21. October 2011 by Frank Goad.

Social media and the Internet has changed customers expectations of their relationship with you - they expect to have a good idea of who you are, what you do, and so on, before they step foot in your place of business - and they changed the level of knowledge customers are armed with when they decide to give you their money. What does this mean? That you can find that your customers know more about your products or services than your employees know.

A 2010 study by IBM found that 55% of retailers say that customers are more connected to data than are their workers. Not surprisingly, 87% of retailers said that customers are using online shopping and comparison tools to find the best deals. This is a huge problem for two reasons:
- Customers enter into your store expecting higher levels of expertise from your staff than ever and,
- With their price knowledge, you have to be more competitive, which shrinks margins, which makes freeing capital for employee education even harder.

We’ve all seen the ads where someone talks to a store employee (usually wearing a blue shirt with yellow lettering - guess who) and they bumble and fumble when trying to answer a product question. That’s a nightmare for anyone in business, especially retail, if that happens in your store.

All this means that you have to work even harder to draw the customer in, make them feel at home and believe that shopping with you is preferred even if your prices aren’t the best they can find. A 2009 study by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania reported five core aspects customers consider key to a great shopping experience:

1. Customer engagement: This means being polite, caring and genuinely interested in customers, and being available to help and listen at all times.

2. A Positive Brand Experience: Customers want to see an attractive store that is well laid out and filled with quality merchandise. This helps customers feel more special and feel greater value in shopping with you.

3. Execution: Patience, good advice, clear explanations, product availability, ample product knowledge - these are what customers expect every time.

4. Problem Recovery: Customers expect satisfaction when problems arise, to be treated fairly and compensated for their trouble, and to get satisfaction in the end.

5. Expeditious Transactions: Quick checkouts, easy shopping and other considerations of their time show that they matter … a lot. For some, this can be their sole measure considering how time compressed we are these days.

The big job that many businesses face is instilling these five aspects in employees, and then helping them reflect them in their interactions with customers. Properly applied, they will give customers’ a strong perception of the value you offer.

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12. September 2011 by Frank Goad.

Even though I’m starting a social media and marketing school (www.facebooklexington.com), social media isn’t the be-all and end-all. You’ll notice it’s a social media AND marketing school, because too many people are giving seminars on social media, but they’re not really telling you how to use it to its best effect. Some are treating it like it’s all you need, and that’s the real fallacy – social media is only one part of your marketing and should be part of an overall strategy. Some question whether it should be in the mix at all.

There is some discussion among the marketing mavens in the uppermost floors of skyscrapers in the world’s major cities, and the discussion centers on whether social media is worth it. Some major companies are not seeing the returns they expected on huge expenditures in social media. For instance, despite going viral, there is reason to believe that the Old Spice Man videos didn’t help sales; coupons and in-store promotions did. It could be argued that it bought mind share, but how do you know?

I believe it has to do with the fact that social media misses the mark for many folks. Why? Two big reasons:

A. Not enough people are doing social media right. What’s most important is not the number of friends, how often you post, how many people see your post, and so on. It’s how many people give you their money.
B.  People are throwing time and resources at it (which equals money - it’s not free like people tell you) without a real strategy. That is a recipe for waste and disappointment. When you post, are you leading up to something? Are you finding ways to tie your posts to your products or services?

The foremost question is, are you promoting your brand?

I love this quote from Johnathan Salem Baskin: “Brands don’t exist, at least not like rocks or tax returns. Brands are ideas that have no external existence or legitimacy apart from the creative agency of human experience. Brands aren’t things but rather conclusions, and therefore have no voice, reputation, attributes, or actions that aren’t the result of somebody doing something (or something happening to them).”

My main definition of brand is this: A brand is the promise of continued delightful experiences based on a history of delightful experiences. If you’ve read this blog, you know that I rave over the service and food at Bella Notte (go there and you’ll understand). The number one reason I do is, I’m delighted every time I’m there without fail. Do your customers have that unwavering loyalty? Do they post to FourSquare, Facebook, Twitter, Scoville, Yelp, etc., etc., etc.? Eating at Bella Notte here in Lexington compels me to tell the world … on social media. In one sense, it’s not what you post, it’s what everyone else posts for you.

