Not all graphic designers and website programmers are created equal. And in this case, it isn't a talent thing although in that category it is beyond true that not all are equal. In this instance, the inequality is based on honesty and a knowledge of intellectual property and marketing law.
In Canada, intellectual property law and marketing law are both built to protect the creative folks and their clients. It is very clearly stated that creative work continues to be owned by its creator until it has been paid for, in full, by the person who contracted the work. At that time, the work becomes the property of the client.
The exception here is when there is a signed contract that stipulates that the work remains in the ownership of the creator. Notice I said 'a signed contract', not a verbal agreement, not a terms and conditions that appear after the project is completed.
Too many small business clients discover that, in the end, their creative designers and programmers hold them over a barrel saying that the work remains in the ownership of the creator and additional fees will be charged for the client to obtain possession of the work.
An example happened recently to my newest client. Their website had been created by a local firm and the client understood that, other than proprietary software used in the creation of the website, they owned all the work and images (having paid substantially for them). In the Terms and Conditions at the base of the website pages, it clearly stated that all work remains in the ownership of the programming company.
Well, big surprise, just because you say it, doesn't make it so. However the challenge is that my new clients would have to spend money in the legal system to rectify the situation. One hopes that a reasonable conversation with the programmer will fix the issue, but you just never know.
Credible creative folks are aware of their rights and yours as small business owners contracting them to develop work. Don't sign a contract without reading it (and that shouldn't even need to be said). Ask the question out loud about who owns what once it's paid for. If there's any weebly-wobbling about the answer, find someone else to do the work.
Oh, and the mysterious proprietary software used on my new client's website? Flash. Don't get bamboozled. Understand what's being built and how.
It's your responsibility to protect yourself and your business. Make sure you do.
Showing posts with label mormac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mormac. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A special place in hell for marketers
There's a certain line in the sand with marketing - and it keeps being crossed. I believe there should be a special place in hell for marketers and programs that haven't the wits to know when they are irritating their audience. Irritation doesn't breed happy brand experience in anyone's world.
The first special place in hell goes to programming that blatantly uses paid product placement to finance their projects. A little product placement may be amusing but, when it is in your face every five minutes, it screams of desperation.
Case in point - So You Think You Can Dance, Canada (SYTYCDC). I've watched both the American and Canadian versions and the Canadian one is a patchwork quilt of useless product sponsorships that precede nearly every commercial break (as if what we see in the commercial break isn't enough).
Now I get that marketers are having to be more creative in how they reach their audience but the product sponsorships on SYTYCDC are embarassingly uncreative. The Aquafina glasses the judges have strategically placed in front of them so they are in every shot is quiet and traditional.
The Canon sponsorship of 'how the stars get their transformation' is ridiculous. Quick snapshots of the dancers getting their make-up applied - honestly how many times do we have to see the same style of snapshot? If anything, it demonstrates a lack of creativity when using the camera. Good message? I think not. (And of course it is followed in the commercial break by a Canon ad.)
The Joe fresh stage for the audience to dance on is also leaning toward nonsense. A nasty excuse to get the brand in front of both the studio audience and the viewers - and of course followed by an ad in the commercial break.
Finally, as if this wasn't enough, and gracious there may be more that I've forgotten (which indicates how successful this is), is the Tylenol Muscle and Back Pain backstage update. Followed by chatter from the dancers as they breeze by the camera and, you guessed it, a Tylenol ad in the commercial break.
Now in my world, each and every one of these product placement sponsorships should be asking for a discount because their impact is watered down by being trapped with all the other ridiculous activities of paid sponsorship. Is SYTYCDC that desperate for money - or are the advertisers not finding value in buying regular advertising spots? In either case, perhaps a measurement of the value of the programming, or how it is presented, is in order - by both the producers and the advertisers. Perhaps they should just pay for their 15 minutes of the program and spare us the commercial break. Imagine that - network television could become commercial break free! Obviously not commercial-free, but we'd get more program in the one hour than the 40 out of 60 minutes we currently get.
Oh, and the second special place in hell goes to the marketers who think it is clever to buy space to play the same ad back-to-back. Yes, a 15-second ad becomes a 30-second one when you play it twice in a row, but for heaven's sake - do you know how irritating that is? Just a suggestion - negative impact is not a good brand experience and while it gets someone talking about you, it isn't in a pleasant way so they aren't going to support your brand. Fools.
The first special place in hell goes to programming that blatantly uses paid product placement to finance their projects. A little product placement may be amusing but, when it is in your face every five minutes, it screams of desperation.
Case in point - So You Think You Can Dance, Canada (SYTYCDC). I've watched both the American and Canadian versions and the Canadian one is a patchwork quilt of useless product sponsorships that precede nearly every commercial break (as if what we see in the commercial break isn't enough).
Now I get that marketers are having to be more creative in how they reach their audience but the product sponsorships on SYTYCDC are embarassingly uncreative. The Aquafina glasses the judges have strategically placed in front of them so they are in every shot is quiet and traditional.
The Canon sponsorship of 'how the stars get their transformation' is ridiculous. Quick snapshots of the dancers getting their make-up applied - honestly how many times do we have to see the same style of snapshot? If anything, it demonstrates a lack of creativity when using the camera. Good message? I think not. (And of course it is followed in the commercial break by a Canon ad.)
The Joe fresh stage for the audience to dance on is also leaning toward nonsense. A nasty excuse to get the brand in front of both the studio audience and the viewers - and of course followed by an ad in the commercial break.
Finally, as if this wasn't enough, and gracious there may be more that I've forgotten (which indicates how successful this is), is the Tylenol Muscle and Back Pain backstage update. Followed by chatter from the dancers as they breeze by the camera and, you guessed it, a Tylenol ad in the commercial break.
Now in my world, each and every one of these product placement sponsorships should be asking for a discount because their impact is watered down by being trapped with all the other ridiculous activities of paid sponsorship. Is SYTYCDC that desperate for money - or are the advertisers not finding value in buying regular advertising spots? In either case, perhaps a measurement of the value of the programming, or how it is presented, is in order - by both the producers and the advertisers. Perhaps they should just pay for their 15 minutes of the program and spare us the commercial break. Imagine that - network television could become commercial break free! Obviously not commercial-free, but we'd get more program in the one hour than the 40 out of 60 minutes we currently get.
Oh, and the second special place in hell goes to the marketers who think it is clever to buy space to play the same ad back-to-back. Yes, a 15-second ad becomes a 30-second one when you play it twice in a row, but for heaven's sake - do you know how irritating that is? Just a suggestion - negative impact is not a good brand experience and while it gets someone talking about you, it isn't in a pleasant way so they aren't going to support your brand. Fools.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Dazzling upholds its brand name!
Just a couple hours ago, I was a dinner guest at Dazzling Restaurant & Bar on King St. W in Toronto - the illustrious theatre district. Dazzling brings an interesting fusion to several Far East dining styles. From Dim Sum to Sushi, from Pad Thai to Salt & Pepper Shrimp, the creations at Dazzling were just that - dazzling.
It's easy to see how deciding to brand yourselves Dazzling could be a challenge waiting to happen. However, in this particular instance, it actually holds true. The decor is enchanting, the service attentive and welcoming. But the food - the food is what's truly dazzling about this restaurant.
As a long-time fan of ordering a salad and then select choices from the appetizer menu, Dazzling didn't let me down. And didn't let down my dining companion - one of the fussiest eaters I have ever had the pleasure of dining with. Everything from the salad and appetizer menu just sang of the care taken in the kitchen to bring these delectables to table.
The frontage of the restaurant doesn't give away a hint of the dazzlingness inside - even though the theatre district and its ever present lightshow might overshadow the concept of anything else being dazzling. Living up to the brand promise - and for me a restaurant is about the experience and the food - that's what Dazzling actually accomplishes. The smoked salmon avocado salad is positively genius, the detail of delivering a bowl of magnificently tender, warm edamame, and attentive staff that is just there when you need them - everything was what the brand promised.
Congratulations to Dave and his team for putting together a dining experience that makes a marketer (who was quite skeptical that anything deserved the brand Dazzling) get excited about how to take the elements of a word and turn it into something that tastes just as dazzling as promised.
And that's what good marketing is all about - keeping the promise that your brand offers. (And notice please Dave, that I never said a word about the creme brulee. . .)
