A good brand sets up expectations. The more definitive the brand, the better we can anticipate the experience. We can almost sense what would be a "right or wrong fit" based on the brand values or behaviors.
For example…see how many of these you get right:
What shape is Disney Cruise line's most popular pool?
What rating would Disney's 7 pm live entertainment show earn?
How about their 9 pm show?
How late is the casino open?
The food that is consumed in the largest quantity on the ship is…
How many times a day do the cruise activities team have "age specific" kid activities planned?
What is the decor of the most popular on-board restaurant?
Citing productivity and security, corporations from Australia's largest telecommunications company, Telstra to many ma and pa store fronts, are banning the growing social networking tool.
According to London's Telegraph, more than 2/3 of UK companies are making Facebook off limits and visiting it during work hours is a sackable offense. (I so wish I spoke UK) Interesting that London was just identified as having more Facebook members than any other city in the world.
2007 has been a good year for many businesses. Studies are showing consumer optimism and spending are up. B-to-B reports are saying that businesses are also spending with renewed confidence.
You may be one of the lucky companies that's feeling pretty good about the work you have piling up. Customers are aplenty and the register is ringing. In fact, you are probably so busy you just don't have time to think about marketing. You'll get back to it when things slow down. Right?
Wrong. Really wrong.
The time to aggressively market is now. Why? Somehow we forget that client acquisition is hardly an instantaneous event. If we wait until we have extra time or really need the cash flow – we're in trouble.
The best time to reach out to potential new customers? It needs to be a constant part of your day. Every day. The challenge is to automate your efforts so that no matter how busy you are, it does not stutter or stop. So how do you go about making marketing part of your routine?
Identify at least one marketing tool that you can commit to for the rest of the year. It might be a monthly sales postcard to dormant customers, hosting a 4th quarter seminar aimed at your target audience, or a push in your print ad schedule.
Next, do something that locks you in. Print the postcards. Schedule the seminar and publicize the date. Sign a contract for the print ads. Do something that commits you. No matter how busy you are.
Is it enough? For most businesses, no. But it's a good start.
It's time to start the countdown! 228 days until we all gather together to kick off the first of many Blogger Socials!
You. Me. And hopefully a hundred or more of our marketing blogger friends from all over the globe. CK & I came up with the initial idea. Then we tossed it out to you.
And boy, did you get busy! You picked the where. You picked the when.
Visit the event's official site www.blogger-social.com. Check out what you helped us plan. Find out how to register. Subscribe so you stay plugged in.
Together, we will make this a can't miss event. We're counting on your help.
To try to keep all the discussion on the event's blog — we're closing comments on these announcement posts. So come chat it up with us over at www.blogger-social.com.
We just guided a new (pro bono) client through an absolute nightmare. They were being held hostage by their web developer/IT provider. I wouldn't wish what they went through on my worst enemy so here are some warning signs and tips.
Who registers/owns the domain name? Whoever controls your domain name, controls your site. Be sure the domain is registered in your name. You want to own your own domain.
Is it built so you can update your own content? With all the software solutions out there, there's no reason in the world (unless you have more money than time) to pay a web developer to update your content, once your site is complete. That doesn't mean you have to. Many businesses choose to retain their web developer to modify content. The question is — could you if you wanted to?
Is the site built on proprietary software? If you count on your site and get sideways with your web developer, what happens? Could you move your site? How about your databases? Could you do it even if the web developer shut you out?
Software and technology has completely changed the way websites and blogs are built. In the olden days (late 80s and early 90's) no one but the web gurus understood coding and the like.
But the world has changed and now you can control your own destiny.
The good news — most web developers are completely above board and honest. The problem is that the people hiring web developers that glaze over as soon as they hear HTML or WYSIWYG are the ones who are least equipped to pick out the good guys from the bad.
So let's help them out. Come on – add to my list. What else should neophytes know or watch out for when looking for some help with a web presence?
Legal Marketing Reader, http://legalmarketingreader.com, creates a one-stop destination with easy access to the latest information on law firm business development topics by collecting the best on-line resources and constantly updated headline feeds from the industry's leading experts. It's launch was announced yesterday.
