Drew McLellan, Author at McLellan Marketing Group

2011 trends (part 1 of 4)

December 2, 2010

Our friends at trendwatching.com spend all day, every day, tracking, watching and anticipating trends that will impact us as consumers, as business leaders/owners and certainly as marketing professionals.

They just released their top 11 consumer trends for 2011. Rather than try and shove all 11 into a single blog post, I'm going to break them up into bite-sized posts and dig in that way over the next few days. Easier to digest!

I've added a question or two after each trend — to get you thinking about how you could capitalize on it.

1.Random acts of kindness: Consumers’ cravings for realness, for the human touch, ensure that everything from brands randomly picking up the tab to sending a surprise gift will be one of the most effective ways to connect with customers and prospects in 2011, especially beleaguered consumers in North America, Europe and Japan.

Question re: trend #1: This is really about surprising your customers and prospects. How could you build in (they don't happen accidentally) a little bit of delight?

What could you do in a seemingly random fashion (like Southwest's enthusiastic flight attendants) that would generate some word of mouth buzz and make your customers feel special and appreciated?

2.Urbanization: Urbanization remains one of the absolute mega trends for the coming decade, with about the global population currently living in urban areas. Urban consumers tend to be more daring, more liberal, more tolerant, more experienced, more prone to trying out new products and services. In emerging markets, these effects tend to be even more pronounced, with new arrivals finding themselves distanced from traditional social and familial structures, while constantly exposed to a wider range of alternatives.

Question re: trend #2: The interesting part of this trend to me is the idea that people are longing for traditional social structures but moving away from them. As humans, we need to belong.

How could you create a sense of shared interest or goals among your customers? Could you give them something to band together around? Maybe this is where your charitable giving comes into play? Could you create a cause marketing "family" that holds your customers close to you, like Avon has done with with their breast cancer efforts?

3.Pricing Pandemonium: Mobile devices and social networks allow consumers to constantly receive targeted offers and discounts, even at the point of sale from a rival brand, as well as join interest groups. Brands should target consumers with offers and features such as instant mobile coupons and discounts, online group discounts, flash sales, and dynamic pricing based on real-time supply and demand.

Question re: trend #3: Okay…I'm going to buck the trend a little on this one. What if instead of bombarding your customers with coupons and deals (which always makes me worry that they're going to wonder why you haven't done that before) you create a secret place for where only your best customers (who of course will tell everyone they know) can access special deals?

Remember how much we all love feeling special, being in the know and being able to demonstrate that we're among the elite. Could your pricing strategy take advantage of this trend combined with those human truths?

Come on back tomorrow and we'll look at the next set of trends!

Use word of mouth to score your next job

November 30, 2010

Word of mouth sells products and services every day. In fact, 67% of consumers say that WOM is the #1 influencer of their buying decisions.

Why would work any differently when someone is "buying" a new employee?

Here's how you can amplify some word of mouth for your next job search.

I end up having coffee with many people looking for work. They might have been fired, downsized or are a college graduate just starting out. They're looking for someone to run their resume by, someone who might be able to help them make connections and often, just someone to listen. (I have some specific advice I give college kids but I'll save that for another post.)

I try to offer them as much help as I can. One thing I always do is describe what I believe is the surefire way to find your next job. I've seen it work every time someone has tried it. But it requires some work and discipline. Which is why most people never bother with it.

And why many of them are still looking for work.

If you're serious about finding the next job — follow these instructions and then watch what happens.

1. Make a list of 100 or so people (you will need email and phone numbers) that you believe would want you to succeed. This might be family, friends, former co-workers, professional group colleagues, neighbors and the people you know from the PTA, gym, church or softball league.

In other words, think long and wide. Ideally, they should all either live where you want to work or be wired into the industry you want to be a part of. If you are looking for a job in your hometown of Chicago, your cousin in Houston isn't as good a choice as your next door neighbor. Unless he's connected. Then, keep him on the list.

2. Write an email that basically says:

I am looking for my next job and I am trying to build an army of people who will help me find that new job by making introductions, sharing their knowledge of companies and people, keeping their ear to the ground, etc.

If you'd be willing to be a part of my team, I promise I will not abuse your kindness and that I will pay it forward by helping others when they ask down the road. My plan to to send you one update email per week.

In this email, I will include any meetings, interviews, ads answered and other activity done that week. I will also share what I have on my to do list for the following week. All I ask is that you read the email and if you know any of the people or companies and can put in a good word – you do.

Would you be willing to get this weekly email from me and help if you can?

