k – Page 574 – client k

Ringtones And Women

A DJ on the radio announced
that 70% of all ringtones
are purchased by women.

What is interesting about this
(other than that the only online reference
I could find to back this ‘fact’ up
was over 3 years old
– proving how information
is forever)
is, of course,
the marketing possibilities.

A women targeted product
could offer freebie ringtones
or develop
a ‘jingle’ that samples well
or associate already popular ringtones
in their advertising
(linking their product to the ringtone).

The possibilities are endless.

How To Dress For A Presentation

I’m a suit girl.
Whenever I’m meeting with people,
I tend to wear a suit,
at least for the first time.

Why?

Because it is a sign of respect.
It visually tells the person
that I feel they’re important enough
to dress up for.

In Bert Decker’s book
You’ve Got To Be Believed To Be Heard,
Guy Kawasaki shares this advice

“My father was a politician in Hawaii.
He was a very good speaker.
When I started speaking,
he gave me a piece of advice:
Never dress beneath the level of the audience.

That is, if they’re wearing suits,
then you should wear a suit.
To underdress is to communicate the following message:
‘I’m smarter/richer/more powerful than you.
I can insult you and not take you serious,
and there’s nothing you can do about it.’

This is hardly the way to get
an audience to like you.”

Checks And Balances

Accuracy of shipments is key
in keeping freight costs down
and customers happy.

When a company is small,
that means manually checking
each shipment.

However,
Richard Estalella,
Senior Vice-President at Arbonne,
shares a quicker method.*

“Whereas previously each carton at Arbonne
had to be hand-checked for content accuracy
against the merchandise pick list,
the warehouse control system has allowed
specific weight tolerances
to be established
and scales on the conveyors
allow the company to know that if
the right products were selected
the weight will be correct.”

Can you also use weight
as a double check
on shipments?

*August 2008 CMA Management Magazine

Outsourcing Talent

My goal this summer for clientk
is to put together
4 Best Of… eBooks
(one for each year 2005 to 2008
and yes, Elisha, I agree,
it is about f***in’ time).

I know the importance of covers
(The Times Online states
“Studies show that a book on a three-for-two table
has about one and a half seconds to catch a reader’s eye.
If it is picked up,
it is on average glanced at
for only three to four seconds.”
– that’s all cover)
so I wanted to get the best cover art I could.
I contacted the designer
of my very popular Invisible cover.

Her charge out rate for a cover?
$50-75
An absolute bargain.

For one time activities,
it makes absolutely NO sense
to do it yourself.
There is always someone who can do it better
for less.

The Responsibility Of The Win

I received advanced notification
of a writing honor
(the official announcement is this weekend).

Now, it is time to say thank you.
No, not with an email or card,
(though I will send those too)
but by helping promote the award.

Some award winners are shy
about telling the world they won.
That is unfortunate
because the best thing they can do
is be a spokesperson for the award.

There’s a reason why
Miss America tours the U.S. after her win.
She is responsible for helping promote
the pageant.

If you win an award,
use it in your marketing.

Recession Friendly Businesses

Success has a great post on
businesses thriving during economic tough times.

Of course, there are the usual benefactors
bankruptcy lawyers, resume writing services, grocery stores
but there are a few unusual industries.

Bike sales have increased substantially
as people have more time and less money
to go places.

Video game manufacturers are seeing increases
of 31%
on top of previous strong sales.

Have you considered adding a recession friendly product
to your line up?

Local Business, National Exposure

After her bakery For Heaven’s Cakes
was featured on a reality show,
owner Lisa Donahue saw business triple

How did she take full advantage
of the national exposure
when bakeries are traditionally a local business?

“Because Peter Perfect airs nationwide,
I knew people across the country
couldn’t come to my cake shop,
so I really wanted my online business to prosper.”

“After the show,
we received 95,000 hits on our website.
We had to make sure
our online business could handle the increased traffic.
To do this
you have to have a very sophisticated website.
I spent a little more money
and designed a second website
that was data-based driven
and could handle the increased volume.
If your product is shipping nationwide,
that’s what I would recommend.”

With the internet,
it is possible to make every local business national
or even international.

Shockvertising

One of the trends for 2009
is shockvertising.

I wouldn’t say this is a new trend.
Shocking prospects
with outrageous commercials
has always been a tactic.

The difference is…
it is far more difficult to shock people today.
Advertisers have to get more and more graphic,
more risque.

I put this in the same category
as competing on price.
It is a challenging tactic to maintain
(especially with any dignity).

Try for another emotion.

Paid For Customer Retention

At high end menswear retailer,
Harry Rosen,
salespeople are paid commission
not on sales
but on retention of customers.

Why?

The founder, Harry Rosen, himself
says it has to do with the male consumer.
“People always say
men hate shopping
but once they find
someone they can trust,
they’re one-stop shoppers.”

Salespeople keep files on their customers,
noting preferences, special occasions
and other key information.
All this builds trust.

Are you building trust with your customers?

Target A Niche First

Kim T. Gordon,
author of Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars:
The Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Small Business,
suggests that new businesses first target their marketing
to a small niche
filled with their top prospects.

This will keep costs down
as you reach potential customers
enough times to truly make an impact.

So I would target contemporary romance eBook readers
instead of general readers.
This group is smaller
but much more likely to actually buy my book.

Only when I’ve captured this market
would I expand my marketing
to a wider audience.