I’ve been pondering this question for the last couple of weeks. Us humans are natural storytellers: it’s largely how we communicate with each other. Plus, stories are sticky… we remember them long after the boring ol’ facts and figures have faded from our brains.

My ponderings all began with contact lenses. My husband and I get our contact lenses from a local optometrist. Every three months, like clockwork, they send us our lenses for the next three month period.

Usually.

See, this particular time, the person responsible for paying the optometrists’ account with the lens suppliers went on summer holiday. Said bill went unpaid. And, as a result, my husband’s lenses didn’t arrive.

The optometrist screwed up.

But we aren’t telling that story.

Yes, they messed up. It was inconvenient. But, whenever we tell anyone a story about these optometrists, we don’t dwell on this. It was a minor glitch.

Instead, we’re telling the story of Sheila, the receptionist, who after only meeting us once at our initial consultations, remembers our names and faces and prescriptions; who is always incredibly on the ball; and who on this occasion went out of her way to sort out the problem for us. We’re telling the story of how the optometrist provides really great service, sorts things out quickly when they do go wrong, and takes care of us and our eyes in a way that makes us feel like a million bucks even though we’re paying a third of what our previous Edinburgh-based optometrist (who never remembered who we were) used to charge.

What stories do you want people to tell about your business?

You can tell your own stories about your own business until you’re blue in the face. That’s marketing. If you take all the marketing material in the world at face value, every business out there is wonderful. According to themselves.

And people do buy on the basis of fancy schmancy marketing. No doubt about it. But people are also swayed, immensely so, by the informal stories that flow through the grapevine about you and your business.

These stories tell the truth about your business.

These stories can make you. Or they can break you.

What stories are people telling about your business?

As such, woe betide you if your business cards are not thick and luscious and full colour and professionally designed to make you stand out from the crowd. And heaven forbid that you should pitch up at a networking event without any business cards. It’s akin to committing professional suicide. A cardinal sin.

Or is it?

Are business cards really necessary?

I’ve been conducting a little experiment for the past five months. It all started back in January, when the first networking event of the year rolled around and I realised that I had run out of business cards. I’d heard all the advice about how important it was to always carry business cards with me, plus all those dire warnings about how my business was sure to die a horrible painful death as a result of my ineptitude as a business owner who couldn’t even get the basics, like business cards, right.

But, I didn’t exactly have a choice. So I went along to the event unarmed.

And nobody noticed. Nobody cared.

When it came time, during conversations with people, for the business card swap, I simply said, “I don’t have any on me at the moment. I’ll email you tomorrow with my details.” No-one batted an eyelash. Only once did I encounter a gentleman who also didn’t have any cards with him. No problem – each of us wrote down each other’s details in notebooks that we had on us.

Of course, the possibility exists that my fellow networkers thought terrible thoughts about me or muttered to one another about me behind my back. But I don’t think so. Here’s why: That first networking event without any business cards was one of the most successful (in terms of connections made and business generated) that I’ve ever had. In fact, since I stopped taking business cards with me to events, I’ve felt a definite shift in how I approach networking and in how others relate to me.

The reason why networking without business cards has worked for me is because it has opened up a space for me to be more myself in networking situations. I love chatting to people, finding out what they do and why they do it. Formal networking with business cards makes the process very transactional. The point seems to be to swap details, collect cards, work the room. Networking without business cards, on the other hand, makes the process a bit more informal, a bit more social, and encourages genuine connections. I found I had far more in-depth conversations with people without feeling any pressure to exchange business cards.

When these conversations ended naturally and the time came when business cards would usually be exchanged, I took others’ cards and promised to email them. And followed through on my promise. It allowed for a way to renew the connection we had made the previous day, and I’m betting (even though this wasn’t the aim of the exercise) that I stood out in the minds of people that I met as a result, more so than just being a name on a card in a pile of many collected.

I’ve only capitulated once in the last five months, taking business cards with me to one event where I was the speaker. I needed a quick and easy way to hand out my contact details to people who came up to chat to me after the event. It worked – in that situation. But, following my experiment, I now know that the conventional wisdom regarding business cards doesn’t necessarily work for me. I now know that I can break some of the so-called cardinal rules and not only get away with it but actually prosper as a result.

What are your thoughts on business cards? Do they work for you?

Learning how to make something your own is a process.

For some lucky people, the learning curve is so short that it can appear almost non-existent. They seem to have been born with an innate knowledge of and confidence in who they are and a talent for effortlessly demonstrating this to the world.

