A Word about Negative Reviews
Okay, a bad review is not exactly as bad as you might think it is. Yes, too many bad reviews can be a warning sign that there is an aspect of your business you need to amend, pay attention to or fix. At the same time, when you are offering great products coupled with great customer service, you will be sure to generate mostly good reviews and perhaps a couple of bad ones. It cannot be denied that in the world of online businesses, a bad review now and then is just a reality you and me will have to face. One benefit a bad review has is that when customers reading the reviews see that there are both bad and good reviews on the review page, they tend to trust the reviews more rather than when all the reviews look like it may have been “rigged,’’ so to speak. When getting a bad review, remember to empathize with the customer, tell them you are sorry and respond to them thoughtfully. Offer them something that you hope will make up for their negative feelings, such as a promo or a freebie. This will be sure to keep them coming back.
Make it Easy
In your shop, one thing you can do to help customers leave reviews is set up a computer in one corner and have it ready for people to type in a few words. This is the best way to get great reviews with the least amount of effort on the part of either you or the customer. You can create a homepage on the internet that features your profile and screensavers reminding customers to leave a good review.
Web Links
When you want customers to take action, one important element is simplicity. If you make it hard to find on a website where to click links, it is not going to happen. Rather, explain how much you appreciate a good review and make it easy for them to do. Have a devoted website section that makes it easy to navigate so that customers know where to go and what to do to leave a good word.
Email Signature Links
Many programs for email let you set up signatures for your email that show your contact information and valediction automatically whenever you send out mail. If this is something you have not already set up, then you should. It is a great method that automatically informs people already in your mailing list to send a good review. IT can be something like ‘‘Click Here If You Are a Happy Customer.’’ This link should then send them your review site.
At Every Positive Interaction
Each and every time you interact positively with customers, ask for a review. Getting reviews for a business is not unlike making a sale. It just won’t happen if you don’t ask for it. This may sound like I am stating the obvious but really I am not. Remember to create goals for yourself and remember that each time a customer of yours has had a good business experience with you, ask for a review. If you meet the customer face to face, you can ask whether they are online or not. If so, then it shouldn’t take too much more to ask for a good review. Explain that it is very easy to do it and that other clientele had not reviewed your site and that this is something important to you, which you totally appreciate. You might be surprised how many customers will be more than happy to do this.
ATTRACTING YOUR IDEAL TRIBE
The fastest way to get your brand seen and heard about is to establish what I call an ‘obsessed tribe of people who just love you no matter what’
Start asking your list / your tribe what it is that they want, what do they love about you, what do they want to see more of.
Step up and be their leader, they are looking for someone to follow. If you don’t give them an offer to follow you, join your list or eventually work with you, they’re not going to come running out of nowhere and beg to do those things! YOU have to lead your tribe!
By getting very clear on who it is that you actually want to work with, you develop a filter, which also filters out the people who you don’t want to work with, which is just as important!
Below is an expert form, a small experience I had which may help you gain some clarity on how you can build your tribe so you end up with a community of people who you LOVE working with:
I’ll never forget that phone call.
I’d agreed to jump on the phone with someone’s partner to help them out with their mindset.
I’d been told that they were ready to change and wanted to invest in themselves to grow, they wanted ME, one-on-one, with no limits, weekly and DAILY access to ME and my coaching.
Cool, happy to chat.
Get past the small talk, then, 2 minutes in, I say:
“Now, _____ how can I really help you?”
And the response left me a little stunned…
“Well, Regan, if you’re such a great coach then you should convince me as to why I should work with you.”
Excuse me?
Convince?
Oh dear…
This isn’t going to work out so well.
My response:
“Let me do you a favour.
There will be no convincing.
In fact, this conversation doesn’t need to go any further.
Quite simply because, no offence, you’re so far removed from the kind of person who I love to work with that it’s ridiculous.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, did you not understand me?
You’re just not the kind of person I work with.
Which, by the way, is totally FINE. However, this conversation doesn’t need to go any further— there will be no convincing.
Although, if you ARE actually serious about working on yourself, I really recommend that you go and find someone who resonates with you, someone who you doesn’t need to be ‘convinced’ into working with.”
And that’s where that conversation ended.
And MAN, it felt GOOD.
It felt SO good to have clarity.
And please understand, there is POWER in saying no.
Saying no to clients.
Saying no to money.
Saying no to working with someone who you KNOW is not your ideal tribe.
Because, I used to say yes.
And even if I KNEW it wasn’t right, I’d twist and mould it until it appeared to fit in the moment…
And often it resulted in me not enjoying the process of working with that person.
SURE, I would get them results, yes…BUT if I wasn’t enjoying it, then what the hell was the point?
I may have well just gone and got a highly-paid coaching job for a coaching firm that allocated clients where I didn’t get a say in who I worked with. Same deal.
But that’s not why I’m in business.