Is social media a fad? No, it’s a constantly morphing electronic entity that has roots running back to the 80s. First it was dial up service and bulletin boards; now it’s social media on a variety of devices (even refrigerators) and who knows what tomorrow. Be ready to change.

In the end, social media is a way to measure sentiment and gauge your performance. You have to “prime the well” (a saying lost on many who use social media because they’re too young) and create conversations, then find ways to listen closely. You need to make it part of all your marketing. It needs a plan, goals, measurements and ways to judge the ROI. Don’t think it’s free because that will really cost you.

If you want help making it the most it can be with the least “wasted motion,” give us a call. It does work, if you know how.

Frank Communications Lexington, 859-335-8742, our Website (click here), our Facebook page

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24. August 2011 by Frank Goad.

I find there are three kinds of questions that my clients ask: A. Those of piercing insight; B. Those of curiosity or the need for more info, and; C. Those that tax any form of belief.

A. I love, love, love getting the A-types. They make my job so much easier and the clients see much better results. Sometimes they occur when a concept I’m explaining lights up inside their head and they see the big(ger) picture; other times, they happen when they take what they’re given and come up with something entirely new. These questions (or observations) are a bit rare and usually come when I’ve been working with someone for awhile.

B. These make up the majority of questions that I get and occur during the discovery and strategy portions of our relationship. Given that Frank Communication’s modus operandi is pretty comprehensive (we look at the whole company/picture, not just a small aspect), and that we ask a LOT of questions, clients don’t always see the connections we’re working toward. As we spend time together, they see what’s going on and get excited, and then the questions come: “Hey, what if …?”, “That sounds like something I saw last week – did you see … ?”, or “Ohh, I get it … does this mean we’ve been … ?” These are exciting because these questions lead to an A question if they’re going to happen.

C. The incredible ones in this category aren’t what you might think: They usually don’t come from ignorance but, instead, come from misinformation. They can start with “Well, I’ve got a friend who said X, so don’t you think we should … ?”, or,  ”Yeah, well, I heard about X and heard about someone who tried it and X happened – shouldn’t we try that?”, or a variation of those.

C-type questions are understandable, though, because so much has changed about advertising and marketing in the last six years, and some changes are a bit drastic. Folks are often taking advice from people who are shooting in the dark (often at their foot), or they’re reading books written by someone who’s really persuasive but ill-suited to be giving advice, or who is simply giving bad advice. Sometimes it’s because folks are desperately confused and grabbing at straws or, even more bewildering and touchy, a good friend tried something that worked for them, but which doesn’t work so well for my client for one or more reasons (timing, content, budget, etc.).

When I get C-type questions, I’m glad because that means we’re making progress. It often happens that when folks have a bad experience, although they might be wary, they now have a base of information that helps them make sense of what will help.

The most important thing is to keep asking questions. Sure, sometimes the questions sound dumb, but that’s okay because that’s how we learn, and the more we learn the better off we are. A, B or C, it doesn’t matter because you’ll probably only have to ask any of them once.

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28. December 2010 by Frank Goad.

Definition: “Delight - To take or give great pleasure or joy.”  You often hear companies being told to “Delight your customers.” You definitely should do that, but let’s go over the definition of “delight” as it is a bit overblown in some of the things I’ve been reading, especially in light of the definition I use and how it relates to brands and marketing.

Going over the top with offers and special deals is for the 20% of your customers in the 80/20 rule (80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers). Most folks don’t have the time or resources to lavish great attention on every customer, much less get employees to really care enough to do it (the last paragraph address this).

My personal definition of a brand is, “A brand is a promise of repeated delightful experiences based on a history of delightful experiences.” Given that the customer owns your brand, and you or your clients do not, it’s up to them to decide what’s delightful or not.