It's easy to see how deciding to brand yourselves Dazzling could be a challenge waiting to happen. However, in this particular instance, it actually holds true. The decor is enchanting, the service attentive and welcoming. But the food - the food is what's truly dazzling about this restaurant.
As a long-time fan of ordering a salad and then select choices from the appetizer menu, Dazzling didn't let me down. And didn't let down my dining companion - one of the fussiest eaters I have ever had the pleasure of dining with. Everything from the salad and appetizer menu just sang of the care taken in the kitchen to bring these delectables to table.
The frontage of the restaurant doesn't give away a hint of the dazzlingness inside - even though the theatre district and its ever present lightshow might overshadow the concept of anything else being dazzling. Living up to the brand promise - and for me a restaurant is about the experience and the food - that's what Dazzling actually accomplishes. The smoked salmon avocado salad is positively genius, the detail of delivering a bowl of magnificently tender, warm edamame, and attentive staff that is just there when you need them - everything was what the brand promised.
Congratulations to Dave and his team for putting together a dining experience that makes a marketer (who was quite skeptical that anything deserved the brand Dazzling) get excited about how to take the elements of a word and turn it into something that tastes just as dazzling as promised.
And that's what good marketing is all about - keeping the promise that your brand offers. (And notice please Dave, that I never said a word about the creme brulee. . .)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Canada - The brand outside your window
Happy Canada Day everyone! A celebration of the country where 89% of the residents believe we live in the best country in the world, according to the Globe and Mail. And a country which has regularly discussed our self-identity and whether we even have one.
I am fortunate to live in a part of Canada where I can cross the border into the US at several points without much more than a short drive. As such, I do speaking engagements in the US and hear from our American friends who live close to the border on how they perceive their Canadian neighbours.
I've always thought we were seen as beer-drinking, funny, polite people. Let's face it, some of the best things to be exported to the US are our beer and our comedians. And there's no doubt we have excellent manners, when taken as whole. However, I found an interesting comment to be recurring in my conversations during American speaking gigs; apparently Canadians are just not worldly.
Not worldly. Hmm. So having the safest, most successful banking industry in the world doesn't matter. Being an upstanding member of the United Nations who regularly is called up to bat in international conflict isn't really very telling. And the fact that we have more successful relationships with more countries in the world than anyone else isn't even considered.
What is considered, oddly enough, is that Canada represents, in many American minds, a country of rural residents. If we have so much space and so few people, so few large cities and so little time spent bragging about it, how can we possibly be a world-player?
Thus the flaw of so many branding exercises. What the business owner and managers think is happening outside the window is often very different from what the customer is thinking. There's no question Canadians have talked the concept of our brand (or self-identity if you want to use a more politically-correct term) nearly to death. Our government protects us from American television by legislating a certain number of hours of Canadian programming all in the name of establishing our unique Canadian identity. But it appears that our own self-vision has nothing to do with how other people see us.
How many businesses do you know that believe they are special for one reason and it turns out you buy from them for a completely different one?
I rather liked thinking we had great beer, the largest crop per capita of funny people and always say 'thank you' and 'excuse me'. I don't really like thinking we aren't taken seriously because we aren't worldly. Perhaps it's a comment on how goofy our politicans behave out in public because I can't believe it is a result of a general behaviour, not in our impressive, multi-cultural country.
Who knew the geography would define our brand?
I am fortunate to live in a part of Canada where I can cross the border into the US at several points without much more than a short drive. As such, I do speaking engagements in the US and hear from our American friends who live close to the border on how they perceive their Canadian neighbours.
I've always thought we were seen as beer-drinking, funny, polite people. Let's face it, some of the best things to be exported to the US are our beer and our comedians. And there's no doubt we have excellent manners, when taken as whole. However, I found an interesting comment to be recurring in my conversations during American speaking gigs; apparently Canadians are just not worldly.
Not worldly. Hmm. So having the safest, most successful banking industry in the world doesn't matter. Being an upstanding member of the United Nations who regularly is called up to bat in international conflict isn't really very telling. And the fact that we have more successful relationships with more countries in the world than anyone else isn't even considered.
What is considered, oddly enough, is that Canada represents, in many American minds, a country of rural residents. If we have so much space and so few people, so few large cities and so little time spent bragging about it, how can we possibly be a world-player?
Thus the flaw of so many branding exercises. What the business owner and managers think is happening outside the window is often very different from what the customer is thinking. There's no question Canadians have talked the concept of our brand (or self-identity if you want to use a more politically-correct term) nearly to death. Our government protects us from American television by legislating a certain number of hours of Canadian programming all in the name of establishing our unique Canadian identity. But it appears that our own self-vision has nothing to do with how other people see us.
How many businesses do you know that believe they are special for one reason and it turns out you buy from them for a completely different one?
I rather liked thinking we had great beer, the largest crop per capita of funny people and always say 'thank you' and 'excuse me'. I don't really like thinking we aren't taken seriously because we aren't worldly. Perhaps it's a comment on how goofy our politicans behave out in public because I can't believe it is a result of a general behaviour, not in our impressive, multi-cultural country.
Who knew the geography would define our brand?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Why you win & why you lose
Imagine a business owner who doesn't want to know why he won a customer, why he lost one or why they chose just to not buy from anyone. Far fetched? Not even close. Small business owners and their sales teams often try to spray the wall in hopes that something will stick, rather than having loads of information to guide and streamline their efforts. This is inefficient on man hours, but even worse, it eats into your profit.
Knowing why you lose a sale is arguably the most important aspect here for small business owners, however it's just one piece of the puzzle. There's no doubt knowing why you lost a sale can help you make changes, whether in staff or tactic, however knowing why you win sets up your brand story. Knowing why people simply chose not to buy at all helps you recognize barriers you can plan to climb over.
Many small business owners spend too much time staring at their own navel; they make broad stroke announcements on the best features of the product/service without ever consulting their customers. Take the time and spend the money to learn why you win over your customers. Their answers may surprise you and give you a whole new brand story to tell that will sway potential customers in your direction.
On the opposite side of the fence, some small business owners are too willing to accept creative excuses for why a sales call failed. Just because your sales team has experience in sales doesn't necessarily make them good at it; it may just make them good at coming up with creative excuses. There's no doubt it can be challenging to go back to a customer who has told you 'no' and ask why. But the benefits far outweigh the discomfort.
You can learn whether your sales team is focusing on the customer's needs or simply the sound of their own voice. Maybe you're missing the boat on what makes your product/service special in the eyes of your customer. There is so much learnin' that can be done by talking to your customers after the fact, not just during the front end of the sales cycle.
If you need to, hire a consultant that can handle the surveying and conversations with your customers after the fact. An experienced consultant can wade through the information and give you the tidbits that will make a noticeable and profitable difference to your business.
Be brave, be willing to listen and be prepared to change.
Knowing why you lose a sale is arguably the most important aspect here for small business owners, however it's just one piece of the puzzle. There's no doubt knowing why you lost a sale can help you make changes, whether in staff or tactic, however knowing why you win sets up your brand story. Knowing why people simply chose not to buy at all helps you recognize barriers you can plan to climb over.
Many small business owners spend too much time staring at their own navel; they make broad stroke announcements on the best features of the product/service without ever consulting their customers. Take the time and spend the money to learn why you win over your customers. Their answers may surprise you and give you a whole new brand story to tell that will sway potential customers in your direction.
On the opposite side of the fence, some small business owners are too willing to accept creative excuses for why a sales call failed. Just because your sales team has experience in sales doesn't necessarily make them good at it; it may just make them good at coming up with creative excuses. There's no doubt it can be challenging to go back to a customer who has told you 'no' and ask why. But the benefits far outweigh the discomfort.
You can learn whether your sales team is focusing on the customer's needs or simply the sound of their own voice. Maybe you're missing the boat on what makes your product/service special in the eyes of your customer. There is so much learnin' that can be done by talking to your customers after the fact, not just during the front end of the sales cycle.
If you need to, hire a consultant that can handle the surveying and conversations with your customers after the fact. An experienced consultant can wade through the information and give you the tidbits that will make a noticeable and profitable difference to your business.
