Independence Day is one of the most important days of remembrance we recognize each year.  Please take time this year on July 4th to stop and observe the sacrifices made to create our free way of life.

The signing of the Declaration of Independance was more than a simple drafting of a statement of incorporation.  It was a risk.  A HUGE risk for all who believed in the American Experiment.  To admit belief in this new nation and it’s ideals of a self governing free people was to subject onself to persecution including torture and death under terms of treason against the king of England.  With this knowledge, our founders still saw it fit to risk all and in many cases give all for the opportunities we now enjoy.

Summer is a busy time of year and sometimes our schedules become filled with all sorts of things.  As thoughts of warm sun and iced tea by the pool begin to fill our minds, it’s easy to let the productive things fade from our mind as we drift to the task of finding a swimsuit that will be gracious to the extra 5 pounds we put on this year.  Hear this:  it’s absolutely important to enjoy your family time, vacation and time off.  Those things should be top priority for the health of you and your family relationships.  However, be sure not to neglect the relationships that made that vacation financially possible.

Leaving town early to hit the lake?  Try leaving after lunch on Friday instead of first thing in the morning.  Working through lunch on Thursday to head out early for the little league game?  Don’t be late for that game.  For goodness sakes, be there early, but, plan ahead to arrive at the office early that day or push through a couple of extra hourse the night before so you can still make your networking meeting or coffee with that contact and business relationship you need to nurture.

A little planning and foresight can go a long long way.  It may mean some extra effort, but there’s no need to see your profits and productivity dwindle as an expense for summer time fun.  Why not have both.

So, I receive a coupon in the mail yesterday for Breakfast at Taco Bell.  Looking at the images, it was clear that I would either love or hate the options offered with no middle ground as an option.  Within seconds my mouth watered at the thought of a breakfast burrito from a place that specializes in Mexican food rather than some lame attempt made by a burger joint.  Jump the time frame to 2 minutes and I’d committed to breakfast at The Bell this morning.

This morning, I headed out the door excited for my breakfast burrito and iced coffee and my mind was obviously thinking “outside the bowl” (cereal bowl).  As I pulled into the Taco Bell parking lot at a few minutes after 7am, there were only 2 cars in the lot and an empty drive through line.  My mind questioned whether people hadn’t heard about breakfast at the Bell yet or if they’d been here yesterday and knew better than to return before noon again.   I whipped my new geek mobile up to the drive through speaker and was greeted with a bright sign promoting the breakfast I was about to order.  Continuing to read while waiting on the robotic drive through voice, I saw something that made Taco Bell fail at their attempt to gain a breakfast customer.  

Breakfast 9am – noon. What!  9-noon?  You mean the Earliest I can eat breakfast on a Thursday morning is 90 minutes before most places begin serving lunch?
I guess they were up partying with the 4th meal folks they stay open late for.  In my opinion, cold pizza in the morning can be considered breakfast.  However,  just because you serve a mixture of traditional breakfast grub in your tortilia doesn’t make it breakfast.   Eggs, served at noon, is lunch.

I don’t know if this time choice is a franchise decision, or corporate.  I hope the execs at Taco Bell will lay off the hooch their pimply employees are toking in the back while serving 4th meal, set their alarm clocks, wake up while there’s still dew on the grass with the rest of world and realize that many of us eat breakfast before we go to work in the mornings.

I often partner with so called “marketing agencies” or “marketing consultants” (note: topic for another day).  When I partner with these folks, I normally spend the majority of my time fighting one problem.  The Forgetting of Process.  For instance, I’ll get a marketing consultant who sends me the content for a page pitching a particular program and the writing or graphics will be spectacular.  However, they forget how the client will be coming to that content.

You should always map out the process of bringing the client from first impression to end of sale follow-up.  Then write the content or put the pieces in place to match.

Slick writing and cool graphics are a waste of time if they don’t match one of the clearly defined steps you’re taking your prospect through.  If you create content first, you’ll find yourself trying to create a process around your content, which will probably not produce the results you’re looking for.