There are so many times when we go to see, buy or do something and the experience falls short of what is promised in ads. Consistently good results for our investment of time and/or money makes us happy - delighted, if you will - because being disappointed is so common. Getting what we feel is fair value for our time and money is delightful.

Customers should be delighted every time they do business with you or your client; i.e., they should be quite pleased or feel a bit of joy. Coke and McDonald’s delight customers with every purchase. How so? Well, water, bread and lunch meat will satisfy hunger and thirst but, on a hot, dusty, day, a cold Coke is (say it with me) delightful. When you’re pressed for time, a hot, grilled chicken sandwich on a whole grain bun with lettuce, tomato and mayo is a damn sight better than a pack of cheese crackers from a gas station, especially if an ice cold Coke is served with it. If I’m really, really hungry and an hour from anywhere that sells food, finding a pack of cheese crackers is - you guessed it - delightful. I’m not overjoyed by my discovery (unless it’s my first meal in days), but I am delighted.

Let’s say I own a junk yard and a person calls me looking for a part after calling five other yards. I have the part and they’re delighted, and I was simply doing was my job. That puts me at the top of their list for next time. When they call again - and I’ll likely be the first call after being their part savior before - and I don’t have the part, I offer to locate it for them, and that makes them happy. To go one further (and keep the business), I offer to get it sent to my store, they’re delighted and, again, I’m just doing what I do. Even junk yards can delight customers.

I’m delighted when:

• I can help my clients set higher marketing and advertising standards

• We educate all  their employees about the value and importance of those standards and how their contributions help everyone (”A rising tide lifts all boats”)

• We put systems and rewards in place to ensure that measurable goals are achieved and perpetuated

• They make excellent internal and external communications about their products, services and company the rule

Why am I delighted and not overjoyed? Because what I described is my job as a marketer. I’m overjoyed when they come back and have added ten, twenty or thirty percent to what I set out. Now, THAT’S some serious, overwhelming, tear-jerking joy! 

Posted in retail, Branding, building business, Success, delight, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, Frank Communications, business relationships, business, advertisers, responsibilities, Advertising, Frank, "The Frankifesto", training, business plan, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

22. July 2010 by Frank Goad.

Several news items caught my eye this week and I was struck by how intertwined they are. Our former dependence on electronics is now a full-blown addiction, and we’re happily shoveling our money into these things. Despite the new tech, we’re seeing bad behaviors, forgetting the good behaviors, and we might not be as happy as we think we are.

First, Amazon reported that they now sell more Kindle e-book readers than hardcover editions: 180 Kindles for every 100 books. This is interesting in light of a recent report saying that electronic books and publications can take as much as 10% longer to read; the iPad was between 3% - 4%. I don’t own one (I read them on my laptop), but the folks I know who have one say they love the variety of materials at their fingertips. It reminds me of the joy I felt when I got my first MP3 player - I didn’t have to prepare for a journey by carefully selecting the CDs or (showing my age here) cassette tapes to take. That I could reach in my pocket and choose from thousands of songs at the flick of a finger brought a low-rent rapture. (It’s not an iPod though.)

Second, the availability of iPads is still low and folks are gobbling them up like candy. The “me too” crowd is announcing their own versions, so be prepared for an iPhone-Android sort of battle to play out on tablets. Why are they popular? Because of the number of apps that allow you to use an iPad like a reader and, moreover, a book. These apps come complete with simulated page turns, the ability to “dog ear” a page to mark it and all the other touches that help a piece of plastic behave like paper. That’s right - the goal is to make electronics “feel” like paper.

Third, Apple could soon overtake Microsoft in revenue. They have delivered a sort of seamless interoperability between platforms that Microsoft has never matched. Windows architecture is clumsy and MS has never relentlessly pursued simplicity the way Apple has. An iPhone has one button on its face; the iPad operates much the same. It’s a more hassle-free existence. There’s a price for that simplicity, though.