Be brave, be willing to listen and be prepared to change.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Your current customer - your best business growth asset
It doesn't matter whether it's a recession, depression or just business as usual - your current customers are the best source of business growth. Unfortunately, too many businesses neglect their current customers to go searching after new ones.
Research has shown it takes about five times the money to get a new customer as it does to retain a current one. But just retaining a current customer really isn't enough. Why not get them to do more business with you? Why not get them to bring their friends and family to your business as well? Or in the case of business-to-business enterprise, why not get their co-workers into your customer base?
In some businesses, management believes it is solely the job of the sales force to stay in touch with current customers and try to grow the business. I would suggest however the sales force could be more efficient if the marketing team is on side with the importance of incenting current customers to grow their business.
Have you contacted your customer base to let them know you're still there to support their needs? Have you sent a postcard, letter, email? Have you told them they're appreciated? Have you demonstrated your appreciation through a special offer only to your current customers?
If you haven't, you're missing an efficient, economical business growth opportunity. If you have a retail location, invite your current customers to a small wine-and-cheese party to show off your new merchandise and have some great loss leaders to show your appreciation. If you are in the service industry, perhaps a partnership that compliments your service could be a good appreciation gift (and then you can do the same for that business).
Everyone likes to be thanked. Especially when there's gifts involved. A promotional item with your logo prominently displayed would be an excellent gift. That way your business identity stays in front of them for a longer period of time. But make sure the gift matches your branding. Don't give away a cheap pen if your business represents expensive items.
Bottom-line is: you need to stay in touch with your current customers and give them a reason to do more business with you. And if you can get them to talk about you to their friends and family, even better. Don't wait for someone else to do this for you. Get on it, right now.
Research has shown it takes about five times the money to get a new customer as it does to retain a current one. But just retaining a current customer really isn't enough. Why not get them to do more business with you? Why not get them to bring their friends and family to your business as well? Or in the case of business-to-business enterprise, why not get their co-workers into your customer base?
In some businesses, management believes it is solely the job of the sales force to stay in touch with current customers and try to grow the business. I would suggest however the sales force could be more efficient if the marketing team is on side with the importance of incenting current customers to grow their business.
Have you contacted your customer base to let them know you're still there to support their needs? Have you sent a postcard, letter, email? Have you told them they're appreciated? Have you demonstrated your appreciation through a special offer only to your current customers?
If you haven't, you're missing an efficient, economical business growth opportunity. If you have a retail location, invite your current customers to a small wine-and-cheese party to show off your new merchandise and have some great loss leaders to show your appreciation. If you are in the service industry, perhaps a partnership that compliments your service could be a good appreciation gift (and then you can do the same for that business).
Everyone likes to be thanked. Especially when there's gifts involved. A promotional item with your logo prominently displayed would be an excellent gift. That way your business identity stays in front of them for a longer period of time. But make sure the gift matches your branding. Don't give away a cheap pen if your business represents expensive items.
Bottom-line is: you need to stay in touch with your current customers and give them a reason to do more business with you. And if you can get them to talk about you to their friends and family, even better. Don't wait for someone else to do this for you. Get on it, right now.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Message match your meaning
Okay, so maybe I watch too many crime shows, but the new Air Canada television campaign is rather spooky to me. It's supposed to be the re-launch of the brand but, to me, half of it looks like a murder mystery. The smearing of red paint with fingertips is too much like writing with blood. (maybe I should seek help?)
I seriously believe an airline wouldn't want to be associated with spilled blood, so what were they thinking? The company's in trouble financially and they spend money on a high production ad that doesn't really sell any of their services but certainly puts a negative picture in my mind.
It is however an excellent example of what can happen to your marketing message if it isn't clear, concise and tested. Branding is important, don't get me wrong, but when your budget is tight, delivering messages that are high level and don't actually have a specific call-to-action are not a good use of your money (but it certainly puts cash into ad agencies' wallets). Of course, maybe Air Canada doesn't have anything positive to say about seat sales or services (that's certainly the sound of things in the media over the last while) so this weird bloody ad is all they have in their pocket.
There aren't a lot of ads, television, print or otherwise, that people take the time to discuss to discover what their impressions actually are. So you're stuck with their first impression - good or bad.
And it isn't just the words you use. In the case of Air Canada, there's nothing wrong with the words of the commercial. In this case, it's the visuals. So make sure your images are worthy of the message - both supporting it and enhancing it. For some people something as simple as brussel sprouts can be such a negative image that your brand is scarred forever.
Depending on the audience psychographics, you could find customers turning away simply because the imagery doesn't match their temperament. And the only way to know for sure is through testing or being completely in touch with who your customer actually is deep in their heart.
The more you know about your customer, the more you will be able to reach them with engaging and motivating messages. It's worth the research to not become an airline that markets writing in blood.
I seriously believe an airline wouldn't want to be associated with spilled blood, so what were they thinking? The company's in trouble financially and they spend money on a high production ad that doesn't really sell any of their services but certainly puts a negative picture in my mind.
It is however an excellent example of what can happen to your marketing message if it isn't clear, concise and tested. Branding is important, don't get me wrong, but when your budget is tight, delivering messages that are high level and don't actually have a specific call-to-action are not a good use of your money (but it certainly puts cash into ad agencies' wallets). Of course, maybe Air Canada doesn't have anything positive to say about seat sales or services (that's certainly the sound of things in the media over the last while) so this weird bloody ad is all they have in their pocket.
There aren't a lot of ads, television, print or otherwise, that people take the time to discuss to discover what their impressions actually are. So you're stuck with their first impression - good or bad.
And it isn't just the words you use. In the case of Air Canada, there's nothing wrong with the words of the commercial. In this case, it's the visuals. So make sure your images are worthy of the message - both supporting it and enhancing it. For some people something as simple as brussel sprouts can be such a negative image that your brand is scarred forever.
Depending on the audience psychographics, you could find customers turning away simply because the imagery doesn't match their temperament. And the only way to know for sure is through testing or being completely in touch with who your customer actually is deep in their heart.
The more you know about your customer, the more you will be able to reach them with engaging and motivating messages. It's worth the research to not become an airline that markets writing in blood.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
When is new radio too much radio?
Enough already! Over the last month or so, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been madly granting new radio station licences. And most of them are in communities that are already extremely well-serviced by an overdose of radio choices.
Just because it sounds like a good idea to put a radio station in "wee tiny town Canada" doesn't mean it actually makes sense. The logic seems to be, according to one radio station owner in "wee tiny town", that it's important to have local news and information. Yep, okay, sure. But unless you are an independently wealthy radio station owner doing it from the goodness of your heart, you are simply watering down the audience market for your advertisers.
As it is, I hear from innumerable small business owners that radio doesn't work. I always beg to differ with this opinion because radio does work, when you do it right. And part of doing it right is choosing a radio station that matches your audience definition. If the audience is spread over five radio stations instead of three - well, you can see that this becomes a nightmare of planning and budgeting. All these additional radio stations are just going to make it harder for a small business to make a reasonable buy that gets results.
As a marketing coach, I get to meet a lot of small business owners. In one local community, a number of the small business owners that attended a coaching session were quite frank in their dislike of buying their local radio station. They felt the music choices were erratic and didn't sit well with their potential customer.
As a result, I had a rather long conversation with radio station owner from "wee tiny town Canada". The biggest surprise to me during this conversation was the emphatic statement, "People don't listen to the radio for the music. They listen for the information." Well, yes that might be true if you are a talk or news station, but if you're going to play music you might want it to have some logical association with the audience you are trying to sell the local businesses.
And in reality if radio can't deliver results, then people will stop buying it. And when they stop buying it, people lose their jobs and the radio stations cease to exist. How does it make sense to saturate the market with loads of radio stations - either for the radio stations or the small businesses?
Just because it sounds like a good idea to put a radio station in "wee tiny town Canada" doesn't mean it actually makes sense. The logic seems to be, according to one radio station owner in "wee tiny town", that it's important to have local news and information. Yep, okay, sure. But unless you are an independently wealthy radio station owner doing it from the goodness of your heart, you are simply watering down the audience market for your advertisers.
As it is, I hear from innumerable small business owners that radio doesn't work. I always beg to differ with this opinion because radio does work, when you do it right. And part of doing it right is choosing a radio station that matches your audience definition. If the audience is spread over five radio stations instead of three - well, you can see that this becomes a nightmare of planning and budgeting. All these additional radio stations are just going to make it harder for a small business to make a reasonable buy that gets results.
