The Network Insider: Feb Newsletter (Viral Marketing Download)

I'd first like to thank you for your interest and support of my first crack at producing a newsletter. I received several comments and suggestions from the first round and these are very helpful.

From the feedback I received, a monthly edition is what came out a good frequency for most readers. There were suggestions that it would be helpful if the main focus of the newsletter was spelled out a little clearer. I started this newsletter as a way to engage my growing network in a constructive way by sharing the best resources I come across in the area of marketing and innovation.

For this month, I want to share with you some insights on viral marketing. I often get asked questions like "How do you make it happen?" People fantasize over the idea of having their marketing message race across the internet for basically - free. We can make it happen and there are various ways to do it. But the outcomes are not very predictable and the process works best when combined with processes to enhance one's credibility.


To give you a primer on viral marketing, I've gotten permission from David Meerman Scott, the author of The New Rules of viral Marketing to bring you this month's resource. It is this latest book of his, and it is free. You can download it directly by clicking here (no registration required).

Viral marketing campaigns are like gambling. As David suggests, the best way to look at the process is like sorting the winners from the losers in the venture capital field. For every ten companies in the venture capitalist's portfolio, one or two will become winners, and the rest won't but the winners need to carry the whole portfolio. He suggests this to be the case for viral marketing processes. I would add that the odds of getting a better viral marketing portfolio return increase if credibility aspects are factored in.

By working on processes to enhance credibility, no matter what, you move forward as you add to your profile and this helps with viral marketing. When combining the two (credibility processes and viral marketing), something interesting happens. Any successes in viral marketing add to one's credibility and by having greater credibility, one has greater chances of creating a successful viral marketing campaign.

What I am suggesting is that if you are interested in viral marketing, be mindful of how it relates to processes for enhancing credibility. The two work well together.

I hope you enjoy the resource!

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What to do before quitting your day job

We occasionally get asked "I'm going to start a new business in a couple months. What should I do before I quit my day job?" Here are four different perspectives on this.

Tats: Before you hand in your resignation, make sure you do your homework. You need to be sure that there is a good product or service offering in place. An idea, set of samples, prototype and the like does not count. There needs to be a real business opportunity in there. Wherever possible, it should be proven, backed by a good plan and operating on a sound business model. It takes solid front-end marketing to determine that. There is rarely any value in quitting a well paying job on just a hunch there is a good business opportunity. Whatever it is, it needs to be priced for sale and priced for profit with all the costs of overhead, production, sales and distribution factored in.

An equally important part of doing your homework is making sure there are real customers for your product or service. Unless you are selling quilts, family and friends are not considered customers. Whether your customers are end users, distributors, retailers, businesses or the general public doesn't matter as much as whether or not they are real and sustainable.

Guest Commentary from Cathy Andersen, President of Canawipe Distributors Ltd.:

Make sure there is enough money in the bank to sustain a prolonged dry spell. It can take three years to develop a business to the point there is enough profit above and beyond the needs of the business to generate a healthy income.

You also want to be somewhat assured the business will not likely go broke within three to five years. The sad reality is that about half of all companies are simply not around five years after they are started. About a third of the ones that close do so because they lose money, another third break even and the remainder are profitable. There are many reasons for a company to close its doors, but not making a profit is obviously the main one. Having a sound plan, great people on board and being sure your product has a place in the market go a long way to ensuring your company doesn't become a casualty.

Cathy Andersen is the President of Canawipe Distributors Ltd., a distributor of the popular Wysi Wipe biodegradable towelettes. She can be reached at 604.552.3175 or at sales at canawipe.com.

Guest Commentary from Cissy Pau, Principal of Clear HR Consulting Inc.:

Deciding to start your own business is both risky and exciting. For some people, making the transition from having a steady pay cheque to having sporadic income is the most difficult part of running your own business.
If possible, consider talking to your existing employer about your plans before you quit. See if you can make a gradual transition to entrepreneurship by gradually reducing your hours at your day job (so that you still can earn an income) while you increase your hours in your new business.

You want to ensure that you leave your current employer on a good note. It is critical that you maintain positive relations with everyone in your network when you start a business. Depending on the business you want to start, your current employer, co-workers, and all your business associates and contacts could become potential customers for your new business or a potential source of referrals.

Be sure to review the terms and conditions of your existing employment contract. Make sure that your new venture does not contravene any contract terms. If there are any issues, you need to discuss the potential concerns with your employer to avoid future problems or litigation.

Consider taking a self-employment course to teach you what you need to know about starting and running your own business. Most programs will help you develop a business plan and will provide you insight into all areas of running a business so that you will, hopefully, avoid costly mistakes.

Last of all, make sure the business you start is something you are really passionate about. Doing something you love to do will make it easier to weather the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

Cissy Pau is the Principal Consultant of Clear HR Consulting Inc., a Vancouver firm specializing in employee retention issues for small and medium-sized companies. She can be reached at 604.688.3879 or at cpau at clearhrconsulting.com.

Peter:Have enough of the right "friends" in the area. A productive network is a great asset in building a business. If you have the right people in the right places available at the right time, your business is much more likely to succeed than if you don't. Use tools like LinkedIn, Facebook and industry networking events to enhance your network.

