Archive for February, 2009

I became aware of “The Elements of Style” as a sophomore at West Catholic High School in Philadelphia in 1970. I didn’t pay much attention at the time; it seemed like a pretentious compendium of archaic rules whose only purpose seemed to be to suck the life out of my writing.

Today, the little book authored by William Strunk Jr., and updated E.B. White occupies a prominent spot on my desk and is consulted often to answer tricky questions of word usage, punctuation, form and composition, even moreso than my trusty AP stylebook. It feels good just to have it next to my computer, as if its contents will clear up confusing sentences and stubborn subclauses by osmosis. I should know the rules by now, but every once in a while it helps to open the book at any page and read for five minutes. Inevitably, I’ll learn something new (or at least refresh my memory).

Brian Scott has an interesting post about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the first publication of “The Elements of Style” over at Write Better, the official blog of LousyWriter.com.An event in New York City on April 16 will mark the momentous occasion.

Popularity: 100% [?]

These days, an effective marketing plan can be the difference between a business surviving the economic crisis and going under. Properly developed and executed, a marketing plan can actually help you thrive in tough times, and be ready to capitalize when the inevitable recovery happens.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you put together your marketing plan:
Your message gets lost in the crowd. If you look and sound just like everyone else, no one is going to notice you. Be distinctive; stand out from the competition.

Your marketing targets an audience that is too broad. Remember, you can’t be everything to everybody. Be something to somebody.

You ad budget gets blown in a one-shot marketing gamble. It would be nice to blow $3 million on a 30-second Super Bowl ad, but if you don’t do anything the rest of the year, no one will remember.

Your marketing isn’t consistent. Some businesses panic when the phone don’t start ringing off the hook the minute an advertisement hits the street. Marketing is cumulative; it takes time to build some momentum.

Your marketing fails to tie different media together. There’s no excuse for not integrating print, with electronic, with social media, with video, with special events, with networking.

You ignore your target audience. Maybe the worst sin of all. You have to know your customer.

You try to do things on your own. If you’re not good at something, hire a pro. Plus, it allows you to spend more time running your business.
You change your image with each ad. Stick with a color scheme and font. People need to recognize you.

You fail to make a clear call to action. Tell you customer what do do: call, go one line, stop by. Make it clear and unmistakeable.
You fail to keep a marketing calendar. It helps to plan your campaigns in advance.

Popularity: 93% [?]

Branding is one of those nebulous marketing concepts that everyone seems to define differently. Thanks to a fast-paced and entertaining presentation by Marty Neumeier of the San Francisco-based brand consultancy Neutron, LCC, branding comes into a bit more focus. A few key points he makes:

Let’s start off with what branding is NOT:
• A logo
• An identity
• A product

Definition: A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization.

It’s not what YOU say it is. It’s what THEY say it is.

Why is branding so hot?
• Because people have so many choices and too little time.
• Most offerings have similar quality and features.
• We tend to base our buying choices on trust.
• Trust equals reliability and delight. Trust comes from meeting and beating customer expectations.

Here is Marty’s full presentation.

Popularity: 86% [?]

Did you ever wonder what happens when a customer stops buying from you? One day you have a great relationship, everything is progressing nicely and you’re looking forward to a long-term relationship. And then for reasons you don’t quite understand, your customer goes away. Unless you take the initiative to find out, you may never know why that customer left.

Now, the folks at RainToday.com have come up with some answers, any or all of which may apply to your business. In a new report “How Clients Buy,” the most commonly experienced problems clients have with their service providers is that the vendor:

1. Did not listen to them – 38%.
2. Did not understand their needs – 30%.
3. Did not respond to requests and correspondence in a timely manner – 30%.

Doesn’t sound like a major challenge to keep your customers. Just spend a little more time listening and understanding how you can solve your clients’ problems. Take a few extra minutes to respond personally to an email or phone call from a customer.

Those little things can go a long way in keeping your customers from leaving. In fact, the survey indicates that 96% of them will be “much more likely” or “somewhat more likely” to consider continuing to work with you. And we all know its much easier to get more profit from an existing customer than it is to cultivate a new one.

Popularity: 86% [?]

Imagine you are the marketing director for an up-and-coming personal computer company in the early 1980s. Your boss gives you a generous budget and the creative freedom to come with something that challenges the powerful market leader and positions your product as an alternative. And, oh, by the way, it will air during the Super Bowl and that will be the only time it is shown.

Talk about pressure? Would you have the guts to offer this commercial at a pitch meeting?

I suspect most of us would be tempted to list plenty of benefits, show lots of pictures of happy customers, and include a strong call to action. That would be the safe, traditional approach. Instead, it is a dark, sinister looking spot in which the product’s name is mentioned only once and the company logo appears for approximately three seconds.

Not to be outdone, Apple celebrated the 25th anniversary of the MacIntosh with this commercial. The product is never mentioned once, and the logo appears for only a moment at the end.

Can you picture yourself having the courage to take such a bold approach?

Popularity: 78% [?]