As a marketing coach, I get to meet a lot of small business owners. In one local community, a number of the small business owners that attended a coaching session were quite frank in their dislike of buying their local radio station. They felt the music choices were erratic and didn't sit well with their potential customer.
As a result, I had a rather long conversation with radio station owner from "wee tiny town Canada". The biggest surprise to me during this conversation was the emphatic statement, "People don't listen to the radio for the music. They listen for the information." Well, yes that might be true if you are a talk or news station, but if you're going to play music you might want it to have some logical association with the audience you are trying to sell the local businesses.
And in reality if radio can't deliver results, then people will stop buying it. And when they stop buying it, people lose their jobs and the radio stations cease to exist. How does it make sense to saturate the market with loads of radio stations - either for the radio stations or the small businesses?
Monday, March 9, 2009
The economics of marketing - shrink it at your peril
There's loads of research saying if you cut your marketing budget during tough economic times you won't survive with the strength you could if you just towed the line. And yet, there's more businesses cutting their marketing budgets than there are businesses getting smarter about how they spend their money.
I've had the pleasure of dashing about presenting Marketing Bootcamp for Small Business - Your recession survival toolkit to a number of organizations over the last month. The session discusses the importance of not cutting your marketing budget and shares important information about how to get the most bang for your buck. I've met some pretty terrific small business people who are suffering cutbacks and, in most cases, they've felt they have no choice but to cut their marketing budget.
The key thing to remember: If you cut your marketing budget, you are effectively lowering the amount you talk to your customer. At the very least, you are lessening the quality of the conversation. And if you aren't talking to them, someone else is.
This is why companies with their marketing budget intact, even during recessionary times, grow larger and stronger while other businesses close or panic. It's all about continuing the conversation.
Small businesses waste an extraordinary amount of money in their marketing. And they don't understand that marketing is actually a revenue stream - not an expense line (accountants will argue this, but it's simply true that marketing is the top of your sales funnel - without it there's no support for your sales force and no mechanism for relationship development with prospective customers). For many small businesses, marketing is simply a necessary evil that is the first thing to go when money is short.
In my book, Muddled, meager and messy - Marketing performance repair manual for small business there's information about how to make better use of the money you have. In cases where you get smarter, you can actually pare back your spend because you're getting more results.
The media has done a bang-up job of putting recession fear into every business person's heart. Take that fear and turn it into smarter business. Every marketing tactic should be able to be defined by the relationship it builds with your customers. If there's no relationship definition, you should reconsider the tactic.
Bottom line: If you have to cut your marketing budget you'd better get smarter about using the money you have. Heck, even if you don't have to cut your marketing budget, you should get smarter because customers are going to become more discriminating in their purchases.
I've had the pleasure of dashing about presenting Marketing Bootcamp for Small Business - Your recession survival toolkit to a number of organizations over the last month. The session discusses the importance of not cutting your marketing budget and shares important information about how to get the most bang for your buck. I've met some pretty terrific small business people who are suffering cutbacks and, in most cases, they've felt they have no choice but to cut their marketing budget.
The key thing to remember: If you cut your marketing budget, you are effectively lowering the amount you talk to your customer. At the very least, you are lessening the quality of the conversation. And if you aren't talking to them, someone else is.
This is why companies with their marketing budget intact, even during recessionary times, grow larger and stronger while other businesses close or panic. It's all about continuing the conversation.
Small businesses waste an extraordinary amount of money in their marketing. And they don't understand that marketing is actually a revenue stream - not an expense line (accountants will argue this, but it's simply true that marketing is the top of your sales funnel - without it there's no support for your sales force and no mechanism for relationship development with prospective customers). For many small businesses, marketing is simply a necessary evil that is the first thing to go when money is short.
In my book, Muddled, meager and messy - Marketing performance repair manual for small business there's information about how to make better use of the money you have. In cases where you get smarter, you can actually pare back your spend because you're getting more results.
The media has done a bang-up job of putting recession fear into every business person's heart. Take that fear and turn it into smarter business. Every marketing tactic should be able to be defined by the relationship it builds with your customers. If there's no relationship definition, you should reconsider the tactic.
Bottom line: If you have to cut your marketing budget you'd better get smarter about using the money you have. Heck, even if you don't have to cut your marketing budget, you should get smarter because customers are going to become more discriminating in their purchases.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Don't we love a disaster
With the year drawing to a close, I thought I would look back at the stats for my blogs over the year. The blog about the disasters of Wendy's and Burger King's marketing was, by far, the most popular. And popular around the world.
Most of the readers found the blog through a Google search. Have Wendy's and Burger King become the equivalent of rubbernecking a car crash? As North Americans, we have a morbid fascination with disasters and these two fast-food joints are definitely the prize winners for disastrous branding and marketing.
I re-read the blog to see if there had been any changes to the situation since writing about them in January. To my surprise, the brand-scarring I mentioned in the blog had been eliminated. The evil papier mache King head seems to be gone and the idiots in red braids seem to also have left the building. And thank goodness for it.
Wendy's brand has become more stable and likable again. Burger King is still a mangled mess, but at least they aren't scaring people anymore. (Well, they do scare me but that's a different thing. What scares me is that someone is out there making money off this mess and pretending they know something about marketing)
Needless to say, ill-conceived marketing ploys will be more painful for companies during the recession. Lack of consistency and follow-up will affect business bottom-line in a more pronounced fashion. With a tighter hold on their wallets, consumers and businesses will be making more thoughtful decisions about where they spend their money. Emotions induced by marketing messages will have more power to create a strong customer base.
Tight credit and closely held wallets won't make people stop using their emotions when they make buying decisions. They'll just get better at rationalizing the purchases. So mind your marketing and how it affects your customer.
Best wishes to all for a prosperous 2009.
Most of the readers found the blog through a Google search. Have Wendy's and Burger King become the equivalent of rubbernecking a car crash? As North Americans, we have a morbid fascination with disasters and these two fast-food joints are definitely the prize winners for disastrous branding and marketing.
I re-read the blog to see if there had been any changes to the situation since writing about them in January. To my surprise, the brand-scarring I mentioned in the blog had been eliminated. The evil papier mache King head seems to be gone and the idiots in red braids seem to also have left the building. And thank goodness for it.
Wendy's brand has become more stable and likable again. Burger King is still a mangled mess, but at least they aren't scaring people anymore. (Well, they do scare me but that's a different thing. What scares me is that someone is out there making money off this mess and pretending they know something about marketing)
Needless to say, ill-conceived marketing ploys will be more painful for companies during the recession. Lack of consistency and follow-up will affect business bottom-line in a more pronounced fashion. With a tighter hold on their wallets, consumers and businesses will be making more thoughtful decisions about where they spend their money. Emotions induced by marketing messages will have more power to create a strong customer base.
Tight credit and closely held wallets won't make people stop using their emotions when they make buying decisions. They'll just get better at rationalizing the purchases. So mind your marketing and how it affects your customer.
Best wishes to all for a prosperous 2009.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Relevant messaging - what if your customer doesn't care?
The Canadian election on October 14th had the lowest voter turnout in Canadian election history. And yet, for many of the people who voted, it was considered the most important election in their lifetime. What went wrong?
Apparently the majority of the population just didn't care. (I am a firm believer that if you don't vote, you don't get an opinion about the state of the government later on.) They were getting mixed messages from the media, backtracking from the politicians, irritating telemarketers and door-knocking canvassers.
There was too much negative commentary from the parties as well. And here's a very important point for small business that would have put a different tone on the election. Spend your time and your money telling me what is good and unique about you; don't spend my time just yapping about the things that are wrong with the competition. Yes, yes, each of the parties purchased advertising in which they spouted their positive attributes, but we all know that media coverage gets more attention and belief than any paid advertising. In the end, all the political leaders looked lame and some even looked childish.
I had a conversation right before the election with my local MP. We had a great chat about how the Conservatives are their own worst enemy when it comes to messaging. What they mean to say and what gets published in the media are often two very different things. And I can't help but think that if they actually had a marketer, instead of just a whole slew of public relations folks, their messages might be a little tighter. Sure they use a marketing firm to produce their lovely paid advertising, but where is the marketing guidance for the every day mess?
