JCPenney, in efforts to win male shoppers, have been buying male-oriented media (ESPN Radio, for example) and pitching a male-oriented tagline: "Get In, Find It, and Get Going." They obviously have identified how men prefer to shop (i.e. quickly), and even try to set apart the male zone as the Men's Department inside JCPenney.

Never mind that the Men's Department inside JCPenney is not noticeably different than the Men's Department inside many other department stores, but that's not the point.

Recently they have tweaked their tagline, replacing "Get Going" with something more benign. I guess "Get Going" sounded too much like "Get Out." Frankly, I don't think most men would be offended by that. I can't even remember the new wording! Ask my kids -- my wife has trained them that "when you're shopping with Daddy, you're on a mission." Hey, it works for me.

Now Ace Hardware has taken a strikingly similar line: "Get In, Get Help, Get On With Your Life." The theme is clear: men tend to view shopping as a task to be done but not savored.

These taglines are intended to reduce perceived risk -- the risk of having to spend a lot of time shopping when all they really want is to find something and move on. If you want to attract male shoppers, you need to cater to that desire and communicate it.

Have you identified what appeals to your customers? Are there obstacles in your customer's mind that delay visits or purchases? Speak their language and their interests -- you won't win them all, but you'll win more. And right now, that's a great start!

Labels: advertising, customer centered, differentiation, marketing, strategy, taglines

More and more I am believing that the strategic partnership is marketing's great frontier.

There is nothing new about two entities joining forces and collaborating in some fashion, but I'm seeing a lot more of it. And I'm recommending a lot more of it.

A strategic linking of complementary businesses is becoming an ordinary part of the planning process. Long gone are the days when we decided "what to advertise and where to advertise," and that's about it. We feast on companies that are stuck in that kind of limited thinking.

Creativity isn't just for graphic design, it's for finding ways your business can evolve to something more.

Of marketing's "Four P's," strategic partnerships are now a critical element of Placement. For a great read on where to find mutually beneficial relationships, read pages 49-80 of Blue Ocean Strategy. (Actually, read the whole thing.)

Who shares your same customer? Who shares your same image? Who can link you to higher visibility while you do the same for them?

Labels: marketing, planning, strategy

Continuing on the thoughts from yesterday's post, there are other advantages of competing against your larger, slower competitors. Namely, they are often stupid.

The problem with huge corporations is that stupidity has lots of room to flourish. Quote me on that.

Consider the words of the great Minnesota Fats: "You don't learn from smart people, you learn from idiots. Watch what they do, and don't do it."

Want to see something stupid in the customer service category? A colleague of mine recently needed a receipt for a flight he had taken on Delta Airlines. Logically, he emailed to request. With a little less logic in action, Delta replied by email to tell him to snail-mail his document number to a certain department so they can email a receipt back to him. Meanwhile, his document number was in the email itself. Classic.

What is considered "normal" in your industry that drives customers nuts? Or confuses them? Learn from the big idiots, and give customers a clearly better way.

Labels: bad habits, customer service, customers, differentiation, marketing, planning

You're probably stronger than you think. You're probably better suited to compete for customers than you think you are.

Humility doesn't exactly abound in our culture, but I think many business owners sell themselves short. They see themselves as outmanned, outgunned and underqualified versus bigger competitors. But they're not.

Local banks and credit unions can often make a better case to customers than big regional or national players. Independent jewelers can differentiate themselves very believably against "the mall stores."

There are opportunities like this in almost every industry.

Owner-led businesses can respond quicker -- like now. As soon as an idea is ready, they can implement it immediately. No corporate approval needed. No passing it up the ladder to the franchise marketing department. This autonomy is the ultimate business version of "just do it."

Some built-in advantages follow the simple fact that you're local and in charge. What moves can you make that your larger rivals aren't flexible enough or fast enough to match?

Labels: management, marketing, planning, strategy

In the book HumanSigma -- a very good read for marketers and managers, by the way -- Gallup data is presented revealing that only 14% of front-line employees can state their company's mission or vision. These are the employees that actually interact with customers, and they have no idea what their company stands for.

Do you think that's the case with Disney employees? In my observation, the Disney mission and culture and aesthetic is infused into every last cast member before they ever leave training. They know exactly what their company is about, and how they fit into it.

What's the percentage at your company? Do your people know what the business is all about?

If not, it could be that something has been lost in translation. Or just as likely, it could be that you need to take a step back and decide if you have ever established what your business is about.

Do that today. But while you're at it, go ahead and step back just a little further -- into the eyes and minds of your customers. That's where your mission and vision need to come from. Then you communicate it forward until every employee, customer-facing or not, catches the vision and radiates it.

Labels: branding, customer centered, employees, management, marketing, planning

"Branding Only Works on Cattle" by Samuel Baskin is not a great read, but it is provocative. The primary point of the book is that your brand is not ultimately determined by anything you try to project, but rather by your behavior. Your behavior is your brand.

I agree with much of the premise. The premise would make for a very powerful article, but isn't developed enough to justify the length of the book. My review can be found on our website's Reading page: http://www.foxmarketing.us/reading.php

Having just returned from a Disney cruise, there are all kinds of business lessons percolating in my brain. I posted on Disney yesterday, here again today, and there will be more tomorrow and beyond.

I was reminded of Samuel Baskin's book multiple times on our cruise. Disney projects an image of "the happiest place on earth," a place where dreams come true, a place where magic happens. That's enough to get people to try you. That's the starting point of the Disney brand.

But it is the customer experience that defines the brand from that point on. And that is why Disney's brand is so strong. They live their vision. Every cast member embodies the vision in their interactions with you.

What do you think your brand is? What do your employees think your brand is? (More on that tomorrow.) Follow through on your branding -- ensure that it is not just something you project, but something the customer experiences.

Labels: branding, customer centered, marketing, planning, strategy

Back to work, fresh off a 4-day Disney Cruise, I'm reminded yet again what excellence looks like.

(Some people are Disney people, and some people are anti-Disney people. We tend to be Disney people. It's possible to get too much of the Mouse, I suppose, but we're not there yet.)

There are many books on "The Disney Way," including one by that very name. How would Disney run a hospital? How would Disney run a school? And on and on. I haven't read any of them.

I have only gathered my observations and opinions by spending my own hard-earned money to do so. And having done so four times in the eleven years I've been a parent, I always come back impressed. Very impressed.

Disney does it right. If more businesses devoted themselves to making the customer's dreams come true or making the customers feel like princesses or making the customers believe in magic, Disney would be the patriarch of the movement.

