SEO for the Local Business Matters ... why?

It’s pretty straightforward: the Web is killing the old phonebook advertising model. There are a zillion-and-one ways to find a local business to help me with every service or product under the sun … but the most popular and easiest way is to head straight to the nearest Web search tool of choice.

SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) should matter to every local or regional business. Let’s not even discuss the merits of having a Web site (hello 1997!) but the ability to be found is just as critical as proper messaging on the site itself.

Often local businesses have said that SEO efforts aren’t really necessary for “their” business. I challenge that reasoning with this: If that’s the case, why have a site at all? This “laissez-faire” attitude is always cute until their site is suddenly unavailable for more than two seconds. And suddenly, it’s as if the world will end without their site being live on the World Wide Web. Again, I argue, if it’s so important to have a site available, isn’t it just as important to be found in the first place?

Businesses that have the mindset of being only local will continually live that self-fulfilling prophecy. Leveraging SEO efforts has 3 major advantages to local business:

A) Keyword ownership at a LOCAL level: Good luck to the Carmel Computer Repair shop that wants to be listed in the top 10 for searches of “computer repair.” But adding the regionalized terms “Indianapolis” or “Carmel” can make all the difference on a daily / weekly / monthly basis with viable sales leads. Users will always add a regionalized or localized term when looking for a local shop. Eyeballs x conversion rate = sales.

B) Look Outside Your Target Region: Granted, not all businesses can service areas far away (carpet cleaning from Noblesville to Alaska may not be entirely feasible). But what if your company could get a commission for referring to some other service provider in a completely different part of the world? For example, if you are part of some carpet cleaning association, you solve the client’s need by contacting your Alaskan carpet cleaning brethren, they get the business, and maybe you get a 10% cut. Technically your carpet cleaning empire would be without bounds or borders to potential clients.

C) Be Found: Believe it or not, many of the users looking for you are looking just for YOU. So, who would you rather see at the top of that search engine list: you or your competitor, who, by the way, has hired a sly SEO firm that puts you beneath your competition in SEO rankings. Suddenly SEO makes sense, doesn’t it?

SEO is straightforward, measurable work, but it does take some care and maintenance. It’s not rocket science, but if you ever paid for a phone book ad before, why wouldn’t you consider localized SEO efforts important as well?

To learn more about how SEO can help your business, contact FuelVM.com for all your marketing, branding and Web dev needs.

The Right Marketing Channels in a Tough Economy

Posted by: Jean Jimenez Greenwell

In tough economies, savvy management teams look beyond cost cutting and seek out opportunities to grow the top line and improve their strategic position.

As strategic online marketers, it’s important to drive measurable results that can be monetized and scaled for the upturn in the economy. Equally important is strengthening the loyalty ties among your team, your customers, and your key partners.

A study conducted by Forrester Research and MarketingProfs surveying online marketers, found that in a recession the top 5 marketing channels that they would increase in investment include:

1. Social Networking
2. User Generated Content
3. Email Marketing
4. Blogging
5. Search Marketing

Not sure what marketing channels to increase or shift in this economy? Contact FUEL VM to schedule a consultation to discuss how to make the most of your marketing channels and drive sales.

Blink: Don't miss it

I'll get asked what I'm reading re: relevant "brand" related material ... my answer about what's the best "brand book" usually produces some strange looks: the best book regarding branding isn't about branding at all... I usually answer that Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink" is the best out there.

The book is steeped in the observational premise that we – as human animals – are built to "thin-slice" information. "Thin-slicing" is making firm determinations about a subject with just a "blink" of information. 1/15th of a second can determine your opinions of a situation, object, or person. We tend to spend the rest of our time supporting this original supposition; altering the course of this initial impression takes a lot of time and data.

What the book does best is illustrate how quickly we (as humans) make determinations based upon imperfect data; this to basic premise to careful branding. If everything "feels" right to a target, there is a higher chance of executing a sale (a good friend preaches the "Odds Are" sales technique). The magic of branding is simple: have a strategy and support it. What is difficult is having the discipline to stay the course. Straying off this course might mean our initial "blink" moment with a target is not what we want them to think. This is why a business card, web site, sals pitch or logo are not just pretty things; they are your tools in the psychological warfare for your potential customers.

If we understand how our target audience breaks down information we should use that to our advantage in every way possible. The mistake is that companies typically want to push out their info in the way they see as important to their profits; the smart companies tailor their pitch and solutions to the best audience to buy. HUGE difference.

The book truly is fascinating. Check it out.

- Andrew Curtis, FUEL VM

To see if FUEL VM can help with your marketing, brand or Web development needs, please visit fuelvm.com.