The complicated stories that were the underlying issues of the election were too complicated to resolve in speeches or one-minute ads. The environment, the economy and leadership abilities all require a consistent, understandable message - one that isn't up for media interpretation.
And small business needs that relevant, clear message as well. You can spend a lot of money uselessly if your messages aren't relevant to a person's life. You can help people care through education and exposure, but neither one of these things is an instant return. Are you selling a $30,000 item to an area with high unemployment and a fear of job loss? You might want to check in on the relevance of your messages.
Politicians are fun to watch because they have to educate, get exposure and convince people their "product" is the best, all in a short period of time. Jack Layton hasn't changed his "product" in years - so if it wasn't relevant to people before, why would it be relevant now? Elizabeth May personifies what everyone feared of the Green Party - fanatical extremist. That has a pretty limited relevance. Stephen Harper obviously had the most relevance for the voters - a calmness in the face of economic explosion, a leader who admits mistakes rather than blaming others. He has his flaws but he came closest to being relevant to Canadians. And Stephane Dion? Well, poor Mr. Dion just didn't have a clue. And all the Liberals are equally to blame. They voted him into the leadership position and supported the Green Shift. Don't let any of them convince you that Mr. Dion did that all by himself. Relevance, gentleman ( and lady). If you want voters out, you better find out what is relevant to your customers. And that's us. Every single person in Canada is your customer.
Apparently the majority of the population just didn't care. (I am a firm believer that if you don't vote, you don't get an opinion about the state of the government later on.) They were getting mixed messages from the media, backtracking from the politicians, irritating telemarketers and door-knocking canvassers.
There was too much negative commentary from the parties as well. And here's a very important point for small business that would have put a different tone on the election. Spend your time and your money telling me what is good and unique about you; don't spend my time just yapping about the things that are wrong with the competition. Yes, yes, each of the parties purchased advertising in which they spouted their positive attributes, but we all know that media coverage gets more attention and belief than any paid advertising. In the end, all the political leaders looked lame and some even looked childish.
I had a conversation right before the election with my local MP. We had a great chat about how the Conservatives are their own worst enemy when it comes to messaging. What they mean to say and what gets published in the media are often two very different things. And I can't help but think that if they actually had a marketer, instead of just a whole slew of public relations folks, their messages might be a little tighter. Sure they use a marketing firm to produce their lovely paid advertising, but where is the marketing guidance for the every day mess?
The complicated stories that were the underlying issues of the election were too complicated to resolve in speeches or one-minute ads. The environment, the economy and leadership abilities all require a consistent, understandable message - one that isn't up for media interpretation.
And small business needs that relevant, clear message as well. You can spend a lot of money uselessly if your messages aren't relevant to a person's life. You can help people care through education and exposure, but neither one of these things is an instant return. Are you selling a $30,000 item to an area with high unemployment and a fear of job loss? You might want to check in on the relevance of your messages.
Politicians are fun to watch because they have to educate, get exposure and convince people their "product" is the best, all in a short period of time. Jack Layton hasn't changed his "product" in years - so if it wasn't relevant to people before, why would it be relevant now? Elizabeth May personifies what everyone feared of the Green Party - fanatical extremist. That has a pretty limited relevance. Stephen Harper obviously had the most relevance for the voters - a calmness in the face of economic explosion, a leader who admits mistakes rather than blaming others. He has his flaws but he came closest to being relevant to Canadians. And Stephane Dion? Well, poor Mr. Dion just didn't have a clue. And all the Liberals are equally to blame. They voted him into the leadership position and supported the Green Shift. Don't let any of them convince you that Mr. Dion did that all by himself. Relevance, gentleman ( and lady). If you want voters out, you better find out what is relevant to your customers. And that's us. Every single person in Canada is your customer.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Part II - Be careful how you say hello
Last week, I took a look at the dangers to your brand that a badly handled dismissal or layoff can create. This week, I'd like to spend a moment with how ignoring the importance of your brand when hiring new staff can have long term effects.
The brand outline is rarely one of the things that is contained in the welcome package for an employee (and some companies don't even have a welcome package and, okay, they don't have a brand outline either). New staff learn about the human resources policies, benefits packages and history of the company. But there is an absence of indoctrination into the brand and the importance of upholding it.
Lots of senior management believe that upholding the brand is the duty of the marketing department but in reality it's the responsibility of everyone who works at the company.
Basic brand ideas, such as the appropriate font for emails, can be shared with new staff easily. I've lost count of the number of emails I have received from customer service staff using wonky fonts. And the language in emails needs a certain tone depending on your business and your brand. There's a big difference in how the staff talks and writes at Virgin Mobile compared to a stuffy insurance company.
And then there's the evil creature - the PowerPoint presentation. When staff outside the marketing department are called on to do a presentation, their imaginations run wild. Colours, images and language that have nothing to do with the brand creep in; no one stops them because, as I mentioned, there is a belief that brand protection is the job of the marketing department. Heaven forbid one of these presentations gets out of the building and in front of the customer. Any strong brand presence is whittled away.
Your staff needs to be engaged with the brand and have enough knowledge of what it represents to uphold it. This includes not just the visual and verbal entities mentioned above, but the philosophy of the brand as well. Companies who have brand support throughout their staff are strong companies. And they're believable companies because their message never falters.
The brand outline is rarely one of the things that is contained in the welcome package for an employee (and some companies don't even have a welcome package and, okay, they don't have a brand outline either). New staff learn about the human resources policies, benefits packages and history of the company. But there is an absence of indoctrination into the brand and the importance of upholding it.
Lots of senior management believe that upholding the brand is the duty of the marketing department but in reality it's the responsibility of everyone who works at the company.
Basic brand ideas, such as the appropriate font for emails, can be shared with new staff easily. I've lost count of the number of emails I have received from customer service staff using wonky fonts. And the language in emails needs a certain tone depending on your business and your brand. There's a big difference in how the staff talks and writes at Virgin Mobile compared to a stuffy insurance company.
And then there's the evil creature - the PowerPoint presentation. When staff outside the marketing department are called on to do a presentation, their imaginations run wild. Colours, images and language that have nothing to do with the brand creep in; no one stops them because, as I mentioned, there is a belief that brand protection is the job of the marketing department. Heaven forbid one of these presentations gets out of the building and in front of the customer. Any strong brand presence is whittled away.
Your staff needs to be engaged with the brand and have enough knowledge of what it represents to uphold it. This includes not just the visual and verbal entities mentioned above, but the philosophy of the brand as well. Companies who have brand support throughout their staff are strong companies. And they're believable companies because their message never falters.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Be careful how you say good-bye
Companies expend a great deal of time and money protecting their brand in the public, but for many companies it is their internal behaviours that are the most dangerous. How new staff are greeted, and existing staff let go, have multitudes of impact on the perception of the brand.
A recent example is, of course, the automotive industry in Ontario. The lay-offs abound and some brand damage has been delivered to General Motors and Ford, among others. The important thing here is these companies put effort into minimizing the public effects of the lay-offs as best they can with great buy-out packages, paid new training for laid-off workers, minimizing impact through attrition and negotiating support with the government.
A disgruntled laid-off or dismissed employee has a huge impact on the brand. They all have families that are part of the experience, feeling the anger, humiliation and fear right along with the worker. And all those family members have extended families and friends that hear about the issues. All told, one worker can impact the brand attitude with over 50 people.
Companies in the financial services industry have varying levels of attention to how they treat workers. Many of these companies in Canada are out-sourcing support departments. (The financial services industry in the U.S. is just another story all together) How these out-sourcings are handled impacts the brand.
A positive example is Sun Life Financial. They undertook to save costs against their budget by outsourcing their cafeteria, fitness staff and print departments. There was fear among the employees as the negotiations took place, but Sun Life Financial minimized the impact with regular communication and assurances of protection for existing employees. When the outsourcing was implemented, the staff in each department were offered the opportunity to stay, have benefits and keep their seniority.
