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Monday Morning Motivators – December 11, 2006
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Espresso business tips are designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java gets you going. Subscribing and Unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."
--Japanese Proverb
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Table of Contents
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1. Mistake Proofing – Linda Fayerweather
2. Pay-Per-Click Advertising – Mistake #2 – Vague - Rebecca Booth
3. Let’s Do Lunch - John Meyer
4. Fine Print
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1. Mistake Proofing
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Lean businesses do mistake proofing because a mistake is waste and even a small mistake repeated overtime will become a big headache. Here is a new lean term to remember “Poka Yoke” ????. Poka Yoke is Japanese for fail-safing. Need an example? You can’t remove your car key from the ignition unless the vehicle is in “park”. You have been stopped from making a potentially serious error. If you start looking around, Poka Yokes are everywhere from the little wooden cutout that doesn’t let the too-short-person on a ride to the attached tail on your gas cap. These Poka Yokes take the thinking and judgment out of a system and get your mind back to more productive work. When you look around your office or shop and see an error that too frequently appears, is this a Poka Yoke opportunity? If you would like some fun ideas, check out John Grout's website.
http://csob.berry.edu/faculty/jgrout/pokayoke.shtml
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
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2. Pay-Per-Click Advertising – Mistake #2 – Being Vague
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Unfortunately, pay-per-click advertising is very limited with what you can/can’t do in your ad. For instance, you are limited to just a handful of words – 190 characters (including spaces) is what Yahoo allows in a text ad. Google tightens that up to 70. If that’s not limiting enough, you can’t use color, photos or logos! Word choice becomes extremely important when you’re using this medium. Avoid words such as quality, economical and good service – these words are vague and meaningless. Instead zero in on what sets you apart from your competition, a patent you hold, a specific product you sell or exceptionally friendly warranties.
Remember: if you’re not specific enough people won’t click through. Lucky for you, you haven’t spent any money. However, you can lose big bucks if your ad causes clicks with people who are not potential clients. You’ll pay for these clicks only to find the leads going nowhere.
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
www.marketingsolutioneers.com
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3. Let’s Do Lunch
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Remember, for people to pass you business, they must first get to know you. Set up a schedule to meet someone different from your networking group at least once a week for coffee or lunch. Divide the allotted time for them to share information about their business with you and for you to share information about your business with them. This type of schedule is very manageable and very helpful in building relationships.
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
http://www.bni-ohio.com