For the rest of us, though, it can take time to get to this place. And to help us along the way we often look to role models – people who have walked this path before us.

Role models are great. Imitating them is a necessary and important part of growth. But, imitation can go too far: learning from someone else’s experience and applying their advice in your own way to your unique situation is helpful; copying someone else’s personality and morphing into them in an effort to become as successful as they are is not. In fact, it’s downright harmful to you and your success.

The scary thing is that this latter form of imitation is not necessarily intentional. And it often happens so subtly and insidiously that the person involved doesn’t realise that they’ve got themselves stuck in the imitation phase and not actually moved on to making the advice their own.

Case study: Big Name Blogger and her fangirls

A certain current Big Name Blogger (who shall remain nameless as this is not about her) has a very large following. And rightly so. She is fantastic and excellent at what she does. She’s successful and she’s quirky and cool. In fact, she’s successful because she’s quirky and cool. And she teaches other people how to be successful by being their own quirky and cool selves.

Oh the irony.

Let me ‘splain. What’s happened over the past year has been painful to see. So many wonderful vibrant women flocked to Big Name Blogger, all eager to learn from her. But, instead of becoming more of their own quirky and cool selves as both they and Big Name Blogger intended, they instead slowly but surely morphed into clones of Big Name Blogger’s quirky and cool self.

I used to read some of these women’s blogs, and watched as their writing style changed. Now, all groups have a certain vocabulary in common, and this one is no different, but the types of changes I’m referring to went way beyond simple group jargon creeping in. I’m talking about the rhythm and tone of the writing changing to match that of Big Name Blogger. I’m talking about such similar ways of expressing things that in some cases sentences will match word for word – not plagiarism, just an exceptionally ingrained way of thinking. There’s more, but I can’t figure out a way of explaining it without giving away who I’m talking about. All I can say is that it totally freaks me out.

You’ll notice that I said I used to read these women’s blogs. Yup, I ended up unsubscribing from them. What attracted me to these women as writers and business owners in the first place was gone. They were no longer vibrant and interesting. Instead, they became boring repetitions of what I’d read over at Big Name Blogger’s blog. They were no longer unique. Instead, they became pale imitations of Big Name Blogger. Like Coke, they changed the recipe, leaving out that secret ingredient in their awesomesauce that made them so fabulous in the first place.

The world already contains Big Name Blogger. She’s an essential and brilliant part of the world. But, the world doesn’t need more clones of her. What the world needs are more people allowing their own special brilliance to shine forth.

I hope these women remember just how amazing they are, and start to let the rest of the world see it. I hope it’s not too late.

The American Idol judges sound like a stuck record after a while. Without fail, they keep telling the contestants to make each song their own.

Every. Single. Time.

It’s annoying. But they’re right.

A contestant may have a beautiful voice and the song may be pitch-perfect. From a technical standpoint, everything is right. Yet, the performance can still suck. Big time. If the contestant hasn’t made the song their own, the performance overall is lacking. It’s bland and boring.

So, what the hell does it mean to make something your own?

Back in the day (er, round about 2002), I was still working in the field of Occupational Psychology, lecturing at our local university. In the course of my work, I came across some ground-breaking research in my field that blew me away. It wasn’t exactly new research, but it hadn’t received much recognition. I wrote a paper summarising the research and its implications, hoping to submit it to a journal and spread the word about it.

Before submitting my paper, I spoke to one of my colleagues and showed him my draft paper. I was quite new to the department and didn’t have much experience in submitting articles to journals. What he said to me in our subsequent conversation changed the way I viewed not only academic research, but all ways of expressing oneself creatively, including (and especially) business.

The conversation went something like this:

Prof: So, this is a really excellent synthesis of the research in the field, Taryn. Really well done.
Me (preening): Thank you.
Prof: But, it’s not suitable for a journal.
Me (deflated): Oh….
Prof: You’ve told me what these other guys think. But what I want to know is, what do you think?
Me: Well, I completely agree with them. So, I think what they think.
Prof: Yes. That’s fine. And?
Me: ??
Prof: Even if you’re communicating other people’s ideas, and even if you agree completely with those ideas, there will always be something that only you can add – perhaps a new angle to consider, or an additional viewpoint. Whatever it is, there will always be room for your own unique expression to come through. Sometimes you may have to spend some time looking for it – it won’t always be glaringly obvious, but it will always be there. And it is up to you to find it, because that will make all the difference.

