Jeff Taylor / Business Insights

Engage Your Customers in a Discussion!

2009-09-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

When speaking with your customers, don't just speak to them and give them information...engage them in the conversation! Discuss with them why they are interested, what impact it will in in their lives or how they will use it.

Remember, people generally comprehend:
* 11 percent of what they hear.
* 32 percent of what they see.
* 73 percent of what they see and hear.
* 90 percent of what they see, hear and discuss.

Encourage Participation With Your Team

2009-09-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

When leading a sales meeting, do not do all the talking yourself. Salespeople (and most other people) hate to be lectured to.

Ask questions and listen to the answers. Ask for opinions, and always question the reason for a particular opinion. Remember, people generally comprehend:
* 11 percent of what they hear.
* 32 percent of what they see.
* 73 percent of what they see and hear.
* 90 percent of what they see, hear and discuss.
Source: Business coach/consultant Jonathan Farrington

Apple's New iPod Nano Featuring FM Receiver Showcases Radio's Importance

2009-09-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

Radio is Premier Source for New Music

AcquisitionRadio's 235 million weekly listeners will now have another way to listen to Radio, with the launch of Apple's new iPod nano featuring an FM receiver, which will also offer live pause capability as well as iTunes tagging to the user experience.

According to Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan, "Apple clearly recognizes that Radio is the number one source for new music acquisition and has made it simpler and easier for today's listeners to access the audio entertainment they value so highly. The ability to bring a live listening experience together with digitally stored music will have a dramatic impact in listener involvement."

This announcement in tandem with the news that Microsoft's Zune will offer an HD Radio feature underscores the dominant listening position that local broadcast Radio holds in the U.S. Reaching 92 percent of Americans, it is clear that Radio fits seamlessly into the modern media lifestyle.

"Radio is an important part of the media mix for today's time-starved and mobile consumer and will remain adaptive as new technology continues to improve the medium," Smulyan stated. "In addition, the broader distribution of Radio on mobile devices will make for a safer and more informed public."

Radio's Emergency Alert System (EAS), now in existence for over 60 years on all broadcast Radio stations, plays an important role in alerting local audiences to storms, disasters and other public safety threats. "The adoption of FM on mp3 players and cell phones increases the likelihood that a mobile listener will be fully informed," Smulyan added.
(Source:www.rab.com 9/10/09)

What Are People Buying Now?

2009-08-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

I believe that the last line of this article is the point we should all take to heart right now. Value is in the eye of the beholder. As you are looking at marketing yourself you have to build in percieved value. You don't need to necessarily discount your product or service, but you do need to provide perceived value.
Jeff

What we're buying -- and not buying -- says a lot about how consumers are feeling these days.

It also says a lot about the American economy, considering that consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of all U.S. economic activity. Every time we go out to lunch, buy a new sweater or pick up a DVD, we're contributing to the retail sector, the biggest sector in the economy.

Last week, companies from Home Depot to Target to Saks reported results for their latest quarters. Some were strong, some were weak. All tell tales of the consumer: thrifty, staying close to home, and focusing on basics.

Here's a look at what people are and aren't buying.

HOME
What We're Buying:
People are buying more garden products and paint, especially in areas with high foreclosure rates like California, according to Home Depot. CEO Frank Blake told investors that as homes are sold as part of the foreclosure process, that spurs sales of paint and carpet upgrades, since owners want to improve their new homes.

Lowe's reported that small projects were big winners in the second quarter -- only the paint and nursery categories were doing better than a year earlier. The company said consumers -- with an eye toward boosting the appearance of their homes -- bought a lot of mulches, seed, and patio blocks.

There was also solid demand in faucet repair and for repair parts for outdoor power equipment. Tiller sales were also strong as consumers planted more gardens.

What We're Not:
Home Depot said consumers continued to limit their purchases of bigger items like appliances.

Purchases above $500 fell 16 percent compared to last year for Lowe's, which also noted last year's second quarter included the effects of a federal stimulus package that gave most consumers about $600, prompting sales of big-ticket items.

Sears said its decline in its home business, including appliances, continues to be affected by the state of the housing market.

Target said people limited their purchases of decorative home and garden items, with patio furniture a standout weakness. Target noted it had planned very conservatively for that category this year.

Conclusions:
Consumers are staying close to home and they want it to look nice. But they're not committing to big purchases like patio furniture to spruce up their home.

They're tackling more projects themselves, especially smaller ones, and opting to fix a faucet themselves rather than call a plumber. They're also planting gardens, perhaps with an eye toward trimming their food budgets. And forget new appliances -- they're making do with what they have.

CLOTHES AND OTHER BASICS
What We're Buying:

Target says the items people feel they need the most, like products related to health care, food and beauty, are doing the best. The beauty category benefited from people making those purchases at Target rather than in more expensive department stores.

More people were shopping at stores run by TJX Cos., like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods. Sales of basics like sheets and towels and clothing were all strong.

Fashionable denim is doing well at Saks Inc. stores, the high-level retailer said, noting that the trendiest brands do the best.

What We're Not:
Clothes and home goods were weak in Target's second quarter, and Kathy Tesija, executive vice president of merchandising, summed up the consumer mindset in one word: "cautious." The number of people coming into the stores has slowed, and people who made purchases spent less money. Frequent shoppers aren't coming in as often and they're cutting their weekend trips even more than their weekday trips.

TJX is seeing more people come into its stores but they're not spending as much, on average.

Limited Brands Inc., which operates Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works, said sales of fine fragrances and bras and panties were weak in the quarter. It noted its spring color palette was "muted and serious" and trends improved when it introduced bright colors in July.

Overall sales at Saks continued to slump as fewer people came into the stores. The company's less expensive Off 5th stores continued to outperform Saks' full-price locations.

Conclusions:
Shoppers are still tightfisted and cautious. They're looking for bargains -- which is why traffic is up at stores like T.J. Maxx. But they're not yet ready to resume shopping at pre-recession levels -- which is why spending is still down. They're still shopping with an eye toward fashion, though, and want to keep up with trends.

FOOD
What We're Buying:
Spam, Spam, Spam. Hormel said sales of its meat-in-a-can continued to rise in the quarter, gaining in the low double digits, while sales of other canned items and Hormel chili kept improving. Hormel's party trays, which sell for about $10, continued to be strong, as they have been throughout the recession.

BJ's Wholesale Club, which has been seeing more customers coming in, said sales of cereal, meat and household items made gains in its second quarter.

Heinz reported infant food and ketchup sales were strong.

What We're Not:
Hormel said customers bought fewer of its more expensive items, like microwavable meals, while its food service division, which serves businesses like restaurants and hotels, continued to slump.

Sales of Weight Watchers Smart Ones entrees fell in the quarter, too, Heinz reported. It noted the frozen food category is tied to consumer confidence and has been down for a year.

Heinz and Hormel said they were still competing with store brands and other generic products, which cost less than branded ones. Heinz said the trend was lessening, though, and there are signs that consumers still want brands.

Conclusions:
Food prices may be dropping as lower ingredient costs fall for manufacturers, but they're still not low enough for consumers, who are shopping with savings in mind. They keep dropping down to store brands and they're still willing to sacrifice convenient items like frozen foods to pad their food budgets.

But that doesn't mean they're being entirely thrifty. Consumers will pay for things they perceive have value, and that includes name brands.

As Hormel CEO Jeffrey Ettinger told analysts last Thursday, "Value is in the eye of the beholder."
(Source: Associated Press, 08/21/09)

Sampling Inspires Repeat Purchases & Has Long-Term Effect

2009-08-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that sampling programs can get people to try and occasionally purchase products. However, new research suggests that such giveaways can also help drive long-term sales and increase purchases of other items from the product line.

Whether it is a new product launch, line extension or established brand, sampling programs drove a 475 percent sales lift the day of the event compared to non-sampled households, per the "Report on In-store Sampling Effectiveness" conducted by Knowledge Networks-PDI on behalf of the marketing services company PromoWorks.

Those who sampled an item were 11 percent more likely to purchase it again during the 20-week period that followed. They were also 6 percent more likely to buy another item from the brand franchise.

"It's always been understood to a certain degree that there is a lift during the event. The big 'aha' is the long-term impact and the effect a sampling event has on the franchise overall," said Neal Heffernan, svp, gm at Knowledge Networks-PDI.

Participants were nine times more likely to purchase a line extension on the day of the sampling event. The sales lift continued, up 107 percent after a 20-week period.

For older, established brands, the sales lift the day of the event was 177 percent greater than the control group, which received no samples. It remained up 57 percent after a 20-week period. The sampling event also casts a halo over the entire brand portfolio, said Heffernan.

The parent brand of the product sampled received a 107 percent sales lift the day of the event and a 21 percent sales increase after a 20-week period.
(Source: AdAge.com, 08/04/09)

"Crisis Inspires Breakthroughs"

2009-08-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

Steve Clark, a sales trainer that I like, wrote this in his newsletter this morning. I liked and thought I would share.
Have a great weekend!
Jeff

"Crises Inspires Breakthroughs"

by Steve Clark

"Our greatness lay not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves" ~ Mahatma Gandhi

"Psychological suffering, anxiety and collapse lead to new emotional, intellectual and spiritual strengths. Confusion and death can lead to new scientific ideas." ~ Dr. Ilya Prigogine

"A personality is born of chaos. Resistance to chaos can only beget more chaos and resistance" ~ Stephen Wolinsky

Failure and adversity are better teachers than success and prosperity because they require us to dig deep and discover new talents and resources not yet recognized or understood. A trip to the bottom is what fuels the trip to the top.

We learn to deal with adversity by dealing with adversity. Therefore, failure is not to be avoided it is to be embraced. This counter intuitive concept is hard for most people to understand and accept because our environment teaches us that failure is bad and should be avoided.

The kid who never falls off a bike seldom becomes the best bike rider. The salesperson who avoids rejection never gets good at selling. The best at anything have all failed thousands of times in their attempt to become good.

When we experience adversity it is hard to think beyond the immediate pain and disappointment. But moving beyond the immediate pain is what we must do if we are to grow and mature emotionally. Instead of pissing and moaning when we experience adversity we should accept it, acknowledge it and then move on by using it as a lesson learned.

In our sales training, we teach taking every failure and rejection and reflecting and debriefing in a written journal what happened, why it happened and then analyzing what we will do differently next time we are faced with that same opportunity. Failure to debrief and to rehearse how we will do it differently next time ensures that we will repeat the same behavior over and over again with the same result.

Walt Disney used his experience of being fired as a cartoonist from a Kansas City newspaper to fuel his desire to create Disney Studios. Oprah Winfrey used her experience of being fired as a news anchor in Baltimore to launch her show. Lance Armstrong used his battle with cancer to propel him to his seven Tour de France wins.

As the bumper sticker says "Shit Happens". And it happens to every one of us. Sooner or later if you live long enough you will experience failure, disappointment, a near death experience, loss of a loved one, a debilitating illness and more. Life is full of disappointment. You cannot escape it. When you are faced with these situations you can use them as stepping stones to become something greater than what you are or you can use them as excuses to self-destruct.

Since you cannot avoid failure and disappointment in this life it only makes sense that you get good at using them to make you something greater than what you are. There really is no other choice except to crawl in a hole, feel sorry for yourself and wither away. That's a miserable way to live.

(source: Steve Clark www.newschoolselling.com)

Recession Forcing Consumers to Change Where They Shop; Who's Winning?

2009-08-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

The recession has significantly changed the shopper mix in virtually all retail channels, according to a new report from WSL Strategic Retail. Supermarkets have regained the No. 1 share of shoppers for the first time in 10 years, ahead of supercenters. And dollar stores are in the right place at the right time with the right brands.

Meanwhile, convenience stores and drug stores are increasing their share of shoppers because they're quick, easy, less tempting and save gas, according to the report. Mass merchandisers, including Wal-Mart and the Internet, are picking up more affluent shoppers. And, with unemployment reaching 10 percent, more men are doing more of the family shopping.

Smart retailers will heed the warnings of the retail-channel shift and adapt their businesses to realize the new opportunities, the report states.

The channel shifting in the recession has had some obvious moves:
* Wal-Mart has been a winner; Target has not.
* Supermarkets and dollar stores are doing well; mall stores are not.

However, beyond the obvious, WSL said many of the shopper shifts open some immediate opportunities for retailers.Beyond that, the WSL "How America Shops PULSE" report, which compares the demographic shift in shoppers by retail channel from the second quarter 2009 vs. the same period 2008, offered these other observations:

* If your retail strategy has been very Wal-Mart-focused, it might be time to take another look at the supermarket channel.

* The obvious reason for the growth of supermarkets is the spending cuts shoppers have made in take-out food and eating out, which means more cooking at home with food purchased at the supermarket.

* 46 percent of shoppers stay out of stores where they are tempted to overspend. When you only need to buy food, the mass merchandiser has too much temptation.

* Dollar stores are in the right place at the right time --with more of the right brands. Over the last five years, dollar stores have moved well beyond their rural Southern roots to open stores in middle class neighborhoods around the country. More manufacturers are realizing the dollar-channel opportunity and selling them more national brands.

* Convenience stores and drug stores are increasing their share of shoppers, which may seem contrary to the frugal shopper mindset, but it makes sense. When shoppers don't stock up, they run out, the report states.

* C-store growth may seem like a contradiction in an era of price-conscious shoppers, but remember how shoppers are cutting back on groceries and not stocking up on sale items. That leads to running out. C-store prices may be higher, but if it's nearby and you save on gas and time, then the trade may be worth it.

* Drug stores are seeing their strongest lift among middle-aged, middle-income shoppers, who, as with c-stores, may need the drug store when they run out of something, or find it a better choice, where a trip to a mass merchandiser to save a few cents turns into overspending on so much more than what was on the list. (It's that temptation again.)

* Internet Shopping is up among the affluent, who are certain they find the best price online. From our last "Online Shopping PULSE" report in April 2008, we know that half of affluent shoppers feel they save money shopping online, and saving money is what they are looking to do more of now.

* Mass merchandisers have an increase in affluent shoppers. For the first time, the share of affluent shoppers in mass merchandisers equals that of lower- and middle-income groups.

* Warehouse Clubs have had a significant decline in younger shoppers who may have discovered that their smaller households were wasting much of what they thought they were saving by buying big club sizes.

* The mall has lost across the board -- men, women, young and old -- but with the biggest losses among middle-income families who just don't need all that temptation.A final note about male shoppers: Unemployment has taken a larger share of adult men than adult women out of the workforce, so it is not surprising that stay-at-home men are taking on more of the family shopping errands.
(Source: Convenience Store/Petroleum News, 08/10/09)

Speaking to consumers who are keeping their cars longer

2009-07-28T05:21:00.000-07:00

Below is a recent article from AutoPacific that discusses how Americans are keeping their cars longer than ever before. I don't think that this is a surprising fact to anyone, but how do businesses that touch the auto industry take advantage of it? Here are a few ideas:

Sell New Cars? - You better be talking about the long life and value!
Sell Pre-Owned Cars? - Discuss value for the money vs. new.
Do you do repair? - We extend the life of your car, no need for a car payment when we can get it back up and running for less than you would expect!
Sell Auto Parts? - You are golden these days! Why get a new car when you have the parts to get going again, discuss how relatively easy it is to do most of the work yourself. If you have the knowledge to give the customer advice - shout it from the mountaintops!

The consumer knows what is going on in with the economy and the auto industry these days, so speak to them about things they care about. Have fun & go make some money!

Jeff

Americans Keeping Their Cars Longer
An annual survey of new vehicle buyers shows a significant increase in the number of people planning to hold on to their cars and trucks. In 2005, just over 46 percent of new car acquirers indicated they would not be shopping for a new vehicle for four years or more; in the just completed survey that number has risen to about 59 percent -- an increase of almost 13 percent. At the same time, the number of people intending to replace their vehicle within the next two years has fallen.

In April, automotive research firm AutoPacific conducted a national Internet survey which revealed that the general public was very hesitant to invest in a new vehicle; with 72 percent of those surveyed saying it would be more than a year before they would be in the market to buy a new car.

That finding supports other surveys which indicate that the public is wary about the current condition of the American automobile industry and the U.S. economy as a whole. It also confirms that not only are consumers wary, but those that did make the investment intend to hold on to their vehicles longer.

"Rapid replacers don't seem to be changing their pattern, but people who previously bought a new car every one or two years have significantly scaled back their purchasing, and those who before bought every three to four years are now waiting at least an additional year," said George Peterson, president of Tustin, California-based AutoPacific.

"We'll not be seeing the frequent replacement pattern brought about by strong incentives and financing programs that made it easy and financially reasonable over the last decade for consumers to get into a new car frequently. This may also tell us that consumers will be putting a higher priority on vehicles with a reputation for quality and durability that meets not only their short-term needs, but also their long-term expected needs."
(Source: AutoPacific, 07/14/09)

Do you have time suck?

2009-07-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Twitter? Facebook? YouTube? Blogs? Streaming? Video games?

Sure, we all need to keep up on digital, but not at the expense of getting our most important daily activities done. However, rarely will you or your team make much money letting the time bandit of Twitter or other internet temptations get in the way. Know what the top 3 important activities are for your business, then reinforce those activities regularly with your staff.

The Number One Factor

2009-07-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

Customers rely on their emotional experiences with salespeople more than any of the traditional factors, according to research by the Peppers & Rogers Group.

The research showed that:
* 60 percent of all customers stop dealing with a company because of indifference on the part of salespeople.
* 70 percent of customers leave a company because of poor service, which is usually attributed to a salesperson.
* 80 percent of defecting customers describe themselves as "satisfied" or "very satisfied" just before they leave.
* Customers who feel their salespeople are exceptional are 10 to 15 times more likely to remain loyal.

Source: Don Peppers, founding partner of the Peppers & Rogers Group (from The Selling Advantage, 07/28/09)

What Happens If You Cut Media Spending?

2009-07-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

Predictive Modeling by ThinkVine Indicates One Brand Would Never Close Sales Gap

In the short term, marketers can get away with cutting media spending without much real harm. But that term is as short as a quarter, and the harm, once it begins, can last long after the media switch gets turned back on.

Those are recent findings of ThinkVine, a Cincinnati analytics firm that does predictive media modeling for marketers such as PepsiCo, MillerCoors and Colgate-Palmolive Co. ThinkVine CEO Damon Ragusa said lately he's been getting a lot of inquiries about the potential impact of going dark altogether for a quarter or more.

An analysis the firm did for one unnamed brand looked at the impact of turning off media entirely for a year, then turning it back on the next year at prior levels. For about 16 weeks, sales volume was about the same. By the end of year one, however, sales volume was about 20 percent lower without media than with it.

Turning media back on in year two reversed the sales decline as the brand began growing again at the same rate it would have otherwise. But it never closed the gap in sales results compared with what it would have achieved had it maintained media spending both years.

Different brands respond differently to media cuts, Mr. Ragusa said, and some brands with dominant positions or in less advertising-responsive categories may get away with cutting budgets unscathed. But for many, possibly most, getting back sales and share lost from cutting budgets can be a lengthy and expensive process.

"There is a downside risk," he said. "The cost of getting back what you lose is often greater than the savings."

A brand that is on a downward trajectory anyway because of the economy is much more at risk from a temporary withdrawal of media support than one with flat or rising sales growth, he added.

ThinkVine uses correlation and regression analysis and sales data. But it bases its predictions on the makeup of each brand's consumers, including detailed data on the media and spending habits of various consumer segments. It then crunches as many as a trillion data points for each forecast.

The results aren't perfect but tend to come within 2.4 percent of the real-world sales data in ThinkVine's validation work, Mr. Ragusa said.
(Source: Advertising Age, 06/29/09)

What Will Be Your Customer's Memory Of You?

2009-06-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

“It [the Cheshire Cat] vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone.” – Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)

I never ask the graduates of Wizard Academy, "What could we have done differently? How might we improve?" To do so would be to ask them to search their memories for disappointing moments. These are not the images I want to cement in their minds.

Instead, I ask, "What was your favorite moment during your time with us?" This causes the students to recall each of the high-impact moments during of their time on campus and relive those moments in their mind. It doesn’t matter what they choose as their favorite, I just want to flood their minds with happy memories.
The grin will remain after the rest of it is gone.

It is important to control the Last Mental Image (LMI.) What procedures do you employ to make sure your customer has a positive LMI of their experience with you?

Today the world is forming its LMI of Michael Jackson. So far, the stories and comments have centered on his impact as a performer and his contributions to music. The foibles and flaws that interested us yesterday no longer seem important. Michael Jackson is dead and the world seems a tiny bit smaller.

(source: Roy H. Williams, mondaymorningmemo.com)

Millions Of TV Viewers Go Dark, Few Complain

2009-06-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

Suppose someone pulled the plug and a couple of million people didn't care. That may be what the TV industry is discovering nearly a week after the U.S. broadcast industry converted from analog to digital broadcasting. Days after their analog TV signals went dark, 2.2% of U.S. households still haven't bothered to hook up to digital reception, according to estimates released Wednesday by Nielsen Co.

Even more troubling, the estimates are based on households in Nielsen's national and local TV ratings panels, which means that more than 2% of Nielsen's panel is reporting zero TV usage in the days following the conversion.

The broadcast industry had expected that the vast majority of analog hold-outs would scramble to convert to digital at the 11th hour, or after their TV sets went dark, but that does not appear to be the case, as a survey of the nation's TV stations by the National Association of Broadcasters reports only "moderate" call volume from viewers to local stations seeking help of information about receiving their digital broadcast signals.

"The call volume is considerably low given that the transition impacts an estimated 14 million over-the-air households in markets with at least one station going all-digital," the NAB said in late Friday, the day analog broadcast signals ceased to transmit.

Moreover, most of the calls received by local broadcasters were among those that had already prepared for the digital transition, but simply needed assistance in scanning digital channels with their new equipment.

"A relatively small percentage of viewers so far have needed assistance given the large number of broadcast-only households affected during the today's transition," noted Jonathan Collegio, vice president for digital television at NAB. "Importantly, much of the assistance sought by viewers has been on the relatively minor issue of scanning and re-scanning converter boxes and digital TV sets."

The NAB has not released new data on the number of households that have gone dark, but the new Nielsen data suggests millions of TV viewers either don't care, or are still perplexed about how to hook up to digital broadcast despite billions of dollars invested by the broadcast TV industry and the U.S. government to help educate them.
(source: Mediapost.com, Joe Mandese)

Establish Permanence In Changing Times

2009-06-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

During the Great Depression, an entire entertainment genre was created by a forward-thinking advertising team. While no obvious one-stop solution exists for the current recession, marketers do have an opportunity to successfully tap into the zeitgeist.

Gone are the days of flash, glitz and punching monkeys. Consumers today value sustainability, social responsibility and fiscal prudence. If marketers can align with consumers, they can come out of the recession with a more loyal audience than they went in with.

Permanence Establishing a sense of permanence is particularly important during economic downturns. It's not a time a brand can afford to pull back on its marketing efforts, or they will lose the potential to endear valuable customers. Proctor & Gamble wrote the script during the Great Depression. P&G had a strong marketing philosophy: don't cut advertising budgets during recessions.

While many were cutting back on advertising during the Depression, P&G reinvented the wheel with its first soap story -- "Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins" radio show" -- which launched in 1933. It proved so successful that P&G doubled its marketing budget and launched 21 serial radio dramas by 1939, thus creating an entertainment institution: the Soap Opera.

Not only did P&G remain relevant during these times, but it remained a constant in consumers' lives by connecting in a unique way. It successfully engaged its core audience, allowing P&G to come out of the Depression stronger than it had started.

Responsibility
What message can build brand equity during this economic downturn? Economic, social, and particularly environmental responsibility. There is a call-to-action for brands to lead the charge in finding solutions for climate change. Consumers need to know their brands are working towards a common goal.

It's not an easy time for a brand; consumers are more educated and more demanding than ever. They stand behind brands that make them feel conscious and informed. A recent Havas Media study by IPSOS found that 79% of consumers said they would rather buy from companies doing their best to reduce their impact on the environment.

And 89% are likely to buy more "green" goods in the next 12 months, with a third willing to pay a premium for those goods. While it's not an easy time, the returns are high. A bond driving a customer to pay a premium for a similar good during an economic crisis is a bond worth establishing.

Resorting to sustainable claims isn't enough for a brand on its own. The Millennium Generation is particularly vigilant about weak or unfounded responsibility and sustainability claims. A Hartman study found that "consumers are thinking much more broadly than marketers about what words like 'organic', 'green' and 'sustainable' mean. They use more positive words to describe these products, like hope, connection, simple living, authenticity, and control."

The first step in establishing this "connection" and "hope" is to create an authentic story. And if you don't have a sustainable message to tell today, start establishing trust through other channels while working towards sustainability. Take MARS for example. As one of the world's largest cocoa purchasers, it is making great strides to support sustainable rainforests. But even before they had the opportunity to speak to this story, MARS had established consumer trust with transparency and a commitment to their five sustainable principals: Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom.

Context
With ad budgets tighter, how can marketers efficiently and effectively tell their sustainable story? First, don't waste dollars on deaf ears. Identify engaged and influential audiences and tell your story in credible environments. Reaching fewer passionate consumers will go further than blanketing your message across a larger, less engaged audience.

