That’s when I originally wrote this.

My website used to say “Marketing is so much more than advertising…”

But why?

Advertising is a part of your marketing.

Advertising is a paid form of marketing that you can control.

It’s the invitation for people to do business with you.

I sometimes use the invitation comparison like this:

What if you decided to have a party. It was going to be one BIG Extravaganza! You hired a band, a caterer, rented a reception hall, spent tons of money on getting everything all set for 500 people but you left out one key element: You never sent any invitations with the details.

No matter how much planning you put into your party, if you don’t invite anyone, no one will show up.

Same thing with your business. That’s the purpose of advertising. To get peoples attention to what you have to offer.

Marketing is the whole customer experience. It includes the way your phone is answered, the way your staff treat customers and potential customers. The professional appearance of you, your staff, the vehicles you drive, the way you handle complaints, the way you thank people for doing business with you.

There’s the way your building looks, the way your website looks, and the image they project. Your business card, your follow up and follow through. The way you and your staff conduct yourselves in your off hours, that “personal time”.

Each of these items build on each other. It can be a delicate balance like the stack of stones in the picture.

If any of these marketing issues are lacking, no amount of paid advertising can fix them. Sure, you can try and compensate for a bad location with excellent service, but advertising… that’s another animal.

You have an opportunity, and a necessity to work on all of these areas that I’ve tossed into the marketing arena, including advertising.

And now in 2013 Social Media is now a major part of your marketing.  Even if you are not active, others are talking about you on Facebook, Twitter and the other Social Media Platforms.

Need help?

Contact me at Scott@ScLoho.net

Click here to go to their website.

I’ve talked about them in the past and you can see the articles by going here.

What was an up and coming bit of technology is now falling out of favor, it seems.

On a recent Sunday, I was paging through the printed version of the newspaper and found a grand total of TWO QR codes.

One was for a shoe store, the other was for a car dealership.

The shoe store code was a fail, because the link went to their regular webpage which wasn’t mobile friendly.

The car dealership ad said to scan their QR code and Like their Facebook page.  This works…sort of.

The code went to something that was mobile friendly, but I have no reason to Like their Facebook page.

The most ironic ad I saw in the paper was this:

Why isn’t there a QR Code?

If they make more than us, then feelings of jealousy, hurt, or even resentment can arise.

If they make less than us, then feeling of superiority, pride and other “wrong feelings” might crop up.

Thus the concept of Circumstantial Happiness.

I’m happy because of what I believe my circumstances are.   It’s a dangerous way to live.  There will always be others who earn more and others who earn less.

Besides, despite the fact we live in a country that requires money, there are plenty of examples of how the money earned is not a true measure of someones value, even if we’re talking only about their value in the work world.

Which is more indispensable, a financial planner or a firefighter?

See what I’m talking about?

Let’s all just do our best to live below our income levels and then use the left overs to help others.

Don’t have any leftover $$?  Then perhaps you can give of something else.

Time.

Extra possessions.

Talent.

All of us have something we can give.

And the giving creates happiness for both you the giver and the recipient.

You do.

I do.

Your best friend has them as does your co-workers and well, everyone.

With Facebook and other social media, we tend to share those with the world.

People will tell you their positions on gay marriage, gun control, the president, eating meat, or whatever.

And sure enough, you’re bound to find out that someone you thought you liked, has a different opinion than you on something.

Sorry, but that’s the way it’s always been.

Coke versus Pepsi.

Cats versus Dogs.

Country versus Hip Hop.

Okay on that last one, I actually worked for a radio station that played Hip Hop and we did music nights at a Country bar for awhile.  We called it Hick-Hop.

Do yourself and everyone else a favor.

Stop focusing on the differences as divisions.

If you can’t handle the fact that your friend is anti-Pepsi, then the problem might be you.

Don’t take their opinions personally.

I repeat, Don’t take their opinions personally.

Next, don’t spread the hate.

We have plenty of paid professionals who color our world with their slant on the news to fill the 24/7 cable news channels, radio airwaves and the web and each of them has their own opinion.

You know the difference between saying “I prefer Pepsi over Coke” and “I can’t stand Coke, I wish all the Coca-cola plants and all of their people would die in hell.”

Like I said, don’t spread the hate.

So what should your reaction be if someone has an opinion that is contrary to yours?

You have a choice.

You can decide to ignore those differences.

You can decide to discuss these differences, if you adopt an attitude of understanding the others persons views and why they have those views.

But if you are going to be argumentative then you’ve just crossed the line and become one of those annoying Facebook Friends yourself.

I have friends who are liberal, conservative, and non-political.

I have friends who are Pro-Choice and others who are Pro-Life.

I have friends who are ranters about their views.

I decide how to handle those relationships.

I decide to focus on the positive common ground instead of laying down in the stinky mud.

Do I care about the topics I’ve mentioned?  Mostly yes, sometimes no.

But I care about the people first.