2. What to name my start up business? How does
one decide? Any brainstorming ideas?
(Food Company) (Branding, Positioning)
You are starting a food company, so I would
choose a name that shows prospects the food
related product and services your business
provides. I would suggest outlining exactly
what your product offerings are and then on a
sheet of paper write down every name that
comes to your mind. This process may take a
while but you will know when a name feels
right. I went through this process myself.
3. We are coming up fast on the holidays now, so
we will soon be hearing the dreaded "Call me
back after the holidays" stall from prospects,
So any good ideas on how to overcome it?
(Sales Techniques)
I would qualify the client's objection to make
sure the "call me after the holidays" is not a
stall. If your offer is time sensitive, I would
stress this point. Should your client insist about
calling them after the holiday, I would find out
which holiday they mean and I would pin them
down to a specific day and time to call back.
Another thing I would do, would be to send
the client a holiday card with a little note
reminding them about the appointment
stating about how you look forward to
speaking with them on the specific date and
time. Once this time comes, I would hold the
client to their promise.
4. The company I am founding has a working
name, but not a "final" name. Do you suggest I
use the working name in my LinkedIn profile?
Or use something more vague? (e.g. a
consumer product startup in the field of XYZ)
(Using LinkedIn)
I would recommend using your working name
in your profile. Once you come up with a new
name , you can change it on LinkedIn. This is
what I did when I started.
5. If your company was brand new to marketing,
had no budget other than manpower where
would you start and focus?
(Guerrilla Marketing, Viral Marketing)
I would focus on social media sites such as
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. I
would use these sites to get a following and
target prospects. Also, I would build a website
to get the word out about your products.
Publishing a blog or publishing an online
newspaper using Paper.li can be a useful tool.
Paper.li allows you to integrate your Twitter
and Facebook accounts to publish newspapers
on specialty topics. Another thing I would do,
is to engage in local word of mouth marketing
by attending networking events in your area.
6. What are the main benefits of the new
Facebook structure to marketers, and how do
we start taking advantage of them?
(Viral Marketing)
The benefits of the new Facebook structure to
marketers is that this new platform enables
marketers to obtain better data on the likes
and preferences of Facebook users. Facebook
can predict what will appeal to its members
based on their past experiences. This appears
to be the digital version of what Supermarkets
have been doing with discount cards that allow
them to obtain data on the buying habits of
their customers. Marketers can use the data
they obtain to create news stories and
messages about their products to Facebook
users; making interaction with their brand a
more enjoyable and engaging experience. The
next step for marketers is to use the data
gained from Facebook to create better
products that the consumer wants and needs.
7. Is social media killing TV? Do you think TV and social media compete or complement each other?
Who exactly owns the content?
(Mobile Marketing)
I would argue that social media compliments
TV. Many news programs and TV shows use
social media sites such as Twitter and
Facebook to engage their audience in new
ways. Social media has now become a part of
the fabric of TV.
8. When acquiring a website, should we leave its
URL intact or merge it with our site?
(Customer Relationship Management)
Congratulations on acquiring the new site. I
would keep both sites instead of merging them
because the customers of the site you acquired
are used to going to the same url. What I
would do, is to provide a link on your original
site to the new site. This will allow you to up-
sell or cross-sell your existing customers on the
new products that you sell.
9. Best ways to reward customers for referring
new customers?
(Viral Marketing)
I would offer customers a coupon for 15 percent
off any item that you sell once their referral has
been converted to a sale. I would also provide a
thank you note with the coupon. Also I would
develop a point and reward system that
encourages your customers to provide you with
more referrals. Credit card companies use a
rewards and points system when customers make
purchases. This can be a model you can copy and
implement; depending on your budget.
10. What software do I need to track customer
referrals, and issue them an appropriate credit
or coupon towards another purchase?
(Customer Relationship Management)
I would use a contact management program like
ACT! or Salesforce to make notes on your customers
and the referrals they provide you with. In terms of
awarding points you probably could use an Excel
spreadsheet to track and issue the points. You could
also include the points on your customers invoices
like the credit card companies do. If you have any
other questions feel free to ask.
11. How do I get people to feel comfortable using their Facebook
login credentials to verify their authenticity on my website?
From a copywriting perspective, what would you say to make user's comfortable to use their
Facebook logins?
(Advertising, Sales Techniques)
I would demonstrate to your prospects and
customers that you are an honest business
person. I would get testimonials from people
who have used their Facebook login to register
on your site that explain: how it was easy to
work with your site and about how they did
not receive spam as a result of using their
Facebook login. From a copywriting
prospective, I would say: this site does not
store your Facebook account password and the
information you provide will not be sold to any
third party without your consent.
12. If your company was brand new to marketing,
had no budget other than manpower where
would you start and focus?
(Guerrilla Marketing, Viral Marketing)
I would focus on social media sites such as
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. I
would use these sites to get a following and
target prospects. Also, I would build a website
to get the word out about your products.
Publishing a blog or publishing an online
newspaper using Paper.li can be a useful tool.
Paper.li allows you to integrate your Twitter
and Facebook accounts to publish newspapers
on specialty topics. Another thing I would do,
is to engage in local word of mouth marketing
by attending networking events in your area
13. Contact Info
Email Dan@dangalante.com
Web address http://dangalante.com/
Blog http://dangalante.me/
LinkedIn
http://linkedIn.com/in/dangalante
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dangalante
@DanGalante
