Marketing Archives - Page 40 of 67 - McLellan Marketing Group

Tim Siedell: 15 Steps to Bigger Ideas

November 26, 2007

Thinking is hard work. When you're up against a deadline or facing a declining sales chart, it gets even harder. Whether you're a business owner or a creative professional, here are some steps you can take to get even bigger and better ideas.

First things first, however. It's a process.

Creativity is not a magical act. It's a process. Scientists, authors, musicians, and other creative professionals who have studied such things have broken down the creative process into five basic steps:

Gathering information for the task at hand
Thinking through various solutions
Walking away from the problem
Getting an idea
Testing the idea

Yep, walk away.

No doubt, the most surprising aspect to this process is step 3. When you think about it, however, you've experienced this firsthand many times. Frustrated by a project, you walk away in disgust. Hours or even days later, you come up with the perfect solution seemingly out of the blue. It's the clichéd shower experience. Your subconscious is an idea machine.

Ten Steps to Bigger Ideas Now

1) Give yourself a target.
The more concretely you define the problem, the more energy you can focus towards a specific solution.

2) Manage the process and deadline.
Don't allow yourself to move onto the next step until the current one is finished. And build time into your deadline to walk away.

3) Find a comfort zone.
Surround yourself with the creature comforts that make you feel most at ease.

4) Attack the white bull.
Hemingway feared the blank page. He called it the "white bull." If Hemingway can fear the start of a project, you can, too. It's natural. Attack your fear head on.

5) Free-associate with abandon.
Robert Frost called an idea "a feat of association." Smash thoughts together. Write down words and see if they connect. Mash, smash, and crash.

6) Actively search for inspiration.
Look into other industries or unrelated fields for sparks of inspiration. Search the web. Look for items that spin you into new directions.

7) Aim low at first.
Nervous about a deadline? Frustrated? Get an easy solution onto that blank page and you'll loosen up and feel more confident.

8) Forget about it.
Seriously. Go to a movie. Take a walk. Move on to another project.

9) Go to sleep.
Research shows that a good night's sleep leads to bigger and better ideas. Let your subconscious go to work.

10) Be willing to kill your babies.
Don't fall in love with your ideas. Try to get as many ideas as possible and then test them without prejudice at the end.

Five Steps to Bigger Ideas Long Term

11) Break out of ruts.
Pick up a trade pub from a different industry. Eat at a new restaurant for a change. Listen to new music.

12) Be a sponge.
The more stuff you have in your brain, the more material you'll have to work with the next time you free-associate.

13) Keep your radar up.
Actively look around you. Carry a journal to record little nuggets of inspiration.

14) Gain confidence.
Confidence is key to any creative person. The more you employ the above steps, the more your confidence will grow.

15) Collaborate.
Working with others will help you grow your ideas exponentially.

Now it's your turn. What steps or tips have you found effective when it comes time to be creative?

Drew's Note: Tim Siedell is creative director and co-founder of Fusebox Brand Communications. His bad banana blog is an excellent daily resource for creative ideas and inspiration (step 6 above). Tim is one of the funniest Twitterers I know…and has very quickly proven to be not only smart but a good guy.

Connie Reece: Think Small for Big Results

November 25, 2007

One word of advice for Drew and family as they enjoy the annual pilgrimage to the wonderful world of Disney: steer clear of It's a Small World. Talk about things that are “sticky” … you don't even have to get on the ride. All you have to do is walk in front of the Small World pavilion and that annoying theme song will be stuck in your head for days!

At Disney the tiny animatronic dolls representing countries around the world have been a phenomenal success. What about your business? Are there small things you could do to produce big results?

Recently Hugh McLeod wrote about using micromedia for micromarketing the new labels for South African wine Stormhoek. Previously the company has sponsored large celebrity-driven geek events; now they're about to host a number of small, intimate gatherings—and they're using the microblogging service Twitter as the promotional vehicle. (Note: the offer is limited to UK Twitter users, so don't bombard Hugh with requests from other countries or through his blog. It's not that small a world yet.)

Why the switch? Here's what Hugh said:

When we sponsor large parties, nobody notices, talks about, or remembers the name of the wine that was served that evening. With smaller parties, the opposite is true. People seem truly appreciative that a commercial wine business would go to all that trouble, just to reach out to so relatively few people. But why not? From trying to connect with people on a much more intimate and human level, we have far more stable and stronger building blocks to create a community around our brand.