If these change agents believe in your message, they'll do the heavy lifting for you and stretch your marketing dollars. In addition, identify contextually relevant advertising opportunities and media outlets with a similar ideology to your message. You'll find the setting in which the story is told can be as important as the story itself: The medium is the message.

Modern Day Soaps
We are starting to see some great soap opera stories unfold today, from large CPG companies to small start-ups. Jeremy Moon, founder of Icebreaker, offers outdoor clothing created from sustainable materials. Moon faced a significant challenge: He needed to charge consumers a premium price for a premium fabric.

By creatively giving transparency to the source of the material -- you can see pictures of the sheep that grew your merino wool sweater and email the farmer -- Moon's message resonates with change agents. These influencers quickly turned Icebreaker from an unknown shop to the largest outdoor clothing brand in Australasia.

It's not just niche brands that are able to capitalize on sustainability and change. Even behemoths like Wal-Mart are finding sustainable stories of their own and bringing them to life through advertising. Wal-Mart recently announced an initiative to cut its supply chain's packaging by 5%.

This opens up Wal-Mart's doors to a new and influential type of consumer. What they care about is that Wal-Mart is saving millions of pounds of garbage from landfills and taking the equivalent of 213,000 trucks off the road every year. The fact that Wal-Mart stands to directly save $3.4 billion doesn't hurt its bottom line either.

In this economy consumers are feeling vulnerable. Now, more than ever, people want to feel a part of a responsible and sustainable culture, and they are spending their dollars accordingly. Go tell your story. People are listening.
Source (mediapost Colton Dirksen Wednesday, June 17, 2009)

CONGRATULATIONS Cedar Rapids / Iowa City Corridor!

2009-06-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

Next Generation Consulting Ranks Hotspots for Young Professionals to Live and Work in the U.S.

Next Generation Consulting (NGC) announced its “Next Cities” rankings - the best places to live and work for young professionals - in three population categories. NGC tabulated the rankings after collecting and analyzing 45 measures for all U.S. cities with over 100,000 people.

NGC has studied the residential and relocation patterns of 20-40 years olds since 1998, and has developed a one-of-a-kind indexing system that evaluates a city based on the assets that are important to next gen workers.

According to NGC, the seven indexes of a “Next City” are: Earning, Learning, Vitality, Around Town, After Hours, Cost of Lifestyle, and Social Capital.

The rankings announced today are based on a city’s total score in all seven indexes.

“Simply being the cheapest place to live, or the city with the most jobs is not a long-term workforce strategy,” says NGCs founder, Rebecca Ryan. Although jobs are important, Ryan says, “The next generation is very savvy about choosing where they’ll live. They look carefully at quality of life factors like how much time they’re going to spend in traffic commuting, if they can live near a park or hike-and-bike trail, and whether a city’s downtown stays awake after five.” The Next Cities list ranks cities that are - or have the capacity to be - great places to live and work for the next generation, because they have the best overall score in the seven indexes the next gen values.

Noted economist Richard Florida underscores the large economic dividend paid to cities and regions that are talent magnets, noting in the April 2009 issue of The Atlantic that “The world’s 40 largest mega-regions, which are home to some 18% of the world’s population, produce two-thirds of global economic output and nearly nine in ten new patented innovations.”
NEXT CITIES RANKED BY POPULATION
Mighty Micros - Next Cities with Population of 100,000-200,000
1. Fort Collins, Colorado
2. Charleston, South Carolina
3. Eugene, Oregon
4. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
5. Springfield, Illinois
6. Cary, North Carolina
7. Ann Arbor, Michigan
8. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
9. Pueblo, Colorado
10. Gainesville, Florida
11. Stamford, Connecticut
12. Des Moines, Iowa
13. Spokane, Washington
14. Syracuse, New York
15. Huntsville, Alabama
16. Peoria, Illinois
17. Springfield, Missouri
18. Salt Lake City, Utah
19. Richmond, Virginia
20. Hampton, Virginia

America Revs Up Its Do-It-Yourself Passion

2009-06-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

While some marketers may be sick of hearing how the recession has changed the way consumers spend money, those selling do-it-yourself products have cause to rejoice: America's passion for DIY is fierce, with no sign of slowed growth.

Some 67 million Americans now change their own motor oil, 58 million are growing at least some of their food, and 36 million women are coloring their own hair, according to a new report from Packaged Facts, based on Experian Simmons National Consumer Study data. Overall, a whopping 56 percent of American shoppers are dabbling now in some level of DIY.

It's not all about the recession, and Packaged Facts predicts the trend will continue, even once the economy rediscovers its mojo. "The DIY movement is related to aspects of consumer psychology that extend beyond pure economics," it says -- adding that in some segments, demographic factors also play a major role.

For example, while 70 million people prepared their own tax refunds using software this year, it forecasts that through 2013, that number will grow 13 percent, fueled by the eldest Gen Y workers just entering the workforce. And it anticipates that the number of women using at-home hair coloring will increase 10 percent to total 40 million between 2008 and 2013, fueled by increases in multicultural women, who are more likely to experiment with home hair colors.

The number of automotive DIYers is expected to grow even faster, adding 16 percent by 2013. Drivers, eager to keep old cars on the road longer, say they are doing more and more repairs themselves, explaining sales increases at chains like AutoZone. "DIYers in the automotive sector make up 30 percent of the adult population but 40 percent of all adults planning to buy a car in the next six months and 37 percent of those planning to buy a domestic make," the report says.

Predicting growth in home DIY projects is still tricky, based on the weak real-estate market. But the vast majority of homeowners do at least some chores themselves -- only 18 percent rely exclusively on outside professionals to get the work done: The report finds that 101 million adults in 46 million households have been involved in some home improvement project during the past 12 months.

Some, however, are much more hands-on. Extreme DIYers are the single largest segment of the home-improver population-- 64 million people, or 52 percent of home improvers and 29 percent of the adult population; they also tend to be less affluent. Moderate DIYers, however, are more likely to make more than $100,000, and spend more time shopping for their DIY purchases.(Source: Marketing Daily, 06/01/09)

Questions To Ask When Evaluating Online Media

2009-06-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

With companies allocating more of their marketing budgets to online media, it's important to know what to look for and ask about when working with new-media companies.

Alignment with your goals, audience, reach: these criteria apply across all media buys. However, other issues are specific to the online world: online metrics, conversion accountability, reputation of Web sites and more.

Below is a list of questions to ask when evaluating online media.

Is the media opportunity aligned with your marketing objectives?
It might seem obvious, but it's worth answering. Is your objective to generate leads? Promote your brand in new markets? Position your company in a leadership role? We know, it's all of the above. But some online media are better suited to gaining and raising brand exposure, others for lead generation. The best offer a combination of each.

What audience will you reach?
Before committing to any online media, ask for a profile of the audience you will reach. For example, with general search engines, the audience is the entire world, because everyone uses them, so funneling out only your specific niche becomes a challenge that you need take into account. On the other hand, there are many effective online media options that focus only on specific industries or target audiences.If you're advertising on a Web site, ask for information about its site traffic, demographic data, the number of visitors per month as well as if they have a third-party audit statement of qualified traffic. Look for growth trends on those sites where you are considering promoting your business.

Which metrics matter?
One of the great advantages of online media (other than the fact that your customers and prospects are online) is its reporting capabilities. Page views, impressions, opens, clicks, click-through rates, conversions -- there are many metrics. In the end, it's the conversions that equal leads, and the impressions that equal brand exposure.

How is lead capture performed?
Online media that offers comprehensive marketing programs and delivers leads to you with full contact information is what you want. If you are using keyword search ads or e-newsletter ads, you're likely driving prospects to a landing page on your Web site where you should have lead-capture mechanisms, such as white paper or Webinar offers. More important than who's responsible for lead capture is to make sure that you have a way to convert visitors and viewers into leads. Plan for this in any online media campaign. If your media program offers a lead conversion capability, you won't have to devote as many resources to landing pages and other lead-capture mechanisms.

How, when and for how long will your message be delivered to your audience?
How your message will be delivered depends more on the type of marketing program you choose, such as e-newsletters, banner ads, online catalogs, and e-mail campaigns. Push marketing, where you proactively reach out to prospects, is done, for example, through e-newsletter sponsorships.

You can also get a high frequency rate if the e-newsletters are issued on a regular basis, keeping you in front of your target audience on a consistent basis. Pull marketing opportunities are when you can connect with customers and prospects when they are actively searching for solutions like yours.

A searchable online catalog or presence in an industrial directory online provides presence 24/7.Ensure that your online marketing program provides a customized fit for your needs. Ask about the ability to choose your target audience, review online metrics, details about conversion accountability, possible campaign timing options, as well as the flexibility to adjust your program options and messaging when necessary.
(source: mediapost.com, Angela Hribar)

Advertise or Die

2009-05-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

According to a new Ad-ology Research study, "Advertising's Impact in a Soft Economy," more than 48% of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession indicates the business must be struggling. Conversly, a vast majority perceives businesses that continue to advertise as being competitive or committed to doing business.

C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research, says "It is critical to advertise in the current economic climate, to maintain long-term positive consumer perception of your brand... advertising... assures consumers of a business' reliability... "

Reaching Moms Through Schools

2009-05-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

With more and more scrutiny being focused on advertising that is specifically directed to kids, many marketers are hesitant to even consider a through-school marketing program. What they might not realize, however, is that a through-school marketing program directed to moms (versus kids) is one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness and purchase intent for their products.

Annual spending on consumer goods (food, clothes etc.) for families with school-age kids is expected to reach $143 billion by 2010, according to Packaged Facts. Since moms make most of the purchase decisions for their families, consumer brand marketers must continue to look for new and more meaningful ways to engage the mom audience and make their brand message heard in this overcrowded, noisy marketing environment.

A through-school marketing program cuts through the clutter in the competitive marketing-to-moms space by putting a brand's message directly in front of a key demographic -- moms with school-age kids -- at a time and place when they are especially tuned in to messages and products that speak to their families' unique needs.

Why Through-School Marketing Gets Results

* Precision targeted with no missed hits - While traditional media and marketing options that reach the mom market cast a wide net hitting all segments of moms, through-school marketing directly connects consumer brands to an extremely targeted, captive audience of interested moms with kids ages 5-14.

*Relevant and receptive environment - Moms at school, or engaged in school-related activities, are in "full mommy mode" - specifically focused on their children's well being - making them particularly receptive to brand messages that speak to their challenges as a busy mom and offer solutions that will help them make their families more successful.

* Implied school endorsement and halo effect - When brands sponsor a family-focused school program, moms recognize and appreciate the brand's support of education and their school-family communities - and respond and follow through by patronizing the brands that support their schools.

* Grassroots brand advocacy - Moms attending a school-family event are in an ideal social environment to discuss and promote new products or services with other moms allowing mom-to-mom buzz and word of mouth endorsement to take place naturally.

Tips for Executing a Successful Through-School Marketing Program

Plan Ahead - It's important to know what a typical school's event planning cycle is for the year. Schools make planning decisions months in advance so be sure you allow enough lead time to build momentum and anticipation for your program before it is actually executed. For example, we sign schools up for our Back2School program in the spring before school ends and summer begins. It's critical to get schools signed up to participate in the program in spring so they are ready to execute it come August.

Make it relevant to moms - Make sure your program is relevant to moms in the context of the school environment otherwise you might lose the brand goodwill that you hoped to garner by sponsoring a school program. For example, we set up a through-school sampling program for a client who wanted to distribute detergent samples to moms. Moms were given these samples while attending the Spring Carnival at school, an event where kids are likely to get quite dirty.

Give schools a real reason for doing it - The last thing you want to happen is for your program to come across as blatant marketing with no real benefit to the school. Make sure your offer has value to the school and that your key connection in the school (the person or group who will execute the program) can clearly see how the school and the school families benefit from running your program.

(source: Mediapost.com, John Driscoll, 5/20/09)

2009-05-12T10:08:00.001-07:00

The Pew Research Center measured a number of categories for a chart called "Belt-Tightening in Bad Times." Here are a few of their insights:

57% bought less expensive brands or went to discount stores
28% cut back on alcohol and/or cigarettes
24% reduced or cancelled CATV or satellite TV subscriptions
22% reduced or cancelled a cell phone plan
21% made plans to plant a vegetable garden
20% took over yard work / repairs formerly contracted out

In a recent Gallup poll had a few additional interesting trends:

32% of people surveyes say that not only have they been spending less over the past few months, it has become their "new normal"
27% are saving more and call it the "new normal"
9% are saving on a temporary basis

Here is the reality of business marketing moving forward...bells and whistles are out and thrift is in. As you look at your business you may want to pay less attention to the fluff that has worked in the past. Rather, you should focus your marketing efforts on how what you do will produce a savings in some way or last longer.

Why Consumers Are Leaving Certain Restaurants

2009-05-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

The annual Leaky Bucket Report from Restaurant Marketing Group confirms that the trickle of customer defections from restaurants could intensify in this recession, and lack of value and poor service would ensure that guests jump ship.

The online study measures the size of a customer "leak" for each of 160 brands, meaning the percentage of recent customers who report they are unlikely to return to a particular eatery.

Arjun Sen, president of Centennial, Colo.-based Restaurant Marketing Group, said the restaurant industry's average leak size is 36 percent, up 7 percent from 2008.

"If I were a restaurateur," Sen said, "I would connect the dots by saying that a 7-percent increase in the industry's overall leak means (the customer) is grading me severely now."

The survey of more than 5,600 consumers aged 18 to 64, conducted in March, showed an 11-percent increase for price and value as a reason for leaks, compared with last year, accounting for 36 percent of all defections. Service rose 10 percent compared with 2008 and now accounts for 23 percent of all leaks. The only cause of leaks that declined was location, which fell 7 percent.

Food quality, at 25 percent, and menus, at 17 percent, remain unchanged from 2008 as reasons for leaks.

"The main leak increases we have are price-value and service," Sen said. "You're seeing location as a reason for leaks going down, so consumers are saying, 'OK, I'll go two miles farther if you treat me better and give me a better deal.'

"In recent years, location had been a bigger deal-breaker because so many consumers lived near many different restaurants, Sen said.

One industry segment faring better than others is Asian, as that sector's 37-percent average leak size is a 1-percent improvement on last year's average. While that is slightly above the entire industry's 36-percent average leak, the Asian category outperforms the industry averages on every individual metric for leaks: price-value, service, location, food, menu, atmosphere and family-friendly.

"As a category, Asian is so fragmented," Sen said. "From Panda Express to P.F. Chang's or beyond, they're each a little different. But all of them have freshness cues everywhere, and all have been born more recently than (many other) brands. As consumers look for more choices, these brands are jumping up more."

Asian concepts also score far better than industry averages on price-value and service. The Asian category average score for price-value was 33 percent, compared with 36 percent for all restaurants, and the category's service score was 18 percent, compared with a 23-percent industry average.

By contrast, the bar and grill sector's 22-percent service score is merely on par with the industry average and accounts for more leaks than service in the Asian, coffee, sweets and treats, and soup and salad segments.

"I would have expected casual dining to have the most advantage in terms of service," Sen said, "because they're offering the most service."

Many casual brands also struggle with value perceptions, especially at lunch, accounting for a 39-percent price-value leak score, Sen said.

"They're doing what's 'price-value-relevant' for dinner," he said. "If we want to use the best deal, Applebee's '2 for $20' deal, it's still not relevant for lunch. It's very tough for them to compete with fast food and fast casual, especially the sub sandwich (category). In three to five years, Subway's $5 footlong and Quiznos' $4 Toasty Torpedo will be seen as a defining moment. (Those deals) move traffic away from both fast food and casual dining."

The one segment whose average leak size remained constant from 2008 was coffee, which held steady at 33 percent. The three chains in the sector -- Caribou Coffee, Seattle's Best and Starbucks -- combined for a mixed performance on the two main causes for leaks this year. The coffee segment had an average score of 18 percent for service, better than the industry average of 23 percent. But the sector's price-value leak score was 49 percent, due largely to Starbucks' score of 67 percent.

"Starbucks has a price-value problem," Sen said. "It was still tolerable last year, because people said, 'You don't have low-price items, but if I want to spend $5, you are the best."However, Sen noted, this year Starbucks and other coffeehouses face credible threats from McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, who have upgraded their coffee items. The coffee segment leader has responded with its new value offering, the $3.95 breakfast pairings launched this winter.

"Even with Starbucks' price changes," Sen said, "unless they can move many people to that new $3.95 price point, their biggest problem is still in front of them, because so many people still feel Starbucks' price-value is broken.
"However, "service is still great in coffee," he said. "That's what's holding Starbucks together."
(Source: Nation's Restaurant News, 05/04/09)

10 Things Never To Do In Your Ads

2009-04-28T06:44:00.001-07:00

1. NEVER PROMISE EVERYTHING YOU PLAN TO DELIVER:
Leave something to become the delight factor.

2. NEVER BEGIN A SENTENCE WITH THE WORD "IMAGINE...":
If you're planning to take your customer on a journey of imagination, plunge them into it.

3. NEVER INCLUDE YOUR NAME IN AN AD MORE OFTEN THAN IT WOULD BE SPOKEN IN NORMAL CONVERSATION:
Cramming the name where it doesn't belong is AdSpeak. It worked when there were less ads out there, however do it today and your ad will sound like it was written in the 1940's.

4. NEVER CONJURE AN UNPLEASANT MENTAL IMAGE:
Fear and disgust work face-to-face, but they often backfire when used in mass media.

5. NEVER RESPOND TO A CHALLENGE FROM A COMPETITOR SMALLER THAN YOU:
Drawing attention to a smaller competitor makes them larger in the eyes of the public.

6. NEVER CLAIM TO HAVE EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE:
Most people won't believe you. Instead, tell the public something objective, factual and verifiable that causes them to say, "Wow. Those people really believe in customer service."

7. NEVER MENTION THE RECESSION:
All you are really doing is reminding the customer that now is not a good time to be spending money.

8. NEVER MAKE A CLAIM YOU DON'T IMMEDIATELY SUPPORT WITH EVIDENCE:
Unsubstantiated claims are the worst form of AdSpeak. Win the confidence of the customer by giving them details.

9. NEVER USE HUMOR THAT DOESN'T REINFORCE THE PRINCIPAL POINT OF YOUR AD:
Here is the litmus test: If remembering the humor forces you to recall the message of the ad, the humor is motivated. If recalling the humor doesn't explicitly cause you to remember the ad's main point, the humor will make the ad less effective.

10. NEVER SAY THING IN THE USUAL WAY:
Every form of advertising out there is competing for your attention. Today, we are bombarded with over 5000 messages per day. The mundane, the predictable, the usual are filtered by Broca's area of the brain and rejected from our consciousness. Surprise Broca and win the customer's attention with words and phrases that are new, surprising and different.

(source: Roy Williams, www.wizardofads.com)

Customer Relationships are Recession Busters

2009-04-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Your customers are your personal recession buster -- but only if you focus on them more completely, deeply and consistently than ever.

Think about it this way -- your customers are the source of all revenue for your organization; your customers write your paycheck. It makes sense to build and deepen your relationships with them always, but that is never more true than in times where they are buying less and probably distracted by the economy themselves.

Your customers are looking for new solutions. Your customers want help. Your customers need you.

Five Ideas
Here are five ways you can focus on deepening your relationships with your customers, starting right now.

Get in touch...
Stop by, make a call, send a handwritten note, send an email (in that order of priority -- the further up this list the more valuable the contact will be). Let them know you care, take the effort to be connected.

Stay in touch...
Don't make this contact a one-time event but part of an ongoing process of staying in touch, connected and at the top of mind for your customer.
Ask how you can help them...
No strings and no qualifiers. Do you appreciate it when someone offers to help you with something? So will your customers, even if they don't take you up on the offer.

Educate them...
Send an article, share an idea. After you know how you can help or what their challenges are, it will be easier to determine the best things to share based on their interests and needs.

Focus on serving, not selling...
People buy from those they like, trust and respect. Sales will come. Focus on the person, building the relationship and serving them.

These are just five ideas -- you probably can come up with 55 more. Your challenge is to find ways to be relevant, helpful and available to your customers.
(Source: Business consultant/trainer Kevin Eikenberry www.kevineikenberry.com )

Four Key Tips To Leadership

2009-04-21T06:59:00.001-07:00

1) To lead, people must trust and respect you.
2) Demonstrate respect for people you lead.
3) Give people equity in your decisions...allow them to have a say in the decision.
4) Execute your decisions with confidence.

Independent Stores Pump Up the Perks to Lure Shoppers

2009-04-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

In these tough economic times, what's a store to do to make sure it's still in business a year from now? "

Get a tarot card reader," said Emese Boone, owner of Box Turtle in Little Rock, Ark.

And she's not kidding -- Boone hired a local tarot card reader to give free readings during a recent jewelry trunk show in her clothing, jewelry and housewares shop.

Retailers like Boone are hoping special events, classes, blood pressure screenings and even career counseling will inspire shoppers to keep on shopping during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Boone has also hosted a cocktail party and a book signing and started a rewards program that gives customers a 20 percent discount every time they spend $500 in her store.

"The place is like a party," says Tanya Fitzgerald, a customer who discovered the shop through its special events. "It's more fun and personal."

Do these perks translate into dollars? Not necessarily. And it costs money to pay for entertainment and refreshments. Still, shop owners think it's worth a try.

Tamara Lee, owner of Brooklyn Mercantile in New York, is teaming up with a local nurse practitioner who will conduct free breast cancer and blood pressure screenings, as well as free nutrition workshops at Lee's store.

In addition to her usual sewing and craft workshops, Lee plans to enlist a career coach who will offer guidance to customers. Her shop had already become a local gathering place for those interested in do-it-yourself activities, but even those have suffered.

"Because of the economic climate, people are worried about their work lives, they're cutting back on extraneous spending and looking inward," said Lee. "They want to do things to fix up their homes without spending money."

Still, independent businesses are managing to hold on during the downturn.

Holiday sales declined an average of 5 percent at independent stores last year, according to research by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Overall December retail sales were down 9.8 percent from the previous year, according to the Commerce Department.

The picture was bleaker for Sasha Wingate, who saw sales decline 40 percent over the holidays at her San Francisco store BellJar, which sells an eclectic mix of soap, candles, jewelry, clothing and updated vintage furniture.

"The economy has drastically affected my business," she said.

She's taken to throwing evening parties with specialty cocktails, live entertainment and an "eccentric Victorian photographer" to entice customers. She's also offering exhibits by local artists and free workshops in knitting, leather crafting and building a shadow box.

A neighborhood walk sponsored by local businesses also helped. "It helped bring people in. There was so much publicity and so many people came out," she said.

When 200 customers crowded into Longfellow Books in Portland, Maine, for a local author's book launch party, co-owner Chris Bowe was thrilled that it produced 100 sales; that more than made up for all the hot dogs he gave away.

Bowe believes that developing a personal connection with his customers is good for business. That's why the shop sends out personalized birthday cards, which include a 25 percent discount certificate, and offer Longfellow Dollars, a rewards program that gives 6 percent back on every five items bought.

Ellen Murphy, a retired lawyer who recently moved to Portland from New York, said that even in a tough economy she was willing to skip discounts at big chain stores in favor of local shops like Bowe's.

"I don't want to live in a Wal-Mart world and I want to preserve neighborhood identity," she said.

Bowe's worried about that, too, but more pressingly he wants to be sure he can give health insurance to his employees.

"There's a sense of community here, a sense that we're in this recession together," Bowe said.(Source: Associated Press, 03/26/09)

Down-Sizing vs. Right-Sizing

2009-04-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

Now more than ever I hear CEOs, sales managers and other key decision-makers talking about either Down-Sizing or Right-Sizing their business. More often than not, they use the terms interchangeably.

While that might be understandable, it will be a real serious mistake if you think you are doing one, and you're actually doing the other. With the economy affecting your business today unlike any time in my 32 years in the business world, it is essential that you know the difference between Right-Sizing and Down-Sizing.

Down-Sizing is when you are cutting back, letting go, getting rid of, and eliminating resources, tools, assets and people because your business has suffered a setback or change that cannot support the level of overhead you've structured in the recent past.Right-Sizing is a totally different concept.

Right-Sizing is what Jim Collins referred to in his book Good to Great as getting the right people in the right seat on the bus. In a recession, a time of downturn, a time of change, a time of pressure on sales and bottom-line profits, there couldn't be a better time to Right-Size your sales force.

Whether you're Down-Sizing or not, you should be focused on Right-Sizing. Many times in the midst of Down-Sizing, it is also the perfect time to Right-Size. Now more than ever is the opportunity to remove the slow, low producers and replace them with the most aggressive, most professional, best-trained and highly-compensated salespeople.
(Source: Sales consultant/strategist Ken Edmundson. www.northstarinsight.com)

How Easy Is It For Your Potential Customers To Reach You?

2009-04-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

Do you want your advertising to have even stronger results? Review the ways that you are asking your potential customers to reach you.

When you create your advertising message, take a strong look at how you are asking them to connect with you. It has to be easy to remember to have the kind of recall you will ultimately need to maximize your marketing return on investment.

