BizPizzazz

What's Your Plan B?

2009-06-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

A buddy of mine left me a message on my cell phone on Friday. It concerned a letter he wanted me to write for him for an upcoming meeting on Monday night. Well here it is Tuesday morning and I just heard his plea for help. My phone had died and was being repaired so his call went unanswered. I feel terrible about it and just tried to call him back. I got his voicemail.

This exchange in communication, or lack thereof, brings up a critical point that I've thought a lot about lately. I wonder at what point my friend began thinking about a backup plan. Was it Saturday or Sunday? Maybe he thought I was away for the weekend. Was it Monday morning? Lunch time? I don't know but I'll find out when we speak.

More often than not our business communication is done by voicemail and e-mail. I'm just as guilty leaving messages requesting someone to send me a document or to call me back with an important detail. This is not a dialog but a monologue. And it can cause a lot of problems.

Of course we all love the trail that e-mail leave, "I asked you for the LMN file in my e-mail sent to you on May 25th but never received it."

To make matters worse, there's even a feature on my Verizon cell phone (I think it's #8) that will allow you to respond to a fellow Verizon customer's voicemail that will allow you to reply to their message without their phone even ringing. Talk about impersonal.

My point is this... you have to develop a fall-back strategy or Plan B as soon as you are forced to rely on someone else's actions. It's not losing faith in the abilities of others but a harsh reality. Even as professionals we have to grow up and become self-sufficient.

So what are the loose ends that have been hanging around your to-do list for more than a couple weeks? Is there something that YOU can do to get them completed rather than waiting for someone else?

The Squeeky Wheel Gets the Grease

2009-05-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

This year marks our company's 30th anniversary. We've just started a small public relations campaign and are batting a thousand percent. Want to know the secret how we had a feature story written about us in the local newspaper? We asked. Want to know how we're getting the executive director of the NJ Commission on Science and Technology to visit the office? We asked.

What's holding you back? Whether it's a prospect you're trying to bag or a current customer you'd like to try a new creative campaign, all you need to do is ask.

Over 15 years ago I took the Dale Carnegie Public Speaking Course and one of the key points I remember was "What's the worst that can happen?" It still rings true today.

So if you want something... ask. What's the worst thing that can happen? They just might say "no." Big deal.

Virtual Trade Shows

2009-05-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

I was channel surfing last night and came across a story about quantum mechanics on the local public television station. The show's focus was on the movement of protons and how a group of teachers and students from Princeton University tried to comprehend and define the highly-technical topic. One theme that kept coming up was the existence of a parallel universe. Without getting into the science behind it, all I can say is that some theorists believe that there is an alternative reality out there. Let's leave it at that.

It's ironic that the show came into my life at this time because the agency has just introduced its own type of alternate reality product called the ShoPlace Trade Show Booth - think of it as a virtual trade show.

How does it work? Here's the sales pitch... Whether you host a trade show or are an exhibitor, we'll take the physical aspects of the booth or an entire trade show floor and recreate it for display on a special web landing page linked to a client's site or a unique website solely dedicated to the virtual trade show function.

The ShoPlace virtual booth immediately extends the working shelf life of a company's exhibit for as long as the client wants, can be accessed 365/24/7 (or for a predetermined shorter time frame ), collects leads, and even generates sale. Most important, it lets those who cannot attend or missed a trade show to visit at their own leisure.

Recreating the real world into the virtual will continue to grow exponentially. Look at the popularity of www.secondlife.com. It's basically a virtual world where users (known as "residents" on the site), create the life that they wish they had. If you always wanted to be a rock star, famous athlete, or 30 lbs. and 15 years younger you can... and just with a few clicks of the mouse.

Take a look at your own business... what can you move to the virtual world of the web that will expose your products and services to everyone who has a computer and Internet connection.

Productivity Consolidation

2009-05-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

Legal pads, Post-It Notes, scraps of paper... how many modes of record keeping, reminders, and appointment tools are your using? Is there a better way? Can you consolidate your efforts?

For years I utilized a simple computer program to keep track of my meetings and to-dos. But I found that if I was out of the office and a client asked me to schedule a meeting, I couldn't because I wasn't in front of a computer. Even if I had my laptop with me, imagine if I had to boot-up every time I needed to check my calendar.

After a short trial period I soon settled on a three-ring binder in which I printed out a one-month per page calendar. In between months I inserted a clear pocket sheet protector that contains bills, invitations, and any document I may need to reference for that month. The binder has a zipper that keeps everything safe from falling out. I've been using the system for close to three years and it has served me very well.

There are many tools to keep you organized from Outlook, Remember the Milk, Google Calendar, and the list goes on and on. The bottom-line is to find out what program/system works best for you. Remember, there will be some trial-and-error... before I determined that the large three-ring binder worked for me, I tried a pocket-type calendar but quickly found that I couldn't fit all my "stuff" in the tiny, 1"x3" space allotted for each day.

If you're unsure of what different systems and programs are out there, just go to your favorite search engine and type in "calendar", "calendar system", "to-do list", "productivity", or "personal organization" and you'll realize the numerous and creative ways that have been developed to keep us productive, on-time, and efficient.

"Plan your work, and work your plan."

Fig Tree Provides Marketing Lesson

2009-04-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

I just watched the company president unwrap his fig tree from a long winter's nap. For over an hour he took off bungee cords, rope, a tarp, and what looked like roofing paper. The tree's top shows evidence of pruning with a sharp knife prior to hibernation. Textbook gardening in my opinion.

Come September and October the tree will burst with plump, delicious figs, and soon family and friends, many of whom I only see around this time, will tip-toe into the backyard to snatch the juicy fruit for it's Vitamin A, C, and from what I understand, laxative properties.

The boss's actions over eight months ago allow him to reap a bountiful harvest. His preparation is a great example of effective marketing. Research, plan, implement, and as I saw him inspecting the tree after removal of its protective cover, to possibly adjust his future actions to improve his results.

My dad also has a fig tree that receives no pruning, no winter blanket, nothing. He does the complete opposite of my boss. The result? The fig tree produces small fruit and about a third of the yield. If dad was a marketing guy, he would fail miserably - no research, no planning, no implementation, and obviously, no results.

What to learn from this "Better Homes and Garden" moment? If you have planted the seed for a great marketing idea for your company or start-up, don't go in blindly. Do your homework, read some books, talk to the experts, budget, and most important, do something. Many marketing endeavors languish on the vine, never reaching their full potential and sometimes never having the opportunity to grow.

The Magic Kingdom Still Does It Right

2009-04-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

This year we're celebrating 3o years in business. To mark the occasion, the president took the staff and their families to Disney World in Florida. The vacation was spectacular. Not only was the weather beautiful but the Disney brand never let me down.

The parks were immaculately clean, the food in Epcot was delicious, and the Tower of Terror was awesome. The Magic Kingdom was the only property that showed a little wear and tear, but you had to look really, really close.

Spending four years in Florida I've been lucky enough to visit Disney many, many times. And with each trip I come to realize how successful companies build powerful brands. Like the McDonald's franchise, where you can expect your burger to taste EXACTLY the same no matter what joint you walk into, Disney has perfected the "magic" that delights children and adults alike so that when ever you visit, you know you're going to have one heck of a time - Ride the Jungle Cruise and you hear the same funny jokes. Get an autograph from Goofy and he signs it the same silly way. Have breakfast at the Polynesian Resort and you'll be greeted by the waitress with a boisterous, "Hey, cousin, it's good to see you again!" It's like your favorite sitcom where you can repeat the lines even before they're spoken. My eight year old son was amazed how I predicted what the cast of characters were about to do at the Hoop Dee Doo Review. "How did you know that?" he blurted out numerous times while BBQ sauce continuously dripped from his lips. I knew the routine all too well and envisioned me asking my dad the same question 36 years ago.

Businesses can learn some valuable lessons from Walt Disney. Specialize - do one thing extremely well. Systematize - make your business work for you even if you were away for an extended period of time. Systematization will also guarantee that your product or service will result in the same end-product each and every time your client makes a purchase. Have Fun - If you're not having fun, you're probably in the wrong business.

It's amazing how much you can learn from a little old mouse. It's a small world after all!

Pat Yourself on the Back Once in Awhile

2009-03-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

Our agency made a presentation yesterday to unveil some of our new logo ideas? I'll admit we were a bit worried at the prospect that there would be about ten people in the room judging our work. We weren't nervous in the sense when a person is asked to speak in front of a large group, but more concerned at the sheer number of people who were going to be offering their opinions. As you know, trying to get more than two people to agree on something is difficult sometimes. Imagine the task before us to make everyone in the room happy to select a single logo from about 12 designs.

We started at 10am and finished up about an hour and a half later. The result? We listened, shared ideas, made suggestions, and whittled down the final designs to three. Even more surprising, we received a round of applause after our presentation. I was kind of shocked at the outward display of approval. Usually business meetings are much more reserved. A shaking of the hands is what I'm accustomed to so the clapping really surprised me. But you know what? It was nice. It was refreshing. And it was fun.

I wish more meetings were like this. I know “making money” and “showing a profit” should be, and is, serious business. But can’t it be fun too? The agency, fortunately, has many “fun” clients. But there are a few who are demanding, miserable, and quite frankly, downright nasty. What kind of client/customer are you? You don’t have to answer that. But after yesterday’s meeting I did some soul-searching and found that I could probably lighten it up a bit with my suppliers and vendors too.

So I applaud you for taking the time to improve your business acumen. And when you “hit a home run”, whether it’s very often or every once in a while, bask in the glow and enjoy that warm fuzzy feeling for as long as you possibly can.

Action Reaction

2009-02-27T05:38:00.000-08:00

My eight year old son was in a heated debate with my 14 year old daughter this morning as they got ready for school. I didn't know how the argument began or what the subject matter was even about until he came up to me and said, "If my sister wasn't born would I have been born." I thought for about five seconds and said "No, you wouldn't have been born." No sooner had those words left my lips did I hear from behind the bathroom door "Ha, I told you so." I thought my son would be upset, but he accepted the fact and went about playing with his new Lego Police Station.

As I drove into work I thought about my response. I'll probably try to put a positive spin on my answer as we eat dinner tonight. But I still think I told the truth.

As in life as well as your business, everything you do has a consequence. Without having to do a Google search, I recall a saying, probably from some Chinese philosopher that said, "Even the little butterfly's wings that go up and down affect the air current half way around the world." What you do today... sending a thank you letter, making that phone call, or even worse, not making that phone call, all have a part, whether small or large, on your success.

The greatest ideas you may have are worth nothing without action. Knowledge is not power, but knowledge put into action is the greatest power of all.

Take action today.

Give It Up

2009-02-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

With Ash Wednesday upon us, Catholics are preparing to celebrate the 40 days of Lent. Giving up sweets, being a little more considerate, and abstaining from the most private of bad habits, are the focus for many preparing for the Easter holiday.

Taking religion out of the equation, what are you prepared to give up to make more time and to save more money for acquiring new business and surviving this "recession"? Are you wasting your day on non-qualified leads? Should you scrap your old website for one that actually sells your product or service? Is your Yellow Page advertisement too big and expensive? Can you save a few dollars by not sending your four-color brochure to every Tom, Dick, and Harry?

Tough times calls for tough measures. Look around and see what you can cut out, eliminate, and scale down to make you and your company better, faster, and stronger.

Stamp Prices Rise

2009-02-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

On May 11th the price of a first-class stamp will go up a couple more pennies to 44¢. This increase is just another indication that you should be taking more advantage of technology to reduce your business costs.

E-mail is the most obvious tool for you to reduce postage, paper consumption, and time. Pay those bills on-line rather than through the USPS. Print internal copies on the backs of already printed material or use those backs for scrap paper. Shut off computers when not in use.

Some of my personal money-saving tips include... shaking the toner cartridge so I get the very last drop out of it, reusing folders a dozen times over, reading my local newspaper on-line rather than subscribing, not buying pens or pencils until my supply is completely gone, and keeping all of my to-dos/appointments/bills in a three-ring binder (not only a money saving practice but a time saver as well).

That's my two cents worth of wisdom for today... you'll need it on May 11th when you visit the post office.

I Wanna Go Fast

2009-01-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

As in the famous words of Rick Bobby, the race car driver in Talladega Nights, "I wanna go fast" should be the mantra of sales professionals each and every day.

Admit it, we are the Blackberry generation... multi-tasking whenever we can... reading while exercising, talking while driving, texting while eating. There's no escaping it.

Our customers want things right away. I'm just as demanding... when I call a company to place an order or resolve an issue... I want answers fast. And god forbid I'm put on hold!

But there is a bright lining to the madness. If you are in sales and can be the first to respond to a prospect's request, there's a very good chance that you'll get the sale. To wit... I have a buddy in the construction business; if you know the industry or have ever had to call a painter, roofer, plumber or other tradesman you know what I mean. Many are "fly by nights" and rough around the edges (not all of them, mind you). My friend does extremely well year after year for one reason, and one reason only. He answers his phone. "I truly think my success is based on the fact that I answer the phone when it rings or when customers leave a message I call them back before the end of the day," he said. "It's that simple."

I can attest to his strategy. If I'm the first to respond to a sales lead I increase my success rate ten-fold. I've had customers say, "I guess you're getting the job because you're the only one who took the time to call me back." Sweet!

So the next time you think to return a call "after lunch," why not take a few minutes before you leave and dial that number. The other end may hold a wonderful and profitable opportunity.

Please Be Brutally Honest

2009-01-20T09:21:00.000-08:00

Marketing plans based on hearsay and internal opinions waste a ton of money every year for many businesses. Product designs, colors, pricing, and placement are but a few of the miscues sales and marketing people make. It's not that they're unintelligent, it's just that most believe that they know what's best for their "baby"... they become emotionally attached - that's not good.

Traditional market research, focus groups, prototypes, redesigns, and revamping the unique selling proposition can drain a budget real quick. Fortunately there's help... it's called the Internet.

