, you’re missing the boat.  It’s free and it works.  Not only do such listings bring you business, they put you up front and enhance your search engine ranking….  Check out Google Maps and Google Local, Yahoo Listings and Bing Listings.  Note that these listings list your site based upon your site ranking as well.

 3.  Take advantage of other directories and listings.  Yelp is great for restaurants, shopping & entertainment listings and more.  Here, consumers can leave feedback, good or bad.  Encourage the good and follow-up on the bad.  Check out lists such as Angie’s list and even Craig’s list, depending on your business.  And, don’t overlook lists that are specific to your industry or profession. (Some of these may charge a fee.)  Sign up on ratings and review sites as well.

 4.  Get a voice:  By now it’s obvious that you must have an internet presence.  You cannot still believe that social networking is a fad!  Join LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.   Blog! Comment on other people’s blogs.  Get yourself recognized for who you are and for your expertise.  This is especially important if you have a local business.  Showcase yourself, your business, your customers and your friends.  There’s no better way to keep a customer than to remind them that they are a happy, satisfied customer.

Reference Links:

http://listings.local.yahoo.com/

https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

http://www.yelp.com/business?country=US

http://www.angieslist.com/angieslist/

https://www.google.com/

GO FOR IT!

 Need Help?

Whether it’s getting listed locally, optimizing your website, creating a new site, search engine optimization (SEO) or other internet marketing concerns… MetaSense can help.  Call or email us for a FREE consultation.

Jerry Steinhoff / MetaSense, Inc.

Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054 / (856) 873-9950 Office / (856) 427-9458 Direct

jsteinhoff@metasenseusa.com / www.metasenseusa.com

MetaSense has specialized in the delivery of cost effective, high-value Information Technology and Business Solutions since its inception in 1999.

…It looks nice but nobody can find it.

Many costly websites fall short when it comes to bringing in the business. They’re like a billboard in the desert.  They look good but nobody finds them (unless they already know where you are). 

Website design and support techniques exist to help you maximize traffic to your site. Many are simple while others can be more complex.  Whether you seek professional help or decide to go it alone, the first step is knowledge.  Too often, such techniques are overlooked or underutilized because they require additional time and effort and are often unknown to the site owner or developer.  Combining proper website development with maintenance, search engine optimization (SEO) and a website promotion strategy will enable you to GET FOUND & GET BUSINESS on the internet.

To be effective, you need a website that will be found by your potential customers when they are searching for your product or service!  Do you know what your rank is with Google? If not, go to http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php.  Hopefully, you have at least a “3”.

Keywords are just one key.  They may not even be visible to the viewer but they help search engines such as Google learn what your site is all about. META-data is information stored in an alternate part of a web page’s code than the web content that people actually see.  It provides important information and guidance regarding the page to search engines.  This key tool is frequently not utilized or underutilized because it can be difficult, yet it is invisible to the viewer.

Other simple answers include local listings (which can be free or inexpensive), inbound links, social networks, and blogs.  Content is more important than just another pretty page:

• Change content. Google and visitors like fresh content.  That doesn’t necessarily mean creating a new website.  While you may be bored with your site, most visitors will be seeing it for the first time.
• Organize content. Searchers need to find what they are looking for quickly or they will look for your competitor’s site.
• Remember, content is king. Some flash animation and photos can help tell your story but conveying who you are and what you do is more important. Avoid “splash” pages and animations that waste your visitor’s time.  Flash is not Google friendly.
• Search engine optimization. Even customers you know may not know that you can provide the product or service they are looking for.
• Be social. Social sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the new Google Buzz can help drive traffic to your site and establish you as an expert in your field.

There’s so much more.  On the Internet, a smaller company can market against a larger company.  Size of budget and number of employees is less relevant.  David can beat Goliath, if he (or she) is smart about using the Internet.

Want to learn more?  Come to our FREE networking event and seminar, “Get found, get Business Online”, Thursday, March 4 at 5:30 pm. For Info & to RSVP go to: http://tinyurl.com/yz6z6mf.  Any questions?  Please do not hesitate to send us an email or call.

Email:  jsteinhoff@metasenseusa.com
Call:     Jatin or Jerry at 856-873-9950
Online: http://tinyurl.com/yz6z6mf

If you do not believe that there’s a place for you/your business in the social internet, watch this…

 Socialnomics

When was the last time you considered making a purchase for over $1,000? Which of the following did you do?

•  Used the yellow pages
• Got on a plane to go to a trade show
• Responded to a print advertisement
• Responded to a direct mail advertisement
• Did a search in Google or another search engine
• Asked a friend for advice, and they emailed you a URL as a response

 According to Marketing Sherpa, 98% of those surveyed did an internet search in some form.  Today, the buying process starts on the internet.

