Consumers Spill: White Lies They Tell Businesses/Business Owners All the Time

December 9, 2007

~ I really care about you or business’ success.

~ You looked so good in your TV commercial.  You should never pay for professional talent.

~ I don’t know how much I have to spend.

~ I behave just like everyone else in my demographic.

~ I don’t mind waiting for you to finish your personal conversation before acknowledging me.

~ It’s okay to ignore me if you don’t know the answer.

~ Let me get right back to you on that.  Thanks so much for the cold call.

~ No, no….everything is fine.  We’ll be back soon.

Of course, the consumers don’t utter these words.  They just behave politely and sales people and business owners make erroneous assumptions every day, based on those behaviors.

Which of these lies are you choosing to believe?

Note:  This post was instigated by Brian Clark of Copyblogger fame. He wrote a post claiming that you can always get blog post inspiration from the cover of Cosmo magazine and challenged his readers to give it a try.  Hat tip to my friend Director Tom for reminding me to take part.

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Looking for some great reading?

December 8, 2007

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You are always on stage

December 8, 2007

I pulled into a Jiffy Lube to get my oil changed.  The guys had the bay doors closes to keep out the wind. 

Just as I was about to knock on the window, I heard the very annoyed manager ripping into the employee standing next to him, "I don’t give a %$#* if you need to…"

He then turned, saw me and came out with a big smile on his face.  A little late for that. 

He had forgotten (or never learned) a key business lesson.

You are always on stage.

If you were to get a job at Disney World, you’d go through three days of "The Disney Way" training.  It doesn’t matter if you are sweeping up popcorn, running an attraction or putting on the Goofy costume.  Everyone goes through the training.  And one of the core lessons taught to the cast members is….you are always on stage.

If a customer can hear, see, touch, smell or taste you (okay the last two are probably not as likely) then you are on stage.  You should behave as though the most important customer in the world is right there. 

Because it might be true.

Related posts:

Hey customer, thanks for calling.  You’re fired.
Silence kills a relationship
Good customer service can be MAGIC!

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Thinking of going into marketing?

December 6, 2007

Somehow through the years, I’ve befriended many people who teach a college course or two.  Which means I get to speak to many a college class. 

Recently I was asked to give a presentation about my career path and how to break into the business.

Here are some of the lessons I shared:

It won’t go as you expect.  One of the most valuable skills a marketer can have is the ability to dip, dodge, dart and dig.  Flexibility and the fortitude to endure constant change is a must.

It’s not about the money.  Sooner or later, almost everyone takes "the" job for money.  And quickly realizes what a huge mistake that is.  The job is grueling.  Do it because you love it.

Be memorable.  This is a business filled with smart, funny superstars.  You have to find a way to stand out.

Do whatever it takes to break in.  After the first job is on the resume, it gets much easier.  But that first one is a bear to get.

Look for opportunities others don’t want — clean up the biggest messes.  This is a great way to get noticed and demonstrate your passion for the business.

Always be the guy/gal on the bottom of the pyramid.  He who supports his teammates will ultimately shine.

Never work for a jerk.   Life is too short and there are too many good bosses out there.

Soak it all in.  This is probably one of the most amazing  eras of marketing — and you get to live it.  Revel in that.

Steven Silvers at Scatterbox had some advice for students as well. 

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Are you an elf or a scrooge?

December 6, 2007

No, I’m not really polling you about your pre-holiday state of mind.  (I won’t ask if you don’t!)

But this holiday season, you can fashion yourself as an elf, scrooge or even a chipmunk! Viral marketing campaigns that allow people to add their own voice or picture and share them with  their friends is all the rage. 

Check out these interactive campaigns. 

Feeling the season? Turn yourself (or a friend) into an elf.  (check out this crazy elf!)

Feeling a little bah humbug about the holidays?  Turn yourself into scrooge.

Remember sucking helium from a balloon?  Turn your voice into a chipmunk’s.

Love football this time of year? How about doing your own victory dance?

So here’s the real question.  These campaigns drive a lot of traffic to your website.  They’re sticky, funny and very viral.  Are they about branding?  Does it make you want to buy stuff at OfficeMax or drink CokeZero?  Or see the new movie?

Do you think certain products, services or companies can benefit more from this sort of campaign?

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Do you know what’s impossible about this blog?

December 5, 2007

Well, to be honest, neither did I.

Which is why I was so excited when I received notice that Drew’s Marketing Minute would be the first blog EVER to be critiqued by the Kaiser (and Marcus Brown) in the new and free service….5 impossible things you didn’t know about your blog.

I don’t want to spoil the enjoyment of reading the assessment, so all I will say at this point is that I’m going to write about beer very, very soon. 

And I know it’s difficult to control yourself, but do try.

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Logo re-designs — a good idea or bad?

December 5, 2007

It seems like a lot of companies are getting antsy about their logos.  Whenever that happens — they get a bug to "update" their current logo.  Sometimes that’s a great idea.  Other times, a bit of a disaster.

Chrys Bader of Clever Cookie has gathered up many of the most recently revised and put together his own critique.

A logo revision is such a fine line.  A company’s logo is one of their biggest assets.  But, over time some of them begin to look a little dated.  But the general feel/look of it should be timeless.

