SmallBizMentor

Great Christmas Client Communication Idea

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:50:52 -0700

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.

Today I received a communication in the mail from a business I deal with regularly. The ahesive address label on the back was a Christmas one with colorful Christmas motifs and the following wording -

The team at
(BUSINESS NAME)
wish you a
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year
and advise that our office will close from
5.p.m. Tuesday 23rd December 2008
& will re-open at 8.30 a.m. on Monday 5th January, 2009

What a savvy communication strategy... and it doesn't cost any more as the mail was going out anyway.

The downside is you don't reach all clients as the label only goes on mail that is going out anyway. However, it's a time and cost saving approach which also adds a bit of Christmas cheer along with the marketing.

Merry Christmas to all Small Biz Mentor readers. It's good to be back after a long hiatus.

Small Business Promotion Tip #8 - Hold A Contest

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:37:52 -0700

This one's a no brainer. Holding a contest to promote your small business creates lots of buzz and interest.

With the right hook, a newsworthy contest can get you media coverage too.

Tips For Holding A Contest

Make it fun
Keep it simple - rules, how to enter and who is eligible
Be clear on what the prize is
Keep your business name prominent
Have a defined closing date
Get as much publicity as you can before, during and after
Promote it online at sites such as Online Sweepstakes
Announce the winners and notify them
Honor your promise even if you have only a few entries
Don't change the rules halfway through
If you are extending the deadline, make it very clear
Be open and transparent about how the winner is decided
Post contest publicity

Where Do You Get The Prizes?
As well as your own prizes there may be scope for p artnering with complementary businesses. Run a joint contest and have a larger prize pool - more publicity channels too. Or you may be able to ask some of your suppliers to provide prizes.

Product Or Service Vouchers
Another savvy contest prize is a voucher for your business. The face value is less than what it will cost you. Plus, a voucher brings customers back into your business.

Any other tips for holding contests to promote your small business?

Video - Making Your Own Luck - With The Inventor Of The Pen Again On The Big Idea

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:16:18 -0700

This video is an interesting interview and demonstration of The Pen Again with Donny Deutsch and the inventor.

The Pen Again is a strange looking ergonomic pen, which was invented by a bored student who pursued the dream to bring it to production and success many years later.

The process he shares is interesting. This takes us through from the idea, to naming, production, marketing and sales.

Regardlesss of your business or services, the Pen Again is a good example of seeing potential in an idea or concept and making your own luck through tenacity, hard work and a belief in yourself and your product.

View the Pen Again Video

Have you come across "accidental" ideas that have benefited your business?
If you've used or seen the Pen Again, what did you think?

Spend Time Away From Your Business For Greater Clarity & Perspective - 10 Suggestions

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:06 -0700

Being away from your business sometimes gives you greater clarity and perspective.

Each of us has only 24 hours in a day. How are you spending your working hours to best advantage your business?

With well trained, motivated staff, who know they are valued and trusted you don't need to be physically in your business workplace the whole time.

How long has it been since you took some time to head outside your daily work space and look at your business from a different angle? Be kind to yourself and your business.

10 Suggestions To Help With Business Clarity & Perspective

1. Attend networking events
2.   Catch up with colleagues - informal networking
3.   Quiet time just to reflect
4.   Talk to a business coach or marketing coach
5.   Read business books or browse in a bookstore
6.   Attend (or present at) a conference or workshop
7.   Run a focus group
8.   Keep an eye on your competitors
9.   Unwind - listen to music or go for a walk
10. Have a short non business related break away

Any other suggestions or comments?

Do Your Staff Really Need You As Much As You Think They Do?

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:38 -0700

It's only natural that owners and managers feel that the business can't run without them, especially in the early stages.

But is it really true?

It's a mark of a good mentor to skill their staff and trust them to do their jobs. Lillie Ammann wrote about this some time ago, and her post has always stuck with me.

Background:
Lilllie Ammann is a very experienced and talented editor and writer. Years ago, she owned her own landscaping business.

