k – Page 564 – client k

Getting Promoted Using Ice Cream

Many companies usually have
a summer employee appreciation event,
a BBQ or an ice cream day
or a day at an amusement park or zoo.

This year,
due to layoffs and cost savings,
many of these events
have been canceled.
Companies can’t layoff on Thursday
and have ice cream day
the following Friday.
It doesn’t look right.

This creates an opportunity
for ambitious employees.

A loved one hosted ice cream day
last Friday.
He brought in ice cream
and toppings,
using his own cash,
and then dished it out
over his own lunch hour.
The response was terrific.

It cost him less than $50,
was easy and quick to organize,
yet it immediately put him
in the leadership category.

Could you do the same?

Your Canadian Customers

Canada is America’s largest trading partner.
It isn’t a long shot
for me to guess that
you have Canadian suppliers
or Canadian customers.
(If you don’t,
is this a market you should be looking at?)

Do you treat them differently?

Take today.
It is July 1st, Canada Day
(think July 4th).
Did you tweak your July 4th special offer
for your Canadian customers?
Swap Happy July 4th to Happy Canada Day?
Change the flags?
(Fireworks are universal)

Did you send a simple email
wishing them a Happy Canada’s Day?

I bet you haven’t.
Why?
Because in all my years
of working with major companies
(with serious cross-border trade),
I’ve never heard of a company doing this.

That creates a wonderful relationship building opportunity
for the clever company that does.

Celebrity Death Watch

“Three major celebrities
dying in one week,”
the talking head gasped,
“that’s shocking.’

Ummm… no, it isn’t.
The names may have been shocking
but that three well known people
died in one week?
Not.

Why?

Because the number of celebrities
you and I know
is 100 times (or more)
the number of celebrities
our grandparents know.
That’s a by-product
of the information age.

Combine that
with boomers,
the demographic bulge,
getting older,
and celebrity deaths are bound
to be regular news reports.

The networks are counting on it.
You see, they have obituaries
and remembrance reels
already written for all the major celebrities.
They are prepared
and plan to profit from it.

There are opportunities
in EVERY situation,
no matter how morbid.

The Small Customer

I always ‘test’ charities
with small donations
or donations-in-kind
before making larger donations.
Only a rare few pass this test.

(Great because I can
focus my efforts)

A friend needed thousands of pens.
She ordered 100 from a manufacturer
as a test.
They failed,
delivering late
and with a sloppy product.

Very rarely will you
receive a huge order
as your first interaction
with a customer.
They will test you
with a small order first.

Treat your ‘small’ customers well.
They are tomorrow’s large customers.

Commute With Your Customers

I take the bus.
Sure, I don’t like to drive
but even if I did,
I would still take the bus.

Why?

Because my customers take the bus.

It is the same reason,
I listen to radio
(including the commercials)
and eat in family restaurants.

It is very challenging
to sell to someone
you don’t understand.
The best way to understand your customer
is to BE your customer.

It also immediately gives you
a common base
to leverage off of.

Commute with your customers.
No one sells product
from an ivory tower.

Believing In Beat It

You pitch a project
to your employer.
It doesn’t cost much,
it would take minimal time,
yet your employer
says ‘no.’

What do you do?

If you truly believe in the project,
you’ll do it anyway
(on your own time,
sucking up minimal company resources).
Yes, it may get you fired
(the more company resources involved,
the greater the chance
they’ll fire your ass)
but it may also catapult you
into super stardom.

That’s what Michael Jackson did
with ‘Beat it.’
CBS said no to the video.
Michael Jackson fronted the cash
and shot it anyway.
It is, decades later,
still considered one of
the best videos of all time.

If you believe in your project,
find a way to make it happen.

Lie Telling Medium Of Choice

Want the truth?
Get your answers in email.

In a study of college students,
Hancock found that
37% of lies were told via phone,
27% face-to-face,
21% using Web-based messaging
and
14% through email.

Why so few lies via email?
Because it leaves a trail,
proof that the lie was told.

That’s why I backup
every communication
with email.

The Clientk eBooks

Got an irate email
from a so-called ‘reader’,
upset because I’ve joined
the masses of bloggers
‘selling’ eBooks.

Newsflash jackass!
I’m not selling anything.
The Best of Clientk 2005 PDF
is absolutely free.

The ‘ad’ for my romance novel
also on the sidebar?
There for informational purposes.
I haven’t sold a single copy
from this site
(you are not the target audience).
If I ever did,
I’d likely miss a post
because I’d be in shock.

Yes, I will be putting together
Best Of… eBooks
for the later years.
When I get a spare second
(laughing hysterically).

Jon & Kate Can Wait

What do you do
if you have a show
with top ratings
earned in a way
inconsistent with your brand image?

If you’re TLC,
you shelve the show.

The official reason
for Jon & Kate Plus 8
going on hiatus
is not having enough footage
to create fresh installments.
Since the tabloids
have more than enough
fresh photos to sell papers,
that is difficult to believe.

What I DO think
is that someone high up
at TLC
had the balls
to stand up and say
‘this is not what this network
stands for.’

Good or bad decision,
only time will tell
but as a marketer,
I am applauding.

Perez Hilton And The Court Of Public Opinion

Perez Hilton made a headlines
yesterday
by claiming Black Eyed Peas’
Will.i.am assaulted him
at the MMVA’s.

I listened to 3 different radio stations.
All 3 covered the story
but all 3 followed it
with a story about
bad behavior by Perez Hilton
to not-as-famous MMVA attendees.
The interesting thing
is that EVERY story was different
and told with a personal connection
to the DJ telling it.

The result is,
true or not,
it is being dismissed as
a publicity stunt.

For sympathetic marketing to work,
the recipient has to be sympathetic.
TRULY sympathetic
because in the era
of everyone journalism
lies will be outed.