Scientific Marketing Services, the New Jersey-based marketing and multi-media resource agency for businesses throughout the world has come up with a low-cost web-based product called MarketLink™ that gathers information directly from your marketplace... year around.

Using the SMS MarketLink™ you get the straight, unadulterated scoop from your customer’s mouths straight to your ear. Sometime what you hear may not be flattering and may be hard to take, especially if it goes against what your sales people, dealers or others have been telling you; but you’ll always learn important facts that might otherwise be ignored, to your own detriment.

Are the comments always right? Certainly not, but they are always thought provoking, and they can help you identify wrong impressions and other subtle, and not so subtle problems in your marketplace, or with your customers... before it’s too late.

You can check out the program's details in this month's SMS e-jottings newsletter which is hot off the press. Send me an e-mail and I'll send it to you.

The Secret to Keeping Clients

2009-01-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

All too often your clients and customers leave because of lack of communication. I'm not talking about regular contact activities such as a weekly call or the sending of a newsletter... although these simple techniques should not be forgotten. I'm referring to serious communication... one-on-one dialog. Whenever you get a new customer blatantly ask them "What do you want to accomplish?" If they respond, "I want more customers" or "to increase my sales" ask them "how many more customers will make you happy?" and "how much would you like to increase your sales by?" This is true communication. It's also communication that will make you a star. It's Goal Setting 101 - i.e., you never set a goal to lose weight, you set a goal to lose 10 pounds.

Try it out the next time you sit down with your customers. Ask the tough questions and be ready to produce results. It's only after this back and forth exchange will you truly be able to develop a reputation for getting things done and keeping clients very, very happy.

Move Please

2009-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

Gloom, despair, stocks plunging, corporate profits down, Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme, layoffs... when will it end? No one really knows. I don't care who you listen to on the TV or radio... the pundits don't know any more than you. And while times are tough and money is tight, you need to stay focused on what you can control.

Keep plugging along... keep making calls... keep prospecting... keep researching... keep writing... keep your head up. Most important, don't pay one iota to the "other guy". Stay focused on what's working for you. There has to be something positive going on in your life. Now's not the time to shrivel up and die.

This is the time for opportunity. Go out there and tell the other guy to move over!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Loss Leader

2008-12-30T09:48:00.001-08:00

Every year around the New Year I'll get a few e-mails from some smart retailers who acknowledge my birthday.

For some time now, I've been signing up to receive e-mails from dozens of businesses including Circuit City, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes, and a host of restaurants too numerous to mention.

Some of them send me a simple "Happy Birthday" message... nice... but not really taking advantage of the extremely low-cost of e-mail technology. Others, though, send me a B-day greeting with a coupon. Yippee! A good example is Don Pablo's, a Mexican restaurant chain. Their message stated that they "loaded" my loyalty card with $10 to use up until January 14th.

Am I going to use it? You 'betcha. Am I going to go alone to eat? Not a chance. I'll probably bring the family and meet some friends there too. Those friends, I might add, enjoy copious amounts of Corona beer and margaritas. Cha ching!

Don Pablo's was smart. They used me as a "loss leader" - they'll loose a little money on me but make it back five-fold on the patrons I invite to "dine" with me that night.

Can you identify a loss leader in your business? E-mail me with your industry information and I'll send you back a couple of ideas for free!

Marketing the Weather

2008-12-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." ~ Mark Twain

When the weather outside turns frightful so many people start talking about the temperature, the accumulation, the precipitation, traffic reports, school closings, late openings, and 10-day forecasts.

If there was ever a time when weather is exciting, it's now. Compound bad weather with ecology/conservation and you have a recipe for some exciting marketing opportunities.

Run an ad on the weather channel, invite the local TV station to do a live broadcast from your business, sponsor a contest to guess the average temperature for the month, take $5,000 off the sticker price of an automobile if it snows more than 2" on New Years (buy insurance), or give away free t-shirts to those making the plunge at the local Polar Bear club. You get my drift (snow reference).

Take time today and think how many different ways you can you become a partner with Mother Nature?

Green Marketing

2008-12-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

Although I'm only in my early 40s, I can remember reading Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and Mother Earth News as a kid. Making your own solar panels, growing wheat grass, and designing an efficient compost pile were common headlines throughout their pages.

Many of the people photographed to accompany the stories were usually long-hair hippies with tie-dye shirts and bell-bottom jeans. I wanted to be one of those tree-hugging groupies... complete with peace symbol necklace and a guitar flung over my back. But I never became one. I was raised in a conservative Republican family that regularly went to church and registered me into Catholic school for 12 years.

"Loving the environment" back then meant you were a pot-smoking radical. Today, if you don't have solar panels on your roof, aren't recycling every newspaper and plastic bottle, or collecting the rainwater in clunky barrels attached to your downspouts, you're considered out-of-touch.

Open any business publication or turn on any financial show and you'll hear about how companies are going green, getting off the grid, and reducing their carbon footprints. And I can't tell you how many business cards have recently been thrust into my hand that have the words "solar", "green", "audit", and "energy".

Whether we like it or not, it's cool again to be an environmentalist. The concept is not going away. Your business needs to immediately become a team player with the rest of the world. Print on recycled paper, switch to low-flush toilets, reuse what you can, encourage employees to bike to work, and turn off the lights when leaving at night. It's all good, but in regards to marketing, you have to let the world know what you're doing. Of course, it's very altruistic, to save - to conserve - to protect the rain forest... but from a business point-of-view you have to promote every one of your efforts.

(This entry written right after carrying out the recyclables curbside).

What's My Price?

2008-12-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

Everybody wants a deal. "What, me pay retail?!" is the rally cry of those who want to spend less than everyone else.

Is there a way for you to create a special club for those customers who are repeat buyers? How can you reward those who come back to you again and again?

On my keychain I have loyalty cards for ShopRite supermarket, Staples, Borders, and CVS, to name a few. When I could, I registered at their websites and joined their clubs. I get their e-mails, coupons, and am privy to their sales. I feel empowered, I feel good, and I even save a few bucks. Most important, I go back to these stores again and again, maybe not even realizing that I could be buying the same products somewhere else at a much lower price.

Smart companies keep close track of their customers and are in constant communication with them. We get brainwashed... "Ooh, that looks nice... I'd like to have that (even though I really don't need it)."

Smart companies also offer an incentive to customers who bring in others to be part of the club... "Earn a 10% discount if you get three of your family or friends to join our loyalty program." Can you say "bribe?"

Build a fort today and start your club and let me know when your next sale is going to be. And if you send me the coupon code I will probably send it to a couple of my friends.

Print is Not Dead

2008-11-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

Newspapers, magazines, brochures, and catalogs are not dead. It's true that cable television and the Internet has redirected millions of dollars away from traditional marketing, but there are very few times I can remember that the later have been totally abandoned.

Catalogs, especially, have come to mind recently with my home mailbox already becoming crowded with Christmas catalogs. From toys to clothing, to baskets of cheese, it's all there.

Many of our clients have catalogs since they've been with us for years and are used to doing business with a bundle of catalogs cradled under the arms of their sales force.

When approached with the question "Should we stop printing the catalog?", we like to test market a small section of the catalog online. More often than not, there will be some resistance from our clients' customers - "Why did you do that?", "Should I throw my catalog away?", and the ever-popular "Now I have to print out the catalog off of my printer."

I like to judge success by comparing the average sales order for both mediums during a certain time period. For our business-to-business customers, catalogs usually do better and the business-to-consumer customers find that online ordering is more popular. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. Test and test again to find out what works best for your business.

Most important, make sure your catalog is Internet compatible and vice-versa. When designing a new catalog, take advantage of the latest techniques that make catalog upload easy, and maybe interactive.

As the marketplace continues to change, customers are looking for the easiest way to buy. The question to ask yourself is this... "In my industry, are customers more apt to boot up the computer or thumb through a catalog to find how much my product costs?

Doing a Little House Cleaning

2008-11-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

Received a wonderful call from a gentleman who runs a cleaning company. He asked for some ideas to boost his business other than expensive Yellow Page advertising. In a matter of a half hour the following recommendations were made. Which ones will work and which ones won't? I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

1. Door Hangars - Can be used two different ways. The first being a “calling card” to neighbors that you are providing a service in their neighborhood or as a general solicitation to canvas areas that you do not currently service.
2. Website - Probably the most important marketing tool a business can have in today’s “on-line” world. I’d like to see a nice home page and five inside pages.
3. Referral Program - Institute a referral program that could offer a direct incentive such as a Home Depot gift card or a discount off of a future cleaning.
4. Brochure - A simple six-page tri-fold brochure (3.5”x8.5”) should describe the benefits of your service
5. Yard Signs - It’s imperative that neighbors realize that you are providing a service in their area. There are two versions that might work well. The first being a permanent sign, i.e., ADT, Brinks, or a temporary sign that is placed in the yard while the home is being cleaned and removed when the cleaner is finished. Customers may be offered a one-time discount to keep the permanent sign in their yard.
6. Direct Mail - Design a postcard that can be targeted and mailed to neighbors within a certain radius of an existing customer.

Business Search Engine Trends

2008-10-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

Our office is buzzing with the news that our Philadelphia Phillies have won the 2008 World Series. Pitching rotations, infielding skill, and managerial moves have highlighted the conversations. Some have even arrived in team jerseys and red colored shirts.

I jumped on Google to confirm my hunch that many people we're searching for information about our beloved baseball team. I was right. Out of the Top 100 there were about 20 listings for Phillies, Philadelphia, team clothing, and Philly baseball. The #1 search term was "Mambo Cologne" and the last was "Phinally" (the Philadelphia way to now spell anything that begins with the "f" sound.) P.S. I don't know what Mambo cologne is...

Surprisingly, out of the Top 100 I quickly scanned, there were less than three entries that were business related. Most were about celebrities I'm assuming are pop culture icons, the presidential election, and web-related sites.

Maybe it's time for www.business.com to take seriously the web address they paid millions for many years ago. It looks like a glorified paid-per-click site. Until then business owners will have to utilize the "majors" such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN and dig deep into search results to find the best match to their business inquiries.

Product Tie-In

2008-10-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

Our agency is located midway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. Right now we're in the throws of a potential World Series championship. If you are reading this today, October 27, 2008, there's a really good chance that the Philadelphia Phillies will be the champs come 11pm tonight.

Many brilliant business owners have capitalized on the buzz of the World Series. I am amazed at the creativity, and from a marketers point of view, their business ingenuity. Our local Fox news station has jumped on the bandwagon and at every telecast we see bakers who are selling Phillies' red cupcakes, office workers who are all dressed in red, and cheesesteak stands who have colored the orange/yellow Cheese Whiz to a bright blood red. I also enjoy the politicians who get in on the publicity bonanza... "if we lose we'll send you Philadelphia soft pretzels and if we win you'll send us Cuban sandwiches."

How can your business earn some valuable publicity with sports, holidays, and other cultural events that appeal to the masses? Here's a tip... the more bizarre, the better. Do you know of a unique way to cook a turkey? Does someone at your office look like one of the presidential candidates? Is there a special way you can tie-in your product with the Super Bowl XLIII? It will take place in Tampa, Fl., on February 1, 2009. The official blue and green logo represents the blue waterways and green landscape of the Sunshine state. The tagline is "Believe in Now". I can see many tie-ins already!

Go Phillies!

Create Some Buzz With A Poll

2008-10-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

This year's presidential election is a good example on how to quickly generate publicity. All you need to do is create a poll/survey for your industry and submit the results to your industry's trade publications.

If I was a builder I would survey customers on what amenities they just can't do without. If I was a painter I would find out what colors are popular this season. If I was a private school I would survey parents and ask them what determined their decision to send their children to a private school. If I was a restaurant I would create a list of the most popular drinks ordered at the bar. The list is endless.

Editors love polls and surveys because they can be modified to fit any space they have available, i.e., if you send a Top Ten list and the editor only has room for a Top Five list, he can cut your submission to fit.

What survey can you take this month to generate some publicity for your company?

Frozen By Fear

2008-10-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Small business owners and entrepreneurs alike are afraid to do anything with either their businesses or "multi-million dollar" ideas with the economy being so unstable. But if there's anything that you should do right now is... something. Maybe it's not a good time to roll-out that new product line, or the timing isn't right to begin the infrastructure on your 20-lot subdivision, or you don't feel comfortable unveiling the most expensive item in your product line. But if there's one thing you should do with each of these projects is, as I've said above, is something. Why not do a small roll-out of the new product line to a very select group of customers? Maybe re-bid some of the subcontractor work for the subdivision to try to get better pricing. Is there a way to reduce the production costs of that expensive item? Now's the perfect time to sharpen pencils, incorporate Six Sigma (becoming more efficient), and tweaking plans to lower costs.

And even though these are difficult times, it's a wonderful time for entrepreneurs. If you can think of a better, faster, or unique way of doing business then people are going to flock to your doors. Still scared to do something? Why not work on the business plan? Form a networking group and invite members to share in the risk of your idea. Register the domain name of your new venture. As in the Nike vein...Just Do It.

What am I doing now? I'm making contact with old clients, reading efficiency blogs, soliciting new prospects, and taking some risks with small-scale promotions. It's working. I'm getting in front of decision makers and they're working me into their budgets for 2009.

Be Careful With Coupons and Discounts

2008-10-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Due to the tough economic times many businesses are trying to jump-start business by offering steep discounts and high percentage-off coupons. Be careful! Once you discount your product or service customers will expect these lower prices all the time.

You shouldn't get in the habit of sending out coupons on a regular basis, especially if you offer a premium product or service. I like to take the approach that if the customer asks for a discount I might entertain the request. I would never, though, make a broadcast offer. GMC is a good example. A while ago they were promoting "employee pricing" to boost auto sales, and lo and behold, when shopping for a new ride recently I overheard a customer ask for the discount even though the promotion was long gone. An argument ensued and the customer left shouting, "I'll come back when the discount is offered again!"

