The Seven Breakthrough Marketing™ Tools

If you are a regular reader of this column you are beginning to better understand that there is truly is a revolution taking place in marketing today. There is an explosion of ideas coming to market. But it’s more than just the number of ideas-- it is the speed in which these ideas become accepted and used by large numbers of our marketing audience.

The days of saying, “We do it this way”, or “Why fix it if it’s not broken” are no longer a part of a marketer’s vocabulary. Then you add one more element to the mix of quantity of ideas, the speed of acceptance, and universal use --the cost. Most of these ideas are either low cost or no cost but do require commitments in both time and education.

The bottom line is that we reach people differently today. Consumers have new buying habits and ways in which they receive information about the products and services they seek. The following is my list of The Seven Breakthrough Marketing Tools we need to know in order to compete in this overcrowded marketplace:

1. The Touch Tools - These are the ways that we get in touch with people-- from face to face, to telephone calls, to communicating via answering machines, to traditional mail, e-mail, text, newsletters, etc. The reason why this tool is so important is because if a business is collecting email addresses but the majority of their customers prefer to be contacted via the telephone, then the method is worthless. Making a business aware of the preferred touch tool can make a dramatic impact on the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
   
   
2. Multiple Landing Pages - Today a businesses DNA is made up of the words that our prospects use to find our type of business, our products and or our services. This is perhaps the most important of all of the tools because people do not go into websites from the front door anymore. They do searches for specific words and phrases and we must have a single landing page where they land and then we can redirect them to the rest of the site or sites. In other words, if you sell Blown glass by Josh Simpson. Make sure you have a separate dedicated page for just Josh Simpson Art where you use Josh Simpson’s name as often as possible. That page links to the rest of your site.
   
   Then you want to have another site that just talks about “Blown glass” and again the term “Blown glass” appears as many times as possible. These pages are not generally long. They have only a couple of short paragraphs and, of course, they must have some graphics that will encourage the viewer to explore or learn more about your  company and entice them to click on other sections of your website.
   
   
3. Call to Action Graphics - The call to action is the action step we discussed in #2.  These are the graphic nudges that will encourage the reader to seek more information. This is perhaps the single biggest mistake that we all make when we don’t create a vehicle for a prospect to find out more what we can do for them. That is why websites today should have multiple forms to fill in to receive “additional information”, a “trial period”, or “free offers”, etc. The reason why you need graphics is to make it stand out. A call to action without graphics draws 73% less action.
   
   
4. Create Your Lead Nurturing System - When someone expresses an interest in a company or a product, what system do you have in place that will follow up with the customer? This can be a series of emails, letters, newsletters, or even phone calls over a desired time period, generally from 3 months to 1 year. I like to say, “until they Buy or Die”. But trying to come up with an idea of what to send or say every month or quarter can be a daunting task that rarely ever gets done. However, if you plan the pieces in advance the job is less intimidating and gets done.
   
   
5. Opt-in text/M-commerce - This is perhaps the fastest growing of all marketing tools and one that I am about to make a major personal investment in Texting Advantage for Retailers ™.  Here is the concept:  You will see in an ad on a sign in your window or on the side of the bus that says something like text 71277 and in the message type in “specials”.  Or it could even say get our tips on ………………………  This message can be on a billboard, store window, plastic bag, etc. The bottom line is that people can opt in to your list without ever having any contact with your business. That is a powerful concept that in turn will result in sales.
   
   
6. You Tube and the Video - This powerful technique is changing how we not only learn but also the way we entertain our self and it’s all FREE. It’s important to separate the concept of using Video and YouTube. YouTube is important because it is a first rate delivery system that has an unbelievable distribution network. But it is the use of video that is so important. These include:
   
   
1. Video Testimonials - Here you will capture comments by customers, make a video of them, and post them on your website. They can also be played in the store.
   
   
2. To Learning Minutes - These are 2-4 minute educational videos that should be branded and can teach the customer something about a product or technique. Again, they can be played in the store, in a section of a website, and can be combined in a collection that can be sold.
   
   
7. The coupons - I recently wrote an article pertaining to the use of the various coupon services. My advice is that I would get involved with as many coupon services as possible. Why? Simple, they are all pay for performance. So as long as you make an appealing offer without giving the store away, you can’t lose.
   

These are my seven tools but the way things are happening so fast, be prepared to learn new twists on some old rules and some ideas that could only happen because of the new technology that the internet delivers to us almost daily.  My advice: select what makes sense to you adapt and adopt it. But fasten your seat belt and get ready for the ride of the explosion of marketing ideas and concepts.

It’s Time Your Business Jumped on the YouTube Bandwagon…. And Here Is Why

YouTube is more than weird people trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. I believe it is becoming one of the most important tools to understand, master, and employ in your business today. What I want to do is first tell you some of the ways you can use YouTube in your business. Then I am going to take you step-by-step on exactly what to do to go from an idea to finally having your first video published.  

It is important to understand that the method or technology that is important is the use of video. YouTube is just a free service that makes using video on line so easy and inexpensive that we sometimes just refer to the videos as YouTube videos. It is really just using video but when you price out the cost to do it yourself, you will begin to understand the significance YouTube has made.

First a disclaimer: Although I have used many videos in my business, I have never been the one who handled any of the technical stuff that is involved in making this work. I say that because if I can make it work anyone can! I have never been accused of being a computer geek.  So I am going to use my very best “Dummiesque” skills and make it so easy that even someone afraid to turn on your computer will be inspired enough to give it a try.  Now, let’s begin.

How can a small business or retail store use You Tube and why should they?