3. Wait for replies and based on the yeahs or nays you get — build your mailing list. Most people, if you choose wisely, will say yes and be genuinely glad to help.

Send them your updated resume and a detailed description of the type of job you are seeking. Be candid about your strengths and weaknesses. Help them help you.

4. On the following Friday morning, compose and send your first email. Include:

Coffees/meetings held
Interviews
Phone contacts made
Ads answered/jobs applied for
Interviews set up for the following week
People you are trying to make contact with
Any specific things you need help with (review the resume, mock interview practice, etc.)
And then, send it on it's way and let the army go to work.

If you are going to employ this tactic, you absolutely MUST send an email every week. Share the good weeks and the bad. This isn't the place to whine, complain or gossip.

This is not your diary, where you can air all the emotions that come with a job search. This is a top line report of your efforts. Nothing more or less.

If you activate this job search army, you will be amazed at their reach and their willingness to help you. Be respectful of their time, be humble and say thank you often to those who help.

Most important – once you land that next job, remember your promise to pay it forward.

Note: I am not negating LinkedIn, Facebook, or any other social media tool. When you're looking for a job — it's all hands on deck. But there is something very powerful, affirming and effective about mobilizing a team of people who truly can get you past the gatekeepers and onto a short list of candidates.

Word of mouth sells products and services every day. In fact, 67% of consumers say that WOM is the #1 influencer of their buying decisions. Why do you think it would work any differently when someone is "buying" a new employee?

What if you just talked like a real human being?

November 26, 2010

I began my career as a copywriter and at the core, it's still how I think of myself. I love creating emotional responses, telling stories and drawing pictures with words. (This could be due to the fact that I cannot draw them any other way!)

But I've always believed that many marketing writers have missed the point. We're not supposed to be so clever and so fancy that we confuse people. We're not supposed to use inside jargon or bloated words (empower, paradigm, etc.) that have been so badly overused that they are meaningless.

We are supposed to talk like regular human beings.

Sure, you can be a remarkable storyteller like the folks at J. Peterman's catalog or fire people up like Steve Farber can — but you do it in language they can understand and relate to.

Check out this black Friday sales e-mail from the StoryPeople organization, located in my home state of Iowa. (click on the link to see their cool building!)

Sure, they're announcing a sale but listen to how human they sound.

Subject: Happy Bright Friday! Yippee! (because calling it Black Friday is just too bleak…)

OK, we were hanging out at the studio this morning & for very good reasons, we started a game of Let's Pretend. Why? you may ask…

Because, we would answer, given our usual balmy Iowa November weather, outside there was ice coming down in sheets the size of billboards. We HAD to pretend that it was all a bad dream & that it was happening SOMEWHERE ELSE. Somewhere else where we weren't. Like Narnia, or the South Pole, or someplace like that, where they like ice coming down in sheets.

It was fun for a while, but the ice didn't want to play along. Boo, ice! So, we decided to play something else instead. Ben suggested a game of Rename The Day After Thanksgiving. Because really, who likes the name Black Friday? We don't know who called it that in the first place, but obviously, they were having a really bad day.

Once we got started, of course, we got all happy & chirpy again (as long as no one looked outside). After much lively discussion & laughter, we voted to call it Bright Friday instead.

(But don't worry. We're not like the government, where even if it's a stupid idea, you're stuck with it. We think of it as a temporary name until someone comes up with something better. To be honest, we didn't have a lot to work with. It was one of two suggestions. The other was Rainbows & Unicorns Friday. See? Bright Friday doesn't sound so bad after all, does it?)

Because it seems like just the kind of day that demands a celebration, we're doing a StoryPeople special in honor of Bright Friday. Woo hoo! For the entire month from now until, well, a month from now. (We first thought it'd make sense to keep with the whole 30 days in a month theme & give you 30% off of all purchases of 30, or more, things. But that didn't seem all that bright, being that it was Bright Friday & all…)

So, we went with 30% off of all purchases of 3, or more, of everything. (Ok, except for individual greeting cards, furniture, holiday ornaments & our create-your-own products. Because we're swamped right now & that would push us completely over the edge. But that still leaves tons more stuff & all the rest of it is fair game.) So pick any three things- a sculpture, a book, a print, you name it & we'll give you 30% off for 30 days. Hooray for Bright Friday…

