My favorite printing company, is also a pretty smart company. I’ve worked with them for years because they provide great quality printing at affordable prices. (We’ve tried other online discount printers and have been greatly disappointed with the quality.) Turns out their CEO, Andrew Field, is a strong advocate for SMB’s (small and medium sized businessess). He is concerned with how the credit crunch is affecting us and how we are largely being ignored in the current recovery conversations. He has a simple plan to help. It’s not a bailout. The government actually makes money if we do. Given that we employ 80% of the nation’s workforce, it seems reasonable to me that we ought to at least be in the conversation.
SMB’s don’t have natural organizations. We tend to clump together in verticals related to our industry. There is no giant lobbying group representing us in Washington.
But look, we have the Internet and a whole host of word-of-mouth tools. I’m going to post a link to Andrew Field’s proposal here on my blog. Then I’m going to put the link on my Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. Read it. If you think the idea has merit, pass it along to your networks.
According to Pantone, the color of the year for 2009 is mimosa (what you and I might call a warm yellow). Pantone is the company that produces those expensive color chip books with formulations that designers use when selecting colors for your logo or printed materials. It’s the way we tell printers what we want. (Still not an exact science, but that’s a post for another day.)
This color has been showing up in women’s fashions and interior design for a couple of years now; in fact, I painted my son’s nursery this color. So I’m not sure if Pantone is a little late to the party, but at any rate, keep it in mind if you’re trying to keep your brand current.
I drove by a dentist’s office yesterday that had a sign which read “Dentistry with a Difference.” I smiled to myself and applauded their effort to differentiate themselves. In marketing, we work hard to come up with a U.S.P. (Unique Selling Proposition) or positioning strategy for our clients. We ask, “what is the one simple thing people know you for?” or “what do you want to be known for?”. We tell folks that if you don’t define yourself, your competition will.
The challenge is to come up with a meaningful differentiator. I could bill my company as the only marketing firm in Atlanta run by a red-headed woman who’s half-Iranian. That’s a difference, to be sure, but probably not a meaningful one if you’re looking to hire a marketer.
Which brings me back to the dentist. “Dentistry with a Difference” means nothing. How are they different? How does that benefit me, the potential patient? They could be different, as in weird. (And when I first told Terri about their sign, that was her first reaction.) Not to pick on them; I do admire that they are at least trying to market themselves. Still, imagine if they described their difference in a memorable way. Tell me what makes you the best. Tell me why your customers come back.
When the car industry suffers, the media suffer, too. Why? Because the auto industry is one of the largest advertisers on television and print. When I worked in television during a recession, our sales reps took a big hit when the local car dealers cut back on their ads.
But it’s not just the advertising sales departments that are suffering. Apparently, all that declining revenue has hit the production budgets, too. Big name t.v. celebs like Susan Lucci are taking pay cuts and others are losing their jobs altogether. Even a fixture like Deidre Hall, who has been on “Days of Our Lives” for over 30 years are gone. (They didn’t even bother to cut her salary, like Lucci; they just got rid of her altogether.)
I hate the malls and with a newborn I’m even less inclined to go shopping. But I love a good deal. And luckily for me, online retailers are combating Black Friday sales with their own “Cyber Monday” deals. The folks at Mashable have kindly put together a list of the best deals. Enjoy shopping in your p.j.’s!
“Baby wearing is a fad. . . Supposedly it’s a real bonding experience.” These are some of the lines from Motrin’s new ad about moms who carry their babies in slings. Yikes! What was Motrin thinking? How many times do we have to chide marketers for their abysmal efforts at marketing to women? (We decry it frequently on this blog.) How many times do we have to remind them that women are responsible for 80% of all consumer purchases? It’s generally not a good idea to piss us off.
This commercial has been widely denounced all over the blogosphere and on Twitter. Women are ticked off at Motrin. Women who use baby carriers generally don’t consider it a fad.
If Motrin was trying to make the point that carrying your baby can cause aches and pains, they certainly could have done so without the mocking.
I’d read the articles and heard about the angry blog posts, but hadn’t seen the ad until yesterday. (Sorry, I was busy having a baby of my own!) Yesterday, Terri and I checked it out to see what all the fuss was about, thinking it had probably been overblown. Having watched it now, I can say the fuss is warranted, Motrin was stupid, it was a bad marketing move, and I’m happy to report they’ve pulled the ad.
