Trends

Recession proof your business – FREE book!

July 29, 2008

Imagine what it would be like to sit down with 38 great minds in business, sales and marketing and hear from them exactly what to do and not to do during a recession.       

Well, that’s basically what Scott Aughtmon has done for us.

He interviewed 38 top experts in business, sales & marketing and asked them 3 questions:

• What’s the common mistake most businesses make in a recession?
• What are the methods you would use to survive and prosper in a recession?
• What moneymaking opportunities do you see available for business owners during this time?

Then he created two e-manuals that reveal their answers and give us their simple methods to help our businesses survive and prosper in a recession.

And…thanks to Scott, I have 10 sets of the books to give away.  Plus, there are some bonus giveaways which make this even better!  Here’s how you can win the books, valued at $57.

• Comment on this post (one entry)
• Tweet about the book giveaway (include URL)  and send me a screen shot (one entry)
• Post about the giveaway (include URL/link) on your blog and send me the link (two entries)

I’ll put everyone’s name on a slip of paper and let my daughter draw one out of a hat.  You can’t get more impartial than that!  The drawing will be held Tuesday, August 5th Thursday, August 7th (thanks to my travel woes) so you have one week.

The experts that Scott interviewed include the likes of Jay Levinson, Michael Gerber, Laura Ries, Ron McDaniel, and Debbie Weil among others. 

I’ve read the books and they are packed with smarts and good counsel.  But if you don’t want to take my word for it…how about these endorsements?

"When times are tough, there is no ‘one’ answer. ‘Succeed and Prosper in a Recession’ provides many answers and it provides them through the insights of America’s marketing masters. If you can’t get the answers from this ebook, you haven’t figured out the question, much less the problem. This book is a winner that will help you win."

Jeffrey Gitomer

"Scott Aughtmon has compiled just the right advice for just the right people and at just the right time. Surviving and prospering during a recession will never be a piece of cake. But it will be a whole lot easier if you’ve read the wise counsel in Scott’s book. I recommend it to the skies, recession or no recession."

Jay Conrad Levinson

"What a refreshing, uplifting break from the doom and gloom that’s all around us. Reading this book is like getting an instant MBA from people who have made millions of dollars for themselves and others — regardless of the so-called economic climate."

David Garfinkel

If you just can’t wait or don’t win the free copies, you can read more about the book and order your own copy here.  And yes, there is an affiliate program and no, I am not participating. 

I don’t make a buck and you get smarter.  Doesn’t that work out well for you!

Are you simplifying things for your customers?

July 23, 2008

Everything about our lives is complicated, noisy and overcrowded.  Which is why we are so drawn to simplicity in design and process.  A large part of the iPhone’s success is because of it’s simple elegance.

Check out this slideshare presentation based on  John Maeda’s book The Laws of Simplicity.  Watch it with a critical eye aimed at your own business.

I think the big question for all of us today is how are we making our clients’ lives simpler?  What are you doing to evoke an iPhonic reaction to working with you?

Podcast: Social Media and Small Business

July 10, 2008

Zane Safrit was kind enough to invite me to be a guest on his BlogTalk radio show yesterday.  We talked a lot about what social media is and isn’t and how small businesses could begin to explore it.

I totally understand (as you will hear) why businesses are afraid or confused by social media.  But honestly, I think we make it more difficult than it needs to be.  As you’ll hear….I’m a big advocate of just dipping your toe into the water a little bit.

Take a listen.  I’d love to hear what you think.

Thanks again to Zane for being such an engaging host.  You’ll want to check out all his podcasts….they’re excellent and thought provoking.

Update:  Zane just added his notes on our conversation at his blog.

SWAT Summit offers YOU a discount!

July 2, 2008

Get the inside scoop on advertising and marketing on social networks on July 17th in lovely San Francisco.

Social networks are transforming the way brands and consumers interact. Leading brands and agencies are embracing their potential — are you?

SWAT Summit looks at how agencies and brands can harness the power of social networks. This conference is for anyone who wants to be a leader in the next generation of marketing and advertising — and for the publishers, developers, and ad networks who will work with them hand in hand.

SWAT Summit is an exclusive gathering place for 200 key influencers and decision makers such as Brand Managers, Media Planners, Media Buyers, Marketing Directors, and individuals at the Director, VP, and C-Level.

Limited spots are also available for: Press, VCs, Analysts, and Academics.

Check out their speakers, or go ahead and register.  Marketing Minute readers are being offered a $100 discount on the event.  Use discount code:  drewmm

Study on the internet and consumer behavior

June 30, 2008

The good folks from Fleishmann-Hillard sent me some information about their European offices’ recent work on understanding how the Internet affects consumer behavior in Europe.

