There's something to be said about getting up in the morning to a good cup of coffee. My love for coffee stems back in my early twenties when I worked part time in a gourmet food store that was a replica of the original Zabar's in NYC. (8oth & Broadway).  In the seventies this popular place became somewhat of a legend when people like the great John Lennon and other singers and famous actors would frequent this establishment for it's fine caviar and coffee beans. I knew I had to catch a fast train to NY, on the possible chance encounter with John Lennon or Janis Joplin. (I was young and full of hope). Away I went on a train in search of this great place, Upon arrival, I was giddy with excitement, the first thing I asked were directions to Zabar's,  this establishment was close to central park, in the neighborhood where John Lennon lived with Yoko. I never did get a chance to see him in that store, but what I discovered was the fresh roasted coffee they served. I was hooked with the first cup of coffee I drank, I had never tasted better coffee in my life.  I only had instant coffee in the past to compare to. Nonetheless, I had a great weekend discovering a whole new world and came back to Montreal to start my career as a barista, thanks to my boss who totally believed that I would make a fine barista because of my curiosity in mixing different blends of coffee beans. 
So goes the story on how I became a coffee lover.

Today, I appreciate my morning coffee more than ever, since coffee became something of a pop culture.   I am always on the lookout to try something new, a new blend, a flavored cappuccino, a cafe au lait served served in bowls (my ultimate favorite) on rue St-Denis, Montreal.  One of my other favorite is the Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee, I remebered years ago when it first become popular, the price per pound was more expensive than gold, hence the name, liquid gold.

In the past several months, I have researched CRM's for small businesses. There are so many to choose from that I became overwhelmed with this task. Doing comparisons from one company to another didn't help , so much information each CRM company  gave, I'd forgotten what I read when I went to the next one, it was daunting and never ending. Finally, what I've done as a process of elimination:  I looked at their pricing menu as a starting point, something In line with my monthly budget. I took the features I was most interested in, selected my top three and then did  a comparison to each. This was the easiest and most efficient way of choosing. 
Most CRM's offer you a thirty day trial period, so I signed up and registered for live demos and took advantage of the companies that offered phone support. Since I am a visual person, having phone support and someone to walk me through was a breeze and helped me decide which one I liked the best, based on the features and customer service.
I held off as much as I could before getting serious in implementing a CRM into my business. But having had the opportunity to try different ones, I  arrived at the conclusion,  to be efficient in business, no matter the size , was the smart thing to do. During my research, I was also contemplating on an email service. I had tried a few of these, but I wasn't keen on having to load emails outside a database.I wanted one shop stop.

Book Yourself Solid written by:  Micheal Port

One of my absolute favorite  books on marketing your business. Here's an excerpt of his book on cross promoting.

This is one of my absolute favorite online marketing strategies because it allows me to partner with, and promote, other people I think are fabulous while they do the same for me. We've talked about how important it is to get other people to talk about you so you can quickly build trust with potential clients. Well, cross-promoting through marketing partners is the best way to do so. If my colleague sends out an email to her newsletter subscribers endorsing my services, products, or programs, her subscribers are more likely to trust me. When I promote her, the same will be true. It makes it much easier to build relationships with potential clients that way. It's just like meeting a great friend of yours. You love your friend and if your friend loves that person, you assume that person is great. The same goes for cross-promoting online (and offline). You can cross promote like this on many levels,: between you and another service professional who happens to serve the same target market or with or with larger associations and organizations. If you're an accountant who serves small business owners and you develop a relationship with the membership director for an online small business association that has 75,000 members and she promotes your services to their membership, just think all the of these new potential clients who turn into clients. The possibilities are limitless. This is why this is my favorite online marketing strategy. Here are some other strategies to consider:

• Co-produce special promotions you could not afford on your own.
• Have a contest with the prizes contributed by your partners. A very good example on the bakery located in Toronto who gave away a "Free" Powerball ticket with the purchase of $20.00. That was a brilliant marketing move. It gave their customer the convenience and they in turn made a huge profit. It was a win, win situation for both.