Here are just a few Disney-esque principles I've observed in action:
1. Do nothing half-way. Every ride is a movie set and every employee is a cast member, and every theme is carried out to an almost ridiculous degree. I don't believe there is an organization anywhere that executes their vision more thoroughly than Disney.
2. Exceptional is the expectation. "Average" is not on their radar screen. The "minimum requirements" are not even a consideration. Maybe this point is the same as the one above. That's how well they execute.
3. Build in cross-selling. Every Disney property is littered (poor choice of words) with profit centers, all feeding one another. There are no "operational silos," at least as far as I can tell. Every piece of the business model is cooperative and synergistic.
4. Take pride. This is not a repeat of points 1 & 2, this is about profit. Disney is not cheap. Disney will never be cheap. We've all been to cheap amusement parks. By taking great pride and making points 1 & 2 a way of life, there really is no peer to drive their prices down. Pride is a profit strategy.

It's becoming clear to me that this post could get really long, so I'm just going to cut it off right here. How can you "Disney-fy" your business? Open your mind really, really wide for this one, because dreams really can come true.

Labels: branding, creativity, customer centered, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, strategy

If marketing is an expense, it's something that should be minimized. If it is an investment, well, that makes you look at it differently.

From a friend and client in the financial planning business, here are some fundamentals of investing. See if your marketing activities sync with this.

1. Accurately assess where you are today.
2. Clearly define where you would like to be (goals, objectives, etc.).
3. Identify the course that most effectively and efficiently get you there (remaining flexible in the process).
4. Align yourself with a professional familiar with that course to serve as your guide.
5. Allocate resources to areas or items that have historically helped others reach goals similar to yours.
6. Understand risks and rewards.
7. Maintain a proper time horizon in the realization of your goals.
8. Patiently stick to the plan and make slight adjustments as the industry or marketplace changes.

The only thing he left out was the principle of diversification. I will be speaking to him about this omission.

Of course, I am biased towards #4. #5 is also a favorite, but only once #1 & #2 have been established. All these things must mesh together.

The way financial investing works is very similar to the way your marketing investments work. If your money simply goes away, it's an expense; if it returns to you, it's an investment.

Make sure you're making an investment, not just paying an expense.

Labels: management, marketing, planning, strategy

One of our printing partners recently sent me a link to a graphic design shop's website. My friend had never seen the word creative used as a noun before. But that's not what struck me about the site.

Check out the opening lines: "We believe effective creative comes from critical thinking and that thinking cannot, and should not, be constrained within arbitrary parameters." That line is ironically followed later by this: "Simply stated, we are a jargon-free agency."

Huh?

It's not the big words that confuse me. (Give me a little credit, please.) I just wonder how people write stuff without ever thinking about how it reads. Especially to someone who doesn't know them at all, who is gathering their first impressions about this firm and the people who work there.

But as overwrought as that web copy is, it has been topped. I've seen much, much worse in several industries.

When you write and speak -- in marketing, in sales, in customer service -- speak your customer's language. Impress them with your command of their needs and your own solutions, not the far reaches of your extensive personal lexicon.

Labels: bad habits, customer centered, marketing, messaging

In the first couple years of Fox Marketing Group, I introduced a program giving local restaurants exposure in local hotels, updated weekly. I piloted the idea in two different communities, and then sold it after a couple years. Fun times.

The manager of a national steakhouse chain ran the same 10% or 15% discount coupon every week, never changing it. As I checked in from week to week, response from the front-line staff was encouraging: "We're seeing a lot of these." But to my dismay, the manager eventually dropped the program, saying he didn't think he was getting enough takers to justify the effort.

This came as a surprise not because of the feedback from the cashiers, but because of something that had happened only two weeks earlier. During my rounds to area hotels one afternoon, I pulled into the local Days Inn and saw a gold mine: A tour bus had just arrived, filled with tired and hungry travelers. In addition to leaving the "Local Flavor" in the usual places, I boarded the bus and asked if anyone wanted a deal on their meal that evening.

I was met with thunderous applause. 40 passengers, new to town, were ready to eat.

Just an hour or so later, I discovered where they had chosen. Cruising by the steakhouse, I saw the bus in the parking lot and a line extending outside the restaurant doors. This steakhouse was getting business!

But the manager didn't know it. The cashiers would see the coupons, push a standardized discount button, and pitch the sheets in the trash. The manager never saw them.

If you don't have a system for tracking where your customers are coming from, including feedback from your front-line staff, start now. Customers are precious. Find out how they got to you.

Labels: advertising, bad habits, marketing, messaging, research

I just ran across some research from Rutgers that reminded me of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs behavioral theory. (Yeah, this is heavy thinking for a Monday night, but there's no football on TV.)

Data collected over the past couple decades shows that environmental concern trends higher in periods of general economic strength. When there is job growth and a sense of economic security, people feel free to worry about things that less directly impact their daily lives.

The hierarchy of needs holds, for example, that people aren't too worried about their self-actualization when they're fighting to merely feed themselves for the day. "Higher" goals and ambitions don't kick in until the more basic needs are met.

When times are good, they have the energy and mental latitude to care about things higher up the pyramid like environmental consciousness.

The application for today, where the recent past has been a tailspin and the near future is uncertain at best, is to focus your messaging on your buyer's more basic needs and problems. Yes, if you're "green" or you offer some other self-actualizing benefit, that should come across -- but only after you've shown how you help them in ways that are a little closer to home.

Labels: advertising, marketing, messaging, research, strategy

Crayola means crayons. Crayola is the crayon king more than Google is the king of search or Coke is the king of pop. Crayola means crayons like Kleenex means facial tissue.

Over the past few years, Crayola has taken over more and more shelf space in the art and craft aisles. And from my vantage point, secondarily as a marketer but primarily as a parent of creative kids, they've done an excellent job of it.

The hot item for Christmas this year -- this year's Cabbage Patch Kid, as it were -- turned out to be the Crayola Crayon Maker. When the full line of 100+ Crayola crayons isn't quite enough, the new Crayon Maker allows you (or your child) to take the scraps and broken pieces to mix and match and make your very own new creations.

My poor kids still don't have one. They were sold out everywhere!*

In a smooth way, without sacrificing their landmark product line, Crayola now means more to the same set of customers than it did just ten years ago.

When you think of crayons, you think of Crayola. But now you can also find the Crayola brand on a much wider variety of creative product lines. A crayon maker by any other name may not trigger interest or a purchase, but because it says Crayola on the package, you sense that you know what you'll be getting.

I think that's what separates a typical product line extension from a "blue ocean strategy." Is it just a new product or service, or does it expand what your name means to customers?

What does your name mean? What else could your name mean to the very same customers? If it's something that solidifies and expands your relationship with those customers, make it happen!