Situation:
Lillie wanted to come up with a way to counter chaotic mornings. These always seemed to start in problem solving mode, with staff asking her advice the moment she walked in the door.

Solution:

Lillie explains her solution

So I told my staff I would no longer be at work at 8 AM. They could deal with the morning chaos, and I’d be in an hour later, when things were beginning to settle down.

If they had a true emergency and needed me, they could call me at home, but I wanted them to handle the routine crises of each day.

Result:
Well, I think you can guess this. The staff took more responsibility and became more confident and skilled in the process. Lillie gave staff a safety net of knowing they could call her if they really needed to, but she also gave herself a break from the hectic morning chaos.

Down the track, having a staff who can run the business in your absence gives you more freedom to attend to other things - personal or business related.

Reflection:
It's about trust too, and staff are a great resource for ideas and moving your business forward. Giving them more responsibility is often a way to motivate your staff and to show you value them.

I'd love to hear your experiences of giving staff more freedom and responsibility or how you felt as an employee.

Small Business Promotion Tip #7 - Promote Benefits Before Features In Advertising Copy

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:50:54 -0700

Copywriting is a key skill in writing advertising copy, but you can also use this same basic copywriting principle to power up your newsletters.

The most important copywriting skill happens before you even write a word. It's working out what benefits you are offering.

If I'm "selling" you a room in a bed & breakfast, I'm selling you benefits such as luxury, a homely atmosphere, a feeling of being pampered, peace away from the traffic, something unique and a sense of privacy.

The features are the physical attributes such as the choice of 3 rooms, 3 course breakfast, extensive library, antique furniture in every room etc.

Homing in on the benefits hits psychological marketing triggers. Customers are then more inclined to look at the features and how you will deliver on your benefits promise.

I'd love to hear your experiences or tips with benefits vs features.

Small Business Promotion Tip #6 - Create An Award

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:36 -0700

Creating and establishing an award does not have to be expensive, but it can get you lots of kudos.

Best of all, other people spread the word for you.

Bloggers are good at this. You'll see blogs proudly displaying awards they've been given by other bloggers. The awards or at least the post explaining the win, feature on blogs around the web giving the originator of the award plenty of free promotion.

The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval is a well known award that has some clout.

Some Tips For Creating Awards

Create a seal of approval, an award or a top 10 list
Think of something that will capture the public's attention
It needs to be credible and above board and be seen to be so
You could do it jointly with a community organization or the local newspaper
You could hold it in conjunction with a community or national event
Think of a newsworthy hook for the media
Get newspaper, television, radio and online coverage before, during and afterwards
Be transparent with how the awardee is chosen
Celebrate other people's successes
Try to make it an annual event
Be prepared to commit the time to supporting and promoting the award
Be genuine

Tell us your experiences about creating or participating in awards.
Any tips for small business promotion using awards?

Apple iPhone - Hip, Hype & Business Branding

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:51 -0700

Apple is a savvy marketer. They've done an amazing job with business branding and experience marketing.

People who love Macs, seem to really love them. Some call themselves Apple evangelists. If you buy an Apple product, are you buying the product or the brand? Some would argue that they are buying both.

Is the iPhone really superior to every other phone? Same with the iPod. It depends on what you are looking for and how you want to use it. What is really smart about Apple's approach is if we invest in one product, we are buying into the Apple brand, and are more likely to buy another Apple product.

When we buy an iPod, we starting thinking about iTunes. The iPhone is another good example. It's hip and it offers lots of usability in a portable platform. Many Apple Mac users have been hanging out for the iPhone, so they can integrate all their technology. Makes sense.

Apple products seem to deliver on user experience. Owning an Apple product and showing it off (or the kudos of owning one) seems to be as important as the product itself.

Would you say this is savvy experience marketing?

Related Articles Around The Know More Media Network

Happy National Ride To Work Day - Are You Riding To Work Today?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:05 -0700

If you're lucky enough to telecommute, you're probably not too concerned about Happy National Ride To Work Day today.