1. The Testimonial. Have you ever had a customer give you a compliment about how much they like your store? Of course you have. The next time that happens just pull out your digital camera and ask the person if they could repeat it so you can film it.  If they are complimenting you, trust me they will never complain about doing it.  Then you can download it on to YouTube and the places you can use it are endless--from your website to having it play in the store.  
2. Positioning & Branding.  A short YouTube video can tell your potential customers who you are and what you do and the important question, “Why should the potential customer do business with you?”
3. Training. A YouTube video doesn’t have to be available for the general public to view . If you have lots of part time people, it is a great way to offer the same program wherever they are. Then create a test to make sure they watched it.
4. Product Information. The next time you work with a sales rep, interview them and let them talk about their product or products. Sales reps can be a very valuable source of product info. Just ask 3 basic questions and remember that the video should be no longer than 4 minutes.
5. Product Showcase /Product Presentations. This seems so obvious but it’s amazing how many people forget to just talk about the products they sell.  
6. Educational Purposes: Every retailer today is in the education business because there are so many new solutions or products that are being released weekly or monthly. But it more than just new products; it’s how we use or maintain our old products. Like the jeweler who teaches how to properly clean a ring. Or the gift store that teaches what the best gift to give for the occasion.  
7. Make it personal. Unveil the person behind the company. We like to do business with real people and YouTube videos are a great way to do just that.  Just talk to your customer and tell them how you got started in business, your successes, and maybe even failures. We love to do business with the underdog. Introduce your family and/or staff.  
8. Employee Videos: Encourage your employees to make videos about some positive aspect of the business. Or even have employees talk about the positive attributes of a business. Then take it a step further and have your employees sing the praises of another employee and what a wonderful experience they would have if that employee takes care of you
9. Contest Videos: This can apply to your employees or it can apply to a customer contest. Especially if you are catering to a younger market, it is amazing how these kids get into creating their masterpiece. The only requirement is that that it’s clean and relates in some positive way to your business. Remember the Word of Mouth thing. This is the stuff people talk about.
10. Share the Journey Videos A few years ago a restaurant chain called BGood in Boston won The Retailers Association of Massachusetts restaurant of the year. This business was built solely on their videos. Every couple of weeks they release a new video. As the owners described their unusual form of marketing, they said all we are doing is sharing our journey. They are hip, upbeat and fun. Go to bgood.com to review these classics. Wait to you see the amount of videos they have created. (There is even one when they received the RAMAE Award from me with the Legendary Uncle Ferris. He is one of the owner’s uncles and is quite the character which makes him perfect in the use of video.) 

The Steps from Neophyte to YouTube Producer and Director:

1. Log on: Go to YouTube.com Create a YouTube account. (If you have a   Google account, it’s the same.) Then log in.
2. Title:  Type in your Title
3. Description: Then type in the description of what the video is all about
4. Category: Then decide what category should your video go into. (Just pick the one that best fits.)
5. Tags: Now type in the Tags, which are simply the words that people will use to find you.
6. Broadcast Options:  Choose Open to the public or private for just friends or family.
7. Sharing Options: Choose if you want to create a URL or if you want to embed it into your website.
8. Upload from your computer and you are now done.

Now you have a basic video.  If you need any help editing and you are a Mac user, go to IMovie. Microsoft has a similar movie-editing feature. There is also a simple free service called Slideroll.com that works well.  

Don’t go crazy with creating all sorts of fancy intros at first. There will be plenty of time to get sophisticated.  There are also some wonderful YouTube videos that explain what to do.  Have a great week.

http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/

Are You a Groupie? You Will Be!

BUT FIRST LET ME SHARE A PERSONAL THOUGHT.

I had company over the weekend and I was asked when I was going to slow down and enjoy life. Are you kidding? What could be better than what I am doing now? I get the opportunity to learn about the latest and greatest ideas, concepts, strategies, techniques, and tools. Then I get to share them with the world and make a difference in the lives of people that do what I did. I think that’s called fulfilling, rewarding, and exciting.   Why do I say exciting? Because I love the new and shiny. As a retailer, it was the love for the different, exciting, the bright and shiny new whatever that made me a success. As a writer I still share that same love. That’s why this is my moment because we are experiencing an explosion of ideas and here is another one that has the potential to change your life and business.

No, I am not trying to be dramatic but the results are. Get ready to be a Groupie, because you will.

The concept is called is called group buying or better referred to as Group Couponing. There are websites popping up all over that are offering coupons from retailers to their groups or subscribers. Basically it’s a site that lists coupons that are paid by the retailer that is really pay for performance advertising. Yes, I would be a groupie for that type of advertising.

Pay for performance advertising says that you would be willing (actually any business person would be willing) to just pay only when the coupon is redeemed. If I would ask any small business owner if they would pay $10,000 in a month for advertising, the answer would probably be NO or way out of my budget. Then if I asked if $1,000 would be better? The response might be that it’s more in keeping with the budget. BUT if the $1,000 were to deliver only $2,000 in sales than the $1,000 would be way TOO MUCH. On the other hand if the $10,000 delivered $100,00 worth of business then the $10,000 would be cheap.

However if you through in the guarantee that you would only pay the $10,000 if you did the $100,000 worth of business, then it’s a home run.

This is what Larry Joseloff, director of content at Shop.org, the National Retail Federation's digital division said about this concept in a recent interview with USA Today in an article published on May 14th, 2010. “This is a way social media can be measured and a way for it to be monetized. I'm not prepared to say it's an overwhelming long-term consumer trend, but it's definitely something that's having an impact."

Gregg Pupecki, sales and marketing director for Wendella Boats & Chicago Water Taxi, is more effusive. His company sold more than 5,000 discount tickets on its first Groupon promotion and 20,000 on the next, which offered a 75-minute architecture tour of the Chicago River.



Here he talks about the coupon service, Groupon.com, one of the leading services (I will list the others as well). "I think Groupon is one of the best sales and marketing tools to come out since the Internet," he says. "Groupon is something any business owner or marketing manager can do themselves, no matter what size the company is."