Head over to Clever Cookie and then come back and tell us which logo revision do you think hit it out of the park…and which one struck out?

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Hillary Clinton called me!

December 4, 2007

Yes….me.  She wanted to tell me her stand on the issues.  And I know you’ll be stunned to hear this, but Hillary isn’t the only one calling.

I’ve heard from Mitt, Mike, Obama, Rudy, Bill, John, Chris and all the rest. 

Impressed?  Don’t be. 

They don’t want to talk to me, they want to talk at me.  Welcome to living in Iowa during a caucus year.  Spending is at an all time high (over $15 million to date and on the rise) and one of the more popular tactics apparently is the personal phone call.

Well, not exactly personal.  In fact, downright impersonal.  I pick up the phone.  I say hello.  I wait.  I say hello again.  Finally, a recorded message from a candidate begins.

I hang up.

Come on, people.  You say you are smart enough to run the country but you really think the recorded phone call method favored by cable TV companies and other automated sales forces is an effective marketing tool?

I know it’s cheap at first blush.  Pennies per Iowan versus the big bucks of TV, radio and print.  But it’s annoying and costing you votes.  Not so cheap, perhaps. 

Robo calls, as they’re known in the biz, are the second most popular tactic for politicians.  Nearly 2/3 of all registered voters in the U.S.  received at least one call in the past year.  The only thing that tops it is direct mail.

The calling is such an aggravating tactic that 9 states (including Iowa) are considering legislation to ban these robo calls.

The marketing lesson here — be smarter than a politician.  If your marketing tactic is so irritating that people are proposing a law to stop you from doing it — best look for a new tactic.

I’m sure Hillary is going to call again.  Anything you want me to tell her? 

P.S…and apparently this brilliant marketing tactic isn’t just being used by American politicians!

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Can you imagine a world without books?

December 2, 2007

I am very late to a meme that started in early November.  My pre-vacation prep and time away just kept me from getting to this.

I was tagged by both Cam Beck and Phil Gerbyshak — both avid readers and among my favorite bloggers.  Speaking of favorites — if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I really love books. I love listening to them, reading them, and being surrounded by them.  (Check out my bookshelves!)

You can learn a great deal about a person by discovering what books they read and love.  That’s the goal of this meme.  Let’s jump in.

How many books do I own?

Geez, I have no idea.  The house is filled to the gills with books and we probably have 4 or 5 bookshelves at work too.  So suffice it to say, many, many books!

Last book I read

Join the Conversation by Joseph Jaffe AND I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason by Susan Kandel.

Last book I bought

Not counting holiday gifts (I love to give books!) it was Now and Then by Robert B. Parker.

What I’m currently reading

I have several books going right now.  Now and Then (see above), Herd by Mark Earls and Lead With Your Heart by Lewis Green.

What I’ll read next

On the road, I am getting ready to start Bad Business by Robert B. Parker (audio book), and the next two books in the pile are The Inside Advantage by Robert H. Bloom and The Watchman by Robert Crais.

What’s on my wish list

The list is, as always, bulging.  But a couple that top the list are Walt’s People: Talking Disney with the Artists Who Knew Him by Didier Ghez and Juicing the Orange by Pat Fallon.

5 Meaningful Books (for me)

   1. Odd Girl Out (Rachel Simmons)
   2. Still Life with Woodpecker (Tom Robbins)
   3. Radical Leap (Steve Farber)
   4. Selling the Invisible (Harry Beckwith)
   5. The Journey of Desire (John Eldredge)

Okay, tag time….(I apologize if you have already been tagged, I know I’m late to the party!)

Chris Wilson
Tim Johnson
Tom Vander Well
Liz Strauss
Tara

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Blogtipping — December ’07

December 1, 2007

I am joining with my fellow bloggers in celebrating some new blogs that I enjoyed this past month. 

As is the blogtipping tradition, (created by Easton Ellsworth) I’ll offer a few reasons why I like the blog and one suggestion for improvement.

This month’s nods go to….

The Kiss Business Too is a very funny and very smart blog about business and doing it better by keeping it simple.

Things I love:

• The humor in the posts.

• Lots of outbound links, introducing us to other great blogs.

• The writing style is very approachable and comfortable.

Suggestion: 

• Add a search function so your readers can dig deeper into your content.

Young Entrepreneur was founded by two brothers, Matthew and Adam Toren. The focus is very tight — as the name suggests, entrepreneurs.  Within that framework though, they cover a wide range of topics.

Things I love:

• The diversity of your posts/topics.

• How you include other experts through interviews.

• Nice use of multiple authors.

Suggestion:

• Maybe it’s just me and the fact that I am not that young anymore…but dang, your font is small!

Strategize is Ross Hollman’s blog on business strategizing.  But it actually spans a bit broader than that, covering many aspects of business.

Things I love:

• Nice, clean layout.

• Good use of visuals, video and examples.

• Readers get a very good sense of you in every post.

Suggestion:

• How about using tools like MyBlogLog and The Good Blogs to build an even bigger community?

There you have it discerning readers…until next month’s blogtipping adventure!

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