Main Street Marketing

Don't Gamble with your Advertising!

2011-05-10T07:59:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered how Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson can afford to build gambling monuments in Las Vegas ??

They spend BILLIONS on their casino's and hotels, golf courses and canals, artwork and fountains.

Actually, this one is easy to answer...they win your money on the casino floor. ;-)

You see, casino's are prepared to win. The odds are stacked in their favor. They've done the research. They are ready for you to walk in their monuments with a wallet full of money and they will systematically take every penny from you, if you let them.

See to Casino's, gambling is not really a gamble at all. It is all about knowing the odds of a bet and knowing how their customers will react to the various sensory inputs.

So, my question to you is, if Casino's don't even gamble with gambling, why do you?

No, I'm not talking about your "business trip to Vegas". I'm talking about your advertising.

Every month, you roll the dice with your own money and hope that you get lucky. Everyone says that advertising is a gamble. Hell, I've probably even told a client or two that.

But, we are all wrong! Advertising doesn't have to be a gamble. In fact, it should be more science than art even.

So, the next time you decide to "roll the dice" with your ad budget, start to think like a Casino. Stack the deck in your favor.

Separation of Church and State

2010-10-16T18:02:00.000-06:00

Relax! This is not a blog on politics. No, when I say "church and state" I'm talking about how most newspaper, magazines editors and broadcast programmers view their relationship with those "slimy" advertising people.

Oh, the horror!

Just imagine it...the pristine world of editorial/content being forced to work with those ad salespeople or even worse...advertisers!

(Full Disclosure - Holier than Thou editors/program director/content providers drives me nuts. The fact that they can "pretend" that business and advertising has nothing to do with their "art" of journalism borders on the schizophrenic. They are such hypocrites!)

Ok, back to my blog on "Church and State" in advertising. This edition is not just one of my rants about what is wrong with media and advertising, no this is more about what we must do as an industry to save it.

Here is the deal...traditional advertising will eventually disappear! No, I'm not Chicken Little screaming that the end is near. I think it will be awhile before 30's and 60's are extinct, but the day is coming. Technology has finally arrived that allows us to do what we have always wanted to do...skip ads! No one likes advertising. Hell, I sell advertising and I'm the first one to change the channel or scan the radio dial for most ads.

People want to be entertained, not sold. Oh sure, there are times that we actually look for ads when we are in that buying mood, but with the advent of the internet, we go online to get the information that we want. The internet is the tool for the inner transactional shopper in all of us.

So, the big question will be..."How do we build a brand in this brave new world?" As 30's and 60's begin to lose impact on TV or radio, what do we do?

Some might say the net, but they obviously didn't just read my blog. The net is the world of transactional shoppers, not branding.

No, the key to building a brand is and will always be electronic TV and radio, but it will not be in the comfortable world of spots. We must look forward to a world of integration of content and advertising. We must breach the wall between editorial and advertorial.

Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall!

Sorry, got carried away...

The future of advertising will be a blended world. A world where advertising will be woven into content. Not just product placement, production integration! Scripts that weave advertisers into story lines. Content based on advertisers (Can you hear the editors gasping?)

But, with all things this will be really hard to do effectively for both the viewers and the advertisers, but it must be done!

We don't really have any other options.

Internet Tivo ???

2010-10-10T17:00:00.000-06:00

Two years ago, Yahoo turned down Microsoft's $44 Billion offer.

At the time, people thought Yahoo was crazy. They were right Yahoo was crazy!

But most people think Yahoo was crazy because of the downturn in advertising revenues, but I think they were crazy because of their advertising model. Yahoo makes money from search (but just a little bit) and display advertising (banners).

I believe that display advertising has a very short shelf life. Why???

Because of a little "killer app" that is just the first of many others... Adblock Plus!

What an amazing product that is changing the online ad game. This is a free extension for the widely popular Firefox web browser from Mozilla. (Yes, only 17% of web users browse with Firefox, but is because the rest of you are just ignorant of the greatness of Firefox).Firefox offers users a FREE and flawless online experience. No hackers, no viruses, and best all it is open code, which means thousands of brilliant programmers are creating extensions and add-ons for the program.