Am I saying that coupons and discounts do not have their place? They do. I look forward to my Harbor Freight coupon circular every couple of weeks and won't go shopping there unless I have coupon in-hand. Couponing is good here because the tools Harbor Freight sells are something I don't really need. I might be convinced to buy if the offer is enticing enough but I am never going to be a loyal Harbor Freight customer. I am only going to shop on price. If you think your business can survive on that kind of customer mentality then coupons and discounts are the way to go. Otherwise, you had better be selling value and charging what you are truly worth.

Drastic times do cause for drastic measures, but giving away your product or service at cut-rate prices may linger around a lot longer than you really want or anticipated.

Bootstrap Marketing

2008-10-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

Let's face it. Times are tough. The financial debacle has definitely trickled down to many businesses, even those that are not in the banking and insurance sectors.

If you are a business owner there are three things you must immediately do for your peace of mind, as well your customers. 1.) The first is to call or write to assure them that you are there for them and will offer any assistance they may need. Be strong. Be upbeat. But most important, don't try to sell anything during this discourse. To try to sell something when you're attempting to show some compassion is business suicide. 2.) You must also beef up your marketing efforts... not so much to spend more but to spend wisely. Press releases are a great example of intelligent marketing. Sending out releases to the local media outlets as well as your industry publications are probably one of the smartest moves one can make. They're cost-effective, easy to write, and provide the best credibility. And credibility is really important now. If I can believe in you today I will definitely believe in you tomorrow. 3.) Network as much as you can... and not only for yourself. You can expand your sales force exponentially if you tell others that you will promote their business if they promote yours. Can you say "network marketing"?

The bottom is near. Many businesses are doing a lot of irrational things lately. Stay the course. If your product or service is worth its salt, buyers will be coming back shortly.

Vice Presidential Debate - Biden vs. Palin

2008-10-03T05:55:00.001-07:00

Whew! If you watched the vice presidential debate between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin you saw a great example of how a marketing plan works. Many pundits were anticipating how Palin would do on a national stage. Would she choke? Would she stumble? Could she take on the establishment - the well-known brand?

I think she did a pretty good job and started out as most new marketing plans begin - slow... questionable... uncharted... scary. For the first 20 minutes I saw fear in Palin's eyes - bright and wide like the proverbial deer in the headlights. But as time went on, her color came back, she started to feel comfortable, her message stayed on task, and the audience responded.

Marketers take note - you may feel a little scared unveiling your product for all the world to see, but as long as you showcase its "real" benefits, you should do fine in the long run. Give up too soon and you'll be remembered by your missteps and faults. Stay the course, plug along, and your buyers will eventually become receptive and open their pocketbooks and wallets.

But is there a time to quit... to move on to bigger and better things? Many scholars have argued this point ad infinitum. I don't know. Nobody knows. Sales, budgets, and timing are but a few of the factors you need to consider. What I do know is that I've seen businesses bring a new product or service to the marketplace and are just about to pull the plug when sales start to soar and they're the first to cross the finish line.

Remember... you can't win unless you enter the race.

www.financialservices.house.gov Is Good Marketing

2008-09-29T06:00:00.001-07:00

The Emergency Economic Bailout Stabilization Plan of 2008, a.k.a. Financial Bailout, is posted on the government's website for all to read. Put on a fresh pot of coffee before hunkering down to read it because the document is well over 100 pages.

The move to upload the entire bill, though, is a good move by the government and a lesson to be learned by marketers. When you have a lot of information about your product or service you should make that information readily available to all of your customers. As mentioned in previous posts, the FAQs page in your website might be the most important one you create, so take some time to think it through before writing it. I enjoy seeing instructions - the more detailed the better - and The Top 10 Questions Most Commonly Asked. If your product or service is complicated, i.e. high-tech or industrial in nature, you might even want to add a keyword search on the page to make the user experience as enjoyable as possible.

Log onto your FAQs page right now. Add those questions (and appropriate answers) that your customer service department and sales reps repeatedly get asked over and over again.

Do You Use Autoresponders?

2008-09-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

If you're a marketer you must use autoresponders. A quick example is when a business associate goes on vacation and you send them an e-mail only to get an immediate reply that reads, "Sorry, I'm out the office until October 3, 2008. If you need assistance, please call Mary at 123-123-1234."

But the real beauty of autoresponders is you can automate replies for just about any request. "Here's a copy of our catalog," "Find below the Top Ten questions most new customers ask," "Here's our full price list," and "Here's the free report you wanted," are a few examples.

Where do get autoresponders? Most web hosts have an autorespond feature. And here's an eye-opening fact... you can have a different autorespond message for every e-mail account. So if your host allows you 200 e-mail addresses, you can have 200 unique autoresponders. There are also free autoreponders out there - do a search and you'll find the best one for your particular application. You can even buy autorespond software if you're serious about productivity.

So if you're looking to systematize your business (read E-Myth by Michael Gerber) or just want to "get things done" (read Getting Things Done by David Allen) then look into the efficiencies of autoreponders.

David Blaine's Dive of Death is Marketers Worst Nightmare

2008-09-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

If you're a marketer you should take notice of magician David Blaine's recent stunt of hanging upside down for 60 hours in New York City this past week.

Once announced, people flocked to Central Park to see the illusionist suspended in mid-air. Back in 2006 I went to see him at Lincoln Center where he remained in a large, globe-filled aquarium for a week. It was kinda cool.

The problem, though, with this latest trick is that Blaine was lowered from his perch for ten minutes every hour to drink, rest, and check vital signs. Bystanders booed, shook their heads in disgust, and walked away disappointed.

Marketers need to learn an important lesson here. If you promise to offer some type of value with your products or services... you better produce. Lie about increased productivity, shortened manufacturing times, or quick delivery and you'll lose credibility real quick. You might damage your reputation so badly that your business may even disappear!

Dancing with the Stars Business Opportunity

2008-09-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have seen the smash television show Dancing with the Stars. I know you won't admit it here but I know you watch it regularly or have at least caught an episode or two.

I have seen about a half dozen shows over the years and am still amazed at how some of the most awkward celebrities really get their groove on. Many have reported increased vitality, clarity, and obvious weight loss.

What many readers (and marketers) may not know is that the United States isn't the only Dancing with the Stars show. The program is syndicated in 26 countries such as Germany, Croatia, Argentina, Brazil, and the Czech Republic. Out of the 26 countries, DWTS has the Top 10 honor in 17 of them.

What can you syndicate or franchise that will make your business more money? Can your writing be sold to multiple outlets? Can you design a new business plan template? Can you sell your innovative painting technique to other painters? Can you develop a seminar that introduces your services to hundreds of people at once vs. one at a time?

Start thinking today on how you can get paid multiple times on your product or service and you'll be dancing all the way to the bank.

Talk Like A Priate Day

2008-09-19T07:04:00.002-07:00

Attention mates... I mean marketers! If you want to create a new business opportunity why not make a special day all for yourself. Did you know that September 19th is known as "Talk Like a Pirate Day"? Started by two guys who wanted to have a little fun with their friends, the party was haphazardly mentioned by syndicated columnist, Dave Barry, about seven years ago. It has now blossomed into a unique business venture that puts money into the pockets of the originators via books, t-shirts, appearances, and CDs.

The flower industry is a great example of creating special days. Besides the standard Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, many of us are buying flowers on Secretary's Day, Grandparent's Day, and dozens of other "Days". See the pattern here?

If I was in the plumbing business I would create a Drain My Water Heater Day. If I was a web designer I would create a Check My Website Statistics Day. If I sold tires I would develop a Check Your Tread Depth Day. If I owned an auto detailing shop I would start a How Shiny Can I Get My Car Day? If I owned a vineyard I would have a Try a New Vintage Day. If I was a printer I would have a Check My Supply Day. If I sold carpet I would have a How Dirty Is My Carpet Day. The list can go on and on.

What "Special Day" can you develop for your business? Write me back with your ideas.

Arghhh!

Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld in New Microsoft Ad

2008-09-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld star in a quirky new ad for Microsoft. I won't go into detail about the ad only to say that many in the technology blogosphere are calling it a dud.

I don't agree. I find it funny, maybe because I'm a big Seinfeld fan. So big, in fact, that our family regularly cracks Seinfeld references throughout the week. After such a display we often say "aren't we pathetic...still talking about a sitcom that left prime-time over eight years ago."

Seinfeld attracts. Gates attracts. And from a marketing perspective - "even bad PR is good PR." The ad, whether or not you like it, is getting people talking. Hey, I'm even talking about it.

I've mentioned PR before in previous posts. Generate some for your company. Throw something out there and see what sticks. No news to report? Why not send a release for one of your customers about how they utilize your product or service? Announce something new. Write about a trade show you've attended? Have you updated your website? Do you have new employees? Celebrating an anniversary? Given any speeches?

Be creative. And I think that's what the Microsoft ad is trying to accomplish. Be a little different, get people talking, and sooner or later, sell more product.

What's Up With Sarah Palin's Kids' Names?

2008-09-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

What's in a name?

Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin and her husband Todd have five children. Their names... Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig.

Here's a good marketing tip - want to be unique, if you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to differentiate yourself. Their kids' names are way out there, but you know what, they make you think twice, listen a little more intently... I can hear it now - "What did you say your name was?"

Google, Yahoo, Kazaa, and Wikipedia know this. What are you doing to shine the spotlight on your product or service? Does your brand speak volumes or does it labor to make it through a simple sentence.

Sometimes a name change can jump-start sales beyond belief.

Spend some time with the words that embrace your business and see if they really make sense... or better yet, if they make an impact.

Phil Collins Divorce Facts (or Fax)

2008-08-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

This post has nothing to do with Phil Collins' music so stop reading if you're a fan. I mention Phil Collins because I read about his recent divorce from his third wife Orianne Cevey and the ensuing $46.5 million dollar payout.

The tabloids say that Phil's settlement is the largest in British history, topping the Paul McCartney and Heather Mills divorce by a mere $2 million. It was also noted, and the real reason for this post, is that when Collins divorced his second wife, Jill Tavelman, he did it by fax!

Imagine getting that document.

To: Jill
From: Phil
Re: Divorce

Dear Jill,
I think we've reached a point in this relationship where it's OK for us to see other people. Talk to you soon!
Phil

Although Collins did the unthinkable by divorcing his wife via fax, he did utilize a powerful business communication tool that seems to be collecting a lot of dust in many offices around the world. Granted, the Junk Fax Prevention Act (JFPA), passed by Congress in 2005, has scared many away from using the machine, but it should not deter you if used properly.

Without going into great detail, the JFPA specifically states that a fax advertisement may be sent to someone with whom you've had an established business relationship (EBR) if the sender 1. obtains the fax number directly from the recipient, through, for example, an application, contact information form, or membership renewal form; 2. obtains the fax number from the recipient’s own directory, advertisement, or site on the Internet, unless the recipient has noted on such materials that it does not accept unsolicited advertisements at the fax number in question; and 3. has taken reasonable steps to verify that the recipient consented to have the number listed, if obtained from a directory or other source of information compiled by a third party.

If the sender had an EBR with the recipient and possessed the recipient’s fax number before July 9, 2005 (the date the Junk Fax Prevention Act became law), the sender may send the fax advertisements without demonstrating how the number was obtained.

Many current and former customers, therefore, can be solicited with special sales, discounts, and promotions via fax. Why not start today? Your offer may be the only one they receive this week.

Hurricane Marketing

2008-08-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Hurricanes are tough. They're hard to manage. They come in quick and are soon gone. If you manage your marketing like a hurricane you're not being very efficient.

Marketing should be like a slow, gentle rain. It lasts for a long time and is easily absorbed.

Many small businesses have well intentions about their marketing. They decide on a promotion, develop a plan, and budget the dollars to make it work. Unfortunately, money is squandered because activities are done too quickly. Big ads are placed too close together rather than spaced out in industry publications; direct mail pieces contain too many sales messages rather than contain one single benefit each; and telemarketers call with a scatter-shot marketing message that talks about too many features.

Good marketers understand that you shouldn't blow your $5,000 ad budget on two big ads but spread out those hard-earned dollars to create a series of six smaller ads that will last for half a year. They also realize a four-color brochure many not be effective as a series of simple, two-color postcards sent out over the course of 12 months.

So plan accordingly and realize that being big and bold with your marketing is many times not as effective as being slow and steady.

Bigfoot Sighting

2008-08-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

Two men claim they found the body of Bigfoot in the northern Georgia mountains. Unfortunately, they have not produced the body to the media for a closer inspection. Until then, the two will have to defend themselves with more press conferences and grainy photographs.

Are you defending your product or service with vague benefits to skeptical customers? Just like the two Georgians, you need proof to prove your value. Until then, you're company is a huckster too. You can weave a tall tale about how your product is better and will save the customer time and money, but until you can prove your value, you'd better keep your stuff in the freezer.

How do you prove your case? Real testimonials are good but visuals are the best marketing tools. Sure a brochure is nice, but with today's technology you had better capture your benefits on video. Show your product doing what it's claim to fame is and I can guarantee your closing ratio will soar high above the tallest trees in the forest.

Michael Phelps and Marketing

2008-08-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

As a marketing junkie I get jazzed when I see an opportunity for marketing. Michael Phelps, the superhuman swimmer, is/will be a marketing magnet for a very long time (at least for another four years). The bottom-line is that when you excel, when you're good, when you're the champ, and when people want to be/like you, then you are attractive to business.

We are a vain country. We like the finer things in life, V.I.P. tables, and access beyond the velvet ropes. We like to be seen and say that we have celebrity status, i.e., "Do you know who I saw gambling at the casino last week?"

Marketing will always be about making money, power, and vanity. Marketing is not a crime, and if played by the rules can transform your business to heights never imagined.

Marketing must never lie or bait the prospect into thinking he will get something that you never intended to give him. Do this once, and only once, and you'll suffer the consequences for a very long time. Can you say Michael Jackson, Brittney Spears or Barry Bonds?

Marketing is about benefits; the "what's in it for me?" mentality. Find a way to make "me" better, faster, stronger, and your company will ride the wave of profitability until the 2012 London Olympics and beyond.