A not so great example is the out-sourcing of the mail room at Aviva Canada. The staff were informed of the negotiations last November and were promised protection. Suddenly just before Labour Day, a meeting of the mail room staff was called and they were all informed the department had been outsourced and their jobs at Aviva Canada would end in four days. So much for even an act of courtesy like two-weeks notice. Sure, they gave them a buy-out package including the two-weeks in lieu of notice (required by law), but these people were suddenly out of work - after understanding they would be protected. The next day, the outsourcing company, Pitney Bowes, arrived and offered the staff their jobs back, but at $10,000 a year less, with no seniority, no accumulated holidays and a three-month probation period. And they had one-day to decide if they would commit to this new job.
Aviva Canada was most pointed in informing the mail room staff that they would now be considered outside employees and would be treated as such if they should apply for a job with Aviva in the future. This after some of the staff had been with the company for nine years.
Now a couple of nasty brand things happened here. Aviva Canada's brand got nailed as being untrustworthy, secretive and uncaring. Pitney Bowes gets nailed as being cheap, uncaring and advantage-takers. It's not about the money and the 30% cut in pay most of the workers experienced, it is about decency and dignity. Giving these people only one day to decide if their future was tied to an advantage-taking company or tied to unemployment in a potential recession, fear would certainly win out. Perhaps this is good business strategy - trained workers at 30% lower cost - but it isn't even close to good brand strategy.
And if these companies think for one moment that the staff of the mail room didn't share their experience with their families, they are not thinking clearly. And what the family members do with the information - well, the company has no control over that.
Next week - be careful how you say hello. Yet another brand damaging experience.
A recent example is, of course, the automotive industry in Ontario. The lay-offs abound and some brand damage has been delivered to General Motors and Ford, among others. The important thing here is these companies put effort into minimizing the public effects of the lay-offs as best they can with great buy-out packages, paid new training for laid-off workers, minimizing impact through attrition and negotiating support with the government.
A disgruntled laid-off or dismissed employee has a huge impact on the brand. They all have families that are part of the experience, feeling the anger, humiliation and fear right along with the worker. And all those family members have extended families and friends that hear about the issues. All told, one worker can impact the brand attitude with over 50 people.
Companies in the financial services industry have varying levels of attention to how they treat workers. Many of these companies in Canada are out-sourcing support departments. (The financial services industry in the U.S. is just another story all together) How these out-sourcings are handled impacts the brand.
A positive example is Sun Life Financial. They undertook to save costs against their budget by outsourcing their cafeteria, fitness staff and print departments. There was fear among the employees as the negotiations took place, but Sun Life Financial minimized the impact with regular communication and assurances of protection for existing employees. When the outsourcing was implemented, the staff in each department were offered the opportunity to stay, have benefits and keep their seniority.
A not so great example is the out-sourcing of the mail room at Aviva Canada. The staff were informed of the negotiations last November and were promised protection. Suddenly just before Labour Day, a meeting of the mail room staff was called and they were all informed the department had been outsourced and their jobs at Aviva Canada would end in four days. So much for even an act of courtesy like two-weeks notice. Sure, they gave them a buy-out package including the two-weeks in lieu of notice (required by law), but these people were suddenly out of work - after understanding they would be protected. The next day, the outsourcing company, Pitney Bowes, arrived and offered the staff their jobs back, but at $10,000 a year less, with no seniority, no accumulated holidays and a three-month probation period. And they had one-day to decide if they would commit to this new job.
Aviva Canada was most pointed in informing the mail room staff that they would now be considered outside employees and would be treated as such if they should apply for a job with Aviva in the future. This after some of the staff had been with the company for nine years.
Now a couple of nasty brand things happened here. Aviva Canada's brand got nailed as being untrustworthy, secretive and uncaring. Pitney Bowes gets nailed as being cheap, uncaring and advantage-takers. It's not about the money and the 30% cut in pay most of the workers experienced, it is about decency and dignity. Giving these people only one day to decide if their future was tied to an advantage-taking company or tied to unemployment in a potential recession, fear would certainly win out. Perhaps this is good business strategy - trained workers at 30% lower cost - but it isn't even close to good brand strategy.
And if these companies think for one moment that the staff of the mail room didn't share their experience with their families, they are not thinking clearly. And what the family members do with the information - well, the company has no control over that.
Next week - be careful how you say hello. Yet another brand damaging experience.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The cost of creative - in dollars & sense
Great marketing is driven by great creative - the words and pictures that engage the consumer. It evokes emotion, whether good or bad. And emotion is the key driver in 90% of purchases in our modern times.
Before the 1970s, features and benefits helped the customer make the buying decision. Now the decision is based on how they feel about the product or service. Does it make them feel good? Is it easy to see "What's in it for me?"
Creative that doesn't engage the consumer or, heaven forbid, causes a negative reaction is, at best, a waste of time and money and at worst, damages the relationship between the company and their customer.
Great creative isn't cheap. It's a rare thing when the perfect creative answer happens in the first hour of work. But don't be fooled that you need to pay $250/hour or more for creative that really works for your customer.
Quick case in point - Microsoft (you knew I was going to there). The Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates partnership on what was supposed to be Microsoft's venture into being "cool" is a fiasco. And certainly didn't come cheap. Why would they even try to be cool? Well, because Apple looks cool, sounds cool and is slowly chipping away at the PC world. But Apple is cool without obviously trying. Microsoft is rather like your great uncle who wears plaid pants and sock with his sandels. You can give your uncle a great, funky haircut and new clothes - but he'll never be cool. He doesn't talk cool or walk cool.
Somewhere along the way, the creative team on the Microsoft fiasco forgot that the success of Seinfeld, the show, was based on the interaction of the characters not on the simple presence of Jerry Seinfeld. It was an ensemble success. If you change one element, it no longer has the appeal. Seinfeld himself was never the key element. He was simply the glue that held it all together. And worse news, Seinfeld is old news.
I have the utmost respect for Bill Gates, his philanthropic work and how he has taken Microsoft to the edges of world domination. But I simply have no respect for the idea that Bill Gates can act or even look comfortable on screen.
Big lesson here? Don't try to be something you're not, even if the highly paid creative team thinks they are on to a new direction. Use common sense. And no matter how you look at it, $10 million for an "old news" performer to kibbutz about everything except the product is bad, bad, bad.
But fortunately for Microsoft, all the brew-ha-ha over the Seinfeld fiasco allowed their Mojave Experiment campaign to basically fly under the radar. Whose brainchild is this? The creative team obviously recognized that Windows Vista is a behemoth of negativity. But trying to disguise it as a new operating system called Mojave is just emphasizing how really negatively consumers feel. If Microsoft accepts the consumer view that Vista is the devil in disguise, then seriously make headway in changing the consumer attitude. And not through an ill-conceived television campaign. Deal with the issues that make consumers angry. Deal with the megalomaniacal behaviour that made the decision to design Vista so you have to spend a ton of money replacing your older programs with new versions that work with Vista. And how about more testing before release so you don't fry people's brains with ridiculous errors and constant updates to the product? If you bought a refrigerator and then discovered you had to re-wire your house to use it and it only remembers how to stay cold with constant adjustment - well, you'd just return it and probably not buying anything from that company again. This concept isn't rocket science.
And contrary to what Apple would have you believe, their operating system is not without its own bugs. They may not have the blue screen of death, but they have the ever spinning wheel which, if you watch it long enough, probably hypnotizes you into believing they are a direct descent of the gods.
Enough with trashing poor, poor Microsoft. (Although if you folks at Microsoft can hear me, maybe next time hired folks who are a little less "cutting edge" and a little more "common sense")
To bring it all back into the world of small business, your creative should engage your customer in a positive way. Keep it neat and tidy (no over-designed grunge please). Catch their eye and give them a reason to spend a minute with your message. Don't embellish (you'll get caught), don't lie (you'll get fined), and don't think that amateur creative doesn't damage your brand. It does.
Before the 1970s, features and benefits helped the customer make the buying decision. Now the decision is based on how they feel about the product or service. Does it make them feel good? Is it easy to see "What's in it for me?"
Creative that doesn't engage the consumer or, heaven forbid, causes a negative reaction is, at best, a waste of time and money and at worst, damages the relationship between the company and their customer.
Great creative isn't cheap. It's a rare thing when the perfect creative answer happens in the first hour of work. But don't be fooled that you need to pay $250/hour or more for creative that really works for your customer.