* Christmas is over, and their birthdays are in June, August and September. I may have to simply splurge on this and just buy it as soon as I find one.

Labels: branding, creativity, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, strategy

Any chance you can name the current tagline for Wendy's? If I asked this just a month ago, you would have correctly said, "It's waaaay better than fast food, it's Wendy's." But what was correct a month ago is not correct now.

Wendy's, like most large corporations, no doubt reviewed several campaign themes before settling on the "waaaay better" idea. And like most large corporations, Wendy's probably did some follow-up research after launching and executing that campaign for a few months. Apparently, the results were less than spectacular, because the tagline abruptly changed.

Now, in the same media and same frequency of advertising as before, we hear a jingle saying, "You know when it's real."

What to learn? If something's not working, pull the plug! But don't leave a vaccuum, fill the void with something better!

Wendy's no doubt had the "real" theme waiting in the wings, a second choice in case of emergency. And based on audience response to their previous theme, they decided they had to change course.

I'm not going to do an autopsy on their "waaaay better than fast food" theme, other than to say Subway has pretty well established that same positioning ("Eat Fresh"), and a burger joint was going to have trouble inhabiting the same property.

The lesson for us is to be aware when our efforts are falling flat, and have a backup plan so one stumble doesn't lose you too much ground. I have a vibe that Wendy's latest campaign will work a little better for them. Is your backup plan ready too?

Labels: advertising, management, marketing, messaging, strategy

"Cognitive dissonance" is the academic term for post-purchase anxiety. (Professors use big words to impress their students.)

It sounds something like this: Should I have bought this? Should I have shopped around more? Should I have asked more questions? Could I have done better? And on and on.

Post-purchase anxiety can potentially deter customers from making a return visit to you. It can certainly reduce their willingness to refer others to you. They may fear that their perceived mistake will be called out.

The thing is, it's not because you've done anything wrong! Nevertheless, it's in your best interest to anticipate it and reduce it.

Provide reassurance (with evidence, documentation or other support) early and often in the shopping process. This isn't just good for reducing post-purchase anxiety, it may also nudge fence-sitters into buying when they would otherwise chicken out.

If you want to make the customer experience thoroughly enjoyable, keep in mind their potential for worry and doubt. Find ways to alleviate it -- give them peace -- and everybody wins.

Labels: customer service, differentiation, marketing, messaging, salesmanship

Southwest Airlines is currently running TV spots where baggage handlers remind us Southwest doesn't add fees for checking luggage. At one point out on the tarmac, they yell at a competitor's plane, "Why are you charging for luggage?!"

The airline industry is perpetrating this nuisance almost unanimously right now, with Southwest being the notable holdout. Kudos to them for pointing it out!

It's not always this easy to find a point of differentiation that really resonates with your customers, but it's worth a few minutes of your time to find one. Think of something that really irritates customers in your marketplace, something widespread that has always been considered "normal" but frustrates customers.

Does that irritant exist with you? If not, follow Southwest's lead and boldly point it out. If so, find a way to get rid of that bug in your system, and then let everyone know what you've done.

If "industry-standard" means irritating to customers, defy the standard -- and don't keep it a secret!

Labels: advertising, customer centered, differentiation, marketing, messaging, strategy

Want to build your brand? Want your company brand to be effective for you?


At great risk of sounding like a broken record, know your customer in a deep, meaningful, insightful way*. Then make their information-gathering better. Make their shopping experience better. Make their buying experience better. Make their post-purchase experience better.


Voila! Your branding is better!


Too much emphasis is placed on "pushing" a brand image out to the market, and too little on knowing the customer better and making the whole process work memorably for them. That's how you brand, and that's what your brand really is -- whatever your customer perceives it to be.


Your customer's perception of you will be based much more on their experience with you than on anything you've claimed or projected it to be.


To put it another way, don't build a brand and content yourself with projecting it outward. That's backwards. As you adapt to your customer, your most effective branding will grow naturally. And it will be real, not just projected.


That's customer-centered marketing and branding -- a reputation that is rooted in the customers themselves.


* I'll be posting a new article soon that will help with this! Watch www.foxmarketing.us/reading.php!

Labels: branding, customer centered, marketing

I was reading an enjoyable article today about John Swisher, founder and president of JBS United, a producer of nutritional livestock feeds.

Mr. Swisher's company has always incorporated more science than most in that industry, which is a differentiating factor in their sales. They do a great deal of testing to get nutrient content right, and closely measure animals' responses.

"We let the pigs tell us what they think, and pigs don't lie," says Mr. Swisher.

Which reminded me of marketing research and getting feedback from customers. But not just verbal feedback in response to surveys or questionnaires -- you can get vital information by watching their behaviors in and around your business and products.

Sometimes their words are softened to give you the response you want in a survey, but behaviors aren't. Watch where they stop, where they look, what they touch, what they pass by. Those behaviors will tell you what they think without even being asked.

Labels: customer centered, marketing, research, strategy

While purchasing some photography for a client yesterday, I noticed a special offer on my receipt. It was from a related design business, providing me a special discount code for my first purchase with them. And this: "Offer good through December 31, 2020."

That's pretty amazing. I have eleven years to check out the site, see what I might need, and save a little. In 2020, I'll have two kids in college, so I think I'll hold onto that discount because I'll need it more then than I do now!

Special offers are good. Promotional tie-ins with complementary businesses are good. But I'd encourage you to inspire a sense of urgency. Positive urgency, of course -- curiosity, excitement.

With eleven days to check it out, I probably would -- at least to see what it's all about. But eleven years? I'm not driven to action quite so much...

What timelines could you use to your favor? Create urgency to invite that first visit, or even to encourage a repeat purchase. Customers are "in the now." Make sure you are, too.

Labels: advertising, creativity, differentiation, marketing, planning, strategy

During lean times in competitive industries, a positive side effect is the necessary return to customer service basics. And boy, has Lowe's been sending out that message.

I can't go into Lowe's without being asked five times if I'm finding everything okay, or if I need help finding anything, or if there's anything they can help me with. And somehow, perhaps because I'm in my "man mall," I don't mind it.

It's very clear to me that there has been a distinct emphasis placed on this behavior by management throughout the Lowe's organization. And the message has definitely gotten through. I've noticed the same thing at Staples.

While we can argue over what to do with your marketing budget during these times (i.e. don't cut it), there's little argument that each customer is more valuable than ever and when they're on your property, they need to feel it.

Labels: customer service, management, marketing

I'll be helping honor one of the best salesmen of a particular industry today. What better way to pay tribute than to play golf with him and his former managers and colleagues?

Dan was a legend. From a sales territory in humble east-central Indiana, he set company sales records for 30 years in his industry. He won national sales awards almost annually, and international sales awards more than once. And you'd never know it.