Fourth, if you plant your flag in Apple’s court, to a large degree, they own you. iTunes works well with Apple products and gives you a simple way to buy books, music, movies and software. Apple is now the largest supplier of digital music, but don’t bring a Zune, Zen or anything else to the party - it’s Apple or nothing. Which leads to …

Fifth, Apple is defending itself, along with AT&T, in the U.S. against charges of monopolistic behavior, just as Microsoft has. They told the public AT&T’s exclusive deal for the iPhone was only two years; now it turns out that it’s five. Three years ago, Apple got smacked by the European Union who called iTunes a monopoly. New tech, old behaviors.

Sixth, Apple is responding to a letter from U.S. Representatives Edward Markey and Joe Barton charging that Apple’s location-based services invade customer’s privacy. Apple has responded saying users can turn off these functions, but do they really understand what it is and does, and how to use it? So, again, you’ve planted your flag and there you are with them looking over your shoulder.

I’ll stop despite being able to continue ad nauseum. What’s the point? I’m not saying that we’re being hemmed in. You have the choice to eschew all these shiny things and do like Wendell Berry and use paper and pencil, till the soil (mostly) with horses and live simply. We’re humans, though, and most of us are quickly bored and want new toys pretty regularly.  I’m just like all of you - I love tech (cameras in particular). These days, though, I’m wondering if it’s worth the cost. The care and feeding of this technology has a greater toll in time than capital, and time is the most precious thing we have.

Here’s an example: How many cell phones have you had? Why did you switch? Probably new features or “…it was a cooler model.” Did you love them all, or were some of them “dogs?” How easy was it to get your data to the new phone? See? You had to spend time to be able to use it as you wanted to.  While tech does give us advantages, they come at a cost.

The real point of this article is, make life easier for your customers. Let them have choices. Build rock-solid systems and be slow to change. This sounds old fashioned but, as I’ve been looking at businesses around Lexington, I’ve noticed that some of the most profitable are also the oldest. They’ve spent years or decades learning what makes their customers happy and refining that to an art. Why are Apple’s customers so dedicated? Above all, their products are simple, reliable and predictable.

A computer or system is only obsolete if it no longer serves your needs in a reasonable time (or if you can’t get parts - that’s a big one). The U.S. Treasury still creates coin press masters with a machine that’s over a hundred years old. Why? Why not? It works perfectly and there are no ugly surprises.

While Apple, Microsoft, Intel and other large corporations are battling for world domination, it seems that, for the average small-to-medium-business, having an army of loyal customers in an age of throw-away gadgets is a real key to success.

Ask yourself, do you have simple, reliable, one-button systems for your customers? Better yet, ask them how to build one.

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10. June 2010 by Frank Goad.

No one can do it all.

The title says it all. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about getting everyone on earth to come and peruse your site. The bad news is that you do have get the people who spend money with you to come to it, and that takes money. Sounds like you’re still at square one, doesn’t it? Let’s talk about this for a minute.

Remember this: The Internet isn’t free if you’re trying to get customers. If you are a customer looking to buy, then it costs less – yes, your customers pay, too. They have to pay for access (cable, wireless, etc.), buy a computer, pay for anti-virus software (you don’t need it if you don’t connect) and, above all, they “spend” their most precious commodity - time - looking for information, products and services. If you want them to visit your site, make it worth their time and money whenever they “stop by.” Always remember that a website is not a brochure and it needs updating often to offer real value.

The Internet is an advertising medium and advertising costs money. In the beginning it was a communications tool for computer scientists and geeky folk. Now it’s the backbone of international commerce and consumer choice. Just as you pay for brochures and magazine ads, you have to pay for Internet advertising. How so? Google AdWords, site construction, consulting on building traffic, and so on, all cost time and money. Even if you do it yourself, it’s not free. What do you make per hour? Every bit of time you spend building a website is an hour you’re not earning money.

