“Cazbah had definitely made an investment in understanding every aspect of my business and they have definitely helped us to grow our business.

What’s most notable about that growth is that we had what we thought was a very limited geography within which we could operate because of the types of products that we manufacture and distribute.

Inquiries through the Web have proven to me that there are opportunities that are many miles away that I never would have even considered calling on until the Web.”

Andy Severson, Vice President & General Manager, Armstrong Brands

“I always tell people that it’s very nice when you come in to work on January 15th when there’s snow on the ground and its cold outside and no customers are coming in, to have a bunch of orders to process. It’s like making money while you sleep.

I get 30 to 40 customer phone per day and a dozen or so emails too. I would estimate that I convert most of them, about 80%, to sales. We have noticed that our average order size on our Website is significantly higher than our in-store purchases.

I absolutely would recommend Cazbah to other small businesses.”

Diane Cappel President, Owner Cappel’s, Inc

“Our business has changed dynamically since we got going on the Internet. In the past, we had 88 sales reps on the street. Those 88 reps never produced 1/10 of what our Website currently produces. The way we go to market has changed completely. We no longer use sales reps and now we do all of our marketing and selling online.”

Tom Rich, Director at CH Ellis, Inc.

I am in the process of preparing for potential new clients and presenting to them over the next few weeks. It can be a laborious act – reviewing what they want to do, comparing that to the existing market, coupling that with the current viability of what they are doing today, and vetting several other key factors for good measure.

It’s an exhausting process, but one I’ve come to realize is the most important part of my job.

All combined, I may decide they indeed are doing well given their particular market segment.. (and in those cases – Congrats to them!). They may also be doing poorly on several levels and really don’t expect to be doing any better. Further, they may be able to do so much better, but are not able to dedicate any resources to the effort.

Determining up front these factors and ultimately deciding if we are a good fit together is so important to the success of both companies – not just theirs and not just ours.

If the fit is not right we spend our internal resources trying like heck to make them successful, only to not succeed. At times they get frustrated (and disappointed) because their hopes are dashed as they fail to gain the return they expect from the relationship.

On many occasions, we have stepped away from a potential new client, because when it’s all totaled up, the likelihood of their success was remote, if not impossible. It hurts up front to not accept a new client, but it’s for the best all around.

On the converse of that, when the fit is right, we are in step with each other and we set both realistic goals and shared tasks to reach those objectives. Both companies are seeing the benefits and we are moving forward in the establishment of a true long term relationship.

Last week, a client – a long term client at that, stopped in to  our office for a discussion with his Account Manager. They were to work on a few aspects for an upcoming marketing effort for the fall and wanted to cover the details together.

While he was waiting for his Account Manager to finish a call, he whimsically wrote on our project board “ Do my stuff every day” .

He laughed.. we laughed and they went on with their meeting..

I thought later about it and his comment is really on point. Our clients gain success because we do stuff on their behalf.. ‘every day’

Ok, so it would be a stretch to say we are directly doing “stuff” everyday on every account – but we do stuff collectively which benefits all our clients in numerous indirect ways.

Things like  -

Developing improved functionality on our hosting platform, to ensure the technology serves our clients well such as PCi compliant security enhancements. Conducting training events for the Accounts team, which we refer to as “Cazbah University”, which allows them to share best practices across the team.

Cross linking social media accounts, to gain maximum benefit from each and every update.

Providing time for our folks to gain certifications, such as Google’s’ “Advertising Professional” program

Updating internal procedures to remain in step with the dynamic changes occurring daily on the web (and yes – the changes are both dynamic and daily!).

Researching exactly how Google’s Bots actually function and leveraging that knowledge across the board for our clients benefit.

Most interesting, our perspective is unique, because we are able to view online performance across many industries and vertical markets, spread across the entire country (worldwide even). If the industry is up – we know it.. If it’s down, we know it also.

As a result, our clients gain knowledge through us and allows them to see their industry in a different light.

Discussing Cazbah, an Internet marketing services company, to business owners in manufacturing and industrial distribution recently reminded of the “Peter Principle,” which states:

“Employees within a business will rise to their own level of incompetence. Beyond that point, they will not be particularly effective inside the organization, and will not contribute as they once did.”

Well, business Web sites need to be considered like an employee – they are an internal resource that needs to be utilized as effectively as possible for the ultimate growth of the company. Like any resource; it needs to be kept current, relevant and in synch with the business goals.

Unfortunately, many businesses neglect their sites so they remain a static listing of products – lethargically posting information to its point of incompetence, running rampant inside many vertical markets; such as healthcare, food production, bio sciences, and others.

I talk with many business owners who do not fully understand the fact that the Internet – regardless of their market and industry – needs to be a dominate factor in their marketing and sales strategy to drive business growth. Business owners I speak to inside industrial markets still believe the Internet is not important to their own customer base. It’s just for kids, or those buying retail. These company leaders are falling way behind with regards to sustaining business relationships, and leveraging the Internet to grow revenues, year in and year out.