Here is a partial list of companies that offer these services:

• 8coupons.com
• BuyWithMe.com
• LivingSocial.com
• CouponMountain.com
• CrowdSavings.com
• CouponCabin.com

The following is copied from BuyWithMe.com which is a site that explains why retailers should get involved. It explains the concept better than most of the other sites I reviewed.

Our partners (BuyWithMe.com) rave about our simple, seamless and speedy process.

1. Propose a Deal. Together, we work out a “win-win” offer by determining the service you want to feature and the minimum number of buyers required for your deal to go through, so that you’re guaranteed the volume you want. Simply provide your pictures, deal details, and business information, and our editorial staff handles the write-up for you, representing and protecting your brand as if it were our own.
2. Present the Deal. Your discount will be featured as “Today’s Deal” on our website and remain active under the “Other Deals” tab until the promotion ends.
3. Promote the Deal. Our tech-savvy customers visit our website and use social networking tools to get others to sign up in time for everyone to get the deal. BuyWithMe promotional support, email blasts, strategic alignments, and online contests help spread the word all over town.
4. Profit Without Risk. There is no “deal” if you don’t get the sales volume you require. We collect the pre-payment for you and deliver it in one check, so you can focus on all of your new customers!

Here is a way many of these services will earn extra money and is a win/win for all. Again this is from Buyfrom me.com

“Our “Bonus Deals" are valuable alternatives to reach our consumers even when you’re not running as “Today’s Deal.” We can also retweet your offer to our twitter followers, offer you banner ad space and generate other creative word of mouth campaigns.”

Why get involved in this type of advertising?

1. Almost every major retailer is jumping on this bandwagon.
2. It’s a completely measurable from Start to Finish.
3. There is NO Upfront Capital Expense: what could be better?

4. It will build your brand and exposure.
5. It’s easy to track your results. How many other forms of advertising can say that?
6. Built in loyalty. Loyalty is not easy to gain these days but coupons create a magnetic pull that just works.
7. Don’t feel as if you have to register for all of the services out there. Most of these coupon companies have affiliate programs where your coupon will appear on multiple sites because one coupon company will pay a fee to another company for the exposure.

My last bit of advice. Coupons WORK especially in higher ticket priced merchandise. They literally built my retail business. This is just putting the concept on steroids. And remember one more thing, rich or the better customers love coupons. (That’s probably why they are rich!) This system is a keeper.

The Miracle of Google, Part 2

Last week I wrote about all of the wonderful, whiz-bang features and tools that Google offers for free to help today’s business owner. This week I want to explore the ways Google can and does transform businesses everyday.  Many of the tools we are going to talk about are free, but we will also start to explore the way that Google makes money. It’s these fee-based services that have flipped the worst economic recession into boom times for many retailers and small businesses. Let’s explore exactly how it is done.

Where to begin? Well, I’ll start by giving you my interpretation, which may be subject to differing points of view. The one thing that is a little confusing is that the sections I am telling you to go to have different page titles than their domain names or URLs. An example of this is the first page that I recommend you begin with, Google Business Solutions.  The URL is www.google.com/services.  But if you do a search for Google Business Center (which was the term the folks at Google told me to use), the 3^rdlisting says, “Welcome to Google Business Solutions.”  Bottom line is that this is where you want to be.

So let’s get started:

1. Open a Google account, which we discussed in the first article.

2. Go to Google Business Solutions.

3. From Google Business Solutions, click the first option, which is called Google Places.  As Google describes it, “Google Placeslets business owners claim or add local listings on Google to get found online, communicate with customers, and gain insights to make business decisions. Features include creating coupons, posting live updates, and viewing how your business is doing with a real-time dashboard.”

Make sure you watch the video about Google Places. It gives a wonderful overview of what Google can do for you and your business. Understand that this is a free service that allows you to list your business for free, update its information, post photos and videos of your business, and (the part I like the most) even post coupons for your business!

Another benefit of Google Places is a new section called Free Insights, which reports back to you where your customers come from and what terms are they searching for to find you.

4. Merchant Center is also located on the Business Solution Page and is very important because it allows you to list actual products by vendor, model or style number to help searchers find your site and your products.  Again, this is a free service.

5. Google Maps allows you to add maps and directions to your store’s website. This section was once used for all local ads, but now you go to Google Places instead. This is powerful because you are making it easy for your customer to find you without leaving your site.

6. AdSense is a service that allows you to make money from Google. It will scan the words used on your site and place small-space ads on your website.  It does create extra revenue, but frankly I don’t see many people getting rich here.  There are, however, many success stories that contradict my statement.

7. There are some services that are free but really need a web/Google-pro to execute.  My recommendation is at least to make sure your webmaster is aware of these free services and urge him or her to use them as seen fit.  

The first one is Webmaster Central, which helps webmasters better understand how Google works so they can build their sites most efficiently.

Website Optimizer does exactly what is says - it takes advantage of the Google ranking system and teaches web pros how to optimize their site ranking.

8. Google Analytics is the real biggie that you can either tackle yourself, but I would recommend hiring a Certified Google Partner.  Spend 20 minutes using this service and be absolutely WOWED with the information Google can gather from a user searching through your website.  Sign your site up and gather what you can understand, but get a pro to help you better understand the potential of this truly magnificent tool.

9. Lastly is the service where Google actually makes their money and also transforms your business.  This isGoogle AdWords, a search-term bidding system managed by Google and measured by Google’s search results.  Many people refer to it as Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC).

It can build a business instantly when it’s done right.  When it’s done incorrectly, it can be a costly mistake.  How?  The key is to know what words to bid on.  If you pick a term too general, you can waste a lot of money, as your site is likely to get buried below big-name competitors in search result lists.  But don’t worry; you can use Google Analytics to help you select the rightterms for your site, helping you to transform your business.  Read the success stories; think of the possibilities!

It’s been fun interviewing and exploring Google, but I have only scratched the surface of the depth of this American Icon.  My only goal for this article was to raise your curiosity about Google and how it can change the way we all do business.