Quick case in point - Microsoft (you knew I was going to there). The Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates partnership on what was supposed to be Microsoft's venture into being "cool" is a fiasco. And certainly didn't come cheap. Why would they even try to be cool? Well, because Apple looks cool, sounds cool and is slowly chipping away at the PC world. But Apple is cool without obviously trying. Microsoft is rather like your great uncle who wears plaid pants and sock with his sandels. You can give your uncle a great, funky haircut and new clothes - but he'll never be cool. He doesn't talk cool or walk cool.
Somewhere along the way, the creative team on the Microsoft fiasco forgot that the success of Seinfeld, the show, was based on the interaction of the characters not on the simple presence of Jerry Seinfeld. It was an ensemble success. If you change one element, it no longer has the appeal. Seinfeld himself was never the key element. He was simply the glue that held it all together. And worse news, Seinfeld is old news.
I have the utmost respect for Bill Gates, his philanthropic work and how he has taken Microsoft to the edges of world domination. But I simply have no respect for the idea that Bill Gates can act or even look comfortable on screen.
Big lesson here? Don't try to be something you're not, even if the highly paid creative team thinks they are on to a new direction. Use common sense. And no matter how you look at it, $10 million for an "old news" performer to kibbutz about everything except the product is bad, bad, bad.
But fortunately for Microsoft, all the brew-ha-ha over the Seinfeld fiasco allowed their Mojave Experiment campaign to basically fly under the radar. Whose brainchild is this? The creative team obviously recognized that Windows Vista is a behemoth of negativity. But trying to disguise it as a new operating system called Mojave is just emphasizing how really negatively consumers feel. If Microsoft accepts the consumer view that Vista is the devil in disguise, then seriously make headway in changing the consumer attitude. And not through an ill-conceived television campaign. Deal with the issues that make consumers angry. Deal with the megalomaniacal behaviour that made the decision to design Vista so you have to spend a ton of money replacing your older programs with new versions that work with Vista. And how about more testing before release so you don't fry people's brains with ridiculous errors and constant updates to the product? If you bought a refrigerator and then discovered you had to re-wire your house to use it and it only remembers how to stay cold with constant adjustment - well, you'd just return it and probably not buying anything from that company again. This concept isn't rocket science.
And contrary to what Apple would have you believe, their operating system is not without its own bugs. They may not have the blue screen of death, but they have the ever spinning wheel which, if you watch it long enough, probably hypnotizes you into believing they are a direct descent of the gods.
Enough with trashing poor, poor Microsoft. (Although if you folks at Microsoft can hear me, maybe next time hired folks who are a little less "cutting edge" and a little more "common sense")
To bring it all back into the world of small business, your creative should engage your customer in a positive way. Keep it neat and tidy (no over-designed grunge please). Catch their eye and give them a reason to spend a minute with your message. Don't embellish (you'll get caught), don't lie (you'll get fined), and don't think that amateur creative doesn't damage your brand. It does.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Listen to your customer - navel gazing part II
It's too easy to become self-absorbed as a business owner. And once you start spending time looking at your navel, you stop listening to your customers.
Case in point (once again) is Canadian Tire. Earlier I wrote about their perfectly dreadful website and now they have canceled production and delivery of their catalogue, which forces people to go to their perfectly dreadful website.
The Canadian Tire catalogue is an icon to Canadian baby boomers. It had an extended shelf life in bathrooms all over the country. And now, no doubt thanks to a hip and happenin' marketing team, this icon is no more. Was there an actual review of customer behaviour?
I can accept there is a cost savings on making this decision. Printing is costly. Distribution perhaps even more so. But hiding this motivation under the environmental wonderment of saving trees is almost pathetic.
For decades, Canadian Tire customers have used the catalogue to stream-line their purchase behaviours. They would browse the catalogue at their leisure (making them more susceptible to the marketing messages) and discover items to buy they didn't even know they wanted. And there is nothing leisurely or even intuitive about the Canadian Tire website. So kiss those add-on sales good-bye.
Why did Canadian Tire stop listening? First they ended the great TV commercials with the lovingly annoying Canadian Tire couple, now they are eliminating the catalogue. Both of which were strong representations of the brand. There was a hew and cry, even in Marketing Magazine, about the end of the TV campaign. That campaign had garnered enough recognition that it had reached the often unattainable heights of being mocked by comedians. And the death of the catalogue has been mourned in Canadian Workshop magazine (which no doubt is the biggest demographic of Canadian Tire shoppers).
So now that the rant is finished, how does this pertain to your business?
Listening to your customers and knowing when something is working for them is paramount to success. Just because you have become bored with your marketing tactics doesn't mean your audience isn't reacting to them. And there is no point in trying to become something other than what your customers want you to be. If Canadian Tire is trying to appeal to a younger audience with these changes, well they have lost their minds. Visit a Canadian Tire and see how many young people are there, other than their ill-trained, ill-informed part-time staff. So not only are young people not their audience but they are alienating their solid baby boomer audience. And good heavens, baby boomers have most of the disposable income in this country!
So the lesson here:
1. Talk to your customers. Find out what they like and don't like. And use that information as a guide.
2. Don't let your personal feelings about being bored with your campaign be the deciding factor in whether to continue.
3. Understand that mocking by comedians is the highest compliment to the strategy there is. Comedians won't mock something unless it has had enough audience hits they are guaranteed 90% of their audience will know what they are talking about. I spoke with some folks from AIG Assurance the other day. We talked about the mocking of their insurance for seniors - they actually track how many times they are mocked and they love it! Kudos to them.
4. Don't cancel a marketing program that is working. You may think that the hew and cry is valuable because it creates chatter, but negative chatter can destroy your business.
And for Canadian Tire, for pete's sake, you could have saved money by making the catalogue by-request-only. Which would have given you a pretty solid database to really pinpoint behaviours and characteristics of your audience. Maybe think next time.
Case in point (once again) is Canadian Tire. Earlier I wrote about their perfectly dreadful website and now they have canceled production and delivery of their catalogue, which forces people to go to their perfectly dreadful website.
The Canadian Tire catalogue is an icon to Canadian baby boomers. It had an extended shelf life in bathrooms all over the country. And now, no doubt thanks to a hip and happenin' marketing team, this icon is no more. Was there an actual review of customer behaviour?
I can accept there is a cost savings on making this decision. Printing is costly. Distribution perhaps even more so. But hiding this motivation under the environmental wonderment of saving trees is almost pathetic.
For decades, Canadian Tire customers have used the catalogue to stream-line their purchase behaviours. They would browse the catalogue at their leisure (making them more susceptible to the marketing messages) and discover items to buy they didn't even know they wanted. And there is nothing leisurely or even intuitive about the Canadian Tire website. So kiss those add-on sales good-bye.
Why did Canadian Tire stop listening? First they ended the great TV commercials with the lovingly annoying Canadian Tire couple, now they are eliminating the catalogue. Both of which were strong representations of the brand. There was a hew and cry, even in Marketing Magazine, about the end of the TV campaign. That campaign had garnered enough recognition that it had reached the often unattainable heights of being mocked by comedians. And the death of the catalogue has been mourned in Canadian Workshop magazine (which no doubt is the biggest demographic of Canadian Tire shoppers).
So now that the rant is finished, how does this pertain to your business?
Listening to your customers and knowing when something is working for them is paramount to success. Just because you have become bored with your marketing tactics doesn't mean your audience isn't reacting to them. And there is no point in trying to become something other than what your customers want you to be. If Canadian Tire is trying to appeal to a younger audience with these changes, well they have lost their minds. Visit a Canadian Tire and see how many young people are there, other than their ill-trained, ill-informed part-time staff. So not only are young people not their audience but they are alienating their solid baby boomer audience. And good heavens, baby boomers have most of the disposable income in this country!
So the lesson here:
1. Talk to your customers. Find out what they like and don't like. And use that information as a guide.
2. Don't let your personal feelings about being bored with your campaign be the deciding factor in whether to continue.
3. Understand that mocking by comedians is the highest compliment to the strategy there is. Comedians won't mock something unless it has had enough audience hits they are guaranteed 90% of their audience will know what they are talking about. I spoke with some folks from AIG Assurance the other day. We talked about the mocking of their insurance for seniors - they actually track how many times they are mocked and they love it! Kudos to them.
