Alberta Business Marketing

Stop the presses…I recently read a very interesting article in today’s Calgary Herald from Canwest News Service journalist Misty Harris on the flood of “Social Media Guru’s” in today’s economy.   I few weeks I wrote a post on this blog about these self-proclaimed social media gurus and my good friend Joe from MSPMentor.net followed up with his article on “Seven Signs Your Social Media Coach is a Fraud“.

Instead of focusing on the negative like I have in the past this time I am going to try really hard to focus on the positives about having a professional who really understands small business challenges, marketing in general and how social media can play a part in your overall marketing efforts.

Here is question one to ask them.  What is marketing and how does it differ from sales?  Email me for the answer, not going to give away all my knowledge on my blog.  However, here are some differences on professionals vs..the others.

1.  Real Professionals never call themselves gurus, ninjas, experts and the list goes on.  Some of us may call ourselves consultants, professionals and maybe a strategist.  But many of don’t carry numb chucks so we are not ninjas or preach from the altar and therefore the evangelist wording is out.

2. Real business professionals have a proven track record.  We may talk about some of our success stories, but normally we are under a NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) and rarely have the opportunity to share some of our success stories.  However, like in some of the comments on Joe’s blog, we come recommended by our loyal clients to others and more often than not, engage with people the old fashioned way – we meet them face-to-face or talk to them in person.

3. Real professionals also run successful businesses or at least part of a successful business venture. Does your social media consultant under EBITDA or profit/loss?  How about the measurement of ROI and success indicators?  Here is a tip, ask your social media guru about the importance of the number of followers on Twitter and then call me or email me for my answer.  Want to see if we are different?

I love what Kemp Edwards from BCIT said in Misty’s article when talking about social media gurus “It’s sort of like declaring yourself the champion before you’ve hoisted the cup” or even what Dee Tremendous from the Toronto-based blog “Tremendous News” says “Social Media is a fertile land for douche bags”.

What I would caution Canadian small business owners is this…do your homework.  Check out your social media guru’s website, is it professional?  Is it just some free template and has all the free WordPress junk on it?  Your business needs to have a resource who can help you understand what makes sense for your business…not that you need a Facebook page or a Twitter account – just because.

Tags: blog, Business/Finance, Calgary Herald, Canwest News Service, Coach, Facebook Inc, Guru, Guru Granth Sahib, Joe, journalist, media guru, media gurus, Misty Harris, MSPMentor.net, Online social networking, Sikh terms, Sikhism, social media, social media consultant, Social Media Ventures Inc, strategist, toronto, Twitter, Twitter Inc, Vajrayana Buddhism, World Wide Web
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According to one online business coach, Internet Coaching can show you how to earn more, work less, and enjoy life online by living the Internet lifestyle.  It’s an alluring promise so perhaps it is no surprise that a search for ‘Online Business Coach’ results in 26.7 million items.  Here are some of the top ranking resources:

Clearly there is intense competition and it is gratifying that at least in this search SMM Internet Marketing Consultants came up at #2.  Given that Google now delivers personalized search results, you may find that a Google search for ‘Online Business Coach’ produces a slightly different list.

You will usually find that Terry Dean is in the top few, but perhaps the most surprising entry is Ken Troyer at #1.  He describes himself as an online business coach and mentor, who is quietly working behind the scenes.  In a previous post on online business coaches,  we did give a link to Terry Dean but he was the only one we mentioned.  However working ‘behind the scenes’, Ken Troyer clearly amasses large numbers of back links to appear so high in the Google rankings.

There is a real need for honest business coaching, since in some ways the Internet is a field of dreams.  It is true that you have the ability to communicate globally with a vast potential audience.  And yes, even if only a very tiny fraction of them could potentially buy your product or service, that can still total up to very significant revenues.

Where the dreams come in is that of course anyone else can look at that potential market place and jump in too.  If it is far too easy, then that could encourage a vast number of competitors.  Avoid such markets like the plague.  What you should consider is a market place where there is what the strategy experts call a barrier to entry.  For example if you must be certified to provide a particular service, then that is a barrier to entry.  If you are not certified, then you are not permitted to offer your services

Even if you have the skills and certification to be able to cross that barrier to entry, you may still find too long a list of potential competitors.  This then presents two challenges:

• how can you offer something that others cannot offer, in other words offer a competitive advantage, and
• how can you expect to stand out from this crowd.

Both questions require serious effort to find effective solutions and in some cases solutions will not be possible.  If you have really become extremely enthusiastic about your potential product or service, you may be blind to the reasons why success may be elusive.

This is where the right online business coach may render you immeasurable service.  Giving honest, frank advice will allow you to put effort into the things that matter. 

• Perhaps you have not defined the right market niche. 
• Perhaps you have to refine your service so you will truly be offering something that is unique for that niche. 
• Perhaps your cash flow plan does not allow for a slow startup. 

For more on those key questions you should be asking, check out The NUB Of Your Marketing Strategy.  In that title, NUB stands for Niche, Unique Selling Proposition and Bottom Line.

If your choice of online business coach is not asking you tough questions on such matters then be very wary.  If your online business coach is only painting pictures of the promised land, then move on.  What you really need are strong doses of realism.  The online business coach and mentor who can provide that is worth whatever they may charge.  Buyer beware.

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Online Business Coach – Choosing The Best One

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Tags: Business, Coach, Marketing strategy, Niche market, Unique Selling Proposition
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