Are You Showing Your Prospects a Way to Become GREAT Customers?

When a customer comes in a store, we greet them, we try to engage them in conversation, we ask questions to better understand them and their needs. Then we suggest different things--we ask them if they like the merchandise and want to buy it. After they have made their decision we tether them back to the store by asking for an email address or the really smart businesses delve deeper and learn as much as they can to better serve the customer.

Even if they don't buy that day, we still try to capture information so that we can make them aware of what is happening at the business. The more we know about our customers, the better and easier it is to sell them. (That doesn't mean that we do all of those steps all of the time, even though we know we should.)

BUT you already know all of that.  So what's the point?

It came to me as one of those moments you say to yourself, "Duh that makes sense! Why didn't I think about that sooner?" Also known as or similar to saying and hitting yourself on the forehead and saying "I could have had a V8!" The point is what steps or procedures do we have in place on our websites that could engage the customer and bring them into our community of customers? Most of us, and I include myself, do very little to capture information or engage our web visitors.

What a waste of efforts!

You spend all of this time developing a website, putting content on the site that is relevant and interesting, and the most any of us do is have a small box, generally hidden on the bottom of the page that says "sign up for our newsletter" (which never seems to come out or if it does it is not done on a regular basis). Then there is the other common box that says, "Sign up for our mailing list". You give NO reason to join, NO incentive or offer to join. So we have customers coming to our sites who might love everything they see and they are the perfect for our store but they don't see any reason to sign up for the newsletter or couldn't find it at all.

The other simple mistake we make is we have only one spot on our website to sign up. If you are saying to yourself, "What's wrong with that?" remember, we don't enter websites through the front page any more. We do a Google search using a certain keyword such as "candle sticks." If we click on it Google it will take us to the pages where candlesticks are mentioned the most. We might not have any data collection widget on that page or even a way to purchase that item on that page.

The Next Issue: Are you Selling or Just Telling?

What do your sign up Widgets actually look like?

Yes, let's make our signup widgets a little more interesting, inviting, and engaging. Let's use some "Sell Words", let's add some graphics and something that says subconsciously  "That looks interesting , I want to get more information". The following examples are from Hubspot, the inbound experts. They believe that we are now living in an era of Pull Marketing NOT Push Marketing. The difference is we want our customers to find us as and contact us by finding us in places our customers expect to find us. That sounds simple enough, yet we don't do it. We get fixated on certain words or phrases and lose sight of the big picture. They also believe that boring is boring. That means the "Call or Calls To Action " must look interesting and inviting. Here are some examples they use for various industries.

This first one are just two different versions of the same offer. This offer of a free webinar can apply to just about any retail business but especially for any business that sells a product that is confusing or requires some product know how or education about the product. That is almost every product I can think of.  

These next two are for a Pet Sitting Service  and they clearly state what the offer is or what I like to call it an Ethical Bribe. An Ethical Bribe is something that you are offering a customer with a high perceived value and little or no cost to you. Such as special report or the 10 Best Ways to do Something.  In this case it's 3 Free months of Service.

 

This next one offers a free consulting report:

This one is always popular--an offer for a Free Downloadable e-book. I use this one on my site. But I am a writer. Don't worry, there are lots of free e-books available to use or just hire a researcher to compile a report your customers will love.

This one is just a basic coupon but it is so inviting. The GRAPHICS work well here.

Here is one we usually forget. Something that encorages referral business. In this type of offer, we must remember to create a form that captures multiple names and contact information and here it would be the type of product they might most be interested in.

Lastly is simply a special report about a specific topic that YOU want to be considered an expert in. These special reports can also be refered to as "white papers".

 

This is just some food for thought. Doesn't it just look better and it works so much better!

Just as note, I want to thank Hubspot, which I am a client of for supplying the wonderful calls to action that are in this article. I strongly recommend that you check out Hubspot, www.hubspot.com. They offer a free 7 day trial. (Although I am a client, I have no financial interest on this recommendation.)

On another subject, I do want to thank all of the people who responded to my question last week about the need for a service to handle your social media initiatives. There were some great answers and I will do a special article about it next week.

Why Are You Marketing That Way?

I was recently working with a business on a one-to-one consulting session for a downtown revitalization project in Georgia.  The business was a flower shop and I was working with the new owners. They had purchased an established business that was in need of a fresh outlook, a fresh look, and fresh enthusiasm that only a new owner or new management can bring to a business. The owners had worked very hard at the physical cleaning and were ready to move forward with some new marketing initiatives. Let me first say that I liked the owners and employees very much and have no doubt they will succeed but they will certainly experience some ups and downs.

There was an exchange between the owners, employees, and myself that was so interesting and revealing I have shared it with every audience I have spoken to since. The strange part about it is I don't think it had the impact on the store I was working with as much as it did me. Let me explain what happened and then I will explain where the encounter lead me.

It started with a simple question from me. I asked the owners how they planned on marketing their new business. The owner quickly said, "We collect email addresses from everyone we do business with."

I thought that was great, but then I asked each of the four people in the consult the same question. I asked, "If someone were to get in touch with you what would be the best way?" One of the owners said to call her on her cell phone, the other owner said to just call the store and leave a message and he will always get to that. One of the younger floral designers said that we had to text her while the other said to call her at home and leave a message.

I then sheepishly admitted that I had over 6000 emails that I needed to sort out. (I will read my emails but mostly on my Blackberry and rarely delete them from there.)  But there are definitely emails that slip through and the best way to reach me is to text me.  So here were 5 potential customer types that would most likely not be reached with an email marketing initiative.

This store didn't do anything wrong. It's just that the world, specifically the marketing world, has changed dramatically and we better wake up to the new normal.

Now let's think about all of the ways someone can communicate with you. I made up a list but frankly I believe it is even bigger than the list below.