Like any advertising, there are ways to keep the costs down, but you still pay and that’s the real point: Not investing properly in your Internet “properties” shows a poor return on whatever you spend. Consider these two scenarios:

A. Let’s say you spend $5,000 to get a really cool website built by your hotshot nephew. He’s been to tech school and can make it do some amazing stuff. Your site looks like a playground in a monitor. You launch it and, by using free Google Webmaster Tools, you find out hardly anyone is coming to it, and those who do barely hang around. There can be many reasons but, for this story, let’s go with the assumption your nephew is not trained in graphic design or visual communication techniques and knows less about advertising copy writing. Your website is the equivalent of a child’s picture book that’s really interesting at first, but soon loses its appeal. A major function of your site is to be an advertisement (and usually a cash register, too), and if function follows form or technique, you’ll likely be disappointed.

B. Let’s say you spend $500 to get a site built and, even though “it ain’t pretty,” the traffic is good … at first. You check the Google tools and see that you are way off your peak visits and dropping. You remember that you haven’t put any new content up since you posted the site. People have seen it and have moved on. Fresh content keeps them coming back. That’s why the major networks like CBS, CNN, The New York Times and myriad other sites do well - they keep fresh content coming. Even if it’s just a new weekly coupon, your loyal customers will keep checking.

These days, there are four groups that you really need to consider if you’re creating a new site or getting ready to revamp your current site:

1. Coders: Technical folks who build your site and make it work and connect. Websites are programs that display their results graphically.

2. Designers: If they’re good they guide visitor’s eyes where you want them to go. From my (long and sometimes bloody) experience, many designers aren’t good coders and vice versa (I’m going to get hate mail on that - sorry, but it’s true). A designer is trained in visual communication that’s art and graphics based, an important skill that isn’t inherent to web coding.

3. Search engine optimization (SEO) experts: Most coders say they know SEO, and some do, but it’s a sophisticated discipline that’s more like statistical research and psychological profiling. It’s darn near a black art at times, but there’s a real craft to doing it well and a marketing background is a real plus.

4. Content providers: You still need folks to write persuasive copy and figure out what people want. Your site is a lot like a magazine in that you want folks to read what’s there, look at the pictures and come back every “issue” through subscriptions. You might say, “We do videos.” Who writes your script? Whether read or spoken, it requires special skills to be compelling.

Are there people who do all these well? Sure, but they’re rare and their rates make many folks gasp. My strong suits are numbers two (design), and four (content creation). I provide content including advertising copy, strategy, graphic/art direction, feedback measurement systems and creative campaigns. I also am very well versed in visual communication, meaning I know how to guide the eye around the page to make sure they “get” the most important things.

I’m okay at search engine optimization issues but don’t hesitate to get help because it is critical to getting a great return on your investment and eyeballs on your site. How am I at coding and actually constructing a website? Lousy and I have no desire to do it because, well, I do other things much better.

Can you do all these things? Probably not, so be honest with yourself, move some money around in your advertising budget and get folks who know how to do these things. Remember that it’s an investment, not an expense. Given that around 97% of people go the Internet first to find products and services, it’s just smart business to do it right and ensure that they think of your site as a reliable place to go.

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22. May 2010 by Frank Goad.

Despite all the talk about social media, “the long tail,” web advertising and other new frontiers in marketing, most local businesses still deal with customers one-on-one. All of those things are the acts that get customers in the door. What about once they’re in your store or on the phone? Training ensures that your company takes advantage of every opportunity that comes to you.

Training staff is still critical and it seems to not be getting enough attention anymore. I think that’s largely because of thinner budgets. Want a budget problem? Start losing sales because of untrained personnel. Maybe you already are.

Yes, it costs money, but it’s an investment. How many sales are lost because a customer didn’t get the answers they wanted, or because they saw your team member as unqualified or uncaring? I’m betting it’s way more than you realize. What if you have multiple locations? If there is a lack of consistency between your stores, customers don’t react well to that.

Think of the times that you’ve gone into a store and the person at the counter couldn’t answer your questions. Even worse, let’s say they only said, “I dunno,” and didn’t offer to find out. Are they lazy or stupid? Well, that’s a possibility, but it’s more likely they were not told what to do. Despite being something so simple, the basics are often overlooked when a company is overworked and understaffed. Because some other team members know what to do it’s easy to assume everyone does.

