7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success with Varju Luceno- MBN Symposium Series

This blog entry is part of my series called "The 2011 MBN Symposium". To read other posts in this topic and gain more valuable insight into the presenters at the 2011 Symposium, see the series here: Missoula Businesswomen's Symposium

So far, I've shared my notes from two great presentations in the Missoula Business Networking Symposium series. Now, I have another for you- her name is Varju Luceno, and she taught some "simple, effective, and affordable marketing strategies" that I know we can all learn from! Among her strategies are sending old fashioned hand-written notes. I love that!

Varju is of course a Missoulian, although born and raised in Estonia she graduated from UM with her MBA and started her own business, Global Office Partners and practices here in Montana.

Here are the seven steps she shared with us:

1. Strategy before tactics: Varju said this great quote "Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." This means have an plan! Write down (in detail) who your ideal customer is. Go and listen to what their needs are, what's being offered them, and how it's being offered. Then decide how to reach them. 
2. Fill your marketing hourglass: On average, it takes seven "touches" before a customer will really choose you to provide a service. They need to see, hear from you, read about you, etc. 7 times before you can make that sale! So make sure you are the one that is in control of your online identity, and try to use new technologies to make those 7 "touches" yourself. When she mentioned this I was so astounded. It's true, business is moving faster than ever. So it's important to move with it, and let it work for you instead of against you!
3. Publish educational content: Another thing Varju said that I am in full agreement with: we really need to find our professional voices and promote ideas, not ourselves! If we can create content that builds trust, and offer free "try before you buy" starter offerings, individuals will feel more comfortable and may even become that holy grail of a customer- the "brand evangelist". This is just as the name suggests, a past customer who is so good at convincing others to try out your product or service, they are practically a salesperson for you.
4. Create a total web presence: Make short youtube videos (this helps with your SEO too!), get involved with social media like Facebook and Twitter, start a blog, etc. Claim your online real estate, because if you don't, someone else will. It is possible view and MANAGE the feedback we receive online. This is called "reputation management" and it's extremely important. Publishing fresh content is also important to maintaining a web presence.
5. Use a lead generation trio: You must get the lead to know-like-and trust you before you can sell them anything! How will you accomplish this? Your web presence should be working for you, not against you.
6. Make a selling system too: This is where the "try before you buy" offering would be helpful. Can you publish a pdf or offer anything for free to your customers? Do so and then follow up to see how they liked it and if they're interested in purchasing the paid version. There may be another selling system that works for you, so get creative!
7. Live by the calendar: It is so important to be organized. With a calendar, you can anticipate your fluctuations in sales, upcoming holidays, and other things that can become central to your marketing strategy.

Those are some great tips and I've employed a few of them already in my business, thanks to Varju's presentation. Something else she said I want to share:

Emphasize how you are different. (Differentiate and Dominate) 

Consider these areas that you may be able to draw from:

• Your unique product/service and process
• Your unique experience and team
• Your unique guarantee
• You unique packaging/delivery
• Your unique SOLUTION to a problem

As you can tell, Varju Luceno's presentation gave me plenty to think about and even suggested some things to put into action right away! You can read more about Varju at her website Global Office Partners and even follow her on twitter at @varjuluceno . 

She recently tweeted an extremely helpful link about the new Facebook page format. Did you know facebook FMBL (that is used to create unique landing pages and links on a business Facebook page) went out of date as of March 10th? That's right, there is a new and better way to personalize the Facebook user experience and this article tells us all about it: http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2011/03/09/adding-custom-content-to-new-facebook-pages/

Varju also suggested this great book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR . 

You can actually get it for only 10 bucks on Amazon.com right now if you take the link. Don't stop learning about how to use the free technologies out there that can help us make more sales! 

I am so thankful to have met Varju and heard all this great information. There is so much more I'd like to share with you from my notes, but for now you will just have to keep on wishing you were there! I am continuing my series on the MBN symposium until I've given you all I can about these inspiring women and their presentations. If you're hungry for more, check out some of my past entries from my MBN series!

Coming up soon: Interviews with a few amazing Missoula artists from Etsy.com! These successful ladies will share their great business ideas, tips and tricks that will be vital help for any of us who are just starting out on Etsy, the old veterans, and those who need a little inspiration boost to get back in the game. 

Thanks for reading! Never stop growing, learning, and reaching!

~Laura

This blog entry is part of my series called "The 2011 MBN Symposium". To read other posts in this topic and gain more valuable insight into the presenters at the 2011 Symposium, see the series here: Missoula Businesswomen's Symposium