Comments on: Six Steps to Punching Above Your Weight

By: Eduardo Arciniega

Eduardo Arciniega — Sun, 17 May 2009 14:54:12 +0000

Very educating article, as a small business owner, very easily I get caught on many chores
like production, process, design, housekeeping, etc. and on many occasions proper marketing gets neglected.
Advice and guidance like this complement for the success in growing my business.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 06 May 2009 02:34:06 +0000

We’re looking to revamp or web presence. What has been your experience with Step 4. I fear that improper use of email could undermine our reputation. I know what I do when I get unsolicited marketing emails. That said, the potential reach has so much potential. Are there strategies that have proven to work?

By: Yves Matson

Yves Matson — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:52:38 +0000

Very good question Graham, I have to admit I don’t have any research that examines internet usage among older demographics. Certainly the “Boomer” generation are heavy users of the internet, so it is probably not 55+ that is your demographic of concern, but rather 65+.
Let’s assume that internet usage is lower among this demographic, likely this means it is relatively neglected, and for those that do go online (say to use gmail to email the kids and grandkids) you might find relatively uncontested markets and therefore effectiveness on par with other demographics.

By: Graham

Graham — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:28:43 +0000

One of best “keep it simple” web-marketing strategies I have come across. I am thinking of generating a business once I move out to the coast this summer, and will definitely consider these steps. Risk and cost are critical variables for me. But if my target market was 55+ how might these steps appeal to them specifically? Would you suggest adapting your steps based on the tech-savvy nature of a demoographic group?

By: Yves Matson

Yves Matson — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:48:08 +0000

Darcy, your comment is music to my choir! Web pages used to be viewed as wikis for a company; “if you want more information, check out my website”. What they are now is a facilitator for relationship selling; get them what they want as fast as they want and maybe you can induce them to want to contact you to start a relationship (ex can I have your contact information in exchange for a whitepaper?).

By: Yves Matson

Yves Matson — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:42:04 +0000

Merv, great point re process; what is singular about marketing via say adwords (and using marketing automation software), is the amount of analytics that come back (meaning ROI feedback). A company can focus laser like onto what works, and who they should be talking to (meaning build relationships with). They also get marketing and sales processes quickly and cheaply; not only has the barrier to effective maketing been lowered, the barrier to implementing effective processes has been lowered.

By: Darcy Bross

Darcy Bross — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:57:51 +0000

Interesting article and all great points. The emphasis on how inexpensive it can really be is great as it seems so many people see the web as having some kind of price barrier.

Doug hit it on the head with “Your customers have little time to wade through copious details.” So often when people talk about improving and re-furbishing their website they think of a complete re-design. A lot of the time simply addressing your content and its structure will give you great returns.

Make sure things are easy to find and keep it brief with lots of headings that make your pages easy to scan. Edit your content down to it’s purest form. Then do it again. Remove pages if you have to, it’s OK. It’s better than OK, it is the smart thing to do.

Think about what Chris said about value. Think about your website. Now think about a page on your website. What value does that page create for your customer? If you had to think longer than two seconds about that question, delete that page, you are most likely trying to justify its existence. Just like Spring cleaning, throw away that old plastic visor that says “Beach Patrol” because as much as you think you might wear it again, you won’t.

Having tons of pages make up your website won’t make you look big and important, it will make you look like a dinosaur.

By: Merv

Merv — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:08:57 +0000

Hey that sounds like a process we (four of us) could follow without hiring another dedicated specialist or salesman. These steps coincide/overlap a lot with our stated intentions, and to a lesser degree our actual practice.

I’m trying to make up my mind what I need more, process structure or process results visibility. I suspect good process is developed or embedded in an organization by making the steps visible to all so we can see if we are really walking the talk, and then what to improve. Any thoughts/experience?

By: Yves Matson

Yves Matson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:11:24 +0000

Thanks for some great comments!

Doug I agree completely, these six steps were more geared to small and medium sized companies who are doing few or none of these. Getting these six off the ground is a Phase 1 if you will to a higher level of participation…

Christoph, great point, none of these serves long term objectives unless they are executed in this customer value context. One of the main goals of the six steps is also to get a chance to start a relationship that lets a sales rep educate a lead on what the value proposition is.

Sid, these six steps are very relevant to entrepeneurs like you who now have tools at their disposal that greatly lower the barrier to entry.

Many thanks!

By: Sid

Sid — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:04:11 +0000

I’m a recent engineering grad and stumbled on this article while searching for column on website content and marketing. As I try to market myself to companies I see a lot of parallel streams between the personal websites like mine and a given company’s web presence.

Great article. This gave me a lot of food for thought.