According to a LinkedIn survey
conducted for AdWeekMedia,
the code word for marketing during a recession
is
value.
No big surprise there.
Except that the word is value,
not price.
Value does not have to
mean the cheapest product
(though it could).
It does not have to mean
to-the-death price wars
(though, again, it could).
Value can mean quality
and innovation
and speed
and great customer service.
It completely depends on your customers
and what they, yes, value.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
Janet Napolitano
announced Wednesday
she now knew
the 9/11 terrorists
did not enter the U.S. from Canada.
Ummm…
if your job was to keep a nation safe,
would you,
in a press conference,
volunteer that
it took almost 8 YEARS
to figure this information out?
There are loud ways to
spread information
and quiet ways to
spread information.
If the information is not flattering
(or so delayed that it isn’t flattering),
choose the quiet way.
Princess, as with most cruise lines,
rewards cruisers for coming back.
The first level is the new cruiser.
The second is the 2nd time cruiser.
Etc.
I recently sailed on two back to back cruises.
Was I bumped up to the second level
after the first cruise?
No.
Because I booked both at the same time.
Yep, I was punished for booking twice in a row
with Princess.
I have a policy that any reader
giving me feedback on my books
receives the next eBook I have published
free.
I have readers
who won my first novel Breach Of Trust,
gave me feedback on it,
received my second novel Invisible for free,
gave me feedback on it,
and are slotted to
receive my third story Selling Forever for free.
They may NEVER buy one of my novels.
Am I going to punish them
for repetitively giving me feedback?
Of course not.
That’s what I want.
Don’t punish people
for doing what you want
twice in a row.
People like looking at…
People.
So why
don’t we use photos of people
in presentations
and more marketing material?
(Why don’t I have a photo of someone
on THIS site?
Bad marketer that I am)
As Carmine Gallo states
“Your presentations probably
contain plenty of
text, charts, and data.
It’s time to add some photos of faces
so that your audience gets a visual cue
when you talk about
how your product, service,
or company
improves people’s lives.
Ideally, use professional photos of real customers.
But at the very least,
buy stock photographs and
avoid the cheesy images
that come standard with PowerPoint.”
Put a human face on your company.
Left The Box
has a great post on how information spreads
and how we, marketers, can HELP
information spread.
We spread information
because it makes us feel important
and because it is easy to spread
(remember the first rule of marketing
– people are lazy).
What makes it easy to spread?
“The content should be easily read or viewed,
and have the ability to be quickly passed along.”
“The lighter the content,
the more likely it is to spread along.
Give consumers sound bites
or summaries
they can easily share
with their friends.”
That’s why those chain letter emails
are so popular.
One click
and they are forwarded
to hundreds.
There’s a reason why
I write romance.
I love love.
I use that emotion
to describe anything I enjoy.
Most great marketers I know
love love also.
Look at this post by
Chris Brogan.
He uses the word ‘love’
11 times
in a 263 word post.
Yes, the post is about the power of praise
but here he is,
a guy,
sprouting off about love.
Seth Godin, in a 220 word post
about the first ten supporters
uses love 3 times.
Why?
Because powerful people use powerful words
and love is one of the most powerful words
in existence.
If it scares you to use it,
question why.
I was on a prominant writing site today
hosted by an author
outspoken about copyright infringement
and eBook pirates.
There was post after post
of ‘borrowed’ photos.
Photos she should have asked permission
and likely should have paid royalties
to use.
Your customers are smart.
When they’re asked to pay for something
the requester steals for free,
they cry hypocrite.
Either you stand for something
or you don’t.
Some writers wonder
why my core writing site is
BusinessRomance.com,
rather than KimberChin.com
(though both URLs go to the same place).
Easy answer.
I’m building a business,
not a personal brand.
Kimber Chin is my writing name.
I don’t plan to ever sell it.
I may, some day, sell BusinessRomance.com
(likely not for decades but…).
Anyone can run BusinessRomance.com.
Only I can be Kimber Chin, the romance writer.
John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing
has a post
discussing this difference
in more detail.
I’m working on
a 40 page free read
to help promote
my February 2010 release.
The feedback from test readers
is
‘Why give this away?
I’d buy it.”
That’s the point.
Samples should AT LEAST
be as good as the full priced product.
They have to be
in order to wow prospects
into making a purchase.
Don’t skimp on quality.
Sample the best.
What has been made painfully clear
by the Miss California situation
is that
just because you have an opinion,
doesn’t mean you have to share it.
AND
when you are representing
something bigger than yourself
(like the Miss America Pageant,
or your company
or your charity),
you don’t have the right
to express your own opinions.
That’s why it is called
REPRESENTING.
You are supposed to mirror
the opinions of
whatever it is
you’re a spokesperson for.
The job Miss California was auditioning for
was to represent
the Miss America Pageant
(it is NOT, as some people believe,
to represent America).
THAT opinion is what she should have shared.
What if you don’t share the organization’s belief?
You either keep your mouth shut
(externally, internally debate all you want)
or you find another better fitting
organization.