The method with the lowest result is to ask them to come to your business. Everyone is time starved, and unless you are a restaurant, your potential customers do not want to come to you to learn about you.

If you are asking them to call you, make sure you are giving your potential customers a phone number they can easily remember. You may even want to consider purchasing an additional vanity phone number that spells something related to your business. By doing this, you make it easy for your potential customers to remember your phone number - especially if you are using broadcast media. Remember, you will need frequency in your advertising message to imprint the number into your potential customer's brains. Radio works best for this. Nearly 30 years ago Tommy TuTone broke their song "867-5309/Jenny," and to this day most of us can recall that number.

Finally, is your web address easy to remember? If it is not, purchase an additional URL for $10 a month and use this in your marketing. You can even have this easy to remember URL simply forward to your existing site. Once you make your web address easy to remember, you can begin monitoring the traffic...and you will be surprised with the increase in traffic and sales you will see.

Consider The "Mom Timeline"

2009-04-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Does your business target moms? Consider where they are in the "Mom Timeline" as you create your marketing message.
Jeff

New moms, single moms, soccer moms, working moms, stay-at-home moms, urban moms, hybrid moms. From the moment the home pregnancy test shows positive, women officially enter the world of motherhood, and the marketing world tries to categorize them.

It's with good reason anyone would try to get a handle on the estimated 82.5 million women in the U.S. with children. According to the independent industry organization The Marketing to Moms Coalition, Moms represent the most powerful consumer group in the U.S., controlling 85% of household spending and estimated to be worth $2.1 trillion. The more marketers can understand these buyers and influencers, the better they can build and nurture a long-lasting (read: profitable) relationship with them.

However, it's not so easy to put a label on this group. There are at least 100 ways to carve up the Mom market. You could do it by location (D.C. or Silicon Valley), by their age or by their lifestyle. But what all Moms have in common is kids. What better way to slice up a multi-faceted, wide-ranging demographic than to create a Mom Timeline tracking the course of motherhood through the ages of their children?

Most Web sites and research groups focus on the early stages of a Mom's experience. Babycentersolutions.com identifies the Moms in their various age groups ("Millennial Moms," "Boomer Moms," etc.) but focuses on the first eight years of their children's lives, noting that it's during this period that Moms make more purchasing decisions.

I'd argue that, like the old adage, "a woman's work is never done," so is the timeline of a Mom. Once a Mom, always a Mom - you don't stop being a Mom when your kids turn 18. Instead, your relationships morph until the grandchildren come and the Mom Timeline cycles around again in various degrees.

Like Mamasource, an online community of Moms that advise each other, I'd prefer to dissect the Mom Timeline into small time periods based on age ranges. While Mamasource begins its timeline with the pre-birth stages of trying to conceive and pregnancy, as well as a special nod to adoption, I propose starting here:

* Infant (0-12 months): That first year of life with a baby can be tough, whether it's the first (I started with twins) or fifth. These mothers are dealing with a whole new world and are just trying to get some sleep. They've had nine months of baby product research and now have little time to really put them to any test but trial and error.

* Toddler (1-2 years): Moms at this stage have some experience behind them and have usually bonded with several groups of similar-stage Moms. Many are still grappling with sleep issues, starting potty training, toys, and the possibilities of more siblings.

* Preschooler (3-4 years): Several studies indicate that this is when mothers begin to consider the education options for their children. By the time their child is four, Moms have pretty much chosen private versus public and are often dealing with little brother or sister(s).

* Child (5-6 years): Kindergarten looms large over the early part of this phase; this is also when life shifts to a September-to-June calendar year.

* Older child (6-10 years): By now, most Moms are in the groove of raising their children. These are the good years! It's pre-hormone, pre-scary teenage years. Moms in this phase are concerned with homework, nutrition, extracurricular activities and starting to see that maybe, just maybe, they can start regaining a life of their own.

* Tween (11-14 years): Thus begins the hormonal, scary years, including junior high, high school and the expenses that entails. I ask you, how much technology does a 14-year-old need?

* Teen (15-19 years): While we tend to categorize the baby years as the most physically challenging, the teen years are the most emotionally challenging. Teens are taking those first steps into adulthood, trying to push away from parents. College (and the stressful process of choosing and applying) looms large for families now, as well as the painful evolution of an emptying nest.
* Adult Child: Yes, a Mom's role is never done, it just changes. Today's Moms remain in close contact with their adult children, offering support in ways the previous generation didn't.

* Grandchildren: Here, the timeline recycles starting with infants all over again. Many grandmoms participate in the raising of their grandchildren directly and indirectly. Some might not babysit, but many provide input.

Of course, Moms can be at multiple stages simultaneously. What is important for marketers to understand with the Mom Timeline are the needs of Moms at each stage of their children's lives. The days are long and the years are short, but the Mom Timeline is evergreen - it just keeps spinning around.
(source: mediapost.com, Mary Lee Shalvoy, March 25, 2009)

Want To Reach Moms? Consider This...

2009-03-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

As the economic crisis continues, so does the hibernating. We are becoming more of a "hiber-nation" as families hunker down to weather the storm with more time spent at home and less out spending at malls and restaurants. (Movie sales are up but that's an annex of the hibernation cave that helps us to escape for a few hours).

With families spending more time together at home, they are slowing down, bonding differently and discovering joy in spending real time together. Moms are enjoying the experience of a stronger family unit. And, as head of domestic purchasing, Moms are finding strength and are taking pride in not buying.

As Americans, we have been weaned on consuming; it's part of our lifeblood. However, the gatekeeper badge of honor has shifted from "I got such a deal" to "I haven't bought anything new in weeks" or "I've switched from buying expensive shoes to a simple lipstick." American mothers are meeting the challenge and expressing the thought that, "this is hard but, ultimately, it's a good thing for my family -- we are pulling together, spending more time together. It's less about accumulating stuff. It feels more real."

There is a sea change afoot, and it is defined by a new set of consumer values. It's actually an old set of Puritanical values that is roaring back with renewed strength. You take stock of what you have, you take very good care of it and you make it last as long as possible. It's a sensibility that embraces the "It's not what you earn, it's what you don't spend" attitude. And when you do buy, you buy only what you know and trust, and you trust it deeply. The culture of responsibility that felt old-fashioned 18 months ago now feels stabile, secure and appealing today.

So what's a marketer to do? If you are in the business of selling things, how do you sell to Mom's new mindset?

New-fangled and novel will always capture a certain amount of attention, especially in categories such as electronics and beauty. But deep roots and time-tested can present key opportunities for great old American brands that frankly, felt 'fuddy-duddy' and past their prime in the 21st century. And, when they were in their prime, they marketed to the quintessential '50s housewife versus the modern, dimensional woman of today.

As Mom watches her family reconnect and recommit itself to spending real time together, great American brands have the opportunity to get real and tap their heritage. Marketers should not only mirror this value shift but truly embrace it. If done with ingenuity and authenticity, a brand's heritage story can become valid and compelling once again.

This new set of consumer values will be responsive to:
* Truth and transparency
* Virtue-based attributes
* Ethically minded culture
* Good foundations
* Good value -- not just a cheap or a good buy
* Local support -- community involvement

And finally, go back to the old recipes -- get back to your good old roots both in product and communications. Too much has been taken away from the winning formulas that made great American brands great in order to maximize profits. Products often don't taste or work as well as they originally did.

Stop making substitutions for the real, good ingredients and materials. Get rid of what's artificial. Moms want real, not a chemistry lab on their breakfast table. The litmus test is, if you can sell it to a New England farmer's wife, then you've got something.
(source: mediapost.com, Kyla Lange Hart, 3/18/09)

Financial Institutions Build Confidence With Advertising

2009-03-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

Troubled financial institutions need to advertise more to have a chance of building consumer confidence.

According to a recent study by Nielsen IAG, 55% of TV consumers who have seen, on average, more advertising from financial institutions over the last six months have "complete confidence" in the health of those companies. On the flip side, only 18% of those consumers have confidence when they have seen less advertising on average.

Nielsen says that when financial companies go "out of sight," they can possibly go "out of business."

Last year, financial institutions--financial services and insurance companies--started pulling back on their ad spending. They ended the year down 13.4% versus 2007, spending $8.4 billion. When most of the troubling economic news started in the fourth quarter, financial companies cut even bigger pieces of their media spending--down 23.3% to $2.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 versus the same period in 2007.

On average, older consumers 55 plus with assets of over $100,000 generally have more confidence in financial institutions than younger consumers.

Consumer confidence is derived from financial institutions having the wherewithal to advertise themselves, as well as strong overall marketing efforts. For example, consumers said they would have increased confidence from seeing advertising via TV, regular mail, email and/or Internet offers.

But the biggest factor for consumers comes from non-paid marketing efforts--reading positive stories in the press about those institutions.
(source: mediapost.com)

Local Search Tools For Small Businesses

2009-03-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

Search marketers have tools at their disposal to help raise the profile of small businesses and gain more insight into local markets.

Two of my favorite tools offer help with local directory listings; my other two favorites are Google programs that allow online marketers to overlay search data with location data and provide interesting insights into local search.

Universal Business Listing
This directory service saves you an enormous amount of time and effort by helping you distribute your business information to many local search platforms, directories, and portals across the Web.

Create an updatable profile on its Web site and it will periodically push the data out, not only to sites like Google Maps and Yahoo Local, but also to a myriad of other local and local/social Web sites and Internet yellow pages, such as Superpages, Insider Pages, YellowBot, Kudzu, Judy's Book, MerchantCircle, and the like. UBL will also deliver information about your business to 411 directories, navigation systems, like OnStar and TomTom, and Internet portals, such as AOL.

In addition, a listing with UBL quickly gets your data into the InfoUSA database, which is itself a trusted source of widely-shared business information. You get great coverage, while saving valuable time creating and updating profiles in all the local places you need to be.

While you can purchase very similar services at numerous places on the Web, Universal Business Listing charges only $30 per year, making it a real bargain for local brick-and-mortar enterprises.

GetListed
This tool is a great time saver for local business owners. Simply enter a business name and ZIP code on the home page and the program will search for listings in four influential local business directories: Best of the Web Local, Yahoo Local, MSN Live Local, and Google Maps.

If you aren't listed, click on the links provided to go directly to the page on each of the sites where you can add details about your business. If your listings can benefit by enhancing them with reviews, photos, videos, or citations, GetListed will also tell you that. Advanced features include a dashboard for the convenient monitoring of two or more brick-and-mortar businesses, instructions on how to add photos to your listings, and articles to help you with marketing local enterprises on the Internet.

GetListed is intuitively easy to use and gives you a great deal of actionable information with the click of a mouse. The developers, David Mihm and Patrick Sexton, plan to continue adding features to this awesome new tool, so keep an eye out for future enhancements.

Google Trends
This very handy Google tool shows you trends in search and allows you to visually compare search trends for multiple terms. You can't see any solid numbers, but you can view charts that clearly display the "winner" in search volume for the keyword terms you're researching.

You can choose the month or year for which you wish to see data. The trend lines are tagged with instances of significant news events pertaining to your search terms to help explain spikes in interest.

This example shows that the term "bikes" is searched for three times more often than "bicycles."

It also shows the top 10 locations for those searches, according to what regions you ask to see. For this example, I chose the United States, so I was shown the relative search volume for the 10 states and 10 cities with the most searches for "bikes."
I then clicked on Colorado and was shown the 10 towns in Colorado where "bikes" is searched for most often.

From this data, you can see that a sports store in Durango can benefit by bidding on both "bike" and "bicycle" in its paid search campaigns, while one in Steamboat should stick to "bike."
No matter what stage of marketing you're in, from doing initial research to fine tuning a mature campaign, Google Trends can help you see search in ways you may not have yet imagined. Spend some time discovering its capabilities and it may become a standard weapon in your online marketing arsenal.

Google Insights for Search
This is another interesting, though somewhat complex Google tool that IÃ¢ï¿½ï¿½m certain you can glean thought-provoking information. Spend some time checking it out. For instance, it allows you to see Google Trends-type information according to locations and time frames and to compare the search trends in those locations and times to each other.

For example, if you're a tennis instructor in the D.C. metro area wondering where to concentrate your AdWords spend for the upcoming season, you could use Insights for Search to help with your marketing decision by asking the tool to show you the search trends for "tennis lessons" in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., during the timeframe of your choosing.
click to enlarge
(source: ClickZ, Mary Bowling, 3/12/09)

Discounting Damages Brands

2009-03-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

The Dollars & Consumer Sense 2009 study, released today, finds that consumers often have a negative reaction when they see the price slashed for their favorite product or service.

In fact, 70 percent of respondents to the Yankelovich poll said such cuts probably mean the brand was overpriced in the first place. And, 62 percent said they assumed that the product was old and they were just trying to get rid of it.

"People are suspicious if you significantly discount your brand,” said J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich Monitor and executive vice chairman of The Futures Company. “If you make significant changes in your value proposition it can confuse them. You have to give them reasons to buy stuff as opposed to just lowering prices as a knee jerk reaction to the economy.”

Earlier this year Saks Fifth Avenue announced it was retreating from a discounting strategy after it lost nearly $100 million in Q4. CEO Stephen Sadove said the chain would add a mix of lower priced items instead. The assumption became "they are just overpriced all year long," said Smith.

Brands that do not discount achieve a positive halo among many consumers, per the study, which polled 1,0002 consumers in January. Sixty-four percent of those polled said they assume the product is either extremely popular or a good value if they maintain their price.

Earlier this month, Brand Keys announced similar findings among the 26,000 consumers it polled for its Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Consumer expectations regarding brand value went up 20 percent. In other words, many aren’t looking for lower-priced brands rather they are looking buy products that they consider a good value.

A potentially more damning result of lower pricing is deflationary expectations, per Yankelovich. This means consumers are postponing purchases in anticipation of prices falling further. Up to 60 percent of those polled believed companies that cut prices would continue to do so. “People are sitting around waiting for more discounts. That’s a really bad thing," says Smith. "The deflationary cycle is very difficult to remedy once it takes hold."
(source: Brandweek, 3/11/09, Kenneth Hein)

Who's Buying Eyeglasses?

2009-03-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

Not an overly enlightening post today, but one I found interesting. These are not overly large markets...and Cedar Rapids is #6????
Have a great day!
Jeff

Who's Buying Eyeglasses?
Top 10 DMAs in which adults who spent more than $150 on eyeglasses in the past 12 months:
1 Ft. Smith/ Fayetteville/ Springdale/ Rodgers, Ark.
2 Waco/ Temple/ Bryan, Ala.
3 Huntsville/ Decatur (Florence), Ala.
4 Minneapolis/ St. Paul
5 Shreveport, La.
6 Cedar Rapids/ Waterloo/ Iowa City & Dubuque, Iowa
7 Knoxville, Tenn.
8 Louisville, Ky.
9 Tri-Cities, Tenn./ Va.
10 Birmingham (Anniston and Tuscaloosa), Ala.
Source: MRI's Market-by-Market study, www.mediamark.com

The Best Dealers Keep Customers After Warranties End

2009-03-06T05:40:00.000-08:00

Even if you are not in the automotive industry, these are some good areas to take a look at for your business. For automotive service practices such as providing promt appointments, greeting the customer immediately on arrival, knowing the vehicle's service history and returning the auto clean (with my wife...you wash her car when you change the oil and you have a customer for life).

Not one of the above suggestions cost you a dime! Another point this article makes is that the experience the customer has with your Service Department greatly impacts whether the customer buys another car from the dealership!

Be creative in the ways you deliver your customer service, and make sure it is consistent throughout your entire organization. Have the mentality that every single person on your staff is in sales - in one way or another.
Jeff

It's fairly easy for auto dealerships to keep service-department customers while their vehicles remain under warranty.

The hard part is retaining them as customers after the warranty expires and they're now paying for service and maintenance work. That's when many customers take their business elsewhere, such as independent repair shops.

But a study finds even though satisfaction with dealer service tends to decline as vehicles age -- particularly in the fourth and fifth years of ownership -- dealers that provide the highest levels of satisfaction during the warranty period retain a greater share of future business afterwards.

Dealership networks with superior service retain more than 80 percent of customer maintenance and repair dollars, according to J.D. Power and Associates' 2009 Customer Service Index Study.

Conversely, retention rates are less than 60 percent for brands with lower-performing dealers.

There are two reasons service work has become particularly important for dealers and their parts-supplying auto makers.

One, during the current recession, customers are keeping their vehicles longer, increasing the likelihood of service visits.

Two, dealers facing an industry-wide vehicle sales slump are turning their attention to other areas of their business, particularly the back shop, for much-needed revenue.

"The significant decline in new-vehicle sales means that dealers are relying even more heavily on the service operations," says Jon Osborn, J.D. Power's research director. "In many cases, this income is keeping the dealerships open.

"Customers who say the dealer service they received was "unacceptable" report spending eight times as much at non-dealer service facilities, compared with customers who report receiving "truly exceptional" service from their dealer.

Consumers participating in the study report spending an average of $310 annually on oil changes, routine maintenance and repairs during the first five years of vehicle ownership.

In the latest study, the Lexus brand ranks highest in customer satisfaction with dealer service, improving from fourth place last year.

Lexus achieves an overall CSI score of 835 on a 1,000-point scale and performs particularly well in four of the five measures. In order of importance those are: service quality, service initiation, service advisor and service facility. The fifth measure is vehicle pickup.

Rounding out the top five nameplates are Jaguar (810), BMW (808), Cadillac (806) and Acura (805).

At the bottom of the list are Volkswagen (725), Kia (724), Nissan (723), Mazda (716) and Suzuki (702).

Newport Lexus in Newport Beach, CA, is an example of a dealership with a service emphasis.

The $75 million, 3-year-old facility is a showplace but Greg Whetter, vice president of the dealership group that owns it, talks with particular enthusiasm about the service department.

There is a 7-lane service drive for speedy intake. Cars go up a ramp and to a work area with 77 bays and 103 lifts. The bays are pre-stocked with parts for the 18 most common service orders.

"We can get you in and out in minutes," Whetter says.

"The highest-performing brands differentiate themselves particularly in the service-quality and service-facility measures," Osborn says.

The study indicates that what happens in the back shop doesn't stay in the back shop -- it can affect whether a customer buys another car of that brand and from that dealer.

"Since dealer service is the last touch-point in the vehicle ownership cycle that auto manufacturers have with customers, providing superior levels of service can leave owners with a lasting favorable impression of the brand," says Osborn.

Practices the highest-ranked brands consistently perform include: providing prompt appointments; greeting the customer immediately on arrival; knowing the vehicle's service history; returning vehicles in a clean condition; and offering alternative transportation if customers leave their cars for service.

These courtesies may seem intuitive, but many dealers do not consistently provide them, Osborn says.The study is based on responses from 106,059 owners and lessees of '04 to '08 vehicles.
(Source: Ward's Dealer Business, 03/02/09)

Radio: Wave of the Future

2009-03-04T05:42:00.000-08:00

You heard it here first: Radio is the wave of the future.

All the buzz in advertising is over Facebook, Twitter and social media. Yet Radio technology is burgeoning. The appointment audio of the podcast is catching on, and satellite Radio, HD Radio and streaming mobile Radio are all gaining interest and audience. So, too, is Internet Radio: according to research firm American Media Services, 38 percent of adults surveyed six months ago said they expected to listen to Radio on the Internet at some point in the future; more recently, the figure was 48 percent.

Listening to President Obama's inauguration speech again on YouTube recently got me thinking about stirring orations. Because I'm a Brit, naturally Winston Churchill's 1940 "Fight them on the Beaches" speech to the House of Commons came to mind. Even today, when I listen to it via a scratchy YouTube recording, I am struck by Radio's power as a storytelling medium. I can't help but wonder: In our visual age, have we lost the art of audio communication?

I've long been a believer in Radio.After nine years in this business (and 20-odd as an avid Radio listener), some of my favorite effective brand communication has come over the airwaves.

Radio still has a purpose, and a following. Sixty-four percent of the U.S. population tunes in once a day, and 94 percent of adults tune in every week. That's a cumulative audience of 283 million weekly listeners.

The good news in these tough economic times is that Radio is relatively cheap to create and produce. Moreover, its short and simple production times allow brands to be opportunistic and flexible in their media buys -- a noteworthy advantage over the more-than-four week production lead times of out-of-home, magazine and newsprint, and TV's eight-week minimum.

Most important, however, is that great Radio work can have a huge impact. Best-in-class examples: Bud Light's Real Men of Genius, or CDP's Hamlet cigars. A 2005 study by research firms Millward Brown and IRI found that Radio provided 49 percent better return-on-investment than TV. In recent years, numerous studies conducted by third parties prove that Radio is more personally relevant, more persuasive and just as emotionally engaging as TV. Some particularly thorough researchers have gone so far as to use facial electromyography to track emotional response!

Radio as a medium is tailor-made to the challenges of our multi-tasking, ADD age. Consumers might be working, driving or gaming, but they can still listen. Acceptance of Radio ads is higher than that of TV ads: 51 percent of the listeners queried by American Media Services claim they do not switch Radio channels when commercials come on. I recently worked on Dos Equis' "Most Interesting Man in the World" campaign. In qualitative groups, my colleagues and I were shocked at how many respondents recalled lines from the radio -- even more so than the TV.(Source: Caroline Krediet, Media Daily News, 02/18/09)

It Is Not What You Bill, But What You Collect That Counts

2009-03-03T06:37:00.000-08:00

This article is a good reminder that the reality of business is not what you bill that really matters, but what you collect. Make sure that you make wise decisions on who to extend credit to, and cut people off before they become too extended. When it doubt, trust your gut. Jeff

A record $14.3 billion in business accounts nationwide was placed in collection in 2008, a 23.2 percent increase from $11.6 billion in 2007, according to the Commercial Collection Agency Association.

That’s up 6.2 percent from the previous record of $13.5 billion for the 12-month period ending September 2008, clear evidence of the worsening economy.

The number of accounts in collection rose to almost 9.2 million in 2008, from almost 8.9 million in 2007, a 2.1 percent increase for the year.

While the number of accounts and amounts continue to climb, the sour economy and increase bankruptcy filings are making it very difficult to recoup the money, collection firms say.

“(Association) members are negotiating a greater number of payment plans for the liquidation of delinquent debt as business debtors are facing a cash flow crunch,” association executive director Emil Hartleb said in a news release. Members expect more accounts and more difficultly making collections through the second quarter.

“Eighty percent of the members report receipts are down — and we’re in that group,” said Larry Cassidy, president of Northern California Collection Service Inc. in Sacramento. New listings are up but collections are down about 30 percent, he said.

Asked what business owners can do to improve collections, Hartleb suggested:
• Be prepared to negotiate longer payment plans with delinquent and slow-paying customers
• Keep payments on a weekly or biweekly basis so you are in more frequent contact with the delinquent customer and on top of the situation
• Get the payment plan in writing. Be sure that any agreement confirms the amount owed and that there are no offsets against the account to avoid any controversy should litigation become necessary, and
• If the customer defaults and won’t take steps or cannot take steps to resume payments, don’t delay review of the account for placement with a collection agency.

“The important thing is early intervention,” Cassidy said “Some businesses wait four, five, six or seven months. Nowadays, it you’re doing that, you’re not going to get paid.”
(source: Sacramento Business Journal, 3/2/09)

Men Changing, Advertisers Reacting and ESPN Benefiting

2009-03-02T05:39:00.000-08:00

For years, advertisers that targeted women believing they played a "head of household" role and made the majority of purchasing decisions for the family. But ESPN's Ed Erhardt says that cause-and-effect relationship is changing.

Men are becoming more involved in making household spending choices--perhaps because of the economy--and that could increasingly open doors for ESPN with its male audience.

"Most of the research now shows it is a dual decision," says Erhardt, president of ESPN/ABC Sports customer sales and marketing. "A guy is very much involved in that, so I think there's a change in the male consumer--there's a change in the economy and we like our position based upon that going forward."

In ESPN's case, Erhardt says large packaged goods companies (Kraft and Johnson & Johnson, for example) along with travel advertisers and other traditional female-oriented marketers are shifting dollars in an attempt to reach men.

As a result, he says that's serving as a buffer as some marketers in the financial, retail and automotive categories trim spending in reaction to the economy. A top media buyer, GroupM's chief investment officer Rino Scanzoni, said last week to investors that ESPN is challenged--since 40% of its ad dollars come from those three sectors.

Erhardt says ESPN has "a positive and fruitful relationship" with GroupM, but referred to the 40% figure as "grossly overstated." The percentage of business from those categories is "significantly lower than that," he said, although he declined to provide any details.
Scanzoni did say those categories are broad, and within them, there are still areas of strength. Within the financial sector, for example, insurers such as Geico continue to be heavy spenders, and some banks that are now merging such as Wells Fargo and Wachovia are likely to launch branding campaigns.

Erhardt said the insurance category continues to grow at ESPN. Spending by quick-service restaurants (QSRs), which could be placed under the retail umbrella and have not been hurt as much by the economy, also remains solid.

Erhardt said that while spending by American automakers has been plunging--a problem for all media--ESPN is taking its share of dollars from the likes of Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai. In at least two cases, long-term deals signed before the recession are a help--Toyota with a "Monday Night Football" sponsorship, and Nissan's link with the Heisman Trophy and college football.