Dan was (and is) a good, humble man. His effectiveness was due to a few factors we would all be wise to adopt.

Said one long-time customer, "Dan had instant credibility." Instant credibility. He wasn't a showman or a smooth talker. He was sincerely friendly, and patently honest. He made the claims without exaggeration, but also without apology. He welcomed questions because that's how answers are communicated and problems are solved and applications discovered.

Said another long-time customer, "A competitor had a new product they wanted me to buy. It was the first of its kind on the market. I never used it. Then Dan's company introduced a similar product, and I used it -- because Dan explained it in the clearest possible way and I finally understood the benefits."

And I've heard over and over how Dan would be repetitive on the things that were important. This is where many businesses and salespeople struggle. They get tired of their own message long before the market does, so they flit from campaign to campaign and idea to idea without giving their messages time to sink in. Dan drove the points home on the subjects that really mattered to his customers.

You can win awards, and you can earn respect. A lot of people have trouble combining the two. My friend Dan, who did me a great favor ten years ago, did both.

Labels: customers, marketing, salesmanship

I'm really, really proud of the Fox Marketing Group business model. I love what it is and what it is not. Yet ultimately I didn't really design it -- you did.

We handle advertising, but we're not an ad agency. We do graphic design, but we're not a design shop. We direct internet marketing, but we're not a web firm. We work with media companies, but we're not media salesmen. We handle printing and signage projects, but we're not a print shop or a sign shop. The list goes on.

What the business is not frees us up to do things in a dramatically different way. A way that suits our customer, the business owner, in ways they've never seen.

All those other things are selling something to the business owner. No matter how good or consultative or thoughtful they are, they still answer to someone else besides the business owner. They answer to their own boss, and try to beat their own quota.

I get the privilege of being at the owner's side. I get to think like an owner, yet bring to the table some skills and ideas the owner doesn't have. If someone has to sell to win, they can't really align themselves with the owner. I do, and I love it!

Take some solid research, for example, like the fact that the number one factor in a customer's judgment of a business is the restrooms (especially among female customers.) If I sold advertising or printing, I wouldn't know that information and wouldn't care! In fact, the truth might actually get in my way -- the owner might decide (correctly) that the investment in their shopping environment is more important right now than the investment in whatever I happen to be selling.

But since I'm on the owner's side, we can make facilities part of the overall marketing plan.

I'm free to act like I own the business myself, instead of figuring out ways to merely sell to it. And that makes all the difference.

Labels: customer centered, customer service, design, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, research, signage, strategy

I ran into a sales rep acquaintance recently that I hadn't seen for several months. Very early in our conversation, he asked what I was working on at the house. This is notable not only because it's been a while since we've spoken, but also because he doesn't sell anything to me. He has no business reason to remember that we're thoroughly remodeling our late-1970's home.

Good salespeople make note of both personal and business "touchpoints" with their customers and prospects (and even acquaintances). It's a way of bonding instantly with those people and getting them to talk.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to tell you I'm glad this guy doesn't sell anything I'm interested in. He strikes me as a little slimy. But at least in this one area, he plays the selling game very well.

You can't bond with your customers unless you know them. If you can't bond, you can't build loyalty that drives further business and insulates you from competitors.

So, as I say daily, get to know those you sell to. But don't just sit on that knowledge -- use it to reach them, use it to make the sale, and use it to keep the sales coming.

Labels: customer centered, marketing, research

Ally Bank is not a new enterprise. It looks new, it sounds new, but it's the relaunch of GMAC in the aftermath of GM's bailout/bankruptcy.

It's an online-only bank (think ING Direct) with a very clean website and a very human tone in the language. Why didn't GMAC do this?

I guess that's the benefit of starting over. You get to think fresh and start from scratch -- hopefully starting with the customer in mind, not convention.

A large, multi-center medical group is breaking up here in Indiana due to some financial mistakes. (Intentional or unintentional is a subject of great debate.) If I get the opportunity to relaunch one of the smaller groups, we will not be simply recreating the business model of the previous organization.

We will rethink every aspect of the way this group practices medicine and service -- from naming that's not quite so dry and predictable, to customer interactions that are human and personal.

In times of economic tumult, there will be plenty of failures and break-ups. Which means plenty of people and enterprises starting over.

If this applies to you, here's your chance to not just start over, but start fresh.

Labels: branding, customer centered, customer service, differentiation, management, marketing

It's 1:32pm. I've just changed from polo and khakis into a nice suit. Why? Because I want to.

This is an abnormal behavior from me. Usually when I'm putting on a suit, it's because I have to. Right this moment, about to present to a very formal and distinctive new company, it's because I want to.

And somehow, that makes all the difference.

When you really know your customers and enjoy serving them well, even things that are outside your comfort zone can be a pleasure.

Labels: customer centered, customer service, differentiation, marketing

I heard a fantastic statement this morning -- fantastic in its simplicity.

My wife, fifth-grader and I were attending an education policy roundtable in Indianapolis, hosted by Governor Daniels and featuring as a guest speaker former Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush.

When discussing the education reforms in Florida, accountability was a central principle.

Gov. Bush said during his presentation, "Data matters. Measurement matters. If you don't measure, you don't care." [Emphasis mine.]

Isn't that so true in business? Marketing utilizes elements of art, but it is also a science. Measurement matters. If you don't measure, you're just going through the motions. You're just calling it marketing and doing it because you think you're supposed to.

Demand results, and measure for them.

Labels: management, marketing, research

I've been hearing all summer about the prime seating at the new Yankee Stadium, where entire sections behind home plate are virtually empty. At $2500 per seat per game (!!), perhaps the Yankees misjudged the market a bit.

Part of the textbook definition of a "market" is the ability to pay. Even in the Big Apple, where there is surely a lot of ability to buy a few hundred seats at these astronomical prices, there is clearly not the willingness.

Now we understand that post-season tickets for those same seats will be selling for a more reasonable (and relatively paltry) $250-400 per game. They're not exactly giving away the store, but it would have been hard to get home field advantage with several hundred prime seats sitting vacant.

All of this calls to mind a tip I heard several years ago from an automotive executive: "Charging what the market will bear is fundamentally a good idea. Just don't make it obvious."

Labels: customer centered, marketing, pricing

[A client recently asked me to speak to his employees at their annual training and certification meeting. The company I work for is a lotion manufacturer, but these employees work at his popular chain of tanning salons. The following is a longer post than normal, as it is a summary of what I thought was most important to get across to these mostly college-aged employees...]

The primary thing we need to keep in mind in this type of business is: "Alright" is not alright.