Who knew? University Professors and American Idol judges have more in common than they realise! Because of course what he was telling me was that, while my writing was perfect in a technical sense, it lacked that special something. I hadn’t yet made that article my own.

So, I went away and thought about what I thought, about what I could uniquely contribute even to a plain ol’ summary of existing research. And I found it. I rewrote the paper from the new angle, submitted it and had it accepted with only a few minor wording changes (I am the champion of long sentences, but even verbose academics draw the line somewhere, and I had to re-write a couple of paragraphs…).

Now, since you may not be familiar with the process of journal submission, let me just say that having an article accepted straight away with only minor changes represents nothing short of a miracle in a world where outright rejections are common. For the lucky few who don’t get rejected immediately, years of countless rounds of revisions follow. It’s a long and brutal process.

Yet I sailed through easily and smoothly. Thanks to my more experienced colleague’s advice, I rocked that article. And, during my short (yet, illustrious, I like to think!) academic career, I rocked a few more in exactly the same way. My success rate for journal submission, especially for a fairly junior lecturer, was exemplary.

Rock your business

This advice transcends the American Idol stage. It transcends academia. It’s applicable every time you write a piece of marketing copy for your business, every time you create a product, regardless of what form that product takes.

You can make something that is exactly like something someone else has already done. Or you can spend some time searching for that little something extra that represents your unique contribution to the world.

Whatever you do, you can make it your own.

Rock your business. Simon Cowell will be proud.

Now, the young lad may or may not have been Garry himself. But, as he walked away, and I looked at the postcard he’d delivered, I felt an interesting mix of emotions towards Garry and his business.

Like most small business owners, I’m sure Garry wants 2010 to bring him success. I could almost feel his hopes and dreams in the cold winter air as he dropped off his adverts on the very cusp of the new year. The timing felt quite poignant.

Yet, I was also worried for Garry. Why? Well, two reasons:

Garry’s postcard had obviously been professionally printed. It’s an excellent quality – good board, and sharp clear photos. Unless Garry has a very good friend with a printing business, these postcards cost him some money. Unfortunately, the initial professional image that the postcard conveyed didn’t extend to the text, which contained quite a few spelling errors. Tidings are good, for example, especially if they’re of comfort and joy, but I don’t think that’s quite what Garry intends to do to my garden should I hire him. I’m guessing that tidying may be more appropriate.

Now, I realise that Garry doesn’t need to be able to spell landscaping in order to do it. And picking on Garry’s spelling does seem rather petty. Yet, if you’re a small business trying to convey a professional image, such a seemingly minor issue can actually have a big impact on how you’re seen by your potential clients. People do notice and it does make a difference, regardless of how much you might wish it were otherwise. Luckily, with the help of a spell checker (computer or human!), it’s an issue that’s easily fixed.

All in all, though, Garry’s spelling wasn’t the biggest concern I had. That prime spot was reserved for the fact that Garry hadn’t provided me with a reason to hire him. His postcard told me nothing about why I should give him my business over John, George or Tom, all of whom dropped off leaflets over the preceding few weeks advertising their gardening services.

In fact, none of the gentlemen advertising their gardening services distinguished themselves or their businesses from others. As a potential client, I don’t know who to choose, and I’m reluctant to take the risk of possibly hiring the wrong person. What if Tom is unreliable and doesn’t pitch up when he says he will? What if George is far too expensive? What if John quite literally does a hatchet job on my garden?

Now, I could phone each of them up and get a quote as well as some idea of who each of them are and whether they’ll be a good fit for my particular gardening needs. I could ask for references and phone previous and/or current clients. Of course I could do all that. But it takes time. And not many clients will go to all that effort. They’ll stay in a state of indecision until you make it easy for them to pick you out of the crowd of businesses vying for their attention.

The specific reason why clients will hire you depends on your particular business expertise, that special something that you bring to what you do. If Garry, for example, is an expert in bringing gardens back to life after the heavy winter snowfalls, this gives me a reason to hire him if his skills solve my problem. John, on the other hand, may be an expert in helping me create an indigenous garden that requires very little maintenance, excellent for a busy household with little time and inclination to spend hours pruning plants.

The thing is, I don’t know if either of these men have these particular talents. They could be gardening geniuses in their own special ways – but they didn’t tell me about it. As a result, I can’t act on it.

Your potential clients want to hire you. Give them a reason. Help them to make that decision.