• Face to face
• Telephone
  • at home
  • at work
  • via cell phone
• Answering machine (ever communicate by leaving messages to one another?)
• Email
  • How many email accounts do you have?
• Text messaging
• Faxing- How old fashioned! Does anyone fax anymore?
• Newsletters- we read on a regular basis
• Blogs-same with blogs
• Online Bulletin boards
• Online Forums
• All the Social Media
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
• Websites

I haven't even mentioned any of the traditional advertising vehicles!

The point is simple: we have a new assortment of what I call  "Touch  Tools". You can call them vehicles, strategies, techniques, methods, or anything else you can think of but Touch Tools works for me.

But it is even more than that that has changed. Those new tools, the Touch Tools, are cheap. The cost of communication is cheaper and more effective than the days of the town crier. I like to refer to this as "The age of Word of Mouth on Steroids".

Just this past week Verizon announced a deal with Skype for mobile phones. Skype allows customers to talk each other via computer for FREE anywhere in the world. But if someone you are calling isn't a Skype member the rates are about 1.5 cents a minute. Now, you are not limited by your computer-- you can use your mobile phone. I don't know how they make money but I signed up.

If having many tools wasn't bad or good enough (depending on your point of view), then there are tools like Ping.fm that will send your message to all of the social media sites you choose. Here is the site to check out. Notice you can send all of these messages via your cell phone.

Now check out the amount of sites one mouse click can deliver your message to. Oh by the way, it's also FREE.

Then think about the Speed of communication. But when we think about speed it's not just how fast our message gets from point A to Point, but how fast these new vehicles and tools are coming to market. And then how fast they can gain acceptance and mass useage! How many of you had heard of Facebook two years ago? Marketing books are being rewritten as you are reading this.

So what is the bottom-line? What will the future of marketing look like? It rests within an old ad campaign from Burger King. "Have it your way." The customer today will decide what they want to read, watch, or listen to and will determine the method they will use to gather that information. The days of mass marketing are nearing the end of a very good run but the future belongs to one-to-one marketing messages. What is the solution? What choices do we have? 

Well, the solution is simple but the implementation will confuse us for years to come and that is Inbound Marketing. That means we become the source that customers seek out and we must be seen, read, and watched in as many places as possible. We are living in the dawning of Pull Marketing where we no longer use "Push" or traditional advertising to attract customers. We want customers to discover us because people are talking about what we do and us. Then we just PULL them into our world and our community.

Report from the National Retail Federation's Big Show

Last week I traveled to New York City to attend the National Retail Federation's 99th annual trade show and conference. Retailers came from around the world came to see the latest and greatest technology, trends, ideas, and tools. Let me share my impressions and some of the tools of the future that are available today.

On many occasions in this column I have explained why I have been more bullish about retail business than some. That reason is that when I attend a conference and I do my unscientific survey of asking people how business is, I generally get a response such as, "not bad". The reason for that is the majority of the conferences I attend are specifically designed for independent specialty businesses who have fared much better during this recession. Couple that with the fact that the people who generally attend these conferences are the cream of the crop--the people who are always looking for an edge or an idea that will improve their business. In short, it's the winners who attend the conferences that I go to.

This show was different. It is the conference that primarily large stores attend. Their businesses had definitely experienced the recession and did not fare as well as their smaller colleagues did. So independents give yourself a pat on the back! Along with that observation, there was a theme that was repeated again and again and many of the sessions. That theme pertains to the concept of being "customer centric." Speaker after speaker talked about the importance on focusing on the customer more so than ever before. Duh? I don't get it. What were they focusing on before?

I suppose it seems silly to me because specialty businesses have always had to focus on the needs and wants of the customer. We have never been in a position to dictate to a customer in the way a larger business could. It's not that the larger stores ignored the wants of the customer but they just did not address them in the same way that an independent addresses the wants and needs.

One of the biggest trends that will be affecting all of us shortly is what is now called M. commerce, Mobile commerce or the use of the cell phone. The amount of applications using cell phones was staggering. I think the application that impressed me the most was the use of text messaging in ways that were both effective and cost conscious. Here is one application of text messaging that we all will be doing shortly. You walk by a store, receive an e-mail, or even read an ad in the newspaper, and you read a line that says TEXT 34553 and type in "specials" and within seconds you will receive all of the stores specials, featured products, or sale items sitting right on your cell phone. You can even get pictures and full descriptions.

Think about what happens when someone responds: you have just attracted a new customer that has opted in to your customer database list. Think how simple, seamless, and effective this tool can be. I can't think of another form of marketing/advertising that creates interest and captures customer data instantly. Obviously this tool should never be abused and the process to opt out must be as simple as possible, otherwise we run the risk of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Remember texting is working now because we have already abused emails.

Some of the other applications that cell phones are being used for are as mini GPS devices in stores to help the customer find the department or items they are looking for. Obviously this is designed for larger businesses.

Cell phones are also now being used as remote credit card terminals. You can have a device attached to your cell phone that will allow you to swipe a credit card through. The implications of this technology are endless. You can eliminate long lines in the cash counter; you can close the sale much faster and eliminate that indecision time for customers who might be on the fence.

The other interesting use of a cell phone which can be used both by customers and store personnel is a barcode reading feature. From the retailer's point of view, a simple scan can unlock lots of information that can be useful in a sales presentation. From the customer's perspective, there are apps for the iPhone and Blackberry that allow you to scan a barcode and send you a report of stores and/or websites that sell the same product and report the various prices. This takes competitive shopping down to the size of your phone. That's scary and the reason why private labels are becoming more important than ever before.

The last cell phone application that is bursting onto the new retail horizon is the use of coupons delivered to your cell phone and used from your cell phone. Talk about saving paper! This is a powerhouse. Instead of carrying around an envelope with all the coupons, they are stored on your cell phone. Then you simply scan it from your phone into their computer system. If you happen to have a profile posted to the store's database system, that simple scan can process the sale using the credit card on file. Are you starting to get the picture that the cash counter of the future might start to look little different?