"The idea is to create a trusted, no-nonsense tool for time-starved professionals that effectively filters out much of the spam and clutter encountered in broad web searches or traditional surfing," said Legal Marketing Reader editor and publisher Amy Campbell.
I went to check it out and was pleasantly surprised. Instead of articles written in that legal beagle English — there were articles like "Facebook: Blocking and Tackling" and "Market or Die."
Looks like the new world of marketing has even reached the hallowed halls of justice! I'm no lawyer (nor did I ever play one on TV) but there were several articles that caught my interest. So…attorney or not, check it out.
Here in the United States, we gather every November to give thanks. Each year we sit at a table filled with turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie and of course, some post dinner football. Why?
Behold the power of persistence.
We all know the story of the pilgrims of 1621. But many don't know that while there was an occasional day of thanks after 1621, it typically happened in June and then would go many years before the next celebration. President Jefferson actually scoffed at the idea of a day of thanks.
We would be at work on that 4th Thursday in November and cranberry jelly free, if it were not for Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor who wrote editorials, and letters to governors and presidents. Hale felt so strongly that our country should observe a day of thanks that she maintained her campaign for 40 years until in 1863 President Lincoln finally declared the last Thursday in November a national day of thanks.
Imagine if she had written just one editorial or letter and then given up.
And yet that's what marketers do every day. They try something once or twice and then throw in the towel. If you know you have a good idea – don't let fear, time or pressure wear you down. If you truly believe you are the right fit for a potential client…don't accept no.
Keep lobbying for a chance to tell the story. Even if it takes 40 years.
Good news for us, so did Josh Hinds. He went one step beyond wondering. He asked. His blog, Business Networking Advice.com is a treasure trove of brief interviews with a who's who of the business world. Each interview explores the person's viewpoint on networking, asks for some pointers and success stories.
None of them are a long read, but they are all good reads. Josh kindly decided to include me in his series. You can read more about my take on networking, if you'd like.
I decided to turn the tables on Josh and posed a few questions of my own.
Q. When did you start your interview series and what prompted it?
Josh Hinds: One of the topics that I speak to groups and companies on is networking –creating win, win relationships — both personally and professionally. Initially I was going to use the site to feature mostly my own articles on the topic, but then the idea struck me that it would be a whole lot more interesting to reach out to others who were getting the whole "effective networking" thing right — so I decided that in addition to my own articles on the topic I'd feature the short interviews. I actually started BusinessNetworkingAdvice.com in August of 2006. When it comes to personal development I've always held to the belief that you have to really stay plugged in and learning on going — doing the interviews have helped me a great deal and of course I always learn something useful with each one as well — even if it's just another take, or validation for something that I already believed to be true.
Q. Are there any themes you see among the answers that really resonate with you?
Josh Hinds: That's a great question. Within about the first several interviews I'd done a pattern began to show up and continues — that is givers gain — but you can't go into a situation where you just met someone and expect to get something from that person right off the bat. It's all about building rapport with the other person. Creating value in their eyes first, then as time goes by there's a better than average chance that you'll be in a position where that person will help you if they are able to. Again, the key is that you don't come from a point of what can I get from this other person — but rather, what can I do to serve this person I've just met (or the people who are in my "network").
Q. Who is the one person you'd like to interview but haven't snagged yet?
Josh Hinds: I'm not sure I have enough space to list everyone I'd love to interview 🙂 Two that come to mind though would be Zig Ziglar and Jack Welch (former CEO of GE). Zig Ziglar has a quote which I absolutely adore and try to live my life around — it goes like this: You can have everything in life you want, if you'll only help enough other people get what they want" — talk about a philosophy that would serve anyone well. I think it would be particularly fascinating to get Jack Welch's take on networking — to have risen to the level he did as CEO of GE I suspect he could teach us all quite a bit about networking and building professional connections.
Thanks to Josh for being the interviewee for a change and for inviting me to be a part of his stellar series.
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