If you’re like most business owners, one of your major activities during the last few weeks was to take stock of last year and make plans for next year.

So here’s the big question: Where do YOU plan to be on 1 January 2014?

Will this prove to be another lackluster year [...]]]> Happy New Year!

If you’re like most business owners, one of your major activities during the last few weeks was to take stock of last year and make plans for next year.

So here’s the big question: Where do YOU plan to be on 1 January 2014?

Will this prove to be another lackluster year with a disappointing performance?

Or will you be smiling in the afterglow of a spectacular, fireworks-filled finish to a banner year for your and your company?

So the question for today is, where will YOU be at that point?

The choice is yours.

Lots of people will tell you that, to really see results in 2013, you should choose 5 core things on which to focus.

And that’s great advice–that will help to get your core strategies in place.

I’m going to give you something even simpler, though.

I’m going to tell you the ONE SIMPLE TACTIC you can implement in the NEXT WEEK that could increase your revenue this year by at least 1/3, because it will MULTIPLY the success of your marketing to SKYROCKET your conversions:

Put a satisfaction survey in place with a TESTIMONIAL GENERATOR and a REFERRAL generator.

If you’re like 90% of the business owners I talk with every day, you don’t have this critically important tool in place.

And if you’re like at least 60% of the business owners we survey, you have fewer than 10 testimonials on your website, blog, or sales page.

And you also have fewer than 5 case studies.

If that’s you, you’re leaving THOUSANDS of dollars on the table.

It’s super simple to do, will cost you virtually nothing, and can absolutely change the game in your business

Sound too good to be true?

Well, I have a case study for you to show you JUST how easy it is and JUST how profitable it can be

This case study shows you how a TINY little ecommerce store put a simple satisfaction survey together—in less than 48 hours and at NO out of pocket cost—and got phenomenal results

They now have 15-20 testimonials a month coming in on absolute autopilot—no phone calls, no begging people, no nothing

They have irrefutable, quantitative data showing that over 95% of their customers are satisfied, over 90% would recommend them, and over 90% would buy again

Wouldn’t you like to put proof like that on YOUR website?

Could a flood of testimonials and data like that, to set you apart from your competitors, change the outcome for YOUR last quarter this year?

Well, these folks got all that PLUS some amazing bonuses

They found out that folks thought their prices were low—REALLY low—so they increased their prices, with no pushback from their customers

Fastest way I know to increase revenue—just increase your prices!

They found out what products their folks wanted in the next few months and which one they DIDN’T want

They found out what they wanted in social media

And they got some other blockbuster, money-making information that I don’t even have time to tell you about right now

1 survey, 24 hours to put it together, no cost, all those results.

If you want to get results like that, go grab this case study that I’m GIVING away today:

Click here to download (PDF file).

Well, that’s a REALLY important question, because most of the business owners we survey tell us that they struggle with conversion. The simple fact is that most [...]]]> So, you’ve built a CONNECTION with your customers and prospects and you’ve started CREATING the products or services they want to buy. But how do you get them to buy–how do you increase your CONVERSIONS?

Well, that’s a REALLY important question, because most of the business owners we survey tell us that they struggle with conversion. The simple fact is that most of you aren’t making nearly as much money as you SHOULD be making because you lack the most critical factor that could skyrocket your conversions.

What is it? It’s SOCIAL PROOF–evidence that your products work or your services change lives. You see, when you’re deciding to buy something, you’re looking for proof, right? Well, your prospects and customers are no different–they want proof, as well.  And if you can’t give it to them, they’re likely to buy from someone who CAN give them that proof. You probably know you should be getting testimonials but if you’re like most of the business owners we survey, you aren’t doing very well. The vast majority of business owners we survey don’t have even 10 testimonials on your website or blog.

Well, we can help you solve that problem because we have a tool that has gathered as many as 876 testimonials, with permission to use them, inside a survey.