Still, even as ESPN may be finding bright spots within struggling categories and attracting some traditionally female-targeted dollars, its ad revenues have taken some lumps recently (in line with many other cable networks).

On a Feb. 3 call with investors, Tom Staggs, the CFO of parent Walt Disney, said sales at ESPN fell by high-single digit percentages in the October-December quarter, partly due to "softness in several categories, including consumer electronics and automotive." Staggs also said sales in the current January-March quarter are below the same period a year ago.

Erhardt declined to comment on whether that trend has continued over the past month, and how the performance in the current quarter will end up.

In addition to the economic climate, another headwind is that prime-time ratings in the 18-to-49 demo are flat this season by one measure, although performance varies by sport.

Coming back to the financial category, Erhardt said ESPN is not likely to suffer as much as some other broadcasters because it has very little golf coverage this year. Many financial advertisers, including investment firms, traditionally have used the sport as a venue to target upscale males. (ESPN/ABC will offer the first two rounds of the U.S. Open and the final two of the British Open.)

"We are not impacted by the financials the way that one might assume," Erhardt says.

ESPN does carry parts of all four tennis Grand Slams, which may attract an upscale audience, but Erhardt says those events are less susceptible to the financial category's difficulties.
Separately, Erhardt indicated that with advertisers demanding more accountability, ESPN offers high viewer engagement across multiple screens, providing "a differentiator in today's marketplace."
(source: mediapost.com)

Email Helps Strengthen Tie To Consumers

2009-02-25T05:27:00.000-08:00

Over time, consumers who receive a retailer's permission-based email become more likely to do business with--and develop a more favorable opinion of--that company, according to new research from direct marketing agency Epsilon.

And while the deck is clearly stacked in favor of company-friendly consumers, the research still proves that email only strengthens bonds between the brand and consumer, according to Kevin Mabley, Epsilon's EVP of strategic services. "These are already hand-raisers--yes, but it's still encouraging to see that email is improving consumer-brand relationships," he said.

A full 56% of recipients of permission-based email from retail companies said they were more likely to make purchases from the sending retailers. Meanwhile, 52% said they had a more favorable opinion of the retail companies that send them email because of the communications they receive.

In addition, 48% of respondents reported feeling more loyal toward the retailers and their products as a result of receiving permission-based emails.

A clear majority--87%--of respondents who receive permission-based email from retail companies said email is a great way to learn about new products, while 63% of those who receive permission-based email from retail companies said they want to receive personalized content based on their Web site activity and past purchases.

What actions did respondents take as a result of receiving permission-based email from a retailer? About 88% reported downloading or printing coupons, while 79% clicked a link in an email to learn more about a particular service, product, or promotion.

Keeping in mind the skewed consumer sample, a staggering 75% of respondents reporting purchasing a product online as a result of permission-based email, while 67% reported purchasing a product offline.

"Those are very high numbers even when you consider the test sample," Mabley noted. "To see consumers following up offline says a lot about the strength of email."
(source: mediapost.com)

If you keep doing the same things, you will get the same result

2009-02-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

I was meeting with a potential new client last week and was told that for the past 5 months the business has been generating less and less revenue and is down over 50% from last year.

When I asked "What are you doing differently or reevaluating as you look at your goals for the next 3-6 months?" I was greeted with a look and cocked head that was what you would expect from a dog that heard a new noise. "Why would change anything? I am just trying to hold on!" was the response.

I tried to explain that if they kept doing the exact same things, I would be able to guarantee that they would continue to get the same results...or worse. My response was not met with overwhelming support.

If you are not getting the results you want, take a hard look at

Your product or service levels. Is the service you are providing at the highest levels? The product you are creating - does it exceed your customers expectations...if not, fix it fast or go buy a "Going Out Of Business" sign.
Do you have the right marketing message? You could have the best product out there, but if you don't have the right message - nobody will care. In many cases, I have found that when you refine and/or readjust the message you will begin to see a turn around in your revenues. Find a trusted marketing professional and ask them for help in evaluating your message.
Is there enough frequency in your advertising?
Is there a demand for what you are doing. If not, adjust.
Finally, do you have the right people on your team?

Baby Boomers Represent Key Demographic for Restaurants

2009-02-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

Children may be the future of the world, but according to new data from market research firm The NPD Group, baby boomers are the future of the restaurant industry.

While nearly all other age groups have decreased their per-capita visits to restaurants in the last five years, boomers -- roughly defined as adults born between 1946 and 1964 -- have significantly increased their visits, according to Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD. With the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasting that the size of this group will grow at three times the rate of the rest of the population over the next decade, NPD officials say that boomers will continue to be a dining-out force that operators cannot afford to ignore.

"I don't think people are aware that this group is supporting the industry's traffic," said NPD analyst Bonnie Riggs. "They're going to be around for a while, so we need to pay attention to them.

"In the 12 months ended in October, the number of per-capita visits by adults aged 50 to 64 was 208, up from 204 a year earlier and 201 in 2003. Meanwhile, nearly all other age groups made fewer visits to restaurants in the 12 months ended in October, versus a year earlier. Meanwhile, visits from the industry's core users, adults aged 18 to 24, have declined steadily in the past five years, dropping to 233 from 254 in 2003. The only other group to increase per-capita visits over the past five years was adults aged 65 and older. This group increased per-capita visits to 159, up from 151 a year earlier and 148 in 2003.

When baby boomers dine out they visit a variety of restaurant categories, NPD found. While they patronize many of the same categories as the general population, boomers have an above-average usage of midscale places with varied menus, food and drug stores, and midscale family-style restaurants, according to the data.

When it comes to choosing a restaurant, older adults are more influenced by price than their younger counterparts. In the 12 months ended in October, 24 percent of restaurant visits made by adults 65 and older and 21 percent made by adults aged 50 to 64 were price-driven, compared to just 20 percent of visits made by those younger than 50.

While price is a concern, particularly during a recession, baby boomers don't visit a restaurant just because it's cheap.

In the 12 months ended in October, just 21 percent of baby boomers' restaurant visits were because of deals. By comparison, 22 percent of visits made by those younger than 50 were influenced by deals, and 26 percent made by those 65 and older were deal-driven.

Because boomers are physically more active and living longer than previous generations, they tend to look for more healthful food options when they visit restaurants, the data found. In the 12 months ended in October, 10 percent of visits made by those 50 to 64 were for a so-called healthy or light meal, compared to just 8 percent of visits made by those younger than 50. In addition, NPD found that as adults age their desire for more healthful fare increases. During the same 12-month period, 12 percent of visits made by those 65 and older were for a healthy or light meal.

While burgers, French fries, Mexican and breakfast sandwiches top the list of foods most frequently ordered by boomers, they tend to order them less frequently than the general population. For example, in the year ended in October, burgers made up 14 percent of items ordered by boomers, while burgers made up 14.5 percent of items ordered by the general population. More important to boomers than to their younger counterparts are foods such as nonfried vegetables, main dish salads, side dish salads and shellfish.

When quenching their thirst, boomers are much more inclined than the general population to drink coffee, diet carbonated soft drinks, iced tea and alcoholic beverages, NPD found."Clearly, foods and beverages with relatively high dependence on those over 55 years of age will be those enjoying strong growth going forward," Riggs said.

Though these foods and beverages are important to this group now, continuing physical changes will influence the demand for various products and services in the future, Riggs noted. As they age, boomers will seek out more low-fat, low-sodium, low-sugar and higher-fiber foods and beverages. However, Riggs said, that does not mean they will be willing to sacrifice the taste and flavor of food.

Other reasons baby boomers visited particular restaurants included "restaurant exploration" and "food variety and quality," NPD found. In addition, as diners age factors such as "personal loyalty," "treating myself" and "need it now" become far less important than they are to younger patrons.

Restaurant marketers have historically targeted younger consumers, who have tended to be the most frequent restaurant visitors. But as the economy has increased competition for any type of consumer and the heads of those dining in restaurants become grayer each day, many marketers have started to turn their attention to baby boomers.

Boomers are a prime target for Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based The Cheesecake Factory. To bring them in more frequently, the more than 145-unit chain has been rolling out value-added programs and new products. For example, in December, the chain offered customers a free $25 gift card with the purchase of a $25 holiday bear and introduced a new cheesecake flavor.

"[Baby boomers] are a very important and lucrative target for The Cheesecake Factory," said senior vice president and chief marketing officer Mark Mears. "[We're] finding it's a nice draw to get people to come back for incremental visits.

"To continue to attract this crowd, Mears said, The Cheesecake Factory "has a lot of things in the works," including a new special menu featuring eight items priced between $11 and $14.

In August, Los Angeles-based Kabuki Japanese Restaurants, a casual-dining chain that operates 13 locations in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, rolled out its Red Mask Club, a new frequent-diner program. Although designed to reward all of the chain's regular customers by letting them earn points for each visit and then redeem them for cash-value gift certificates, baby boomers are certainly a target market.

"A high number of our guests are in the baby boomer category," said marketing director Young Kim, noting that while all of the chain's restaurants have experienced negative sales versus a year ago, those locations that have the heaviest boomer traffic had less negative -- only single-digit -- declines. "Now we are giving them an incentive to come back.

"After just two months, nearly 15,000 customers were enrolled in the Red Mask Club, and many of those members were baby boomers, Kim said.

"I don't mind giving away $25 or a birthday meal," Kim said of one of the loyalty program's perks. "We are getting really good returns. It makes sense for them and for us.

"While fresh deals and new loyalty programs are working for some, to keep baby boomers coming back to Good News Cafe in Woodbury, Conn., owner Carole Peck is doing what she's done for the past 15 years: offering a lot of healthful vegetarian choices at a good value and remaining heavily involved in the local community.

"I've always had a lot of vegetarian choices...and a lot of baby boomers want to eat healthy," Peck said.

Although most customers come to Good News Cafe for its menu of "modern farm cuisine," which changes seasonally and typically features about 45 items, Peck said working with local farmers and being involved in various charity events also drives business."

A lot of people recognize that and come in and support us for that reason," she said.

No matter what the approach, Riggs said operators who focus on older adults are bound to benefit.

"As weak as the industry is today, it would be even weaker if not for the support obtained from baby boomers and senior citizens," Riggs said. "It pays for operators to pay attention to this group, not only currently but in the future."
(Source: Nation's Restaurant News, 02/02/09)

It Is All About Service

2009-02-10T09:53:00.001-08:00

With the current economy, now is the time to ramp up your customer service techniques.Here are 10 tips to keep in mind:

1. Understand how your clients' expectations rise and change over time.What may have been good enough before no longer applies. Ask them and understand how to better serve them to help them with their business and needs.

2. Differentiate yourself from the competition.Provide personalized and responsive service and go "beyond the call of duty." Treat them in a way that they will appreciate and remember.

3. Raise the bar for yourself.You've heard of "dazzling the client" -- now find ways to do it. Be more flexible, faster and more efficient.

4. Never be content.Find ways to stay ahead of the pack. I find every day there is so much to learn and new ways to implement. Make it your goal to learn and apply something new each day..

5.Manage expectations.Build a firm foundation of trust and deliver what you promise. Then if something comes up, you will find the client more understanding and forgiving. A great line I heard once was to "under-promise and over-deliver."

6. Take personal responsibility.You want your name to be golden to them and make sure you live up to that standard. Make it easy for them to do business with you and let them "sleep at night."

7. Bounce back with effective service recovery.Things happen that are often out of our control. When it does, go into major "repair mode" and do whatever it takes to restore great customer goodwill.

8. Appreciate.When your clients complain, they can be your best allies because they will tell you what you really need to know. Listen with your ears totally tuned up, then fix the problem. And thank them!

9. See the world from the customers' point of view.Take off any blinders and take the time to step into their shoes. Actually become a customer. See what the client sees and the way they might feel and then work to make it better then ever.

10. Service is the currency that keeps our economy moving.Customer service is always in fashion!! Strive to improve each and every day.Go through your client base today, and think of one thing you can do differently. Remember, your clients become your biggest advocates because they praise and brag about you, which builds your brand and leads to a stronger and bigger network.

Source: Marketing/networking consultant Andrea Nierenberg, head of The Nierenberg Group (www.selfmarketing.com, 2009)

Consumers To Businesses: Level With Us

2009-02-05T06:52:00.000-08:00

While this article is directed toward banks and financial institutions, the message is the same for all businesses - be honest with us. Don't try to paint a rosier picture that reality is, consumers want factual reassurance of your stability and commitment. In short, be honest and sincere with your marketing. Now is not the time for outlandish or insincere marketing programs. Further, make sure your sales staff understand that customers want facts, straight talk and sincerity.
Jeff

Financial services providers can diminish defections by simply communicating with consumers, according to a study from Boston Consulting Group, which also explored which specific kinds of communications consumers want from their financial services firms.

BCG found that 83% of U.S. consumers contacted by their primary bank about the economic crisis--via emails, phone calls, and snail mail--were satisfied with the banks, compared with only 53% of those who had not been contacted. For investment/brokerage firms, the respective figures were 71% versus 34%, and for insurance companies, 71% versus 45%.

Yet, just 21% of the survey respondents had been contacted by their banks, 26% by their investment/brokerage firms, and 15% by their insurance companies.

American consumers were least satisfied with credit card companies--only 58% of consumers contacted expressed satisfaction, compared with 35% of those who had not received any contact. Credit card companies had only contacted 17% of consumers--a figure surpassing only insurance companies, brokers and agents among all financial institutions.

Despite the lack of contact from financial institutions, only 29% of U.S. respondents told BCG they would like more communication from them--the lowest of the six countries involved in the study.

Kate Manfred, a Chicago-based principal in BCG's Financial Institutions practice, attributed this apparent discrepancy to consumers' reaction to "business-as-usual communication/marketing programs," which she said have been continuing at pre-crisis levels as opposed to financial firms offering targeted, relevant information that addresses the current economic situation.

The study pointed specifically to the advertising from financial firms in the November and December issues of Fortune, Smart Money and Time, where only 8 of 52 print ads addressed the financial downturn.

While saying they get enough communication, consumers still want factual reassurance, according to Manfred. The study found that 53% of respondents specifically want such reassurance of a provider's financial stability. Majorities also said they would like to receive "information on what to consider in these economic times" and FAQs containing current information about the crisis.

Exactly half of the respondents said the economic crisis has caused them to lose trust in their investment/brokerage firms, followed by investment advisors and banks (46% each), insurance brokers (38%), insurance companies (36%) and insurance agents (32%).

What has consumers' response been to the crisis? BCG found that the most common activity was less credit card spending, which 47% said they have already done or are considering. A quarter of respondents said they had looked--or were considering looking--for cheaper offers on insurance for home, car and other non-life policies. Other popular options were investing more in stable savings products rather than the stock market, and changing retirement plans.

High-income consumers are more likely to make financial moves due to the economic crisis, BCG found.

BCG's recommendations to financial services firms include:
• Quickly adapt marketing and sales strategies and develop customer outreach plans.
• Communicate more with updated and relevant information, FAQs and reassurance.
• Equip the sales force to answer questions and provide valuable guidance for the current market.
• Target most-concerned customer segments with the right messages and products ("according to behaviors and attitudes, not just income/assets--who is losing trust? Who is most anxious?")

"If you're not appropriately responsive, then you're at risk of losing market share," stated BCG partner Kilian Berz, who heads the firm's retail banking practice in the Americas. "The banks that are more nimble and able to provide timely messages through more interactive advertising channels are going to be advantaged." As an example, Berz pointed to JP Morgan Chase's "The Way Forward," a series of Web-based opinion papers about topics such as lending and mortgage practices.

The BCG study was conducted in November via an online survey of 1,000 18+ consumers in each of six countries.
(source: mediapost.com)

14 Big Businesses That Starteded in a Recession

2009-01-30T05:45:00.000-08:00

Thought you couldn't start a company during a recession? These enterprises made it big by doing just that.

It might seem counterintuitive to start a new business when the economy is in the dumps. But a recession can actually be the ideal time for launching a company. In fact, many well-known and successful organizations were born during an economic slump.

Why do these companies succeed? Usually it's because the founders recognized a market need and filled it. Identifying that need — whether it’s related to entertainment, travel or even streamlining how businesses operate — is the key to any thriving enterprise, regardless of the economic climate in which it begins. The following major corporations made it big during recessions by doing just that.

Hyatt Corp. opened its first hotel’s doors at the Los Angeles International Airport during the Eisenhower recession (1957 to 1958). The chain rose to worldwide fame in the following decades and now operates more than 365 hotels in 25 countries with premium services such as wifi hotspots.

Burger King Corp., with its flame-broiled burgers, is another recession startup. The company began in 1954 when James McLamore and David Edgerton opened a Burger King restaurant in Miami, Fla. During another recession in 1957, the company introduced its successful signature burger — the Whopper. Today, the company operates more than 11,100 locations in 65 countries.

IHOP Corp. is another star from the Eisenhower recession. The first restaurant in the now national chain opened its doors July1958 in Toluca Lake, Calif. Owners Al and Jerry Lapin were at the helm of the fast growing company, which began franchising just three years later. Today, there are more than 1,300 locations across the U.S.

The Jim Henson Company was created by famed puppeteer Jim Henson in 1958. Henson's business was responsible for some of the best-known puppet characters of all time including Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog and Elmo. Today, the privately held company is managed by Henson's children and continues to thrive by creating popular kids-friendly shows and movies.

LexisNexis is a research hub for the law, media and more. The company, originally a government contractor, began its LexisNexis computerized legal research service during the 1973 oil crisis that rocked the country into steep economic slump. The now Web-based service is used in 100 countries by individuals in law, government, education and business.

FedEx Corp. began operations on April 17, 1973 as Federal Express, a nod to the Federal Reserve, with whom founder Frederick W. Smith had hoped to get a contract. He didn't, but the company that delivered 186 packages to 25 cities on its first night of operations now manages more than 7.5 million shipments everyday worldwide.

Microsoft Corp. wasn't always the jaw-dropping enterprise it is today. In 1975, when it was created by Harvard University dropout Bill Gates, Microsoft was just a little company in Albuquerque, N.M. It dealt in rudimentary computing languages and began its climb to business stardom with the success of MS-DOS, which was sold and marketed to IBM Corp. and then-IBM clones. Today, the company is estimated to earn more than $60 billion in revenue per year and is branching into new areas including VoIP and CRM.

CNN might be a news giant now, but in recession-plagued 1980, it was a little-known station called The Cable Network News. It revolutionized how people received information when it premiered as the first 24-hour all-news channel. Today, 1.5 billion people across the globe watch CNN.

MTV Networks brought something new and different to the music scene when it debuted in the economic slump of 1981. Intended to be an all-music-video channel, MTV used VJs (video jockeys) to host programs and facilitate transitions between videos. Today, MTV is a global brand with dozens of shows, music-related and not.

Trader Joe's started as a chain of convenience stores called Pronto Markets in the slow financial times of 1958. In 1967, the company changed its name to Trader Joe's and began to carry unique grocery items under its own brand. The company now operates more than 280 stores in the U.S.

Wikipedia Foundation Inc. was born during the recent post-9/11 recession. Established in January 2001, the online encyclopedia had more than 100,000 entries by 2003. Today it is home to more than 2.5 million articles and continues to grow.

Sports Illustrated magazine was launched on August 16, 1954, at the tail-end of a recession. The magazine benefitted from fortunate timing as a boom in professional sports exploded soon after its founding. Sports Illustrated now sells about 3 million copies in the U.S. each week.

GE (General Electric Co.) was established in 1876 by famed American inventor Thomas Edison. In the middle of the Panic of 1873, a six-year recession, Edison created one of the best-known inventions of all time — the incandescent light bulb. In terms of market capitalization, GE is now the third largest company in the world. The enterprise has evolved from a manufacturing-strong business to an enterprise earning more than 50 percent of its revenue from its financial services division.

HP (Hewlett-Packard Development Company LP) was inauspiciously born in a Palo Alto garage at the end of the Great Depression. The electronic company, initially supported by a mere $538 investment, has grown into the first technology business to exceed $100 billion in revenue, earning $104 billion in 2007. It now operates in nearly every country in the world.

Recessions, however, aren’t advantageous only to start-ups. Pre-existing companies can also make incredible gains in years where the economy is down. Some of the most recent success stories are those of Google, PayPal and Salesforce.com Inc. From 2000 to 2001 each of these companies thrived, leading PayPal to go public in 2002, followed by Google and Salesforce.com in 2004.
(source: sarah caron, insidecrm.com)

NADA: Dealers Need To Polish Image

2009-01-28T05:31:00.000-08:00

Auto dealers need to tell state and national leaders and the public that dealers are an asset, not a liability. That was the central message from the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) incoming chairman John McEleney, an Iowa dealer who sells GM, Toyota and Hyundai vehicles.

Association members hunkered down in New Orleans last weekend trying to stay afloat in a flood of bad news: a frozen credit situation, plummeting consumer confidence this month, massive layoffs, and plunging auto sales that caused some 1,000 GM, Ford and Chrysler dealers to go under last year.

McEleney said dealers and NADA's PR and political efforts helped get GM and Chrysler government loans and Treasury backing for GMAC and Chrysler Financial to offer credit. "Their efforts paid off," he said, while counseling dealers to continue the push, by promoting themselves as pillars of their communities and of the state and national economy. And, he said, dealers have to participate in the debate on how to rebuild the economy and how to create national emission standards--particularly in the next two months, in which GM and Chrysler approach their deadlines for showing the efficacy of government bailouts.

Those deadlines--mid-February for GM and Chrysler to submit viability reports on their efforts to boost revenue and mid-March to demonstrate they have cut their debt by two-thirds in order to get an additional $4 billion--were the subtext of Chrysler Vice-Chairman Jim Press' speech to dealers at NADA. Press and Chrysler executives exhorted Chrysler's 3,300 dealers to order 78,000 new vehicles from Chrysler next month--2% less than last year, but far more than they need, given Chrysler's 53% drop in new-vehicle sales last month (and 31% for the year).

At a NADA meeting last week, Press conceded that Chrysler posted zero revenue in the month after Dec. 19, during which it shut factories. Chrysler launched a new round of incentives last week, called "Employee Pricing Plus Plus," offering both 0% deals, and up to $6,000 off MSRP. One former GM marketing executive, who requested not to be named, said that since Chrysler bases revenue on vehicles delivered to dealers (not sold by dealers), the company is essentially asking dealers to create the impression that Chrysler--with an eye to its date with the government--is in fact turning around.

"They are trying to show the government they have revenue; they are asking dealers to take more inventory even if they can't sell it," he says. "It will look like revenue spiked in January. And the car czar won't have any idea of what transpired. They'll say, 'oh, revenue is up--they're back on track!'"

McEleney said dealers, meanwhile, have to battle the opinion that they are a drag on the economy. "Some pundits characterized dealers as a drain on the books of automakers and suggested it was time to do away with the franchise system," he said. "In a $17 million sales year, it may be enough for us to share that we sponsor Little League teams or that we helped to fund the new wing at the local hospital; in a $12 million sales year, we've got to tell how we contribute to our community's bottom line."

He suggested that dealers inform the public about how the dealer franchise business affects local, state and national economies, including sales taxes, and that auto sales account for 20% of all retail spending in the U.S.

McEleney was ultimately sanguine about the future of the business, saying that the downturn won't last forever. "Our job is to protect and strengthen our dealerships so that as the cycle turns upward, we are in a position to thrive," he said.

NADA's chief economist, Paul Taylor, predicts that sales won't pick up until the third quarter, and that the year will finish with 12.7 million vehicles sold, versus last year's 13.2 million.
(source: mediapost.com)

Things We're Still Buying

2009-01-27T06:27:00.000-08:00

Consumer spending may be at all-time low, but there are plenty of things people can't seem to live without.

Hey, Big Spender, are you out there? You must be, since December 2008 sales amounted to $343.2 billion. What did you buy?

Nothing impulsive or lavish, it would seem. Consumer confidence is at its lowest point in history and, according to a Jan. 14 report released by the Commerce Department, retail sales were down 2.7 percent in December 2008 from November 2008 and 9.8 percent from December 2007.

From Wal-Mart to Saks Fifth Avenue, retailers are so desperate to rid themselves of inventory that they're marking down some merchandise by 90 percent.

However, $343.2 billion is still something, not zero, meaning consumers still deem many items worthy of the original price tag, says Martin Lindstrom, a retail marketing expert and author of Buyology: Truth and Lies about What We Buy.

While retailers suffer from shoppers changing their behaviors during recessions (mainly by abandoning brand loyalty), says Lindstrom, "There are certain things people won't give up."

Keeping up appearances
Personal care is one of them. That vast category includes everything from shaving cream to perfume to hairspray. From November 2007 to November 2008, U.S. sales of shampoo, acne treatments, skin care gift sets and grooming products increased by 18 percent, 14 percent, 11 percent and 15 percent, respectively, according to Karen Grant, senior beauty analyst at Port Washington, N.Y.-based market-research firm The NPD Group.

Consumers are even still spending beyond the necessities in the personal-care category, it seems. At Nelson Bach, a North Andover, Mass.-based natural remedy company, year-over-year sales of its Rescue Pastilles have doubled, according to company president Cynthia Batterman.