This annual event is celebrated on the 3rd Wednesday in July. That's today!

I think it's a great idea to highlight awareness of motorcycle and scooter riders. It also shines a light on the amount of gas we guzzle with our cars.

Spare a moment for motorcycle and scooter riders today. Our local mailman uses a motorbike and is out in rail, hail or shine (no snow here).

Bicycle riders don't seem to get too much of a mention with National Ride To Work Day, as it's focused on motorcycles and scooters. But a significant number of people travel to work by push bike. Now that's a environment friendly and cost efficient alternative, though not practical for everyone.

If you telecommute, you celebrate National Walk To Work Day every day. There are telecommuting benefits for employers and employees.

Happy National Ride To Work Day!

How do you get to work?
Are there alternatives you would prefer?

Small Business Promotion - 5 Tips

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:10 -0700

I've started a small business promotion tips series here at Small Biz Mentor.

Small business owners usually know their business inside out, but promotion is often something they're less comfortable with.

Common refrains

We're in the Yellow Pages
Websites don't work
All our customers are local and know us anyway
It costs too much
I don't have marketing skills
I run ads in the newspaper or online

I'm not knocking any of these approaches or concerns, but small business promotion does not always have to be expensive.

Here's a roundup of our first five small business promotion tips.

Do you have any small business promotion tips that don't cost the earth?

INVITATION - BE FEATURED AT SMALL BIZ MENTOR
We'd love to feature your small business promotion tips here at Small Biz Mentor. We will credit all tips we use to you and link back to your site. It only needs to be one or two paragraphs long.

You Can Get Hurt Running With The Bulls - No Kidding

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:36:14 -0700

A few years ago I visited Pamplona, Spain where they hold the annual running of the bulls. The street where the bulls run is narrow, paved with uneven cobblestones and leads towards the bullring.

When I saw this year's footage of the running of the bulls, I marvelled that more people were not hurt or killed. There are no end of people willing to risk their lives running with the bulls. Bulls can be unpredictable. Many of the runners have never experienced this situation before.

It strikes me that a lot of people run their business this way - take it as it comes, dive in head first, little planning, no contingency plan and a lot of hoping for the best.

When all is going well, it's fine of course. The adrenalin is pumping and it's a buzz. But as soon as something goes wrong, what do you do? A lot of how you react is gut instinct and often the outcome is just plain good luck.

Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Proving that there are no end to variations on a theme and to people's creativity and ingenuity, check out these events inspired by the running of the bulls.

For pure nonsense and fun... In New Orleans, the Pamplona Bull Run has inspired the Big Easy Roller Derby girls chasing people down the street with plastic bats.

For a fun softer option, try New Zealand's running of the sheep. I'm sure there's another business metaphor in there too.

ING Cafe Direct - An Experience Marketing Success Story

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:34:57 -0700

ING Direct, the banking group, knows how to do experience marketing successfully.

Some Small Biz Mentor commenters feel Starbucks have lost their way with experience marketing, so ING is an interesting case study as it offers coffee as well. Yes, coffee!

ING established cafes with coffee, food, free internet and financial newpapers and finance news on plasma screens. Cafe goers can watch stock movements and check their portfolios. They offer free financial seminars at their various branches too.

The ING Direct Cafe promotes ING's banking business, but interestingly, it is not a physical bank. That all happens online.

Back in 2004, Joseph Pine & James H. Gilmour reported for Strategy + Business -

ING Direct realized that financial services had become so commoditized that an engaging experience was the best way to expose potential customers to its financial offerings.

ING Cafe Direct has since opened in other major cities. And why wouldn't they? Pine & Gilmour say of the New York ING Cafe Direct (remember this was 2004)

...this single “branch” yielded more than $200 million in new accounts and mortgages within a year of opening.

ING Cafe Direct say

We believe saving money should be as simple as having a cup of coffee. So we invite you to come in and experience just how refreshing it is to sip a latte, surf the Internet for free and talk to us about how we can help you Save Your Money.