Why Do You Get Up Every Morning?

Posted by: Jean Jimenez Greenwell

Hopefully the answer to that question (beyond "pay the bills", "for my family", etc.) is because you have something to do that gives you cause, motivates you, inspires you, or contributes to the world around you in a way that makes you want to go to work each day.

I wonder how we can capture the essence of why we're motivated into how we brand our company or our product? Simon Sinek of TED (Ideas Worth Spreading) said in a leadership presentation about how leaders inspire action, "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it." He says effective leaders inspire those who follow them with the "why", not the "what".

So, then, why do marketers lead their marketing copy with a long list of what they do? "We build the best product, that does this, and has these 100s of features which do that and it's better than all the other products out there. Want to buy one?" Nope.

Apple get's this. They build computers like Dell, like HP. But neither Dell nor HP have the cult-like loyalty that Apple drives. Because Apple markets with the why, not the what - - like this. "In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?"

Hell yes! And I'll stand in line starting at 4am to buy one! And I'll also buy a phone, an MP3 player and a flat screen monitor from this computer company.

Why? Because people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

People can understand vast amounts of complex information on features and benefits, facts and features; but all that doesn't drive behavior. When we communicate from the inside out (the "why" instead of the "what"), we're talking directly to the part of the brain that drives behavior.

So in branding your company, or your product (or you) - - if you don't know why you do what you do but people respond to what you do, then how do you ever get people to buy from you - - or more importantly, to be loyal and be a part of what it is you do? People don't just buy from you because they need something. They buy from you because they believe what you believe.

Tomorrow when you get up - - tap into that "why you get up in the morning" way of thinking and see if you can translate that into your brand way of thinking.

A Funny thing happened on the way to building a business ....

A short business anecdote:

I'm always fascinated by the reaction people have to the FUEL VM plastic business cards that we've used for going on 9 (!) years.

For the uninitiated – many moons ago as FUEL VM was just getting rolling – the biggest marketing expenditure the firm made were our custom, completely-ahead-of-the-curve plastic business cards ... printed 2 colors on the back and silk screened white on the front creating a virtual work of marketing art. The cards cost a significant amount of money - especially for a company literally just opening the doors. That said, I have learned a valuable lesson from them. They have helped CLOSE BUSINESS. Yeah, mock me, but the business cards have had an impact on our sales process. However, the even bigger lesson is realizing that they helped close business for FUEL VM, but the same tool would not work for another situation.

Aside: I love watching the reaction people have when they first hold the cards. 99% instantly hold it up to the light then they flip it around then they ask what the blurry mess is in the background. As human animals, we are kind of predictable sometimes ...

The ultimate point is that the cards have become FUEL VM's top marketing tool ... they elevated a mundane business necessity into a chance to motivate and inspire our typical target audience. But the design, execution and success was all based on understanding our audience and how best to position FUEL VM to them ...

The latest business cards I had reprinted a couple of years ago became a promo video for the printer. Check it out!

- Andrew M. Curtis

To see if FUEL VM can help with your marketing, brand or Web development needs, please visit fuelvm.com.

How Does the Color in Your Brand Connect with Your Customers?

Posted by: Jean Jimenez Greenwell

So, what color is your brand? And just what does that color evoke about your company's image? I worked for a company where their branding color was also used as a reference to their corporate culture - - one with a lot of energy and innovation.

I'm working with a client now who has chosen red as their main color in their branded material. Kate Smith, Color Expert, Career Color Trend Forecaster, and Editor of Sensational Color, a site featuring a wealth of information on the subject of color, describes how red affects us physically: increases enthusiasm; stimulates energy; encourages action and confidence; and, provides a sense of protection from fears and anxiety. I guess those are good connections for the color red for someone in the security industry.

For a start-up company or a company that may be re-branding itself, choosing the colors in your logo, communication templates, websites shouldn't be done haphazardly. Here are Kate's recommendations for identifying the best color for your business:

1. Start by selecting a palette of colors. Keep in mind the dominant color should convey some aspect of your company’s unique value proposition which you are trying to convey.

2. If you operate a small business and you are largely the face of the company, select a color that matches your personality.

3. Check to make sure the dominant color and/or color combination are different from your competitors. If you need to have the same dominant color, be sure to do something different with your accent color(s).

4. Confirm that your color combination works well on a projection screen or mobile device rather than just on paper.

5. How does your color scheme appear in black and white? Many logos and emails are printed using black-and-white printers, so it is imperative to keep this in mind.

Color is a powerful non-verbal element a business can use to emotionally and visually connect with its customers. How is the color in your brand connecting with your customers?