Online cross-promotion has the potential for a big marketing payoff because partners can successfully expand through one another's  client base.  Both you and your marketing partners can gain an inexpensive and credible introduction to more potential clients more effectively than with the traditonal lone-wolf methods of networking, advertising, or public relations.

 

 
While there’s no overnight success when it comes to converting social media followers to customers, there are some strategies you can implement immediately to see results. Remember the importance of branding – every social interaction says something about your brand. Here’s how to make sure it says exactly what you want your brand to convey:

1. Upload Consistent Avatars

If you’ve got an old logo for your Twitter icon, your new company logo for Facebook and a product image on Google +, you’re sending a mixed message to your followers and customers. Stick to a single avatar across all channels so that visitors build a mental connection from the social platform back to your site.

Use a high-quality version (large pixel size) of your company logo, unless you’re branding yourself, in which case you should use a really great smiling photograph. The reason to use a large image size is that sometimes others download your logo from social sites if they write about your company, so you want it to be as high quality as possible.

2. Use Similar Colors and Design Across Platforms

In addition to ensuring that your images are the same on all social media profiles, it’s important to deliver a similar look across the board. This, too, should tie in with what you’re doing on your business’ website.

Twitter allows you to upload a custom background to your profile. Facebook and Google + provide a large banner photo or image up top. These are valuable real estate locations, and they provide you with the opportunity to use similar color and design elements to integrate with your company logo colors and the design of your site. A visitor should be able to recognize your brand from any social page they visit.

3. Deliver Consistent Messaging

Develop a voice that speaks to what your company is all about. If you provide useful tips for your audience on Facebook in a professional tone, make sure you’re not using all caps and slang (“OMG THIS BLOG POST ROXX!”) on Twitter, as an example.

Your social updates represent your company so it’s important, first of all, to maintain a professional voice, and second, to be consistent. Visitors should know what to expect when browsing your social profiles.

This is especially important if specific qualifies are key to the impression you want to convey: luxury, formality, trust, professionalism or other attributes. If one of those types of attributes is important to your brand, you need to convey that attribute throughout your social messaging.

4. Provide Unique Content on Each Channel

That being said, you shouldn’t duplicate content across all social channels. It’s fine to share the same blog post, as an example, but find a new way to present it for each channel.

Ideally, you want to give people a reason to follow you on all platforms. If you’re delivering the same identical update on all at exactly the same time, there’s no reason for them to do that.

Diversify your communication strategy for each. Mix up what you offer, as in this example:

• On Twitter, share relevant links from our blog and other industry sites
• On Facebook, share videos our audience appreciates, as well as answer questions about our products
• On LinkedIn, actively participate in industry groups
• On Google+, engage with other users and start a dialogue

5. Check for “Unofficial” Pages, Claim Them, and Brand Them
Check social sites to make sure there are not already pages set up that you haven’t claimed.

This can happen on review sites like Yelp. Look for instructions on how to claim your profile, such as here for Yelp.

On sites like LinkedIn, there may be a company page but no one is listed as the Administrator and therefore no one can update the page. So you have to contact LinkedIn to be able to assign administrators.

Or it may be a situation where someone has used your company name without permission, in which case you will have to contact the social network and report the unauthorized use. Facebook has a form to report impersonations of individuals or companies.

6. Focus on 2 to 4 Social Sites

It is possible to go overboard when it comes to joining social media sites. Sure, you want to reach as many people as possible, but you’ll do better to zero in on only as many as you have time to update. Think deep, not wide.

When you focus, it is easier to develop a consistent message and brand visibility.

Remember, the more effort you put into social media, the better the results. Aim for a consistent, engaging experience, and you will attract new followers and, eventually, customers.

About the Author:

Anita Campbell

Guest Blogger