What is an add-on or extension, well, they are free program enhancements that allow users to have the ultimate in personalized browsing. And the greatest of all of these add-ons is Adblock Plus!

Adblock Plus was created by Wladimir Palant and it was designed to block all of those annoying banner, rails, skyscrapers, cube ads, etc. It helps your browser load sites faster and without all of that annoying clutter!

As a web enthusiasts, I love the quick, clean web pages that I receive by using Adblock Plus!

As a advertising consultant, well...let's just say that it makes my job a lot tougher!

Do you know how many clients are clamoring to move advertising dollars away from newspaper and television????I'll tell you...ALL OF THEM!

We all know that newspaper readership is free falling and with the advent of Tivo and On Demand, television viewers are avoiding commercials like they were a Paris Hilton movie! (sorry, low blow)

And now, the Holy Land of advertising's future...the Internet...has it's own ad avoiding technology. Yikes!

Well, at the moment, I'm not 100% sure what the answers are for you or for me, but I do have two suggestions:

1) Short Google and Yahoo stocks. ;-) (Seriously, don't take that as a recommendation on investing. I'm being sarcastic...but all internet companies need to consider this as a possible threat.)

2) Find ways to blend advertising and content! This I believe is the future of advertising...combining the best of editorial and advertising to create a new medium. No, not product placement. It must become product integration!

More on that to follow....

Forget Branding – What is your company’s DNA?

2010-10-07T19:09:00.000-06:00

Branding is about manipulating consumers perceptions into the views in which you want your company to be seen.

Branding is what companies did in the 80’s, 90’s and even today when they didn’t understand the power of authenticity.

Authenticity is the currency for the 21st Century.

Authenticity is anchored to your companies ability to be transparent to your customers. Authenticity is what consumers get when you know what your company’s DNA really is.

The key to advertising and marketing success today is not about your marketing spin, your mission statement, or even what your company represents (i.e. your brand).

It is about knowing who you are, why you do what you do, and what makes your customers love you!

It is the very DNA of your company.

Finding your Brand

2010-09-25T21:37:00.000-06:00

What does your brand say about you?

Most likely, you don't have one. Oh sure, you think that you do. All businesses think they have a brand. They'll toss out "buzz words" like...

My brand says that I have great service, quality products, good prices...yada...yada...yada!

I'm so bored that I can't even pretend to write more of that BS!

Imagine what your customers think about it. They hear the same crap from everyone.
[Note: If you can replace your businesses name with another businesses name in your little statement and it makes sense then your brand identity is worthless]

A real brand is easily, quickly identifiable to consumers that this is all about your business. They can't confuse your brand with any other brands!

It resonates the very essences of your core business...it reflects the very nature of your customers. Your customers know it. Love it. And want to be associated with it.

No one will ever confuse a Starbucks with a Dunkin Donuts! Harley and Honda don't ever get confused. Apple and Microsoft can't be interchanged [Even if Bill Gates would like to]

Do people ever confuse your store with some other place like it?

If they do...you don't have a brand...You have a problem!

Trust can kill a sale, but it can't make it!

2010-09-07T19:19:00.007-06:00

"Lead generation takes place when a person's need and your brand message intersect in an environment of trust." - Joe Abraham of BOSI via Twitter.

This tweet started an interesting email discussion between Joe and myself and to make a long email trail short...here is the core of the discussion.

There are many, many elements of lead generation/sales for businesses, but there are four key elements to the process:

1) Customer Need

2) Business Solution

3) Business Message/Offer

4) Environment of Trust

Joe's belief was that the "environment of trust" was the key element to the transaction to acquire a lead. That if a prospect believed that his information could be trusted with the business, then they would reach out and share his contact info with them and become an actual lead.

I confess that at first, I was not swayed by his "tweet". In hindsight, I think he is right, but that he also didn't explain the full transaction. (I guess that is the danger of forcing us to be insightful in 140 characters or less. :-)

I believe that all 4 steps of lead generation must be taken and in order for a lead to be fully developed. There must be a need, there must be a solution and then the business must deliver a message and offer that entices the prospect to act, but finally, there must be an environment of trust that exists between prospect and business.