Sounds like savvy experience marketing to me.

Do you know of other examples of experience marketing that works or that has lost its way?

Experience Marketing - From Starbucks To ING To Profit

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:16 -0700

In response to my recent post Is The Starbucks Busine ss Brand Declining? many commenters talked about relationship marketing and experience marketing.

It was an interesting conversation. Thanks to Ben Jones, Chad, Karen Swim, Evan Hadkins, Vivienne Quenk and Dina Lynch Eisenberg for joining in and sharing your insights.

Karen Swim said

The Starbucks brand-consumer relationship started off as ardent lovers and midway Starbucks decided "we're just acquaintances." They diminished brand equity and suddenly many people realized they were paying $4 for coffee, experience be darned.

My thoughts:
I love the "ardent lovers" to "we're just acquaintances" transition analogy for the Starbucks brand-consumer relationship.

Dina Lynch Eisenberg said

Starbucks fell victim to its own creation. They created 'experience marketing' then failed to create an evolving experience. After 2 or 3 'half caf, soy milk lattes' the thrill of getting just what you wanted is gone, sadly.

While I still believe experience marketing is a viable strategy, we all should be reminded that we're only as good as the last experience to the fickle public. The experience doesn't have to be new, just remarkable enough to hold their interest and instill loyalty.

My thoughts:
The difference between "new" and "remarkable enough to hold their interest and loyalty" is an interesting one, as things can't be "new" forever.

How About You?

How could Starbucks do experience and relationship marketing more effectively?

Tomorrow, I'm going to take a look at ING Direct and see how it uses experience marketing, even though it doesn't have any physical branches.

You have to take your hat off to ING Direct for knowing their market and for business savvy... and for taking some of the best things from the Starbucks model.

Do You Use These 6 Key Elements For Effective Print Ads?

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:00:43 -0700

Whether you have a retail store, a consultancy firm or any other small business, some basic print ad principles are universal.

Make yourself the obvious choice is an interesting article which identifies 6 key elements or principles for effective print ads. As they suggest, many ads for a given service all seem to offer something similar. How will you stand out from the crowd?

Look at Yellow Pages ads in your niche. What would make a prospective client choose your business over others that look and sound much the same?

6 Key Elements For Effective Print Ads

Attract attention - a great headline, a promise, a special offer, a great graphic etc
Motivate people to contact you
Create a sense of urgency
Stop the search - Give them a reason to contact you
Present your proof - case studies, facts, figures, testimonials
Build in a filter - Don't feel you have to accept every client

Along with these key elements for an effective print ad, you need savvy copywriting, including a call to action to get your message across. And of course, check all the ad details carefully and thoroughly before going to print.

Any other tips or print ad experiences to share?

Celebrate National Ride To Work Day - July 16th

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:38:20 -0700

Celebrate National Ride To Work Day on July 16th!

This day celebrates motor bike riders and raises awareness.

It seems like a great idea to raise awareness. Scooters and motorcycles would guzzle less fuel, so I wonder how easy these folks find their daily commute.

National Ride To Work Day is intended to demonstrate

The number of motorcyclists to the general public and to politicians.
That motorcyclists are from all occupations and all walks of life.
That motorcyclists can reduce traffic and parking congestion in large cities.
That motorcycles are for transportation as well as recreation.
That motorcycling is a social good.

The Ride To Work Day site has a lot of useful information and the campaign seems well thought out and organized. A letter to mayors says

Studies have shown the public benefits of motorcycling and scootering include:
Motorcycles and scooters share parking spaces, making more spaces for everyone else.
Motorcycles and scooters consume significantly less resources per mile than automobiles.
Motorcycles and scooters reduce traffic congestion and save travel time.

The site offers resources such as a motorcycle fact sheet, motorbike gallery and Q & A information. Motorcyclists would certainly have less fuel costs.

Do you ride a scooter or motorcycle to work?
Do you feel you are catered for by your area or work facilities?