Training doesn’t have to be expensive or mind boggling. Start by taking notice of all the processes in your store or company. How do people answer the phone? How do they answer questions? What do they do when they don’t have an answer? Do they use suggestion to build sales? What steps are there for follow-up? What reference materials do they have? How do they record calls?

Take that information and start at the beginning. Create a flow chart or series of steps so that the major things they do can be guided and repeated. This might seem like digging into minutiae, but it doesn’t have to be. Just hit those things that are done most frequently and address those. Polishing the little things builds customer trust, loyalty and lowers (or eliminates) the barriers to repeat sales, price objections and add-on sales.

Outside sales reps are even more important, so make sure they, too, are adequately trained on your product, your company and approach customers in a style you are comfortable with.  When did you last go with a rep on a call? If you do, shut up! Make sure that the customer/prospect focuses on the rep, not you. Deflect any questions they have to the salesman as soon as possible. Your deference to them builds their credibility in the customer’s eyes as the real authority so that, when they return and you’re not with them, they already have a firm foundation.

You can say something like, “Brad here is one of our top people, not only in sales, but also in customer satisfaction. I’m here to see how he does it with so much success.” Okay, Brad’s a schmuck and you want to fire him, but this could be a golden opportunity for all. Lemons into lemonade and maybe ol’ Brad gets a boost and turns into your top producer after all. It’s happened and I’ve seen it.

If need be, get outside help with training. Steve Ickes runs the Lexington branch of Sandler Institute, and they have a sales training program that works for many people. Chief Learning Officer magazine has a great site with hundreds of ideas about training and leadership development. Bersin and Associates’ website has a wealth of info, too.

To prove my point, a recent report was generated by McKinsey Quarterly based on a survey of 1,200 purchasing decisions in the U.S. and Western Europe. It stated that customers said sales reps need to be well versed in their products and know how theirs is different from the competition. More importantly, they want to know how that product or service will make a difference in their business, their life, etc. As you would expect, price was almost always second to a great experience with the vendor.

Sales training can be considered a value-add but, in reality, it should be a foundational piece of the product or services you offer. Everyone in the company needs to start from a common base of information. If you need help assessing these things, organizing a plan for your company or help creating training, please drop me a line at frank@frankcomlex.com, or by using the comment form on bottom of the page at the Frank Communications website.

Posted in training, Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, The Long Tail, Frank, Marketing, Advertising, advertisers, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

6. May 2010 by Frank Goad.

Public relations has changed - no revelation there - but it’s still important. The truly effective PR agent these days still courts the press and other “large” media, but they also court new media even more. PR has moved closer to marketing because of these changes, too. Chris Anderson wrote a great book called, “The Long Tail” that talks about the changes in marketing. Its premise is:

“The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers. In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly targeted goods and services can be economically attractive as mainstream fare.”

What this means (as if you can’t figure it out) is that marketing and PR are no longer totally dependent on a narrow group of outlets, those being TV, radio and newspapers. (Make no mistake though: Consistent appearances in traditional media needs to be a part of any marketing plan. You still need to cover all the bases.) PR agents used to send press releases to reporters whom they hoped and prayed liked what they sent so that they would make a story out of it. The experts developed relationships with reporters and writers at the “bigs” and got a book of newspaper clippings with their work.

For the rest of us, unless it’s a truly revolutionary or far-reaching story, reporters often ignore these releases. Who can blame them? They get hundreds of press releases, most of which are not suitable for what they write about, and are sent by folks who try to cover the earth believing the odds are in their favor if they send it to anyone they can. So, what to do?

With the proliferation of platforms (i.e., new media, podcasts, etc.), you can now talk directly to the folks who care about what you have to say. Let’s pretend you’ve invented a revolutionary left-handed cow milking speeder-upper. The folks at the LHSCMA (Left-Handed Speed Cow Milkers of Albania) will get all atwitter about it, so that’s whom you talk to. If there’s a left-handed cow milker’s trade organization and they have a magazine or website, they’ll like your press release, too. It’s not just a press release, though, it’s talking to people and organizations using their mediums. Your goal is to have a marketing conversation with these groups.