Oh yeah, one more thing…

Don't forget that you have until November 29th to nominate your favorite Princess for the only-one-in-the-whole-world StoryPeople tiara. If you haven't heard yet, the tiara was done by Lynne the Jeweler who does all the StoryPeople holiday ornaments. (Which, by the way, are only guaranteed to arrive in time for the holidays if you order by November 29th.) So, if you haven't done it already, nominate your favorite Princess (since we're running out of time, be sure you send it via email to Annette@storypeople.com) by telling us who they are & why they should be crowned this year's StoryPeople Princess of the Known Universe. Heck, if you want to make it really easy, just add it to the comment at the end of your order when you stock up on this year's limited edition StoryPeople holiday ornaments… 🙂

No matter what, make sure you get everything in by November 29th (because, no kidding, this once-in-a-lifetime chance at the tiara ends then. We're putting our foot down. Even with Bright Friday dancing into sight, ice is still coming down in sheets. So, don't even think about messing with us on this… 🙂

We look forward to seeing you at StoryPeople.com soon (& even if we don't, let us know how your Bright Friday goes. We have a feeling with a name like that, it's going to be fabulous…)

With love,

The Crew at StoryPeople

Did they make their point? Sure… they're having a sale. But they did it in a way that sounds quite human. And also very true to their brand. Can you imagine seeing an ad that says "because we're swamped right now & that would push us completely over the edge?" I'd like the company that had the courage to do it.

How about you? Could you copy use a little humanization?

By the way… thanks to reader Rebecca (love that Rebecca!) for sharing the e-mail copy. I'd never h eard of the StoryPeople before, despite their Iowa location.

But, I see that they're selling a book by Twitter sensation Tim Siedell (twitter name: BadBanana) who I knew way before he was twitter funny and he guest blogged here while I vacationed. Tim and I share a love of branding, Disney and David Ogilvy. He blogs too. He is a twisted sister of funny, so check out the book.

Gratitude: My greatest gift

November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! Even if you're not in the states — why not take a moment today and remember some of the blessings you have in your life?

I try very hard to make my blog about you. I want to infuse value, insights and fresh ideas in every post.

But I believe that one of the most powerful emotions we can experience is gratitude. I believe it literally can move mountains and change hearts. On this day of giving thanks, I ask your forgiveness as I recognize my own incredible good fortune.

Anyway…enough prelude.

In 2006 at the Balanced Life Center blog, the author created the Season of Gratitude. She invited other bloggers to share “a gratitude moment” and I couldn’t resist joining in back then and I can't resist making this my annual Thanksgiving post.

It is more true today than when I wrote it 4 years ago. Here is my own Thanksgiving homage:

Rather than create a laundry list of the incredible and plentiful blessings that I am surrounded with every day, I decided to narrow my focus to my greatest gift.

My daughter. She is quite simply the best part of me.

Her questions force me to find my own clarity. Her humor is the perfect salve for a stressful day. Her fears remind me of my own humanity and her teen-induced insecurities keep my heart tender.

Her zest for life’s delights feeds my spirit and her need to re-charge urges me to slow down now and then. Her laughter triggers my own (sometimes in the most inappropriate places and times) and her tears show me the depth of my own vulnerability.

Her drive to succeed tempers my own so we can talk about balance and her sense of discovery (both academic and of self) lets me indulge in the same.

Her need to learn about the responsibilities that come along with being given a good life allows me to share my talents unselfishly and take her along for the ride.

Her presence gives me purpose. Her future gives me hope. And her faith in me inspires me to be a better person.

She is my Jiminy Cricket. She is my legacy. And she is, every single day, my season of gratitude.

How about you….will you take a moment and share your season of gratitude with us?

How Disney says “I’m sorry”

November 24, 2010

It's inevitable…we're going to make a mistake or disappoint a customer. And while Love Story might have told us that "love means never having to say you're sorry" I'm pretty sure that if we really want to create a love affair with our customers — we do on occasion, have to apologize.

The brilliant marketers at Disney know that for many, a trip to one of their resorts is a once in a lifetime event for a family. So if they mess up, they'd better apologize in a big way.

Like most hotels, check in at Disney's Boardwalk is 4 pm. But our room wasn't ready until around 6 pm. Oops.

How did Disney handle their error? First, we got a $200 credit on our room tab. And then, there was a knock at the door and room service presented us with this beautiful (and delicious) 8" white chocolate Mickey and four tuxedo'd chocolate covered strawberries.

Do you suppose that right after we finally checked in, someone scrambled to figure out how to make things right with us? Of course not. Disney had a plan in place and all the cast member had to do was put it into action.