Digital Variable Printing

2008-08-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

DVP. Do you know what it means? If not, you better get updated on the latest printing technology.

DVP, or digital variable printing, is printing a small or large quantity of letters or postcards that are personalized with the recipient's name, product preferences, or company name. Personalizing your material makes the recipient feel that the sales message was created just for him or her. So instead of a postcard headline reading "Furniture Sale This Weekend", the new technology will allow you to say "Mary, We're Having an End Table Sale This Weekend That Will Match Your Leather Sofa You Bought Four Months Ago." See the difference!?

DVP is like the old mail merge feature in your word processing program. Try to use it whenever you can. The technology might be out of the price range for smaller companies, but those whose sales depend on frequent mailings may want to research printers that offer a quick payback period.

Working Vacation

2008-08-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

Although many get away from work for a week or two every year, it's still not a bad idea to take a little work with you when you go. I'm not talking about bringing a foot high pile of reports to the beach but a small, manageable file folder containing some industry articles, your next quarter's calendar, and paper and pen.

Industry articles will keep your brain fresh and may spark a potential moneymaking idea deep within your cerebral cortex. I usually scan through magazines that have accumulated and rip out the articles that seem interesting.

I always bring my calendar. If you have an elaborate computerized system or Filofax-like binder, photocopy the next four months worth of pages. It's on these pages where you can leisurely set goals, to-do lists, and plan other business objectives.

Pen and paper are crucial too. Many great thoughts have burst to the surface while digging for shells, lazily floating on a raft, or drinking your favorite beverage as the seagulls fly by.

Make your vacation work for you now so that upon your return, your work will feel like a vacation.

Search Engine Optimization

2008-07-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Many designers and webmasters think that "content is king." The truth is that the way to get better rankings for your website is to make sure that the coding of the site is properly utilized.

Here's a surprising fact: Many search engines will not read pages if the URL contains a question mark. This symbol may indicate that the site's content might be generated automatically which is a no-no with search engine technology.

Page linking and coding are also extremely important aspects to think about BEFORE you design a site. Make sure you code your menus dynamically because of changes to CSS properties and only use hyperlinks that are standard HTML < A > tags.

The bottom-line is that "coders" and designers are many times trying to accomplish two very different goals. Unfortunately, coders are brought in too late, after thousands of dollars have been squandered on an eye-catching website, but one that the search engines can't find.

Remember, website functionality (and better search engine optimization) is always more important than pretty colors, video snippets, and spinning logos.

Target Marketing

2008-07-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Do you consider yourself a specialist? If I looked at your client or customer list, is there a segment of that list that tends to favor a certain demographic? For example, if you own a rental equipment company, do you find that most of your customers rent scissor lifts? If your business is catering, do most of your customers ask for seafood? If you have an auto body shop, do people come to you because you do the best work on foreign cars? Do you see any pattern?

Some of the most successful businesses are those that specialize in a specific industry or market. "Oh, you just have to go see (insert your name here) because (he/she) is the best with (insert your product or service name here)," is the ultimate advertising anyone can get.

So take an hour this weekend and focus your efforts on some of your key customers and profile them the best you can. Try to develop your next marketing campaign based on how this group would buy, i.e., time of year, quantity, most popular item, etc.

Develop a laser focus and target your market.

Two Very Important E-Mail Tips

2008-07-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

While e-mail is the most popular way for business-to-business (b-2-b) correspondence these days, there are many ways for you to improve its impact.

I think two of the most vital requirements for most e-mails are the subject line and attachments (don't e-mail me back stating some of these tips can't always be accomplished - I understand it's not always possible).

First - think very carefully about the subject line. Never, ever use the word "hi" or "hello". Because of the early days of spam and spam filters, those two little words are notoriously bad. Try to stay away from ALL CAPS TOO. CAPS ARE LOUD AND ANNOYING. Your best bet is to include the first name of your recipient with the basic premise of your body copy/message. If you are having a special, say it. If you are introducing a new product, announce it. Don't beat around the bush. Remain focused and stick with the facts.

Second - If you have the option, do not include attachments. The big ISP companies and corporate e-mail filtering programs can and will block your message from ever being seen. If you need to send an attachment, send a "heads up" e-mail to your recipient. Let them know it's coming. They'll appreciate it and their IT guys will have less virus checking work to do.

So there you have it, two e-mail tips that will make you more productive and will increase your odds of your e-mail ever making it into the hands (or should I say "into the eyes") of the person you're trying to reach.

Are You Right?

2008-07-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Advertising and marketing works best when you reach the right person, at the right time, with the right message, in the right context.

If your business can hone in on these nuances better each time a campaign is initiated then your success rate will incrementally improve.

The right person - Have you looked at your current database lately? Has your customer profile changed from its original intent?

The right time - Are your customers in the middle of their "season"? Will your message be pushed aside since they're so busy now? Do you know when they put together their advertising budgets?

The right message - What do your customers value the most - price, quality, speed, service, etc.? Are you still pushing old technology, inefficient processes, or lackluster services?

The right context - Are you too pushy? Should you be educating the customer before the hard sell? Can a referral make the sale better than you could yourself?

Take a little bit of time this weekend to mull over the above questions. As Billy Joel once said, "You may be right, I maybe crazy."

The Weekend Is Just Another Monday

2008-07-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

How often do you close up shop and head out the door on a Friday afternoon thinking "I'll start again on Monday?" Shame on you. You need to treat the weekends as a great opportunity to sell your product or service.

Why not try sending an e-mail blast on a Sunday morning? Did you ever update your blog on a Saturday afternoon and track click-throughs? What about offering a time-sensitive sale only good at midnight?

I'd say give all of them a try. You might be surprised at the results. Customers are searching at all hours of the day and night. Many are now checking their e-mails as they are traveling, walking, and shopping. I've known my daughter to inform me of a sale at a local clothing store while surfing the net, while playing the Wii, while texting her girlfriend, while listening to the iPod. You get the point. We are a wired culture, so get your message in front of the consumer any way you can.

Good luck.

Digital Media is a Must

2008-07-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

All reports crossing my desk these days indicate that businesses must embrace digital media. Digital media is defined as those marketing tools that utilize the latest in technology such as e-mail, static web banners, pop-up banner ads, search engine optimization, and online video. Read and study about these five technologies as much as you can!

I'll comment on each medium in future blogs but want to stress the following statistics - close to 76% of marketers are using more e-mail, about 61% are using more online video, and 62% are jumping on the search engine optimization bandwagon (these stats are based on today's usage versus three years ago). The bottom-line is, if you're not part of the tech wave you better get going... and fast.

Next time... how an e-mail blast can triple your productivity at the push of a button.

PS. Don't discount print advertising as it still has an important role in generating awareness for your online presence.

Get Testimonials from Your Customers

2008-07-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

When you are looking for a new restaurant to try what do you do? Many will ask family and friends for a recommendation. Do you look in the Yellow Pages when trying to find a physician for that medical procedure you need next month? Of course not, you ask someone who may have had or know of someone who has already had the procedure done. When traveling, don't you ask someone for a referral for a hotel that has "the cleanest rooms?" I know you did.

With your business it's imperative your sales brochures and website contain glowing testimonials from your satisfied customers and clients. These comments approve your product or service and give you a "third party" endorsement. It's like hiring the Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie as spokesperson for your specific industry.

How do you get the testimonial? Ask for it. If they say no, ask why. You'll get either one of two responses. The first being is that they're embarrassed or "not good at writing." If this is the case, ask them if you can write the recommendation for them. Nine times out of ten they'll enthusiastically agree. The other response is that they are not happy with your work. When this happens it's your chance to make good and learn from the transaction so that the problem won't happen again. Can you say "cheap market research?"

I recall a restaurateur who regularly invited the media to dine at his establishment to review the food. Many times the critiques were glowing. There were a few times, unfortunately, when the menu was not up to par. What did he did next was brilliant. He invited those who didn't write good reviews to dine on the same meal they disdained. But this time he corrected the exact shortcomings brought to light. If the veal was too salty, he used less salt. If the crab cakes were too greasy, you can be assured that they were fried less and set to drain before being plated. The result was tens of thousands of dollars in free publicity and a string of glowing reviews and testimonials that lasted for months.

So work on getting your customers talking positively about your company. If they aren't doing it already, it's time to put words in their mouths.

Check Your Business Writing

2008-07-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Spelling and grammar are so important in business writing that I'm surprised that many people don't take the extra time to proofread their own copy. I'm not talking about running the copy through the computer's spell-check program but read the copy with their own eyes starting at the first word and ending with the last.

I can remember many years ago being handed a brochure from a potential client. They were very proud of their latest sales piece and attempted to use it as a way of saying "we already have beautiful collateral material and don't need your services at this time." Quickly scanning the brochure it seemed as though my eye went directly to the word "accommodations." Call it divine intervention, call it proofreader's perception, whatever it is, I saw the mistake.

What the prospect meant to say was that their staff received many commendations (awards). Unfortunately, the 5,000 copies of the brochure stated their staff received accommodations, or hotel rooms. Ouch!

The spell-check did its job. Both accommodations and commendations were spelled correctly, but the improper use and lack of proofreading cost that company major dollars.

My suggestion to you... run all your documents through the computer's spelling and grammar check. Listen to the recommendations, sometimes they are warranted, sometimes not. Next, proofread your copy, and if you have the luxury, run the copy by another set of eyes. I can't tell you how many times that I couldn't pick up my own mistakes during a first reading. Check and check again.

If I can write, proofread, and come back the next day and proofread again then I'm usually in good shape. Find out what works best for you. But please, whatever you do, read what you write.

There's Not Enough Time to Run My Business

2008-07-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

If there was ever one main reason why entrepreneurs fail it's because they try to to everything themselves. I feel sorry for the sole proprietor who attempts to be their own accountant, secretary, sales manager, webmaster, and shipping clerk. It just can't be done, and sooner, rather than later, frustration, disappointment, and desperation set in.

Technology can help with many of the daily grinds that entrepreneurs encounter - there's QuickBooks for accounting, Microsoft Office for secretarial duties and sales, and programs such as Dreamweaver for website design. But the learning curve can be challenging for most, especially in the website design category. That's why I get so excited about our website and design services at www.newbizbuilders.com. Check it out. Created with the entrepreneur in mind, it's a low-cost way to jump-start your business.

This weekend, peruse the site and call our office on Monday. A real, live person will actually answer the phone. If we don't it means we're helping a fellow entrepreneur on another line. But be assured that we will call you back.

Next week... why returning messages quickly results in more business.

Google Alerts

2008-07-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

If I asked you "How many keywords pertain to your business?" I'm sure you could rattle off at least a half a dozen.

Google Alerts is a valuable tool for any small business. Google alerts are an e-mail update sent to you based on your choice or keyword query. For example, if I were a painter in New Jersey I would include "my company name", painters, painting contractors, New Jersey painting contractors, and New Jersey painters as my keywords. Be careful to put put parenthesis around specific words and phrases, i.e., if you don't put them around "New Jersey painters" you would get searches for the word "New" and "Jersey" and "painters" - imagine what your in-box would look like! While you're at it, also tag your competition, it's always important to keep tabs on them to see if they're offering any products or services that you could add to your repertoire.

Google Alerts is like having your own private investigator on staff and a great way to be a leader in your profession.

Get to work immediately. Go to www.google.com/alerts. And while you're there, don't forget to add an alert for us - "BizPizzazz" - so you can get important small business tips as soon as we add them to our blog.

Please Pick Up

2008-07-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

So too often we think e-mail is communication. It's not. Communication as defined in the dictionary means "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs." The keyword is "interchange." E-mail is not an interchange, or more precisely defined, an "exchange." It's a one-way dialog. If your e-mail is never opened, what purpose did it serve. And what if it is opened but a response is never sent back? Get the point?

Think of all the time wasted as you are waiting for a reply to an e-mail when a simple phone call will do the trick. I'm not saying that e-mail doesn't have a purpose. It does work well in particular business situations, i.e., if you want "proof" that a customer changed their order from 10 widgets to 100 widgets. But nine times out of ten a call will suffice.

Today I want you to be more productive by picking up the phone rather than sending that lengthy e-mail. FYI... most people speak over 160 words per minute, but type less than 40 words a minute.

Timing Is Everything, Even With Postcards

2008-07-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

In sales, timing is everything. When do you send a product catalog? How many times do you try to reach a prospect? Should you keep calling a potential client to set up a meeting? When do you mail a postcard?

The answer is not simple, but then again it is. Keep trying until you get a response. If you get a "yes", congratulations. If you get a "no", bow out gracefully but try again at a later date and start the process all over again.

One of the most simple and least intrusive marketing campaigns are postcards. The reason? 1.) Your "benefits" message can be seen without any effort of the prospect. 2.) They usually get in front of the recipient. 3.) They're inexpensive. 4.) If you mail them on a regular basis sooner or later they'll reach the prospect at the exact time they need your product or service.

Try postcards in conjunction with your next marketing and advertising campaign and reap the power of such a simple and time-tested concept.

Put Words In My Mouth

2008-07-07T05:26:00.000-07:00

In an effort to keep clients moving forward on a path to productivity and profitability it's imperative that we (advertising agencies) do as much as possible for them as we can. For example, I have a client who needs a few quotes from eight of its tenants for inclusion on their website. Sounds pretty simple. The client said that she would 1.) Contact the tenants and inform them that I would be calling to do the interviews 2. E-mail or call me with the names and phone numbers of the people to interview and 3.) Write her own quote for the website. Whew!

Just think of the logistics to accomplish all of this. Do you think she'll get the tenants on her first phone call? Will she be able to write her own quote amidst all of her other daily duties? When I finally get the tenants' phone numbers will I be able to reach everyone quickly? What if the tenants can't articulate their feelings? What if I get seven of the eight tenants and the last one is on vacation for the next week? This straightforward activity could take weeks to accomplish.

