Sub-Routine Failures And Impulse Shopping

According to a study by
Maria Jonsdottir and colleagues,
the average person has 6.4 action slips a week. 

Amidst these action slips are
storage failures
(going to the store to get coffee and
then forgetting why you were at the store),
sub-routine failures
(returning with tea instead of coffee),
and discrimination failures
(taking the wrong car to the store). 

The highest incidence of action slips
happened on weekdays between 12 and 8. 

What does this mean? 

These might be the best times
to capture impulse purchases.

Published
Categorized as Sales

The Origins Of Strategy

When many people think strategy,
they think boardroom strategy,
executives sitting around dreaming up
the big vision for the company.  

So unless you’re in that select group,
you have nothing to do with strategy, right? 

Wrong. 
Vince Thompson, author of Ignited,
points out that 94% of strategy is
in reaction to the marketplace. 

The lower in the hierarchy you are,
the more likely you are to be close to that marketplace,
the bigger the opportunity you have to suggest strategy changes. 

Having trouble getting through to the top? 
My most effective means has been
a typed letter, hand addressed and
mailed (externally) to the President.

Celery Flavored Jell-O

Jell-O salads are a summer staple.
Allrecipes alone has over 150 recipes for it. 

So Jell-O designed especially for this purpose
sounds like a great idea, right? 

Wrong. 
Celery flavored Jell-O
(and other vegetable flavors)
was launched in the 1960’s
and yanked from the shelves shortly after
due to low sales. 

Even no-brainers sometimes fail.

The Power Of Nice

Everyone has their off days. 
When they deliver substandard product. 

So what to do when its your vendor or employee? 
In The Power Of Nice,
Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
suggest saying
“You do such great work. 
I’m not sure this is up to your caliber.” 

I’ve used this same technique
(though without the first sentence)
with solid success. 

Raising Rates And Increasing Sales

Stuck in a sales plateau? 
Consider raising your rates. 

That’s what
Jessica Duquette of ItsNotAboutYourStuff did,
with success. 

“At one point,
I hired a fabulous business coach
who insisted that I raise my rates
for people who wanted to work with me specifically,
and to hire others to do
the more routine work with my clients.

I can honestly say that each time
I have raised my rates,
I have actually gotten more business,
not less, as I had initially feared.”

Published
Categorized as Sales

Stories With Buzz

Lois Kelly, on Guy Kawasaki’s blog,
talks about the types of stories
with word of mouth power. 

One of them, event or seasonal related,
I use frequently,
not by covering the obvious story
but by offering a complementary piece. 

A star wedding in Paris would prompt
an article on Parisian restaurants.
A fresh angle on the story. 
Less closely tied but
less competition also.

Published
Categorized as Marketing

Jessica Simpson And HP

While music sales may have suffered
from the sharing culture,
the bank accounts of music stars haven’t. 

I can’t watch a music video lately
without seeing some sort of product placement
and these deals are lucrative. 

Jessica Simpson for her video A Public Affair
was paid $200,000 by HP
for showing their products. 

Smart, innovative business people
can make money in any environment.   

Published
Categorized as Marketing

Narrow The Niche

Recently there was a discussion
on Ken Silver’s eBook forum about
promoting eBooks on exercise. 

The reco? 

Narrow the niche
from the general population
to stay-at-home Mom’s
or seniors
or those with chronic fatigue syndrome. 

With a few simple tweaks,
the author has gone from
one general, untargeted product
to a product line-up
for each easily marketed niche. 

Published
Categorized as Marketing

How To Avoid A Lawsuit

Many people use a lawyer after
they’ve gotten themselves into trouble. 
Me, I use a lawyer to avoid trouble. 

Some people prey on the weak,
the employee least likely to sue,
the neighbor with no idea of her rights. 

I’d rather not be that person so
what I do is subtly let people know
that I have legal counsel. 
I’ll make jokes every once in a while
about “how my lawyer’d like that”
or how I drive my lawyer crazy.
I ALWAYS take legal documents
home before signing,
stating that I’ll have my lawyer look over it 
(whether I do or don’t). 

The best lawsuit is the prevented lawsuit. 

Nike Vs Fortune

There are two major companies
in the $62 Billion U.S. Golf business,
Nike and Fortune (owner of Titleist). 

Fortune,
targeting the money rich baby boomers,
is number one in golf clubs, shoes and gloves. 
Nike with Tiger Woods and his younger demographic 
are snapping at their heels. 

So are all the opps in golf already taken? 

According to Rick Horrow of Horrow Sports Ventures,
20% of all new golfers are women. 

Who is directly addressing their needs? 

As crowded as a market appears to be,
there are always opportunities for a new entry.