That’s not why I built an empire.
That’s certainly not what I preach to my tribe on a daily basis!
I believe that you get to choose.
I believe that you can choose not to help everyone.
Because deep down, not everyone WANTS your help!
It’s like dating.
You don’t just date everyone in sight.
You date who you are attracted to.
And you’re either attracted to someone, or you’re not.
Pretty simple really.
BUSINESS IS THE SAME.
You choose.
You choose your clients,
You choose your tribe.
Oh, what was that?
You’re scared that if you get too “niched” (I hate that word— okay, too specific), you’ll cut everyone out and you’ll be left with NO ONE?
That, my friend, is your scarcity mindset trying to creep back in.
And quite honestly, I suggest you tap it quietly on it’s head and ask it to please vacate the building…
Because it doesn’t serve you.
ABUNDANCE, baby!
You get to choose!
And trust me, if you don’t choose, you’ll wind up sad and miserable, backed into a corner, working with people who you quite honestly just don’t want to work with.
How do I know that?
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!
But never again.
I love my tribe.
And they’re so, EXACTLY, (almost scarily) down
to a TEE, exactly who I want and love to work it.
They’re go-getters, rock stars, creators who KNOW that doing the inner work is THE answer to having it all and they don’t just talk about having it all, they ACTUALLY DO THE WORK to ensure that they are creating it all, on a daily basis.
So cheers to the crazy ones!
ACTION ITEMS:
1. Write down a description of your perfect target audience. Define your customers and prospects as narrowly as you can. What is their age and gender? Are they married, engaged, or single? Where do they live? What are their interests? What are their job titles? Where do they work? What do they talk about? If the answer to some of these questions is: “That doesn’t matter,” then that’s OK. But try to paint as detailed a picture of who your customers are, and who you want them to be, as you can.
2. Once you’ve defined this audience, look for and find them on social networks. Dive into the Facebook advertising platform and see if you can determine how many people fit all of the criteria that you’ve written down. Search Linkedln by job title or industry if you’re in the B2B space. Search Twitter and Facebook for people talking about whatever it is that you think your customers talk about.
(A step to consider in the future after you have launched): Write down a list of places in your marketing budget where you’re willing to invest in order to attract your ideal tribe. How could you potentially cut back from other marketing and advertising expenses that are reaching a broader group in favor of more narrow targeting using social networks?
ESTABLISHING YOUR 12 MONTH PLAN
As stated earlier, branding takes up a relatively long period of time to attain the goal fully established. Long-term planning is very much required and needed for making that all-powerful brand; hence, brand value propositioning takes long to lay down the plan on the table, study the competitors, and propose term strategies.
However, if you follow this complete “Be Your Brand” system, you can develop and launch your personal brand easily within the first 60 days. Obviously if you are attending one of the Be Your Brand Online or Live Masterminds, your learning and your results will be accelerated.
To get your brand created in the right amount of time, create a twelve, nine, six three and one month plans including the steps and the deadline.
Focus on the development on the first month. Complete the three-month mark launch. Accelerate your progress after three months up to the twelfth month mark. Introduce new services and products within this time. Replace yourself completely out of the brand in twelve to twenty-four months. Here is a quick look in a summarized version of the timeline leading up to your brand:
12, 9, 6, 3, 1 month plans, steps and deadlines.
1 month focus on development
3 month mark launch complete
3 - 12 months accelerate + introduction of new products / services
12 - 24 months should be looking at completely replacing yourself out of the brand, apart from doing the things that you love
PERSONAL BRAND SUCCESS STORIES TO LEARN FROM
A successful individual who desires to build a celebrity brand must think like a “genuine celebrity brand,” and this requires a different mindset, perspective, and strategy from business as usual. Successful individuals need to be perceived as distinctive and make a promise to deliver emotional and functional benefits. As Mark Steinberg says, “People try to create brands out of individuals who are not really committed to be a brand, and unfortunately, it’s going to catch up with them.” Mark should know; he is the senior vice president and global managing director of Golf for IMG, the sports and entertainment powerhouse. He also personally represents Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam. He also points out that to become a genuine celebrity brand requires a “promise and commitment to yourself, sport, work ethic, and character to become the person you want to be. When people think and act like a genuine celebrity brand, everyone who is associated with them understands what their promise is and how they deliver the right experience. Celebrities or successful individuals may be involved in a variety of business interests, and they must become actively involved in developing the strategy for their brand. It’s important that each of those businesses and related brands deliver the right promise to their respective constituents. An individual’s related enterprises must provide exceptional customer satisfaction for long-term success. The key for an individual to become a successful genuine brand is to focus on providing distinctive and relevant experiences that provide lasting and memorable impressions in all of his or her business-related activities. Genuine celebrity brands make a promise, and they deliver on that promise consistently, eagerly, and at the customer’s convenience.