All four elements are critical in the lead generation game. You can't skip any of them!

The prospect MUST have a Need!
Your business MUST have a REAL SOLUTION!
Your business MUST have a relevant, authentic message with an enticing offer!
You must build trust with your prospect! (side note: I think delivering an authentic message will help build this environment of trust.)

Without trust, the prospect will not act! So, I guess Joe was right, but my argument remains....

Which leads back to the headline of this post, lack of trust can kill a sale, but it can't make a sale on it's own!

1st Amendment protects ALL Speech!

2010-08-30T06:46:00.004-06:00

Everyone hates BP, right? Well, at least that is what we're being told on a daily basis from every media outlet and social network on the planet.

BP is the DEVIL! (Oh, wait, we can't say the devil, because that involves religion and well, all religions are bad, except for Islam, because well, we're afraid they will attack us).

BP is an EVIL Corporation (same as devil today)!

For months, we were bombarded with images of gushing oil from the BP oil well and how they were destroying the Gulf of Mexico FOREVER! (Disregard all of the news about how the gulf is just fine.) Our fabulous Congressional representatives called the executives to Capital Hill to reprimand on live TV to "punish" them and to make the reps look so powerful. (Also disregard current scandals on reps and our $200 trillion debt).

And now, that they can't show us images of the EVIL spilling oil, Congress is calling the BP Executives back to Capital Hill to chastise them on how they are SPENDING THEIR AD DOLLARS! (http://bit.ly/bmwJJs)

This is absolutely ridiculous! Since when, do politicians have the right to tell any business how they run their business, much less what type of advertising they use or the message they run??

HELLO!!! Rep. Castor!!! Do me a favor go read the Constitution, PLEASE!

YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to question a businesses advertising, AS LONG AS it's not deceptive or false!

The 1st Amendment protects all speech, not just the speech that you like, Rep. Castor! Please get back to real work and actually try and help get our country back on track!

The Medium is NOT the Message!

2010-08-10T20:16:00.003-06:00

The medium is the message is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived. The phrase was introduced in his most widely known book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964.^[1] McLuhan proposes that a medium itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of study. He said that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not only by the content delivered over the medium, but also by the characteristics of the medium itself. [Source: Wikipedia]

Marshall is just plain WRONG!

The Medium is, in fact, NOT the Message! At least, it's not the message in 2010.

I believe that the "Message transcends the Medium".

In a world that is obsessed with connectivity and new technology, the message must be 100% portable to ANY Medium.

Does PR really work?

2010-08-09T15:27:00.010-06:00

Ok...all for truth in blogging?

First, I was a radio guy. Then, I become an ad guy.

Nowhere, was I ever a PR Guy. Oh sure, my firm did PR, but I kept my distance from the PR people. I never really "believed" in PR.

I kinda always thought PR was the biggest waste of time. Actually, that's not entirely true. What I really thought, was for most businesses, PR was a total waste of time. It's not that I didn't believe that free publicity was great...no...I thought that your average car dealership, carpet store, electronics retailer etc. had absolutely NO CHANCE of having a story worth telling.

I mean seriously...what life-interest story can you really do about carpet or TV's. And NO ONE wants to read a story in the paper or magazine about your latest store or state-of-the-art toaster!

However, I have to admit that for certain businesses with an interesting story, PR is fantastic!

One of my side businesses is that I'm a partner in a barbeque restaurant in La Grange, IL. It's called Q BBQ and it's just great authentic bbq from all of the great BBQ centers of America

(Texas, Memphis and the Carolina's). One of my roles in the business is the marketing of Q.

We started with a soft-opening to make sure the kinks were all worked out. Well, our soft-open wasn't very soft. We hit the ground running and never looked back. Therefore, we never had the opportunity to implement our marketing plan as designed. However, we did have the opportunity to tell our story via some wonderful public relations.

Over a 3-4 month period, Q BBQ has been featured on several TV shows, newspapers, magazines and of course blogs. And the results have been incredible! I couldn't have "paid" for this kind of exposure. :-)

So, I guess the moral of my little story is this...

