Passion Archives - Page 18 of 25 - McLellan Marketing Group

What’s your personal tagline?

March 4, 2007

There’s a lot of talk these days about personal branding. Tony Clark at Success from the Nest asks his readers about their personal tagline.

It’s a great question. My answer? Gratitude. Grace. Give. (check out the comments for some insightful thinking.)

But let’s take a broader look at the question. If you own a business, how does your personal mantra/brand/tagline influence your business and its brand?

If you’re a one (wo)man band, that probably works okay. After all, you are your company. But how do you shift to it being bigger than you? Especially if one day, you aspire to sell your company.

So…what is your personal brand/tagline and how does it impact/influence your business?

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A guidebook to reinventing the customer experience

March 2, 2007

I received a copy of Jonathan Tisch‘s Chocolates on the Pillow aren’t Enough: Reinventing the Customer Experience and just finished it.

Tisch is CEO and Chairman of Loews Hotels and his book is an insightful primer on crafting your customer experience. Like Tisch, I do not believe a remarkable customer experience happens by accident. It is the result of a deep understanding, an unfettered desire and a meticulous plan to actually delight your customer.

The book is a quick and enjoyable read. Tisch draws from many different industries. Throughout the chapters, he highlights key learning points in boxes marked Your Big Aha’s.

If you’ll give Tisch a couple hours of your time, in return he’ll share insights like:

How to use technology to create intimate connections with customers — without losing the human touch.
Perfecting the art of the welcome in both physical and virtual spaces.
Finding the balance between transparency and the need for confidentiality.

I don’t care how good you are– there’s a tweak or two that you can make to your customer’s experience. Let Tisch’s stories inspire you to do it a little better.

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The romance is dead!

February 28, 2007

Ahh, the wooing. The courtship. The attention. The expressions of heartfelt love. A belated Valentine’s Day post? Nope. Just a reminder of how you behaved as you were chasing that potential client.

Until you caught them. Then the romance was over. No more flowers, candy, late night calls. Now it’s business as usual.

If this sounds uncomfortably like you — don’t worry. When you lose that client to the competitor who woos them away, you can always turn on the charm and find a new one. And so on and so on…

Or, here’s a novel idea. Keep the romance alive.

Cam Beck talks about this phenomenon over at ChaosScenario. As Cam always is — it’s worth the read.

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Tell your story

February 20, 2007

You might remember a post in mid-December talking about how McLellan Marketing Group and some MMG friends (see here for the complete list) were banding together to adopt a charity for an entire year. We’re promising over $75,000 worth of services and goods.

Let me bring you up to date.

We received over 50 applications
It took a couple weeks to wade through them all
It was incredibly difficult to choose. Without exception — each charity is doing amazing work and changing their corner of the world.

So in the end, how did we choose the 2007 recipient of the Charity of Choice grant? All the applicants gave us the information we asked for. They provided financials, letters of reference, board lists, possible conflicts. But the winner did something beyond that.

They told us stories. They allowed us to "meet" the kids that they served. They brought the facts and figures to life. We could envision how this charity changed lives. And how we could be a part of that.

There’s a lesson in their wisdom for all of us. Don’t get so bogged down in the facts that you forget to tell the story. That’s where the sale will be made.

We’ll be using YESS and our work together as a living marketing lab here on Drew’s Marketing Minute so stay tuned. And don’t be surprised if I ask for your opinion now and then. I’d be stupid not to take advantage of your brains!

Read more about the selection Download yess1.pdf

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Everyone’s a twitter about Twitter

February 19, 2007

Twitter, by their own FAQ definition is "a community of friends and strangers from around the world sending updates about moments in their lives."

After watching it for a week or so, I decided to give it a try, as you can see in the right hand column of this blog. Like it or not, you will now be able to peek into the deep and dark recesses of my mind. Best tie a rope around your waist so you can pull yourself out when you’ve had enough!

What value does it bring? Why does it matter? Why would I add it to my world?

I can’t tell you yet, because I don’t know. There is something incredibly interesting to me about sharing both the mundane and the monumental moments that, in a flash, are gone.

When I did a Google blog search, I discovered that lots of people have already been talking about twitter. So I thought I’d give you a snippet of their perspectives.

David Armano (Logic + Emotion) wonders if Twitter will be polluted by product placement.
Kathy Sierra (Creating Passionate Users) who makes the argument that our brains just can’t take much more.
Robert Scoble (Scobleizer) is all about maxing his Twitter contact list.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can also go here, here or here.

From a personal perspective — it’s almost like having a secret friend you can whisper to. Of course, you need to remember that your secret friend is a blabbermouth and anyone can listen in.

From a marketing perspective — what do you think it says? I wonder if it is more evidence of how, in this uber connected world, many people feel even less connected and less heard. Or perhaps it means our blended obsession with technology and instant gratification has taken on a whole new level.

What do you think it means?

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Is everyone singing the same song?

February 18, 2007

This week, randomly stop 5 of your employees and ask them to describe your company’s brand promise in a single sentence.

If your own choir isn’t singing out of the same songbook, how do you expect your customers or prospects to understand why you should matter to them?

Flickr photo courtesy of MoToMo

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Maybe I’m doing it wrong

February 17, 2007

Let me stitch 3 disparate thoughts together to lay the foundation for this post.