Stormhoek's mass market is everyone who drinks wine, and the label is sold in major retailers. However, their primary marketing venue has been the blogosphere. Now they're further refining a niche market strategy: find small groups of wine drinkers among early technology adopters (i.e. Twitter users), send sample bottles of wine for those who want to host a dinner party, and generate word of mouth buzz.

Instead of occasions for celebrity-sightings, the small dinner events are likely to stimulate conversation about the quality of the wine and its unique marketing strategy. Stormhoek is hoping to build brand evangelists and to develop a loyal community among a relative handful of people who have a proven habit of answering the question: What are you doing? (Twitter's raison d'être.)

What lesson can you learn from Hugh McLeod and Stormhoek? Can you pare down your marketing budget while beefing up results through smaller, more targeted campaigns?

Drew's Note: Connie Reece blogs at Every Dot Connects and is the the founder of Reece & Company. When it comes to mixing social media principles with PR and marketing tactics, Connie is one of the experts. I had the privilege of meeting her at SOBCon '07 and she's the real deal.

Gavin Heaton: Take the chill out of cold calling

November 21, 2007

I have never been good at cold calls. Not good at making them, and not good at taking them.

But I do like good technique. I like a good performance. And also, I clearly understand that the person calling me has a job to do, a quota to fulfill or an inventory to shift. And as I work in marketing, I feel it is my duty when someone cold calls me, to listen.

But surprisingly, very few cold callers are prepared for someone who listens well.

And over the years I have noticed the same mistakes being repeated call after call. So, if you or someone you know, is responsible for cold calling, here are some things you might want to consider.

Know me — if you called me, you should know who I am, what my role is, the name of my company and something about it.
Know your offer — be ready to answer the simple questions and the off-beat. Know why your product/service is better than the one I am currently using, and be able to tell me why.
Don't ask me about my weekend — I don't know you, and we aren't friends. You have something to sell me and I am giving you the opportunity to tell me about it. Don't waste my time or yours.
Cut the jargon — you might understand the acronyms and the industry speak, but I don't. Make it simple for me to understand.
Put a smile in your voice — speak in an upbeat manner. Not too friendly. Not too chatty. And not too fast. Record yourself and play it back. If you sound like a chipmunk, slow down.
Follow-up and follow-through — if you promise to do something, do it. Then let me know you have. Make it personal for me so that it is harder for me to forget you.
Make me look good — you know, we all have bosses (even if we are self-employed). You thought your job was to sell me something? Wrong. Your job is to help me look good. Do that, and the sales will come.
Hang up gracefully — first impressions count and so do your last words. Leave me with something to remember you by.
Never lose your temper — even if I am rude. Really.

And finally, if you really do believe what you have will change my life, don't give up.

Drew's Note: Most of you will recognize Gavin Heaton as my cohort in the Age of Conversation. But long before that, he'd done some pretty impressive things. He's been in publishing, the agency business and on the client side. So, it is safe to say that he really does understand marketing from a 360 degree perspective. And like Greg, he's one of the good guys. He just has that cool Aussie accent to go along with it!

Putting out the welcome mat

November 20, 2007

Today begins my family's annual pilgrimage to the mouse house! That's right, we're Disney bound.

Last year, you'll remember that I wrote a series of posts about the magic of Disney marketing. (You can download the PDF) This year, I decided to take a break and really enjoy the down time. But I didn't want to leave you high and dry. So, I invited some of my smartest marketing blogger friends to pinch hit.

Every day, there will be at least one new post from a marketing blogger that you are going to love. They're going to cover everything from social media to cold calling.

Enjoy their wit and wisdom. And behave yourselves — we have guests in the house! (was that my dad's voice I just heard?)

My biggest fear is that you're going to love them so much you're going to start a collection basket to keep me in FL!

You're going to love them….and to my guest bloggers — a sincere thank you for stepping up, especially over a holiday week.

Marketers are wishy washy on social media

November 19, 2007

According to a recent Coremetrics survey, titled "Face of the New Marketer" 78% of marketers indicate that social media initiatives give them a leg-up over the competition.

The survey found that in the last 12 months:

31% of respondents have started a blog
25% of respondents have put in place an RSS feed

So far, so good — right? Well, here's the rub. They talk a good game, but they're not really putting their money where their mouth is. Just 7.7 percent of their total online marketing spend was allocated to it compared to 33 percent to online advertising and 28 percent on online promotion design and implementation.

