The Tale of Two Memes
A tale of two memes is a marketing story. Read up on how your business strategy should integrate client experience.
I have two clients by the name of Mimi. For the purpose of this Post, I'll spell their names differently. Mimi and Meme (and not meme like the images that give us kicks and giggles but Me-Me)
Follow me?
Great...let's proceed.
Mimi owns a day spa and hired me to get her business online and streamlined.
Meme runs an online fashion boutique. She hired my team to eliminate the chaos and create structured processes.
A tale of two memes is a marketing story. Read up on how your business strategy should integrate client experience.
Both Mimi and Meme have profited over $50k in this quarter alone.
SN: You can make money without systems, but the real profits roll in when your systems are flawless.
Meme was marketing through Facebook (paid and unpaid), Instagram (unpaid) and through email marketing. I actually was surprised that she was using content marketing beyond sales.
Meme sends out monthly newsletters that feel like an invitation to get a glimpse of the rich and fabulous. Meme is working with Instagram sensations and celebrities monthly and she's sharing these experiences with her fans. The stories and the pictures are beautiful...just one issue....it's all about Meme.
That's right it's ALL me me me me me!
Who the hell cares? Am I being harsh, no ma'am. Anyone reading an email that's just me me me is thinking that...IF they even continue to read.
Meme hired us for automation. She told me she had marketing under wraps. We automated her sales flow and initiated a flawless client experience.
Despite initial thoughts...marketing is a major part of client experience.
Meme changed her copy to highlight her products and her clients. No more long novel like emails detailing her experience but she began to highlight her customers desire for this fabulous lifestyle. Styling tips from Instagram sensations and success mantras from the celebrities. She invited fashion bloggers to share styling tips, how to pack for the weekend to month long trips, and makeup hacks. Instead of sharing her lifestyle and experience through email she moved those stories to snapchat. The strategy behind this was genius...if I say so myself.
Now the other Mimi wasn't online officially. She had a website, but it was just a placeholder for the day spa on the web. Nothing memorable, to make you want to go into her spa.
And what a disservice that was, because Mimi’s salon is gorgeous. The essence makes you feel amazing as soon as you walk thru the door. It smells like jasmine and lavender mixed with sweet scents of women with good taste in perfume. All of her staff is remarkably stunning.
It's as though she hired models just for a photoshoot. Nope, they work there every week.
Mimi's Facebook surprisingly was poppin! Mimi has been operating off of word of mouth and Facebook. And the Facebook love was by chance, whenever someone would leave they immediately went to the page and raved about it.
Mimi didn't have anyone managing this page to even ‘like the comments that were being left. There was no one checking in on the clients once they left. Mimi’s client experience was solely focused on those that entered the day spa.
Ignoring client experience is leaving money on the table.
Mimi previously had photo stock photography on her site. Which is fine, but considering how remarkable her salon and staff are, that was an instant do-over.
Mimi had a photo shoot and had her website redone. Mimi added a scheduling app for her clients to book online which would save them a few coins in addition to capturing their email and phone number.
This way her receptionist only needed to call those who have not verified that they want to receive text or email reminders. With this extra time saved she was able to tackle social media and comment on that abandoned Facebook page.
Mimi started utilizing those emails she was capturing online (from clients and potentials). Monthly Mimi sent an email telling her peeps about the most purchased service and included a discount code/coupon for those who were on the email to utilize within the next 7 days.
Mimi started using Facebook live and having a Facebook live party once a week. Mimosas and manicures with Mimi every Monday. This was genius considering her clients were naturally attracted to Facebook.
We got ads running on Facebook. Created an Instagram account because image is everything and ran ads over there too.
You want to be like Mimi and not Meme when it comes to your business strategy, marketing and client experience. You want to create an exclusive experience that builds rapport and relationships with your customers based on their needs.
Major key: understand the necessary wants and needs of your clients is the first step to designing what an amazing experience would look like for them.
Mimi understood client experience, yet she just did not extend this same experience online. It’s a digital world we live in and we’re all connected, like it or not.
85% of consumers use the Internet to find local businesses.
The experience of your brand should be amazing in person, online through ALL mobile devices and desktops or MacBooks [laptops], social media, email, sales process and support process. This is where Mimi was slacking.
Your target market may be a business (B2B) or a consumer (B2C), and behind every interaction is a person. And it’s up to you to make the experience worthwhile for this person.
