Don’t Invite Them Until You are Ready

By Glen Gardner

CEO GG&A

One of the basic rules of marketing is; don't invite them in until you are ready. What that means is don't spend marketing dollars inviting people through the door until you have all the kinks ironed out of your business or service. Not doing so can be a disaster of major proportions that you never recover from.

It doesn't matter whether you are big or small, the same rules apply. Just ask Uncle Sam what happens when you think the rules of marketing don't apply to you.

This very scenario has been playing out on the national scene with billions of dollars wasted and the public's trust eroded to a point that recovery may be near impossible.

I'm referring to the disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act. The government spent millions of dollars inviting people through the doors before they were ready. I saw television commercials inviting me to visit a web site that didn't work or to call a number that no one would answer. This was a classic case of breaking premature invitation rule.

The fallout is so severe that there are questions as to whether or not the program will ever fully get off the ground in the manner it was intended to. All because they opened the store before it was ready.

There is a big lesson here for any business or service that is considering spending marketing dollars in an effort to get people to a web site, store or other business. If you are not really ready, don't invite them in. It can put you out of business faster than you can say "Obamacare."

Get your ducks in a row, and then invite the masses.

Lessons from Football Coaches

By Julie Hein, General Manager

It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner.
Vince Lombardi

It all seems so easy for him.  That guy over there.  He has all the customers, all the market share, all the good staff, the good name in the community.  If I just had the good deal that he gets from his vendors or the advertising budget that he has—then I could be successful too.  If I had bought that stock so low, if I had the silver spoon, if I….

The thing that separates successful entrepreneurs from the rest of us is often that the have the fortitude to get past the scary days, months or years at the beginning of the game, and they're ready reset at half-time.  Their belief is strong.  Their forecast is positive.  And they get it done. 

You can get it done too.  Make a plan and live it.  Make sure your business plan is pointed and your team know the mission.  Have an advertising plan that’s as long as your business plan. 

Think like Vince.  What’s it going to take to win?

 

We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.
Vince Lombardi

Hey Cable, At Least a Band was Playing When the Titanic Went Down

By Glen Gardner/CEO Glen Gardner and Associates

If you are considering sinking a lot of money into cable TV, consider this; A recent Price Waterhouse survey found that nearly three-quarters of the cable companies' customers don't want to buy the product the way they sell it. That may have been all well and good 10 years ago when there were few choices and the main competition sold the product the same exact way. What the consumer doesn't like is "bundling."

Both cable and Dish bundle the programming package proving the consumer with a ton of choice and a ton of cost. The latest research indicates most consumers would rather purchase only what they consume on a regular basis. Before video streaming, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Redbox Stream, Roku and others, the consumer had little choice than to belly up to the bar and buy it all.

That is all changing in a hurry. The movement is referred to as "cutting the cord" and more Americans are doing it every day. They are sick of paying for a bunch of programming they just don't consume. They are using the Internet to pick and choose what they want to watch and pay for it that way. In the process they are saving hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars a year.

To some extent the cable companies seem to be whistling by the graveyard. They say the last time they faced a major challenge in the 90's they did just fine, thank you. The competition in the 90's was Dish and that is bundled exactly the same way cable is. This new form of competition is a whole new beast. It's unbundled and exactly what the consumer says they want.

The technology to cut the cable is still a bit exotic and geek-centric, but it's quickly becoming more consumer-friendly. Remember trying to program that first VCR?

For $40 you can purchase a computer the size of a cigarette lighter that plugs into any HDMI input on a TV or monitor. These units are WiFi and Bluetooth equipped and operate on the Android platform. They turn your TV or monitor into a big tablet for 40 bucks. Not only are cable companies quaking in their boots, but PC manufacturers are none too pleased that for $40 dollars you can have a full functioning Email, music and video computer. If you don't believe me, just do a Google search on "Android Dongle" or "Android mini computer."

Fragmentation, cutting the cord, time shifting and DVR make buying cable advertising a minefield these days. Sam Goody's is gone, the Amazon guy owns what's left of newspaper and the last VCR repair shop in my town closed this year. Cable as we know it, may be next.

