Fix your Cruddy Credit Scores

Let’s face it, one of the most challenging parts about starting and running a small business is money. I should probably put that differently and say finding the money to start and run your small business. As with all Entrepreneurs who started from scratch, I too made somthin’ out-o-nothin’ and had to figure out how to get it to cash-flow. I also had to wrack my brain to come up with creative financial solutions in order to pay the bills and make sure I (actually my family) could eat in the meantime.

Since I don’t have a Sugar Mama, a Rich Uncle or an inheritance burning a hole in my pocket I was left with my 401K, HELOC (home equity line of credit), credit cards, and high interest PE (private equity) .

(Editorial comment, we’re beyond all that now, Sweet!)

For those of you uninitiated readers who have never (or not yet) ventured down the entrepreneurial path, prepare yourselves because this is what it take. If you want to win big, you have to risk big. It’s the name of the game. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you (ala all of those purveyors of the get-rich-quick...)! Simply put, you get out what you put in. That’s all there is to it.

I know as well as anyone that it’s easy to let bills slip and get behind or off track with your payments to a point where you are getting calls from creditors and your credit rating is being negatively affected. This begins a vicious cycle that deteriorates very quickly into financial chaos if not properly addressed. The first and best piece of advice that I can give anyone who is facing this predicament is to communicate with your creditors. Don’t blow them off. They don’t like it anymore than you do. Besides, you owe them the money and the debt you have with them is your legal obligation.

That said, and I can’t say this conclusively, most creditors are interested in working with you to resolve your debt through some payment plan. There are about a gazillion different organizations out there willing to settle your debt with creditors “FOR PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR…” yada, yada, yada. Proceed with caution! Frankly, you may not even need them unless you are facing severe circumstances beyond your control.

But that’s not what this post is really about. What I really want to share with you is how to clean up your credit score after it has taken a hit due to the afore mentioned scenario. eCreditAttorney is the only organization that you need to consult with to correct your low credit scores. These guys really work! I know. Read the testimonials page to get the gist of the type of improvements that they have achieved. I can say with conviction that they are every bit as good as what you see in the testimonials on their site. Just click on the banner below.



The 3 credit bureaus, Trans Union, Equifax and Experian report your credit how they receive it from your creditors and it will remain uncontested, whether right or wrong, until you do something about it. There are laws that govern how your credit is reported. The information has to be substantiated and they (credit bureaus) must be able to prove that the information is correct and accurate. As eCreditAttorney puts it, “As the need for proper legal enforcement of credit rights has increased the eCreditAttorney team has emerged as a destination for consumers all over the country to pursue financial freedom.”

One final note: This process takes time. Just like so many other things in life that are “worth-it, ” it takes hard work, mostly on their part. So, if you are in this predicament (below average or low credit scores) I suggest that you spend the very reasonable fee and get them working for you immediately!

Give 'em What They Want!

In developing your website, it is important to keep in mind that your web site is essentially a document, or series of documents, that your web visitors will be reading. Understand that this is the expectation that they are coming to your website with as well.

Recent readability studies prove that the eye is immediately attracted to text, not pictures or graphics on a web site. This may be bad news for website designers out there who have a penchant for developing very elaborate Flash animations, but it’s good news for you. It saves you the time, trouble and expense of developing such things.

Creativity Killed the Customer
Recently, a web designer (former creative director for an advertising agency) colleague called me up excited to show me a website that he had just developed. When I got to his office and saw his latest masterpiece I was a little concerned. He had indeed developed a magnificent dynamic, database driven web site. Unfortunately at his customer’s request he had also developed a 2 minute long Flash animation. This was the first thing a web visitor encountered when they went to this particular company’s homepage.

I stood there watching this spectacular high-bandwidth display of color and motion, while my friend basked in the glow of his creation. My only thought was how absolutely annoying this was going to be for just about every single web visitor that came to this particular website, with the possible exception of his mom.

I did my best to express my concern to my friend however, it was to no avail. In fact I just went and checked on this “spectaculon” and it’s still there. Fortunately my friend had the good sense to put a “skip-intro” button on the animation. Hopefully this company’s web visitors will find it quickly. Besides being a time waster a flash introduction immediately alienates those web visitors still using low-speed connections, and that’s still quite a few people in the US today!

