Not on Google Maps? Might as Well Hang a Closed Sign

by JR Griggs

google-places This weekend I took the family over to a friends house across the state on the east coast. We hung out for the weekend and headed back home on Tuesday. As we stopped to get a bite to eat before heading back, we almost made the assumption that the place we wanted to eat was out of business.

That is exactly what your potential customers might be thinking if you are not in the maps. There are over 100 Million people using Google Maps from their phone to find businesses. How many of those customers are you losing by not being there?

Google Maps

If you are not familiar with Google Maps or Google Places as it is now referred to, I will briefly explain it. Google Maps is the map that shows up when you do a local search for a business in the top left of the results. They will usually show up to 10 results and this is referred to as the “10 Pack”. sports-store-tampa

That means that the top businesses in that list are above everything else on the page. Google maps are also used as an app in mobile phones. This is where many are searching for a local business. I do it all the time when I am looking for the closest retail store or a certain type of business.

So just imagine if you owned a sports store and someone searched “sports store” from the Google Maps app in their phone. What do you think happens when you do not show up? They move on to the next store. You are losing business every day by not being in there.

Are You Open for Business?

So as mentioned we wanted to stop and eat before the long drive home and almost did not end up eating where we did. In this case we actually saw the place before looking for it on the maps. We happened to drive by a Pizza Hut and I had recently been wanting to eat at a Pizza Hut Buffet.

So naturally my wife pulls out her iPhone to search for “Pizza Hut” and get the number to verify that they had a buffet. What she found was not a Pizza Hut but a few other Pizza shops instead. The Pizza Hut we just drove past was not in the Maps.

My first thought was that maybe they went out of business. Luckily for them and my craving I went to PizzaHut.com and checked for locations near where we were and found it. When I called I had to verify that it was the one we were looking for. Still thinking maybe the one we were looking for moved or closed.

I was able to verify that they had a buffet and we ended up eating there. But if I had not seen it there, I would not have looked further for the phone number. If I was just craving Pizza I may have gone to the other shops that showed up in the Maps. It was literally like putting a closed sign on that location and sending me to a competitor.

This is not the first time this has happened to me. I have had it happen plenty of times where I know that there is a store at a certain location but they are not in the Maps. Chances are that owner is still blaming the economy for business being so slow. But most likely business is so slow because his market is looking for him where he does not exist.

So, are you open for business? If so, you better be in the Maps.

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Black Belt Focus on Your Business

by JR Griggs

black-belt One of the greatest things that I have learned in Martial Arts is focus and determination to achieve my goals. I have enhanced my skills in self discipline as well, to make sure that I stay on task and do what it takes to be successful.

Yesterday I stopped by the Tae Kwon-Do school that I work with as well as train at and was asked to speak to the kids for a bit. I talked with them about focus and goal setting.

Primarily the goal in Martial Arts, is getting to Black Belt. That is the goal in any Martial Art and really it is just the beginning of your training. But so few who start training will get there. Maybe 1 out of every 10 students will actually get to Black Belt.

While talking with the kids, I mentioned how it is no coincidence that many of my mentors are Black Belts in some form of Martial Arts. Two off the top of my head would be Chet Holmes and Brian Tracy. I am never surprised when talking with successful people to hear that they are a Black Belt.

The amount of focus and determination, goal setting, hard work etc. that goes into achieving a Black Belt can do wonders in a business. It would certainly not be an easy task to find a Black Belt working at McDonald’s. Well, unless he is the owner.

Setting Goals

Setting goals is not just about writing some stuff down and hoping you get to it someday. It is about creating a plan to get them done. Whenever I talk with my son about setting goals, we create tasks for each goal and a plan to get them done.

With Martial Arts you have several goals and achievements along the way. You have to put in the training and focus on those in order to obtain them. Each one is just a stepping stone to the bigger goal.

What stepping stone goals can you set in your business that will help you achieve a greater goal?

Leverage

One thing you learn in Martial Arts is how leverage can help win battles. Often times you can take someone down simply by using their body weight against them. Many times just certain points on the body can allow you to control an opponent.

Often times in business you can find ways to use leverage to tackle certain problems or tasks. The right pressure points can remove obstacles. You can bet that the Black Belts you find running successful companies have found ways to do this in their business.

Leverage allows you to work smarter not harder. Leverage is how even the smallest person can take down someone twice their size.

How can you gain some leverage in your business and work smarter?

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