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Thanks
Lorne
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Monday, January 19, 2009
Ever Googled from your telephone?
Ever phoned Google toll-free, said what you wanted, and heard the search results for your area? I'm blessed to be a professional who gets to make a living by keeping up with the latest trends, and then showing my clients how to use those trends in their marketing efforts. Every now and then I find one that clicks so well that I just have to tell everyone I meet, client or not. Google's GOOG-411 is one of the ones that I've been promoting most.
From anywhere in North America (thank you Google for including Canada!), you can phone 1-800-GOOG-411 — that's 1-800-466-4411 for those who hate to look up those keypad numbers, or use a Blackberry Pearl! You'll get a recording that asks for your location, and the product type you're looking for. Speak your answers, and you'll hear a numbered list of the Google search results, for your area and requested product or service. When you hear the one you want, just say, "1" or "2" or whatever the number was for that company, and Google will connect you directly to that business.
You can also have GOOG-411 give a brief description for each company, to help you find the one you want. Very helpful if you need to find a business while away from a computer or phone book. What I'm telling clients though is that it underlines the importance of being very high — preferably in the top three but certainly in the top five — if you want to get noticed. True enough, GOOG-411 is still in the growing stage, but it is indeed growing. And for those of you who would like to grow with it, this would be an excellent time to consider how optimizing your site's search engine results could be a great investment for your company.
Another huge marketing implication of GOOG-411 is that ability to give a brief description of each business, based upon the description meta tags of each site. That's a scary thought for many companies; those description tags can languish in some forgotten part of their Web site for months or years without being updated. It's time to go back and revisit them. Like many aspects of your marketing, they can be a lot more valuable than you ever imagined!
From anywhere in North America (thank you Google for including Canada!), you can phone 1-800-GOOG-411 — that's 1-800-466-4411 for those who hate to look up those keypad numbers, or use a Blackberry Pearl! You'll get a recording that asks for your location, and the product type you're looking for. Speak your answers, and you'll hear a numbered list of the Google search results, for your area and requested product or service. When you hear the one you want, just say, "1" or "2" or whatever the number was for that company, and Google will connect you directly to that business.
You can also have GOOG-411 give a brief description for each company, to help you find the one you want. Very helpful if you need to find a business while away from a computer or phone book. What I'm telling clients though is that it underlines the importance of being very high — preferably in the top three but certainly in the top five — if you want to get noticed. True enough, GOOG-411 is still in the growing stage, but it is indeed growing. And for those of you who would like to grow with it, this would be an excellent time to consider how optimizing your site's search engine results could be a great investment for your company.
Another huge marketing implication of GOOG-411 is that ability to give a brief description of each business, based upon the description meta tags of each site. That's a scary thought for many companies; those description tags can languish in some forgotten part of their Web site for months or years without being updated. It's time to go back and revisit them. Like many aspects of your marketing, they can be a lot more valuable than you ever imagined!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Recession Marketing. Do you know what to do?
It is January 10, 2009, and talk everywhere is about the economy, and what can be done to stimulate it. Will the economic stimulus packages make a difference? Will soon-to-be President Obama know what to do? Will you?
That last one is not a silly question. Your marketing efforts will impact your company and, to some degree, the entire economy. Research has consistently shown for decades that spending during a recession is a good move. Companies that invest in slow times generally do better than those that do not... both during and after a recession.
However, just spending money is clearly not what's needed. It is spending it strategically, given the context of today's limited resources for both you and your customers. Identify your markets and products that are doing best, and focus on those. The tendency for many is to pour more effort into the products that are generating lower returns, in an effort to boost them up. That certainly does make sense... to a degree. But dollar for dollar, minute for minute, the best returns on marketing come from supporting the offerings that are already doing well. So focus there if your resources are limited. You're more likely to see profits coming back to you.
Offer discounts where you feel they would be strategic, but don't rely too heavily on price cuts to save the day for you. People want value, and they will generally pay more to get something that serves them better, even during a recession. The key is that you have to be able to provide something substantially more valuable than they could get elsewhere at a lower price. If you build it well enough, and market it strategically, they will indeed still come.
Finally, always remember the big picture. We've all seen recessions before. Some of you have even seen the Great Depression. No one knows yet how big our current downturn will be. What we do know is that we have to keep moving, no matter how bad it gets. In every recession, some companies do very, very well, by listening carefully to what people want, and understanding how to get it to them. Maybe this recession is your turn to step up to the plate and set an example of how to market during difficult times. Maybe this time... it's your time.