Yes? Then, let me guess – you don’t have a website, right? Right.

Nope, I’m not psychic. Just playing the odds: two-thirds of small local businesses have no web presence.

Which leads us to the million dollar question: so what?

The World Wide Web is just that… world wide. Your business, on the other hand, serves clients in one geographical location. So what value does a website have for you?

The answer: a lot. It is the million dollar question, after all!

Your business needs to be where your clients are.

And your clients are in your local area. Correct, but not the end of the story.

Because your clients are also online.

Most of them have replaced the dead tree version of the Yellow Pages with Google. Even when they want to find a business operating in their local area, it’s quicker and easier to use an online search than to consult a big ol’ clunky book.

When we moved into a new area not so long ago, for example, I needed to find quite a few local businesses ranging from a new hairdresser to someone who could remodel our kitchen. As many people do, I turned to the Internet to search for those services.

Roughly 40% of search engine queries are now focused on local businesses. And, even more importantly, over 90% of those searches end up converting into offline sales.

The bottom line: if you’re one of the two-thirds of small local businesses without a website, you’re losing business to the third that do have a web presence. Phrased differently: a website can help you to dominate your geographical niche.

And the reasons why are a bit more complex than just getting your business name in front of your potential customers’ eyes.

How a website can help your small local business:

Convenience

Recently, I wanted to purchase a gift for someone from a store in a neighbouring town. I had been to the store before, but couldn’t remember their name, so I couldn’t look up their telephone number in the directory. I wanted to check their opening hours and whether or not they had the item in stock before I made the trip.

To find the information, I searched online for keywords relating to the type of shop and the town in which it was located – to no avail, unfortunately. As it turned out, the shop didn’t have a website.

Covering basic information like contact details and opening hours is extremely convenient for clients wanting to do business with you. It means that they don’t waste time visiting your store at 9am, for example, on a day when you only open at 10am!

Supplying these details is the first step in making it easy for clients to do business with you. And it provides a foundation for establishing you as trustworthy and credible.

Trust and credibility

There’s no way for a client to glean how trustworthy you are from a Yellow Pages ad, nor any way for them to know whether you’ll be reliable just by looking at a simple directory listing of your name and telephone number.

But a website provides a space in which you can demonstrate your expertise and develop a stronger relationship with potential clients. It allows you to pre-sell them on your services, and to screen out clients who may not be a good fit for what you do.

A local therapist, for example, was finding that she was spending a great deal of time meeting with first-time clients whose problems didn’t really fall under her expertise or who could be better served by a different therapeutic style. By setting up a website in which she explained her areas of counselling focus and her therapeutic approach clearly, she was able to essentially pre-screen her clients and attract only those who could most benefit from her services.

When I was searching for various tradespeople to remodel our kitchen, I was drawn to those companies or sole traders who had websites that explained their services and provided photographic examples of their previous work along with testimonials from previous clients. It went a long way towards building trust.

Attract new customers

A well-designed website containing well-written content that pays attention to important keywords in your niche can attract organic search engine traffic to your site and hence your business.

The great part about this organic traffic… it’s free.

Yup, you don’t pay for it. It’s traffic that the search engines naturally send your way. Having a website can attract new customers to your business while reducing your advertising spend.

Maintain relationships with existing clients

Your website can help keep you at the forefront of existing clients’ minds. They may return to your site (and thus your business) if they know that it provides information that is both interesting and useful to them. A landscaping company, for example, could provide some articles on gardening tips or easy things that clients can do themselves to maintain their landscaped garden.

You can also draw people back to your website and your business by offering Internet specials, or seasonal offers that people can redeem on the site or in person.

Add new income streams to your business

While a website can still add tremendous value to your business in the local sense, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t also take advantage of some of those benefits of having a global audience.

As an example, let’s consider the landscaping company I mentioned above. Physically, they can only landscape gardens in their geographical area. But, they could do some of the following to obtain some extra passive income:

• Sell an ebook online that focuses on a topic related to gardening or plants
• Monetise the articles on their site by means of Google AdSense or another advertising model
• Add an online store to their website where they sell items like gardening tools

Every business, regardless of niche, will have options in this regard.

Ready to get an online presence for your small business?

So, a website can help your business, even if it’s small and local. But where do you start?

We’re glad you asked! You can start by contacting us. We’re technically a small local business too, but thanks to the magic of the Internet, we can work with you to create an online presence regardless of where you are in the world.