you don't amount to a hill of (coffee) beans

Good point from Seth Godin.
From "Why bother"



It reminds me of an experience that my brother-in-law had. There is a coffee bar in an upscale part of New York that is conveniently located for him, but he probably will never buy a thing there again due to his experiences there. One time he brought back a caramel latte since the milk inside was sour. The guy was ambivalent, saying that it's just the taste of the caramel. Is it really worth the 30 cents that it costs to make a freaking latte to chase away a customer?

BTW, I really recommend the Return Customer blog. It's a great real-life lesson plan in winning cutomer loyalty.

This is why Cuban is a success...

Great post from Mark Cuban about putting yourself in your customers' shoes.

We are the best!

A friend sent me a link to a BusinessWeek.com slideshow of online biz advice from its entrepreneurs.

Words of wisdon from the founder of LinkedIn (emphasis mine)

Advice: Don't have a bunch of promotion and marketing fluff on your page. Just saying you're the best doesn't mean you're the best. Customers want to know how much it's going to cost, how long it's going to take to get to them, and if they're going to get good service.

Don't take up screen real estate that's not actionable, useful information. Don't make them click too much or make it too hard to find products. If they don't find what they want from the home page, they're going to click to the next site. They're expecting convenience. Make a compelling offer, because customers on the Internet are expecting a deal.

This si true in print advertising as well. It can be quite frustrating dealing with companies that have no ad direction other than to say "we are the best". Really? You are? How did I miss the vote on this? Torah Times and CY Magazne are just filled with this kind of mush.

I will have more to come from the slideshow.

Powerpoint...thine enemy?

We recently started working on a project with many components. One of the items that was discussed at the meeting was whether we create Powerpoint presentations or know someone that does. I have been looking around for a soup-to-nuts presentation guru or the like who shares my outlook on Powerpoint.

To most people, a PP presentation is a series of slides with the bullet points of what you are discussing. Maybe it is also peppered with some noxious clip-art or worse dazzling cheesy effects. This is a recipe for unimpressed viewers who tune out quite quickly. The slides should augment the presentation instead of sending more redundant noise at their other senses.

In the meantime, I found some very useful (and entertaining) resources which are totally straight on. Guy Kawasaki talks about the 10/20/30 rule to keep people from being bored to tears. Really Bad Powerpoint, a paper by Seth Godin, speaks for itself. Read it.

The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less

This video presentation is a real eye-opener to some. Almost a "must-see" designation. Take the time to watch it, trust me. The only thinkg annoying about it is that he keeps showing cartoons to the audience which we can't see, leaving us to wonder what in blazes is so funny? Google TechTalks April 27, 2006 Barry Schwartz

New weekly feature

I will be starting a new weekly posting called "Around the web in 80 clicks" which will be a collection of links to articles which caught my eye and don't need much of a comment from me.

I must admit that I am ripping off modeling this concept after the Signal vs. Noise blog's Sunspots Feature . In fact I actually got the idea based on a link to an article about simplicity and sense in web navigation which mentions "Every time you add a word to a web page, you take something away". This can be true in all forms of communication, as I have stated here and here

It's time to take my own advice...

A picture is worth...

Pictures can be very powerful. However, that unbridled power can sometimes portray the wrong message a thousand times more efficiently than one word. Kathy Sierra demonstrates this on her Passionate Users blog (one of my faves).

The picture above is a sign posted at a local trailhead. What does it mean? (Getting it wrong, by the way, means a $50 fine.) It's supposed to mean, "Each human can have no more than two dogs under their control." (this is a leash-optional trail) And while most people could--after cocking their head to the side--figure it out, I have to laugh about what else this sign says like:

"You can have a German Shepard, and an Old English Sheepdog, but SPRINGER SPANIELS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED!"

Contrast this with a suggested alternative :

RECOMMENDATION:
Use only one breed of dog in the graphic. Or better yet, use an abstract representation of a dog rather than a specific dog type.

Having three different dogs is misleading--it makes it appear that the breed of dog matters, when the sign is about the quantity of dogs per person.

She then applies this understanding to web page design as well:

If two buttons on a website are blue with round corners, they'll be interpreted as having some common function. If one of them is a navigation button and the other is a transaction button, there's a problem.

She goes on to explain other considerations that make the new sign more effective.

It seems to make so much sense, yet this forethought is not put into a lot of graphics that are created. So much of advertising and design is based on the mood and message of the picture that often accompanies the text. If the image does not capture the attention of the viewer, the message is usually not seen. If it conflicts with the text, it just leaves the viewer confused.