That last one is not a silly question. Your marketing efforts will impact your company and, to some degree, the entire economy. Research has consistently shown for decades that spending during a recession is a good move. Companies that invest in slow times generally do better than those that do not... both during and after a recession.
However, just spending money is clearly not what's needed. It is spending it strategically, given the context of today's limited resources for both you and your customers. Identify your markets and products that are doing best, and focus on those. The tendency for many is to pour more effort into the products that are generating lower returns, in an effort to boost them up. That certainly does make sense... to a degree. But dollar for dollar, minute for minute, the best returns on marketing come from supporting the offerings that are already doing well. So focus there if your resources are limited. You're more likely to see profits coming back to you.
Offer discounts where you feel they would be strategic, but don't rely too heavily on price cuts to save the day for you. People want value, and they will generally pay more to get something that serves them better, even during a recession. The key is that you have to be able to provide something substantially more valuable than they could get elsewhere at a lower price. If you build it well enough, and market it strategically, they will indeed still come.
Finally, always remember the big picture. We've all seen recessions before. Some of you have even seen the Great Depression. No one knows yet how big our current downturn will be. What we do know is that we have to keep moving, no matter how bad it gets. In every recession, some companies do very, very well, by listening carefully to what people want, and understanding how to get it to them. Maybe this recession is your turn to step up to the plate and set an example of how to market during difficult times. Maybe this time... it's your time.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Congratulations, Marriott in Chesapeake
I stayed at the Marriott in Chesapeake for a week recently, and came away thoroughly impressed with the staff, and their work to be the best hotel possible. Front desk, management, cleaning staff, concierge lounge staff... everyone I met was consistently smiling and giving their best.
Now, one big reason for this may be that I was one of their first customers... ever. The hotel had opened just a few weeks earlier, and on some nights I felt like I was pretty much the only guest in the entire hotel. So yah, I probably did get an experience that will not likely be repeated if I go there again in a few years time, when it's not all quite so fresh. Still, I think that whoever picked this team did such a good job, that these particular people will still make me feel welcome and cared for. They'll make me feel at home.
How about your business? Your marriage? Your friendships? Are you starting up, or settled into a groove? Are you visibly giving it your best, or just the same old same-old. Try to get back to day one, and put in all the effort that you gave it then. You're likely to find that the job or the marriage or the friendship didn't grow tired, even though you may have. Wake it up, and wake up the people you care about with your new energy and appreciation. It's a new day.
And hey, if you're ever in the Chesapeake area, drive a bit out of the way to stay at the Chesapeake Marriott. You'll see what I mean.
Now, one big reason for this may be that I was one of their first customers... ever. The hotel had opened just a few weeks earlier, and on some nights I felt like I was pretty much the only guest in the entire hotel. So yah, I probably did get an experience that will not likely be repeated if I go there again in a few years time, when it's not all quite so fresh. Still, I think that whoever picked this team did such a good job, that these particular people will still make me feel welcome and cared for. They'll make me feel at home.
How about your business? Your marriage? Your friendships? Are you starting up, or settled into a groove? Are you visibly giving it your best, or just the same old same-old. Try to get back to day one, and put in all the effort that you gave it then. You're likely to find that the job or the marriage or the friendship didn't grow tired, even though you may have. Wake it up, and wake up the people you care about with your new energy and appreciation. It's a new day.
And hey, if you're ever in the Chesapeake area, drive a bit out of the way to stay at the Chesapeake Marriott. You'll see what I mean.
Friday, November 16, 2007
The New Challenge
I’ve been handling marketing and sales consulting for 18 years, and in that time, since the late 1980's, the world has changed. Yeah, we all knew that that would happen, but I don't think many of us could have guessed the ways in which it would.
I won't get into the whole 9/11 discussion, even though that one would fit into any entry, whether on business or personal happiness or world peace or whatever. But I will get into the one that I still find most amazing -- the shortage of skilled people.
I grew up in eastern Canada, and my heritage as much as the fresh air and salt water and sense of humour (that's "humor" for my American readers) is the expectation that good work will be hard to find. We all grew up thinking we'd have to put in 120 resumes to have any hope of getting a job, and if you did find something you'd better hang on to it, because the next job might be a long way off.
Today, we have a world where, even in some of the most remote communities in this area, jobs are going unfilled and businesses are turning down projects because they don't have the skilled workers they need.