Gosh, about 18 years ago, I put together a presentation (pre-PowerPoint days; I painstakingly typed it in WordPerfect) on marketing to women. I was baffled then that more businesses weren’t taking advantage of this lucrative market. Most of the stats I cited back then (women control 80% of consumer spending, buy 60% of all new cars and influence the purchase of most of the rest, represent nearly half or more of all investment decisions, etc.) are still true today and yet, marketers remain blissfully ignorant on how to target us. The situation has improved, of course, but I am still waiting for a car manufacturer to truly speak to me. I get so sick and tired of car commercials that focus on performance, speed, horsepower, and torque (what is torque anyhow?). The only time I’ve really seen a car commercial attempt to talk to women it was for a van and highlighted the remote control sliding doors. Well, it’s a start I suppose.
And for the record, targeting women does not mean making your product pink.
Best Buy is trying to get in on the action. Since women represent 45% of all electronics purchases, they’re looking at ways to appeal to us, starting with the design of their stores. They have one test store now. I hope it works and that more marketers consider their actual SHOPPERS (women!) in their store planning, merchandising, product choices, etc.
The concept behind social news sites such as Digg, Reddit and Newsvine is pretty simple: search and read the latest in news and happenings and share this content with your circle of friends, colleagues and (perhaps) admirers. But as information becomes increasingly customizable, democratized and instantaneous, these general sites may not feed your insatiable grown-up appetite for real news. Here’s a list of great niche social news sites that will undoubtedly fill you up:
Great social news site specifically for small-to-medium sized business companies
Social news site for marketers, entrepreneurs and business professionals
#1 Social news site for internet marketers, with a focus on search
Social news site focusing on current health news
A news site that focuses on technology, start-ups, business and entrepreneurship
Financial Social news service
Internet marketing Social news site that focuses on making money
It’s time to start planning for holiday greeting cards and gifts (if this is something your company likes to do). Tired of the fruit baskets, gourmet food baskets, or tubs of popcorn? Here are a few food ideas we love.
Looks like a greeting card. Tastes like a big ‘ol cookie with buttercream frosting. (Thanks to my friend Lisa W. for the tip on this years ago.) These make great birthday cards for clients, too. (They have tons of designs for every occasion.)
With names like “Papa Don’t Peach,” and “Shofar So Good Apple Honey”, this is not your average bread. This local Atlanta bakery has the yummiest sweet bread treats.
Another local Atlanta business, Pop!, makes frozen popcorn balls with fruit bits and drenched in chocolate. Terri — a serious popcorn lover — is salivating over these.
Gigantic fortune cookie with your own custom “fortune” message inside. These are the size of a football. Send it with a message to your customers wishing them “good fortune” in the coming year.
Food treats make great gifts any time of year; not just the holidays. In fact, many of these companies have Halloween-themed treats available now, and all are great to send for client birthdays. In the coming weeks, we’ll post ideas for non-food related gifts. If you have any other suggestions, please post them in the comments section.
Most of us would like to be known for outstanding customer service, but we don’t spend much time thinking about the steps we can take to actually improve our level of customer care. And when we do, it’s often geared towards upgrading technology or other expensive systems. Sometimes, all you need is a warm, personal human touch. (And given the state of the economy, shoring up relationships with your customers is critical.)
To wit: recently, I discovered Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade goods. I’ve bought a number of items from different sellers and have experienced great customer service. (Much like ebay, customers rate the sellers.) But the service I received on my last purchase went even beyond good. This seller included a beautiful card with a personal note to me. She put two gourmet tea bags in the card (which had nothing whatsoever to do with the purchase; it was just a treat). She wrapped everything carefully. You could tell she did not just toss this in a FedEx box. Rather, she tied each item with a lovely string and a home made tag. The tag gave instructions for washing and care, and ended with this delightful note: “enjoy.”
So why am I telling you about an independent seller on Etsy? A shop with only 33 items? Because, if she can do it, so can you. When was the last time you hand wrote a thank you note to your clients? When was the last time you included a “surprise” treat or gift? Have you thought about how you package or present your goods or services?
We're the brains behind New Thought Marketing, a consulting firm based in Atlanta. When it comes to marketing, we know how to push the envelope and we know when to keep it simple. If you need assistance in strategic thinking, contact us. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy our blog.
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