Does everyone have a directory these days?

It seems that everyone is looking for the best list to be on, and everyone is professing to be the best list to be on.

In the case of online directories it typically all begins with a free listing. If you get pursued for a paid listing, you may respond like I do –  why should I spend money with your directory? Invariably the response is about number of hits. So it would seem to be useful to have a list of evaluation questions to review when sizing up yet another pitch for a paid-for-listing for your startup or small business.

Apply it to your business by considering the following aspects:

• The site as a destination

Are the hits as a result of search or a direct visit? Search would indicate a good google page rank, whereas direct hits imply that the directory is well known.

• Perception of the site as a useful resource

How many repeat visits does the directory get? If people come back, chances are the site is useful to them.

• Investment in marketing and branding

Professional design and a solid marketing base will indicate the directory may have a reasonable lifespan and growth potential. How does the directory attract visitors?

• The clarity and thought behind the categories

Heavily populated categories (compared to others) would indicate that more time is spent recruiting those listings, or users of the site seek those types of businesses. If it is difficult to categorise your business in a way that properly defines who you are, then potential customers may have trouble finding you.

• Site visitors

How certain are you that the site is one that your intended audience or customers will use? Does the directory have any idea of the profile of their visitors? Does it have any resemblance to your target audience?

• Age of the directory

• Competition

How many of your competitors feature? A lot could make it a given that you need to appear, not many may prove that they don’t know about the directory either. If all other points point to the directory being a good one, then it may be worthwhile to dominate. Look generally at the sort of businesses who are paying for listings.

• Search functionality

How well does the search work? Can a potential customer searching for your kind of product or service in their local area, find you? How user-friendly are the displayed results (for the user)? Are the results returned relevant to your query?

• Geographic focus

Does the directory focus locally, regionally, nationally or other? Does its focus suit your aims for recruiting customers?

• Cost

How many sales or customers do you need to obtain from visitors to the directory to not only cover the cost and effort, but become worthwhile?

If you have useful indicators of how good an online directory is, then please share them below.

Bronwyn Durand writes the Marketing Ideaology blog for JupiterJasper Practical Marketing.

10 Considerations before paying for an online directory listing is from Marketing Ideaology, a blog by Bronwyn Durand for JupiterJasper On-demand Marketing

I was tickled to see a bumper sticker on the back of an original blue mini while driving this morning. It said simply:

100% BMW free

I wasn’t always a fan of BMW’s, but I have always been a fan of Minis.

As much as I respect the brand value of BMW, something appeals to me that this Mini would be more favoured simply for the lack of current owner BMW’s influence over the original. The passion of that customer for ‘the real’ Mini is brand loyalty to covet. The power across the ‘ages’ of the Mini brand and what it means to drive one, is something to strive for. Mini enjoys phenomenal brand loyalty on two plains – original and the reinvented versions, although I suspect Mini would prefer to think of it as one brand journey.

How many of today’s mega brands will have that longevity? Comparatively, most of what we have for brands these days are ships in the night.

This post isn’t enough to make your brand into a legend – but I believe that there is much to be learned from emulating the practices that make such brands last through the ages.

May your brand inspire bumper stickers 50 years on.

Are there any brands that have become part of the fabric of who you are?

Apply this to your business:

- Make your product or service as good as it could possibly be. Part of that is about making sure that the product or service is actually useful to warrant its purchase. A brilliantly executed useless thingymajig can’t escape the useless part. You may be good enough to sell a few, but it will never be loved. Make it consistently reliable, always do what it professes to do, and when it doesn’t, do whatever it takes to make it work for the customer again.
- Know your customer. You don’t need to be all things to everyone. Find who your product or service best suits and serve them. Understand what they like about your product, and engage them in dialogue to relentlessly be better at what you do. Once you know the shape of your customer, become an expert on where to find them.
- Be consistent in your communication and find something real to hang your brand’s hat on. Make it uniquely wonderful to you. Its essence should be strong enough to stand the test of time, with the trimmings of modernisation, but the same self shining through. The associations you bring to your brand are what helps customers and potential customers understand how what you sell can shape their lives, lifestyle, business or self. If its one-dimensional, or you can’t articulate it, your customer will not make a deeper connection to your brand.
- Reinvent or update your brand without losing what it means. If you do not change with the times, you will become part of history. If you keep up with who your customers and competitors are, you should have this built in to your strategy.

Bronwyn Durand writes the Marketing Ideaology blog for JupiterJasper Practical Marketing.

Brand loyalty envy is from Marketing Ideaology, a blog by Bronwyn Durand for JupiterJasper On-demand Marketing

A simple journey into London can even present some marketing strategies that are worth evaluating for their relevance to your new or small business.

Educating customers

Public transport companies have the enviable position of being indispensable to the majority of their customers, and so they have several advantages. They spend very little effort in educating their customers – where to find a train station, how to buy a ticket, what time you should take a train. They are reliant on the overwhelming propulsion of your need as a customer to use their service that you will simply do whatever it takes to find out on your own. As a customer, this can be extremely frustrating.

Know what your customers need to know

As a conventional company – finding the balance is key. Surprise and delight your customers by knowing what they need to know (when wanting to buy from you or use your service) and helping them to access that information before they have to hunt for it. The opposite end of the scale is to provide just the right amount of information – your money may be put to better use invested in other marketing efforts rather than multitudes of information leaflets that will not do much more than be tossed in the bin. Present the information in a way that recognises that information you provide is another opportunity to communicate what kind of company you are – what your brand stands for, and the quality of your communication will help you to build a relationship with your customers.

Communicate to manage expectations

Another favourite of mine is the underground minute. The infinity that is waiting the three minutes for your particular tube train to arrive. I believe I am afraid of the effect knowing how long those three minutes actually is in real time will have on my patience. But, and this is the punchline, displaying a waiting time is a way of managing the  expectations of your customers. It is still communication. Consider the difference in the mindset of passengers waiting infinitely for trains that may or may not come comparatively to the simple device that displays how long until the next train (not forgetting that you have created a perfect opportunity to create a revenue opportunity in some alternative advertising space addressing a captive audience).

Use technology to make your customer’s lives easier

A device that I am personally a big fan of is the journey planner. It is my preference as a train user to rather know at least the frequency if not the exact departure and journey times of the train I need to take. I don’t like to waste time, so nothing bugs me more than standing idly on a platform. So putting the journey planner in the hands of the customer that likes to help themselves is a winning way of helping to create a happy interaction with your business and a more satisfied customer. And, of course, it helps you as a business because you don’t have to make as many staff with customer facing skills available to answer questions about the where, what and how of trains.

Apply it to your business:
- Customers that understand how to use your products and service will be happier and better customers. How are you educating your customers?
- Managing customer expectations will save resources and frustration. Are you keeping your customers in the loop?
- Some of your customers may like to help themselves and you could use your customer facing resources where they are more needed. Do you make it as easy as possible for customers to buy from you or use your service?

Bronwyn Durand writes the Marketing Ideaology blog for JupiterJasper Practical Marketing.

Even commuting inspires marketing ideas is from Marketing Ideaology, a blog by Bronwyn Durand for JupiterJasper On-demand Marketing