Don't be afraid to say what your customers are thinking!

General Motors has had a tough few years. Have you seen the TV commercial where their CEO talks about paying back the government loan? He admits in that commercial that he knows that some Americans were skeptical of the loan and he goes further and says that he understands.

Burger King, who has a history of all over the road marketing, has a similar ad where the "king" is breaking into McDonald's Headquarters to get their blueprint for their sausage biscuit. The announcer says something to the effect of, original no - but it tastes great.

The trainer Chris Lytle introduced me to the saying - truth is better than creativity. Straight Forward honesty is refreshing in advertising...try it. Try these steps.

1. Write your commercial as if you were writing to your best friend. Be direct, clear and concise.
2. Stop worrying about what you know -- we don't know what you know, tell us all the reason why you do things.
3. Then let a few of your close customers read it and pay close attention to their reaction.

You will probably be surprised at what they didn't know about your business and they are your best customers. Then get to work putting that information into your advertising. Good Luck.

Fish where the fish are

I had a great conversation with a smart marketer this week. We were talking about getting people into his business. We talked about how the majority of his business were males. Should we work on getting the females more interested or maximize his core audience.

I will always say focus on the core. Here is the old example that says a lot about this topic. A lot of advertising reps will approach restaurants and ask them to identify their weakest day. Then they put a plan on to help that day.

So if Tuesday is their weakest day we have to convince people to

1. Eat out on Tuesday.
2. Then go to the restaurant.

or we focus on Friday or Saturday where more people are already going out and now we have to convince them to come to the restaurant. Let's fish where the fish are.

To me, it's like taking an employee and always focusing on improving their weaknesses. We help them improve their weakness a little. While we could be helping them improve their strengths a lot.

Happy Fishing!

Don't be annoying!

I was watching the Card - Mets game on Saturday.

As usual, some clown was in the second row talking on a cell phone and waving to the camera. You could tell that the person he was talking to was telling him that they saw him on TV. After a while, I began to feel sorry for the guy. Then I thought about how many commercials are in the same mode. Here is what I mean:

1. They just want people to see them. They are willing to jump up and down, wave, or whatever it takes to be seen or heard.

2. There is nothing communicated. You can't tell me that much was going on in that conversation except - what do you see now? Can you see me? Look I'm waving.

3. It is more annoying than anything else.

So this week, check out your commercials and see if they have more in common with the guy on the cell phone. Hopefully they don't.

You may be afraid to do this.

This week, I want to grade your advertising messages. Give it a 1-10 on the following criteria.


1. Explaining what the product/service will do for the end user.
2. Ad speak – what phrases are in your marketing that you would never say to your friends?
3. Timely. Are you talking summer, spring, fall, or winter?

The time you take to finish this assignment will help you improve the return on your investment. Good Luck.

How are you on making the difficult decisions?

Part of good marketing is having the right team on the right job at the right time. Sometimes good people are trying to do the right job with the wrong skill sets. That is when the difficult decisions need to be made.

It is important that we remember that these decisions strongly effect our marketing efforts. When we are asking people to do a job that is outside of their skill sets it hurts them, our team, and ultimately our efforts. Especially when they are dealing with the customers.

Is there a tough decision that you need to make this week? Chances are the decision has been made. You just need to act on that decision. Remember, marketing is so much more than just advertising and packaging. Have a great week.

What is stopping you?

This week it is quick and to the point.

What is stopping you from increasing your business?

Is it a product problem? Do you need to make changes with what you are offering your customers?

Is it a people problem? Look at your staff and those around you. Can they get you where you want to go. A few years ago I made two additions to my sales team. When they came on board I became an immediately better manager - because I had a better staff. You might love them. But can they get you where you want to go?

Is it a you problem? Are you working hard enough as an owner or manager to make it happen? Are you relying enough on your team or are you trying to do it all yourself?

Is it an advertising problem? If you are in good shape with the above questions, you probably need more people to know about your business.

Spend some time this week thinking about these questions. Ask your key personnel for help. find the answers and you are well on your way to increasing your revenues and hitting your goals.

Sometimes you just have to ask?

Last week, I was involved with a sales meeting, where we asked our team a series of questions about their jobs. It was enjoyable, informative, and provided us some opportunities.

It also showed me how I was in the way of the team. I walked away with a game plan to make sure I can remove some of the stumbling blocks in the teams way. (These were real stumbling blocks not just imagined on the teams part)

Is your business putting stumbling blocks in your customers way? Some examples could be, but are not limited to:

1. Expecting the working people to shop your store during 8a - 5p, Monday through Friday. That is a problem and one of the reasons the box stores do so much business.

2. Not having a web presence people can use to truly shop with your store. Complaining about or ignoring on-line shopping are not good strategies, getting into the game is.

3. Not finding out the big boys weak spots and attacking those spots. Goliath had a weak spot and our guy David found it, attacked it, and won.

4. Listening to the wrong people is a stumbling block. How do you know who to listen to? -- they are usually the one telling you the things you don't want to hear.

How do you find out? Follow my lead and ask. You will be surprised what you find.