Here’s something else:  You should not only be gathering testimonials but also two other powerful forms of social proof, case studies and statistical data. That way, you’ll have ALL your bases covered and you can appeal to people’s logic AND to their emotions. And if you want the EXACT tool we used to get those 876 testimonials, just go here:

http://www.mysurveyexpert.com/howtogetproofonautopilot/

Today, I’m going to show you the second step to building the business of your dreams, and that’s to CREATE the products or services they want to buy. Far too many business owners miss the boat because they create products they THINK their customers [...]]]> Recently, I showed you the first step to serving your customers and prospects well, by connecting with them.

Today, I’m going to show you the second step to building the business of your dreams, and that’s to CREATE the products or services they want to buy. Far too many business owners miss the boat because they create products they THINK their customers want to buy–and that can be a deadly mistake.

I’ve heard millionaire marketer James Malinchak say many times that the biggest mistake business owners make is creating a product and THEN trying to find out whether there’s a market for it. Just because YOU think something is great doesn’t mean your prospects and customers will.

So how do you avoid this deadly trap?  Simple: Just ASK your prospects and customers what they want, then create it for them. When you do THAT, you’ll not only create winning products but you’ll also make your prospects and customers feel invested in your business and what you’re selling, when you go to them and say, “You told me you wanted this, so I created it for you.” And you can do this easily with a simple, 2-step process–just go here to see what it is AND get a free, step-by-step guide:

The first step to finding out what your customers prospects want is the same process that will let you connect with them:  Put up a lead page or “squeeze page” that asks what their #1 question is about your topic, the #1 problem that keeps them awake at night, the #1 problem they have accomplishing ___, or the #1 challenge they’re facing right now.

In addition to posting that question on your lead page or “squeeze page,” you can also use social media to generate interest–post the question on your Facebook page, tweet about it, etc.  And you can post an “infographic” in Pinterest that drives traffic to your page.

So, with these answers, are you ready to create your product?

Absolutely not. You have IMPRESSIONS of what you THINK your market wants, but odds are that you’ve only heard from 3-5% of your market. Your next step is to take those impressions and feed them into a SURVEY, where you systematically find out if this is REALLY what your market wants.

And if you want a guide to EXACTLY how to do this, just go here:  http://www.mysurveyexpert.com/howtocreatewinningproducts/

We’ll give you our product creation roadmap, absolutely free! And check back to find out the next 2 steps to building the business of your dreams!

I haven’t done that as much as I usually do lately, because we’ve been so insanely busy, and I apologize [...]]]> By Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD
One of my passions is to share with you what I learn from working with my clients, so that you can profit from my learning curve (and my mistakes!).

I haven’t done that as much as I usually do lately, because we’ve been so insanely busy, and I apologize for that.

But I wanted to share with you some work we’ve been doing with Facebook ads and let you know how this strategy can help you get information to create winning products, find out how to laser-target your marketing, and increase your revenue.

Best thing is, this strategy works whether you have a list or not!

The secret is to use Facebook ads to drive traffic to a brief survey.

I’m doing this for one of my clients right now.

Her target market is Baby Boomers–she’s helping them retire successfully (because the dirty truth is that 60 MILLION of them won’t have enough to retire!!)

If YOU ARE A BOOMER (48-65) and you want to learn more, get her free report on how NOT to be among the 60 million who may outlive their funds, AND get the chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card, just go here

Here’s the deal: She has created a product and wants to make sure that she has something that REALLY hits the problems and pains of Boomers.

She also wants some info to use in her marketing.

And she doesn’t have a list yet.

So this survey is designed to get the information to accomplish all of those things.

NOTE: When people take this survey, they will NOT be placed on her list. That’s NOT ethical.

But because she doesn’t have a list, she can use this as a GREAT way to get information about her target market that she can use to help that market.

I’ll keep you posted on the project.

For now, if you ARE A BOOMER and you want to help her out, get a free report, AND a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card, just go here.

Can you increase your revenue with absolutely no increase in effort—no new product, no new ad campaign, nothing?  If you’re thinking this is one of those hyped-up claims, think again.

It works–for our clients, for our customers–and it can work for you.  That’s why we’ve built these techniques our new [...]]]> By Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD

Can you increase your revenue with absolutely no increase in effort—no new product, no new ad campaign, nothing?  If you’re thinking this is one of those hyped-up claims, think again.