Words, words, words...
Words are the most powerful communication tool known to mankind and the Internet is the great facilitator of this tool. In his somewhat eclectic, yet enlightened book, The Medium Is the Massage (Bantam Books, 1965), Marshall McLuhan stated, “Western history was shaped…by the introduction of the phonetic alphabet, a medium that depends solely on the eye for comprehension…” “Its use fostered and encouraged the habit of perceiving all environment in visual and spatial terms.” In the words of Yvonne DiVita, book publisher, author and Social Media expert, “Words count! The Right Words Count Double!”

All of the rules of good typography still apply. In this case, the more things change, the more they stay the same. (A quick search on “rules of typography” will produce several sources of information.) Keep this in mind as you develop your web content. As an example, bolded text and subtitles command more attention than pictures or fancy graphics and animations. Other things to think about are, spacing, font size and style… Don’t ignore a large demographic that is flocking to the Internet—baby boomers. Remember that they don’t like small script and they want information up front, top down!

2 Points on Good Web Content
As you develop your web content there are a couple other basic concepts for you to keep in mind. First, Be Brief! In most cases online -- Less Is More. Don’t say in two paragraphs what you can say in ten words. Second, the contents of your web site should reflect the real and measurable benefits that you provide to your customers. In other words, your copy should be about the unique value you provide to your customers and NOT about your marketing ego. The more you can build on your unique qualities, and their benefit to your customers, the better.

Statistics
Several final notes on the development of your web site: It is a known fact that 70% of Internet users will NOT re-visit a graphically rich web site. This most definitely supports the point made earlier that web visitors are coming to a website with an expectation of gathering information, i.e.: reviewing a document. 59% of online shoppers want MORE product information not less. In addition, web site visitors demand speed and gratification. 40% of Internet users will not tolerate web pages that do not load quickly. The eight-second rule still applies – “Capture my interest in eight seconds or I’m gone!”

If you Twitter -- tweet -- don't "TWACK!"

I heard an interesting interview with Chris Brogan on John Jantsch’s DuctTape Marketing podcast yesterday afternoon. Chris, who is recognized as an expert in the social media space, was being interviewed about his use of Twitter, the micro-blogging utility that has become so popular of late.

Among the various and sundry ideas both men tossed around was a comment about how they loath getting blatant sales pitches from people who they don’t know who are following them. Neither of them had a good term, or any term for that matter, to describe this Twitter equivalent to junk mail or SPAM.

Well divine light has shown down upon me. Ladies and gentlemen, I have that term! And the term is, “TWACK.” Now I realize that sounds kind of goofy but, follow my logic. As with all words within the twitter lexicon, it begins with the letters T W, as in Twittonary (Twitter Dictionary). This is a cool tool you can use to look up the meaning of anything and everything on twitter. “TWACK” also sounds like Elmer Fudd in hot pursuit of Bugs Bunny. “Be vewy, vewy quiet. I’m twack-ing a wabbit! Huhuhuhuhu…” LOL

Most birds chirp and tweet, the later being the term used to describe a micro-post (140 characters or less) by anyone on twitter. These chirps and tweets are melodious sounds that are pleasing to the ear. Ducks, by comparison, quack which to anyone but a duck hunter is not a melodious or pleasing sound. A “Quack” is also a derogatory term used to describe a doctor of ill repute or perhaps a shyster. The word “Quack” is rather abrasive and obnoxious, which is in keeping with the previous comment. The term “TWACK” is also rather abrupt and harsh, when you say it. Try it out. It also sounds similar to “whack,” which is to hit or strike something with a resounding blow.

This gets to the real meaning of the term. Twitter is a great utility for communicating (one to many) short bursts of information. The content on Twitter ranges from the typical “what I am doing right now,” to quasi chatting. As with all communications mediums there are those people who choose to throw a blatant sales pitch at everyone in the hopes of attracting an ignorant few with their message. Chris Brogan referred to this as marketing with a Bull Horn. As I alluded to above, this is abrasive and obnoxious and it also flies directly in the face of what Social Media is all about.