Key findings:

• The Internet beat TV two to one on influence, and eight to one over print.
• People ask other people for personal purchase advice, but for airline tickets and bigger ticket items, they prefer the corporate sites.
• Only 28% of people trust the information they read online, and yet 66% say the web helps them make better decisions. Sounds like they use the web to get information but want someone in their life to verify the decision.
• Different countries use the web differently: Germany uses more search; the UK has more social networking interest and the French, more digital communications with web cameras and instant messaging.

The full report on the research is free to download here.

The Dream Team — Age of Conversation ’08 authors

June 29, 2008

When Gavin and I announced that we were going to create a 2nd Age of Conversation book and were looking for authors — we had plenty of takers.  275 to be exact.  Now, several months later, the submissions are in and we’re knee deep in editing.

It’s funny how life can interfere with our plans.  We had several authors who had to take a pass due to family, work or other obligations/situations.  When the dust settled and all the chapters were turned in, we had 237 authors left standing.  Here they are:

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

Quite an impressive list.  And you’re going to love the insights and stories they had to share.

For the next month or so, we’ll be editing and working through design/layout issues.  And before you know it, Age of Conversation ’08 will be ready for promotion and purchase.

Thanks to everyone who is participating and remember….it’s all about raising money for charity.

Stay tuned!

The elasticity of price

May 26, 2008

Gas prices are scooting over $4/gallon here in the states and yet consumption has not shown signs of significant reduction.  How can that be?

That’s the question that reporter Gail Rosenblum of the Minneapolis Star Tribune posed to me late last week.  Her article, Paying a lot for gas, changing lifestyles a little" appeared in Friday’s edition of the Star Tribune.

While I know this specific topic (gas prices) is on everyone’s mind, it seems to me that the conversation Gail and I had is even more interesting when you step back and look at consumer attitudes about prices in general.

Two years ago, we were in a tizzy over gas prices.  We couldn’t believe they were going to be $2/gallon.  We were outraged.  We were going to cut back.  (Of course, we didn’t)  Fast forward to today.  Imagine if I stopped people on the street and asked them what they would think of paying $2/gallon for gas.  They would weep for joy.  In fact, it would sound too good to be true and they’d ask me "what’s the catch?"

Ahhh, the elasticity of price perception.

Why do I think this is worthy of some thought?  A few things to note:

The elasticity of price is a one-way street (we are never happy about going higher in price after the marketplace reduces costs.)

The elasticity of price is fast-acting (we get used to the higher price pretty quickly.)

The elasticity of price works best for necessities (we can cut back on stuff we don’t "need" but endure price hikes on stuff we think we do need.)

So how could you apply this thinking to how you set prices?  If everyone in your industry is lowering prices because of the recession — how will this hold them back when they’re ready to re-raise their prices?  How will it affect you if you resist the urge to lower prices now?

Related posts:
Should you lower prices in a recession?
Are gas prices affecting your spending habits?
How sharp is your pricing strategy?

Are our words fading away?

May 3, 2008

There a roughly a zillion blogs and about a bazillion blog posts (these are approximations).  Those posts use a gazillion and a half words.  Every day.

Think of the words that seem to crop up everywhere.  Transparency, conversation, consumer generated, authentic, engaged, empower.  We could go on and on.

But here’s my question.  Are we using this words so often and in so many places that we’re wearing them out?  Are we reducing their impact and meaning?  Are we squeezing the potency from them?

Can words tire?  Can we tire of words?

Those are the questions I pose over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix.  Come share your thoughts.

Are gas prices impacting your spending habits?

April 25, 2008

If not, you are in the minority according to research released today by Kelley Blue Book.

"Gas prices are already affecting vehicle sales in every segment, and traditional sport utility vehicles have been especially hard hit," says Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "Other industries will feel the pinch as consumers cut out life’s little luxuries like clothes, eating out and entertainment just so they can pay the fuel bills."

Check out the chart to the right to see the significance in the numbers.  The declines in spending are across the board — big purchases and small. 

6 months ago, 43% of consumers said they were not going to change their spending habits.  Today’s numbers show that almost half of those people have now changed their mind.

This is our reality, so it is certainly interesting from that perspective.  But let’s look at it as marketers for a minute.  The world has suffered recessions before and spending bounces back when the economy does, right?

But what happens when there is no bounce back?

Rising gas prices are not showing any signs that this trend is slowing down.  In fact, here in the US, a gallon of gas is expected to top $4 by summer and rise to $5.50 by 2010 and $7 by 2012.

So waiting it out isn’t the answer.  What do you think is?  How will you have to change the way you market your product or service?

What social media tools are a must for business?

April 23, 2008

If you could only use/choose (up to) 10 different social media tools to enhance your business/organization’s performance and ability to get the job done — which ones would you choose….and why?