There are conversations on campus every single day where one person asks another what they think. Picture two girls walking to class, talking about tanning. One asks the other, "Where do you tan?"

She says, "A Place To Tan."

"Oh, I've seen that. What's it like?"

"It's alright."

Did you hear that? She said it's alright. "Alright" is not a compliment here. "Alright" really means it's not good enough to refer her friend to. If it were, she would have said so. If it were, she wouldn't mind being identified with it.

"Alright" means if some other salon offers a better deal, she'll take it without hesitation. If there is no difference between salons, find the cheapest and closest one because there's no reason to do business with A Place To Tan.

The customer's experience is mostly in your hands. That makes you a more important marketing team than I could ever be for this business.

What we would like that girl to say is, "It's great -- it's way better than what I have back home."

Think about that. We're not just competing against other local tanning salons here, we're competing against whatever they're used to. We're competing against expectations. If they have a great salon where they come from, and we don't measure up, they'll keep looking for another place. If we make their salon back home look like a dump, they'll love us.

Let the other salons aim for mediocre and say, "Well, this is just Muncie." Let's aim higher and treat customers like they are from the fancy suburbs of Indianapolis or Chicago. If they shop around at all, they'll see the difference.

My job often involves driving traffic into a business. But what they experience will end up weighing a lot more. Let me illustrate...

Do you remember Pepsi One? I don't even think they make it anymore. Know why? Because it tasted like crap! It didn't just have the "diet aftertaste," it was instant nastiness. Am I right?

The ads got people to try it, but the customer experience made them want to spit it out. Effective marketing requires both -- promotional messages that generate interest, and a buying experience that fulfills the promises.

Do you remember Storm? It was an attempt by Pepsi to imitate 7-Up and Sprite. They don't make this one anymore either. Why? Not because it tasted like crap, but because it was bland. You might even say it was "alright."

Once again, the ads were good enough to make you aware and make you want to try it. But once you did, you had no good reason to try it again.

Now, how about Sierra Mist? I can't even remember a single ad for it, but it has stayed on the market and does pretty well. Why? Because it's good. It tastes like 7-Up or Sprite, which is what people want and expect. Proof that the experience means more than what you say the experience is going to be.

So take pride in what you're doing here, because you own the customer experience. You are the marketing team in ways you might not even realize.

A very interesting finding from multiple consumer studies is this: Customers, especially women, will judge a place more on the cleanliness of the bathrooms than any other factor. Yep, even including how you treat them to their face.

The bathrooms are prime marketing territory. This is not just a service business, not just a skincare business, it is a hygeine business.

The product shelves are important too. Keep them organized and attractive. If they're a jumble, customers won't take time to look them over. They'll go elsewhere. It's a basic truth that if it looks like work to find a product they want, they just won't do it.

Make it easy for people to give you their money. This is a good code to live by.

Customer complaints or problems are a marketing opportunity too. Let's say someone says something is wrong with their tanning bed. You wouldn't say it out loud, but your body language might say, "Gee, I'd really like to care, but I'm not going to get my butt off this stool."

Make them feel important and listened to. Maybe you can't fix the bed, but at least get up and take a look at it with them. Then tell them you'll get someone on it. And if you have their email address in your files, let them know when the problem has been fixed! No one else is going to do that kind of thing, so it's a great way to stand out as an employee, as a company, and as a problem-solver.

Now, you might not like this one, but I have to tell you it's probably best if you don't come to work in your pajamas. I know your customers do, but take it up just a notch and be a little more professional. People will say they don't notice or don't care, but they do. It will make the other salons look like cut-rate, back-alley operations if you show pride and they don't.

So do we all agree that "alright" is not alright? Do every part of your job just a little better, take just a little better care of your customers, and this place will keep growing with or without a good economy.

Just think of the kind of reference you want when you graduate and try to land a job. Do you want a really good review, or just "alright?"

Labels: customer centered, customer service, employees, management, marketing

In a previous post, I mentioned a report regarding the incredible sameness of messages within a given industry. I just received an example, but fortunately I get to fix it.

Some website copy was just forwarded to me for editing. And there's going to be a lot of editing.

It all sounds nice, but there are so many generalities and fluffy claims, you could stick anyone's logo on it and it would probably still be true. Every player in the industry says the same things about themselves.

Companies check each other out, which of course is good intelligence gathering. But an unfortunate side effect is that they often go on and simply parrot each other. "My competitor said what? Well, we can do that too!" So all the companies make similar claims about their great pricing, their reliable service, their high standards of quality.

And no one stands out.

Don't be different just to be a nonconformist, do it to be more competitive. Just once, for practice, scrap everything you've ever said and craft your message again from scratch. Pretend you're talking to someone in casual conversation. Why should they do business with you?

This "blank canvas" approach might just open your eyes to something you can say that's truly different. And if not, look at each claim and see what you can add to your product or service that will allow you to say something unique. Then do it.

You don't want normal. Normal is blah. Normal is mediocrity. Ignore normal, and go find special.

Labels: advertising, customer centered, differentiation, marketing, messaging

You have 20 years' experience in the industry. Yay for you.

You have three locations. You have a well-trained staff. You have extended hours. You have done 700 similar projects. You have a wide selection.

Yay for you.

I can find what I want quickly at your store. I can ask questions and get helpful answers without initiating any arm-twisting from you. I can find guidance from you towards the best purchase for the specific purpose I'll be using the product for. I can schedule the next contractors because I have confidence you'll have your part done properly and on time. I can find you easily when I need you.

Yay for me . . . the customer.

Listen to any typical radio or TV ads, and focus on the claims. There's a lot of advertising that is little more than the business patting itself on the back. Yay for them.

Wouldn't it be better to translate all that fluff into something meaningful and motivating for the customer? Give the customer something that makes them say, "Yay for me!"

Labels: advertising, customer centered, marketing, messaging, strategy

When you're framing your pitch, pick your words with your customer in mind. It's often easy to just use the phrasing of an "insider," but to have the desired effect, you're wiser to speak the language of your audience.

I saw a recent press release regarding "virtual schools." This term isn't new. It's been used within the academic arena for quite a while. But the term virtual makes it sounds like almost a school, which is not the impression they really want to make.

Off the top of my head, I'd suggest they begin calling their model "remote education" instead. It communicates the what (education) and the how (remotely, with flexibility), without overused and poorly understood terms like "virtual."

Another example can be found in the coming debate over healthcare. President Obama's plans for healthcare are pretty easy to predict -- just today, in fact, he was working hard to keep the term "socialized medicine" out of the discussion. Also easy to predict is that the Republicans are crafting an alternative.

But in the preview I just heard, they're already making an error of verbage. If Congressional Democrats are the target audience for their proposal, referring to it as the "Republican alternative" is not a good way to encourage defections.

