What Maybe means

From Seth Godin:

Better than nothing (is harder than you think)

Most of the time, particulary in b2b and luxury sales, the competition is nothing.

"I will buy this treat or I will buy nothing, because I don't really need anything."

"I will buy your consulting services, or I'll continue doing what I'm doing now on that front, which is nothing."

None of the above.

"I will vote for you or I'll do what I usually do, which is not vote."

"I'll hire you or I'll hire no one."

While you think your competition is that woman across town, it's probably apathy, sitting still, ignoring the problem... nothing.

Stop worrying so much about comparing yourself to every other possible competitor you can imagine and start comparing yourself to nothing. Are you really worth the hassle, the risk, the time, the money? Or can't the prospect just wait until tomorrow?

Sphere: Related Content

Where Should You Labor?

Yep, it's Labor Day in the USA.

So I've got something from Drew last month that I've saved for today:

Where should your CEO invest his/her time?

Posted: 18 Aug 2010 08:05 AM PDT

As a business owner, I am always wrestling with how to best use my time.

• Should it be spent with clients, adding my 25+ years of experience to their marketing arsenal?
• Or should I invest my time in my employees, helping them hone their skills?
• Maybe I should be out and about, kissing babies and getting my agency new clients?

There's probably no single right answer. But it's a worthy question.

That's why I enjoyed listening to Barry Moltz's interview with Craig Newmark (founder of Craig's List) and how he believes he should be investing his time.

It's a good and quick listen. Click here to get to the podcast. You can listen to it from the website or download it to listen later.

Note: The first half of the show is Barry's interview with Barbara Rozgonyi, a LinkedIn guru. Also a good listen.

Sphere: Related Content

Teen Time

I have a 12 year old grandson who has a cell phone and is active on Facebook.

I know that teens (and pre-teens) are an important market, but how do you reach them?

Take a look:

The True Effect Of Interactive Media

Interactive is a term that can encompass the entire buzzword category -- social, viral, mobile, digital and even most non-traditional (for all you experiential or promotions gurus!). These terms have been floating around for the last decade, but they all boil down to one core result: consumers have options about the messages they receive.

How does this relate to the teen category? As children grow into teens and mature into adults, certain tried-and-true paid media strategies will be less effective. It is increasingly important to look at the underlying shift in behavior and media consumption that is occurring in order to utilize the most effective mix possible.

So what are the underlying shifts that are occurring?

1. Active media is becoming passive media, but it's still important. It's cool to say "traditional is dead," but is it really? According to several studies, TV is still the most effective way to reach a mass audience quickly. Studies are also showing that teens are more receptive to television advertising than you would think -- just check out this report from Nielsen highlighting a study from the What Teens Want conference.

As an advertiser, you're more likely to reach a mass segment of your audience using traditional impression-based media even if you're paying for un-targeted impressions based on the volume of impressions you are able to gain. A number of media vendors are smartly beginning to package interactive media opportunities with traditional placements, driving up the value that is received by buying into the medium. TV, print, and radio will no longer be the main driver to instant action; however, they drive brand awareness, which makes your audience more likely to visit a social media page, click a banner ad, and/or participate in an event.

2. Experience is everything. A major shift in behavior is the role of instant gratification. Increasingly, consumers are given an instant high online and offline, and your marketing strategy better account for this when a teen interacts with your brand. Online, teens can spend hours reading Facebook gossip the instant that it is posted. Offline, mobile devices are bridging the gap between these interactions and are providing a forum for people -- at any point in the day -- to get that instant feeling.

Whether teens are interacting online or offline, the brand experience is what's important. Make use of co-branded artistic opportunities with music, such as Nike did with the band Ok Go, or movies/videos, applications or adver-games. If you want to kick it old school, run a simple promotion, contest or sweepstakes. But keep in mind that the next step down the path to teen marketing Zen is providing payoff to the effort they're putting into interacting with your campaign; a simple offer won't cut it.

3. Coupons are cool again. Strike that -- loyalty programs are cool. Once you've opened up that two-way street with your consumer, invest in the community. If it's Facebook, build out and maintain your page. If it's an in-store rewards system, make it something that's better than your competitors' rewards systems.

Keep in mind the most important marketing message of all: the one that doesn't include any marketing. If you're going to build goodwill with teens, it's important not to come across like a used car salesman. Include relevant, cultural content to your fans or loyalty network to drive interaction. That will ensure your marketing messages are read and, more importantly, accepted when you have something valuable to say.

In closing, it's important to look deeper into the shifts that are occurring in consumer behavior and not just the tactics. Make sure you utilize proven tactics efficiently, dive deeper into what will really work, and provide value beyond the initial interaction.