TWACKING then, is the equivalent to Twitter SPAMMING, and is the quickest way to become un-followed, or UF’d, by pretty much everyone. The bottom line is, nobody wants to hear your sales pitch without getting to know you first. Chris had a more colorful description of this when he said (and I paraphrase), “don’t try to stick your tongue in my mouth when we haven’t even shaken hands yet.” You get the point!

AIDA -- A Timeless Love Story?

This content continues to get a ton of traffic on our website so I figured I would include it here for your viewing pleasure. Don’t get me wrong, this is extremely relevant information related to the development of effective communications with your potential customers. Everything in the following post is as relevant today in the Social Marketing space as it is in the dirt-world. As you will see, it’s all about communication…

Unlike the Broadway musical of the same name, the AIDA that I am referring to is not the story of timeless love between a Nubian princess and an Egyptian prince, but rather the 4 “timeless” fundamental elements of effective marketing communications.

Attention
Your audience is barraged by thousands of different marketing messages and communication inputs every day of their lives. This is only going to get worse now that we have embarked on yet another communications revolution on the web (Social Media). Ensuring that your message is seen and read will mean the difference between success and failure.

Keep in mind that “It’s Not About You!” Get your ego out of it. Your headline, in the case of an ad, or subject line, in the case of an email communication, or blog post, should be a bold and compelling benefit statement that “hits the reader where they live.” It should address some aspect of their need, that you are responding to, or the problem that you are solving. Make it as personal as you possibly can!

A good starting point is to make sure you know who you are communicating with or who you would like to communicate your message to. Remember that Search engines feed on blog posts and all other forms of online communications (web pages, twitter feeds, etc). Make sure that your content will draw the right crowd.

Most email management programs on the market today will allow you to personalize your message with the recipient’s name in the subject line, which has been shown to be highly effective in getting email messages noticed and read. By the way, non-spam email is still the highest rate of conversion on the web today.

Interest
Ask yourself, “what can I say (truthfully) that will grab my audience’s attention, and get them to read my entire communication?” Look around in your own world. What is it about the messages that you look at or read that gets your attention? Follow suite with your communications. An effective way of establishing interest is to ask a question, or several questions, that give your audience a reason to continue reading.

Capturing interest always has to do with the establishment of value in your readers mind. Don’t forget that. Don’t be overly concerned with the length of your content. It’s a known fact that long copy sells. This assumes that the copy is good, of course, and that you continue to focus and to build on the unique value that you are offering to your audience.

Desire
This is the set up for the grand finale… It’s very important that you get this part right. If you don’t, all your efforts up to this point will be for naught. Don’t underestimate the power of this element. It has been said that the purpose of advertising is to evoke an emotional response. Similarly, your task is to reach out and generate DESIRE (an emotion) with your audience. Getting a bit more technical, you want to stimulate the amygdalae (brain tonsils), which have been shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing of memory and emotional reactions.

Sound challenging, like brain surgery? It’s not. There are a couple techniques that are surefire ways of establishing desire. The first involves telling your readership, in bold and vivid detail, what they will get when they purchase your product or service, in the case of an advertisement. I.e., what’s in it for them. As I said earlier, don’t be overly concerned about the length of your copy.

The second technique involves the use of testimonials, which are statements of praise and testimony from existing customers. This alleviates the “Guinea Pig” factor -- the concern that they are the first to buy or use your product or service. Additionally, your future customers would like to know that they are in good company with other folk within their peer group. Testimonials are a great way to achieve this.

Action
In a word, this is where you CLOSE the deal. Be specific and keep it simple. Tell your reader exactly what to do and then make it easy for them to follow your instructions. If you have done everything correctly up to this point, this should be very straightforward.

Something as simple as “Lean More,” “Free Trial Offer,” “Contact Us Now,” or “Order Now,” is generally all that’s required. Make sure that you have a simple to use form or template for your reader to fill out and submit, or the whole thing falls apart!

How Cool is Social Media?

Now that’s a great question! Check this out… I was on my way home this evening and I was listening to my car radio, only because I don’t have the “All Blues, All the Time,” Satellite radio hooked up yet. And I heard the same-old stock report about local big businesses in our back yard. You know, the ones they always talk about. I guess because they’re publically traded or something like that. As if that gives them some kind of status or prestige... Frankly, from where I’m sitting, that counts against them these days!