The next biggest WOW and trend that many of us will be adopting this year is the use of the flatscreen monitor for digital signage. The price of these screens is dropping to a point where they have become affordable to almost every size store. They can be used in so many different ways, from welcoming the customer into the store, to showing merchandise that you don't have a stock but it is deliverable within a day or so are. As powerful as this application is you might consider waiting before you jump in here. The reason for that is I believe vendors will start to see how powerful this tool could be to help promote their lines in stores and will start creating programs that will offer free flat screens to show their images and messages within your store. It's like years ago when manufactures would supply stores with fixtures. I haven't seen it yet but it's just too great an opportunity for any vendor to pass up.

I have to report about one display that everybody was talking about. It was a unique use of projected images that just WOWs you. The name of the company that created all of this is Potion. As you can see in the first picture, there is a table/platform that is a shoe display. It has spotlights above that highlight this but it appears to be nothing out of the ordinary. However, when you pick up the shoe, information about the shoe is now projected onto the platform as you can see in the second image. Of course if someone puts the shoe back in the wrong spot, the display won't work. But talk about signage that doesn't clutter your store! The third image just shows the way the camera is mounted above. Potion has many different applications for this technology and I could go on and on but this was breathtaking.

There was one other interesting thing that happened during the Retailer Awards Luncheon. There is an annual People's choice awards for the stores with the best customer service. Out of the 10 best stores selected by over 80,000 shoppers, five of those businesses are online businesses. The winners were:

10th Place Tie-Nordstrom's & Kohl's
9th Place-- JCPenney's
8th Place-Lands' End
7th Place-- Home Shopping Network
6th Place--Coldwater Creek
5th Place--QVC
4th Place--Amazon
3rd Place-Zappo's
2nd Place-- Overstock.com
1st Place-- L.L. Bean

When you look at this list, you realize that there are only four traditional retailers: Nordstrom's, Kohl's, JCPenney, and Coldwater Creek. The world is changing.

Zappo's also won the award for the most Creative Retailer of the year and the Retailer of the Year went to Ralph Lauren. That's interesting in the fact that Ralph Lauren is a manufacturer that sells to retailers and also has hundreds of his own stores, in all different varieties around the world. There was a time that any vendor selling to retailers and competing with retailers would never even be considered for an award. The times, they are a-changing.

Needless to say, the show was inundated with sessions pertaining to social media and its many uses. The conversation focused primarily around Twitter and Facebook. I finally saw the power of Twitter in the example of when a customer complained about Saks on Twitter. Within six minutes, the complaint was handled and the customer was satisfied. Twitter is starting to find its home.

There were many applications for Facebook but the one takeaway was that Facebook is not a one-sided conversation. Stores that look at it as traditional advertising are making a big mistake. It is social media and it must be interactive.

Let me just end with the line that I heard from the CEO of Saks. It's been a rough year but let's not waste a good recession. We have all learned some very valuable lessons from the economic climate we have lived and are living through. We have learned to do more with less. Those values will make us stronger and better in 2010 and beyond. They are right-- it is about the customer and no one understands it better than the independent. We have a lot to look forward to!

Who Are You...In the Mind of Your Customer - Part 2

  Before I begin this week's article, I feel that I have to talk about sales activity that occurred during this past Thanksgiving weekend. So here are my thoughts.

Sales Results from Black Friday: There were some bright spots over the weekend. The actual results seem to vary depending on reporting services but there are some things that we can all learn from this weekend.

1. There is business out there to be had!
2. We must promote!
3. Don't give the store away. It's the promotable item that brings them in, the "Doorbuster"!
4. The goal is to bring them in the door.
5. Consumer confidence is definitely returning. Attitudes are changing.
6. The recovery is firmly in place but it won't be easy.

Now, back to our contest from last week to help Mason's Jewelers with their signature line/positioning statement.

Last week I offered prizes for the best signature line written for a jewelry store. The winning line would be the one that would help position the store in the most advantageous light in the mind of the customer.

They say we need to be careful what we ask for.

Well, you guys have just blown me away with some brilliant ideas! I feel bad that I didn't publish everyone. Many of the responses became repetitive so I had to pick the signature lines that were the most representative for the sake of space. I also had to eliminate many of the comments that people had shared. If not, this article would have been 40 pages long.

DO NOT look at this as just something for a jewelry store. This copy is pure GOLD. Use it. Message it. Adapt it and adopt it.

Near the end of this article I have featured the work of a brilliant copywriter that had some terrific ideas we can all use. Her name is Donerae Testa, from Ohio. Make sure you read her ideas. She is great!

But I have a problem. I received so many good ideas that I can't pick the winners. So I am going to ask you to vote on the top 12. The complete list will follow with the names of the people that entered them.

Vote for your favorites and again, thanks for everyone's participation. Just email your selections for first, second, and third place and any comments you might have to me at rick@ricksegel.com.

Mason's Jewelers:

1. Intensely Exquisite and Unpredictable
2. Dynamic jewelry for the dynamic woman in you.
3. Some women wear accessories. Our women wear statements.
4. Classically Impulsive/Uniquely Designed
5. Mason's Jewelry: Where style and success meet.
6. Exceptional designs for exceptional women!
7. Innovative looks for innovative lives
8. Imaginative looks for innovative women
9. Punctuate your life
10. For women who shape history!
11. Wear your accomplishments
12. For women who want it all...and more

Here is the compilation of the entries, with the duplicates removed. There is so much here that I just had to share it with you. I have also highlighted the top 12 responses in red.