It works–for our clients, for our customers–and it can work for you.  That’s why we’ve built these techniques our new Instant Customer Connection systems.  More about that later–but first, let me tell you how this has worked for one of our customers.

One of the businesses in our community increased her revenue, quickly and easily, with a simple survey.  They continue to reap the rewards, month after month.

Although the business in this case study is a small, young, ecommerce store, the strategy works just as effectively for $100-million companies—and at that level, the rewards can be even larger.

The goals for this survey were simple:  They wanted to gather proof that their customers were satisfied with their products and customer service; they also wanted to find out if a new product line they were considering would sell.

To measure these factors, they used some simple questions:

• To gather more proof to convert customers, they included our “testimonial generator,” which allowed them to gather testimonials, with permission to use them, right inside the survey.  (That’s the tool that has gathered 868 testimonials, with permission to use them, for one of our clients–we tell you about that below.)
• To get extra statistical proof, they also included some of our standard satisfaction questions, as well as
• some questions to find out what new products and services their customers might like.

The results?  Phenomenal.

This small business now has 15-20 testimonials coming in, per month, ready to post on their website.

They have irrefutable statistical proof showing that

• Over 95% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the products purchased
• Over 90% would recommend the website to a friend
• Over 90% say that they “definitely” or “probably” would buy from them again, knowing what they know now

Fully 1 in 3 said that the product exceeded their expectations (those are the people highly likely to give referrals).

Product creation.   The survey identified a new product that nearly 44% of their customers think they’ll purchase within the next 6 months, 3 other new products that at least 20% (1 in 5) think they’ll purchase in the next 6 months.  So the survey gave them priceless information on how to prioritize their new products—thanks to this insider information, they’ll know how to pick winners.  Wouldn’t you like to have a “CSI” like that in your business, to feed you information about what will work?

Well, her “survey CSI” also showed them what NOT to create.

They found out that their customers weren’t interested in a new service that this business had planned to roll out–so they avoided spending time and money creating a service that would fail.  Whew.

Quick Fixes.  The survey gave them another useful caution:  They found 3 areas of the website that their customers wanted them to improve.  These are easy fixes that can improve their customers’ experience, right away.  And as you know well, any time you improve your customers’ experience, you also improve your bottom line.

Social Media Strategy.  The survey showed the business owners exactly what content that their customers are interested in; they’ll use this information to tailor a social media campaign that draws new leads and builds their community.  Knowing what kind of content your customers want is critical for social media ROI–that’s why teaming social media and surveys is such a smart strategy.  It’s absolutely critical that your social media strategy gives your community “what they want, where they are.”

Who Are They? The customer profile section of the survey showed them that their customers were older and more educated than they thought.  (I can’t tell you how many times this happens:  You think you know who your customers are until you find out who they really are, with a survey.)  Now, they’ll target their messages and offers in a new way that will make their customers feel that the business knows them personally.

As an added payoff, they found out that their customers want a monthly newsletter, not more frequent communication.

The biggest payoff of all?   The comments in the testimonials told them that customers thought their prices were low–really low.   Based on that, the company raised its prices with no decline in sales or customer complaints.  So they really DID increase her revenue with no additional work!

That’s amazing ROI from a survey that took about a day to put together.

This is just one example of how surveys can transform your business.

Is this just an isolated case?  Absolutely not.  Another client is going through a major launch right now.  I helped them with a survey, using the same testimonial generator used in the case study above, and we gathered 868 testimonials, with permission to use them.  Those folks estimated that the testimonials will be worth at least $500,000 in their launch. They’re being courted by a major company right now for a JV that could take their business to the stratosphere and the survey generated proof that the market demand was there, proof that will be invaluable in their negotiations.

The bottom line is that, whether you’re a fledgling startup or a billion-dollar company, surveys pay off.

But the PROBLEM has been that many of you say you just don’t have time to do a survey yourself and you’re worried about how to get it programmed and get response.