She believes that in a tough economy, when 7.2 percent unemployment means an increase in those lacking health insurance, many turn to alternative therapies. Nelson Bach's gummy lozenges, made with flower essence of white chestnut, are said to offer natural stress relief. And at $7 a tin, they're a relatively inexpensive way to feel just a little bit better."

When people put off going to the doctor, they're more likely to try self-treatment," says Batterman.

Seeking an escape
Whether used for keeping up appearances or curing minor ailments, personal care is -- ultimately -- about feeling good. Sometimes, that means buying products to escape the reality of the recession."

Even if we can't afford to escape to Paris, we can still afford to buy perfume with 'Paris' on the label," says Lindstrom.

But it's technology, not perfume, which many would say does the best job of providing a sense of escape. Arguably the most accessible form is the videogame, which has seen a 14 percent sales increase in 2008, according to San Diego, Calif.-based Electronic Entertainment Design and Research Group (EEDAR).

In the third quarter of 2008 alone, the two top-selling items -- "Madden NFL '09" and "Wii Fit" -- sold 5 million units combined, according to NPD. And since it was first released in 2005, Guitar Hero has sold 25 million copies, grossing $2 billion.

Smart phones, another way to use videogames and other forms of escapist entertainment -- like podcasts and television shows -- are also in demand. NPD says that from November 2007 to November 2008, the number of smart phones purchased increased from 13 million to 24 million, which resulted in a sales increase of 53 percent, from $2.7 billion to $4.1 billion over the same period.

And while you can't do much more than surf the Internet and write term papers on minute-memory netbooks, the reasonable price -- about $300 -- made mini laptops a winner. Sales in the third quarter of 2008 increased by 160 percent compared with the third quarter of 2007, according to Austin, Texas-based market research firm Display Search.

Keeping fit
Don't let consumers' continued thirst for technology have you thinking everyone will be anchored to the couch through the remainder of the recession, however long it lasts. Gyms, considered by some to be an affordable luxury, aren't completely in the red, as people seem to want to stay healthy in both good and bad times.

In fact, market researchers at St. Louis, Missouri-based firm Stifel Nicolaus say overall gym memberships will increase by 4 percent in 2009. And a nationwide survey conducted by Princeton, N.J.-based Opinion Research Corporation, and sponsored by gym chain Anytime Fitness, found that over 60 percent of the 1,090 (gym-going) participants planned on keeping their current membership plan, while another 23 percent planned on downgrading to a less expensive option.

Aside from bare necessities, the things consumers are still buying have one thing in common: They provide a break from reality. "We want to dream ourselves away," says Lindstrom.

Maybe everything will be fine by the time we wake up.?
(Source: Forbes.com, 01/21/09)

Back To Basics For Marketers

2009-01-23T05:45:00.000-08:00

The Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) and Anderson Analytics, in its second annual survey of Top Marketing Trends for 2009, report that marketing executives are going back to basics this year, putting renewed focus on satisfying and retaining customers and investing in research and insights, but are sick of hearing about Web 2.0.

Marketers expressed concern on how a recession would impact priorities moving forward, and half of the executives believe their marketing budgets will decrease in 2009, while 56% indicated their staffing plans will either stay the same or increase.

The Top Five Trends:

I Insight and innovation are viewed as keys to combat down economic and business cycles. 72% of respondents indicated that innovation efforts would stay the same or increase, while 39% say their use of market research will increase in the next year. This is significant given that most marketing experts agree it's imperative to innovate and mine insights during a recession, Anderson Analytics said.

II Customer satisfaction and customer retention remained the top two marketing concepts followed by marketing ROI, brand loyalty and segmentation, which represents a "Back to Core Principles" approach to marketing. Of the 62 identified marketing concepts, faith-based marketing, six sigma, game theory, anti-americanism and immigration were viewed as the least important.

Among the marketing concepts rated as important by more executives, Customer Retention, Marketing ROI, Lead Generation and Alternative Energy showed the largest increases from last year.

III The issue of global warming showed the largest decrease in importance (dropping 14 places in the rankings), while green marketing showed a statistically significant 5% drop.

IV Twice as many marketers are "sick" of hearing about Web 2.0 and related buzzwords such as "blogs" and "social networking" compared to last year's survey; however, marketers still admit they don't know enough about it. This was evident in the results of a social media study MENG released on November 6, 2008 showing 67% of executive marketers consider themselves beginners when it comes to using social media for marketing purposes.

V Despite well-publicized quality issues over the last year, China ranked the number one greatest area of opportunity for 53% of the marketers with international responsibility. India was a distant second with only 17% of respondents.

Offshoring, however, has significantly diminished in favor as more executives this year (58% vs. 49% in 2008) agreed that offshoring ‘is not as profitable as others think, and is fraught with risk'. Marketing executives also still feel Boomers represent the best opportunity for customer targeting, while the perceived importance of Generation X and Generation Y grew significantly compared to 2008.

The main sources of marketing inspiration remained practically the same this year. Good to Great remained the most widely read and most recommended book. However, several new books appeared on the reading list this year including: Groundswell, Hot Flat and Crowded, The Black Swan, Predictably Irrational, Mavericks at Work, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, The Art of the Start, Purple Cow, Go Put Your Strengths to Work, and Our Iceberg is Melting.

Similarly to the books, the number one business Guru last year, Seth Godin, remained the favorite marketing guru for 2009. However, Warren Buffet and Malcolm Gladwell increased significantly in popularity and now occupy second and third place, respectively. Jim Stengel also made the Marketing Guru list for the first time this year. Seth Godin was mentioned by most executives as the most important marketing/business Guru for two years in a row

(source: mediapost.com)

What Are Your Top 3 Fundamentals?

2009-01-21T05:17:00.000-08:00

If you and your team could focus on being sure that only three fundamental issues were applied to your sales days this year, what would they be?

This is a continual debate at JustSell.com.

Here are our thoughts...

1. Establish a relentless focus on talking with prospects and customers at every moment of each sales day. Sales requires contact. Make contact your first priority.

2. Be prepared with one to three absolutely solid statements that communicate the reasons someone should buy from you now – buy from you... now. These should be powerful statements that create a sense of urgency and make it clear why you and your offering are the solution to their situation at this very moment – scripted and rehearsed to a point where you can deliver these benefits with appropriate voice intonation, literally, in your sleep. (please remember: being the biggest, oldest, or "premier" provider is rarely a reason someone should buy from you... in fact, sometimes it could be the reason not to)

3. Be ready with an approachable, non-defensive method of responding to the top three objections you and your team hear each sales day. Again, these should be scripted and rehearsed to be delivered without hesitation.

That's it. This is where it begins. Pure sales discipline for 2009.
(source: justsell.com)

Restaurants Share Survival Strategies for 2009

2009-01-19T05:32:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, restaurant operators large and small provided their outlooks for the year ahead -- and most of them were not pretty.

At the seventh annual Cowen & Co. consumer investment conference in New York, which took place Monday and Tuesday, about 20 restaurant firms presented their strategies for 2009, most of which included cutting costs, slashing development plans, retooling menus and tweaking marketing messages.

High-end operator Stephen Hanson, founder and president of B.R. Guest Restaurants, a multiunit operator with concepts in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas, said consumer traffic just about died at the end of the 2008, and he worried that it may not return for some time.

"For 2008, we're going to be like, 'That was a good year,'" he said. "I think the consumer will just shut down, and even when they do go out, they will be thinking differently about how they spend their money É 2009 will be a very, very tough year."

Hanson, whose company boasts brands like Ruby Foo's, Fiamma and Dos Caminos, said chain operators should focus less on the cost side of running the business during these tough times, and more on the customer.

"In general, chains need CRM [customer relationship management]," he said. "Today you need volume; you need to hug the customer."

A laser-like focus on generating customer traffic -- through discounting, improved marketing or retooled menu items -- was an obvious theme throughout the conference.

Domino's Pizza chief executive David Brandon said the pizza delivery chain had neglected consumers who were looking for more value, as individual operators let menu prices increase too much to fight off inflation. The lack of traffic that resulted could have led to the nine Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by Domino's franchisees in 2008. Domino's new oven-baked sandwiches, priced at $4.99 each, are an answer to customers seeking value, Brandon said.

Sonic Corp. executives said the drive-in chain's new permanent value menu, with items priced at $1, will attract more customers. The company also said it would ramp up its media spending by about 5 percent from a year ago to about $200 million.

Buffalo Wild Wings is promoting its Big Jack Daddy Burger, a burger topped with pulled pork, fried onion rings, cheddar-jack cheese and honey barbeque sauce, while Papa John's Pizza is looking to introduce "non-pizza items," which it would not disclose.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., the operator of the burrito chain that has struggled of late, said it is completely revamping its marketing efforts. A new chief marketing officer and a new advertising agency will bring a more sophisticated advertising approach to the fast-casual chain, said founder and chief executive Steve Ells. The chain just finished in December a systemwide menu price hike of as high as 6 percent in some locations.

Almost all companies said they would slow development in 2009. Bob Evans Farms Inc., for example, said it would open just one location of its namesake family-dining brand this year, and Morton's Restaurants Inc. said it would open only two or three restaurants in 2009. Not only are financing and site selection for new developments not favorable, but returns for new units just won't hit targets with the consumer staying at home, many companies said.

To help cut costs in the face of slowed sales, most restaurant operators said they are looking at labor scheduling that highlights sales per shift or even per hour so that efficiencies are gained. At BJ's Restaurants Inc., for example, executives said new technology will help the casual-dining chain monitor shift progress in real time so that labor decisions can be made immediately.

At Ruby Tuesday Inc., about $60 million in cost saving during the past 12 months has come from labor cutbacks, including field management, corporate staff and executive positions, the company said.

"It's the toughest I've seen out there," said chairman and chief executive Sandy Beall. "It's a good cleansing process, though, and it will benefit us in the long term."
(Source: Nation's Restaurant News, 1/13/09)

Does Your Message Pass The "So What!" Test?

2009-01-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

As you are writing your marketing message, it is critical to make sure your message passes the "So What!" test. If you ask it enough, you will get down to the real reason your potential customer should do business with you.

Many marketing messages miss the mark on what is really important to their customer. Digging deeper into some of the stated features will help you really tap into the emotions and need of person hearing your message.

A few things to say "So What!" to:

Locally owned & operated
In business since ____
We are / have the largest
We are #1 in ______
Lowest prices, guaranteed
Just off the freeway

You get the picture. Digging deeper into the the "So What!" statements will help you get to the real story of what makes your business special. You may need to ask "So What!" a couple of times, but when you get down to the real story of your business you will truly see what sets you apart. At that point, you will begin to see stronger results from your marketing efforts.

Moms Crack The Whip On Household Spending

2009-01-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

While consumers have been drastically reining in spending for months now, a new study shows that women are being downright militant when it comes to policing the family budget.

"We found much sharper differences by gender than we expected," says Steven Skinner, VP of consumer products for Miller Zell, an Atlanta-based retail consulting company, which conducted a recent survey. Among the changes are a much higher level of pre-planning and research, with 45% of women saying they are doing more online research than they have in the past, as well as enforcing greater levels of accountability from all family members. Women say they are now making more joint shopping decisions, and are two times more likely to do so in such "male" categories as furniture, home improvement and electronics.

"Women aren't just being more selective," he says, "they're being more disciplined. The idea of going to a store with $100 gift card, and spending more to get something bigger is gone--she's in the store, spends that $100, and leaves."

Among the most common changes: Eating in more often, with 68% saying they spend less at restaurants; changing channels, with 50% moving from premium grocery stores to discounters; and trading down, with 87% switching brands at the grocery store and a third buying private-label clothing.

One surprising finding from the study, fielded among 800 shoppers just before Christmas, is that the mood was bleakest among the most affluent. "It seems counterintuitive, but this group is so worried about job loss and their income that it's having a profound effect," he says, putting all luxury categories at risk. Right now, furniture and jewelry are the two most vulnerable categories.

To survive, retailers need to step up the value message they send to women shoppers, both in stores and in mass marketing efforts--especially those aimed at women and higher-end shoppers. And they should take a much more proactive role in education, making it easier for shoppers to learn about their products, and investing in training to make sales staff more knowledgeable, he says.

The good news? In every single age, gender and demographic category, respondents agreed that things will be much better in six months. "That tells us that people are more confident and optimistic about their future earnings than we've thought," Skinner says. "That's a very positive sign, and the silver lining in all of this."

(source: sarah mahoney, mediapost.com, 1/13/09)

After Sales, Will Shoppers Pay Full Price Again?

2009-01-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

An interesting story from AP last week. Sales can be a powerful tool for an immediate impact on cash flow, however there is a price to pay. Be sure that introducing a sale into your business model is something you really want long term.
Jeff

Shoppers are getting used to those 75 percent off sale signs, and that's bad news for merchants who worry they will also have to quickly slash prices on spring goods to attract customers.

Anxieties about how rampant discounts have affected shoppers' psyches and stores' profits are running high ahead of expected dismal December sales figures. The holiday season is anticipated to be the worst in decades.

Already, retailers including Bebe Stores Inc. and J.Crew Group Inc. are cutting prices on selected spring styles to lure sale-savvy shoppers.

"It is a vicious cycle that no one wants to continue," said Gilbert Harrison, chairman of Financo Inc., an investment banking firm specializing in retailing. The discounts will be a key topic at Financo's annual dinner on Monday for retail chief executives.

In addition, retailers expect competition from a rise in liquidation sales -- the fallout from the horrible holiday period.

Merchants struggling to clear out mounds of deeply discounted coats and sweaters are wondering how they are going to get nervous shoppers to splurge on new spring products.

The deep price cuts are making shoppers question the true value of items. If they can get $200 jeans at 60 percent off, will they be willing to pay the original price next fall?

"Our sense of what is fair and what is a good deal has changed," said Michal Ann Strahilevitz, professor of marketing at the Golden Gate University's Ageno School of Business. She said that a sale has to be at least 70 percent off to be considered a bargain now. Marcia Layton Turner, a mother of two from Rochester, N.Y., recently walked away from an outfit that she spotted at a local Kohl's store that was 50 percent off. "Forty to 50 percent used to excite me," the 43-year-old writer said. "Now, I want at least 70 percent." Turner says she has taken advantage of 75 percent discounts on children's clothes in recent weeks and is willing to wait to get the same type of deals in the coming months. Consumers across the spectrum have been holding back. Overall sales of apparel fell 17.3 percent from Nov. 30 through Jan. 3, while footwear sales dropped 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago, according to figures released Wednesday by SpendingPulse, a data service provided by MasterCard Advisors that estimates U.S. retail sales across all payment forms including cash and checks. Sales of electronics and appliances dropped 21.4 percent, while luxury goods suffered a 27.6 percent drop. Online sales rose 4.6 percent. Fourth-quarter profits are likely to decline more than 19 percent, said Ken Perkins, president of research company RetailMetrics LLC. Excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the few bright spots, he said the drop is expected to reach almost 28 percent. Perkins predicts that profits will keep falling into the first quarter, projecting an 11 percent drop; excluding Wal-Mart, that figure is likely to fall more than 17 percent. The financial meltdown in September that led to an abrupt halt in spending came too late for merchants to dramatically adjust spring inventories. Many stores order goods four to seven months in advance. And while spring inventories are estimated to be down as much as 30 percent from year-ago levels, many analysts say that inventories should be down even more. Barclays Capital analyst Jeff Black believes it will take at least until the back-to-school season to get inventories in line with consumer demand, and even then stores will still face the challenge of weaning shoppers away from deals. For those shoppers who could still load up on deeply discounted merchandise, the last few weeks have been paradise. Even before the Thanksgiving weekend, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, Saks Fifth Avenue marked down shoes by 70 percent.

But earlier deals look measly compared with some current offers as merchants try to get rid of their holiday products by the end of the month. The upscale DKNY store on New York's Madison Avenue is plastered with a sign proclaiming "Up to 90 percent off."

As retailers work to clear out old merchandise, analysts say many are trying to hold back on discounting new winter and spring items. Dan de Grandpre, editor-in-chief of dealnews.com, said he is seeing more bundling deals -- a flat-panel TV that comes with a free Blu-ray system, for example.

But many doubt that such strategies will work and predict early discounts on spring goods. The signs are already there. Bebe has cut certain spring sweaters by 25 percent, while J.Crew has marked some spring items anywhere from 25 to 40 percent off, according to Amy Wilcox Noblin, an analyst at PaliCapital Inc.

It will be years before shoppers are going to be enticed by discounts of less than 50 percent, said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group.

Traditional stores have also had to dump more excess goods at off-price retailers like TJ Maxx, which reduce prices more, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at market research firm NPD Group Inc.

But a bigger problem is liquidation sales at stores that are either closing specific locations or shutting down the entire business.

Going-out-of-business sales at KB Toys and Linens 'N Things put pressure on other retailers even before Christmas, and analysts expect competition to get fiercer amid a likely spike in bankruptcy filings.

James Schaye, president and CEO of Hudson Capital Partners LLC., which has overseen liquidations of Mervyns LLC, Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc. and Steve & Barry's, estimated that his company liquidated about $3 billion in merchandise in the October through December period, compared with about $400 million a year ago.
(Source: Associated Press, 1/7/09)

Most Manufacturing Brands are Missing the Mark Online

2009-01-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

Here are Three that Aren't -- and What They're Doing Right

Competition among manufacturing brands is fierce. Televisions, kitchen appliances, flooring, electronics, automotive -- each category is a crowded market. And in a climate where it's unclear whether there's enough to go around, most manufacturers are missing out on a prime opportunity to get ahead in the game: the digital channel.

Digital marketing is the most powerful connector in the business-to-consumer toolkit. The sentiment is there. The conditions are right. In many cases, the money is being allocated. And yet, the branded manufacturing industry continues to lag behind retail and consumer packaged goods in connecting with the all-important web-empowered consumer.

In 2007 Resource Interactive published its findings in a year-long study of branded manufacturers online. Focused on those brands marketing high-ticket items to consumers (greater than $100), more than half of the sites audited made no attempt to establish their brand online. With 81% of web-goers using the internet to research a product before purchase, according to Pew Internet & American Life Project, and 71% of online shoppers reading reviews, according to Forrester, it's more critical than ever a brand use the web to empower purchase decisions in its favor.

There are a few leading examples in the category.

Weber Grills (http://www.weber.com) continues to be one of the standouts. With a robust online community created exclusively for Weber owners, a recipe section and online operating manuals for each model, the site offers support in the act of grilling itself -- inspiring grill masters and aspiring grillers alike.

Electrolux Appliances (http://www.electroluxappliances.com) is staging a comeback. It has seamlessly integrated its online experience to television and print campaigns starring Kelly Ripa. The site uses rich media to showcase its products within landing pages, provides demos and guided navigation, and incorporates some degree of "help me choose" information within the product browsing experience.

Shaw Floors (http://www.shawfloors.com) makes the decision of selecting flooring simple by offering an upload-your-own visualization tool, allowing customers to try on a floor in their own room before saving it to their profiles and taking it to a dealer. Finding flooring is easy through clear navigation, consistency from offline campaigns to online and design and care recommendations. The rich site experience makes choosing flooring an inspired act, rather than overwhelming and utilitarian. Each of these are shining examples that manufacturing brands can be sexy, inspiring and informative -- both online and off.

The web is both a direct response vehicle and a brand builder. It is a medium that can create value with a smaller budget and establish a connection with the consumer, regardless of brand category. In this web-made world, customers expect 24-7, open access to brands and information. They no longer differentiate between channels and often head to the web first to research a product pre-purchase. Manufacturers can no longer leave them standing in an empty store with no one there to help them. Otherwise, those shoppers will quickly turn to the brand that can.
(Source: Advertising Age, 1/5/09)

5 Tips for Making The Most of Your Business Plan

2009-01-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

5 Tips for Making the Most of Your Business Plan

1. Take the long view and do long-term planning. Map out where you want to be five years from now and how you plan to get there.

2. Write the plan yourself. You will learn more about your business by doing so.

3. Think of your plan as a living document. Review it regularly to make sure you are on track or to adjust it to market changes.

4. Share the plan with others who can help you get where you want to go—such as lenders, key employees and advisors.

5. Understand that you might pay a price in the short run to obtain long-term business growth and health.

(source: SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business." )

Automotive Media Rethink

2009-01-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

Possible Automotive Media Rethink

According to a recent analysis of BIGresearch's SIMM database by Prosper Technologies, wide gaps exist between how ad dollars have been spent versus what consumers say works best when it comes to buying a car. The Prosper analysis and media allocation model utilizes the SIMM Survey of 17,231 consumers to determine "what" and "which" media forms are most influential to consumers for buying a car, the consumption of the media, and pricing of various measured media.

Changes demanded by Congress and proposed by the automakers should include a reallocation of advertising dollars, says the BIGresearch summary. The study analysis apparently considers a disproportionate allocation of spending on TV versus other media out of balance with consumer actions.

And, combined with consumer analytics from the SIMM Survey, the report concludes that the amount of radio consumed, its influence to purchase, combined with lower costs makes it a stronger media option for automakers, which, according to consumers, is under-utilized.

Source: Ad Age Domestic Ad Spending by Category (2007)/Measured media from TNS Media Intelligence's Strategy, Prosper Media Allocation Model

Why Local Sports May Pay Off for Marketers During Difficult Times

2009-01-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

Investing in Community Events Can Win Consumers.

Marketers have it wrong, according to Richard Luker: In a time when consumers are hunkering down in a bad economy, they yearn for the community of local events rather than the big national ones advertisers gravitate toward. And at a time when people are making and maintaining friends virtually on the internet (and marketers put more spending there), people actually need more social networking the old-fashioned way -- face to face.

As chief strategy officer of TBA Global, an event-marketing agency, Mr. Luker has a vested interest in more money for community events. But that's not the only reason he's proposing that U.S. marketers divert $30 billion of the $300 billion they spend annually on media and marketing into local events such as Minor League Baseball, small-college and high-school sporting venues and local parks. The case for that shift, to be spelled out in his book, "Simple Community," next year is that social, economic and technological factors have been making community events increasingly important -- with smaller arguably meaning better.

Why support local teams when marketers are stretching budgets and may need to allocate what spending they have to big-league sports that command the most eyeballs? "Major League Baseball, while I like it, is not about me," Mr. Luker said. "Minor League Baseball is about me and my neighbors. I can feel like I am with my community. Reality around us is saying we want and need more of that."

Recent backlash
Mr. Luker, who has been tracking people's recreational preferences broadly for more than two decades (in 1994, he launched the ESPN Sports Poll), said one thing that's emerged from recent polls that he's never seen in the past quarter century is a backlash against conspicuous consumption and waste. "There's a general perception in the American population that corporations are less than responsible in the way they spend their money, and it is clearly unacceptable."

So Citibank owning naming rights for the new Mets stadium after getting government bailout money may not go over so well, he said, but support for community events seen as a necessary part of daily life could go over better. "I believe there is a complete misunderstanding of how to play this," Mr. Luker said. "What companies are doing is stopping any kind of investment that has to do with the gathering of people. ... That's a big mistake, because American brands I believe are going to be held accountable for the fact that they withdrew the kinds of things they provided as comfort during good times at the times people needed it the most."

Consider that while attendance for Major League Baseball was down 1.1% to 78.6 million last year, attendance was up 1.1% to 43.3 million for Minor League Baseball. Attendance rebounded to a record not seen since 1949 in 2004 and has continued setting records ever since -- despite there being only half as many Minor League teams today as in 1949.

And while the Arena Football League called off its 2009 season due to financial problems, its minor-league affiliate with 25 teams, Arena Football League 2, continues. Mr. Luker, a consultant to the latter, advised the AFL to get even more local by going with 100 teams. He's also advised the launch of an online portal by which Division II NCAA colleges can attract sponsors and events at their facilities -- DIIcommunity.com -- which he said has surged past initial estimates to attract 300,000 visitors monthly. Now he's advising the National Federation of High Schools in a similar effort to build sponsorship support for high-school sports and theater.

Crises can help
Crises may actually help, not hurt, Minor League Baseball and other largely inexpensive and highly local events, said Mr. Luker, who started tracking attitudes about recreation immediately following 9/11 and continuing through such events as the start of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina and most recently the financial collapse.

Following 9/11, strong majorities ranging from 65% to 75% of people said sporting events and sponsorships should continue as planned. "Americans care about and need times of social gathering," he said. "And it's not just sports and entertainment, but also the holiday parties at work."

Even during the Great Depression, he said, spending on recreation didn't decline, remaining at around 2% to 3% of gross domestic product. That has shot up to 5% in the past 10 years, perhaps fueled by greater need, but also financed by a lot of unsecured debt.

Extra opportunities
In fact, he sees more opportunity for marketers to step up funding of events at local parks and recreation centers, which will see budgets slashed by cash-strapped local governments in the next year. His surveys have found 31% of adults ages 18 and up typically have visited a park within the past week, and 70% have visited one within six months, creating a potentially huge audience for marketers. "Invest in the things people need and want right now," Mr. Luker said. "They'll tell the story. And when they do, they'll value you."

