August 20, 2007

Hello!

We're switching it up a bit here at MerchantCircle. Now that we have over 200,000 members we thought it would be fun to have our members get in on the action. The MerchantCircle Journal will now include articles written by our very own MerchantCircle members. Everything from accounting, retirement plans and organization - your fellow members have been there and done that and are going to pass their ideas along to you. Enjoy!

1. New Features
2. Top 5 Marketing Mistakes by Loretta Love Huff
3. Clearing out the Clutter by Melissa O'Neill
4. Showcase: The ARTery
5. Ask the Expert

1.New Features

We've been busy adding features and making MerchantCircle better and easier for you to use. Here are some of the new features you should check out:

• Talk to Me: On your listing page, customers can now talk to you directly using the "Talk to Me" feature. You can respond directly and reach more customers.
• Newsletters: We've made it easier than ever to write and format your newsletters. We have added pre-written articles and expanded our templates to make them more category specific.
• Business profile listing: on your Merchant Dashboard, you can see how complete your profile is using the Business profile listing. Updating your business contact information, or adding an image can complete your listing and get you to 100%.
• Reports: You can now see your site performance charts with data going back to December 2006 (of course, it depends on when you signed up.) see how your traffic has improved over time.

We love your feedback. Tell us what you think on the MerchantCircle Forums.

2.The Five Biggest Mistakes Service Professionals Make in their Marketing by Loretta Love Huff

You've probably heard the phrase that "people do business with people that they know, like and trust." However you've probably wondered just how to get your prospects to know, like and trust you.

Mistake #1 - Believing that if they do good work the dollars will roll right in Many professionals in service businesses chose their life's work because they wanted to make the world a better place. They believe erroneously, that if they serve the world with their 'gift', it would somehow be a violation of their ethics to have sales and marketing conversations. While their business might be doing OK, imagine how much stronger it would be if they were to put some effort into promoting themselves and finding more clients.

Solution: Communicate the value of what you do and for whom, over and over again.

Mistake #2 - Thinking their website will market for them With the rise of internet marketing, many service providers throw up websites because they think they should. Indeed, not having a website in this day and age may put business owners at a distinct disadvantage. However, neither websites nor brilliant technicians are inherently skilled at building rapport through a computer screen. People often want to 'sample' a service before plunking down money on something or someone they are unfamiliar with.

Solution: Share your knowledge with owners of other sites and businesses online where your target hangs out to gain credibility with a broader audience.

Mistake #3 - Networking the wrong way in the wrong places Do you cringe at the thought of attending networking meetings? It's probably because some desperate professionals go to networking meetings trolling for prospects. They try to sell their services without making a genuine effort to learn anything about the person they are attempting to sell. The business social scene would be so much more pleasant - and productive - if attendees worked to see how they could help each other with information, resources or contacts rather than trying to 'close the sale' on the first date.

Solution: Identify the networking venues that are most effective for you and drop the rest.

Mistake #4 - Trying to market like their competition You see your colleagues advertising in local magazines and directories and assume you should do the same. However advertising isn't the most effective marketing vehicle for service providers. Like static websites, ads don't allow you to personally connect with your prospects. They may explain the features and perhaps benefits from working with you, but without personal, targeted and custom conversations with your prospects, your message may fall on deaf ears.

Solution: Evaluate the marketing strategies you use and make sure they are they are the best ones for you and your business.

Mistake #5 - Not having a marketing plan or system You're confused or perhaps even a bit anxious about which marketing tactics are the most effective. You use a shotgun approach. You try one tactic, then another hoping that something will 'click' and start generating the sales you need. You procrastinate and waste time organizing your office, shuffling through (or worse yet, avoiding) that stack of business cards on your desk. Or perhaps you take comfort chatting on the phone with your friends or current customers rather than risk talking with prospects.

Solution: Identify exactly where you're stuck in the marketing process and create a system - a set of consistent actions - that will keep you motivated and in action.

Connecting with your prospects in ways that are meaningful for them and appropriate for you will help you build the rapport necessary for them to know, like, trust - and then hire you.