Frank O'Brien is the founder of Conversation, a strategy-driven, independent advertising agency specializing in emerging technologies and cross-channel marketing integration. Building on his previous success at agencies such as Deutsch Inc and Mr Youth, Frank has grown Conversation's client roster to include The Children's Place, Estee Lauder, Unilever, E*Trade, Rocket Dog, Prince Tennis, Pollo Tropical and HGTV, among others.

Sphere: Related Content

The People

On this Labor Day, remember you can do everything right, but if your people skills are lacking...

Daily Sales Tip: Try the Meatballs

A restaurant in our neighborhood failed. Bad location? Bad food? Bad service? I don't know. It went out before we ate there.

The building owner put in a new restaurant operator. I'm thinking this restaurant probably won't make it either, but my wife and I stopped in to see what it was like.

We were greeted by big smiles from everyone on the staff. They acted like we were old friends. They joked, took time to stop by the table and chat for a moment, and they explained how they came upon their recipes ("You know those famous meatballs at Marcella's? We make ours like that, but perfected them.")

The food was good, but the most memorable element was the way we were welcomed.

We all have our favorite stories of superior service. Apply those to the way you do business. Does everyone on your staff treat clients with welcoming smiles and a sincere interest in them? I mean everybody -- receptionist, assistants, personalities, production, promotion, accounting, sales, and managers. A friendly staff at your station will create the atmosphere for clients to want to do business with you.

Yes, my wife and I have been back to the restaurant several times because of the welcoming staff and the meatballs. Welcome your clients and they'll be back, too.

Source: John Potter, VP/Training, Radio Advertising Bureau

Sphere: Related Content

Classic Ad of the Week

Sphere: Related Content

What's Your Name?

When I registered my own business name a few years ago, it took a while to decide what words to use to describe what I do.

I decided to build off a reputation that I had developed as ScLoHo and then add a couple more descriptive words, Marketing Solutions.

ScLoHo is my internet shorthand for my name (Scott Louis Howard) and many people have referred to me as ScLoHo for the last couple of years.

Drew wrote about this subject recently:

Marketing tip #30: Let your business name do its job

Posted: 28 Aug 2010 10:48 AM PDT

I have a friend who is launching her own business. As she's wrestled with names for the company, she started out very pragmatic -- her last name and a descriptive word that would tell prospects what she sells.

But she's not crazy about her last name and wanted something more creative. So every new round of names became more fanciful and more creative in terms of spelling etc. She was down to a final four -- none of which included the original group. Her prospects are very B-to-B minded, mostly men and very white collar.

Here's a portion of the e-mail I sent back to her when she asked my opinion.

Here’s the thing. The company’s name isn’t about you or for you. It is a business tool. And it may well be one of the most important business tools you’ll ever create. So...when it comes to naming this new baby — it’s a tough message for me to deliver, but you need to get over yourself.

You literally need to get over yourself. Crawl over your own preferences and see beyond that. To the sea of people who are milling about who might be your customers. They don’t want cute or clever. They don’t want to have to think about what your company’s name means or what you do. They want, in an instant, to know who you are, what you sell and if they might want to buy some.

You do X. And Y. I know you do much more than that — but to your consumer — that’s what you do in a nutshell. And here’s the rub. They’re going to think about you for about 10 seconds....so all you can serve them is the nutshell. If they don’t get it or can’t figure it out or it feels too anything...they’ll walk away.

I know you want to be creative. And clever. But you save that energy for your clients. A business name in the B-to-B space is not the time for subtle or inside baseball language. Cut to the chase. Tell them what you do in no uncertain terms and without cutesy spelling (like Kwik for Quick).

If you want to be more creative in your logo and build in some subtle messaging — have at it. Or in your website’s copy or even in how you package your proposals. But your business name is foundational and should be steady, solid and clear. Even if you don’t like it.

How’s that for tough love?

What do you think? Good advice? Bad?

Sphere: Related Content

7 on a Sunday

From my email in-box:

	Sales Machine
	Kickstart Yourself Out of a Sales Slump! A simple six-step process to get yourself out of a non-productive funk and back into your game. Read more
	4 Ways to Get Motivated to Sell Getting motivated to sell is mostly a matter of what you do when you're NOT selling. Here are four ways to make sure you're in the mood to win. Read more
	How to Handle an Idiot Boss Your boss thinks he knows how to sell but is actually clueless. How do you keep him from crashing your next big deal? Read more
	Why Sales Goals and Diets Don't Work The problem? Goals only motivate for so long. If you want to be consistently successful at anything, you need a new approach. Read more
	The Seven Deadly Sins of Selling Are you committing any of these sales-destroying errors? Read more
	Achieve a Winning Attitude in 6 Easy Steps If you don't have the energy to get out there and sell... you won't. Here's how to get it back. Read more
	The Ultimate Cold Calling Tool A step-by-step guide to getting past the objections and scoring the appointment. Read more

Sphere: Related Content