The power of a personal brand is based on how people feel toward the brand. Robert Tyrell Jones Jr., popularly known as Bobby Jones, was one of the greatest golfers in the world. Clearly, his golf ability was world class; however, it was his demeanor and character that made him a genuine celebrity brand. Bobby Jones wrote the following in 1967 for the Augusta National Golf Club: “In golf, customs of etiquette and decorum are just as important as rules governing play. It is appropriate for spectators to applaud successful strokes in proportion to difficulty but excessive demonstrations by a player or his partisans are not proper because of the possible effect upon other competitors. Most distressing to those who love the of golf applauding cheering of missed plays or misfortunes of a player. Such occurrences have been rare at the Masters, but we must eliminate them entirely if our patrons are to continue to merit their reputation as the m knowledgeable and considerate in the world.” Bobby Jones’s personal style made him distinctive in every way. Louise Suggs was one of the charter members of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) that dominated women’ golf in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s with 58 professional victories, including 11 major championships. Louise, who was nicknamed Little Miss Sluggs by Bob Hope, had the distinct pleasure of knowing Bobby Jones when she was learning to play golf.
She describes him as, “Always the Southern gentleman; he was an icon and not just in golf.” She watched Bobby play a lot and it really helped her develop her style. Once he told Louise, “Knock the hell out of it, it will come down somewhere.” When you listen to people who knew Bobby Jones, they always hold him in high esteem. It’s easy to see why when you watch his golf instruction videos. His personal charm and sincerity were never overwhelmed by his intelligence or accomplishments. Many individuals become famous for their sports ability, acting talent, public service, politics, and the like. The few who achieve genuine brand status have demonstrated an understanding that to be perceived as truly “authentic” requires a unique mindset. It’s not just about success, fame, or money; it’s about achieving a balance between the fame and being perceived as a genuine person who is real and respected, not just some kind of a star.
Whether or not a famous person or an athlete can become a genuine celebrity brand depends on many factors. One of them being, is this person “brandable?” “You have to be good enough at something that someone really cares about,” says Charlie Mechem, an esteemed corporate advisor and personal assistant to many celebrities, including Arnold Palmer and Annika Sorenstam. As the chairman emeritus of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, he has had a lot of firsthand experience in the celebrity business. If indeed people believe they are brandable, based on talent and accomplishments, then they will need to focus on becoming perceived as unique in a positive way. There are so many talented people in every walk of life that being really good at what you do is only the entry fee that is absolutely necessary to focus on your values, character and what you believe in. As Louise Suggs says, you have to have the right “basics” related to your talent as well as your personal life. Many famous people believe it’s their right or obligation to tell other people how they should think, act, or behave. They say it’s their right, as in free speech. Unfortunately, this is a serious problem, since there is no such thing as “free speech.” The Constitution
of the United States respects “freedom of speech” however, there are consequences whenever an individual speaks. People who desire to be genuine brands should always focus on being known for what they support in a positive way, rather than what they are against.
In order to become a genuine celebrity brand, a person needs to focus on being: Good enough at what he or she does so that other people will really care. The desire to be a genuine celebrity brand begins with the enthusiasm and excitement of a star combined with the grace and charm of a real person. BUILDING A PERSONAL BRAND IS HARD WORK. It’s easy to admire celebrities’ lifestyles and the benefits of being rich and famous, or both. However, successful celebrities’ personal work schedules, social demands, and the nature of being famous add up to really hard work and lots of personal sacrifices.
Greg Norman mentions the words “the shark,” and many people will correctly think of Greg Norman. Although he became famous playing professional golf, his Great White Shark Enterprises provides a good lesson in how celebrities and famous athletes can build successful brands. He has consistently used the “shark” and shark-related images throughout his business to reinforce his brand equity. Greg Norman is actively involved in all of his brand ventures, and “he just has a really amazing business acumen,” says Suzy Biszantz, CEO and president of the Greg Norman clothing line. “It’s very natural to him. Our customers are always so surprised that, unlike many professional athletes, he’s so in tune with our business and theirs.
Great White Shark Enterprises is a multinational corporation with hundreds of employees, partnerships, and licensing agreements. It is involved in golf course design, apparel, wines, and residential real estate development. According to Bryan Moss, president of Gulfstream (private jets), “He’s one of those rare individuals where you can take his word or handshake to the bank.” Greg Norman has been very successful in business and in the business of building his family of brands. He is involved in every aspect of his business, from tasting his wine to each detail of a development site. “My site visits are a little intense because I’ve got to see everything so I just put on my boots and go. In his book, The Way of the Shark, he tells the story of his friend teaching him the science of “DIN and DIP”—”do it now and do it proper.” Even if you don’t like doing something, you’ve got to do it anyway. He also believes in three principles: The next minute is the most important minute of your life. You are limited only by your own imagination. Your dreams are the blueprints of reality.
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