Anyway, I heard the same old BS about the pathetic results that all of them were putting up, but one company in particular, Eastman Kodak, and it made me wonder. I wondered how those people who work for Kodak must feel knowing the company’s contributions to their 401Ks have been frozen for at least the next year, due largely to the mismanagement of the company. Or, the fact that executives can expect no raises (not that they deserve any) for at least the next year.

Hmm, how about this? Time to look for another job maybe? Ooh bummer. Without good workers they can’t innovate or produce good products. Without innovation or good products, they have no customers. Without customers they have no… yeah, you get the picture (place pun here)!

Now, I’ve been in the Rochester, NY area for the better part of 20 years. I remember when Kodak’s share price was right around $100 per share (it’s below $6.50 per share these days). For anyone who’s been around here for a while they know that’s been a while. I even owned some Kodak stock. I also remember when George Fisher, former CEO cashed in his options for some sick amount of money ($100MM+ comes to mind) just before it went below $100/share, and he got away with it! As if he didn’t know it was going to tank… He’s the same guy who went to Congress and whined because the Japanese were kicking his ass on his home turf. They told him to go pound salt, by the way. Exactly what they should tell the American Auto makers…

So anyway, with that in my mind I jumped on Twitter tonight. Just for kicks, I wrote the following tweet: “Kodak CMO I know you're out there... Share price <$6.50. Wazup? I still remember $98! Consumer products... what a bitch.” Within minutes, Jeff Hayzlett, Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO or some such thing) along with one of his Mar Com lackeys was following me.

I have to say, back in the day, you couldn’t get a guy like that’s attention without fireworks. And now, using a totally free social networking utility, available to anyone in the world on the web, I not only got his attention but, I’m sure, caused him some consternation along the way as well. That friends, is the power of Social Media. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to know that this blog post is available to a worldwide audience too.

Final note: Jeff hasn’t contacted me directly yet to make me an offer to buy my company (hush money), not that I would sell it to him, but it’s still early. I’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, here’s hoping that Kodak can get their collective stuff together and put it in one sock, and make a useful product out of it.

Oh, and Jeff, we’d prefer if you didn’t make it in China. Maybe that’s why you guys are so geeked about the WalMart ads. Hmmm.

CCI -- Customer Composite Index

If you are going to succeed on the web, be it as a manufacturer, retailer, dealer / distributor, consultant, coach or whatever, it is essential that you identify, as specifically as you possibly can, who your prospective customers are. This is the foundation upon which Target Marketing is based.

An easy way to tackle this problem is through the development of a Customer Composite Index (CCI). Your CCI is a detailed list of characteristics that very specifically and succinctly defines your customers. Ask yourself the following questions: who, what, where, when, how and why.

An example of some of these types of questions are; who are our customers, what do they do, where do they live, (in the case of consumer products)? Or, where are they located (in the case of businesses)? Does their location have any significance to the product or service I’m offering? Does how they live have any bearing? What business are they in – product, service, specialty, commodity? What’s their annual income or revenue? How many employees do they have?

Additionally, are there customer personality or lifestyle traits that are important to your business? And, who are their customers? This is especially important, because if you understand their customer’s needs, you truly know what makes them tick! What are their interests and hobbies? I am sure you can come up with many more relevant questions that will help you to define your CCI. The point is, if you know who your customers are, by virtue of your CCI, then you know what you are looking for in a new customer.

If you have trouble with this exercise, visit an existing customer (or five) and ask them these questions. This gives you the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. 1) You will meet with them and get some face-time, for a very legitimate reason. Which means you can continue to build your relationship. 2) In your questioning, you will inevitably communicate your concern through your interest in understanding your customer better. You never know, you may just uncover an unmet need or two that you can convert into a sale!

“No” – The Most Critical Word in your Vocabulary
Get comfortable with saying “No.” It is the most important word in your small business vocabulary. One of the predominant issues that small businesses face, due largely to the absence of a CCI, is their inability to say “No” to a prospect or customer when they should.