What you have to do is find LHSCMA members and others who care about this and will put it in their blogs - Albanian blogs, of course - and who have websites and e-newsletters and so on. THEY are the ones who’ll care and spread the word. Find secondary organizations who read their items (the RHSCMA of course - you know who they are) and let them know. Putting an ad in Newsweek or on TV’s “Meet the Press” would be horribly expensive and useless. There was a time when that was the only way to do it - sell it to the whole world. Now you can work the long tail.

You can now be your own press agent IF you learn to cultivate the tiny grottoes of the Web, meaning, get in contact with the blogs and websites of organizations, clubs, forums, etc., who have an interest in your message. Cultivate followers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other new media. Get a website up that has real content (and, yes, a blog) and continually update it in order to continually build value. Get their feedback and post it. Get them to link their blogs and websites to yours. Whatever you do, put up information, and not constant blather, or you’ll get tuned out. It doesn’t have to be about your specialty - just make sure it’s interesting and useful.

Most of all, don’t expect a broad-based relationship to happen overnight, or over-month for that matter (over-month: a new word, and you saw it here first, you trendsetter you). It takes time, constant effort and the cultivation of a two-way, long-distance relationship with lots of different folks. Put up new information whenever you can and then let folks know it’s there. Marketing is now a conversation directly with your audience. If you don’t have time to carry on the conversation, hire someone (and, yes, I’m available), but make sure you are talking with them or you’ll be tuned out.

Posted in Left-handed cow milkers, Chris Anderson, Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, The Long Tail, Public relations, Advertising, Marketing, advertisers, Frank, PR, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

25. March 2010 by Frank Goad.

Beyond coffee, surviving in your job requires innovation. Sure, showing up on time helps, but companies want people whose contributions set the business apart from the competition or improve operations. So ask yourself these questions: Are you helping your employer grow the business? What are you doing to enhance your status?

The coin’s other side is that business is harder these days and innovation is critical to survival. A great way to maintain job stability is to be the one who helps the company remain stable. Since there is rarely a silver bullet to save the day, small improvements and gap-filling ideas add up to a brighter picture, and maybe a fatter paycheck.

Several times a day, ask yourself questions like, “What can I contribute that sets the company – and me – apart?”, “What can I do that makes a difference in the ‘bottom line’?”, and, “What opportunities are we overlooking?” It doesn’t have to be a Herculean effort, just investing some of your time and brain cycles to look more critically at what goes on.

Some think hunkering down and staying out of sight is the best policy, but here’s why that’s not necessarily true: I worked at a local company that has been, and still is going through wave-after-wave of layoffs. The company’s local workforce is less than half the size it was when I joined and many jobs went overseas. The folks I know who are still there escaped the hatchet for one of two reasons: 1. They work like Trojans and are high-output individuals, or; 2. They have a track record of innovation and usable ideas. Yes, a few are just lucky or really charming, but that doesn’t always work.

So, what does this have to do with coffee? I have the coffee maker you see above and I think it’s the greatest one ever. Why? Notice there’s no pot - it doesn’t have one. The coffee flows into a reservoir and then you place your mug underneath where a pot would be, push a lever and your cup fills. Best of all, it brews one awesome cup of coffee. No, it’s not like an $11,000 Clover coffee maker, but my less-than-cultured palate finds the results quite good.

Is it a big seller? Well … no, and it’s a bit hard to find. It’s a little pricey, too. Doesn’t sound like it’s perched to become a market leader, does it? On the other hand, everyone who visits notices it and becomes curious. We talk, they recognize Cuisinart as a good, dependable brand with nice styling and, of those folks, many have bought Cuisinart appliances. The coffee maker is different enough to make itself and the brand stand out in prospect’s minds, and to motivate them to invest in their products. Are there things in your business that can be reformulated?