The solution... Many times we know as much about out clients' business as they do. Therefore, put words in their mouths. Put them in what I call "edit mode". It makes business move much faster.

In this particular case study - What do you think the tenants' would say? What would you say if you were a tenant? It's not rocket science.

It took me an hour our so to write and edit less than 350 words. The quotes were glowing and positive. I e-mailed them to the client this morning and will let you know how I made out in another BizPizzaz update.

Video + Blog = Vlog

2008-07-03T05:16:00.000-07:00

So you have your company's website up and running. Great.
You've added pictures. Good.
You've initiated a blog utilizing Wordpress.com or Blogger.com. Nice.
You've uploaded a vlog. A what!?!?

A vlog is the latest technological advance that businesses are using to capture audience share on the Internet. "Vlog" is an acronym of the two words "video" and "blog", a.k.a. online video.

Although around since 2003, vlogs have not become mainstream because Internet speeds were too slow to allow people to 1.) download them quickly and 2.) to view them without skipping or freezing mid-frame. But with the proliferation of broadband connections, "vlogging" is the cutting-edge tool to use on your website. According to industry reports, the Top 5 online video websites are YouTube.com, MySpaceTv.com, Video.Google.com, Video.Search.Yahoo.com, and Veoh.com. Check them out... you'll be amazed.

So what does this all mean? Your customers expect to see your product in action - "How does it work?" - "Can I use (insert your product's name) for my particular application?" - "How do I put (insert your product's name again) together?"

Just like the fax machine, sooner or later everyone has one. With vlogging, you better get used to it sooner rather than later because it's a technology that's going to be around for a very long time.

Here's a great example...

"They Said" Publicity

2008-07-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

I have a relative who is engaging, spirited, and always “in the know” about every topic imaginable. She can rattle off the best travel destinations this month, how many International Units of Vitamin D you need to take daily, and even the make and model of the Japanese automobile with the best gas mileage.

When asked about her uncanny knowledge her response is always “That’s what they said.”

But who are “they?” For my relative it’s the newspaper, People Magazine, Entertainment Tonight, Better Homes and Gardens, the six o’clock news, and even the Regis and Kelly television show. She loves these magazines, reads newspapers from cover to cover, listens intently to the handsome newscaster at 6pm, and idolizes Regis Philbin (“he’s so cute for an older man”).

What she doesn’t know is that many of these media outlets are assisted by people like us – press agents, publicity counselors, marketing professionals, and advertising agencies. Many times we are submitting stories, sending press releases, generating story ideas, and “working the room” to get our client’s message to the masses.

Look in your local newspaper right now and if you see a byline that reads “From Staff Reports” I can almost guarantee the information came from an “outside” source (a.k.a. me).

The bottom-line is to start generating publicity and news for your business. Did you attend a seminar? That’s news. Did your company celebrate an anniversary? That’s news. Buy a new machine? News. Develop an innovative way to do something faster or cheaper? News. You get the picture.

Major Point: If your business is specialized you must develop targeted lists to receive your information - you don’t want to send a press release on how your thermoplastic pressure regulator has a redesigned rolling diaphragm seal to the editor of Soap Opera Digest – far-fetched, but I think you understand.

“They” say publicity is a powerful, income-producing tool for business, why not start making some money with it.

Restaurant Marketing

2008-07-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a money-making tip for all restaurateurs - collect the email addresses of your guests. And how do you do that? It's simple... just ask.

A postcard on the table or a quick request from your server at the end of a meal should suffice - "If you provide us with your email address you'll be the first to know about special discounts and other money-saving coupons you can use on future visits."

Many times guests will be more than happy to give their email address. A brief disclaimer at the bottom of the postcard should contain the following privacy policy that will increase your request rate even more - "We will never sell or rent to third parties any of the personal information our guests provide to us."

Did you know marketers spend $5.6 billion in coupons annually? And with the rise in gas and food prices, we believe more and more people will be utilizing coupons than ever before.

Our agency has had great success with restaurant e-mail coupon campaigns. Not only do restaurateurs see an immediate increase in business from an e-mail blast, but imagine the delight from a guest who receives a personalized e-mail coupon from 1.) a restaurant 2.) located in their favorite vacation town 3.) where they will be visiting next month. Sweet!

Cena è pronta,
(Dinner is ready)

PS. Don't settle for just an e-mail address. Try to capture a name, mailing address, phone number, birthday, anniversary date, and their reason for dining out. If you can't get the information at the time of their visit, attempt to get it in a future e-mail, i.e., "To better serve you, please answer the following questions..."

2008-02-12T05:45:00.000-08:00

Hot Spots: SMS is heating up over...

Video: aspect ratios. The proportions of our viewing screens are changing, and that means making sure your footage is shot to fit them. Is your trade show video looking a little streeetched?

Web: SEO. There are little things we can do to stay up in the search engine rankings and in front of your customers. Besides, everyone wants to be popular.

Art Department: banner stands. Trade Show season is in full effect, and thanks to these affordable and easily interchangeable devices, our clients aren't stuck with stale product images.

I Shall Return! Not!

2008-01-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

According to The National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail association (then why does it call itself a federation? ed.) a survey conducted of Christmas gift recipients discovered that 64% of them did not return a thing this 2007 season, which is up from 62.4 % in 2005. Among the reasons suggested was that there could be greater delays in returning in order to take better advantage of time off, and that returns would filter in as time passed. Sadly, the NRF didn't go door to door to ask why people liked their gifts better this year as opposed to two years prior, so we're left to come up with our own conclusions. And after hours of deliberation, mentally retrieving all the marketing acumen I've accumulated over the last couple of decades, I finally came up with my answer.

I have no idea. But we can perhaps find a lesson in here, anyway.

The key to providing products and services that satisfy customers is making sure your message hits the right markets, and in the right way. Sounds familiar, right? The relationship to gift buying and marketing high-tech industrial products may be as simple as doing more research on your prospects and presenting them with more accessible alternatives. In other words, know them inside and out. Know their habits. Heck, it takes a little of the magic out but why not just ask them what they want? Surveys of your market place are an affordable way to keep up to date with their needs, and need not be too lengthy or overly complex. In fact, SMS is in the process of creating our own survey and we hope to gather plenty of useful information to help better serve our clients, and keep them happy.

And we promise not to call ourselves The Scientific Marketing Federation.

Toilet Emergency and Marketing Genius All in One

2007-12-21T06:36:00.000-08:00

Driving to the office today, I pulled up to a light and saw an ambulance turning thru the intersection in front of me.

Only it wasn't an ambulance, it was a plumber's truck.

I most certainly did a double take when I saw the word "Plumber" on the side of what once must have been an ambulance. It was not a typical plumbing contractor's pickup truck and it immediately caught my attention for the stark juxtaposition that the lettering imposed.

I don't often say this in the world of contractor marketing, but what a genius idea!

Not only does a typical ambulance catch your eye when you're on the road just because of the sheer presence that ambulances have, but seeing the word "plumber" on it really grabs your attention. Now THAT'S a plumber worth talking about!

I.e.: Got a toilet emergency? Call the plumber in the ambulance! He's gotta be the fastest one to the scene, right?

This forges the question: how can you market your brand in a way that's memorable to your customers and target audience?

If your branding needs cardiac resusitation, well, I'll leave the rest of this metaphor up to you...

A Reindeer Rant About Junk Mail: Reflections On the Original Spam.

2007-12-20T10:42:00.001-08:00

What do those who light fireplaces at Christmas, own pet patridges, and ship fragile gifts to far away lands have in common?

All have managed to find a use for junk mail.

I'm sure there are plenty of folks who have found other uses for it besides starting a fire, catching bird droppings, or packing away a precious vase. Perhaps they've won a big money sweepstakes, applied for a new credit card, or cut out a turkey coupon. Personally, I want the stuff to stop. I can find anything I need on my own without a stranger stuffing my tiny mailbox with the guts of yet another, unsuspecting tree. And around the holidays, it becomes the "stuff" of nightmares as it takes up room that might otherwise be used for well-wishing cards and the very occasional money envelope.

As marketers, we try and solicit business in many ways, and snail mail is one route that can be effective as long as a few rules are observed. Problems begin when we find our company's well-worked calling card getting lumped in with the stack of someone else's garbage that they've been so kind as to pass along.

So if you're as fed up as I am with junk mail, and wish to do something about it, there are a few places on the internet - like here, here and here - that might be able to help you make a little more room, and clear a few desks for our marketing materials in the process.

Jingle Ads, Jingle Ads, Jingle All the Way...

2007-12-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

(First, allow me to apologize for today's blog post title. Corny, but relevant.)

Anywho, an interesting post on BrandingStrategyInsider.com today talks about the first radio jingle ever, which was a radio ad for Wheaties in 1923. Yep, that's the one that started it all. According to the post, the otherwise dying brand, at the time, was revolutionized because of the popularity of this jingle, thus saving Wheaties from extinction.

Today, ad jingles on radio and TV are prevalent everywhere you turn. Some are quite clever, some are quite terrible, and some just blend into the background. Without a doubt, the challenge of squeezing a well-written, memorable song into a 30-second plug while simultaneously telling the product's whole story is indeed one of the more challenging areas of advertising. But, as the Wheaties song can attest, it can also be one of the most effective if done properly. Even in today's scattered media market.

So eat your Wheaties and get writing...

"Enter Site".... Ummm, Okay, Don't Mind if I Do

2007-12-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

Every now and then I come across a web site that has an "intro" page. These pages can be found on sites old and new. Here's an example.

These types of intros make for nifty openings, but are mostly considered outdated nowadays because people just want to get to the meat of the site, not sit through an elaborate show. This rings true especially if you've been to the site many times or if you're operating on a crawling connection. Or if you're working at a B2B company and you're looking for a site while on the job. Who has time to wait?

But to add insult to injury, on this intro page, after the Flash intro (or other similar concoction), sites will often plop a link on the page that says something to the effect of: "Enter Site".

Ummm, okay, well thanks, I think I would like to enter this site, don't mind if I do.

Let's be realistic here: when I typed in your site's home page address or found your site on a search engine... doesn't that, by default, mean I already have entered the site?

Time to trim the fat, folks. No need to have a doorman to welcome you and ask if you'd like to enter the house when you're dealing with web marketing.

Everybody should be welcomed in as quickly and easily as possible.

(Thanks to onemansblog.com for the photo!)

"What's-a Matter Colonel Sanders, Chicken?"

2007-12-04T06:19:00.000-08:00

Spaceballs has always been one of my favorite movies, and the quote by Lord Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) that I referenced here in the title has always stuck with me. Classic line. ("Ludicrous speed, go!")

That "chicken" quote came to mind this morning when I came across an interesting blog post on Ad Lab (click the link to learn more). The gist of the post is that KFC has placed a jumbo sized image of Colonel Sanders in the Nevada desert and the image can now be seen on Google Maps and Google Earth. It's outdoor advertising gone supersized.

I suppose this trend will slowly take hold across America and across the world as more and more people go to Google to cruise around the globe to get a bird's eye view of the terrain. More companies will latch on to this novelty exposure, and bored web surfers will be able to play a digital version of "car bingo" (Remember that game? A simple piece of cardboard that helped you keep track of when you saw a license plate from each of the 50 states... quite a far cry from today's drop down monitors and PSP's. I digress.) by spotting 50 different logos in hidden places across the planet. Indeed, we may be heading towards a patchwork quilt of logos, insignias, and other images that can be seen from satellite. Kind of neat, kind of scary.

In the end, it'll certainly bring new meaning to "combing the desert"...

Scientific Research + PR = Healthier Lifestyles?

2007-11-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

Everyday, Americans are bombarded with new scientific reports that pertain to the delicate issue of human health and safety. One day a researcher claims to have a cure for preventing breast cancer, the next day there's a study that announces the healthiest foods to eat, and another day we hear how to treat a case of the cold. The updates are seemingly endless, but boy do those scientists know how to get PR!

The news media gobble up these reports to announce to their concerned (though probably confused) audience, since people like to hear about ways to live longer. Frustratingly, however, many of these reports are either discredited later, or the ones that are legit often go unnoticed. For instance, some reports we hear suggest there may be links between cell phone usage and brain tumors, yet other reports find no correlation whatsoever; meanwhile, we ALL know the downsides of obesity, yet obesity rates in America are only just now showing signs of improvement...approximately 33% of Americans are obese, a rate that's held steady since 1999 and may be on a downward trend. Sometimes a big message needs a while and enough time to sink in.

So today I came across an article announcing that salt is the hidden killer in our food. Within the article, it claims, "the American medical association says cutting people's sodium intake in half could save 150,000 lives a year".

Well, now there's a number for you! 150,000 lives could be saved just by cutting salt? How come this number isn't dancing all over the place? Why not put that number in the headline? Why isn't there any uproar about demanding that restaurants and food manufacturers cut salt immediately?

Quite simply, the problem of salt intake is a backseat issue in most Americans' minds. "Salt is just salt... it can't be that harmful," you might say. Or, "I don't care about my salt levels, I'd rather eat tasty food."

Meanwhile, a gunshot kills a pro football player and the entire nation is grieving. Sad, yes, absolutely, but it just goes to show that there's not much in the way of dramatic PR when it comes to a person dying because of heart disease from too much salt intake. "Celebrity Overdoses on Salt During Course of Lifetime, Dies" is not a headline you're likely to see.

So, let me make the segue into marketing here... if you're a marketer, and the story you tell about your product doesn't make the big headlines, what can you do?

Well, welcome to the challenge of marketing. Ultimately if you're like most marketers with a limited budget or without a "big bang" product or service, you've got to use lots of smaller messages and spread the word in more of a grassroots fashion. People will catch on, slowly but surely.

It's kind of like sprinkling your message around like a salt shaker, a few grains at a time. After a while, those grains start adding up and people will take notice.