Remember Meme was only showing her consumers what she was doing...this was not meeting any needs of her consumers. Meme thought their need was cute and trendy clothes and she was focusing on showing them a fabulous life. Although the cute and trendy clothing brought them to Meme’s site and social media, their need was greater than clothes and drooling over someone else’s online life. They wanted fashion and beauty tips, confidence boosters, and inspiration. When she transitioned to meeting those needs, there was a transition in her business.
Focus on your consumer from the beginning to the end. And the end isn’t at the end of the day or the end of the session. Building a successful business means you are thinking about longevity and not just this quarter or this year. Create a client experience that will yield lifelong relationships. [Even if that relationship is just them raving about how amazing your business is when they utilized your services and/or products.
Live. Love. Action
1.Evaluate your current client experience.
2.Determine your client’s needs
3.Brainstorm a client experience strategy with steps to delight your clients for the lifetime of your business.
Steal Like An Artist Business Strategy Using Evernote
Learn how to steal like an artist to up-level your business with Evernote.
A year ago I read “Steal Like An Artist: and ,” by Austin Kleon. It was a quick read, I remember reading it in two trips to the pool with the babes.
Truly gem after gem of awesome actionable business advice.
He even quotes the Bible:
“That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. ”
All to say: NOTHING IS ORIGINAL.
Now this is not a book review, although I would highly recommend you do check the book out. However, the takeaway I want you to get in one sentence + a glimpse at the image above : curate and steal from artists [we’re all artists + it’s all art] in order to up-level your business and set you apart from the rest.
The irony, eh? Steal to be different. Yup...that's the theory.
Be inspired and take action in the inspiration. No one is telling you to copy + paste. You may need to go read the book, if that is what you’re thinking.
No secret, but I adore my sissy pooh Beyonce. I am obsessed with her marketing and her interaction [or lack thereof] + marketing. No I won’t be dropping a surprise launch at midnight and announcing it on twitter. But just in case I change my mind, go follow me on twitter, I would hate for you to miss out on the in real time scoop. Anywho, I am a pop culture junkie and I study pop culture's strategies, marketing and "launches." I take the parts that I like and remix it to fit my style and business.
Say what?
Meanwhile on the lovely internets where online biz peeps and bloggers hang out, I see two methodologies [maybe four tops] being played out. It looks a little like this:
1. Work with said coach [or stalk ALLLL their free content]
2. Begin using language of said coach or blogger.
3. Business model is modeled after said person. [Carbon Copy]
4. Crickets to their offer that looks like the 545,678,787 *insert more numbers + commas as you see fit* other people hitting copy +paste of said coach.
What they need to do is hit CTRL + ALT + DELETE or COMMAND + ALT+ ESC for my mac peeps.
It's time for a reboot and a strategy to steal like an artist.
Remember, nothing is original. So the idea has been cycled over and over, before you even were exposed to it. And my friend, you are too amazing to just be spitting out sloppy seconds [ or even worse...remember that huge # we couldn’t agree on earlier].
Would you eat a piece of gum that has been chewed by just four people before you get your turn?
I'm grossed out just thinking about it. Imitation and straight up stealing other's intellectual property and website design is the same thing.
You look lame.
Your work doesn't seem as credible.
Oh and very importantly...please note you can be sued.
“Good artists copy, GREAT artists steal”
To be great and to steal like an artist, you take the element and embrace it with everything that embodies YOU.
So all of your life experiences, the way you think, the things you like, the things you love...everything that embodies you.
Apple was not the first company to come up with the concept of a computer tablet. Toshiba was. Apple took the concept and built upon it and created the game changing iPad.
“Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find your self.
”
In order to keep up with all this stealing, I use Evernote. In Evernote, I created a stack SLAA [I pronounce it slay! as in yass girl yass slay that into something amazing!]
A stack in Evernote is basically a file folder to group together your notebooks to keep things organized.
SLAA Notebooks I have:
- Copy Swipe
- Email Copy Swipe
- Facebook Ad Copy SLAA [SLAA is behind this as I have another folder specifically for my facebook ad’s copy]
- Launch Swipe
- Opt-In Swipe
- Sales Page Swipe
- Set Up
- Welcome Emails
Copy Swipe - If I’m on a website and see copy that just stops me in my tracks. Like wow, did you just seduce me with words. I clip it into this folder, so I can evaluate why was it compelling + what made it stand out.