In a completely separate study conducted by Gunderson Partners, they found that 45% of companies surveyed have allocated 10% or less of their budget to new media. The report goes on to say "Of the hurdles mentioned, nearly 40% cited insufficient knowledge [lack of metrics] and 33% stated not having enough time to evaluate [metrics]."

So what do you think? Are we just on the bleeding edge? Is it a matter of time? Or is there a flaw in the medium?

4 things marketers could learn from reality shows

November 16, 2007

We make fun of them, we swear we never watch them….and yet they are everywhere.

Reality shows.

Long before the writer's strike, they were already here to stay. Having a teenager in the house means I get to watch more than my fair share of them. Like the proverbial train wreck, they're sort of hard to turn away from. They are both grotesque and fascinating.

I realized tonight that there are some lessons for us in the reality show recipe. After all, wouldn't we like our marketing efforts to be mesmerizing?

High Emotion/Drama: There's not a dull moment on these shows. They have a wonderful sense of story-telling build up. You can feel the tension mounting and before you know it — someone is taking a swing at someone else or we've got a full on sob fest.

How about your marketing materials? Are you telling a story that builds up to a satisfying emotional reaction? Are you drawing your audience in?

Messy: There's nothing pretty or perfect on a reality show. But then again, life isn't perfect. It's messy. Especially when you are doing things "live" or on the fly.

I think one of the reasons many companies shy away from social media tactics is because they can't package them up and put a bow on them. It's okay to just get out there and wing it a little. Maybe it will look a little messy from time to time — but it will also look authentic.

Conflict: Most reality shows are some sort of contest. It pits people against each other and within that, secret alliances, grudge matches and villains. We need someone to root for. And against.

We know that all buying decisions are based on emotions. Do you know what emotions trigger a prospect to become a buyer for your product/service? Are you setting up conflicts to evoke those emotions?

Surprise: There are more twists and turns than the roller coasters at Cedar Point. They're always bringing back old contestants or revealing secrets, just to keep everyone on their toes. Adding an element of surprise enhances the three earlier elements — high emotions, messiness and conflict. Surprise also offers relief from those elements. So just about the time you can't handle any more drama, they'll take a twist and offer a sentimental moment.

Are you remembering to surprise your customers? That's a very powerful way to generate word of mouth and stickiness.

So next time you are feeling a little guilty about watching Dancing with the Stars or I Love New York 2 — have no fear. You're just enhancing your marketing knowledge!

How confident are you in the value you deliver?

November 14, 2007

I've mused aloud on this before. It's an intriguing concept to me.

Letting our customers set the prices.

Mack Collier from Viral Garden reported on a band (Radiohead) that allowed fans to download their CD and determine what they were willing to pay for it. Interestingly, not only did their traffic have a huge spike, but they sold more of their boxed sets (at full price) than the downloads at any price.

The Springwise newsletter also reported on this trend by pointing to several restaurants like Melbourne's Lentil As Anything which also lets customers pay what they can afford or what they think the meal was worth.

Here in the states, we could visit the One World Café in Salt Lake City or the SAME Café (So All Might Eat) in Denver. An interesting note about these two restaurants. They've added some cause marketing to the mix, stating that the reason they're doing this is so they can feed those in need as well.

Hmm.

Does this idea only work with products that have a relatively flat price point? We all know CDs (or downloads of CDs) range from $10 – 20, usually. And dinner for 2 at an average casual restaurant is going to be somewhere around $25-40.

Does this concept hold as well for service-based businesses? Do I really have any concept of what it takes for an attorney to review a contract or for an ad agency to create a brochure? Would I have any idea what to pay an architect for drawing some blueprints of a new house?

What do you think? Would this work in your industry? Without a doubt, it is risky in any arena but it sure has a lot of buzzability around it.

Pricing strategy says quite a bit about your brand. What would this say?

Anyone willing to try it and be our case study?

Good is good enough?

November 12, 2007

Unless you are a very rare organization, someone else out there sells what you sell. Insurance, an education, a widget, wisdom & insights, a phone. There is no such thing as a totally unique product or service any more.

Let's assume your product is good. And so is your competition's. Taking your product to the next notch — very good should mean you could sell more, right?

Wrong. Unless you create a whole new product, a slight improvement isn't going to move market share. (It may make you more profitable though!) We are surrounded by me-too products and companies. Can you even think of a product or service that is unique?

Product performance marketing isn't enough anymore. So, now what?