If you have an interesting story then PR can be wonderful, if you have an experienced PR team that has stellar connections within the media.

If you are a basic, run-of-the-mill business...well...then you should probably spend more time with your marketing/advertising guy. They'll help you create a narrative that you can sell!

The Good, the bad and the Ugly of a Blog

2010-08-09T09:08:00.005-06:00

Yes, It has been 19 months since I updated my blog. Yes, that is ridiculous.

So, I thought that I would blog about the downside of "blogging". :-)

There are like a million posts on why blogs are great for your business and/or your personal "brand". (Which on a sidenote, I hate that phrase "personal brand". It sounds like such a marketing buzzword created by bored marketing consultants.)

However, there are fewer blogs about the ugly downside of the blogosphere.

So, here are my top 3 reasons not to blog:

1. If you don't write regularly, you look like a fool. (i.e my blog) You go from being an "expert" in your field to an uninterested schmuck. -- If you blog, do it at least once a week.

2. People will call you very, very ugly and mean names -- granted some of the comments might be technically correct, they still hurt. Of course, if you're not making people mad or making them think, then you're probably not speaking the truth.

3. You have to think. Yes, that may seem easy, but it takes time...a lot of time. Don't just spout off comments without thinking about the ramifications. Also, you need to bring value to your readers. Don't just repeat what others are saying...come up with new and innovative ideas.

OK, now that I have restarted my blog...I promise to keep it up. And of course, if I don't, I expect you to take me to task.

Research & Development Needed

2009-01-21T07:51:00.003-06:00

The economy has still not recovered yet...companies are cutting budgets and employees as quickly as they can. Employees are nervous about their jobs and Management doesn't have a clue what the solutions are.

A lot of people would consider, now, to be an excellent time to panic, hide, and be very...very cautious.

I am not one of "those" people.

In fact, I believe today is the perfect time to push the envelope, blaze a new trail, and go against "conventional wisdom".

Now is the time to double down...to spend time, money, and resources into what will be next. Every recession has been the incubator of innovation and entrepreneurship! Oh sure, some of that is out of pure necessity, but that is a good thing. Let's look at the last couple of time periods for historic examples...

Early 70's Recession - It lasted 16 months and unemployment spiked at 8.5%. This period spawned entrepreneurs like none before...FedEx, Microsoft, Oracle, Southwest Airlines, Apple, etc.

Early 90's Recession - didn't last quite as long and unemployment was lower, but it still helped us create new companies, new ideas, and innovation. All of the dot com's (Amazon, Yahoo, Netscape, Google) come to mind.

One thing to consider with all of these successful companies is that they have 3 things in common:

They all started during difficult economic times

They all were innovators...whether completely new concepts or improvements on old ones...they came up with the "better mousetraps" that people were willing to pay for

They were all started with people who were not afraid of risk, new ideas, or even paying for it on their credit cards.

So, will you remember this time for being one of the people that were scared or will you defy the "predictions" and go out and create! Now is the time to invest in yourself, your company, and your people.

Put more money in Research & Development, not less.

The "Next" great idea, product, or company is just waiting to be created...

Kicking Pavlov's Dog

2009-01-08T07:49:00.003-06:00

I've been harping on how advertisers have trained Pavlov's Dog to not hear us anymore.

I never realized how bad we can be at this game. Not only are we screaming in his ears with louder and louder outrageous sales gimmicks...now Best Buy is just plain kicking the dog in the head with this latest scam! UNBELIEVABLE!

Best Buy has a secret intranet website that has higher prices on it than their consumer website! So that when a customer comes in and says that he found a lower price on the Best Buy website, the sales associate can pull up this bogus website and prove them wrong!

And Car Dealers have a bad name!

Is business so hard that one of America's best retailers has stooped to this level of scamming customers?

For the love God, will someone...anyone stand up and be real with their customers!

It is the ONLY WAY to re-train the dog. We must be authentic, honest, straightforward with our customers. Stop chasing the fickle price sensitive buyers...you don't need them! No one does!