How about you — what's your white chocolate Mickey? Don't wait until after you've disappointed a customer to figure out how to apologize.

Creating love affairs: You can’t buy their love

November 23, 2010

In our ongoing pursuit of creating love affairs with your customers, I wanted to share a recent experience.

If you're a regular reader, you know that I am:

A frequent traveler
A wee bit impatient
All about efficiency

So it shouldn't surprise you that I have my travel routine down to a science. I can pack for any trip in less than 10 minutes.

I own a TSA approved messenger bag so I don't have to take my laptop out when I got through security. I always wear slip on shoes.

And I just ordered TSA approved belts so I can scoot through the scanner without having to de and re-belt. (or accidentally dropping trou.)

When the belts from www.BeepFreeProducts.com arrived, I was pretty pumped to open the package. This was the final tweak to my travel ensemble. (I know… I can't help it. Don't judge me!) But when I dug past the packaging, I found more than the belts.

There was also a handwritten post it note thanking me for my order and saying that they'd included a couple extra belt buckles so I'd have some variety to choose from. (see the photo)

On a simple post it note. Nothing pre-printed, nothing fancy. Just a note from Jim.

It probably cost him 2 minutes to jot the note. But I felt the love. Why?

It was unexpected: This was my first order from the company so I had no real expectations. I hadn't spent a huge amount of money and they don't have a super sexy website, product etc. So I wasn't expecting the creativity and the personal touch.

It was personal: If it had been a pre-printed card, it probably wouldn't have been as memorable or noteworthy. He addressed the note to me, not "dear customer or sir." Whether it's true or not, I felt like Jim really did want me to have those extra buckles. He really cared that I could mix and match my buckles.

Another example of this is www.TheMemStore.com. They sell memory chips. Tough to imagine anything that is more of a commodity than that. But, with every order, they include a couple suckers. Yes, lollipops. Think it is silly? Google AND lollipops and see all the mentions and links. Do you really think people would be writing about the company they buy memory chips from, if it weren't for the suckers?

Many people believe that creating a lasting love affair with your customers is going to be incredibly expensive. It doesn't have to be. In fact, you can't buy their love.

If you try too hard or it feels like you are throwing money at it, rather than throwing your heart into it, it will backfire.

Instead of them feeling your love, they'll feel a little cheap, Ike you think they can be bought. But let Jim's post it note remind us all that it's the heart that counts, not the cost.

2 good reads from The Conference Board event

November 17, 2010

Two of the speakers at the recent Conference Board's marketing event also happened to be best selling authors. As a perk of attending, everyone was given a copy of both of their books. They were both inspirational speakers — drawing from their own experiences, research data and some good old people watching.

I'd already read Tony Hsieh's Delivering Happiness (click the title to buy the book) but really devoured John Gerzema's Spend Shift (click the title to buy the book) over the past few days.

Rather than do my usual recap, I thought I'd share YouTube presentations from each author. I think you'll feel their passion around their areas of expertise. The books represent both halves of the whole.

Hsieh's book is mostly about internal culture and the power of building a strong one.

Gerzem'a book is about the consumer and shifts in their attitudes, buying behaviors and aspirations.

Put them together and you're going to be a whole lot smarter. And both your employees and customers will be the better for it.

But without further ado… let me introduce you to the authors and let them do their own talking. (e-mail subscribers, click here to view the videos)

Meet Tony Hsieh:

Meet John Gerzema:

Both books are good reads — lots of story telling, lots of tangible examples and plenty for every business, big or small, to steal from!

Note: Both book links are Amazon Affiliate links.

Sometimes the toughest sell is inside

November 15, 2010

A huge number of brilliant marketing ideas never get exposed to the light of day. Why? It's usually not budget or audience apathy. It's internal fear.

Let's face it, there are a lot of frightened senior managers out there. Afraid to be different. Afraid to actually take a stand. Afraid to differentiate and potentially lose a sale. Afraid to make a bold decision.

Afraid of owning and celebrating their brand.

The result? A whole lot of sameness. Much like teenagers who would die rather than stand out, these decision makers block any attempts to do something unique enough to capture our attention or our hearts.

Which is why I loved listening to Ogilvy & Mather's Chairman Shelly Lazarus (at The Conference Board's Senior Marketing Executive Conference) tell the story of how Dove's True Beauty campaign got the green light.