If we can't sell based on our product and we don't want to sell on price, what's left? Your brand. The buying experience. That's the only place left for differentiation. You need to look for and recognize your exceptional difference. And, you need to make every contact with you be a memorable experience.

A marketer's job is to help the potential client make an emotional connection to your company, product or service. This requires a well-planned, consistent, repetitive branding strategy that is aimed at specific prospects.

How's your branding strategy? Is it working throughout your entire organization, not just in your ads or on your website? Is it something every employee can understand, explain and actually believe?

When should you be in your own commercials?

November 11, 2007

For the last couple days, we've explored why it's usually not a good idea for business owners to star in their own marketing materials. As with all things in the marketing world, there are of course, exceptions.

There are a couple circumstances when you need to be the face of your organization.

1) If you are small enough that you ARE the business: If you are a solo consultant or shopkeeper and your customers interface with you and only you – don't have someone else stand in for you. (Note: In this case, odds are you shouldn't be on TV at all!)

2) If your brand position is that you're THE expert in your field: If you possess some specialized expertise or credentials that form the basis for your position in the marketplace, then you need to be careful that you don't accidentally misrepresent that. (Again, hard to imagine that TV or radio are your best options if this is the case.)

This gets to the comment Gavin Heaton posted in one of the earlier posts. Where do podcasts, vlogs, etc. come into this. When you are imparting information, sharing knowledge, teaching etc. — then it is perfectly appropriate to be the star. It's also appropriate for you to sound like you, with the occasional "um" or slip of the tongue.

3) If you are of "celebrity" status in your community or field: This is a tricky one. Many of us may think we're more famous than perhaps we are. If you have a spouse or friend who is brutally honest – ask them.

Just to clarify – I am not saying you can't or shouldn't use professional talent. I am saying that in these specific circumstances, you may be better off representing yourself. If your radio or TV spot is coming from the consumer's voice or is from a broader perspective, then by all means use the pros.

The bottom line is still the same. 99% of the time, you having the starring role in your own marketing is not sending the message you want to send. Don't take my word for it. The e-mails and comments on this topic were about 100 to 1 in favor of you not doing it.

The Marketing Minute made the grade!

November 7, 2007

I’m always astonished at the amount of time some bloggers generously pour into providing resources for their readers.

Mack Collier has created the top 25 marketing blogs and now John Crickett over at Business Opportunities and Ideas has created the top 100 Business blogs list.

I’m proud to say that this blog is #25 on John’s list. More important…John has compiled an amazing list of resources for all of us. Even if you just explore one a day, you’ll have quite the adventure!

The blogs are listed in order of their Technorati rankings (T), their Alexa rankings (A) are show as well. The rankings are correct at the time of posting.