For many companies, that turnaround has had disastrous results. They may have created a great business model and carefully researched their marketplaces, but suddenly find they cannot get the workers they thought they'd have. Whether its for a production line or a senior marketing position, companies are suddenly finding that good help is hard to find, and more expensive than it ever used to be.
How about you? Are you feeling the pinch of not having the skill sets you need? How is it affecting your marketing plans? Your growth curve? What are your creative solutions? I've heard some interesting stories, and will share them in an upcoming entry But for now, email me if you have a challenge -- or a solution -- to share. Let's see what we can learn from each other.
I won't get into the whole 9/11 discussion, even though that one would fit into any entry, whether on business or personal happiness or world peace or whatever. But I will get into the one that I still find most amazing -- the shortage of skilled people.
I grew up in eastern Canada, and my heritage as much as the fresh air and salt water and sense of humour (that's "humor" for my American readers) is the expectation that good work will be hard to find. We all grew up thinking we'd have to put in 120 resumes to have any hope of getting a job, and if you did find something you'd better hang on to it, because the next job might be a long way off.
Today, we have a world where, even in some of the most remote communities in this area, jobs are going unfilled and businesses are turning down projects because they don't have the skilled workers they need.
For many companies, that turnaround has had disastrous results. They may have created a great business model and carefully researched their marketplaces, but suddenly find they cannot get the workers they thought they'd have. Whether its for a production line or a senior marketing position, companies are suddenly finding that good help is hard to find, and more expensive than it ever used to be.
How about you? Are you feeling the pinch of not having the skill sets you need? How is it affecting your marketing plans? Your growth curve? What are your creative solutions? I've heard some interesting stories, and will share them in an upcoming entry But for now, email me if you have a challenge -- or a solution -- to share. Let's see what we can learn from each other.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Price Gouging, dressed up as Customer Service
I spend a lot of time traveling. About two weeks every month in hotels. New York, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Saskatoon. All the spots you'd expect. So I've become a bit familiar with the tricks of the trade that hotels, airlines, and car rental companies employ to win me over. For the most part, I feel these companies do a good job. And I'm generally a very loyal consumer. My hotels are almost always Marriott. My cars are almost always Avis. My airline is almost always Air Canada.
But one thing in particular irks me to the point of my considering switching companies.
When I check into a hotel and my company is paying as much as a few hundred dollars a night to have me there, I do expect that if that hotel has me as a Platinum member, then they will want me to know I am appreciated. So they put a little basket of chocolate goodies in my room, and a fridge full of drinks, and then they even tuck in a little card saying that these conveniences are there to let me know they appreciate my stay. And then they mark up the price of everything by 300% or more.
That's appreciation? And what's with saying "Thank you" by charging me $12.95 a day to have Internet access in my room? And charging me a dollar a minute if I want to print out a page or two at the hotel business center? Believe it or not, I was at a copy center in a top hotel in Atlanta, and as the clerk totaled my order, she asked me if I was staying at the hotel or came in from the street. When I asked why, she said that the hotel added another 30% for guests. They were actually charging people who were already giving them $200 a night, 30% more than people who were not giving them anything! Is this really customer service?
Why not just come right out and admit it, and print on that card, "Dear Guest. Thank you for staying with us. We know that at 2:30 in the morning, if you working on a paper or watching football, or just can't sleep, that you're probably going to be tempted by all this stuff sitting here. And there's no way you're going to go out for a drive when we have it all right here in your room. So we have inflated our prices on items that already have a pretty good profit margin, to three times more than what you'd pay in any store. Please dig in and enjoy. "
How about a new plan? Let's put the same basket in there with all the same goodies, but put in a new note, telling me you appreciate my being there, and I can therefore have one item from the basket at no charge for each night that I stay. What does that cost the hotel? Maybe 40¢ a night? What does it earn them? A much more impressed customer, who will pay them back by giving them $200 that same night. The math makes sense to me.
Let's lose the price gouging. Or at the very, very least, please stop telling me that you're doing it in appreciation for my business. I'd get that level of appreciation by sleeping in the back alley.
But one thing in particular irks me to the point of my considering switching companies.
When I check into a hotel and my company is paying as much as a few hundred dollars a night to have me there, I do expect that if that hotel has me as a Platinum member, then they will want me to know I am appreciated. So they put a little basket of chocolate goodies in my room, and a fridge full of drinks, and then they even tuck in a little card saying that these conveniences are there to let me know they appreciate my stay. And then they mark up the price of everything by 300% or more.