Moreover, he said, the virtual gathering of people in social networks is only intensifying the need for real community gathering, not supplanting it. "Kids now are able to see the whole world," he said. "It's worldwide, but it's an inch deep. And there's this pane of glass that separates them from experiencing that entire world."
(Source: Ad Age, 12/29/08)

2008-12-22T06:31:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank all of my clients and co-workers for the opportunity to work with them this past year. It has been an interesting year and we all know that next year will prove to be just as interesting. This will be my last post in 2008, as I will be taking some time off to enjoy the holidays with my family. I will be back on January 5th.

Like you, as I am enjoying time away from the business, I will mentally reflect on where everything stands and what I need to do more of, less of and differently next year. As you look at your business, I would like to encourage you to take the following 5 suggestions to heart:

Don't Try To Be All Things To All People: When business slows, there is sometimes the tendency to try to add more offerings and come up with different revenue streams to attract more customers. Really think about how much you want to expand your offerings. It is often better to focus on what you are doing and do that at the strongest possible level with a level of customer service that exceeds your clients expectations. The shotgun approach doesn't really work that well with anything.
Treat Your Key Players Like Gold: In my opinion, the strongest element in successful businesses is having the right people doing the right jobs. Right now, when you have employees that are committed to the cause, capable of strongly contributing to the effort and have a positive but realistic attitude - you need to let them know how much they mean to the organization. Don't just tell them once, but often and then show them with your actions. Give these key players bonuses, extra time off or set them up so that they can personally weather this slow down in business. If they can't make it, you can't make it.
Trim The Fluff: Look for every way to trim the fat on all non-essential expenses.
Resist The Urge To Trim Advertising: Recessions clearly reward the aggressive advertiser and penalize the timid one. Yes, it is true that I represent two amazing radio stations, but I strongly encourage you to take the following actions:

Google "Advertising In A Recession"
Demand creativity in your advertising
Only work with advertising consultants who understand business. It doesn't matter how cheap each commercial costs, if they can't help you in your business and come up with creative messages to move your potential customers to actions - then they are worthless to you.
Understand and measure your advertising ROI. You may have to look at your ROI in different ways. You may see an increase in profits, you may be in a mobile text marketing program where you can track the number of participants or you may need to look at how well your particular industry is doing and measure yourself against that.

5. Take a little time away from your business to work on your business.

Happy Holidays!

Jeff

Hershey's Credits Radio For Successful Sales

2008-12-19T06:47:00.000-08:00

It's not often a big, national advertiser -- especially a packaged goods company -- specifically credits Radio for selling more of its products. But that's what Hershey's president David West did when he recently detailed his company's earnings to investors.

"We've been tactical with some advertising, much more Radio than TV, with Kit Kat and with Twizzlers and we've been feeling pretty good about the brand responses there." The candy giant says Kit Kat sales jumped 7% in the third quarter, while sales of Twizzlers were up 9%.

This summer Hershey's conducted a "Cash 4 Gas" promotion at convenience stores, giving away gas and PayDay candy bars. As well as airing traditional spots, it worked with Radio stations in 36 major markets on the promotion and contests. Hershey's spent $103 million on advertising and promotions last year, according to TNS Media, but it's funneling more cash to marketing.

West says, "For the year we expect advertising to be up about 25%." He plans to grow the marketing budget another 20% next year, telling a Deutsche Bank analyst nervous about all that spending, "Once we get to the latter part of 2009 we'll take a look at how the brands are responding."
(source: Inside Radio, 11/25/08)

10 Things to Remember During These Trying Times

2008-12-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

10 Things to Remember During These Trying Times

Times Are Bad? So What Are You Going to Do About It

1. Times are bad. So what? The fact is every economic downturn throws our industry on its head. If you have been in this business for a decade, you've been through bad times a few times already. It's happened before and it'll happen again. How well you do during tough times depends on how you approach overcoming them.

2. From every bad situation an opportunity appears. Many people lose their job ultimately say, "It was the best thing that ever happened to me." Why is that? Simple. Losing one's job forces a reevaluation of one's place. It affords a person the time to try something different or find something he's better suited to do. The same can be said for businesses. In the end, a business becomes better, more marketable and more competitive.

3. Don't forget to have fun. I've been through enough tough times to remember that you can't get through them unless you keep some perspective. The truth is, if you're sitting around worrying about what bad thing might happen next, you're wasting energy and time. Get busy doing what you love to do.

4. Be an optimist. You know those people who walk around with a little black cloud hanging over them? It seems that bad luck always befalls them. I find that these people bring bad luck upon themselves. If you worry that the worst is going to happen to you, it usually does. I believe the opposite is equally true. I'm not a Pollyanna, but I do believe that winning only comes when you believe you're a winner.

5. If you're going through it, so are your clients. Bad times give an agency a golden opportunity to be an even greater asset to its clients. You should know what your client's challenges are during the current economic conditions and offer solutions to minimize the negative effects of those challenges. How would you feel as a client if your agency did that without being asked?

6. Don't procrastinate. I've seen too many companies try to weather the storm without making any adjustments. I can't remember any who survived. Assess your business early and often and make adjustments for today, today.

7. Get better at what you do. An agency's capabilities must continually evolve. Just because times are bad doesn't mean you should put capability growth on the shelf. Invest in your company's future. During a struggling economy, these investments can be found at bargain prices.

8. Challenge your employees. Just as your agency should make an extra effort to help clients during a challenging time, your employees can do the same for you. Don't be surprised when they take on the challenge as if they owned the agency. In a very important way, they do.

9. Relax. If you've ever played a sport, you know that your best execution happens when you're relaxed. You don't worry about making the shot when you're taking the shot. You just take the shot. If you don't play loose, you can't do your best. Tensing up usually spells defeat. Get in the game and don't look at the scoreboard.

10. Look over the horizon. What will our industry be like when we come out of this recession? Will it be stronger or weaker? Will client expectations have changed? Will your agency's abilities match what clients need? Discover the answers to these questions now and you'll know where your agency needs to be when good times return. If history is any indication, they will be here before you know it.
(source: Posted by Bart Cleveland on 12.17.08 @ 10:47 AM)

Teacher Sells Advertising On Tests

2008-12-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

I love this creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. How can you apply this kind of thinking to your business?
Jeff

(CBS) America's public schools are being sorely tested by the economic crisis, with states and cities across the nation cutting their education budgets. That's forcing teachers to come up with unusual solutions, CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports.

At a time when there seems to be advertising everywhere perhaps we shouldn't be surprised it's come to this: San Diego teacher Tom Farber is selling advertising on the bottom of math tests.

The ads appear as lines of text - "Braces by Stephen P. Henry D.M.D.," for example.

"I think it's sad that we have come to the point where we have to do that," says Christine Rafla, one of Farber's students.

It may be just one line. But it crosses a line that surprises even the teacher.

"I would have never have done this five years ago or ten years ago," Farber says. "I wouldn't even have thought of it because there was never a necessity." But it is a necessity now, because San Diego area schools are facing a $51 million budget shortfall next year. Statewide, California schools are expecting at least $2.8 billion in cuts-and that number could grow to more than $7 billion.

At $10 dollars for a quiz, $20 for a test, and $30 for a final exam, Farber's ads don't pay for much- just the cost of printing the tests.

"I think this is one in the same time a story of American ingenuity and a story of American tragedy," says Arnold Fege of the Public Education Network.

Fege says the ads highlight a struggle teachers are facing everywhere.

School budgets nationwide are strained. Twenty-seven states have already cut their education budgets. Even in better economic times teachers have had to dip into their own pockets to keep classrooms going.

"Five, six hundred dollars buy a lot of supplies to do crafts and arts and things like that," says Joel Nydam, a teacher at Otter Lake Elementary School in Minnesota.

Countless of teachers like Nydam spend hundreds of dollars of their own money each year on classroom supplies.And those supplies are getting more expensive.

"It's hard to make the same amount go the same distance," Nydam says.

So now Nydam is one of the 5,000 teachers signed up on a Web site called "Gold Star Registry."

It's like a registry for wedding gifts. But here, here teachers can list the supplies they need and parents can make a donation.

Tom Farber has sold already most of his test page ads right through finals. "Anybody who criticizes this I challenge them to open up their wallets," he says.

In a tough economy, teachers like Farber and Nydam are offering lessons in survival, as well.
(source: CBSnews.com)

Ways To Bounce Back Stronger From Tough Times

2008-12-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

1. Passion And Leadership Are ImperativeA Successful Brand Needs A Strong, Visible Leader Who Oozes Belief In The Business And The Consumer Proposition. That Passion Cascades Throughout The Organization And Becomes Infectious.

2. Invest In The Brand And Be CourageousDefy Conventional Wisdom And Spend To Grow Market Share. Studies Have Repeatedly Shown That Businesses That Increased Marketing Investments During A Recession Grew Market Share, Increased Margins And Had Better Long-Term Growth Trends Than Their Competition.

3. Let Creativity FlyInnovation Through Consumer Insights And Experimentation Can Produce Breakthrough Ideas.

4. Develop Trust And ConnectivityGive Them What They Need To Be True Brand Believers -- And Loyal Forever. At Ana'S Masters Of Marketing Conference, Coca-Cola Cmo Joe Tripodi Said, "We Went To Our Core Audience, Asked Them What They Wanted, And Gave It To Them." The Result: The Immensely Successful Launch Of Coke Zero.

5. Integrate All CommunicationsReach The Consumer Base Through Multiple Avenues -- But Creatively Deliver The Same Message Across All Platforms.

6. Be AccountableCreate A Culture Of Accountability And Partner With Finance, Research And Analytics To Measure Everything You Can. Ibm'S Success Is Grounded In A Disciplined Process That Started With A Cross-Functional Marketing And Finance Team That Reviewed All Activities.

7. Invest In PeopleBuild Skills, Build Capability, Build Knowledge And Watch The Bottom Line Grow. Zappos Brings Employees To Its Las Vegas Headquarters For A Week Of Training To Ensure They Embrace The Company Culture And Philosophy.

8. Trust Your AgenciesThey Are Your Ultimate "Brand Consultants" In Forming Strategy, Developing Breakthrough Creative And Expanding Media Platforms.

9. Strengthen The Marketing Supply Chain Aggressively Pursue Efficiencies And Productivity, And Watch The Dollars Flow.

10. Be Socially ResponsibleDo The Right Thing. Your Consumers Will Notice And Reward You For Giving Back. Jim Stengel, Former P&G Global Marketing Officer, Says It Is Time For Us All To "Go Beyond Cause Marketing Or ideals-Based Branding And Have An Inspirational And Motivational Reason For Your Brand."

(source: adage.com)

Cluttered Web Sites Benefit No One

2008-12-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

Study: Cluttered Web Sites Benefit No One
by Gavin O'Malley, Yesterday, 10:14 PM

Web sites cluttered with ads hurt the publisher, the consumer, and the advertiser, according to a study from online media and technology firm Burst Media.

Put another way, ad clutter not only annoys audiences, but diminishes ad effectiveness, found the study of over 4,000 Web users administered to better understand how clutter impacts Web users' Web experience, as well as its impact on the perception of advertisers who place ads on cluttered sites.

"One of the main obstacles to getting consumers' attention online is ad clutter," said Chuck Moran, vice president of marketing for Burst Media. "It is critical for advertisers to ensure their messages are being placed in a high-quality content environment to receive the maximum exposure they deserve, and to preserve their brand's reputation."

A full 75.5% of the respondents who remain on a site they perceive to be cluttered say they pay less attention to ads appearing on its pages.

In addition, although respondents accept that advertising will appear on a Web page, for a majority--52.6%--there is low tolerance for more than two advertising units per Web page.

Nearly 30% of survey respondents immediately leave a site if they perceive it to be cluttered. Notably, women are more likely than men to abandon a site that appears cluttered--at 32.1% to 27.5%, respectively.

About 52% of respondents have a less favorable opinion of an advertiser when their advertising appears on a Web page they perceive as cluttered. About 56% of women claim that clutter negatively impacts their opinion of an advertiser, versus 48.3% of men.

The survey also found that ad clutter's negative impact on respondents' opinions increases with age. Less than half (46.8%) of respondents ages 18-24 were impacted negatively by clutter, whereas more than 63.% of respondents 55 and older were unfavorably impacted.

(source: Mediapost.com)

News Program Ads Don't Always Stick

2008-12-11T09:15:00.000-08:00

According to consumer research from Experian Simmons, reported by Marketing Charts, only 28% of the audience of an average news program gets valuable information about products and services advertised there, making news venues less effective at conveying ad messages than all forms of media combined.

Advertising Effectiveness By Media Type

Get valuable information:

26% of News Media Viewers, 38% of All Media Viewers

Get high quality products and services:

33% of News Media Viewers, 42% of All Media Viewers

More likely to purchase advertised products:

21% of News Media Viewers, 33% of All Media Viewers

Source: Experian MME study, 2008 (extrapolated % values)

The latest Simmons Multimedia Engagement Study finds that consumers are less likely to purchase products and services they see advertised on news media, and are less apt to say products and services advertised on news media are high quality.

The MME defines and examines five key dimensions of engagement and examines how each plays an important role not only in how media connects with its audience. The five dimensions of engagement as reported by Experian are:
* Inspirational: Consumers are inspired by message and have an emotional connection to it
* Trustworthy: Consumers trust a particular program, magazine or website and believe it is telling the truth without sensationalizing
* Life Enhancing: Consumers feel they are learning about new things and places from a particular program, magazine or website, helping to make better life decisions
* Social Interaction: Fodder for conversations with friends and family.
* Personal Timeout: Provide an escape for consumers, who like to relax and unwind while reading or watching them

Americans gave news media highest marks for Social Interaction, indicating that they regularly talk with friends and family about things they see on news programs or read about in news magazines or on online news sites.

In addition, news media get high scores for Trust, meaning that while other research has shown Americans don't necessarily trust "the media" at-large, consumers believe that the news they personally consume provides them with accurate and trustworthy information, Experian Simmons said.

News magazines rate higher for Trust than online and TV news, but news websites are considered more Life Enhancing.

And, among the TV and magazine news properties evaluated, Experian Simmons found that the most talked about news property is The Drudge Report, followed by:
* The New York Times
* Countdown with Keith Olbermann
* The O'Reilly Factor
* The Wall Street Journal

Of the same 48 news properties, Google News was the least likely to generate any type of social interaction. Next to last was MSNBC's Morning Joe, followed by:
* Yahoo News
* CBS Evening News with Katie Couric

According to the study, Trust and Social Interaction don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. The most-talked-about Drudge Report scored 12% above average for Social Interaction and ranked #1 in that dimension, while scoring 10% below average for Trust, for which it ranked #46.

News media gets the lowest overall scores in the Personal Timeout dimension. When Americans want to escape, the last place they'll turn it to the news, says the report. But, TV programs that regularly feature news satire are less engaging than real news except when it comes to the Personal Timeout dimension.
(source: mediapost.com)

How Many Sales Staff Do You Have?

2008-12-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

It is time to review budgets, and many business are (or should be) taking a long hard look at each line item. Over the past couple of weeks I have been asked by more than one of my clients if there is a ratio for the proper number of sales people you have on your staff to total staff?

Yes, there is a proper ratio and I am going to help you calculate it. But first, take a moment and think about your business. How many sales people do you have compared to your total number of employees?

If your answer was anything other than 100%, then you may want to examine the culture of your business. I would argue that both in good time and bad (especially bad), you need to have everyone on board with the concept that everyone sells.

Now, not everyone will be responsible for the day to day calls to current and prospective clients. However, everyone is responsible for spreading the word about your business. The person who answers your phone, HUGE salesperson! Your accounting staff will take calls from customers...how they handle them can sometimes make the difference of whether they continue to be your client or if they look to someone else. Even your staff that are out of the public eye are salespeople. They should be tasked with the responsibility of telling people they know about what a great place they work at and what they individually do to contribute to making it a great place.

You can't just depend on the people with "Sales" on their business card to get the word out about what you do. Everyone who is a part of the organization should be proud enough to shout it from the rooftops, tell everyone why they love it, what you do and what makes you special.

For fun, ask your team how many sales people you have.

Banks Put Value On Marketing Component

2008-12-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

Bankers Put Value On Marketing Component
by Aaron Baar, Yesterday, 6:18 PM

Banks continue to see marketing as an important part of doing business, even as they face tough economic conditions.

According to the American Bankers Association's 22nd annual bank marketing survey, non-salary marketing expenditures exceeded $10 billion for 2007, down only 1.6% from 2006. Marketing was a key part of a bank's business picture in 2008 and will continue to be one in 2009, Maggie Kelly, the ABA's vice president of marketing, tells Marketing Daily.

"The marketing survey results confirm what we suspected: that in today's challenging and even more competitive banking environment, marketing remains one of the most valuable contributors to a bank's bottom line," Kelly says.

However, they may take a slightly different approach in their messaging. "What we're hearing is that it's back to basics: retaining your customers, customer acquisition and increasing deposits," Kelly says. "They're [also] doing more with less. The bank marketers going forward are not going to have growing budgets."

Advertising (which includes direct marketing) was the preferred bank marketing method during 2007, accounting for slightly more than half (58%) of overall marketing expenses. However, with tighter budgets and more ways to reach customers, they are employing more techniques such as social media and mobile banking, Kelly says.

Indeed, the survey showed that nearly every bank (99%) had a Web presence, with more than two-thirds of them conducting some form of online marketing. Rich media (audio and video) and business-related blogs were favored as Internet marketing methods, and will continue to be important moving forward.

Public relations were the second-largest marketing expenditure after advertising, according to the survey. Community relations, such as donations and contributions to local group, accounted for more than half of those expenditures. "All the banks are reaching out to their communities," Kelly says. "Small banks have always been doing it. The larger banks are focusing on their local neighborhoods."

One in three banks said deposit growth will be their biggest marketing challenge over the next year. Less than a quarter (23%) cited competition as a challenge, and only 22% cited the economy. As a result, banks will be gearing their messages to address those challenges, Kelly says.

"Banks will continue to put out a message of safety and soundness of their investments," Kelly says. "Recognizing there's going to be a decline for loans, banks are going to be providing more of a service to customers on saving strategies and financial education."

5 Tipson How to Start Filing Taxes Correctly

2008-12-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

1. Consult a tax advisor, even if you are a start-up. A professional can save you both money and valuable time and keep you from running afoul of the Internal Revenue Service.

2. Pay estimated federal and state taxes four times a year. Your tax advisor can help you determine how much to set aside ahead of time for each payment.

3. Keep good records of both income and expenses. Save all receipts.

4. Ask your tax advisor about special deductions you can take as a small-business owner—such as allowances for health insurance, long-term care insurance, or self-employment tax.

5. Schedule a “tax tune-up” at least once a year. Update your tax advisor on your situation and your goals and get his or her advice on planning your tax strategy for the coming year.

(source: Score, www.score.org)

Non Traditional Ideas For Bank Marketing

2008-12-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

Some interesting, non traditional, ways to market a bank.
Jeff

TD Bank Is 'At Your Convenience' Through January

In its ongoing effort to continue rebranding after absorbing Commerce Bank, TD Bank looks to bring its "convenience" positioning to life through a series of guerrilla marketing events through January.

"What we tried to do is replicate the surprise and delight tactics that happen within each TD Bank store," says Greg Siano, executive vice president of media services at Tierney Communications, the agency that developed the campaign. Commerce Bank (the predecessor of TD Bank) was known for its customer amenities, such as being open seven days a week, extended lobby hours, free coin-counting machines and treats for kids and dogs.

As part of the promotion, the bank is running an "At Your Convenience" sweepstakes, with prizes such as a personal chef, housecleaner or chauffeur-driven limo to and from work for a week. The company is also conducting "Random Acts of Convenience" in its markets along the Eastern seaboard. Among the acts: handing out free cups of coffee in the morning and TD-branded umbrellas on rainy days. The bank has also partnered with several local dry cleaners and restaurants to offer free pizza delivery and dry cleaning to random customers. For the holiday season, the bank will offer free gift-wrapping, shopping advice and TD-branded shopping bags at local malls. "We tried to explore things that were convenient," Siano tells Marketing Daily, of the promotion. "We're doing anything that makes people's lives more convenient."

In addition, in partnership with Yahoo Shopping, the bank created an online gift-finder that helps people identify and find the perfect gift for everyone on their list. The site, which went live earlier this week, asks a series of questions about the recipient (such as age, gender and interests) before giving gift advice. The gift finder will be promoted primarily online, Siano says.

One does not have to be a TD Bank customer to receive the random acts of convenience. In fact, the bank is counting on reaching potential customers, Siano says.

TD Banknorth purchased Commerce Bank earlier this year. The merged company has been reintroducing itself as TD Bank through television ads featuring Commerce Bank spokespeople Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa. The company is using the tagline "America's Most Convenient Bank." Other branding initiatives include blanketing train stations in Philadelphia and New York with advertising, as well as newspaper ads touting the in-bank conveniences. The company has more than 1,000 branches along the Eastern seaboard, with a footprint extending from Maine to Florida.

(source: Aaron Baar, November 28, 2008)

Initial Spending Stronger Than Expected Over Black Friday Weekend

2008-12-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

While it's a little too early for full-fledged yodeling, early surveys of retailers show that shoppers were out in force last weekend, and spending more than many had predicted as they trolled for holiday bargains.

The National Retail Federation's 2008 Black Friday Weekend survey--which measured Friday and Saturday, and used estimates for Sunday--indicates that some 172 million Americans shopped in stores and Web sites over Thanksgiving weekend, an increase from last year's 147 million. NRF estimates they spent an average of $372.57--a 7.2% jump from the $347.55 spent last year, with total spending projected at $41 billion.

"Pent-up demand on electronics and clothing, plus unparalleled bargains on this season's hottest items, helped drive shopping all weekend," the trade group says in its release. "Holiday sales are not expected to continue at this brisk pace, but it is encouraging that Americans seem excited to go shopping again."

By day measurement, the NRF says one big change is the sharp increase in the number of people who didn't wait for Black Friday and took to the mall even before their turkey and pumpkin pie was fully digested. Some 16.2 million people shopped on Thursday, an increase of 48% from last year. Black Friday lived up to its reputation, with 73.6 million people shopping. Just over 23% were at stores by 5 a.m., while 57.6% punched in by 9. About 56.9 million people shopped on Saturday, an increase from 48.3 million last year. NRF estimated that another 26.2 million people planned to shop on Sunday.

By channel, the trade group says 54.7% visited discount stores, 43% shopped at traditional department stores, and about a third checked out specialty stores, including clothing and electronics stores, (36.0%) and shopped online (34.0%). And by category, spending was typical, except for a 10% decline in the use of gift cards.

ShopperTrak RCT, a Chicago-based company that tracks retail results, also saw encouraging levels of spending--reporting a 3% gain from last year, with Black Friday sales totaling $10.6 billion. Spending was strongest in the South, at 3.4%--followed by the Midwest, up 3%, the West, up 2.7%, and the Northeast, up 2.6%.

Forecasters, however, are reluctant to read too much into these early results. For one thing, ShopperTrak executives point out, a later-than-usual Thanksgiving means that consumers have just 27 days to shop this year, compared to 32 last year. And, perhaps because of intense consumer anxiety about the economy, many in this weekend's crowd were actually closer to finishing their shopping, not starting.

The NRF, still predicting a total increase of just 2% for the season, says Americans have completed slightly more shopping than they had one year ago (39.3% vs. 36.4%), "indicating that traffic and sales over the next several weeks will moderate."

(source: Sarah Mahoney, Sunday, Nov 30, 2008, mediapost.com)

How is Your Customer Service?

2008-11-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

In an economic time, when it is now more crucial than ever to set yourself apart from the competition, businesses often look at many different ways to get noticed. Often, leaders forget that one of the simplest ways to stand out is to have exemplary customer service. Great customer service is remembered for a long time and the story is told to many people over and over again. It may cost you a couple of dollars at the moment, but this small investment will more than pay for itself.

I remember many years ago my wife and I took my eldest son on his first trip to Disneyland. We lived in Northern California at the time, so it was just a short drive down to Anaheim. We decided to splurge and stay at the Disneyland Hotel.

In the middle of the night, on the second night of our stay, my son got sick and began running a very dangerously high temperature. We called the front desk to ask if they had a physician or nurse on staff to find out what our local options were to get him checked out. They did have someone on staff and as soon as they found out what the temperature was they went into action.

What happened next is a lesson for everyone in customer service. The nurse told us that within 15 minutes an EMT would knock on our door to take us to Anaheim Children's Hospital....that knock came in 5 minutes. The EMT took us to an express elevator where they had an ambulance waiting with a very Disney interior decor to help soothe any child. They then called ahead to the hospital to have a doctor waiting for us.

When we arrived at the emergency room, we went past the waiting area and proceeded directly to a room. When the doctor walked in we were greeted by name and then got down to business. We figured out what was going on and then we went to leave the hospital to grab a taxi back to the hotel. However, the EMT was there to greet us and drive us to an all night pharmacy and then back to the Disney properties. From the time we left our hotel room to our return was only 3 hours. The entire cost for everything...nothing. Disney considered it simple function of taking care of their guests.

When I went back to Disneyland for future visits, do you think I ever stayed at any of the cheaper properties next door? Disneyland's actions made me a guest for life...and trust me we went back many times. It has been years since this event happened, but I can tell you I have repeated this story many, many times a year to people. Whenever I was asked for a recommendation of where to stay when going to Disneyland, I only gave one answer...the Disneyland Resort Properties. Disney has probably made 100 times the amount they spent to take care of me just on my recommendations and retelling of this story.