Time to Tell Your Story

By Glen Gardner/ CEO Glen Gardner and Associates

 

How long should my marketing message be? That is a question that I get asked a lot by my clients. Should I run a 30 second, 15 second or 60 second message on radio or TV? How many words can I put on a billboard? How much detail do I need on my homepage?

 

The answers to these questions depend on many factors, but generally economy is better. People these days are being trained to communicate in ever shorter snippets. Twitter is 140 characters and text messaging lends itself to truncated (OMG) messaging.

 

The point was driven home to me during a recent walk through Boston Common with my wife Lauren. We noticed a large crowd of mostly young people had gathered. They were all holding their cell phones and texting wildly. We just couldn't figure out what was going on.

Lauren asked one of the kids what was happening and she explained that it was a "Vine" gathering and there were several Vine "stars" in the crowd. She told us that Vine is an app that allows you to record and post six-second videos that loop on the Vine site.

 

When she told us about this I thought "what kind of story can you tell in six or seven seconds?" So, I checked out the app and was impressed by some of what I saw. In six or seven seconds you can certainly tell a story that has a beginning, middle and end. Some made me laugh, some made me shake my head and some made me scratch my head. In seven seconds many had the capacity to entertain.

 

So, when someone asks how long my message should be, I believe shorter is better. But even seven seconds can be too long if you have nothing to say. Make your message compelling and relevant to the intended target as efficiently as possible.

What is your seven-second message? It's worth thinking about.

Who Are You? Hoo-Hoo, hoo-hoo. Now Tell Me Who Are YOU?

By Julie Hein, General Manager

The Who knew.  And Patagonia knows.  It seems they have a pretty good idea who their customers are too.  Check out this Business Week article where Patagonia tells its customers that buying stuff from them should be avoided to protect the planet.  (Note that people didn't listen.  They bought a lot of stuff.  And I'll bet they like Patagonia even more now.)

This shows us at least two things.  The obvious one that the values of this company are in line with the values of their key customers.  The second one in my mind is HOW they said it.  Directly.  As a challenge.  An order.  You can't demand someone buy your product.  But they demanded the opposite.  It surprised Broca, cut through and had the desired effect.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

By Glen Gardner/CEO GG&A

There are times when the cost of doing nothing can be fatal to a business. I meet and consult hundreds of businesses in the course of a year, and in about 10% of the cases they tell me they are just not going to do anything "right now." They tell me they are just going to "wait it out" or pull-back until things get better.

The problem with that attitude is the world continues to move forward while you "wait it out." More than likely your competition, customers and potential customers are not waiting. They are moving forward with you or without you.

Because you are not in a position to spend substantial marketing dollars, does not mean you should wait or do nothing. It does mean you have to be very careful with your resources and be very strategic in how you promote your business.

Not all marketing requires a huge dollar commitment. One of the best uses of time is strategic planning. Developing a marketing plan, even if you have no money, is key to your future success. That plan should include measurable goals and specific timelines that put you in a position to move forward regardless of budget.

Doing nothing is usually a prescription for disaster in business. Just because you are financially behind the eight-ball, doesn't mean you go into suspended animation. If you do you may find the world has passed you by while you were sleeping. Do something!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

By Kellie J. Lala

 

 

Cue the Christmas music.  I know, I know.  You don’t want to hear that quite yet but let’s face it, it will come either way.  I am one of those that shop all year round so the stress of the holidays is minimized.  According to Chain Store Age (8/1/13), retailers are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming shopping season with 60% forecasting growth of 10% +.  They expect mobile to play an increased role in helping to drive sales with minimal help from social media.   The article goes on to say that it will be a slow start to the season (kicking in late November). Online shopping will continue to steal local market share but mobile’s influence will drive renewed brick and mortar store interest.  Retailers will offer promotions, insider coupons and BOGO to loyal customers.  How many texts or emails do you receive in a week from a retailer?  You could get lots depending upon the number of stores you frequent and programs you enrolled in.  More and more clerks are asking for emails when you check out and it is ok to say NO when they do.  Remember, you control who reaches out to you.  Don’t become a slave to your phone or email messages.  I would love to share some ideas about how to grow your $$ piece of the holiday pie.  Give me a call at 319.363.2061.  Ho, Ho Ho!