Well, we heard you!  So we’ve created three new systems that let you accomplish what our client did, while we do all the work for you.  If you’re part of our community and getting our emails, you should have already have gotten information about how to get a sneak peek at what we’ve built.  If you’re not part of our community already, go here so you can take our quiz to find out where you need to use surveys to make money, get our FREE ebook, and find out more about our new systems!

With the new year fast approaching, this is the time to review your goals for next year and start getting things in place to achieve them.

At this point, you should have

The answers to all 3 of these questions lies in understanding your customers deeply, according to an insightful book by a Harvard author.

What do you think–is he right about how [...]]]> How do you create a company like Apple? How did Best Buy turn things around? Who finally figured out Americans really wanted bag salad??

The answers to all 3 of these questions lies in understanding your customers deeply, according to an insightful book by a Harvard author.

What do you think–is he right about how we achieve connection? About how we innovate? Is this really the way out of economic decline for America?

There’s a lot of doom and gloom right now.

It’s time to take ACTION and I’m going to help you get your action plan together, right now, so you profit from what’s happening, instead of falling victim to it.  And yes, I AM going to tell you how a successful business owner is [...]]]> By Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD

There’s a lot of doom and gloom right now.

It’s time to take ACTION and I’m going to help you get your action plan together, right now, so you profit from what’s happening, instead of falling victim to it.  And yes, I AM going to tell you how a successful business owner is getting a 70% opt-in rate on her site.

I’m going to give you some key ways to take action right now and at the end of this, I’m going to do something I’ve NEVER done before on this site:  I’m going to tell you how you can get a live, one-on-one strategy session with me, to help you start turning things around in your business, right now.

In the last few weeks, the stock market has plummeted–the Dow was down over 4% in August, the worst August showing since 2001.

Unemployment remains stubbornly high, with rates continuing to exceed 9%.

Lots of fear, lots of uncertainty.

And LOTS of opportunity, IF you know where to find it and how to take advantage of it.

In the last 24 hours, I’ve talked to two very different business owners with very different views on what’s happening right now.

One of our customers is scared stiff because his business is tanking and he doesn’t know where to turn.  He talked at length about the economic problems and what a toll they were taking on his family.

I just got off the phone with another business owner, with whom I had a very different conversation.  I actually didn’t hear a word about THE economy, but I heard a lot about HER economy–which is booming.

Her sales are up, her list is growing, she’s hosting a live event and introducing new products.

What’s the difference between these two business owners and these two businesses?

I doubt seriously it’s reducible to one thing, but one thing is VERY clear:  The successful business owner is using surveys to LISTEN to her customers and prospects and she’s profiting from it, in a major way.

That’s what folks like us do when the chips are down:  We take action and that’s why we succeed.

Here’s what the successful business owner has been doing that the guy whose business is tanking HASN’T been doing:

• She surveyed her industry on a key issue:  fees and compensation.  She produced an ebook out of that survey that her prospects are CLAMORING to get.  In fact, the opt-in rate on that ebook is 70%.
• ACTION ITEM:  Don’t think you could do a little survey in YOUR industry and produce a report on the results?  Wouldn’t you like to have a 70% opt-in rate on your site?
• She uses surveys to gather testimonials, so that she has a constant supply of “stories that stick.”  These testimonials provide tales, in her customers’ own words, of how her products and services have transformed their businesses.  The surveys go out on autopilot–all she has to do is reap the rewards.  This helps her get more customers, get better customers, and keep them longer.
• ACTION ITEM:  Getting testimonials in a survey is the simplest thing in the world.  You create a short survey with a couple of satisfaction questions and you use one of those questions as the lead-in for a testimonial request.  You set the survey up and then use an autoresponder to send out a link to the survey to everyone who buys your product or service.  And voila:  You have testimonials coming in on autopilot.
• She tells her customers how do to surveys in THEIR businesses, helping THEM get proof on autopilot, as well.  This is something for which her customers are extremely grateful–which makes them much more likely to stay and to buy from her, over and over.
• ACTION ITEM:  Once you put surveys to work in your business, your customers and clients will want to use them, as well.  We will not only help you teach your customers how to put surveys to work, we’ll make it profitable for you to do so!

Find Out How Our Satisfaction Survey May Improve Your Business.