In effect, I have become a living commercial for Disneyland Resort Properties. Now, most businesses don't have the financial resources to go to the extent that I experienced. However, you can set up your culture and train your staff to be empowered to go above and beyond to take care of a customer and create memorable moment.

When you create a memorable moment for a customer, you have not only created a customer for life, but this person will become your personal billboard. Plus, there is no better way to say Thank You to a customer than giving them great service every day and with every experience they have with you.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Translating the Language of Search

2008-11-21T05:27:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what all those online search marketing terms mean? Here's a quick lesson.
Have a great weekend!
Jeff

Those of us who have been in this industry for a while are accustomed to throwing around industry-specific abbreviations and jargon. When I talk about search, I use industry terminology without even thinking about it -- until recently when a client stopped me and said, "Whoa, back up. You lost me."

For example:
"The Google dance has struck again and the SE algorithm has changed, so we might want to evaluate our linking strategies.

"Translation: Google has once again changed how it ranks sites. This might have an impact on our current search engine positioning, so we might want to explore other ways to get other sites to link to ours.

"We will deliver an SEM/SEO report, focusing on your organic and sponsored rankings, CTRs, CPCs and conversions.

"Translation: We will prepare a report on our search engine marketing and search engine optimization activities, specifically looking at where your site ranks in both the paid and unpaid search engine results, the click-through rate on our listings, the average price we're paying for a click, and the number of people who completed our desired action when they came to the site.

If you knew right off the bat what those two sentences meant without the translation, you're welcome to sign off. You know your search definitions. But if you had to stop and think for a minute, thinking about the abbreviations, then this column may be for you.

Here I have compiled a list of some of the most frequently used search industry terminology, jargon, abbreviations, and so on and simplified definitions:

Conversion: When a user completes a predefined desired action on your Web site (e.g., purchasing a product, signing up for a newsletter, registering for more information, etc.).

CPC: Cost per click is defined as the price you pay when someone clicks on your sponsored listing/paid search ad.

CTR: Click-through rate is the number of clicks divided by the number of ad impressions/views. It's the rate at which people see your ad and actually click on it.
Inbound links: Also know as external links, which occurs when other sites link to your site. It's generally accepted that a big factor in search engine algorithms (see below) is the number and quality of inbound links pointing to your site.

Keyword: A word or phrase that is typed into a search engine. Site owners typically want their sites to be visible in the search engines for specific keywords that relate to their product or service.

Link building: Since inbound (external) links influence a site's organic rankings (see below), many site owners will undertake the process of link building. This can consist of explicitly asking other sites to link to them, or encouraging inbound links by creating valuable content or tools, posting product reviews or forum comments on other Web sites, or partnering with relevant sites.

Organic ranking: The position that your Web site appears in the unpaid ("editorial") listings of the search engine results, which typically take up the majority of the page.

PPC: Pay per click typically refers to paid search marketing, where you pay for your ad to appear in the sponsored listings of the search engine results.

Quality score: The rating assigned by Google and other engines to keywords within a paid search account. The QS is calculated by taking into account maximum bid and relevancy (how closely your ad is targeted to the query; whether your landing page contains relevant information to the query).

SE: Search engine.

Search engine algorithm: A complex formula that search engines use to compute how to rank site A over sites B to Z. Apparently they are made up of thousands of unique factors, but we will likely never truly know since SEs make a habit of not disclosing details.

Search engine submission: A sort of archaic practice of submitting your site to the search engines for indexing. It was thought that this could speed up the time of search engines initially indexing, then returning to, your site. The traditional means of doing this is no longer widely practiced, but programs like Google Webmaster Tools enable site owners to make their sites more visible to Google and keep the engine up to date when changes are made.

SEM: Search engine marketing. This is where it gets tricky: sometimes this term is used mean both paid and unpaid search marketing, but sometimes it's used to mean only the paid activities. Industry organization SEMPO, uses "SEM" as the umbrella term. I'll let you decide how to use it.

SEO: Search engine optimization involves undertaking activities to make your site rank higher in the search engine results. Often it involves attempting to intuit how search engines rank sites and applying industry best practices.

SERP: Search engine results page, which is the page that comes up after you perform a query in a search engine.

Sponsored listings/ads: The text ads that typically appear along the periphery of the SERP (see above), such as along the top and the right hand side. Advertisers determine which terms they want their ads to appear for and compete with other advertisers to achieve top positioning.

I could go on, but this should give you a quick overview of some commonly used vernacular. That said, there are a number of lists out that provide a comprehensive compendium of search marketing terms. Check out SEMPO's Search Engine Optimization & Marketing Glossary for a well-rounded glossary of terms used in both search and Internet marketing.

(source: The ClickZ Network, Julie Batten, November 10, 2008)

Extinction Threatens Yellow-Pages Publishers

2008-11-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

Out of all the marketing vehicles out there, the Yellow-Pages is the least effective way to build a brand or market your business - however does tend to be one of the most expensive. In today's technology savvy world, a forty pound book seems a bit archiac - and a poor use of our trees. Below is an interesting article that discusses the state of the business of phone books...something to take into consideration as you are reviewing your marketing budgets for 2009.
Jeff

The yellow-pages industry is running out of lifelines.

In recent years, as its customers migrated to the Web -- flocking to sites like Google -- the telephone-directory business followed, hoping the Internet would be its salvation. Bloomberg News/Landov Idearc publishes phone books for Verizon.

But that strategy hasn't panned out. Now, the economic downturn is sending the already ailing business into a tailspin.

The audience for online yellow pages remains relatively small, and traffic growth is slowing. So many directory services are vying for the ad dollars of local businesses that no single site has an authoritative roster.

Meanwhile, ad dollars are drying up as small businesses -- the industry's bread and butter -- find it harder to pay bills or have cut their spending sharply.

Print and online ad spending on yellow pages will plummet 6.3% next year, more than double the rate of decline expected for broadcast TV, according to forecasts by Wachovia analyst John Janedis. Within the next four years, ad spending will fall 39% in print directories alone -- the steepest projected decline across all local-media categories, according to media-research firm Borrell Associates.

"It's pretty darn hard out there for everybody, and those that have less staying power, it just looks like it's going to be a difficult environment to be able to hang on in the long term," said Dave Swanson, chief executive of R.H. Donnelley, a Cary, N.C., yellow-pages publisher, during a conference call on the company's third-quarter earnings.

Facing the real prospect of extinction, the publishers, many of which have considerable debt, have been slashing jobs, scrapping dividends and exiting unprofitable markets. Shares of two of the biggest publishers, R.H. Donnelley and Idearc, have plummeted 99% in the past year.

"The main pure-play companies do not have capital structures that would enable them to endure perpetual high-single-digit or double-digit declines in cash flow and remain viable entities or solvent entities over time," says Mike Simonton, an analyst with Fitch Ratings.

Yellow-pages publishers have spent the past several years attempting to reinvent themselves, launching a slew of digital offerings for advertisers, and retraining their sales forces to sell digital ads alongside print ads.

But Internet revenues remain anemic. At less than 10%, online-ad dollars make up only a modest portion of total revenues and aren't growing fast enough to offset steep declines on the print side, says Mr. Simonton.

Analysts say yellow-pages sales teams face an inherent conflict. While they are pressured to sell both print and online ads, Internet ads are often a third of the price of the print product. The top priority for the sales teams often is to sell the print book first, then sell the digital products.

Even if online revenues were growing at a faster clip, analysts are cautious about the prospects of online-only directories. Yellow-pages ads are the only form of advertising many small businesses buy, and the online ads are typically sold in conjunction with print listings, Mr. Simonton says. That means that if businesses aren't buying the print ad, then the online ad disappears too.

In a last-ditch attempt to succeed online, some publishers have struck ad-sale partnerships with Internet companies like Google. White Directory Publishers, which publishes directories in 90 small to medium-size markets, says it is often more effective for small businesses to have a presence on Google than on a directory Web site. But many small- to medium-size businesses don't have the expertise or time to create effective Web sites or buy and track search ads, so White Directory is offering to do it for them.

"They all believe they have the URL and the Web site that's going to win," Jeff Folckemer, chief operating officer and chief executive-designate of White Directory, part of Hearst Corp., says of the directory companies. "Our philosophy immediately was to go right to the big guys."

Mr. Simonton cautions, however, that even if publishers survive, any growth they achieved since the last downtown, in 2001, will be short-lived. "That extra growth coming from new businesses are the first to fold in a downturn. You basically give back in one downturn what took seven years to grow."

(source: Wall Street Journal Online, 11/17/08)

Banks Targeting Money-Conscious Consumers

2008-11-19T03:28:00.000-08:00

SunTrust Banks Targets Money-Conscious Consumers

SunTrust Banks this weekend unveiled a new campaign with the tagline, "Live Solid. Bank Solid," which speaks to the state-of-mind of wary consumers affected by a slumping economy.

The effort, via lead agency Mullen, Winston-Salem, N.C., focuses on the idea that consumers are becoming smarter about their finances and looking for banks that offer "confidence, security and firm footing," per SunTrust.

TV spots broke during NBC's Sunday Night Football. Radio, print, and online ads also support. SunTrust, Atlanta, said it will continue advertising on prime time TV through 2009.

"We believe the new campaign will resonate with our clients and American consumers, especially in our current economic climate," said Rilla Delorier, SunTrust CMO. "The new SunTrust brand . . . provides the assurance that SunTrust is their financial partner as they build the foundation for their financial futures."

While timely given the recent meltdown on Wall Street, the bank claims its new campaign was underway months before and emerged following internal research that found the majority of consumers would rather spend "wisely" than spend "freely." The new tagline is meant to reflect those findings. SunTrust's old tagline was: "Seeing Beyond Money."

SunTrust spent $26 million on U.S. advertising last year (excluding online), per Nielsen Monitor-Plus, and $21 million through September of this year.

(Source: BrandWeek, 11/17/08)

Chief Marketing Officers See Black Friday, Cyber Monday Falling Flat

2008-11-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

Do you have a way to incorporate Gift Cards into your sales mix?
Jeff

by Karl Greenberg, Monday, Nov 17, 2008 4:16 PM ET

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday--which both occur post-Thanksgiving--have experienced year-over-year sales growth in the past, they will not be doing so this time around, according to chief marketing officers at retail companies. The marketers were surveyed as part of accounting and consulting firm BDO Seidman's "Retail Compass," which queries 100 CMOs in retail firms with at least $100 million in yearly revenue.

Last year, Black Friday saw 8.3% sales growth and Cyber Monday had 21%. This year, retail CMOs are predicting essentially flat sales for those days.

Not surprising is the surveyed CMOs' grim outlook for overall holiday sales, which they see dropping by an average of 2.7%.

What sales gains there may be will come from gift cards, the Web and consumer electronics. The marketing executives surveyed by BDO Seidman expect Internet sales and gift card sales to improve 8% and 5.1%, respectively.

Forty-four percent of surveyed marketers predicted that in-store purchases would drive gift card sales this season. Smaller percentages of marketers predicted that online purchases and third-party vendors (such as kiosks and grocery stores) will drive the most gift card sales.

Ted Vaughan, a partner in the Retail and Consumer Product Practice at BDO Seidman, says that while the year is dismal, "it is important to remember that there are some bright spots on the horizon. There is still enormous growth potential in Internet sales, which remains a fairly new phenomenon. Further, gift cards will be popular this year because they allow the end user to decide on the gift based on their personal needs."

Forty-nine percent of those surveyed said consumer electronics will perform the best versus home goods, toys, lifestyle goods such as books and sporting equipment, apparel and jewelry.

And half of retailers surveyed said they expect Internet sales to increase this holiday season, while 38% expect online sales to stay the same.

Vaughan says holiday sales can make up 35% to 40% of annual sales.

He also says the gift card and Internet increases are a bit misleading. "There was an uptick in gift card sales and Internet sales last year, so the increase this year is a continuation of that trend, but even that trend is slowing down compared to last year and the year before," he says.

"The plus is that if you sell gift cards, the general tendency for someone who redeems the cards is to buy more than the amount on the card."

For Internet sales, the positive for retailers is that when consumers come online looking for a particular product "the Internet makes it so easy to browse; they will be able to find other products they may not have had in mind."
Karl Greenberg can be reached at karl@mediapost.com

Ten Reasons To Keep Advertising in a Tough Economy

2008-11-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

Ten great reasons to keep advertising in a tough economy!
Jeff

1. Dear Client: As your customers cut back on their advertising, your Advertising Voice is multiplied. When your clients do less, aggressive advertising works even better.

2. The closings of scores of national retailers makes it easier for a local retailer's voice to be heard. Here's a sample of national chains closing some of their stores: Zale's closing 105 stores, Sprint/Nextel-125, Disney-98, Gap-85, Linens-N-Things-120. There there are those who've shut down completely. Examples: CompUSA, Footlocker, KB Toys, Levitz, Hollywood Video, Pier 1, Wickes Furniture - all gone. Kaput.

3. Cutting Advertising is like amputating in order to get rid of an itch, or I'm going to quit selling because they'll probably say No anyhow. Successful companies consider their ad budget a fixed expense. When the number of incoming customers decreases - this isn't the right time to stop inviting them back.

4. Don't Cut Your Air Supply. Advertising helped get the business where it is - don't stop now. The reason you have customers is that someone heard your message. And you're going to abandon that?

5. When you stop advertising, your best customers become someone else's prospects. People go where they're invited. Your competitors are inviting your customers.

6. Your customers will have more confidence that you're THERE. We have confidence in the Post Office and the fire department. We perceive that they'll be there when we need them. Same with you. That's one of the reasons you have a steady return customers.

7. Consumers don't stop buying; they're just more choosey and looking for value. Good deals.

8. You know what consumers are looking for. Super-Sizing works now. Good Value works better than ever.

9. Add the new online tools we can offer, at a comparatively low cost, offer even more wallop for their dollar. Online products like Channels, coupons, streaming and texting are all NTR Heaven - that show accountable results and excellent ROI.

10. Think of what Advertising says to employees - Confidence. Ask for help from your employees to make the ad circle complete. Let them know about every offer. Let them HELP INVENT new offers. It's a time of opportunity.

(source: Jim Taszarek, Tazmedia.com)

Moms Shape New Culture by Cutting Back

2008-11-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

Reviewing your marketing plans for 2009? You better factor in how those plans appeal to moms!
Jeff

Moms Shape New Culture by Cutting Back

According to a recent report by the allen & gerritsen (a&g) audience intelligence department, 80% of online mothers in the US say most Americans have been encouraged to overextend themselves, while 58% think the average American is too greedy.

Because moms manage the household (which means their behaviors drastically impact sales) and they teach and enforce family values (which means they are as influential in shaping our culture as is the media), a&g surveyed moms to understand just how the economy is affecting their purchase behaviors and economic outlook. The study reveals that most moms believe that cultural trends that demonstrate a belief that Americans deserve to regularly indulge, contributed to the financial crisis we are in.

But, says the report, the pendulum has begun to swing the other way, with moms taking the lead. In this countercultural trend, moms see themselves as shunning greed and are putting family needs before their own.

Moms are looking for ways to rein in their household finances, with 65% of moms surveyed eliminating purchases that are not absolutely necessary, and 52% cutting back in general. 71% say they have made more sacrifices this year than last.

Household Finance Changes Moms Made in 2008
Change % of Respondents (multiple response OK)
New source of income 29%
Cut back spending 52%
Eliminated unnecessaries 65%
No changes 12%
Source: Allen & Gerritson, October 2008

Though 71% of moms report they have made more sacrifices this year than last, childcare and medical needs will not be compromised. More of these moms blame the government (not enough oversight or regulation) for the economic crisis than blame the banks (32% vs. 16%).

Parties That Moms Feel Responsible for Collapse of Financial Institutions
Responsible Party % of Respondents
Government 32%
Everyone 27%
Banks 16%
Individual borrowers 6%
Corporations 6%
Wall Street 3%
No one 3%
Investors 1%
All other 7%
Source: Allen & Gerritson, October 2008

In addition:
* 94% of moms say it is more important to seek regular medical care for their families than themselves.
* 62% of moms say they are less greedy than the American average.
* 51% of moms say don't see the economic situation improving within the next year.

Catherine Kolodij, VP, audience intelligence director at a&g, summarizes by saying "For the last few years, there have been a number of cultural trends that demonstrate the idea that Americans deserve to indulge, buying bigger homes and better cars and other luxuries. Most moms believe this culture contributed to the financial crisis we are in... "

Please visit allen & gerritsen here to obtain the complete PDF file, including charts.

(Source: Mediapost.com)

5 Tips For Getting Noticed Online

2008-11-12T10:23:00.001-08:00

1. Get your Web site listed on major search engines, such as Google or Yahoo! Two sites, Search Engine Watch at www.searchenginewatch.com and the Web Marketing Info Center at www.wilsonweb.com/webmarket, offer guidance.

2. Join a “banner exchange,” and trade advertising banners with other Web sites. Look under “banner exchange” on search engines.

3. Visit sites similar to or related to yours and offer to exchange links with them.

4. Write useful articles for other sites and include your Web address.

5. Get more online marketing help from such sites as www.zdnet.com/eweek/, workz.com and www.bcentral.com.

(Source: SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business.")

Snapshot of Media Plans & Budgets For 2009

2008-11-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

At the "Masters of Marketing" Conference by the Association of National Advertisers recently, 1,200 client-side marketers, media and creative agencies and others, were polled via handheld devices about their marketing mix, budgets, plans, and tactics throughout the event. The results are shown here:

Adjustment to current marketing and media plans to account for the recent downturn in the financial markets:

* 33% say spending will be reduced
* 33% say spending will be constant / marketing mix will be reallocated
* 27% expect to spend more
* 8% will keep everything status quo

CEO view of marketing efforts with respect to growth:
* 56% think of brand-building as an investment
* 21% think it's an unaccountable but necessary expense
* 15% are not sure
* 8% consider it an unnecessary expense

Preferred social media site for driving brand growth:
* 32% say none
* 20% say YouTube
* 18% facebook
* 12% like them all
* 10% say LinkedIn
* 6% MySpace
* 3% Twitter

Plans for Marketing expense in 2009 vs. 2008:
* 26% plan to increase spending more than 10%
* 13% plan to increase spending less than 10%
* 28% will hold stable
* 14% will decrease spending less than 10%
* 19% will decrease spending more than 10%

The largest branding discipline offering opportunity for growth:
* 17% choose traditional 30-second spots
* 7% like one page advertisements in a newspaper/magazine
* 16% pick web advertising
* 28% choose social media integration
* 7% feel direct Marketing
* 19% think grassroots, viral public relations
* 5% like radio

Company's current measurement method of brand growth:
* 70% say sales and net income
* 15% use third party brand equity valuations
* 9% think shareholder value
* 4% measure by household penetration
* 3% say company culture

(Source: Association of National Advertisers, October 2008)

What Marketers Can Learn From Obama's Campaign

2008-11-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

No matter what your political views are, you have to admit that Barack Obama ran a very focased campaign. Businesses and marketing professionals can learn about his approach that focused on three key areas 1) Simplicity - his message was "Change" 2) Consistency 3) Relevance. No matter what happened, he kept to his message.
Jeff

What Marketers Can Learn From Obama's Campaign
Change -- and Positioning -- You Can Believe in
By Al Ries , Advertising Age
Published: November 05, 2008

Nov. 4, 2008, will go down in history as the biggest day ever in the history of marketing.

Take a relatively unknown man. Younger than all of his opponents. Black. With a bad-sounding name. Consider his first opponent: the best-known woman in America, connected to one of the most successful politicians in history. Then consider his second opponent: a well-known war hero with a long, distinguished record as a U.S. senator.

It didn't matter. Barack Obama had a better marketing strategy than either of them. "Change."

Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels was the master of the "big lie." According to Goebbels, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

The opposite of that strategy is the "big truth." If you tell the truth often enough and keep repeating it, the truth gets bigger and bigger, creating an aura of legitimacy and authenticity.

What word did Hillary Clinton own? First she tried "experience." When she saw the progress Mr. Obama was making, she shifted to "Countdown to change." Then when the critics pointed out her me-too approach, she shifted to "Solutions for America."

What word is associated with Ms. Clinton today? I don't know, do you?

Then there's John McCain. An Oct. 26 cover story in The New York Times Magazine was titled "The Making (and Remaking and Remaking) of the Candidate." The visual listed some of the labels the candidate was associated with: "Conservative. Maverick. Hero. Straight talker. Commander. Bipartisan conciliator. Experienced leader. Patriot." Subhead: "When a Campaign Can't Settle on a Central Narrative, Does It Imperil Its Protagonist?"

Actually, Mr. McCain did settle on a slogan, "Country first," but it was way too late in the campaign and it was a slogan that had little relevance to the average voter.

Tactically, both Ms. Clinton and Mr. McCain focused their messages on "I can do change better than my opponent can do change."

"Better" never works in marketing. The only thing that works in marketing is "different." When you're different, you can pre-empt the concept in consumers' minds so your competitors can never take it away from you.

Look at what "driving" has done for BMW. Are there vehicles that are more fun to drive than BMWs? Probably, but it doesn't matter. BMW has pre-empted the "driving" position in the mind.

The sad fact is that there are only a few dozen brands that own a word in the mind and most of them don't even use their words as slogans. Mercedes-Benz owns "prestige," but doesn't use the word as a slogan. Toyota owns "reliability," but doesn't use the word as a slogan. Coca-Cola owns "the real thing," but doesn't use the words as a slogan. Pepsi-Cola owns "Pepsi generation," but doesn't use the words as a slogan.

As a matter of fact, most brands follow the Pepsi pattern. Every time they get a new CMO or a new advertising agency, they change the slogan. Since 1975, BMW has used one slogan: "The ultimate driving machine." Since 1975, Pepsi-Cola has used these advertising slogans:
1975: "For those who think young."
1978: "Have a Pepsi day."
1980: "Catch that Pepsi spirit."
1982: "Pepsi's got your taste for life."
1983: "Pepsi now."
1984: "The choice of a new generation."
1989: "A generation ahead."
1990: "Pepsi: The choice of a new generation."
1992: "Gotta have it."
1993: "Be young. Have fun. Drink Pepsi."
1995: "Nothing else is a Pepsi."
2002: "Generation next."
2003: "Think young. Drink young."
2004: "It's the cola."

Thirty-three years ago when the "Ultimate driving machine" campaign started, BMW was the 11th-largest-selling European imported vehicle in the U.S. market. Today it's No. 1.

Thirty-three years ago, Pepsi-Cola was the No. 2-selling cola in the U.S. market. Today, many advertising slogans later, it's still No. 2.

The average Pepsi-Cola advertising slogan lasts just two years and two months. The average chief marketing officer lasts just two years and two months. The average corporate advertising campaign in BusinessWeek lasts just two years and six months.

The Obama campaign has a lot to teach the advertising community.

1. Simplicity. About 70% of the population thinks the country is going in the wrong direction, hence Obama's focus on the word "change." Why didn't talented politicians like Ms. Clinton and John Edwards consider using this concept?

Based on my experience, in the boardrooms of corporate America "change" is an idea that is too simple to sell. Corporate executives are looking for advertising concepts that are "clever." For all the money being spent, corporate executives want something they couldn't have thought of themselves. Hopefully, something exceedingly clever.

Here is a sampling of slogans from a recent issue of BusinessWeek:
* Chicago Graduate School of Business: "Triumph in your moment of truth."
* Darden School of Business: "High touch. High tone. High energy."
* Salesforce.com: "Your future is looking up."
* Zurich: "Because change happenz."
* CDW: "The right technology. Right away."
* Hitachi: "Inspire the next."
* NEC: "Empowered by innovation."
* Deutsche Bank: "A passion to perform."
* SKF: "The power of knowledge engineering."

Some of these slogans might be clever, some might be inspiring and some might be descriptive of the company's product line, but none will ever drive the company's business in the way that "change" drove the Obama campaign. They're not simple enough.

2. Consistency. What's wrong with 90% of all advertising? Companies try to "communicate" when they should be trying to "position."

Mr. Obama's objective was not to communicate the fact that he was an agent of change. In today's environment, every politician running for the country's highest office was presenting him or herself as an agent of change. What Mr. Obama actually did was to repeat the "change" message over and over again, so that potential voters identified Mr. Obama with the concept. In other words, he owns the "change" idea in voters' minds.

In today's overcommunicated society, it takes endless repetition to achieve this effect. For a typical consumer brand, that might mean years and years of advertising and hundreds of millions of dollars.

Most companies don't have the money, don't have the patience and don't have the vision to achieve what Mr. Obama did. They jerk from one message to another, hoping for a magic bullet that will energize their brands. That doesn't work today. That is especially ineffective for a politician because it creates an aura of vacillation and indecisiveness, fatal qualities for someone looking to move up the political ladder.

The only thing that works today is the BMW approach. Consistency, consistency, consistency -- over decades, if not longer.

But not with a dull slogan. Hitachi has been "inspiring the next" for as long as I can remember, but with little success.

