Strategy Archives - Page 47 of 53 - McLellan Marketing Group

Go brush your teeth!

December 31, 2006

I have a daughter. She’s 13. From the time she was a toddler as bedtime approached, I have said "go upstairs and get ready for bed. Please wash and brush." Every time. I still do.

You’d think after a year or even two, I would not have to add the washing and brushing details. But I do. Why? Because I want her to do them. So I repeat myself. Because it matters.

Wondering why I am telling you this? We’ve been having a great discussion in the comments section of my recent post Is your little red wagon stuck? and I want to expand on it a bit. But here’s the set up.

If you are smart enough to make a brand promise that matters to your clients — your employees will either keep or break that promise.
The success rate of their keeping the promise is directly proportional to if they know, get, believe and own the promise.
The success rate of that is up to you.

So why does this so rarely happen? Lots of reasons. But a huge one is because companies think talking to their employees about their marketing and branding is optional. Or reserved for an annual rah rah speech. Wrong.

"Go upstairs and get ready for bed. Please wash and brush."

You may be intimately familiar with your brand promise because you created it. Or write from it. Or it is your inspiration for getting up and going to work every day. But that does not mean every employee has that same experience. We have to make it part of our daily conversation.

"Go upstairs and get ready for bed. Please wash and brush."

For most employees, keeping their company’s promise is pretty low on the list. Because no one has demonstrated to them why it matters. It’s not that they don’t care. They just don’t get it yet. You haven’t talked to them about it enough. Every day you talk to them about being on time. Or filling out the form correctly so they get paid. But you don’t talk about the customer. Or the promise.

"Go upstairs and get ready for bed. Please wash and brush."

Just because you know (if you do) how vital this is for your organization, don’t assume that they do. Even if you’ve told them. Once. Or twice. I can see you waving your hands at me. "We get it, Drew. We get it. So when have we done it enough? When do we stop talking about it with them?"

Simple. When it isn’t important any more.

"Go upstairs and get ready for bed. Please wash and brush."

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Give Walt a marketing tip

December 29, 2006

Picture this.

You have saved for a couple years. You have disappointed family by saying you’re traveling over the holidays. You have revved the kids up to a frenzied pitch of excitement because they are going to meet Mickey Mouse.

This is going to be the Christmas to remember for all times. This is "Parent Hall of Fame" Christmas. Disney World.

You get everyone to Florida. You get everyone on the monorail. You walk up to the Magic Kingdom’s entrance gates, tickets in hand and the kids are so excited you think they might actually go into some sort of shock. Then, you hear the cast member say "I’m so sorry, but we’re closed due to over crowding."

It happened Wednesday and yesterday to thousands of people. And not just the Magic Kingdom but two of the other three parks as well (MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom) From Disney’s perspective, there are codes and rules they have to comply with. But, from a customer service point of view, it can’t get too much worse.

Most of the people outside your gate live a plane ride away, have sacrificed plenty to get there and may never be able to get back.

If you were the head of Disney’s guest relations — what would you do to mitigate this disaster?

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Is your little red wagon stuck?

December 27, 2006

Your organization is like a little red wagon. You ask all your employees to give 110% to help you propel the wagon forward.

But you have not made your company’s brand (not logo or tagline…but point of difference and the promise behind that difference) something that every employee knows, breathes, believes and lives.

But, they are good people and want to give you that 110%. So each of them attaches their rope (talents and skills) to the wagon. Where THEY think it should be. Guess what?

Bob thinks it should be "give the customer whatever they ask for. Even if it’s wrong because you don’t tell the customer they’re wrong."
But Betty knows it’s "squeeze costs of goods, even if that means slow shipping" because price is king at your company.
Now John is convinced that it’s the people that make your company special, so he’s going to put his 110% of tugging behind better benefit packages so your retention rises.

See the problem? They are all pulling with all their might. But they are not pulling in the same direction. So your wagon goes nowhere. Your people get frustrated. You get frustrated.

All because you either don’t know what your brand really is or, you know but haven’t made sharing it with your employees a priority.

How long are you going to leave it stuck?

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Are you making this marketing mistake?

December 26, 2006

Do you suffer from the "everyone thinks about my stuff as much as I do" mistake? Lots of marketers do. We think that just because we know all about our product or service offerings — that everyone else does too.

Let me shatter that illusion for you. But gently of course.

No one cares as much about your work, your company, your product etc. as you do. And they never will. This includes:

Your employees
Your current clients
Your prospects
The media

Why? Because they are being bombarded with over 3,000 marketing messages a day. We all suffer from serious information overload. You’re lucky to have their attention for a nanosecond.

How do you fight against that sobering fact? We’re going to explore that over the next few days. But it starts with recognizing that having their attention is a luxury, not your privilege. And that you have to put up quite a fight to get and keep their attention.

So lesson #1 is respect your audience’s reality. Understand where they stand and where they’re trying to go. Which often times has little to do with you. But that can change…I promise. But only when what matters to them also matters to you. It is never the other way around. Never.

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What does your shopping style say…

December 23, 2006

…about your marketing style?

Maybe nothing. But a post by Valeria Maltoni over at Conversation Agent got me thinking. Valeria’s point is that too many people buy gifts based on what they like, not the recipient.

I think most people market that way as well. They don’t carefully consider what matters to the recipient. They just talk about the stuff that matters to them. Bottom line — they talk about themselves.