Small changes in wording are hardly irrelevant. When you're naming something or pitching something, the words you use truly matter. So watch your language, and make sure your point will make sense to your customer, not just you and your staff.

Labels: branding, marketing, messaging

My last post was about how getting too comfortable will hold you back. This is a spinoff point, namely, your customers' discomfort is your opportunity.

If your prospects are comfortable, they don't need you. If they're comfortable with the status quo or their current suppliers or their current results, there's not much room for you.

But that's where the current climate can be your friend. Lots of folks are uncomfortable right now, which gives you the chance to ride in on the white horse and solve their problems, allay their fears, give them peace, reduce their risk.

Here's a great chance to make them comfortable again -- with you.

Labels: customer centered, customers, management, marketing, strategy

"You are exactly where you want to be. If you really wanted to be somewhere else, you would do the things it takes to get you there."

Those are the words of Michael Crisci, sales and management expert (and one of the most influential people in my career to date). In those two sentences, he nails the one thing that holds back so many people across all types of businesses: comfort.

People may say they want something different, but in the end they are too comfortable where they are to pursue any type of meaningful change.

Comfort is the enemy of innovation. Comfort is the enemy of problem-solving. Comfort is the enemy of the next great thing. Comfort steals more profit from you than any thief or corporate espionage. I hate comfort.

This recession is going to spawn some really great things in the near future, because it's making a lot of people uncomfortable for the first time. It's my personal mission in the next 18 months to help business owners translate their discomfort into entirely new prosperity.

Uncomfortable yet? Good. Call me.

Labels: creativity, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, strategy

With GM's bankruptcy soon to be sorted out, I was glad to hear the Saturn division will be sold off and already has 16 bidders. Glad for Saturn, that is.

I was in business school when Saturn was launched. As a result, I did several papers and projects revolving around this new entry into the automotive marketplace. And I couldn't help but root for them.

It was a sharp departure from the rest of General Motors. In fact, the startup was reminiscent of the way Steve Jobs launched Macintosh from Apple. He gave them completely separate facilities, flew a pirate flag over the building, and proudly gave the division great independence and resources for innovation.

Saturn was created in the same spirit. They would be manufactured in Spring Hill, Tennessee, as far from Detroit (culturally) as a car company could get. They would have more independence of design, not having different chassis molds placed on the same frames as other GM brands. Theirs would be consumer-friendly dealerships, staffed by regular folks. And they pioneered no-haggle pricing.

Even back then, we (students and automotive media alike) predicted that Saturn would perform in time if only GM would leave it alone. They didn't.

Now, by being sold off, Saturn has a fighting chance to regain its original spirit and find a profitable place in the newly defined automotive market. And I wish them all the best.

Labels: marketing

I don't know how much this post is actually going to help, but I have to write it. If only I could impart some reproducible tactic, it might have more practical value.

You've heard the phrase, "I could do that in my sleep." Well, I can do marketing in my sleep. I do it all the time.

No, I don't take naps after a client briefing. (Or during.) What happens is, after spending time on a particularly engaging or even difficult project, I'll go to sleep but my mind will keep working on the problem.

Yesterday, I had been working on copywriting for a pool management company. We had rephrased their mission statement as a promise to consumers, but had to take a different angle on that statement when addressing business-to-business (B2B) prospects. I had the wording down and really liked it -- except for one small phrase. It just didn't click like I wanted.

I finally had to shut it down for the day, with the resolve to tackle it again this morning when my mind was refreshed. Well, it didn't take that long. I hadn't been asleep for more than an hour or two when I jolted awake with the exact phrasing I needed!

I solved a messaging problem in my sleep -- now that's effectiveness! If only I charged by the hour, I could have billed for my sleep last night!

At one point last year, I had been pouring myself into the business plan of a bold new startup. Not just marketing plans, but the whole enchilada -- operations, staffing, financials, everything. The numbers for feasibility weren't making sense to me. Until one night, that is, when I woke up with the corrected numbers and projections right at the top of my mind.

How do I do it? I really don't know. I suspect this occurs more often for creative people than analytical, but I tend to be a mix of both.

Nor do I know how to repeat it on purpose. When it has happened, it just happens. But I'm sure that part of it is pure enjoyment of the work I do.

So maybe that's the point -- find the pleasure in your business, and it might just become easier to succeed at it.

Labels: creativity, marketing, planning, strategy

If we didn't have enough on our plates already, now we have to watch out for symptoms of swine flu. But that's not really my topic here. My goal is to give a little encouragement in generally discouraging times.

You don't have to go far to find bad news today. You don't have to go anywhere at all. The bad news will find you. Economic duress, political friction, and now pandemic disease potential. Nice.

But in the midst of all this, some companies are growing. It can be done! In the past week alone, I've been in contact with three businesses in three different industries who are all expanding -- a pool management company, a commercial roofing company, and a lotion manufacturer.

By all indications, companies like these should not be growing. Economic pressures and tightened budgets should be causing customers to lay low.

These three have a common trait, however. They're all spinning off new divisions to serve different customers or serve existing customers in new ways.

Think things are tight? Take a fresh look at customers in your marketplace and you might find opportunities to grow despite a general atmosphere of recession.

Is there something you can add to your offering that creates new value for existing customers? Is there a similar type of customer you could target with only a slight change in your product or service lineup? If so, you can invigorate your business during these leaner times, and emerge with gusto when times improve.

It's being done already. Maybe it's time you did it too!

Labels: customers, differentiation, marketing, planning, strategy

I just heard a funny thing on a scoring report on sports radio: A heavily favored tennis player lost a match to a lower-seeded unknown, and blamed it on the windy weather.

Which is odd, because the wind doesn't usually target just one player.

From my own experience, I don't mind playing a competitive golf match in tough conditions. The weather affects everyone the same -- or does it?

It's the same economic environment for everyone right now, but does it affect us all the same? No, I would argue that just like outdoor sports, some people handle the conditions better than others.

It's the same economy for all the furniture stores and jewelry stores in town. It's the same economy for all the community banks and credit unions in town. It's the same economy for all the realtors and funeral homes in town. But some will do better than others.

Some will actually grow, while others will not survive to see the recovery. Determine to be one who rises to the challenge.

In tough conditions, you may need to play your shots a little differently. Minimize waste, obviously, but also improve your offer. Purchasing priorities are different now than two years ago. Get inside your customers' heads to see what drives their choices in times like these.

Tighten your focus on the customers you have. What patterns do you find? Who is missing? Are different groups responding in different ways?

Identify customer groups you don't have. What are they looking for? They might be experiencing reduced service from your competitors who claim it's just "belt-tightening." That's opportunity for you!