Effective slogans needs to be simple and grounded in reality. What next has Hitachi ever inspired? Red ink, maybe. In the past 10 years, Hitachi has had sales of $786.9 billion and managed to lose $5.1 billion. When you put your corporate name on everything, as Hitachi does, it's difficult to make money because it's difficult to make the brand stand for anything.

3. Relevance. "If you're losing the battle, shift the battlefield" is an old military axiom that applies equally as well to marketing. By his relentless focus on change, Mr. Obama shifted the political battlefield. He forced his opponents to devote much of their campaign time discussing changes they proposed for the country. And how their changes would differ from the changes that he proposed.

All the talk about "change" distracted both Ms. Clinton and Mr. McCain from talking about their strengths: their track records, their experience and their relationships with world leaders.

As you probably know, Mr. Obama was selected as Advertising Age's Marketer of the Year by the executives attending the Association of National Advertisers' annual conference in Orlando last month. But one wonders if these CMOs are getting the message.

As one marketing executive said: "I look at it as something that we can all learn from as marketers. To see what he's done, to be able to create a social network and do it in a way where it's created the tools to let people get engaged very easily. It's very easy for people to participate."

Whatever happened to "change"?

5 Tips on What Employees Want from You as a Leader

2008-11-05T04:58:00.000-08:00

Today, our country moves forward with the process of transitioning to a new leader. As a nation, we will be asking a great deal of our new leader to be. Think about your employees and what they want from you. Here are five tips to consider.
Jeff

5 Tips on What Employees Want from You as a Leader

1. Employees want to trust you and you to trust them. Begin by being trustworthy and extending trust.

2. Employees want good two-way communication. Begin by being a good listener.

3. Employees want to be challenged. Set forth your vision and goals clearly and then let your workers exercise their creativity and authority in meeting your goals.

4. Employees want accountability. Not only should you hold them accountable for their own performance but you should measure your own performance as well.

5. Employees want recognition. Offer praise and express appreciation at every opportunity.

(Source:SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business." )

Now Is The Time To Build Relationship With Your Customers

2008-11-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

Now Is The Time To Build Relationships With Your Customers
by Jere Doyle , Friday, October 31, 2008

CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES ARE TIGHTENING their belts and their budgets, but brand marketers need to look at today's recession economy as an opportunity. Now is the ideal time to ramp up your marketing efforts and build stronger relationships with your customers.

Direct marketing approaches have proved highly effective in all kinds of economies -- but especially during a recession. A recent BusinessWeek article provides examples of some of the most successful brand campaigns in the past sixty years -- all of them conducted in a down economy. Also, during economic downturns consumers are more likely to forego brand loyalty for cost or value savings. That gives you two more good reasons to market more aggressively. First, protect your brand and hold onto your existing customers by letting them know you value them and you offer the best value. Secondly, entice customers to change from competitors to your brand and products just when the competition is cutting back and going quiet on customer retention and loyalty efforts.

So instead of hunkering down and slashing marketing budgets, brand marketers should jump on the opportunity to build and strengthen their online relationships with consumers. Many brand marketers are doing this through online lead generation and email marketing

Online lead generation can help consumer brand marketers reach the right consumers wherever they may be online -- whether on a news site, a health and nutrition portal, or an online community for new and expectant parents -- and begin the process of opting-in to an advertisers in-house email list. Building and maintaining a strong in-house list of qualified consumers who request to be marketed to, and sending these consumers relevant email campaigns, is the most effective marketing tactic to reach your customers. Research shows that consumers want information, ads and offers from their favorite brands and products, and they will respond to them

As consumers do more research online during tough economic times, they also spend more time researching and comparing brands and prices. In a Prospectiv poll conducted earlier this year, 84% said they had changed their shopping habits due to concerns about recession. In further clues to consumer behavior in this economic downturn:
• 66% are logging more hours online researching and comparing brands and prices
• 74% would welcome more online offers, coupons and e-newsletters from their favorite brands and products
• 60% are more likely to sign up/join a Web site or online community that offers recipes, healthy meal ideas, cooking tips and savings they can use at home

Another consumer poll reveals that even with the recent decline in fuel prices, consumers are still concerned about the economy and are increasing their use of coupons -- especially for savings on everyday grocery products.

Seventy-two percent surveyed say they are using more coupons to make their money go further than they did six months ago (since March 2008). The majority polled (75%) said that economic concerns are their main reason for using more coupons. Eighty-one percent said they are most interested in coupons for grocery items (food and household products).

Not only are consumers under financial pressure doing more research online, comparing brands and prices and using more coupons, consumers are also considering switching from favored brands to generics to save money. Brand marketers must find ways to engage consumers online, using direct-response interactive marketing to reinforce the value of brand.

Marketers should consider countering the effects of the downturn by stepping up programs that build strong relationships with consumers who have exhibited interest in their goods and services. For instance, an in-house opt-in email newsletter list. The most important ingredients of effective email campaigns to your in-house email list are quality and relevance. Consumers under financial pressure are focused on purchasing the necessities, and relevance is key. Lead-generation campaigns that build your own opt-in email lists and produce consumers who are interested in your product and brand are particularly useful because they can collect data points about consumers that make it easy for marketers to ensure relevance. Ask consumers what they want and have them give you important information about themselves that will allow you to email them content that is relevant.

Lead-generation best practices also need to be a focus for brand marketers in a down economy. Best practices ensure high quality leads and maintain a respectful relationship with consumers to build trust and discourage abuse of consumer privacy.

The economy may be down but now is not the time to sit back and wait for things to improve. Marketers need to seize the opportunity to build their brands and strengthen their relationships with consumers. A best practices online lead generation program is one of the most effective ways to get a leg up on the competition, especially during an economic downturn.

Recession-Proofing Your Brand

2008-11-03T05:35:00.000-08:00

Now more than ever, it is critically important to think about your brand - both in the short term and long term. This article has 3 very important points to keep in mind as you are taking a look at your current business plan.
Jeff

We all know that the current economic situation is a heavy load on the shoulders of the U.S. consumer. Night after night, the evening news bombards us with even more bad news, making everyone wonder how much worse it can really get. Consumers are making tough choices that affect almost every spending category from the essential (food, gas) to the discretionary (clothing, entertainment).

Historically, most companies do one of two things during a recession: cut spending and do only the bare minimum until the economy bounces back, or move full steam ahead with their marketing plans, taking advantage of the ability to build or strengthen their brands while the competition is weak. Unfortunately, for those of us in the marketing business, too many companies go with option No. 1 and dramatically cut spending. But the irony in this approach is that it can end up damaging a company's most valuable asset: the brand.

When you choose to cut marketing, you put your brand at risk, increasing the likelihood that your brand will lose relevance to your target audience and your retail partners. During a recession, consumers have to make the hard decision of determining whether their preferred brand is worth paying more for. If the brand is truly perceived as a better or even a safer choice, then consumers remain loyal.

But if the brand loses relevance, then there is the risk that consumers will leave the brand for lower-priced competitors. Retailers also make hard choices about the brands they continue to promote with their limited funds. The brands that get the greater share of co-op dollars are the ones that either have the power to drive consumers into the store or warrant a price premium.

The key to making your brand survive--and dare I say even thrive--during a recession is to outthink your competition. Following are three strategies to recession-proof your brand.

First, redefine what value means. Value is not just about having the lowest price. There are many attributes of a brand that can be used to measure its value to a consumer. Mission Foods makes tortillas, wraps, taco shells and chips. But it has recognized that it's not in the food business; rather, it is in the meal solutions business. It delivers value to hungry families, not by just being priced right but by giving families the tools they need to save time in the kitchen. By providing recipes, cooking tips, and shortcuts, Mission Foods delivers value by saving families time, which is often a more scarce resource than money.

Value can also mean better performance. Consider Craftsman tools and its lifetime replacement guarantee. When a consumer buys a Craftsman product, the company justifies that the product is worth paying more for because of the guarantee it comes with, thereby giving it a higher perceived value. Performance also comes into play in categories that represent a much smaller investment, such as toilet paper. Even in a recession, many consumers may be pinching pennies, but they aren't willing to sacrifice the softness offered by Charmin.

Number two is being unique. Despite cutting back in areas considered luxuries (like their daily caramel macchiato), consumers are scrimping so that they can splurge on unique experiences and products. Consider summer movie revenues, which are down less than 0.5% from last year. The most successful movies were either part of a larger experience, had special effects that couldn't be replicated at home, or had huge talk value. There were no runaway hits from the independent film category, because consumers were spending only on movies they thought were the sure "winners."

"Sex and the City" earned $57 million in its first weekend and was the best box office debut of a film with a female main character. The film inspired an experience that extended beyond the theater, with 80% of moviegoers indicating they planned to attend a "Sex and the City" get-together before or after the movie, 68% planning to drink cosmopolitans and 51% planning to dress up for the event. The movie inspired a multi-layered experience that benefited everyone from Cointreau (an essential ingredient for the perfect cosmopolitan) to Manolo Blahnik.

The Apple iPhone is another unique, "I have to have it" product that did well this summer. On July 14, Apple announced that it sold its one millionth iPhone 3G, just three days after its launch. By comparison, it took 74 days to sell one million iPhones following the initial launch of the product in 2007 and almost two years to achieve this milestone with iPod. Why the urgency? Simple ... the iPhone is cool, there is no substitute, and tech junkies were cutting spending in a multitude of other places to make sure they could splurge on the device.

A third strategy: Reframe your competitive set. During a recession, understanding your consumers becomes even more critical. If you think the research you have from two years ago on how they are making choices in your category is relevant, forget it! Go back to the grocery store and watch the trade-offs that cash-strapped consumers are making. One critical thing you may notice is that your competitive set is larger than you think.

Consider the Kool-Aid brand. Many marketers, when evaluating the Kool-Aid competitive set, would include Crystal Light, Tang, generic brands, and juice brands. How many would include soda? To a consumer, they are all options that quench thirst, and if you examine how much the price of a case of soda has shot up in the past two months, you might notice an opportunity. The wise people at Kraft did just that. They are reframing the competitive set for Kool-Aid and repositioning the brand by focusing on its low price: one-third that of soda.

A final word of advice. Whatever you do, don't give up on marketing. When you cut marketing during a recession, you stop the conversation with your consumer. You are out of sight and ultimately out of mind, putting your brand at risk. The key is to rethink your strategy. Understand your current target mindset to make sure your message is relevant. Reallocate dollars to more effective mediums. Whatever it takes. Use this opportunity to build or strengthen your brand. A recession can be a great opportunity to gain market share and position your brand for the future. So don't just weather a recession--seize the opportunity to thrive.

(SOURCE: Nicole Davis Granese. Nicole Davis Granese is an account director at Slingshot LLC, a full-service advertising agency based in Dallas. She can be reached at Nicole.Granese@slingshot.biz)

5 Tips on Budgeting

2008-10-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

1. Think of a budget as a useful tool—a written financial plan that helps you set goals and measure progress.

2. Start by coming up with a sales revenue target. Make it your best estimate.

3. Based on past experience, estimate your cost of goods sold (e.g., 70 percent of sales) and subtract it from the sales revenue to come up with your estimated gross margin.

4. Forecast variable expenses (items such as travel and commissions that vary according to the level of sales) and fixed expenses (items like taxes and rent that stay the same, regardless of sales). Subtract these expenses from your gross margin to arrive at your estimated net income (before federal taxes).

5. Break your annual budget into quarters and monitor your progress every three months to detect problems and make corrections.

(Source: SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business." )

Cost-Conscious Consumers Responding to Restaurant Deals

2008-10-30T04:04:00.000-07:00

"In the quarter ending August 2008, 23 percent of all visits to restaurants were prompted by consumer-perceived deals." Normally, I am not a huge believer in discounting. However, in the restaurant industry you do need to look at different ways to provide value. This could be as simple as a day with discounted or free pricing for children, or maybe a special partnership with local schools where you set a day and give a small portion of the profits to their PTA. Try to be creative with the consumer-perceived deals so that it doesn't hurt your restaurant's perceived quality.
Jeff

Cost-Conscious Consumers Responding to Restaurant Deals

Restaurant industry's modest gain is driven by discount offers and deals

Discounted price, dollar menus, and other promotions are driving customer traffic and keeping the restaurant industry in the black, according to market research company The NPD Group. NPD reports total restaurant industry traffic is up 1 percent for the quarter ending August 2008, and the modest gain is driven entirely by deals.

As consumers look for ways to moderate their overall food budget without cooking more, restaurant operators have been offering more deals -- including value menus, coupons, discounted prices, and buy-one-get-one-free promotions -- to increase traffic, according to new data from NPD's CREST service, which tracks restaurant usage.

"More so than we've seen in many years, consumers are looking for savings and ways to stretch their dollar," says Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst at NPD. "Restaurant operators are responding to economic concerns with enticing value offers and deals."

In the quarter ending August 2008, 23 percent of all visits to restaurants were prompted by consumer-perceived deals, which represented an increase of nine percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. Non-deal restaurant traffic was down by one percent. The quick-service segment accounts for 78 percent of all restaurant visits and is largely driving deal activity.

Quick-service deal traffic is up by 10 percent and is being driven by hamburger and other sandwich restaurants, according to NPD. Thirty percent of all visits to these outlets were prompted by deals, an increase of 20 percent over a year ago. Value menus and discounted price offers found the most favor with consumers.

Overall, while deal traffic is up at breakfast and dinner, consumers use deals most often at lunch. The latest NPD CREST data finds that 38 percent of all deal visits to quick service restaurants occurred at lunch. Dollar or value menus tend to drive lunch traffic, coupons are used most at dinner and discounted prices are used at both lunch and dinner. "

Deal offers are complex and risky for restaurant operators, and this is at the same time they are faced with rising food costs," says Riggs. "But operators understand that in order to get the customers in the door, they need to make them an offer they simply can't refuse."
(Source: The NPD Group, 10/28/08)

CRM Systems Rapped for Lacking Personal Touch

2008-10-29T05:54:00.000-07:00

While this article is specific to auto dealerships, the issue is one that touches many industries. CRM systems can be great tools and allow you the ability to keep track of information to build stronger relationships with your customers, IF used properly. They should never try to be used as a replacement for a good personal relationships. The further you take the personal relationship out of the business, the more transactional you become to the customer.
Jeff

CRM Systems Rapped for Lacking Personal Touch

Customer-relationship management systems, designed to keep businesses close to their clientele, can have the opposite effect.

Some auto dealers fret the sophisticated and expensive software programs, for all their touted efficiencies, overshadow a key part of automotive retailing: "the personal touch."

"CRM systems have become a handicap by removing the one-on-one relationship with the customer," San Diego dealer Michael Baker says at the E.N.G. Automotive CRM conference here.

The systems are electronic equivalents of a Rolodex, but with much more customer information, ranging from data on buying preferences to the number of driver-age people in a household and when they last bought and serviced vehicles.

CRM offers an array of sales, marketing and management functions. Those include tracking the progress of a sale, following up with prospects, delivering timely service reminders and sending birthday wishes.

But a feared drawback is that dealership employees can rely too much on CRM and not enough on their own human skills to cultivate customer relationships. CRM defenders say the systems were designed, in part, because employees weren't doing enough on their own in the first place.

"I'd prefer that dealership people have relationships with customers, but we've established these fancy systems as a backstop because the employees are not establishing the relationships," says Todd Stainbrook, a digital-integration manager for Ford Motor Co.

Dealerships' high employee turnover rates often mean individual staffers don't maintain long-term customer relationships, he says. "That's why we've systemized and centralized it." But something such as a personal telephone reminder from a service advisor is more effective than a CRM-related recorded message, Baker says. "That's so impersonal," he says.

He adds: "Training needs to reinforce personal relationships. I can't emphasize that enough. It's about having good relationships with customers. It's not all electronic."

Experts say dealership personnel can be trained to use CRM systems and still offer the human touch in consumer interactions. Dealers need not conduct the training themselves, but they're advised to give their blessings to it.

"If the dealer is not involved, there's a problem," Stainbrook says. "It starts at the top. Dealers are getting it, as CRM evolves. I've seen a whole new perspective from them."

"But it's still about people, still about listening to customers," says Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive, an information services division. "Too many CRM programs focus on talking rather than listening."

Another potential drawback of CRM systems is that their information capacity can be overwhelming. "

Our biggest challenge is not a lack of data but figuring out which is useful," says Grant Paullo, BMW of North America's manager-after sales marketing and communications. "We need to make sure we have the right data in place."

Adds Stainbrook: "There is a proliferation of information. What do we do with all of it? I notice with the generation coming up that their expectations are high; they're focused on themselves; and they are shocked if they get something that is not relevant to them.

"They've grown up with modern technology, and it's our job to make sure we get to them and are relevant to them."

An Accenture study cites a gap between what today's consumers expect and what they get.

Modern technology is partly to blame for that, says Michael Keranen, American Honda Motor Corp.'s assistant vice president-dealer communications, training and customer relationship management. "We've done it ourselves by replacing a real human on phone calls to customers."

The true meaning of "personalization" can be questioned when businesses use computer systems to massage customers. Says Keranen: "A personalized email is not personalization."
(Source: Ward's Dealer Business, 10/28/08)

Staying Healthy in a Sick Economy

2008-10-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

...an interesting article from the New York Times that discusses not only how to stay healthy in our current economy, but also looks at what some in the fitness industry are doing to be creative, be thinking of thier customer's needs and remain competitive.
Jeff

Staying Healthy in a Sick Economy
By MANDY KATZ

ON Wall Street, when the going gets tough, will the tough get yoga mats?

Adding classes in yoga, meditation and other so-called mind-body regimens is just one way fitness professionals in the financial district are responding to recent economic uncertainties roiling their corporate clientele. Some are also offering shorter, cheaper personal training sessions and, in at least one health club, quiet discounts for members who lose their jobs.

Amid layoffs, concerns about staying buff could seem trivial. (Imagine the headline “World Markets Near Collapse: Muscle Tone Under Threat.”) Yet, businesspeople themselves wonder how a perilous financial climate will affect their physical fitness — and if exercise could help them weather hard times.

Some struggle to squeeze in any workouts at all. But others, like Amy Sturtevant, an investment director for Oppenheimer & Company in Washington, find themselves doubling down on conditioning for relief. “Professionals are doing their best not to panic, but I know a lot of professionals who are panicking” about the markets, she said. “The only way to get away from it is to have some kind of outlet.”

Ms. Sturtevant, a mother of four, is training for her fourth marathon. With brokerage clients needing more hand-holding, she said, she stints on sleep rather than skip her 5 a.m. daily boot camp and 20-mile weekend runs.

But one of Ms. Sturtevant’s training partners, a portfolio manager, said in an e-mail message that she had not been as diligent as Ms. Sturtevant and had been “scarce” at their workouts. The portfolio manager said she had weathered some tough financial cycles, “but this one has been uniquely disabling.”

“Forget the 5 o’clock wake-up to run,” she wrote. “Who is sleeping?”

One business owner, Sheri David, is backsliding for business reasons. As chief executive of Impressions on Hold, a company based in New York that sells corporate voicemail systems, a tougher sales environment has meant Ms. David sees more of her customers and less of her personal trainer. Over the summer, she dropped from five sessions a week to three; by mid-September, she said, “it turned into one day for one hour.”

Her trainer, Chris Hall, chides Ms. David to make time and, when she does, to tune out her BlackBerry, she reported. “But I say, ‘You don’t understand — there’s 27,000 reasons I have to pay attention,’ ” referring to her accounts.

For his part, Mr. Hall — whose clients have included Catherine Zeta-Jones — is now offering 30-minute, “high-core, high-intensity” sessions and shared workouts, he said, “because people don’t necessarily have as much time as they used to, and they don’t want to spend as much money.”

About a third of the 42 million Americans who exercise join fitness centers (a number that’s been flat for several years), according to American Sports Data. To keep them on the roster, clubs may be willing to bargain. Most customers who quit the Telos Fitness Center in Dallas, for example, must pay to rejoin. But, for suddenly strapped longtime members, “I’ll put a note in their file and we’ll let them pick up their membership without any fees,” said Clarisa Duran, the center’s sales and marketing director.

For Plus One, which operates in-house fitness centers, corporate accounts are the issue; until recently, its major accounts included the investment banks Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Though still operating in all of those except Bear Stearns (which closed in March), the company now must look to its recent expansion in other regions and industries for growth, said Tom Maraday, the senior vice president. (Google is one new client.)

“We’re a little experienced with stress because we went through 9/11 down here,” said Grace DeSimone, Plus One’s national director of group fitness. When disaster strikes, she noted, demand for yoga goes up, and onsite gyms exert a special pull: “People come and they want someone to talk to — it’s like Cheers.”

And, as in a bar, the televisions stay on. “In the banks, we have to keep the news on,” Mr. Maraday said. But at Cadence Cycling and Multisport Centers, TV’s show training videos rather than CNBC, because “we want this to be an escape,” said Mikael Hanson, director of performance for Cadence in New York.

During the Bear Stearns collapse, as becalmed financiers sought their escape, midday classes at the in-house gym grew crowded, according to a former Bear Stearns trader who declined to be named. When the final ax fell, they lost not just jobs but access to a club offering “everything,” she recalled, a hint of longing in her voice.

“They even gave you the shirts and shorts so you didn’t have to worry about laundry.” Now she can no longer get in her daily 5:30 a.m. workout. Her new employer has no gym and, with the markets erupting, her workday starts even earlier. “I wish there was a gym that opened at 5 in midtown,” the trader said, “but there isn’t.”

Stephanie Shemin Feingold misses a cushy fitness center, too. Since leaving a Midtown law firm in June to work at a nonprofit in Harlem, she’s been using her apartment building’s spartan fitness room. “When there are only three treadmills, it can get crowded pretty quickly,” she said.

“I’m lucky if I get in 20 minutes instead of the hour I used to do,” Ms. Shemin Feingold said. “My pants are getting tight. I’m going to have to figure out a new routine, because I can’t afford a new wardrobe.”

Fitness matters more than ever if you’re laid off, career counselors advise, not just for health, but to network and stay positive. “The last thing you want is to gain 20 pounds during a job search, ” said Dr. Jan Cannon, author of “Finding a Job in a Slow Economy.” “That just compounds that sense of, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ ”

Exercise, she added, can also spur creativity. “You know how we always have those ‘aha’ moments in the shower?” Dr. Cannon said. In the same way, “a good brisk walk can be very helpful.”

Jenny Herring, a Des Moines financial writer, usually walks or bikes for respite from the fulltime job search she began in June, after being downsized as part of the subprime mortgage fallout. But one day last month, feeling frustrated when her phone refused to ring, she varied the routine: “I said, I’m going to get outside, and I mowed the front and back yards” for exercise.
For a motivated few, extra time for conditioning actually proves a rare upside of unemployment. “A lot of people who are between jobs are using this downtime to go after a goal,” like a triathlon, said Mr. Hanson of Cadence Cycling.

Dr. Cannon recalled a client whose workouts last spring “got more frequent as time went on” — to block out the disappointment, and to give her something to get up and do every day.
“She lost 40 pounds.”

It Will All Get Better When The Election Is Over

2008-10-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

“It will all get better when the election is over.” I have heard this stated in many different ways over the past month, and while I agree that I will hear less Approved Messages by someone that has just…or is about to…sling some mud, the fundamentals of what will make businesses stronger will not change.

I can assure you that on November 5th, your business is not going to magically improve by 10%. What will help businesses continue profitability in this evolving economic climate are sound fundamentals. Don’t wait for the election, now is the time to take a few minutes AWAY from your business to work ON your business. Take a long hard look at the following:

YOUR STAFF: In my opinion, this is the single most important aspect of your business that will help you achieve continued rising profits or a painful spiral into bankruptcy. Do you have the right people on the bus? Is your staff committed to working a bit harder, being a bit more creative, changing the way they approach their jobs? If their work becomes a bit harder or they need to assume additional responsibilities, are they going to be surfing the web for their next home? If you have any concerns about your team, now is the time to retrain, reassign duties or replace. Now is not the time to keep dead weight, they will only bring down your other committed employees and be a wasted labor expense.

YOUR MARKETING PLAN: Are you effectively getting the word out about your exclusive competitive advantage? Do you have a marketing plan? For fun, Google “Advertising In A Down Economy” and read a few of the articles. Now is more important than ever to have a strong marketing plan. Don’t spread your limited marketing budget too thin by trying to be everywhere. Pick one media and dominate that. If you can’t afford to dominate one media, pick one particular radio station / TV station / publication and dominate that. If you can’t afford to do that, then pick one aspect of the advertising entity’s audience and dominate that. In this business climate, a good marketing consultant is worth their weight in gold – find one and listen.

YOUR P&L STATEMENT: When is the last time you really reviewed this? Are there line items that are out of whack? If there are, research, understand and then fix them. Now isn’t necessarily the time to be thinking you need to cut expenses everywhere, just make sure everything is right sized.

YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE: If it is not at the highest level, fix it fast or be prepared to watch your revenue decline quickly!

YOUR COMMITMENT LEVEL: Are you in this for the long haul? Do you still love what you do? If not, maybe now is the time to reevaluate. Maybe it is time to delegate more to those who do have the passion, or to sell completely. If you are committed then have fun with the challenge and celebrate every little win, no matter how small.