Email Copy Swipe - I receive an email, that I actually read all the way through. High five for keeping my attention and passing the scan test + making me go back to the top to read in detail. These get forwarded to evernote by my email.
Facebook Ad Copy SLAA [SLAA is behind this as I have another folder specifically for my Facebook ad’s copy] - I have ad blocker on my computer, so I rarely see ads. However, if I’m on facebook on my phone and see an ad that made me stop and look...I’ll take a screenshot and add it to this folder by creating a note or adding it to an existing note.
Launch Swipe - You know how you see something really cool, but forget about it when you want to tell someone else about it? Yeah. This folder exists for that very reason. Whenever I see amazing launches going on and I receive emails or see website pages that absolutely rock my world; I clip, screenshot or email them to this folder.
Opt-In Swipe - same premise here as the other folders. If I receive a really amazing opt-in, I forward that baby right here.
Sales Page Swipe - My sales pages are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. However, I love the dynamics + psychology behind sales pages. You know the nerdy not so cool reasons of why do people buy. So when I see a unique page that doesn’t look like the million others BUY NOW, I save it in this here folder.
Set Up - there’s absolutely nothing in this folder. nada. zilch. I’m sure one day I’ll remember why I created this folder and then I’ll probably use it. [Sorry about this]
Welcome Emails - you guessed it...if I receive an amazing welcome email, it goes in here for me to analyze at a later date.
The truth of the matter is, I don’t clip or email or even screenshot weekly, but when I do see something striking, I send it to SLAA. When I’m uninspired or knew I had a good idea, but couldn’t quite remember what that idea was, I take a look at my SLAA folders.
An excerpt from Steal Like An Artist
Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes. The reason to copy your heroes and their style is so that you might somehow get a glimpse into their minds. That’s what you really want — to internalize their way of looking at the world. If you just mimic the surface of somebody’s work without understanding where they are coming from, your work will never be anything more than a knockoff.
Never do I copy + paste, but I find a way to remix the element or elements so it is my own. I evaluate what made me notice it, so I can create something that would make you stop and notice.
It’s so easy to scroll past the same meme and image because we have been exposed to it over and over and over again. Our mind doesn’t even register it anymore.
So the first time you saw it, that person did their job in grabbing your attention.
And since nothing is original, it’s your job to create strategies and systems to help you to keep your lady focused. How do you steal like an artist?
Systems vs. Tools
Every business needs systems and tools. With the new year, I see so many business owners throwing out the word systems but when I look closer they are only talking about tools.
Tools and systems are not synonymous.
Tools + productivity hack + strategy x repetition= system
Tools help to carry out systems and enhance a system in automating your business.
My favorite tools this week are asana and streak. The systems behind them are a bit strategic.
For example I use Asana to manage:
TDL
CRM
Podcast pitches
Project manager
So many things [working on a guide to share all the goodness]
In order to create a system look at what you do over and over. Make note of the steps that are needed and those that aren't. Assess where you can shave time, automate, and or outsource. Write it down and follow those steps from here on out. That is a system.
Here's an example of my Podcast system:
Research potential guest
Interact with potential guest casually and genuine
Send potential guest an email informing of the podcasts mission and invite them to be a guest.
Once the guest accepts the invitation, send guest an email explaining recording process and a link to podcast scheduler. [The scheduler is linked to my main calendars]
The scheduler sends the guest reminders before the interview date. If needed they are able to cancel and reschedule through the scheduler.
Edit the podcast
Record Intro
Upload Intro
Type up show notes [I use a template]
Create bit.ly links for the download url and show notes
Edit image [I use a template]
Create blog post for podcast show notes
The day before the podcast goes live I email the guest with the show notes, an image to share on their social media if they choose, pre written tweets about the show, and the download link.
This system is composed of a few moving parts and tools, but it's fool proof. There's a checklist to make sure everything gets done and in order.
The templates make it so I can easily pick up where I left off and not have to wonder if XYZ was completed. No time is wasted trying to figure out where to start, because I know it's done if the task below it is completed. The checklist also makes it possible to pass it off to my assistant if I don't have time to finish some tasks and the deadline is nearing. She knows exactly where to start and what to do.
Systems automate your business. Automation leads to more time which is freedom.