Make sure that you use the right one thousand words.

HaYom blog on awful design

HaYom has a scathing indictment on the state of design in the frum community. The idea of saying more with less that I posted before is a concept which is totally lost on people.

The non-frum world would never accept this fly-by-night design done by people who just discovered Photoshop and filters, yet in the frum world this is not only accepted, but considered nice! Overdone is nice to frum people. I can't figure out why.

People have no idea where to draw the line (pun intended).

The right equipment and a complete knowledge of the programs do not necessarily make a nice product. There is talent and skill involved as well as an eye for design. I mean, learn the color wheel for heaven's sake before you try to do a real design job. I see people all the time who've taken graphic design courses (the 3-6 month type of course). Most of the time the work they do is terrible. Sure, they know the programs well, they know the tools, but they lack an eye for it, they lack talent.

I couldn't agree more. Everyone wants more words, more pictures, more elements, more font styles. I don't understand how consumers don't get so distracted by all of this. Looking through the Torah Times yesterday made my head spin! The problem is that when you are dealing with a client, you never want to sound condescending and pompous about knowing what is best. It is a very fine line to tow.

Is marketing expensive?

To define whether or not marketing is expensive or inexpensive, we have to look at the effectiveness of the campaign and not at the up-front costs. You can spend $100 on a half-page newspaper ad and barely recoup your costs. That would be expensive marketing. You can spend $600 on the design and placement of an ad in a trade magazine, leading to a few prospects and thousands of dollars in sales. That would be inexpensive marketing because it was effective.

In all aspects of your business, you make decisions to spend money on things, whether it be merchandise, technology solutions or office space. In the big picture, you are looking at the benefit of what the item or service provides as well as the price tag. Marketing is a means of increasing your bottom line. It is worthwhile to have a creative marketing strategy to that end; looking at the benefits that will be provided by the marketing methods and not at the up-front price tag.

Don't throw money down the drain!

From a WSJ piece: Small Firms Try Out New Advertising Avenues

The foray into online advertising has affected the salon's use of other ad venues. The company has eliminated its use of radio advertising and national magazine advertising. These old-media options don't bring in the business, says Mr. Ettore, adding that he now relies largely on search advertising and some local newspaper ads.

"My ad budget has been cut," he says. "I used to spend $60,000 to $70,000 a year on marketing. Now I only spend $20,000 to $30,000."

Lessons from The Apprentice - Advantage: Small Business

What follows is a comment that I wrote on inc.com's Apprentice blog:

I think that the episode provided irony and as well as a parable for small business.

Synergy was forced to find a creative way out of the domination that they were suffering. You saw how dejected and demoralized they were becoming when they saw how Gold Rush had taken a total domination of the resources that were available. I think that had Gold Rush not done such a good job of cutting them off, Synergy would have just had a less successful event (with a couple of cheerleaders).

This is a powerful lesson to small business. Sure, big business has domination of the resources for big campaigns and services. The smaller business can actually use that disadvantage to an advantage by outfoxing the large, inflexible corporations by finding creative ways to provide better value for their customers without the sexy ad campaigns.

I'm back...

...after a bit of a hiatus.

I will be posting soon about last night's "The Apprentice", as soon as I fix my copy and paste problem on my PC.

Free advertising

Came across this today. People don't always need to be paid to reccommend your product or service. When you love it, you want your friends to share in it as well - it is our nature. When someone you know needs a dentist or a car or a place to buy a stereo, aren't you more than happy to tell them about your positive experience?

More on the e-mail debate

A friend of mine pointed linked me an interesting article about the many benefits of e-mail which are still unanswered by newer tools like RSS and IM. I don't truly believe that e-mail is dead, but as I mentioned in this post, it is somewhat broken. MarketingProfs cites this study that on average, about 20% of e-mails don't get delivered or are identified as spam.

I believe that as technologies mature, each will find it's own niche. Nobody relies on only one method of communication: Sometimes we e-mail, sometimes an IM will do fine. Often we need to pick up the phone and actually have a conversation, while other times the subject matter requires a face to face discussion.

What I am suggesting is that when it comes to marketing, we need to look at all of the tools at our disposal. Depending on the industry, the mix of tools and methods will vary. The task at hand is to use the right mix of tools that will be most efficient and cost effective in getting your message to be heard by the right people.

Palm Tre-oy

Often, as products get more feature rich, they become more complicated.

On the other hand, software company 37signals prides itself on creating products that do less. I am a happy user of a number of their products, especially Basecamp.