You also need to have key mentors and advisors in place. These people can help you develop the business long before full deployment. Call on more of your growing network of "friends" as things develop. These advisors can also help with determining when to quit your job (or the business).

The business also needs to become more enjoyable and satisfying then the job. This is easier for people who hate their job than it is for those who are very passionate about their work. There needs to be passion and enthusiasm for the new venture, otherwise it is bound to fail. This is always true if you are the one leading it and doing the sales. With few exceptions, this also holds true if you are simply taking over an existing business with a track record and organization in place. The attitude of the owner affects the whole enterprise.

10 Valuable Ways to Support Your Business Network

1. Forward relevant articles. Forwarding one or two articles or links is all that you should do here unless you get feedback asking for more of them. Don't annoy someone by sending tons of stuff forever. One or two well chosen articles should do nicely. Audio and video clips are included in this. Don't spam your network. Target specific individuals with things they will find valuable.

2. Mention the person in a blog post or article you are writing. It is a good idea to run it by the person first although not always necessary if you are mentioning something that is already in the public domain. A positive brief mention will likely go over nicely.

3. Give individuals a tip that they can use for their business. It should be specific to something they do. Maybe you noticed something on the website or see someplace where some brief feedback could be helpful. Be careful to not give "advice" where they don't want it. And avoid coming across as being overly critical.

4. Introduce someone to a prospective alliance partner. This can be a prospective client or someone the person can work with in some capacity. This is a common and traditional way to help someone.

5. Give someone a relevant book. Don't badger someone into reading it or become offended if it ends up sitting on a credenza for several months unread. It is also a good idea to let them pass it on to someone else who might find it more interesting. Don't confuse this with loaning someone a book where there is an expectation of getting it back. That can become embarrassing if the book is lost, damaged or forgotten.

6. Forward someone a useful template. This works especially well if you are well organized and have a collection of useful templates. Examples include business planning, GTD tools, checklists, marketing resources, etc. Depending on who you are sending it to, you might first need to call to set it up.

7. Give someone a testimonial. If suitable, you could give something for your associate's website, book, etc. The converse also works in some circumstances. This is where you put his or her blurb on your site, book, etc.

8. Sponsor or volunteer for their organization or group. This is a great way of supporting the person without being too direct about it. You can easily vary the level of support depending on your time and interests.

9. Write a helpful article for a publication or blog. Maybe you are in a position to feature the person in a publication or blog you regularly write for. Rather than just a brief mention, this would be more of a feature that might involve you interviewing the person for your piece. Including the person in a speech you are giving also fits in here.

10. Invite someone to a relevant business event (either just invite or pay for them). Some might consider a hockey or football game a relevant business event. In any case, sending invitations or tickets should be done based on his or her preferences and interests. Check schedules and availabilities before sending stuff out. Also make it easy for the person to politely decline your offer in case it doesn't fit.

Top 5 marketing investments for 2008

We complied a list of top marketing investments for 2008. Enjoy!

1. Position your website as a competitive recruiting tool. Most websites now do a fair to good job of attracting new business. Companies that are interested in attracting and retaining the best and brightest people are focusing more of their website efforts on ensuring it presents the company well to prospective recruits. Recruits would like to know what type of people work there, what the environment is like, where their advancement opportunities are, etc. For example, a short video from the CEO or owner produced with this recruiting perspective in mind can go a long way toward presenting the company. Statements of policy, clear contact information, testimonials, and mention of charitable initiatives, etc. can turn your website into a more constructive recruiting tool.

2. Conduct a reality check. Host a luncheon for your top five customers to thank them for their business and to get firsthand feedback with a view to figuring out how you can serve them even better. The group setting raises the stakes a little and allows for good dialogue between you and these top customers, while letting them bounce ideas off each other. As another part of your reality check, bring in a consultant from time to time to help review or define an optimum marketing strategy. Companies that have well defined marketing strategies that continually are adapted to changing market conditions are usually the leaders in their respective industries.

3. Apply suitable technology to improve or enhance marketing processes. These would include Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programs, managerial accounting tools to help assess markets, products, prices and profits and feedback systems to track and gauge customer satisfaction, etc. Another solid investment in technology is that which enhances customer interaction. Establish an online presence and level of interactivity that goes beyond the website. Blogs, podcasts, forums live instant messaging are among the currently available options. A warning about technology: be careful to not get caught in the technology trap, where resources are invested in technologies that do not add real value to the business.

4. Develop value-added materials to help educate the customer. Materials need to go beyond a brochure that tells what the products and/or services are. These advanced materials that normally consist of books, reports and articles that educate customers are valuable in their own right to justify the time and effort in going through them. The key is to ensure that the reader derives value from the materials regardless on whether or not they buy your current product or service. The materials should relate to your products and services without being perceived as a sales pitch.

5. Train all your employees to become more marketing savvy. Companies need better prepared staff from a marketing perspective as things become increasingly competitive and as the number and type of options available for approaching your customers increases. An organization can run more finely tuned and sophisticated marketing programs and processes if the internal people are more knowledgeable in this area. This also aids employee retention.