• Mason's Jewelers
  1. Intensely Exquisite and Unpredictable
  From Daniel Hanson
• Mason's Jewelers
  Absolute Brilliance, Just For You
  From Ken Cavanaugh
• Mason's Jewelers
  Enjoy looking brilliant
  From Laura Firestone
• Mason's Jewelers
  Bright women, bright jewels.
  From Robbie Grady
• Mason's Jewelers
  Show your brilliance.
  From Robbie Grady
• Mason's Jewelers
  Brilliance Shows
  From Kay Alger
• Mason's Jewelers
  Designs to shine your light
  From Deb Matthews
• Fashion Forward Jewelry Designs
  For The Confident Woman
  From Sue Miller
• Mason's Jewelers:
  2. Dynamic jewelry for the dynamic woman in you.
  From Steven A. Diamond
• Mason's Jewelers:
  3.Some women wear accessories. Our women wear statements.
  From Steven A. Diamond
• "For your life's brilliant moments."
  From J J Ensley
• Design with Panache for the Stylish Woman
  From Deb Kneale
• Defining Your Success
  From Dirk Fecho
• Power Jewels for Powerful Women
  From Dirk Fech
• Let us help you complete your statement
  From Dirk Fecho
• Mason's Jewelers - "We want to share in your success"
  From Bill Horschel
• Mason Jewelers - Wear your success with brilliant jewelry designs
  From Kathy Steerman
• Be someone special--we will show you how!
  From Robert Saquet
• Fashion Forward ... Wrapped In Small Town Charm
  From Nita Bales
  (This is a good idea but this store is located in a big city. This can work for lots of other business very well.)
• 4. Classically Impulsive/Uniquely Designed
  From krwooden
• Catchy couture
  From Holly Collins
• Mason Jewelry:
  "You're the jewel that makes us shine..."
  From Bud Spoerl
• Rocks that Rock!!
  From Wendy Lavallee
• Unexpected Brilliance
  From Kirsten Seidl
• Masons - Designs with the Distinctive Woman in Mind
  From Cheryl Jordan
• Masons: Exquisite jewelry for the exceptional executive!
  From Anne Puthoff
• Masons Jewelry: Where brilliant gems meet brilliant women!
  From Anne Puthoff
• You've earned a trip to Mason's Jewelry!
  From Anne Puthoff
• Celebrate your success with a style from Mason's!
  From Anne Puthoff
• Mason's Jewelry:
  5. Where style and success meet.
  From Anne Puthoff
• Treat yourself brilliantly at Mason's Jewelry!
  From Anne Puthoff
• Brilliant Designs for a stunning you!
  From Anne Puthoff
• 6. Exceptional designs for exceptional women!
  From Anne Puthoff
• Mason's Jewelry:
  Brilliance for the Brilliant!
  From Anne Puthoff
• Serendipity in alpha jewelry
  From Greg Cross

The following collection were all created by Donerae Testa from the Place in Medina, Ohio. There are some absolutely terrific ideas here. Donerae must have been a copy writer in another life or has a burning desire to write creative copy. The reason why I love her work so much is because:

1. Most of her ideas are focused on the customer not just boosting about the business
2. These ideas inspire other ideas. She gets you thinking about other ways to make it better. Here is an example of what I mean:

Donerae wrote "Bling for the upwardly mobile" which misses the mark BUT inspired "Bling without the Bling" (by me). It says a lot with its symbolism. A winner? Not really, there are much better ones. BUT this could be used in some other copy or the fact she introduces an interesting word. That's the type of person you want when you are brainstorming.

Look at this list and ask yourself how you could use some of her concepts. These are more than just for jewelry. If anyone adopts any of these (there are no charges or royalties so don't get nervous!),I would love to pass it on to Donerea. We might have just discovered America's new Advertising Idol.

• Mason's Jewelers
  7.Innovative looks for innovative lives
  From Donerae Testa
• Mason's Jewelers
  8. Imaginative looks for innovative women
  From Donerae Testa
• 9. Punctuate your life
  From Donerae Testa
• 10. For women who shape history!
  From Donerae Testa
• Designs to shine your light
  From Donerae Testa
• They will notice (I also like; because they notice )
  From Donerae Testa
• Be noticed
  From Donerae Testa
• For the final touch
  From Donerae Testa
• 11.Wear your accomplishments
  From Donerae Testa
• Specializing in perfection
  From Donerae Testa
• 12. For women who want it all...and more
  From Donerae Testa
  (This is a powerhouse because it leaves so much to interpretation with a strong powerful "take no prisoners feel" with a slight sexual illusion.)
• Sassy, Sexy, Sensational
  From Donerae Testa
• Wear your attitude
  From Donerae Testa
• When the status quo isn't good enough
  From Donerae Testa
• Celebrate you!
  From Donerae Testa
• For the perfect accompaniment
  From Donerae Testa
• Producing wows for xx years
  From Donerae Testa
• Never ordinary
  From Donerae Testa

Remember, please send your votes to rick@ricksegel.com and let me know your first three choices from the Top 12. And again, thanks for your help and I hope that you can use some of these ideas in your businesses. What a way to learn!

 

The New Marketing Buzz Words We Need to Understand, Incorporate into Our Vocabularies, and USE to Do More Business

Every so often technology introduces something that changes the way we do business and the way we live our lives. We are currently in the midst of an explosion of ideas, models, and methods of doing business.  I want to expose some of these new techniques to you.  You might be familiar with some of these terms while others will be completely foreign to you. However, most of the concepts are deep seeded in some form of traditional marketing with a new high tech interpretation. 

"Going with the Flow Marketing" or the other name I like is "Intuitive Marketing".  This is the more natural way of marketing. For years we have been talking about Contrarian Marketing or swimming upstream. That' s daring to be different, standing out in the crowd,  or just disagreeing with conventional thinking. That still works but something has changed.  There is a new term we are starting to use, "that's intuitive."  What that means is "Does it make sense? Is it logical? Is that the way it should work?"

We started saying intuitive when it comes to websites. We want to be able to navigate a website easily. We don't want a detailed list of instructions on how to maneuver a website. If it requires that, we are gone.  Now this concept has spread to just about everything else we do. It has to make sense.  