In 1899, U.S. Commissioner of Patents Charles H. Duell said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Do you think that way at your work place? Don’t becuase, after all, the lowly coffee pot was improved. Try to take a fresh look at what is going on there. Do barriers to innovation exist, like a manager who hates change? If so, try to involve them early and with tidbits of information.

Compare them to the Grand Canyon: It took a long time for the water to carve the canyon, and you might need extra patience, too. Chip away with questions like, “Why do we do it this way?” “Had you ever thought about … ?” It doesn’t hurt to let them think that some of your ideas are theirs – if they shine, you’re likely to benefit from their light. Asking them questions that guide them to your answer lets them think it’s their idea. Once that’s done, you can build on it with suggestions and ideas to foster a partnership for innovation.

It’s hard to innovate using the same data you’ve collected for years. That’s a “can’t see the forest for the trees” situation. Some of the best investment advice I ever got was, “Look around. Before investing in a company, see where they are in the lives of their customers.”

The true meaning soon dawned on me: Ask folks what they think about a company and its products or services. How often do they use them? Do they tell their friends? If they’re really into it you’ll get a good report, or even a glassy-eyed rant extolling the virtues. Ask your customers to lunch or coffee and listen to their thoughts and feelings. If nothing else, call them and say, “Just checking in … .” Customers usually have a clear eye toward your business and know what others say, too, so make sure to keep a journal of their input and plans on what to do with that intelligence.

Then you can go to your manager (or shareholders) with fresh, documented input and confidently present your ideas based on real data, not just a hunch or an idea. You become the expert and a thought leader in your company, and someone with a much better shot at job security and brighter prospects.

Posted in Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, creativity, leadership, Advertising, advertisers, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

23. August 2009 by Frank Goad.

Oh my, it’s happened - some advertisers are tired of paid political pundits, inflammatory language and plain old bombast used to keep eyes and ears glued to their channel. Berkshire Hathaway’s Geico, Walmart Stores and Men’s Warehouse have, according to Advertising Age, “… taken steps to ensure that their ads will no longer appear during Fox News ‘Glenn Beck Show’. Procter and Gamble and and S. C. Johnson said they never intended to advertise there and ads were placed there by mistake. Clorox Company has said it’s taking its ad dollars out of all politically oriented talk programs” (For those unaware, Beck put his foot in it recently in a big way.)

It’s about time folks realized that many (most? all?) of the pundits on TV, radio, the Internet and anywhere else have a primary goal: Keep high ratings. Being measured and balanced about their views doesn’t get listeners and, without listeners, the folks carrying them will go out of business because no one advertises where no one goes. Folks forget that pundits are paid to be outrageous. It’s that simple. You can defend them but, in the end, they’re paid to be on the air and draw viewers or listeners.

You might say, “But what about the newspapers?” They’re trying to draw you in, too, but folks who are in broadcast have to keep you glued for thirty or sixty minutes or more; that takes emotion. A newspaper reporter or columnist only has to keep you for one column’s worth of time and there are different and (gasp) opposing opinions right next to yours. Going over the top makes you seem a bit daft because there’s another article inches from yours that could seem sane by comparison.

The other side of the coin has an engraving that shows Joe Sixpack or anyone else who listens, spouts and repeats without doing any real research on their own. I once had a guy tell me that he listens to Rush Limbaugh because, “… he speaks my language. He thinks like I do so I know I can trust him.” I asked him if he reads the newspaper, and he said, “No, they’re just a bunch of liberal ——-s.” It’s not about whether he does or doesn’t read the newspaper. The conversation revealed that all he does is listen to folks who think like him. Willful ignorance is no excuse.

My beef isn’t with people on the right or the left, it’s with anyone who blindly takes others opinions without trying to figure it out on their own. Please note that I said opinions, not facts. If you know the facts, then you can sort out the opinions. All of the pundits - right and left wing - have their foibles, misstatements and outright intentional misinterpretations. I would just appreciate it if folks decided to do a little research and stopped parroting things simply because it sounds good to them.

Posted in Frank, Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, advertisers, right wing, backlash, Beck, left wing, Advertising | Print | No Comments »