How to Improve Online Advertising

2007-11-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

According to this article in vnunet.com of the UK, online advertising has not taken hold of online shoppers as more and more people favor reviews written by customers to help them shape their decisions. This probably surprises nobody in the marketing world since online advertising is generally used to help build a brand and awareness by reaching an appropriate audience across multiple sites. So while persuading people to buy one's product via online advertising is important, it's usually more important, traditionally, for online advertising to prime customers over time.

But perhaps we now need to look at online advertising in a new light. Perhaps this study shows that if companies do want people to react to their online ads, then the ads themselves need to be updated to modern standards. What I'm getting at here is-- why not promote your customer reviews in your online ads?

For example... Looking to advertise your latest solar powered toaster?

Well, try building an ad that automatically uploads the latest customer reviews on this magnificent product into the content of the ad. Not only would this encourage people to click on the ad and find out more about the product (since the reviews are what people want to see in the first place), but it would also encourage customers to write up reviews since their message would be displayed in ads across the internet... call it 15 minutes of internet fame. Of course you would have to monitor the comments for appropriateness and regulate the reviewers by only allowing registered shoppers to post a review to avoid spam and other anonymous rants, but it's a small price to pay to enable your biggest fans to support your product.

Call it Online Advertising 2.0 or whatever you fancy, but the fact is that delivering the right message-- in this case customer reviews-- to prospective customers will become more important to generate sales via online ads in the future.

"What's a Roll Fold?" and How You Can Succeed in Search Engines

2007-11-21T06:12:00.000-08:00

This morning I read an article in DMNews that referred to a direct mail piece called a "roll fold". I didn't know what this referred to, so, as you might guess, I did a quick Google search for the phrase. The first result that Google listed directed me to International Paper's "Paper Glossary" index, where the page presented me with precise and helpful information, thus answering my question effectively.

I bring this up to you because there is a HUGE opportunity for industrial, scientific, and high-tech companies out there, or really any organization in any market with lots of jargon, complex terms, or unfamiliar phrasings. Any organization that can create a comprehensive glossary online has enormous potential to be listed first in a wide variety of search queries, as International Paper was in this particular one. That's because search engines love accurate and informative content (proof positive being Wikipedia's high rankings in countless searches). It's one of the pillars of search engine optimization (SEO).

The benefit to you is that once a visitor to your site's glossary page gets the information s/he is looking for, it is highly likely that this person will then either explore your site a little more, or at the very least appreciate the authoritative position you have in the industry and associate your company as a leader in your field. To wit:

Knowledge = Expert

Expert = Leader in your field.

Producing a sharp, meaningful glossary is relatively simple marketing project to undertake and the rewards might make you roll in some newfound cash.

By the way, a roll fold is: "A type of fold where the piece is folded inward at one end and then folded inward again one or more times. It is as if you are rolling the piece up."

Marketing Lessons from a Tree Trimmer

2007-11-14T08:31:00.000-08:00

In the wooded lot around our agency's building, we have a handful of dead trees that could cause trouble should they come crashing down. Correction, we *had* a handful of dead trees on our property.

Over the past two days a local tree trimming company has been chopping away the dead wood to remove it from the grounds. All the while, I figured there must be some kind of marketing lessons in what they're doing. Well, fear not, I found some lessons, and now I'm sharing them with you! Enjoy...

It's a very straightforward process: find a dead tree, cut it down, chop it up, haul it away. So why isn't this a commodity industry? Because there's a certain art to doing it right. Just like any service provider, your style will go a long way in showing how good you are. Do you clean up neatly after you're done cutting? Do you make your best effort to leave the property just as you found it? Do you perform preventative maintenance as needed? These are the types of actions that separate a good tree trimmer from just a hack. (Pun intended!)

What's the best way to get new business? Referrals, most definitely. But after time these may dry up like termite-infested wood. So what's a tree trimmer to do? For one, take a page from HVAC contractors and offer yearly service plans. This way, you're locking in customers year after year and taking care of potential problems that landowners might not even see. Or use good ole' fashioned door hangers for any house you drive by where you see problem trees in a landowner's yard. Be proactive.

Quantify your business's impact, much like McDonald's counts how many billions of people have been served. Taking tree branches and turning them into mulch? Calculate how many tons of beneficial mulch you make per year. Helping to save houses from potential disasters? Talk about how many houses you've saved. Quantifiable numbers can help prove your value and show how much experience you have.

So while you may (or may not) be involved in the tree trimming business, it's easy to see how the marketing lessons from a tree trimmer can be applied to any marketing situation. It's tree-mendous. (Sorry, just had to say it.)

Peddler on the Reef

2007-11-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so perhaps the title of this post was a real stretch of a reference to "Fiddler on the Roof" but I would like to talk about a prospective form of advertising that really would get the most out of Sunrise and Sunset: Reef Advertising. It's a concept that may be Florida's answer to offsetting the cost to build new artificial reefs off the state's coastline.

The idea:
St. Lucie County is looking to dump concrete railroad ties, culvert pipes, and other fodder into the ocean, creating artificial reefs for fish to hide in and plants to cling to, and also avoiding having to dump this material into landfills. The burgeoning colony of aquatic life would help improve the underwater environment and perhaps boost the local economy as a rush of more fishing and scuba diving would inevitably follow.

The problem:
For each of the 23 planned artificial reefs to be created, it will cost approximately $20,000 to have the construction material collected and dumped, a cost that the county can't afford.

The solution:
Have local companies pay $20,000 to sponsor the creation of a new reef. This would allow companies to have their names listed on ocean charts marking coral reefs, and then subsequently show off their investment to potential clients.

The analysis:
Sounds like a whale of an idea.

Advertising in the ocean? I say it's time to take the plunge. Where else can people legitimately benefit on a personal level from a company's advertising... from sunrise to sunset?

Hot Tips for Improving Your Spam!

2007-11-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

Copywriting for spam e-mails can be a tough gig. Trying to generate sales by writing about the same 3 or 4 topics can be a challenge, so you really have to work hard on perfecting your skills in order to generously inform people of the next hot stock tip, alert people to their substantial lottery winnings halfway across the world, or show your concern by offering suggestions on how to increase the size of your male audience's, ummm, organs. It ain't easy, but someone's gotta do it.

If you're looking to sharpen your spam-writing/marketing skills (and who isn't?), click here for some helpful tips from The Columbus Dispatch on how to perfect that all-important e-mail sales tool.

And if you know of anybody selling Viagra on the cheap, please don't send them my way.

Ohaus.com: A Well-Balanced, Engaging Site

2007-11-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

It isn't often that I come across a B2B site that is successfully designed to look like an engaging B2C site. But ohaus.com is one of those rare exceptions.

Ohaus Corp. produces balances and scales for a wide array of industries from Laboratory to Jewelry to Education and more. How do I know this? It is clearly displayed in the top navigation bar, thus quickly aiding somebody who is looking for products that serve his/her field. All too often, sadly, companies think that they should put up their web site and make it difficult for visitors to figure out how the products shown relate to them. This site avoids that unfortunate trap.

Additionally the site offers multiple ways to find just the product you're looking for, which increases the chance that you'll get what you want... quickly. That makes the site a great sales tool, rather than just an electronic brochure like sites were designed to be 10 years ago. Many B2B companies still fail to grasp this concept and could very well be leaving money on the table.

Lastly, the overall graphic design of the site is sharp, with bright, clean photos, eye-catching buttons, and an easy navigation. Much better than most dull, outdated, unengaging B2B sites. This is quite refreshing.

I only found two negatives. The first is that the Press Release section is three years out of date, meaning that either the company has abandoned this effective marketing tool or they have forgotten to update this section. Secondly, the home page (both the main home page and the USA home page) has ZERO text on it. By not updating the press release section and by leaving the home page text-less, they may be hurting their search engine results, while also seeming distant to visitors who would be looking for better quality in these areas.

All in all, this site is a great example of breaking the mold of typical B2B sites and becoming a more engaging B2C-type marketing tool. This site has come a long 'weigh' in the B2B realm.

A Direct Mail Success Story

2007-10-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Lately in my moderately-sized townhouse, my wife and I have been on a kick to "get ridda stuff". Most Americans will concur that we as a society accumulate "stuff" at a rapid pace, often for no particular reason. And most people will also concur that every now and then, stuff just needs to go.

But go where?

I prefer not to just get a big trash bag and haul it off to the dumpster. That, to me, is incredibly wasteful and a drain on our precious resources.

I also prefer not to try to sell this stuff on ebay, because, let's face it, where's the glory in photographing the item, writing copy, waiting for the auction to finish, and shipping out an old telephone for a profit of $3.74? Thanks, but I'll pass.

And driving out to Goodwill and bestowing my stuff on them isn't always convenient to me since the closest one is a 15 minute drive and has hours that conflict with my work schedule.

So just when I lost all hope and was about to leave my stuff to sit and gather dust for another year, yesterday I got a bright yellow post card in the mail from the Purple Heart Pickup organization. Sure enough, the card clearly explains that I can simply bag up my used belongings that meet their criteria, leave it in front of my house on the specified date, keep a receipt of the donation for my tax records, and bam, I'm done! Great service... veterans benefit from the donation, I get a bit of money back from a tax deduction, and my closets have more open space available. I'm glad they sent me the post card.

This is a prime example of how direct mail can be an effective marketing tactic... if you have the right timing, announce the right message, and reach the right people.

Elevate Your Advertising

2007-10-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Previously in this blogging arena, we talked about parking stripe advertising on the ground. Now, here's something that might elevate your advertising to new heights: The Wall Street Journal Office Media Network, or OMN.

What is OMN? It's a network that delivers Wall Street Journal content and ads on flat-panel LCD screens to office buildings. And these screens can be placed to be seen in the ground floor of an office building's lobby, or scaling the floors in elevators.

OMN was rolled out in the past few months, and replicates the well-established Captivate Network by Gannett Co. OMN is targeted more for business coverage, while Captivate covers news and entertainment. "Captivate" being the key word here since your audience is captive and your ad is promiment once you sign on. That's a breath of fresh air for someone who feels s/he needs to shout louder over the other ads that a person sees at any given moment during the day.

Just like stumbling upon a parking stripe ad, catching people on their way to work who are watching the news in the elevator could be a fresh new way of reaching future customers. Intriguing, if perhaps controversial, ways to advertise from the ground up...

Park Your Ad Here

2007-10-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Anita for spotting this article on a new under-the-radar (and tires) marketing vehicle: Parking Stripe Advertising.

The name of the game in advertising is breaking through the clutter. It appears that advertisers have now gone to seemingly the last bastion of unblemished space... the humble parking lot pavement of your local strip mall.

The idea here is to place a cleverly relevant ad on the ground to catch the eyes of passers-by as they walk to the store. I suppose this is the suburban version of Times Sqare... without all the glitz, glamour, and gaudy advertising rates. At about $1 per stripe per day (minimum of 250 stripes in one location, BTW), as is quoted in the aforementioned article link, you can have your own worm-level ad, and not have to compete with any other ad in the vicinity.

'Tis a unique way of diversifying your ad spend... from the ground up.

Break-Through Car, Old-Fashioned Web Site

2007-10-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Design News featured the Tango commuter vehicle on its front cover of the October 8, 2007 issue. Cool car, from an environmentally-sound and everyday-practical standpoint, though the article barely touches on this new automobile. So to get more info, I scooted over to Commuter Cars' web site to learn more about this quirky and mysterious car and its manufacturer.

Well, the web site is very informative and quite well written. The site reveals many great benefits of the car, such as the ability to park in tiny spaces (see photo), the acceleration of a motorcylce, and safety of a sedan. Sadly however, the design of the site is reminiscent of a circa-1995 style and clearly lacks any kind of brand and ultimately reflects the company's lack of funding available to get a legitimate web site that could really help sell this car.

So this situation poses an interesting question for marketers: can an eye-catching concept car earn a large enough customer base without having the proper web site or marketing materials? Or is an expensive item such as this car ($18,000-$108,000 according to the web site) only sellable with a comparably engaging web site or marketing materials?

This could be a great case study for what actually drives sales...

Marketing Yourself Through Change

2007-10-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

The philosophy behind selling one's self isn't as selfish as it may sound at first. But in any industry where you're dealing with people, and so few do not, the first gatekeeper to success is you making an impression. Confidence in your products and services, and your experience with both, is the most important aspect of successful business relationships. It's the tie that binds. Forget the fancy suit and the expensive wheels, the enthusiasm behind what you do should express "vocation" rather than "day job". If you truly believe that what you offer has value, others will, as well.

Not to drive this point home too hard because it seems mostly common sense, but the daily grind of a challenging company stretch takes its toll gradually. And once the motivational posters lining the walls have blended into the wall, before we know it, we're pushing away our marketing activities as faith-based initiatives that hold no real return on time or monetary investment and tunnel vision sets in. Inevitably, forthcoming vacations become our long-distance main focus, and too often, they only make things worse as we return not invigorated, but even more spiritually depleted than before. And when we allow ourselves to succumb to daily stresses simply because they've become all too familiar, our health, both mental and physical, suffers as well.

And with it, our ability to influence.

So as a personal public service announcement, it's important to refocus on the heart of your role in your company and remind yourself that there's a purpose behind your efforts besides meeting a bottom line. Setting new goals, both in and out of the office, and reexamining the way others see your company may refresh the corporate vision not only of yourself, but of those around you. Sometimes, if it ain't broke, go ahead and break it to invigorate the works. Sure, change can be scary, but so can stagnation – only it's harder to see. And if we lose our sense of who we are in what we do, our perspective as an integral part of a larger picture becomes lost as well. And when we stop recognizing our purpose in the marketplace, little by little we're asking others to do the same.

Got Melty?

2007-10-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Marketers tend to be pretty keen on the latest trends in linguistics. For example, milk marketers introduced "Got Milk?" after tapping into this popular phrasing that had been used by people from all over.

Or, as I discussed here on BizPizzazz a few days ago, QVC has started to market itself as just "Q" or perhaps "the Q". Popular venacular has a funny way of driving our malleable English language. Even Federal Express changed its name in ads because commonfolk referred to them as FedEx.