That's appreciation? And what's with saying "Thank you" by charging me $12.95 a day to have Internet access in my room? And charging me a dollar a minute if I want to print out a page or two at the hotel business center? Believe it or not, I was at a copy center in a top hotel in Atlanta, and as the clerk totaled my order, she asked me if I was staying at the hotel or came in from the street. When I asked why, she said that the hotel added another 30% for guests. They were actually charging people who were already giving them $200 a night, 30% more than people who were not giving them anything! Is this really customer service?
Why not just come right out and admit it, and print on that card, "Dear Guest. Thank you for staying with us. We know that at 2:30 in the morning, if you working on a paper or watching football, or just can't sleep, that you're probably going to be tempted by all this stuff sitting here. And there's no way you're going to go out for a drive when we have it all right here in your room. So we have inflated our prices on items that already have a pretty good profit margin, to three times more than what you'd pay in any store. Please dig in and enjoy. "
How about a new plan? Let's put the same basket in there with all the same goodies, but put in a new note, telling me you appreciate my being there, and I can therefore have one item from the basket at no charge for each night that I stay. What does that cost the hotel? Maybe 40¢ a night? What does it earn them? A much more impressed customer, who will pay them back by giving them $200 that same night. The math makes sense to me.
Let's lose the price gouging. Or at the very, very least, please stop telling me that you're doing it in appreciation for my business. I'd get that level of appreciation by sleeping in the back alley.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Are You Creating Friends?
I had a marketing company for several years, with a team that was truly exceptional. Alex, Andrea, Shelly, Nicole, and others were people whom I took great pride in, and they in turn clearly took great pride in the work they were doing.
From time to time I would call them together for an emergency meeting, and announce that a major competitor had gone after one of our key clients. We had to switch quickly into defense mode, and search for ways to wow the customer and win their support.
Of course, the team knew after the first time we did this that no such attack was actually underway. But it was still a valuable exercise, allowing us to identify ways to super-please our clients, before the threat ever loomed.
I still think back on that exercise whenever I ask a prospect why they are leaving their current supplier. I want to know what threat ruined that relationship. And what still surprises me is that, in almost every single case, there was no competitor swooping in to destroy a previously happy relationship. The damage had come from within. Clients were generally leaving suppliers because those suppliers simply were not keeping them happy. There was insufficient effort. A lack of passion. An absence of fanaticism.
How about your clients? If I asked them what they thought of you, would they rave? Would they recommend you? Would they tell me that they don't even want to hear about any other suppliers, because they're so happy with you? Or would they be all too happy to hear about my company, and what we can do for them?
Here's the key question. If they did tell me things they didn't like about you, do you know what those things would be? Do you know where your trouble points are? Unless you actually asked your clients these questions recently, you might be surprised by the answers they give. Most businesses spend too much time selling what they sell instead of asking what their clients want.
So don't wait for the exercise to become reality. Take your top clients out to dinner. Ask tough questions. Learn. Change. Win. If you don't ask questions, someone else will. And your client will answer. Because they're hungry, and they appreciate the attention.
From time to time I would call them together for an emergency meeting, and announce that a major competitor had gone after one of our key clients. We had to switch quickly into defense mode, and search for ways to wow the customer and win their support.
Of course, the team knew after the first time we did this that no such attack was actually underway. But it was still a valuable exercise, allowing us to identify ways to super-please our clients, before the threat ever loomed.
I still think back on that exercise whenever I ask a prospect why they are leaving their current supplier. I want to know what threat ruined that relationship. And what still surprises me is that, in almost every single case, there was no competitor swooping in to destroy a previously happy relationship. The damage had come from within. Clients were generally leaving suppliers because those suppliers simply were not keeping them happy. There was insufficient effort. A lack of passion. An absence of fanaticism.
How about your clients? If I asked them what they thought of you, would they rave? Would they recommend you? Would they tell me that they don't even want to hear about any other suppliers, because they're so happy with you? Or would they be all too happy to hear about my company, and what we can do for them?
Here's the key question. If they did tell me things they didn't like about you, do you know what those things would be? Do you know where your trouble points are? Unless you actually asked your clients these questions recently, you might be surprised by the answers they give. Most businesses spend too much time selling what they sell instead of asking what their clients want.
So don't wait for the exercise to become reality. Take your top clients out to dinner. Ask tough questions. Learn. Change. Win. If you don't ask questions, someone else will. And your client will answer. Because they're hungry, and they appreciate the attention.
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