One of the most important marketing lessons we work to teach clients is – it’s about them (customers/prospects) not you. Rightly so – our community/audiences are asking “what’s in it for me?” every day.
My feed reader is bulging and it was time to prune.
I believe that blogging is about giving. Value, information, insight, support, a sense of community. If you do that regularly, the money will follow.

As I was pruning my feed reader, I found myself asking – what have I gotten out of this blog? How have I been engaged in conversation? What have I learned? What have I been invited to share?

The blogs who got deleted from my feed reader were the ones who seems much less interested in helping me and much more interested in putting their hand into my pocket to sell me their new book, new e-course or new whatever.

Maybe I am doing it wrong.

I don’t post ad nauseam about my book. I figure you can see the graphic and you’re bright enough to know if you click on it, you can buy it.

Maybe I’m doing it wrong.

I don’t blather on about e-courses, speaking fees, seminars, or blatantly ask you to hire me. I believe if my content is worthy and I fit a need that you have – you will seek me out for those opportunities.

Maybe I’m doing it wrong.

Whenever I reference my company, my family or some other aspect of my world – I do my darnedest to relate it to yours in a meaningful way. On rare occasion, it isn’t about business — it’s about life. I’m okay with that. But, I never just lob up a sales pitch.

Maybe I’m doing wrong.

The question I ask myself before I hit save on any post is a simple one. Have I provided value? If the answer is no, or you sure have – value to you, big guy – then it doesn’t belong on my blog.

Maybe I’m doing it wrong.

If I am…so be it.

Especially in a medium that I think is all about community, connections, relationships, sharing, listening and reaching out – I want to provide an easy answer when any reader asks “what’s in it for me?”

I can’t think of anything more embarrassing (for me) than to be deleted because I was too busy selling to be of real value.

How about you? Are you doing it wrong? Are your marketing materials all about you? Be careful – it’s all to easy in these days to be pruned.

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Hey Cupid – Who loves ya baby?

February 14, 2007

It’s Valentine’s Day and at McLellan Marketing Group that means that cupid appears in the unlikely semblance of Telly Savalas.

For those of you old enough (boy, do I hate having to start sentences with that phrase!) to remember Telly’s performance as the NYC detective Kojak, you will recognize the lollipop-laden quip.

So here’s how I show and share the love to the MMGers on this day of affection. I gather up a bevy of Valentine’s Day themed prizes. Kissing Instructor boxers, red stuffed bears, boxes of truffles, a pink scented candle and the like.

Then, I get on the PA at the office and ask "Who loves ya baby?" followed by a holiday themed trivia question. It could be about a love story, how many women send themselves flowers on the holiday (15%) or who said a famous quote about love. The employees must then run (Yes, I want to hear the sounds of the thundering approach) and whoever arrives at my office first with the correct answer gets to choose from the prize pool.

Silly? You bet. Something fun to look forward to every year? I hope so. Something that both lets my employees know that I love them and because it’s a little off center, speaks to our brand — that’s my plan.

So on behalf of all the MMGers — Happy who loves ya baby day!

Do you actively look for ways to:

Give your employees something to look forward to?
Let your employees know that you love them?
Find a way to brand all the little things you do?

If not…when are you going to start?

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Hey raving fans, STOP promoting my product!

February 13, 2007

There are very few products that have emerged in my lifetime that have captured the marketplace as pervasively and quickly as the iPod.

It seems like just about everyone, from man to moose owns and loves their iPod.

Owners spend hours and millions of dollars (via iTunes) to craft custom playlists that are the embodiment of a mood, a relationship, a favorite activity or a phase in their lives.

Which must make Apple giddy.

So here’s the puzzler.

In Des Moines, a local and "in" bar called the The Lift has been hosting iPod Mondays for the past two years. Bar patrons bring their iPods and get to play DJ for 15 minutes, while they share one of their favorite playlists.

Let’s look at the ingredients of this:

Everyone at the event either owns or is surrounded by the iPod and participating in an event that highlights how much fun the product is.
To create a playlist, most users are going to spend money at iTunes.
Over two years, people have bonded over a product they love — and bring new people every week.
The "in" bar is endorsing the product and producing advertising that touts it.

In a very "Microsoft-like action" Apple representatives contacted the bar and told them that their event and the associated website were a violation of Apple’s trademark guidelines.

What is happening at Apple? Why aren’t they offering to sponsor this event? Sending prizes and free download coupons? Why isn’t Apple paying the Lift a brilliant idea fee and taking this to bars across the country?

What happened to the organization with the incredible sense of grassroots marketing and community building?

Read the Des Moines Register story — Download ipodmonday.pdf

Photo courtesy of Stumpy Moose.

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Niche publications going wiki!

February 12, 2007

Meredith Corporation, publisher of magazines as mainstream as Ladies Home Journal, Better Homes & Garden, Parents and Family Circle also has an entire division of special interest or niche magazines aimed at very segmented audiences.

These titles include Diabetic Living, Decorating, Kitchen & Bath Ideas and over 200 additional magazines aimed at women particularly honing in on homebuilding, remodeling, decorating, gardening, crafts and cooking.

They access and influence over 75 million women with their titles. That’s a lot of power and because of the narrow focus of each title — a lot of passion.

Meredith announced today that it has signed a contract with Wetpaint to create a series of Wikis for its company’s most popular special interest magazines and Web sites.

The first Wiki to launch will be Scrapbooks etc.

So what do you think? How will this influence circulation? Advertising dollars?

Do you think this strategy would work as well in a more mainstream magazine like Time or People?

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