But it gets interesting when multiple companies try to position themselves as hip, using the latest pop culture terminology. Case in point: "melty." (Editor's note: from here on out I will be italicizing the word melty, or any derivative thereof, because the italics just make it look even melllllllllltier.)

Before this year, I don't know that I've ever observed the word melty being used in an advertisement, but I would hear it on occasion when with friends or overhearing others talking about their food. "I love when ice cream gets all melty and gooey," might be one usage.

But lately, melty is everywhere. Wawa, the Philadelphia-area king of convenience stores, has used the word melty in its radio commercials ad nauseum to promote its new ciabatta sandwiches. And Oscar Mayer, of hot dog and deli meat fame, is using melty in its ads and on its web site to promote its Deli Creations. And I know that I've heard another company use the word melty in a TV commercial but I just can't recall who it was... Quizno's perhaps? (Sorry, it just melted out of my mind.) (Editor's note: This article from The Onion cleared my memory and reminded me I heard melty in a Taco Bell commercial. I was close.)

So what's the lesson for marketers, then? If you're going to try to capitalize on a trendy word, be it melty, felty, welty, or whatever, go out and own that word! Don't just be a copycat and use it because everybody else is using it. Otherwise your message will just melt into the background...

New Technology Update: Pixel Rollers

2007-10-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, it took me a while to figure out how this works, but I think I get it now. According to the web site of the developers known as Random International: "PixelRoller is a paint roller that paints pixels, designed as a rapid response printing tool specifically to print digital information such as imagery or text onto a great range of surfaces. The content is applied in continuous strokes by the user. PixelRoller can be seen as a handheld “printer”, based around the ergonomics of a paintroller, that lets you create the images by your own hand."

The video almost looks like a hoax, but after a few viewings you can see that the technology actually works, with continuous strokes being very operative terms here. Will larger, more useful applications than affixing the visage of Buddy Holly to a wall follow? It just might. Sign and billboard painting is still a growing industry, and with computer technology backing into every other visual medium, I reckon the folks at Random International could be onto something.

And now some videos for your perusal...

David Beckham Update: Go Back to the Well, or Leave Well Enough Alone?

2007-10-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

After an unprecedented amount of speculation and media fanfare, David Beckham pulled on his boots and L.A. Galaxy soccer jersey and hit the field with style. A trademark free kick and a few golden assists later, validation descended like a warm glow around the Galaxy's president and general manager Alexi Lalas. Never before has anyone associated with the MLS brand ever looked so damned savvy.

And now, with European games being broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio, deals are being struck up far and wide that could even make the sport bigger in America. With ideas flowing with such impetus, it's not surprising that a few might squeak through that could undo all the hard work. For instance, John Sheiman, producer of "The Football Show" on Sirius said MLS should give Golden Goose Becks a gold jersey and have him play for both teams, taking only free kicks and corner kicks. Then, the jersey could be auctioned off after every game and Beckham could move from city to city "without fear of injury".

Smart marketing, or shameless gimmick that could destroy the integrity of the sport? I know what I think.

QVC Conquering the Q?

2007-10-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

So QVC, the 21-year-old direct response retail company, is in the act of laying claim to the letter "Q" by launching its "iQdoU?" campaign, as reported by DMNews. The company's goal is, indeed, "to own the letter 'q,'" according to Jeff Charney, the chief marketing officer at QVC.

Sounds like a smart endeavor if it works, if you ask me. For example, Apple has had success by laying claim to the letter "i," with iPhone, iPod, and other "iTems." Overstock went for the "O" with its seemingly short-lived "It's all about the O" campaign, and its logo of a giant, ubiquitous O in its marketing materials. There are undoubtedly other similar claims to letters, numbers, or other frequently used symbols or words, depending on how deep you care to go.

Interestingly, in addition to owning the letter Q, QVC is also going after the other popular trend of verb-ing your company's name, by coining the phrase "I Q, do you?". Consider other instances of companies verb-ing their names:

"You should Google your last name to find out who's talking smack about you."
"I'll be right there, I just have to Xerox my buttocks for the office bulletin board."
"I need to Windex my computer screen because I just sneezed all over it."

Ultimately, if QVC succeeds in getting its "Q" out into the common vernacular, both as a letter and a verb, it will be quite an aqqomplishment, err, accomplishment since it will take time and persistence to change people's speaking habits. Owning a letter or verb-ing your company name can be a powerful step in building your brand recognition.

Now please pardon me while I chow down on some alphabet soup for lunch...

Presidential Race '08: Who Ya Got?

2007-10-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Stumped by which presidential candidate to vote for?

Speakout.com offers a handy quiz for you to fill out to give you an idea of which voting bloc you fall into.

It gave me a good reading on where I stand, though it didn't accurately predict who I am leaning towards electing... Homer Simpson.

(Kidding!)

(Or am I?)

Simple Web Site Element Makes for Smart Marketing

2007-09-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

Just came across the web site for Neu Dynamics Corporation, an industrial company that does encapsulation and insert molding, and found this helpful list of tips that they produced and decided to share with others.

Though the tips mean little to me, as an outsider of the industry, people who work with molds and dies may find them to be smart and useful. By posting these tips, Neu Dynamics is helping spread valuable information, while also showing they know what they're doing. Well done.

Unfortunately, not a lot of companies offer this kind of helpful information on their web sites, but instead opt to talking strictly about themselves. It can be a challenge to open up your vault of knowledge and share it with the world, but in today's "Information Age," if you don't, somebody else will.

What information can you provide to your prospects and clients? And why haven't you done so already?

When Ugly Can Be Good

2007-09-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, the Philadelphia Eagles (and perhaps more notably, their cheerleaders, as pictured at right) this past weekend (on September 23, 2007) took a dip into the past and resurrected the uniforms from the club's opening season in 1933. By many accounts, the powder blue and yellow uniforms were considered ugly.

But sometimes the ugly duckling does indeed mature into a beautiful swan. It just depends on how you look at it.

Many commentators absolutely panned the uniforms, Keith Olbermann in particular, but you know what's funny? Being at the game, I noticed a swarm of kids and a large contingency of adults were already proudly sporting these throwback uniforms, hats, t-shirts, and other memorabilia. Sometimes ugly sells.

What do you think-- are these throwback Eagles uniforms hideous? And if people are buying them does it matter? And if the Eagles blowout the Lions, should they subsequently sport their lightning-rod laundry again, out of superstition?

Time's yours!

Viral Marketing at Its Best

2007-09-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

An uplifting story has been running rampant on the internet and in the media. It involves bullies, pink shirts, and e-mail. The rest is history.

Everyday people, supporting a great cause, using an efficient medium can spread a message a long way in short time.

Has "Awareness" Become Big Business?

2007-09-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

Wristbands, magnetic ribbons, metal stars – we've all seen them, and some of us have probably even purchased one or more of them. Naturally, the phenomenon starts with only a few sightings and quickly escalates into a ubiquitous trend that may or may not hold the same meaning as when it first began.

In the era of viral marketing, I'm reminded that visibility is the at the core of its strength, and online isn't the only way to get it done. Last year, a man was arrested for positioning a few Lite-brite™ figures around the city of Boston after his installations caused a civil stir of terror proportions. I'm not sure how it hurt or helped awareness of his personal cause, but for other causes deemed more socially appropriate such as the support of our troops or disease awareness, the results are quite clear – if a little fuzzy about how that awareness translates into "support" or "research and/or prevention". But if someone is making a tidy profit on these things, and clearly someone is, is there another more message-oriented cost at the other side of the equation?

Curious about what the metal stars I was seeing hung up on houses everywhere actually meant (if they meant anything at all), I did a little research. Apparently, according to who you ask and where you derive your information, they originated from the Amish barn makers who used them to signify edifices of their manufacture – or a copyright of sorts. Then, during WWII, gold and silver versions were erected in plain sight to signify a family member either currently serving or lost in service to the military respectively. Today, the color signifiers have changed from gold and silver to blue and a gold, with brown added to represent a war veteran. However, it doesn't stop there. Now referred to in some camps as "Amish Barn Stars", some folks simply like the looks of them and have taken to buying them for decoration. In fact, websites such as this one offer them in so many sizes and colors as to boggle the mind, with prices ranging from $12.95 to $139.95.

Good business, unfortunate product hysteria of what seemed a tasteful and traditional tribute, or something else entirely? I'm not really sure. What say you?

Wal-Mart Shops for a New Look

2007-09-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

After Wal-Mart's extended run of drowsy revenue results, the company's marketing team has decided to embark on a new marketing campaign, entitled, "Save Money. Live Better." This effectively ends the 19-year run of "Always Low Prices."

The campaign is based upon a recent report that Wal-Mart supposedly saves the average household a sum of $2,330 each year, thus allowing families to take that money saved and improve their lives in another way.

While I, personally, think it's a nice marketing slogan--because it's straightforward and because of its economy of words--I tend to agree with Rob Frankel, who is quoted in the article linked above. If Wal-Mart keeps focusing on price and price only, they shouldn't expect big changes in customers' attitudes towards their company.

From personal experience to stories I hear from friends to the jokes that comedians repeatedly tell, Wal-Mart stores are a mess, selling mostly cheaply made products, with average customer service at best. Now this perception may be completely wrong, but it is still a widespread percpetion... one that is strong enough to keep people from going to the stores, hence declining sales. A new slogan, particularly one that essentially conveys the same message as before, won't change any of that. Improve on the customers' experience in the store, like Target has done as Wal-Mart's competitor or like Wegman's has done for supermarket shoppers, and then Wal-Mart will see improvement. Until then, I'll gladly choose to "Spend MORE. Live BETTER than Better."

Your Guide on How to Reject Telemarketers

2007-09-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

A while back in this space, I discussed the frustration of dealing with unruly telemarketers during the work day, most of whom tend to be stockbrokers trawling for new clients.

Since then, I've come across a couple of great ways to handle them:

Snopes.com looks into a report (which is incorrectly credited to being produced by Andy Rooney) that lists some ideas on how to fluster the telemarketers and credit card mailers of the world. Even though they discredit the tips, I found them to be funny, creative and still may be worth using, if for no other reason than to just try something silly for silly's sake.

Got someone bugging you for your phone number? Whether it's a telemarketer begging for an associate's cell phone number, or a person you met at a bar that you just want to shake off, or, well, I'll leave other scenarios up to your imagination, send them to the Rejection Hotline!

Or, simply do a Google search like this one and you'll find no shortage of suggestions on how to handle unwanted callers. (Shared knowledge is great, isn't it!)

Good luck and may all your incoming calls be productive ones!

"Green Marketing 2.0" Analysis

2007-09-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Joel Makower discusses his take on the re-birth of green marketing, after the first round essentially failed in the early-90s. His arguement states that there was a small surge in green marketing but the products that were being marketed as "green" were busts.

On the other hand, today's green products are better and more reliable, much to the delight of environmentalists the world over. Subsequently, the marketing of these products has taken on a new growth explosion. Companies are promoting green products, and consumers are now buying them and talking about them... a great formula for success.

But this now leaves us with the question of-- "What will Green Marketing 3.0 look like?"

The Art of Marketing the Cutting Room Floor

2007-08-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

Just this morning I heard a radio commercial promoting the release of a DVD on a popular TV show. One of the selling points was that the DVD included 50 deleted scenes that were not shown on TV before.

Silly question: Why would I want to buy a DVD because it features scenes that weren't good enough for the show?

To me, that's like watching a 20 minute clip of long pop-flies to center field that were just short of a home run. Or going to a restaurant and the waiter brings you the scraps of food that fell on the floor. Or buying a box of pencils where all the erasers fell off.

I think you get the idea.

Stay tuned for our next blog post: "The Best of the Blog Posts that Didn't Make It to BizPizzazz"...

Shameless Self-Promotion!

2007-08-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

Many thanks go out to the readers of this blog, and we hope you enjoy reading our marketing rants, tips, and updates. But perhaps you didn't know that we also offer even more marketing advice via e-mail and two good ole' fashioned newsletters! And all for free!

Please click here to sign up for our e-jottings e-newsletter, which is sent every three weeks. Or you can sign up in the e-mail box on the homepage of SMS, Inc. or NewBizBuilders.

We also encourage you to sign up for our marketing newsletters Market Jottings and Web Wise, which are mailed alternately every month. Please e-mail us and include your mailing address if you'd like to be included on our free mailings.

It's simple, free, and quick to sign up. Plus, there's no obligation whatsoever by joining our list... *correction*...the only obligation is that you read our articles devoutly!

We hope to have you on board!

Sports Marketing and P.R.: When Less May Be More

2007-08-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

As you may have read in the previous post by Scott on this here blog we call "BizPizzazz," you would have heard about the amazing stir that David Beckham has kicked up since arriving on Ellis Island (or flying into LAX, whatever the case may have been). Indeed, his flair for football and celebrity status has caught the attention of millions of fans the world over. Good P.R.!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the public relations spectrum, you may have seen just a few instances of news featuring athletes misbehaving. For example:

Mike Vick: his future is now dogged by, well, you can probably surmise by now...

Latrell Sprewell: this NBA star has had numerous run-ins in the past, including his choking-the-coach adventure, but now a federal marshal has seized his $1.5 million yacht after he defaulted on his mortgage.

Adam "Pacman" Jones: he had a bit too much fun in Las Vegas, among other incidents.

Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, et al: juiced or legit?

Rick Tocchet: I bet you probably know what he did by now.

And so on and so forth. And let's not even get started on referees.
Bad P.R.!

So what are sports P.R. pros and marketing moguls to do with all of this negative news? P.R. folks can only apologize and downplay these messy events so often and marketers certainly can't sell and promote these unseemly players. Trying to hold these hot potatoes (read: out of control athletes) makes for a tough job.

Of course, sports marketers can always promote the athletes who are genuinely good players and good guys (Cal Ripken and Michael Jordan come to mind), and that of course is easy to do. And public relations reps can prep athletes when they're young and just entering stardom, and certainly they do indeed do that in various ways to try and prevent future problems from arising.