The wind is blowing, but wearing out is not an option. Fight on, and fight smart.

Labels: customer centered, marketing

I just received an invitation to be published in a Who's Who of American Professionals book. Again.

All I have to do is confirm my information -- and pay a little fee.

If you have to pay to be considered a "who's who," that's not an honor, it's a product. It should be called the Who's Who Among Professionals Who Pay to Be Listed. Now we know the price of fame.

I'm sure there must be a point to these publications, but I just don't see it. When you make an offer to a prospect, it doesn't hurt to be clear about why it's a good offer.

Labels: marketing

The Detroit Lions logo has gotten a makeover. This one has teeth and claws, and many in Detroit are hoping their play on the field next season will reflect that.

Having seen what happened to them last year, I hope so too -- purely out of pity.

Their friends across town, the Pistons, reworked their logo a while back too. It lasted only a few seasons, and their design investment went up in smoke. My dad still has a jacket with that logo on it. Might be a collector's item someday, like misprinted coins or baseball cards!

The Lions didn't launch off in new directions, they merely refined and streamlined what they already had. The pose is the same, the color scheme is the same, but the impact is cleaner and sharper.

The Pistons went in a more "creative" direction, ditching their admittedly old-school logo for a ridiculously contrived mish-mash of ideas. It's just too much.

Which design is really more creative? That's subjective, but I'd argue that it's harder to pull off what the Lions did than to build a jumble from scratch.

The point is, creativity can be a huge competitive advantage. If you don't have it, find it. (I'd recommend starting with us.)

But know this, "unbridled creativity" is not a good thing for your business. Creativity should be bridled -- that is, made subject to your strategy and a deep understanding of the customer. Then you can unleash creativity within those principles and know that you'll emerge with a logo or promotional material that not only looks good, but makes sense and works for you.

Labels: branding, design, marketing, planning

In the book How to Get Your Competition Fired (which I've just reviewed -- check it out at http://www.foxmarketing.us/reading.php), a survey of marketing from insurance agencies nationwide shows that they all say pretty much the exact same things about themselves. Not an effective strategy for standing out.

There is a remarkable sameness in many industries. Most, in fact. Everybody wants the sale, and everybody says the same things to get it.

The very topic of differentiation makes a lot of business owners uncomfortable.

I remember one business owner, when the topic of differentiation came up, leaned across the table and lowered his voice as if confessing some horrible sin: "Look," he whispered, "our business isn't really different. It's just ours. We do a good job, we treat people right, we play by the rules, but there's nothing really special about it. We just need more customers, that's all."

He thought he was speaking for himself. He may have been revealing the unspoken feelings of most business operators.

I wouldn't want to change any of the things you do well. And I obviously want you to correct or minimize any areas that are lacking. But primarily, I want you to add just one extra thing. Something that customers will think is cool -- and different.

There are lots of ways to give extra. Do your customers fear risk? Add your own twist on warranty protection. Are your customers in a hurry? Add free delivery options or quicker turnaround or faster setup. Are your customers intimidated by complexity? Simplify, demonstrate for free, or show ease of use.

In an incredibly commoditized automotive supply business selling to manufacturing facilities, one company promoted "The Fives." As in five-minute response to faxed or emailed requests for information, five hours to pricing, five days to delivery, and so on. It was different from their competitors, and it was succinct and specific. Their product was essentially the same as everyone else's, but their way to market was distinctive and helped them remain a player against bigger rivals.

For financial institution auditing, CPA firms follow the same protocols and ensure conformity to all the same laws. So how to stand out? I can think of one that is launching a key differentiation -- me. With every completed review, the bank or credit union will receive a free marketing audit to ensure their promotional programs are on-target. Quite a perk these days when dollars are precious.

If you're competing in a "same old same old" market, let's talk. We'll help you find your special place in the minds of those who matter -- customers.

Labels: customer centered, differentiation, marketing, planning, strategy

I was visiting a client in a medical office building today, and noticed a waste of the hospital's money.

As natural light bathed the beautiful three-story atrium, with fountains bubbling pleasantly in the background, there was a series of vertical banners that were doing absolutely no good.

Their idea was to promote a variety of services throughout the building, including glaucoma screenings and some elective medical services. But they're facing the wrong way.

In his book Why We Buy, Paco Underhill notes that customers entering a building are on a mission -- to get inside and get where they're going. That's it. They're not taking in any messages on their way in. I've witnessed it myself.

As I looked from the perspective of someone walking out, all the banners had their backs to me. Turn those puppies around, and you'll instantly grab more eyeballs.

The exit route is prime territory for messages. People aren't in such a hurry, and the landscape is wide open for communication.

Do you have underutilized space along your exit route? Face a message to your customers on their way out, and give them a good reason to come back soon!

Labels: customer centered, marketing, research, signage

An article was recently forwarded to me regarding the efforts of Disney to get inside the heads of boys. My guess is, somebody didn't approve of market research targeting kids. But if you're doing legitimate business, and your customers are kids, you're losing sales if you don't!

Disney has noticed a disconnect, and they want to fix it. Disney Channel's audience is 60% female, and merchandise/theater/film/theme sales are even more heavily girl-driven. This is great, of course, but what about the boys?

When you see who your sales drivers are, you study them closely to maximize that performance. But there's a second thing to study, which Disney is putting resources into: who your sales drivers aren't, and how to adapt your strategies to change that.

For example, the researchers had questions and conversations with randomly-selected boys (who were paid a sweet $75 for their time, and with parent approval). You should do the same. Regularly.

But just as important, they also kept their eyes open for unspoken cues to their targets' thinking and motivations. Like watching how they carried their skateboards (bottoms-out, to show the often customized graphics). Or like noting what is kept on the back of shelves -- things that aren't forefront, but that he hasn't gotten rid of yet. Here again, you should do this, too. Regularly.

Ask your non-customers questions -- about their decisions and priorities as they relate to your products and services, and about activities and tendencies that aren't directly related to business. Listen to what they tell you. New ideas are found here.

But also watch them in their "natural habitat," how they go about their business. This will show you things they don't tell you in an interview setting, as well as things they do without even thinking much about it. This can tip you off to successful ideas as well.

Most readers won't go to these efforts to know their customers. That means huge advantages await if you do.

Labels: customer centered, marketing, research

In a TV ad for osteoporosis medication Boniva, I've noticed an interesting choice of words: "Boniva works with your body to rebuild bone..." Phrasing and word selection are not by accident in a big corporation's advertising, and should be just as deliberate and intentional in yours.

You're paying to send this message, so make sure you get it just how you want it.