Having a static Web site is no longer a viable means to grow your business. Like your sales person, your site is about interacting with real people, ensuring they find you based on what you offer in terms of a solution to their problems. People searching on the Internet are looking for someone to help them and then, deciding if they want to engage with you before they ever pick up the phone to speak with you.

So what does that mean? Your potential customer is coming to you (inbound marketing) and is pre-qualifying you as a potential vendor.

That is how business to business is done on the Internet. For manufacturers, distributors and dealers who understand that the Internet is such a powerful medium which must be embraced and used to its fullest, they are taking actionable steps to use it. Why?

Over 74 percent of the U.S. is now on the Internet at some level. 74%!

That is three out of every four people you talk to – and transact business with every day. Doing business with people on the Internet is not just about having some product listed in your business site and hoping they pick yours over someone else’s. It’s about helping to solve a problem they have. New customers come from those who are seeking a partner to provide a solution, the right solution, for their own business. You need to be found so you can be that solution provider.

Yes, Internet marketing can be daunting. But, it’s a brave new world where business gets done. And what about business owners who dismiss the significance of the Internet: not preparing their organizations to strategically leverage it to their own fullest advantage?

Those not recognizing the Internet as the viable and essential business tool it is may be classified as the “Peter Pan” Principle.

Like Peter Pan, it appears they would rather remain in a more comfortable place.
Not try something new. Set aside plans to use the Internet fully – and maybe, just maybe – they won’t ever have to leave Never -Never Land!

As Peter Pan said… “I’ll teach you to jump on the wind’s back, and away we’ll go!”

However, I think a better lesson from Peter Pan – with regards to strategically growing your business – would be to fully utilize a wide array of Internet technologies (supplied by your friends at Cazbah of course) and generate better business results and more revenue.

I say…. “Let’s jump on the Internet and away we’ll go!”

Recently, I spoke with a new prospect, who decided not to participate in one of our webinars because he preferred doing business “face to face” and stated that if I wouldn’t travel to his office in Ohio, he didn’t want to continue in discussions. Understood – that is certainly his prerogative which I’m sure has served him well for many years.

It made me sit back however and consider objectively the pros and cons of online meetings. Online meetings are certainly both time and cost effective, and less intrusive but may lack traditional warm, personal contact. The challenge is to improve the ability to build a strong, personal relationship with customers through the technology.

I have been doing online webinars for almost five years and have used several tools during that time –like WebEx, Adobe and Gotomeeting and others. Regardless of the tool, what I found to be critical to a successful event is to maintain personal contact as much as possible. So here are some suggestions based on my experience.

At the start of the meeting, build a sense of community by introducing the participants to each other.  Let them each say hello to each other (assuming the group is small) just as you would if you were standing before them in a conference room. This is a polite courtesy you would do if you met in person, right? If the group is too large for personal hellos, address the group as you would in a larger auditorium with a nice welcoming statement that is as personable as possible. This will help everyone feel both included and valued. Let your personality shine through before getting into your formal product information.

Use of a webcam will let people see both you and your environment and is key to improving a sense of personal relationship. Set the stage! Show yourself as you would for a visit to the client’s facility. Let them know you are a real person and are professional in your appearance. Also, displaying a background that reflects some of your own personality helps.

Follow-up each online meeting with a phone call and a personally tailored e-mail. Each should serve to highlight any questions the individual raised.  Try to include something specific to their own situation.  Be sure that, although they were a part of a bigger discussion, their insights are relevant and you heard them.

Keep in mind that online meetings are not a replacement for face-to-face sessions, but often costs and logistics dictate that need. And if want to hang on to the traditional practice of bringing bagels to a customer’s site for a meeting – have some delivered!

In the words of Randy Jackson on American Idol:  “Just keep it real baby! “

Not too long ago – perhaps 6-8 years ago (ages ago in Internet time) – having a website for a small business meant either hiring a web development company or, assigning the task to an individual in your organization to design and develop it. With that complete – you arrived on the information highway and were cruising along down the road.

Marketing your business remained very traditional – with one additional ‘cool’ feature – a web address, which you listed on every brochure, business card, and magazine advertisement you placed. And it was powerful. So much product information, industry knowledge and articulate value propositions could be displayed – graphically. Provisions for updates including internal procedures, job assignments, and sincere dedication to this new media assured its contribution to your small business success.

Celebrations were held all around and with baited breath – results were expected. Often, these results were good, sometime phenomenal, too often however – very much lacking. Even more review and internal discussions to change some of the content bore little fruit.

In the end, a decision – perhaps not a conscience one, but a decision all the same was made: ‘This site is not going to produce the results we expect. Let’s just leave it up there and get back to the business we know best. What the heck, maybe someone will find it and give us call.”

I find it curious that a small business that specializes in a particular market segment – and advocates to their customers all the good reasons for leveraging their unique abilities – dosn’t apply the same thinking to the growth of their own business.

Just having a site is not enough – certainly not today. It requires constant attention to understand the ever changing conditions in the Internet as-well-as the practices of those who use it to find relevant information, i.e., your target customer!

Are you an expert in your industry? I expect so. Are you an expert in Internet marketing? … Perhaps – but is that the business you are in? Probably not.