Loretta is a certified business and executive coach. She speaks on a variety of issues centered on effective communication including marketing, leadership and conflict resolution. Visit Emerald Harvest to find out how you can create an endless stream of clients.

3.Clearing the Clutter by Melissa O'Neil

The birds are singing, flowers are in bloom and it's time for some cleaning and organizing. Here are a few tips of the trade to help get you started.

First, make a list of areas and projects that you want to accomplish. Make your list with a realistic goal in mind. Once you have made your list and decided on your target areas, you will need to follow one basic rule of thumb; if you have not worn it or used it in a year or more, it needs to go!

Find a local charity to donate items to prior to each clutter clearing session. Some charities may even be able to pick up your donations, saving you a trip. Label various storage containers before you begin to sort through items. A label makes placing items in the right category a much easier task.

Now that you have your staging complete, it's time to get busy with the real work.

A closet can be the most challenging area in a home to clean or organize. Most of us have at least one that we would like to have neat and organized. Having a specific place for shoes can be half of your organizing battle. A shoe tower or shelving designed specifically for shoes in the best option. Be sure the shoes that you wear most often are the most convenient to reach. Place shoes that you just can't part with, but never wear, towards the top.

Filing paperwork is without a doubt tedious. Most filing can be done without thinking, and can coincide with your favorite TV show. Sort the papers into categories based on file names, including trash! You'll be surprised how much of the pile you won't need to keep.

Now that I have planted the seed to get you started, I hope that I have spurred ideas for other spaces. Don't be afraid to take on the challenge and don't procrastinate. As a Professional Organizer and Interior Decorator, I can assure you that once you accept the challenge and complete the task you will create more time for you. Organized and clean spaces create more productivity, reduce stress and lead to more control over your time, space and activities. While working on these projects, don't forget to stop and smell the flowers!

Melissa O'Neil is the owner of ALM Designs & Decorating and has been creating alluring interiors for years. She is proclaimed as one of the most personable professionals in her area.

4.Showcase: The ARTery

The ARTery is a small, family run, wacky-kind-of-place to find art supplies, art work, framing, gifts and more. Located in Atascadero, CA the ARTery is a gathering spot for local artists and art lovers.

Owners Bill Arkfeld and Barbara Nunez are actively using their MerchantCircle listing to create a sense of community around their art gallery/store. They blog regularly about things that matter to the community like school events or non-profit activities. They have used MerchantCircle to create and distribute coupons to encourage both new and returning customers to drop by and save on their next purchase. And most importantly, they are extending their tradition of being a local gathering spot to the online version of the ARTery by creating a gathering spot for some terrific customer reviews from Yahoo! local and yellowpages.com - where they have earned a rating of 4 stars.

"In the few months after joining MerchantCircle, we have made many new connections with other local businesses," said Bill Arkfeld, owner of The ARTery. "Online networking is great - we love the increased web presence and we are having fun meeting other local merchants. Building a stronger local business community has always been one of our goals."

Join Bill & Barbara and other merchants like them and start finding new customers today.

5. Ask the Expert Ryan, MerchantCircle Expert

Lance from Urban Sports of Willow Glenof San Jose, CA. asks"I wrote a review for a web service that is no longer in business. How do I remove this review from my MerchantCircle web site?"

Hello Lance - We offer full control of reviews given to your business however, once a review is posted we currently do not facilitate a way for it to be removed other than contacting customer support with your request.

Mickey of Body & Soul Fitness of Lancaster, PA. asks "Do the coupon expiration dates automatically default to 30 days from creation? A few days ago, I made a coupon with an expiration date of 8-31-07 to correspond with an August promotion I am running. The date showed up correctly on the preview but when it posted to the website, the date showed up as 9-6-07."

Hello Mickey - Everything seems to be working on end. Be sure to follow the apporpriate steps listed below to create your coupon. 1)log into your account 2) click on coupons 3) click on create coupon 4) Enter coupon requirements 5) Check spelling 6) Publish. Also be sure to have cookies enabled when using our site. This is a default setting with Internet Explorer.

Got a question? Ask the Expert at expert@merchantcircle.com