The times, they are a-changing

Great quote from a panel disucussion on old school/new school techniques in building a customer base.

Email used to be an effective means, but today, email is broken. You can’t reach people easily via email due to spam filters and overuse of the email medium. (David Teten)

Ain't that the truth! We have our own "filters" when we look at e-mail, especially when we wake up on Monday and find 137 pieces in our inbox from the weekend. Newsletters and offers (forget the real spam) clutter the screen, obscuring the messages you want to see. It just becomes one big noise pit. The first thing to get the axe is "anyone who is trying to get me to buy something".

E-mail may be cheap, but it is becoming more irrelevant. It certainly will not go away, but as a business tool, it cannot be relied upon to get your message out.

bizblogs

Blogging is the hot trend these days. It might need to be part of your marketing strategy.

BL Ochman, corporate blog strategist, offers a tongue-in-cheek look at why blogging is just not worth the effort

Say more with less

Ever notice how many people who talk alot have little to say? There is an adage in the Talmud that says that one should try to speak succinctly. This carries over into all forms of communication, especially in the marketing world.


Look at the contrast between the Grape-nuts billboards in the Apprentice contest. The one on the left is too complex for a billboard. I don't have to put it any differently than Bill Rancic who writes on his blog:

The graphics were another problem. You don't need to be an expert to figure out that the billboard design was too cluttered. People driving by would not be able to take it all in without getting into a major car accident.

Now, I am not all that keen on the image that is being conveyed in billboard on the right. However, the way that the message is communicated is much more effective. Billboard attention spans are usually measured in eyeball-seconds and you have no time to spare. Nothing says more than an image which fully captures the mood.

Every so often, a client wants us to do an ad that seems to include their entire manifesto. You are not writing a book, you are trying to get your foot into a closing door. In this generation especially, with all of the ads, e-mails and banners that vie for our attention, we tend to skip the ones that are long winded and take too much time to digest. Once your message gets tuned out, the communication is over.

Decide on your message and use clarity to express it.

Marketing Shmarketing

I believe in simplicity....

I am not referring to simple-mindedness or lack of imagination. I am talking about breaking complexity down to its core elements. Often, we try to show our expertise in a certain area by communicating about it in a way that shows the very depth of our knowledge. We throw around fancy terms and buzzwords. However, you will see that the trend of late is to promote disambiguity. The "for Dummies" series of books certainly comes to mind.

Look at some of the most successful companies and products in this millenium. The most prominent word of this era is probably "Google". Noun, verb, adverb (?); how did this become such a household name? They certainly weren't the first search engine, they may not even be the best search engine. What they are is the most effective search engine, due for the most part to the simplicity of search that the site brings, along with its integrated tools.

The iPod revolutionized the mp3 market. Again, Apple was not the first to come out with a portable mp3 player; What they did do was be the first to do it right. It was truly breathtaking how they created the market for their product, leaving everyone else to try to catch up. The formula? Simplicity.

Marketing is not advertising, research, websites, or search rank. Marketing is simply communicating. I say "I have a product"; You respond "I am your customer". Getting to this conversation can be simple or complicated, expensive or inexpensive. There are no one-size-fits- all solutions. Many businesses today are not tapping into some of the trends and methods that have developed of late. Marketing is done with the old, bloated methods. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for media advertising, whether on TV/radio, print media, or the web. However, you cannot just rely on these outlets to increase your bottom line, especially when you are a small business or service provider. Why create a beautiful web site if it won't be given a second look by the googler? Why spend the money on a commercial when only a fraction of the audience cares about your service? The knee-jerk answer usually is "To promote awareness". There is a 2-part response to this in the new era:
1. Awareness does not equal customers
In the internet age, there are so many businesses/professionals looking for your attention. Living in Flatbush, Brooklyn, how can I not be aware of Wheels to Lease? But what made me choose to give them the time of day? A recommendation from a family member. If I shopped around at every car dealer that I am "aware" of....
Awareness is important but it is not enough to attract customers!
2. Why buy a Rolls-Royce to get you to the train station?
The internet has made it easier then ever to connect with your customers. There are a myriad of ways to communicate your message without it being too costly or finding its way into the Junk Folder. What's more is that often, your awareness growth will be cultivated by others at little cost to you.
Awareness can be promoted through simple communication

Some would refer to this as "guerilla marketing" or "viral marketing". The truth is that Elementary Marketing is all of the above and more. It is using all forms of communication to create the right blend for your business or service, based on your message, size and target niche market. It is developing a plan that focuses on the creating and fostering the connection between you and your customers.

It is that simple.