Almost before I could analyze the why behind their choice of phrasing, I heard it again -- this time for the laxative Miralax: "Miralax works with your body to..." well, you know what it does.

It's clear that pharmaceutical marketers have picked up on something their customers want to hear.

The market is cool to the idea of putting chemicals into your body, but warm to the idea of things that are natural or appear to work naturally. Hence the rise in use of homeopathic remedies for a variety of ailments -- and the very logical repositioning on the part of drugmakers.

In this environment, a phrase like "works with your body" resonates more positively than it may have five or ten years ago. Then, it may have sounded weak; now, it sounds almost organic. And organic is very fashionable right now!

It takes a certain sensitivity to know what matters to your customers, what allays their fears or motivates their buying decisions. Do your best to recognize trends in attitude so wherever those attitudes move, you will be right there speaking their language.

Labels: advertising, customer centered, marketing, messaging

ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd had a good take today that reminded me of a piece I wrote a long time ago -- about what advertising can do and can't do.

He was discussing a show that ESPN promoted very heavily, but got cancelled. His observation: "The idea that we can promote something to a (specific) rating is laughable." You'll tune in once or twice, but you won't devote your time to it if you don't like what you see.

Then he made an interesting contrast: "Have you ever seen a promo for PTI?" For you non-sports fans, PTI is Pardon the Interruption, a very popular ESPN opinion/commentary show. They do very little in the way of promotion because to a significant audience, PTI is appointment viewing. Once you've seen it, you like it and you come back.

Advertising works. Advertising drives traffic. The idea with advertising to those who haven't experienced you is to get them to give you a try. Advertising can generate a trial, but it can't make people like you.

Where advertising agencies and media sales reps often fall short is selling you (sometimes overselling you) on what advertising can do, to the neglect of what it can't do. If advertising doesn't generate visits or calls or clicks, evaluate the advertising. But if you're getting first-timers but not repeat traffic, evaluate the other factors of customer behavior.

That is, make sure your location and people and products/services and customer experience are the kind of stuff that make people want to return.

(And if I may self-promote for a moment, Fox Marketing Group exists to help you with the "total package" of marketing endeavor from traditional advertising to customer contact to shopping environment. We're not selling one marketing tool or another, we're working to connect you to customers at every point in the buying process -- including making sure your business is the kind that makes people want to come back.)

Labels: advertising, customers, marketing

Branding is done in two places -- in the boardroom, and on the front lines.

In the boardroom (or wherever planning is done), attention is given to competitive strengths, differentiation, positioning, and desired perceptions. A plan is made, visuals are created, strategies are verbalized. And then branding is projected through advertising and other communications.

That's where branding is typically decided by management. And that's where thoughts of branding usually stop.

But your brand is ultimately determined by the customer. And their perception is reality.

Take a bank, for example. If management has invested in its brand via graphics and advertising but not the teller line, they've missed the most critical branding element of all: the customer experience.

If you position your company as the fast, responsive player in the industry, but the customer has to wait on hold too long when calling in, what is your true branding? Not fast and efficient, but slow and annoying.

If you position yourself as a high-end provider for high-end clientele but customers get treated like cattle, do you really think your brand will be perceived as premium?

The customer ultimately decides what your mark means to them. So rename your Training department the Front-Line Branding department, because the customer experience is where your true reputation will be built or eroded.

Labels: bank, branding, credit union, customer service, marketing, planning

My wife was at the allergist's office the other day when she overheard a pharmaceutical rep getting a minute with the doctor. (She claims she wasn't eavesdropping -- he was just around the corner and she couldn't help but hear him.)

At one point, he actually said to the allergist, "You need to help me keep my job."

Seriously. Great pitch. (He was selling Xyzal, by the way, which has got to be a rotten place to be, considering all the over-the-counter options already available.) This is desperation on display.

I saw another example just the other day at a trophy shop. A banner said, "Stimulate our economy, buy a trophy!" The owners obviously felt that people weren't worried about their own personal economy, but rather revolved their lives around the survival of this one trophy shop. Desperate.

Or sometimes it's just narcissism. I once dealt with an outdoor advertising rep who happened to be pregnant. Not once but three times during our conversation, she said, "You gotta help me feed this baby."

When people are desperate, some fear-based instincts kick in that need to be recognized and suppressed. They lose sight of creating a win for the customer, and go directly after a win for themselves. Remind yourself often, as financial expert Dave Ramsey has said, that "the axis of the world does not drop through the center of your head."

These folks need to get their minds right: It's not an allergist's job to keep a drug rep employed; it's the company's job to produce effective, competitive medications and give their reps better training. It's not my job to feed a media rep's baby; it's her job to make my clients a great deal on the audience her billboards provide. It's not your job to stimulate the economy of an awards dealer; it's their job to penetrate sports leagues and schools and companies, and win their business.

Looking for a handout is desperate, and desperation stinks. Compete!

Consumers have their own worries. Their lives don't revolve around us, and it's not their job to devote themselves to our survival. If you catch yourself thinking anything other than this, shake it off!

When your needs begin to trump your customers' needs, it's time to revisit how success happens in capitalism. Bring value to the customer, and the customer will pay for it. Focus more on the front half of that deal -- what they need, not what you need. It will be refreshing, and do your business some good.

Labels: bad habits, customers, marketing

If only the "good hands" people could get their hands on that little gecko...

In a recent TV ad, Allstate did something I've not heard them do before -- they named names. Specifically, they named Geico.

Most companies, especially established players like Allstate, would prefer not to mention competitors at all. I haven't done the research to verify this, but I'm guessing Geico's massive advertising investment is yielding some business from customers switching from Allstate.

And it's quite an investment at that. Geico absolutely dumps money into TV and radio, and have done so for years. They're running what appears to be four separate campaigns simultaneously -- the gecko, the cavemen, the "money you could be saving," and a few straight-forward spots thrown in just to keep you on your toes.

Allstate's been pushed far enough, and now they're pushing back by name.

When do comparative ads work? That's a topic for a longer discussion (it usually favors the competitor with lower share, not the market leader), but the strategy here appears to be about disspelling impressions of "savings from switching." Allstate now claims that the average customer switching to Allstate from Geico saved money. We're more accustomed to hearing that claim the other way around.

Who knows if they're comparing apples to apples regardless of who you're switching from or who you're switching to? (We would need Progressive to find that out.) The "savings" game is one filled with questionable claims, regardless of industry.

But as a small business owner or manager, take interest in this battle of the bigs. Watch how they position themselves, alone and in regard to each other. Then look at your own market. Are there valid comparisons to make? How direct should you be in describing them? Maybe, just maybe, it's time to name names.

Labels: advertising, comparisons, competitors, marketing