That’s like me buying my daughter a men’s sweater, because the color will go great with my eyes! Why would that excite her on Christmas morning? It wouldn’t.

But, if I am genuinely curious about her, if I get to know her likes and dislikes, if I engage her in conversation and ask her opinions — then I can get her a gift that’s right for her.

Back to marketing. Same rules apply. When we actually care enough to know them, we can talk to them about what matters. To them. To their lives.

That’s respectful marketing. That’s effective marketing. That’s the kind of marketing that too few do.

Do you? (Wow…just like Dr. Seuss but without the great illustrations!)

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How high is your water level?

December 23, 2006

People rise to expectations. Or sink to them. How high do you set the bar for your employees, peers and customers?

So often marketers create copy thinking that they have to live by the 3rd grade reading level rule. I say that’s ridiculous. Unless your product is for 3rd graders.

It’s okay to expect them to get clever. It’s okay to treat them with respect. It’s okay to expect them to make good choices.

I just learned of a company that has “employees cannot sleep while working” in their employee manual. Come on. If you have to say that in writing, you need to revise your hiring policies.

Go ahead, expect a little more and watch your boat rise with the tide.

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Give to get

December 20, 2006

Hopefully you have a passion for the work you do. It matters to you. And you honestly believe it matters to the clients you serve. It’s something you are proud to offer.

Give it away.

I could hear your collective gasp. Give away what you sell? But sampling is a golden oldie in terms of marketing tactics. The biggest buying obstacle any business has is the uncertainty of that first time. Why not leapfrog over that worry by just giving them a taste?

Many service-based businesses can’t conceive, because they don’t have a physical “thing” to offer, how they can use the sampling tactic. But, it’s easy.

Some of my learned peers in the marketing/communications field and I have decided to really explode the idea of sampling. We’re adopting a charity for the entire year. They’ll get everything from marketing counsel to video production services, web and new media coaching/services, printing, etc. We’re taking applications now. Read the Des Moines Register’s story about our marketing makeover.

If you’re a Central Iowa based non-profit, download the application and get it in! Some lucky charity is going to score over $75,000 worth of services.

Along with MMG, our partners in this experiment are:

Trinity Press
Radio Garage
Brackett Media & Event Services
Aijalon web services
Andy Lyons Photography

Hats off to these smart marketers who recognize the power of sampling. And of doing some good along the way.

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Tell me again why you don’t blog?

December 18, 2006

Dear corporate America…little one man business…and everyone in between,

You’ve heard it before. New media, blogging, YouTube, text messaging etc. etc. etc. We’ve talked about how the power is shifting from you to the consumer and how you’d better get your voice back in the conversation. Well guess what, now it’s official.

Time has named their Person of the Year. And it’s you. And me. And all the other voices out there. No doubt this will be discussed and re-discussed among the blogging community as a sort of triumphant validation for being an innovator. Interesting but not relevant for 99% of the businesses out there.

The only part of the whole discussion that you need to pay attention to is this:

How long can you afford to be silent?

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No friend of mine

December 16, 2006

We know the drill. A company wants to do a little one-to-one marketing. They determine their right audience, design their direct mail piece and buy a list.

My full name is Andrew. But really, unless you’re my mom and I’m in trouble, no one calls me that. So when I get a letter addressed to Andrew, I know its no friend of mine.

Here are the options available to the mailer (not counting the option of not sending the piece.)

They can address each letter individually, knowing that some Kathryns, Andrews, and Elizabeths are going to be on to them.

They can "guess" on nicknames. In my case, they’d guess Andy. And they’d be wrong. Kathryn could be Kate not Kathy and Elizabeth could be Betsy, not Liz. So perhaps risky business but odds are they’d be right as often as they’d be wrong. So have they reduced their risk by 50%?

They can address the envelope but not personalize the letter (just use a letter block format) and reduce the impact of potentially using the wrong name.

What do you think? Do consumers excuse the misuse of their name? Or does it make them feel less kindly towards the sender? Do you think they even notice? In a recent post, Seth Godin suggests that people thrive on seeing their name. Does that mean it really ticks them off to see it incorrect?

Salutation or irritation? That’s my question.

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Five Tips to Increase Online Book Sales

December 15, 2006

It seems like just about everyone who has written a book is pitching it on the web. Even me! Marketing sense tells us that the web needs to be part of any author’s strategy today.

Here are some easy and smart ways to juice your online sales.

Create a blog on the same topic as your book. I know I am probably preaching to the choir here, but it is worth saying. Blogging is a place where birds of a feather gather together. Gather your birds in your own nest!
On your book’s/author website (or blog) include a calendar that outlines your public appearances, book signings and presentations/readings. And provide a place for people to request an appearance too!
Post a sample chapter that can either be read or downloaded so they can get a taste of your style and how you approach the topic.
Give the buyers lots of choices. Don’t only have your book available on your site. List it on Amazon, BN.com, 800CEORead, etc. as well.
Identify some other authors who write in your same subject area. rather than seeing them as competition, make them a co-conspirator! Promote each other’s books, do some mutual giveaways and take advantage of each other’s fan base.

Rocket science? Not really. But you’d be amazed at how many authors think those books will sell themselves! If you’re an author, give a couple of these a try and let me know how they work. If you’re a reader…reward some of those authors and pick up a book or two for the holidays.

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