Here’s how it works; they (small business) have a sales opportunity but it’s really not what they do. But, the customers or prospect trusts them, perhaps due to a pre-existing relationship. And that prospect or customer really needs whatever “it” is. Rather than saying, “I’m sorry, we don’t do that. But, I’d be happy to help you find someone who does.” Or, “I know exactly who to point you to, let me make a phone call...” The small business decides that there’s an opportunity to make a quick buck, and “it” really isn’t that far-afield…

Well, I think you probably know the rest of the story (thank you Paul Harvey). The small business takes the job and ends up scrambling (i.e., jumping through hoops) to get it done. They don’t really understand what they are doing so the quality isn’t there. They won’t deliver on time and they spent too much money building or delivering “it.”

Net, net…
Net result? A big looser! Not only did they alienate everyone within their own their small business, they lost money on the job, (they would know this if they kept track of such things). And most egregious of all, they broke the trust of a customer who may very well tell all her friends and neighbors about what a pathetic job the small business did her.

I wish I could say this doesn’t happen very often but I can pretty much guarantee if you are reading this you have either been involved in such a debacle, been on the receiveing end or, you know of one first hand. Solution? Do what you do best and forget the rest! Your customers, your employees and your banker will love you for it!

There is Nothing New Under the Sun -- Solomon

The best way to begin the discussion of Success on the Internet is with a brief historical review about what exactly the Internet is and why it came into being in the first place. This may seem like an exercise in futility to some but, I assure you knowing the origins of “the Web” will help in understanding the dynamics of all of the Social Media dialogue that’s flying at us these days.

Often times the basic premises upon which the Internet was established are overlooked by companies and individuals seeking their fortunes online. This is unfortunate and often leads to disappointment with their less than stellar results. A brief review of e-History will serve you well as you approach the Internet as a means to your success.

Going Back to Where it All Began
In 1962 (That’s 46 years ago. I know this because I was born in ’62.) Dr. J.C.R. Licklider, who at the time was working at MIT as a research scientist on a project funded and sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), came up with the concept, what he referred to as the Inter-Galactic Network. You see, the defense research work of DARPA at that time involved several desperately and remotely located research facilities, located at several different major universities, MIT and Stanford being among them, as well as several military installations across the country.

Communication And Collaboration
Dr. Licklider (his friends called him “Lick” for short) realized that to effectively work together on co-development projects the research teams located in these various centers needed a way to effectively communicate with each other. Ultimately, they needed to develop a means by which they could collaborate on various aspects of their research activities. Is this starting to sound familiar based on where you see the web going these days?

Where the Internet Came From
Dr. Licklider is most often credited as the man with the original vision of the Internet. In two of his most influential papers, Man-Computer Symbiosis (PDF document), which he wrote in 1960, and The Computer as a Communications Device (PDF document), which was co-authored with Robert Taylor in 1968, he describes his vision of computing, which at the time of his writing was a mere concept, a good idea at best. He also goes into some detail about the purpose of the Internet, and why it was built.

Remarkably, “Lick” also predicted the future by stating that by the year 2000 millions of people would be online, connected by a global network. Isn’t it interesting that Dr. Licklider was absolutely correct?! He also set the table for the types of Social Media interaction that we as users of the “Inter Galactic Network” are having these days.

The Future - Now
As a futurist, he foretold of modern computing conveniences like the graphical point and click interface, digital libraries, e-commerce, online banking, and technology independent software that exists on a network (the web) and migrates to wherever it’s needed. He was also known as the “Johnny Appleseed" of computing. This is a well-deserved nickname for a man who planted the seeds of computing, and in many respects got the digital age started.

My point in this post is this, the Internet was, is and shall ever more be a communications medium designed to bring “people” together, regardless of whether we call it Social Media or Corn Flakes. No doubt about it, we have more ways to communicate with desperately located people than ever before. As I said earlier, that’s not anything new. Speaking personally, I'm having a direct (albeit cryptic = 140 characters at a time) conversation with any number of people from around the globe on Twitter as I write this. Now that is COOL!

I wish I could have met Dr. Licklider but, unfortunately he has since passed away. I consider myself a futurist too and would love to compare notes with him. There are many other contributors to the development of the web that deserve mention but, that’s for another day and another post.