4. Don't cancel a marketing program that is working. You may think that the hew and cry is valuable because it creates chatter, but negative chatter can destroy your business.
And for Canadian Tire, for pete's sake, you could have saved money by making the catalogue by-request-only. Which would have given you a pretty solid database to really pinpoint behaviours and characteristics of your audience. Maybe think next time.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Your business in one sentence or less
Marketing folks and advertising salespeople will both tell you that you need to deliver your message to your customer a minimum of five times before the customer will act on your offer. What sometimes is missed in this discussion is that it needs to be the same message five times.
So, without boring your audience to tears with the repetition, how do you get space in the frontal lobe of their brain?
That's where a great tagline fits in.
A great tagline defines your business in one sentence or less. A great tagline is also arguably the most difficult part of developing your marketing strategy.
A great tagline has rhythm. It defines your business in a way your target customer can relate to. It also doesn't try to be all things to all people. And a great tagline immediately tells your customers "what's it in for me".
Burger King has one of the great taglines - Have it your way. If there was ever something that spoke to "what's in it for me", it's this one. (Pity they can't get their act together on their strategies...even a great tagline can't save you if you flip flop all over the place with your strategies.)
The value of a great tagline is in its ability to be on everything you do to market your business. It should be on your business cards, brochures, print ads, signage and...well, you get the idea. If your tagline is well done, then all these "hits" on your customer will help you develop space in their brain.
How do you get a great tagline and how do you know when it's great?
You can, of course, hire a professional. Writing great taglines is a serious skill. When you think about how many business owners can't describe their business in 30 seconds or less, you can imagine how hard it is to actually come up with something in one sentence or less.
Another option, and one of my favourites, is to have a tagline party. Silly? Yes, maybe. But I have found wonderful taglines evolve from many brains bouncing ideas around. Get some friends, customers or staff together and throw all ideas into play. No idea is too silly. From silly ideas come great taglines. After a couple hours of eating, drinking and making merry, pick two ideas and massage them into final examples. Then test each of them to find which one relates well with your customers.
I'm not saying a tagline party will work for everyone. And you should bounce your final ideas off a professional to make sure they are all the things you think they are. A professional can help you polish your tagline into a bright shining example of clever marketing.
Many business owners think that a tagline is only for the "big guys" but a great tagline is a lifeline for new and small businesses.
So, without boring your audience to tears with the repetition, how do you get space in the frontal lobe of their brain?
That's where a great tagline fits in.
A great tagline defines your business in one sentence or less. A great tagline is also arguably the most difficult part of developing your marketing strategy.
A great tagline has rhythm. It defines your business in a way your target customer can relate to. It also doesn't try to be all things to all people. And a great tagline immediately tells your customers "what's it in for me".
Burger King has one of the great taglines - Have it your way. If there was ever something that spoke to "what's in it for me", it's this one. (Pity they can't get their act together on their strategies...even a great tagline can't save you if you flip flop all over the place with your strategies.)
The value of a great tagline is in its ability to be on everything you do to market your business. It should be on your business cards, brochures, print ads, signage and...well, you get the idea. If your tagline is well done, then all these "hits" on your customer will help you develop space in their brain.
How do you get a great tagline and how do you know when it's great?
You can, of course, hire a professional. Writing great taglines is a serious skill. When you think about how many business owners can't describe their business in 30 seconds or less, you can imagine how hard it is to actually come up with something in one sentence or less.
Another option, and one of my favourites, is to have a tagline party. Silly? Yes, maybe. But I have found wonderful taglines evolve from many brains bouncing ideas around. Get some friends, customers or staff together and throw all ideas into play. No idea is too silly. From silly ideas come great taglines. After a couple hours of eating, drinking and making merry, pick two ideas and massage them into final examples. Then test each of them to find which one relates well with your customers.
I'm not saying a tagline party will work for everyone. And you should bounce your final ideas off a professional to make sure they are all the things you think they are. A professional can help you polish your tagline into a bright shining example of clever marketing.
Many business owners think that a tagline is only for the "big guys" but a great tagline is a lifeline for new and small businesses.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Two takes on "you get what you pay for"
My work with small and rural business has made me realize there really are two concepts covered by the adage "you get what you pay for".
The first one is obvious. If you buy a cheap pair of shoes, they last three months; if you buy a good quality but more expensive pair, they last you years. The same goes with your marketing communications. A designer who charges you $10 per hour is probably one of three things: desperate, untrained or unemployable. Most designers have pride and talent that comes with a fair market value. This is also true of your marketing consultants. If your consultant has solid experience and a background with results, then it is going come with a price tag.
The second interpretation is a little different, but is a piece of information to which start-up businesses need to pay particular attention, and small business might still require.
In this case, "you get what you pay for" speaks to the fact that once you have paid for your design, you own it and your designer or advertising firm should make it readily available to you. In fact, you really should get copies of all your designs - logos, ads, print materials - to keep for your own records.
I have recently heard of too many situations where designers are refusing to release logo designs and print ads. And in some cases, promotional item houses are refusing to release the digitized logos used to sew garments. I assume they do this to try to keep the business to themselves. If they give you the logo, you can get anyone to do the work for you.
In both cases, once the item has been paid for, you own it and are entitled to have it in your possession to do with what you wish. Don't ever let a designer, ad firm or promo producer tell you otherwise.
Canadian Intellectual Property law stipulates that once the work is paid for, it belongs to the person/firm who paid for it. For there to be an exception to this rule, there must be a contract, signed by both parties that clearly states the property remains in the designer's ownership.
I think it is fair to say designers/companies who will not release your logo, ad or other designs are not ethical marketing personnel. If this has happened to you, I hope you no longer do work with them. If it hasn't happened to you yet, the minute it does change your supplier to someone who knows and abides by the law.
There may be a small fee from your designer to supply you with digital files of your work, and I mean a small fee. This would cover the time to back-up the files, sort them, burn them to disk, etc. Hopefully, your designer has included this in his estimate of costs and automatically supplies you with your files without any form of debate.
So if you are tired of hearing people say "you get what you pay for" as you go along marketing your business with cheap paper, amateur design or free existing templates - and then not seeing the results you desire - perhaps you weren't meant to be a long-lasting success. But even for you folks, the second interpretation is valuable.
The first one is obvious. If you buy a cheap pair of shoes, they last three months; if you buy a good quality but more expensive pair, they last you years. The same goes with your marketing communications. A designer who charges you $10 per hour is probably one of three things: desperate, untrained or unemployable. Most designers have pride and talent that comes with a fair market value. This is also true of your marketing consultants. If your consultant has solid experience and a background with results, then it is going come with a price tag.
The second interpretation is a little different, but is a piece of information to which start-up businesses need to pay particular attention, and small business might still require.
In this case, "you get what you pay for" speaks to the fact that once you have paid for your design, you own it and your designer or advertising firm should make it readily available to you. In fact, you really should get copies of all your designs - logos, ads, print materials - to keep for your own records.
I have recently heard of too many situations where designers are refusing to release logo designs and print ads. And in some cases, promotional item houses are refusing to release the digitized logos used to sew garments. I assume they do this to try to keep the business to themselves. If they give you the logo, you can get anyone to do the work for you.
In both cases, once the item has been paid for, you own it and are entitled to have it in your possession to do with what you wish. Don't ever let a designer, ad firm or promo producer tell you otherwise.
Canadian Intellectual Property law stipulates that once the work is paid for, it belongs to the person/firm who paid for it. For there to be an exception to this rule, there must be a contract, signed by both parties that clearly states the property remains in the designer's ownership.
I think it is fair to say designers/companies who will not release your logo, ad or other designs are not ethical marketing personnel. If this has happened to you, I hope you no longer do work with them. If it hasn't happened to you yet, the minute it does change your supplier to someone who knows and abides by the law.
There may be a small fee from your designer to supply you with digital files of your work, and I mean a small fee. This would cover the time to back-up the files, sort them, burn them to disk, etc. Hopefully, your designer has included this in his estimate of costs and automatically supplies you with your files without any form of debate.
So if you are tired of hearing people say "you get what you pay for" as you go along marketing your business with cheap paper, amateur design or free existing templates - and then not seeing the results you desire - perhaps you weren't meant to be a long-lasting success. But even for you folks, the second interpretation is valuable.
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