1. Business Opportunities Weblog T: 12 A: 16,213
2. Copy Blogger T: 36 A: 7,825
3. Seth Godin T: 47 A: 10,314
4. MicroPersuasion T: 169 A: 33,643
5. How To Change The World T: 180 A: 14,709
6. Duct Tape Marketing T: 215 A: 31,714
7. Freelance Switch T: 312 A: 10,638
8. A VC T: 1,226 A: 27,737
9. Rough Type T: 1,253 A: 69,429
10. Successful Blog T: 1,432 A: 44,935
11. Small Business Canada T: 1,517 A: N/A
12. David Allen, Getting Things Done T: 1,549 A: 53,592
13. Springwise T: 1,913 A: 23,858
14. Small Biz Trends T: 2,155 A: 63,364
15. Fast Company T: 2,310 A: 12,141
16. Instigator Blog T: 2,477 A: 58,816
17. Occam’s Razor T: 2,548 A: 45,541
18. Smart Wealthy Rich T: 2,879 A: 79,415
19. eMoms At Home T: 3,443 A: 27,125
20. Escape from Cubicle Nation T: 3,467 A: 202,751
21. The Marketing Technology Blog T: 3,496 A: 47,038
22. Business Pundit T: 3,724 A: 114,669
23. The Engaging Brand T: 4,404 A: 433,644
24. Influential Marketing Blog T: 4,779 A: 98,886
25. Drew McLellan – The Marketing Minute T: 4,820 A: 129,669
26. The Digerati Life T: 4,873 A: 53,353
27. Success From The Nest T: 4,908 A: 95,008
28. Business Blog Consulting T: 5,186 A:237,901
29. Church Of The Customer T: 5,576 A: 250,201
30. Todd And T: 5,643 A: 161, 019
31. Net Business Blog T: 5,936 A: 36,107
32. Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing T: 6,583 A: 92,784
33. Bootstrapper T: 7,497 A: 50,304
34. About.com Entrepreneurs T: 7,797 A: N/A
35. Blogtrepreneur T: 7,897 A: 53,011
36. Branding & Marketing T: 8,200 A: 710,326
37. Simplenomics T: 10,252 A:288,753
38. Freelance Folder T: 10,543 A: 63,590
39. HELLO, My Name Is Blog T: 11,395 A: 422,218
40. Self Made Minds T: 11,704 A: 39,719
41. Sox First T: 12,894 A: 994,161
42. Young Go Getter T: 14,239 A: 45,373
43. Trust Matters T: 15,462 A: 58,403
44. Small Biz Survival T: A: 18,074 A: 875,069
45. The Personal MBA T: 19,207 A: 142,649
46. The Entrepreneurial Mind T: 21,958, A: 155,166
47. Blog Business World T: 23,025 A: 252,405
48. Working At Home On The Internet T: 23,247 A: 423,900
49. Biz Informer T: 24,631 A: 904,745
50. EmpowerWomenNow T: 25,837 A: 117,085
51. Biz Plan Hacks T: 27,048 A: 1,335,732
52. CreateBusinessGrowth T: 32,949 A:197,290
53. Business Opportunities and Ideas T: 33,205 A: 282,805
54. The KISS Business T: 35,496 A: 621,082
55. Startup Spark T: 35,747 A: 386,949
56. Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing Blog T: 41,092 A: 467,418
57. MindPetals T: 41,714 A: 128,487
58. Marketing Deviant T: 43,764 A: 281,072
59. Go Big Network T: 44,842 A: 25,303
60. Cool Business Ideas T: 49,679 A: 187,126
61. Neville’s Financial Blog T: 52,048 A: 140,296
62. Atlantic Canada’s Small Business Blog :T 52,589 A: 795,253
63. College Startu p T: 53,143 A: 184,398
64. Reflections Of A Biz Driven Life T: 79,365 A: 361,398
65. Branding Blog T: 93,462 A: 1,110,518
66. Carnival Of The Capitalists T: 93,462 A: 1,897,375
67. Young Entrepreneur T: 104,933 A: 26,491
68. Marketing Genius T: 132,066 A: 2,222,119
69. Better For Business T: 137,774 A: 590,797
70. The Small Business Blog T: 140,824 A: 577,490
71. Focused Mind T: 162,356 A: 520,971
72. Small Business Tips T: 166,367 A: 74,005
73. Lifes Perspective T: 194,358 A: 179,801
74. Business Opportunities Blog T: 199,700 A: 832,678
75. The Savvy Entrepreneur T: 224,227 A: 391,147
76. Egg Marketing Blog T: 231,062 A: 740,867
77. The Franchise King Blog T: 273,240 A: 520,732
78. Small Business Entrepreneur T: 317,977 A: 883,094
79. The Great Startup Game T: 331,293 A: 421,492
80. Work At Home Start Up Guide T: 345,597 A: 1,190,178
81. Dorm Room Biz T: 360,865 A: 957,072
82. Startup Blog T: 377,609 A: 2,552,189
83. Open Innovators T: 395,824 A: 1,230,257
84. Get Entrepreneurial T: 437,475 A: 446,085
85. Bplans Blog T: 437,475 A: 1,373,525
86. Stuff4Restaurants T: 461,534 A: 298,982
87. Canadian Entrepreneur T: 484,461 A: 237,901
88. Strategize T: 487,964 A: 2,856,731
89. The Marketing Spot T: 587,893 A: 2,550,840
90. The Ravings Of A Mad Entrepreneurial Scientist T: 587,893 A: 566,836
91. More Than We Know T: 871,446 A: 2,964,420
92. Solo Entrepreneur T: 1,212,405 A: 471,491
93. Stuff4Business T: 1,391,575 A: 298,982
94. Consultant Journal T: 4,262,598 A: 667,342
95. Startup Addict Musings T: 4,446,976 A: 1,03390,690
96. Edith Yeung T: 8,911,336 A: 125,290
97. Boostrap Me T: 8,911,336 A: 550,348
98. The Selling Sherpa T: Not Listed A: 772,292
99. BizzBangBuzz T: Not Listed A: 1,484,797
100. The Freestyle Entrepreneur T: Not Listed A: 1,519,518

Enjoy the bounty!

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