Welcome to the web!  Welcome to the age of internet conversations and relationships. Welcome to the world of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more. These are not insignificant time-wasters, something for the young and unsophisticated, something frightening or irrelevant for businesses and marketers or something only relevant to consumer marketing or large corporations. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube are tools for connecting people with other people and promoting and maintaining communications. And, as with any other social media tool, marketers/business people have an opportunity to use these tools to expand their communications and engage with customers directly… taking their message directly to the consumer. And, as the video makes evident, this can be done economically and with high target accuracy.

No doubt, 2010 will be a challenging year.  One can only speculate as to what will happen with the economy, unemployment and trade.  Creating or enhancing online visibility can have a significant impact on how a company, your company, fairs in the new year.  Will you be able to take advantage of the new opportunities and grow your business?

• On the Internet, a smaller company can out-market a larger company.
•  Size of budget and number of employees is less relevant.
• David can beat Goliath, if he is smart about using the Internet.

 2010 should start with a plan.  The options available to improve your business’s online visibility are almost limitless. You may have or create a website where you showcase your product or service, take orders and/or capture data. But you cannot assume customer will automatically come to you. There’s Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, Social Media and more.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube are all tools. You need to go where your constomer lives… online. If your customers, prospects, and influencers are there, you should be there… listening, engaging, sharing, and helping.

The market is changing rapidly… Search Engine methodologies are changing and becoming more sophisticated. There’s a growing, more competitive Social Media environment. More businesses are developing Social Media Marketing programs.  To achieve Online Visibility in the new year will require commitment.

Not already on…

• Twitter?  (www.twitter.com)
• Facebook?  (www.facebook.com)
• LinkedIn?  (www.linkedIn.com)

Sign-up TODAY!

 You already have the skills, you just do it offline.  It’s called networking…

• Meeting people
• Building relationships
• Asking questions
• Answering questions
• Building trust
• Building a reputation

 Meet people and start conversations

• Answer questions – help others
• Ask questions – trust others’ advice

Become a real member of the community

• Add value to the community
• Ask and answer questions

 A word of caution:  Communicating on the internet DOES NOT mean only writing about the products and services you sell. Write about the things your audience wants to learn about.  Write about yourself, your interests (which include your business) and what makes you and your business unique.  Mix it up!

Can you find your company?

 Try this:

 Google: (your product or service), (your state).

 Did you find your business?

 Do it again.  This time use your product/service, city and state.

 Any better?

 Did you find any of your competitors?  Were they ahead of you or behind you?

Chances are that right now someone is looking for your product or service on the web.

Will you be found?  MetaSense can help!

 Any comments?  Please comment so that I know I’m not the only person reading this.

 Jerry Steinhoff

Embrace the internet in your business for 2010!

 Check out this link originally sent to me by Marilyn Kleinberg of eWomenNetworkSJ.

Social Media Revolution

Other recent milestones include the fact that Facebook nearly doubled its fan base in the past year with over 350 million users reported.  According to HubSpot, brand/product pages make up 39% of Facebook pages and local business and local professional services make up 14% of all face book pages.

 Pepsi is breaking its 23-year Super Bowl ad streak to invest in the online community. Do they know something you don’t know?  Domino’s Pizza is using the internet to totally turn around its company and product image.

 Closer to home, local companies are revamping their websites, setting up Facebook Fan Pages and using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. to advance their personal and business image… and they are having fun doing it… at little or no cost.

 The internet is one reason some local businesses are thriving in this down economy.  Chances are that right now someone is searching the internet for your product or service.  Will you be found?

 Joan Stippick of Connecting South Jersey recently started a LinkedIn Group of the same name (Connecting South Jersey).  Within two weeks, she had more than 200 members.  She had fun with it.  She posted discussions and solicited discussions from others.  She started a “Where in South Jersey” contest (now on its third round) to stimulate activity and get people involved.  It’s working for her, for its members and for her business.

 I know you’re skeptical.  Many people have said to me, “I know I should do it but I don’t know how to start” or “I don’t know what to do.”  Internet marketing is the hottest topic right now.  Go to a seminar or participate in one or more of the numerous webinars online.  Or, better yet, just dig right in.  Sign up for Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter if you haven’t already done so.  These sites take you by the hand.  Create a fan page on Facebook. Join a group on LinkedIn. Better yet, start one.  It’s like going to a networking event.  Only thing is, your potential audience is bigger and you don’t have to leave your business or home.  While making a purchase recently, I had the store owner sign up for Facebook. It’s that simple. Need help?  Give us a call or send me an email.

 While you’re at it, check out your website.  If it has “copyright 2000” or something like that, it may be time for an update.  There are things you can do to make it more Google friendly.  We can help!

 … Jerry Steinhoff

May your Christmas sparkle with moments of love, laughter and goodwill,
And may the year ahead be full of contentment and joy.
Have a Merry Christmas.

From : Metasense Family
www.metasenseusa.com

Metasense is an agile company based in the U.S. with an extensive international partner network. Founded in 1999, MetaSense built an organization that strives to consistently exceed your expectations. We want to be your preferred e-commerce partner!