This applies to the way we use the internet to search for the things we want. We have another new or at least modified term called, "Inbound Marketing".  That just means that we establish a system that fosters customers looking for us as opposed to us reaching out to customers to sell them. The difference between outbound and inbound marketing is the difference between running an ad in the local paper and hoping someone comes into the store. That is "Outbound Marketing"  as opposed to creating a "landing page" which is just one page out of your website that is dedicated to a word, phrase, or concept that your perspective clients might be looking for.

"Why do we need landing pages? Don't we just want all of our traffic to go through our home page?"

That would be nice but it also doesn't go with the natural flow of things--it's not "intuitive". Here is a simple example. Say you own a men's store and also sell merchandise on the web. (Selling on-line just makes what I am about to say even more powerful.)  You sell casual and dress shirts, pants, blazers, suits, belts, all accessories, etc. You, as a store owner, want your customer to enter your website through the home page, see all of the things that you sell, and have them click onto the page for dress shirts.

There are a couple of problems here. If I am searching for dress shirts, what do you think the chances are for your home page coming up in the top 10 to 20 spots? Slim at best on a "natural search".(That is any type of search other  than a sponsored link, a.k.a. a "pay for click" campaign where we pay Google or whoever a fee  to have a small add  on various searches.)

OK, so you don't want to create a separate landing page and you might not need it IF you have a page on your website that just talks about Dress Shirts.  It could be the intro or title page to the dress shirt section. So if you were to "beef up" (add more applicable content that someone might just be searching for), you will have increased your chances of someone finding you, naturally.

 Isn't that the same as advertising?  Perhaps it is advertising but in a very different way.  All you are doing is removing the barriers and streamlining the possibilities for someone who is looking for what you sell to find you. It's natural and intuitive because you are only appealing to people who have an interest in what you sell. You are not interrupting them, or trying to convert them into buying something else.  You are just making the prospect's journey easier while putting your business in the most favorable light. When you think about, it's really a form of "Pinpoint Marketing" (a way of reaching just specific groups or individual customers). It is really the same thing with a different twist or application.

Going along with this more logical or intuitive way of looking (searching) for things, consider this. Using the same menswear example about someone searching for dress shirts, think about all of the ways we could refine a search for dress shirts. How about French cuff dress shirts, monogrammed dress shirts, spread collars, button downed, silk, cotton. Polyester, all white, two tone, and what about all of the different dress shirt vendors? There are a multitude of possibilities for creating simple landing pages that could help someone find what they want and what you sell. You are making it easier for the customer to buy from you.

These pages don't take long to create. 15 to 20 minute maximum if you have the right software to use or your website was created by someone who has set up the ability to add simple pages. Think of the possibilities. We can start to have websites with hundreds of simple pages.  Sound crazy? It's happening every day. It's just a new way of thinking and looking at the world of on-line marketing...Inbound Marketing.

 

 

Who CARES How Long You’ve Been in Business? What Can You Do for ME??

Enough is enough. Am I supposed to be impressed that a business has been around so long? Oh I know it is supposed to mean that it represents stability and trustworthiness. If a men’s store has been around a long time, does that mean I should do business with them? Does that mean they have the latest fashions and carry the newest and hippest looks? Or does that mean they carry the same old stuff they have been carrying for years?

I am as much to blame as anyone else. I would brag about being part of 58-year old family businesses. So what! No one cares about that stuff other than you and your mother. We aren’t selling memories; we are selling merchandise that has to be timely, up to date, fashionable, useful, and affordable (unless you are in the scrapbook or camera business).

Look at it this way — how much great advertising space would you waste by just talking about how long you have been in business? Sorry, it doesn’t sell merchandise. Lehman Brothers had been in business for a long time, the same with Merrill Lynch, and even many of the banks that had been pillars of the community are now all gone. It didn’t matter how long they had been in business.

This hit me over the weekend because I worked with NW Buyers, a wonderful group of dedicated retailers. They are a men’s apparel buying group located in Minneapolis. They had as members some of the finest stores and without any question some of the nicest and classiest people I have ever worked for, from the executive director to the newest of members. I loved working for them and look forward to a long relationship with them.

The 100 years in business scenario hit me when I was doing a website review program. It almost seems as if one retailer said how long they were in business and everybody copied it. That is except one amazing retailer’s site. Please understand that I have been reviewing websites for a long time. On The Retailer’s Advantage, we do regular website reviews and I even owned shares in a website evaluation service at one point. I say all of that because I don’t want you to think that I am easy to impress when it comes to reviewing websites. So when I give a compliment to a retailer and or a web developer, it is not as an occasional observer.

The site I am referring to at first glance doesn’t take your breath away and actually seems a little vanilla at first glance. The site is www.Muldoons.com. This store is located in Eau Clair, Wisconsin and is completely focused on the customer. I didn’t notice the subtleties at first but it eventually hit me. The navigation bar across the top focused solely on the customer’s needs. The navigation bar on the bottom of the site had the “about us” tab and the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. But even that section was far more extensive than most.

They didn’t spend time talking about the past but they focused on the customer. Maybe that was why when I evaluated them through www.websitegrader.com, they received the highest score I have ever seen and that includes sites from all of the web site developers I have ever evaluated. Actually, their website development company www.uniteu.com is a leader in developing retail sites. (I really want to interview them for The Retailer’s Advantage — they have developed some great retailer’s sites.) Their score was 94% while Muldoon’s came in at a whopping 96.3%.

There is one other item on the site that is worth mentioning… on every page of the site, they maintain a listing of all of the vendors they carry. We have talked about this issue before and it does go against my basic retail beliefs. I think that we should promote our name first, not the brands that we carry. However, when it comes to the web, those brands are pure gold.

There is a lot we can learn from this make it work approach. No one will ever accuse this site for being pretty, but it is definitely effective and they are selling merchandise across the country. It all comes down to the title of this article — I don’t care how long you’ve been in business, but what can you do for me?