But when bad news does arise, the best thing anybody can do might just be to do nothing. Because as long as there are fans that are willing to shell out big bucks to watch sports, players will either be able to get away with less than morally-ideal behavior, or the ones that break the law will be swept under the rug and life goes on.

When all else fails, no P.R. might just be the best P.R.

Beckham Update: Soccer Star Carries League on Capable Back

2007-08-22T06:06:00.001-07:00

Anyone initiated into the world of soccer would say it was written in the stars that David Beckham, also known around the globe as "Goldenballs", would make a Hollywood scriptworthy start to his MLS career. And by all accounts, they would have been right. Known for his miraculous feats of soccer skill under the most daunting of pressure, Becks has now executed a clinically perfect free kick and created three other glorious goals in only his first two LA Galaxy starts. His team is happy, the fans are happy, and most of all, the MLS is happy. Or rather, deeply, deeply grateful.

One need not look any further than last Saturday's game against New York's Red Bulls that finished 5-4 in favor of the energy drink home side. With over 66,000 in attendance – unheard of for an MLS game – Beckham put the Galaxy ahead 2-1 before the 9th minute was up. The rest of the game would see chance after chance after chance, with Beckham in the center of most of the thrilling action. One could say the bar has truly been set for the league, and it wouldn't be a stretch for any cognescenti or casual observer to say that the man from England by way of Spain was solely responsible. His very presence on the field (thanks in large part to his sex symbol status), coupled with the atmosphere generated by the hysteria, created a perfect storm of arousing athleticism that will not soon be forgotten. There was truly something for everyone, which is the American way in the business of entertainment, and for the movers and shakers of Major League Soccer, that is very good news indeed.

I saw the game and it was one of the most entertaining competitions I have ever seen. I marveled at the skill on display, and the humility of the man who would be king. In fact, I had to laugh. It was too perfect. The result mattered little outside of the spectacle, and the action itself was far from what American audiences have come to expect from the "little league that could". That said, is there now too much expectation on the league to deliver so spectacularly week in and week out? I don't know. But if I had any money invested in even the meekest of MLS franchises, I would be treating myself to a steak this weekend.

Why Turning People Away Can Be a Bad Marketing Decision

2007-08-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

Recently, I spent the weekend at the Jersey Shore for a little getaway. One afternoon was particularly rainy and my wife and I were hungry, so we took a stroll through the drizzle to a nice-looking local restaurant we had never been to before.

We sat down around 2:15 and finished about 3:30. The restaurant, however, stopped allowing diners in at 3, "to prep for dinner." At 3, the owner and all the waitresses gathered around a table by the front door, and, in plain sight mind you, began counting out their take for the day. Meanwhile, a few small groups trudged in from the rain for a bite to eat and the owner turned them all away, even though we and a couple of other groups were still there.

Now, I know very little about operating a restaurant, but it just seemed to me that on a dreary Sunday afternoon, turning away potential customers seemed like a poor business and marketing decision. Chances are that the restaurant would be closed on Monday, and chances are that Sunday night dinner wouldn't be a busy time either, judging by the heavy flow of traffic away from Shore points later that day.

So my point here is that if your restaurant is up and running and employees are already there, why not let 'em in to eat? Like I said before, I don't know a whole lot about running a restaurant, but it just seems to me that if people are willing to give you money in exchange for your goods and/or services, and if you already have everything in place, you should do your best to suit them-- particularly if your evening and the next day would likely be slow.

From a marketing standpoint, I'd have a hard time going back there knowing that they'd prefer to count their money in front of customers while also kicking other potential customers back out into the rain. The food was tasty, but this scene left a sour taste in my mouth.

Have you ever been a part of a situation like this? And what are your thoughts on the matter? Do tell!

True Bargain: A Bottle of Water at 20 Bucks a Pop

2007-08-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

This intriguing interview from Fundraising Success Magazine discusses the work of a non-profit agency known simply as "Charity:". (The colon is part of their name for those dedicated proofreaders out there.)

In a nutshell, this organization sells consumers a bottle of spring water for $20. Then 100% of the donation goes to building freshwater wells for communities that need them. It's really that simple.

The connection that this organization makes between selling a consumer product and raising money for an important cause is keenly done. In fact the article even gives two examples of people saying they want to raise money for building wells, so ordinary individuals raised money by selling these to friends and customers.

Here's a free idea for your business: Going to a trade show? Stockpile some of these bottles of water and sell them at your booth. Your visitors will latch on to this idea and undoubtedly buy all of your bottles, you'll be raising money for charity, AND you'll create a nice buzz for your booth, all while staying well within your marketing budget. Everybody wins.

Quick Marketing Tool: Desk Calendars

2007-08-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the year, I got a little weekly desk calendar from a local bank. It's very basic and functional and is just the right size to fit on my desk. I look at it every workday, and write copious notes in it to keep my life in order.

Yet I couldn't help but notice that nowhere on any of the calendar's pages is any kind of reminder as to what bank gave the calendar to me. Other than the days/dates and small boxes for the previous/current/next month, and a weekly quote (which is a nice touch), the pages are very plain. No company logo, slogan, tip, watermark or anything on the pages, and simply a logo on the front cover. While I'm not encouraging companies to shove marketing messages down people's throats, this is a calendar that I look at very frequently and could easily forget which bank I got it from... which leads me to think it's almost a totally wasted marketing budget spent!

When Misspelling (or, Perhaps, "Mispelling") is Okay

2007-08-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today I passed by a fruit stand on the side of the road. The sign on the road said, "Watermellons." Ok, minor spelling error, but all in all it probably won't hurt business.

But if that same little stand were to have a web site, and spelled watermelons with two l's within the text on their site or in their meta tags, from a search engine optimization (SEO)standpoint, they'd probably be one of the top listings for that category if they had an otherwise good site. Think about how many people must do a search for "watermellons" every summer, and if you're the first one on that search engine results page, you might have a nice little business going there.

So, in effect, a misspelling of a word on the internet may not actually be the wurst thing in the wurld.

Monstrous Marketing

2007-08-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

In the past few weeks a new viral campaign has infected the interweb and its low cost concept is paying huge dividends. According to a trailer found on a few cryptic websites, Paramount Pictures is releasing a film in January of 2008 produced by TV's "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams, shot in digital video, set in New York City, involving something very big that finds it amusing to throw the head of the Statue of Liberty at crowds of terrified New Yorkers.

Of course, it's what we don't know and the manner in which we've been teased that has us hooked. But not all of the ensuing publicity may have been the intentions of the studio. The trailer was first scene as a preview to the Transformers movie and a few "viral carriers", equipped with camcorders, recorded the teaser and leaked it onto Youtube.com. The result is a buzz that took on a life of its own. Names began to sprout for the project, theories involving the TV series started to develop, and all were denied by Abrams himself. Also, the nature of the hand-held videography gave the footage the appearance of an actual, self-made youtube offering. Did the creators behind the mysterious film intend for that to happen? I can't say, but according to reports, they have asked that the links be removed – although obviously that hasn't happened.

Regardless of the loose ends and plethora of unanswered questions, a $30 million film (modest by today's blockbuster standards, it must be said) with no name and no real synopsis outside of some monstrous tragedy has become one of the most anticipated films of next year. All for the price of some clever animation, a few feet of videotape and a URL. My only hope, considering the source, is that whatever molested Lady Liberty turns out to be more than a puff of innocuous, black smoke.

Here's the video for your perusal:

Search Marketing in Rush Hour Traffic

2007-07-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

The impact of Google's search marketing methods is by now a world-renowned phenomenon, as Seth Godin points out. People will now actively seek out marketing messages via search engine queries, as opposed to having marketing message forced upon millions of people simultaneously through mass marketing (though this tactic can work as well, but most businesses don't have the money to support this type of program). It's one person seeking one thing at one time, and that marketer needs to be there in order to make the sale.

To put it into a real life perspective, you have to be the guy selling water bottles (or flowers, or--if you're from Philly-- soft pretzels) right when a car pulls up at a traffic light or during rush hour. If I'm thirsty and sitting in rush hour traffic, I just might buy a cold bottle of water if it doesn't require me to get out of my car and costs a reasonable price. That's one-to-one marketing at its simplest!

So, if your prospects are riding the (uh oh, please prepare for terrible metaphorical comparison) "information superhighway", is your company right there on the corner when they stop at a light and look your way? Your site needs to contain the right keywords and have strong SEO tactics to rise up high in the search rankings, and/or you need to have relevant, eye-catching, enticing ads if you do a pay-per-click program. That's the name of the game in one-to-one marketing online.

So what's the lesson here?

Simply, be there or be roadkill.

Simpsons, Simpsons Everywhere

2007-07-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

In a recent post, I mentioned how a small town in Vermont has been declared the hometown of Springfield, the fictional hometown of "The Simpsons", and subsequently had done a keen job of creating a marketing buzz to potentially help attract tourists.

Well, "The Simpsons" are now virtually everywhere, seemingly with the goal to take the country by storm. For example:

Dozens of 7-11 convenience stores have temporarily turned into Kwik-E-Marts, the store that the Simpsons patronize (and ridicule) in the TV show.

At these Kwik-E-Marts, fictional products from the show are available including Buzz Cola and KrustyO's. According to a reliable source, at least one Kwik-E-Mart in L.A. had people waiting in line out the door just to get in and buy these items. And this being the age of the auction, 112 listings for KrustyO's are posted on ebay (as of the time of this writing) for people looking to make a small profit.

Simpsonizeme.com allows you to create a Simpson-ized version of yourself, or anybody that catches your fancy.

Simpsons X-Box anybody?

Four-foot statues of the Simpsons family are being spotted at movie theatres and elsewhere, encouraging people to take photos with them, and, apparently, try and steal them.

Bookstores are clogged with Simpsons books, while toy stores are hawking figurines of all kinds, though this merchandising tactic is nothing new.

And lastly, well, we'll let you figure out this brave bit of marketing (note: artistic nudity alert!)

Movie marketing has become an incredibly intense and competitive business and The Simpsons movie is probably on the forefront of some innovative tactics to come. I for one enjoy seeing marketers exerting their collective brainpower (yes, marketers do have some substantial brainpower, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary!) to develop new and fun ways to market their products. Many consumers, however, might think otherwise and consider marketing to be a scourge to the landscape and our daily lifestyles. Indeed, it's a fine line to straddle between promoting your product and peeving people off. Succeed, and you make dough. Fail, and.... d'oh.

Now go get marketing!

Brand it Like Beckham

2007-07-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

By now, regardless if you like sports or haven't observed anything competitive since the First Annual Basket Weaving Finals at your local VFW, you've heard about a man named David Beckham. If you haven't, well now you have. And trust me, it's only going to happen again and again and again.

Arguably one of the biggest sports figures on the planet, if not the biggest, Beckham is a soccer (football, futbol, footy, etc.) star who has played for some of the most successful European teams and has made his share of World Cup moments. He's inspired films (Bend it Like Beckham), had a statue of his likeness erected in chocolate in Japan, and he even boasts a pop star wife who has taken a second career in reality TV (Victoria Beckham: Coming to America). According to millions of fans around the world, he's handsome, charming, unassuming, and just happens to be very close friends with Tom Cruise.

He may be the biggest brand in the history of the world.

Why do I say that? Well, last night I was watching the MLS (Major League Soccer, America's finally establishing and expanding answer to the big soccer leagues around the world) All-Stars play Celtic FC, a football club that boasts possibly the most supporters in the world and who once attracted over 92,000 fans to a single game. But when I tell you that the night was all about David Beckham and his migration to America to play for the Los Angeles MLS squad, I mean to say that the sport itself, sports itself, couldn't get a press ticket to shake the man's hand. There was fawning that would have embarrassed the King himself, Elvis Presley. And I haven't seen flirting between men like that since Bill Clinton did the rounds at the 1992 Democratic convention. It was, quite honestly, shameless. Even for American celebrity culture.

But does that make it a bad thing?

Not for American soccer. In fact, it's just the opposite. Beckham agreed to join the Los Angeles Galaxy for a widely reported $250 million (one dollar for each fan, no doubt), that with endorsements, will earn him up to $50 million per year. Within 48 hours of following the announcement of his contract, over 250,000 Galaxy jerseys were sold with his name on the back, including one to Los Angeles mayor himself, Antonio Villaraigosa. With so many American youths playing the sport, and millions more every year, U.S. soccer has finally found its branded saint to lead them to the promise land. What Tiger Woods did for golf will soon be considered, as the British like to put it, "quaint".

The British Invasion is upon us again, but this time it's one man. Hold on to something sturdy, and get ready to shout "Goal!"

Stockbrokers and Telemarketing: A Lethal Combination

2007-07-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Very frequently those of us that answer the phones here at SMS and NewBizBuilders will receive phone calls from stockbrokers trying to drum up new business. Essentially the conversation goes like this, with the names changed to protect the innocent:

Us: "Good morning SMS, may I help you?"

Them: (abruptly) "Can I speak to John?"

Us: "May I ask who's calling?"

Them: "Nate Hardbargain. I'm calling to talk about the proposal we're working on. He'll know what it's about."

Us: (knowing full well at this point that the call is oozing of b.s.) "I'm sorry he's not here, can I--"

*click*

To think that someone sits with a list of names and does this all day and actually-- at least in theory-- makes money is absolutely mind-boggling to me. These people defy all manners of phone courtesy and in my mind are not the type of people that I'd want handling my money. Being an aggressive money manager is one thing, but being a pushy son-of-a-gun is another. This isn't to say that all stockbrokers are whipper-snappers like these outlandish telemarketers are, but these callers certainly don't do anything to boost the field's reputation.

So I ask-- Is that really the best marketing tactic these guys can come up with? Why not just barge through the front door, stomp right into a person's office, and demand that s/he buy stocks based on his/her so-called expert recommendations? Of course nobody would do that in person, why would they think it would work on the phone? I really wonder who actually takes these aggressors up on these types of sales pitches...

*click*