I sure do love fall.  The weather is the best of the year.  When the air is cool but the sun still warms your skin.

This is also the time of year to gear up your marketing and create business cash flow for the next couple of months.  There are usually only two extremes businesses experience this time of year.  Feast or Famine.

Those who experience feast are normally retail businesses who are able to gain on the upcoming holiday shopping fever or weather generated business.  While those experiencing famine are generally those businesses who will suffer from invisibility in November and December.  Has this been you in years past?  Are your clients and target audience so busy with purchasing from those feasting seasonal providers that you are put on the back burner.  Do you struggle through months 11 and 12 hoping for mid January to come quickly so you’ll be visible again.?

If so, what will you do differently this year to prepare?  Can you bulk up sales in October?  Or, leverage relationships and technology to stay in front of your customers so you’re not forgotten and they see you with more priority than grabbing the last Snuggie off the shelf to wrap for their distant cousin?

Now’s the time to take action, if you want to turn this normally slow time of year into a boom for your bank account.  Or you could simply do what you’ve done in years past and find a friend who’ll not mind listening to your complaining about how this time of year is rough on your business.

If you need help coming up with a plan.  Feel free to shoot me an email and and we can brainstorm some ideas.

Had to share this video.  I like this girl.  I’ve shared similar sentiments in past posts such as Educational Waste, My Kind of Teacher,  and Why Does the Answer Exist.  You just have to hear this girl’s comments.  Listen closely.  So, without further explanation…

If you have kids and are like me, every year you dread the first day of school. Not for the same reasons that kids do though :~) Though most parents are worn out from a summer of rearranging their schedule and playing referee when your kids could use a break from each other, the first day of school is an event of reflection. I can’t believe that my Halee is entering the fifth grade. Her last year in elementary school before she dives into the pressures of “big kid” environments. Not to mention my baby girl Ruthie starting Kindergarten. It’s crazy and causes me to think back on the joyous moments when I held them in my arms for the first time.

Use the next few days or weeks that you have left of summer break to build memories with your kids. Take off work early and play in the sprinkler with your kids, go to the dog park, take an evening walk at sundown, stay up late watching a movie or playing games, camp out in the backyard. Also, spend some time praying for them and the new adventure and people they’ll meet over the next school year. I know work is important, but you first responsibility is at home and when you seek God in leading your family, He will make sure other things fall into place.

Share your ideas below on how to make memories while there’s still some summertime left.

Now, if you’ll excuse me…. I’m headed home to have lunch with my wife and daughters.

Check out this graph showing the burst in searches for “auto body repair” in the OKC Metro area on Google around the time of this spring’s storms

Do you treat returning customers and new or potential customers the same way?  If so… Why?

Both people are important but they need to hear different messages and have a different experience.

We’ve all been to a restaurant when the server asks if we’ve ever been there before.  Only about half of the time does that make a difference in the presentation.  Why did they ask if they weren’t going to tell me anything different or offer an incentive for turning my guests into patrons.  What different messages need to be told in your business?

When it comes to your website, technology allows you to use cookies in order to show a different message to new visitors than that seen by people who are regular visitors.  Maybe the newbie needs different instruction and the regular needs a reason to refer a newbie.

In your store or office, find a way to recognize people who’ve visited your place before (or at least the regulars) and make them feel like more of a part of what’s going on.  Turn them into an exclusive group and give them an insider feeling.

For most people, hiring someone to build their website is as confusing & stressful than buying a car, and more important than who to hire to answer the phones.  I’ve created a short list of seven simple facts that web designers don’t want you to know.  The days of web design being kin to rocket science are over.  But, web designers don’t want you to know that. They’ll charge extreme prices for simple tasks just because either they haven’t upgraded to newer more efficient methods, or, they hope that keeping you in the dark will place a pair of  “golden handcuffs” on you and force you to put up with the poor customer service and worse attitude they throw at you.

Give me your email address below and I’ll send you the short checklist so you can make sure you’re not the one paying for the gold on those handcuffs. :~)

Email Marketing You Can Trust

return true;
}
// ]]>
Email Marketing You Can Trust