Spend your time, your money, your message proving to consumers that they really matter. You care about their problem/need and you want to help solve it. Don't trick them. Don't lie to them. Don't pretend they are stupid.

They are not! The Internet has changed the rules of the game...consumers know more about your products, services, and pricing than most of your salespeople on the floor...guaranteed!

Treat them this way and I promise that you will see your sales rise. Your profits soar! And most importantly your brand will boom!

Best Buys' Secret Website for Consumer Bait and Switch Story

Pavlov's Dog is Dead, Part II

2008-09-05T07:20:00.000-06:00

We've trained him to distrust us! Year after year, the advertising community has rung the bell and offered our customers bogus sales, products that aren't available, or our worse, your lowest end products.

Oh, sure! We got their attention...even drove them to our stores, but at what cost? I'll tell you...our good will...their trust...future long-term customers!

The advertising world is based on being the loudest, most obnoxious! 80% of ads are focused on some kind of sale...sales only target the "transactional customers". These transactional customers are the first ones to show no loyalty and purchase from the lowest priced business.

WHY DO YOU SPEND 80% OF OUR AD DOLLARS TARGETING YOUR MOST DISLOYAL CUSTOMERS?

Because, most advertisers do not know how to connect with their key customers, the loyal customers who shop and buy day-in-day-out. The consumers who drive our revenue, but more importantly drive our profits!

The key to solving the advertiser's dilemma is to effectively reach loyal, relationship driven customers! We must retrain our customers to hear us, not just the sales bell, but to really hear and listen to what we have to say.

Pavlov's Dog is Dead! Part I

2008-09-01T08:23:00.000-06:00

Long ago in a very different world, businesses could buy an ad on a prime time show on one of the three broadcast channels reach a 1/3 of the buying public and launch a new product instantly!

Procter Gambel, Kraft and Sears had it is easy.

You do not. You no longer have the option to buy one :30 second commercial run it on broadcast TV and watch the people come running like Pavlov's Dog.

Ok...maybe Pavlov's Dog isn't dead...maybe he is just deaf.

Maybe he just can't hear anymore or more specifically has learned to ignore the bell. Possibly, we the advertising world rang the bell too many times and didn't deliver what we promised or worse yet what he expected.

We taught him to come, when the bell is rung and now, we've taught him to ignore us!

[Editor's Note: Yeah...we kinda already knew that! How do we fix it?]

Good question! Keep reading my blog and over the next few weeks, I'll give a "little" insight to how to overcome our deaf dog and retrain them to "trust" you and more importantly to comeback running the next time you ring your advertising bell.

[Editor's Note: If you can't wait till my next post...shoot me an email and we can take this conversation offline]

Rome wasn't Built in a Day!

2008-08-23T21:28:00.001-06:00

Neither was your marriage, your home, or your business. Something of any value takes time and in most cases a long time to succeed.

When you first opened your business, you developed a plan for success, right?

You created forecasts of revenue...a timetable to profitability...and tactics to make it happen. After 2 weeks, 2 months, or even 2 years, you didn't panic and pull the plug did you?

Probably not...in fact...if it didn't start off like you planned, you probably went back to your plan and readjusted some numbers and came up with some new ideas to get it back on track.

That is because you were committed to its success!

Then why do most business begin to panic 2 weeks into an advertising campaign, when the doors haven't been blown off the hinges from all of the new customers?

Yes, I realize you are spending a lot of money, relatively, and you it kills you to see it not working immediately, but you have to realize that success takes time.

Here is why:

Consumers are bombarded with 3,000 ad messages a day
Only a sliver of potential customers are in the market on a single day -- what are the chances that they all hear or see your advertisement in a short period of time
You have competition that has been telling consumers their message for years -- you better give new prospects a good reason to switch or be patient for them to change their habits organically
Pavlov's Dog is Dead -- consumers no longer hear the "bell" (ads) and come running

Come back over the next few weeks and I'll explain in more detail these long-term "why's".

It's the Economy, Stupid!

2008-08-15T08:04:00.000-06:00

Actually, today's post has nothing to do with the economy, but isn't that a great headline!