Watch the spot (first released during the Super Bowl of all places!) and then I'll relate the story to you. (e-mail subscribers, click here to watch the spot)

Internally, the Dove marketing team knew this campaign had the potential to be so much more than a marketing campaign. It was about embracing and owning their brand. It was recognizing that they had the culture and the responsibility to address the issue of self esteem among girls. (Much like Dawn did during the oil spill)

But, they knew it would be a tough sell internally. They believed in their idea enough to take a risk. (Maybe that's the litmus test?)

They scheduled the meeting with their senior management to pitch the new TV spot (and the new direction for their brand) and then they did a sneaky thing. A few days before the big meeting, they grabbed a video camera and interviewed the daughters of the men who would later be sitting around the conference room table.

The spot you just watched actually contains some of the sentiments that those daughters uttered. Imagine sitting back, ready to critique a TV spot and seeing your 8-year old daughter say she hates her freckles or that she thinks she's fat. Suddenly you are a father and the issue of self esteem and body image among girls is very, very real. And very personal.

And the rest is history. The campaign has been brilliantly executed, Dove products have enjoyed a spike in sales and research/workshops like the Self-Esteem Report exist because of the Dove Self Esteem Fund.

All because someone had the courage to fight for an idea they believed in. Next time you grumble about a client or boss who squashed a good idea, ask yourself how much fight you put into the battle.

Marketing tip #81: Do you know what they notice?

November 11, 2010

You probably bust a hump (and a decent budget) getting your prospects to notice you.

You study the demographics and know who your target market is. You are an expert in your industry. Your product/service is exceptional. Your marketing materials are professionally produced and tested well with the focus groups.

You got all of the big things right.

And you still may have it wrong.

So often, it's not about the big things. It's about the details. The tiny little thing that becomes the deal breaker or the deal maker.

Let me give you an example. My daughter is a high school senior and due to a lot of hard work on her part, a very successful student. As a result, she's being aggressively pursued by many colleges.

The mailbox is bulging every day with stunning four color brochures. She is receiving letters inviting her to bypass the regular application process and guarantees of academic scholarships of significance.

No argument — all of these things are the right things. But she isn't noticing.

What's she's noticing is that one school seems to hold her in even higher esteem. Because they send handwritten notes. They take the time to attach a personal message on the drama page of their brochure because she's a drama kid. They send postcards telling her what's happening on campus that she might enjoy.

We toss around words like authentic and transparent. But you know what — it's a lot easier to talk about than it is to actually do. It takes a lot of time to get the little things right. And you have to be able to sustain it.

So here's the question — what little thing could you do that they would notice? And do you want their business badly enough to commit to doing it?

Are you asking the right questions?

November 10, 2010

I mentioned The Conference Board's Senior Marketing Executive Conference a few weeks ago. Today, at the pre-conference workshop conducted by John Carroll, SVP at Synovate's Customer Experience group, the discussion revolved around tracking your customer's experience and tying the research data to changing behaviors.

So we started talking about customer surveys and how most often, companies default to the standard questions. Satisfaction levels, rate this or that on a scale of 1-5. John pulled out a hotel survey where they literally had 3 questions on the shower head (seriously — the dispersion of the water?).

We either ask questions that are too vague and nebulous or we drill down to the wrong details. We then got into the intriguing idea of building your survey around the goal of changing a specific behavior.

For example, Whirlpool recognized that when people went to buy big appliances, they often went to a big box store (Home Depot, Lowes etc.) and that those salespeople were often influenced by whatever manufacturer spiff (a monetary reward for selling a specific brand or item) happened to be in play. So Whirlpool wanted to encourage their prospective buyers to overrule a salesperson's recommendation, if it wasn't a Whirlpool product

When they started designing their survey around these types of very specific (not buy more Whirlpool) prescribed behaviors, they had an element that was real and measurable. They also had a very tangible goal. Now they could get very strategic in thinking through how to move that specific needle.

Interestingly, in the end, the strategy they came up with is that they used marketing dollars to put Whirlpool salespeople on the big box store floors. They found that most people didn't feel knowledgeable enough to override the influential salesperson. So they brought in their own. Whirlpool execs admitted they wouldn't have considered that as an option, if it weren't for the focus in the research.

So here are a few questions for you to chew on today:

What very specific, measurable behavior (not buy more, recommend me more etc) do you want your prospects to engage in?
What types of survey questions could you ask to measure that?
What marketing strategy could you employ to influence that behavior?

Note: I'm at this event as an invited guest because they thought I'd find the topics of interest and relevant to you. While I'm under no obligation to write a single word, if the rest of the speakers are as thought provoking, you'll hear more about it! Stay tuned.

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