It is also a great example of how the right message at the right time repeated over and over can do amazing things! It took a little known Governor from like the worst state in the country and made him a 2-term President, even with all of the other baggage he was carrying around.

So that leads me back to your advertising:

Is your message clear, concise and on target with your customers?
Does it tell them almost everything they need to know?
Does it break through all of the other advertising clutter and crap.

If the answer to any of these questions is "no", then you need to start over!

Have Something to Say!

2008-08-13T09:45:00.000-06:00

Wow...that seems really simple, but I am amazed how many small and mid-size businesses don't say anything worthwhile in their ads.

Oh, sure, they have a lot of words and pretty pictures in the ads. Most have a fabulous star burst exclaiming they are number one in something or have the greatest sale of the year, but they don't really say anything to their customers.

They don't speak in their customers language. They don't talk about what the customer cares about or even what they want.

Harsh Reality #1: Your customers do not care about you UNLESS you have something they want or can solve their problem...period!

Your ads must be focused around your customers. Say something they want to hear!

Be Authtenic!

2008-08-09T07:05:00.000-06:00

Seriously, the next buzz word to come from the mouths of marketing gurus...authenticity!

Yes, we have come full circle.

The next new spin for advertising is the truth! Yes, you heard me...your customers want the truth! Period!

Be direct. Be honest. Be real! No gimmicks...no puffery...no spinning.

Offer a good product or service at fair price (Note: I said "fair" price...that doesn't mean cheap or discounted. Give people a solid value for their money).

Offer creative that demonstrates that message in a creative and unusual way and repeat!

Next entry: Be Consistent!

Is Time really Money?

2008-08-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

We have heard it for years. Your Dad said it. Maybe even your Mom. And your first boss definitely said it.

"Time is Money", right?

I say that up till 3 years ago, this was not true. We didn't really act that way. We still wasted a lot of time trying to save money. We would go to 5 stores to find the best deal on a new TV. 10 car dealers to find the best deal on that new Ford Taurus. And maybe 20 different sales centers to find our new home.

If time was really money, we would not have ever done that, would we? No!

But, today, I believe that we have finally become so busy that we would rather trade money for time, which is why Sales Leads or Traffic is down.

See today, we no longer have the time, or more accurately want, to "spend" the time to visit multiple stores to find a better deal. No, today we go online and research our shopping options before we ever enter a store, dealership, or sales center.

We used to go to 10 places before we would buy one thing. Which meant we counted as 10 different leads to businesses, but only one sale.

Today, that same sale, only counts for 2 or 3 leads, because we only have the time to visit our top 2 or 3 options.

Traffic may be down, but our sales are either the same or up.

Which begs the question...how good is your website at selling your product?

If it is not really good, not only will your traffic be down, but your sales are probably down, too.

Viral President

2008-08-05T19:50:00.002-06:00

We keep hearing about the power of the internet. We keep hearing how the net can launch regular people into "virtual" entertainment stars.

You've seen the net create tv shows...music stars...comedians...and even reality stars...

Now, it appears that the internet has launched it's first presidential campagin...the question is will it last or will it be another net bust?

Yes, this is obviously "fake". (I would have much better campaign ads and collateral ;-)

But, what a great use of technology.

Want to create your own "Presidential Bid Video"?

Visit http://www.news3online.com/spread.php

You've got YouMail

2008-07-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

Full Disclosure: I have nothing to do with this company, but I would love to. ;-)

I am just a new raving customer of YouMail. This is an amazing technology that could change the way that we communicate with friends, family, and most importantly in the context of my blog, customers and prospects! (This installment is more for the former ad sales guy in me.)

YouMail is a free service...not sure how they are planning to make a profit, but at some point I'm expecting the site and alerts to be ad supported.

All you have to do is set-up an account with your cell phone and an email address. Then you are able input phone numbers that will allow you to set-up different, personalized voicemail greetings for each number. It is brilliant and it works perfectly!

So, other than being just a very cool gadget, it can be a fantastic tool for personalizing your message to customers and prospects.

Think about it. You want to break through the clutter, but worry about someone calling you back and getting voicemail. Don't worry...you can set-up an attention getting message personalized just for them.

Check it out at www.YouMail.com