Magic Marketing: The Dark and the Light

By Jay Ehret on March 7, 2011

Topics: Customer Experience & Marketing Plans


Podcast Episode #75 of the internet show about small business marketing

There are two types of marketing magic, let’s call them light and dark marketing magic. The light magic is the kind that benefits customers, and is created for the good of all. The dark marketing magic is the selfish kind. The kind that makes you think you’re really taking a shortcut, but you’re only prolonging the problem.

In this episode of Power to the Small Business podcast, Podcast host and small business marketing specialist, Jay Ehret addresses both kinds of marketing magic: Light marketing magic in the form of magic spots in the customer experience, Dark marketing magic in the form of magic marketing pixie dust. Take a listen and determine how your business can be more than just a bullet point by adding some magic to the experience, and how you can avoid the dark magic marketing pixie dust.

Guests:
Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)

Length: 16 minutes

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SHOW NOTES

Making Magic Spots in the Customer Experience

MAGIC SPOT: Unexpected memorable moment in the experience that customers feel compelled to retell to their friends and family.

  • If you’re giving people what they expect, your business is in the mediocre middle.
  • Without an memorable moments in the customer experience, your business becomes a bullet point on the agenda.
  • It’s not your job to just provide a product or a service, you have to give people something that’s unexpected.
  • Magic sparks are word-of-mouth starters

Magic Marketing Pixie Dust

  • Desperate businesses reach for the Magic Marketing Pixie Dust thinking it will provide a cure.
  • There is no one-size fits all program. If one size fits all, it fits no one in particular. (Hand-me-down marketing)
  • Your success today is not determined by what you did today or yesterday.
  • Your success 365 days from today is determined by what you are doing right now.

Show Links

Start Building a Remarkable Experience Now (podcast)
The Experience Economy (podcast)
What’s the Secret of a World-Class Customer Experience? (podcast)
The Cult of Customer Amazement (podcast)

Free Recorded Customer Experience Webinar: Creating A Remarkable Customer Experience

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The Where and What of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

By Jay Ehret on February 21, 2011

Topic: Word of Mouth


 Photo courtesy of DavidK-Oregon

Podcast Episode #74 of the internet show about small business marketing

The first thing you need to know is where word of mouth takes place. It may surprise you that social media is not as important as the current hype suggests. The second thing you need to know is how you can create word of mouth conversation for your business. It may surprise you that it can be deliberately baked in to your business.

In this episode of Power to the Small Business podcast, you get a double shot of word of mouth wisdom for no extra charge! Two word of mouth braniacs join host Jay Ehret to discuss the where and the what of word of mouth. Learn where you might be wasting time trying to create conversation, and also get some practical tips on how you can use the 4 P’s of marketing to deliberately create word of mouth.

Guests:
Ed Keller, CEO of Keller Fay Group
John Moore, Marketingologist at Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice

Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)

Length: 38 minutes

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SHOW NOTES

Ed Keller on The Where of Word of Mouth

  • Marketing and advertising stimulate word-of-mouth conversations
  • Use your advertising to talk to your current customers instead of trying to attract new customers
  • Being present in advertising is important for word of mouth because it queues up your brand for conversation
  • 50% of all brand related word of mouth references marketing related activities

John Moore on The What of Word of Mouth

  • True word of mouth is how a business does business every day
  • Give people a reason to talk about you. Design products and services that are worthy of conversation
  • Deliberate Intention: Make every customer touchpoint a talking point by showing your personality
  • Use the 4 P’s of marketing to make sure you cover every customer touchpoint: Product, Price, Promotion, Place

SELECTED QUOTES FROM ED KELLER

On why word of mouth is important in the marketing mix:

“For a growing number of large, as well as small businesses, they’re beginning to realize the power of word of mouth in helping to make brand decisions in the name of marketing.”

On social media and word of mouth:

“There’s a lot of attention today to social media, but it might surprise a lot of your listeners to know that the overwhelming majority of word of mouth still takes place offline, when it comes to products, services and brands.”

On the advertising and word-of-mouth relationship:

“I think the number one objective for advertising in today’s marketplace is to spark advocacy and help spark conversation.”

SELECTED QUOTES FROM JOHN MOORE

On why some brands excel at word of mouth:

“The best brands, that get the most conversation…it’s not about a campaign, it’s about how they do business.”

On word-of-mouth marketing:

“Word-of-mouth marketing is about giving consumers a reason or reasons to talk about a brand or product or a service.”

On how small businesses can create conversation:

“Small business people can strategically and intentionally design products and services to become worthy of being talked about.”

Show Links

Keller Fay Group Blog
Kellery Fay on Twitter

John Moore’s Brand Autopsy Blog
John Moore on Twitter

– Free Recorded Word-of-Mouth Webinar: Creating Conversation

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Branding and the U.S. Marines

By Jay Ehret on February 8, 2011

Topic: Branding

US Marines Brand Logo

Podcast Episode #73 of the internet show about small business marketing

The U.S. Marines is 235 years old and older than the country it defends. It’s more than just a brand of the United States Armed Forces, it’s a powerful brand. When you hear the words: The Few. The Proud. You know someone’s talking about the Marines. Thoughts, emotions and opinions begin to flood your mind. What makes the Marines one of America’s best brands?

In this episode of Power to the Small Business podcast, the former Chief Marketing Officer for the Marines joins host Jay Ehret to discuss the principals of branding and how the Marines maintain such a strong brand presence. Learn what went in to building the Marines brand and how they maintained brand relevance in the face of a pronounced demographic shift in their prospective recruits.

Guests:
Andrew Fortunato, Consultant at Executives in Action, Former Chief Marketing Officer at U.S. Marines

Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)
Length: 28 minutes

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SHOW NOTES

Best Branding Practices

  • Be laser-focused on your value proposition
  • Being true to who you are
  • Sell the intangibles
  • Use a simple tagline that says a lot in just a few words
  • Adapt to demographics shifts, but maintain your value proposition
  • Don’t bow down to pop culture.

SELECTED QUOTES FROM ANDREW FORTUNATO

On the strength of the Marines brand:

“What makes the Marines a fabulous brand is that it truly knows what it is and what it represents, and what it’s value proposition is to the American people, to its prospects, and to the nation overall.”

On the fundamentals of branding:

“The key to any brand position is knowing who you are, what you represent, and being true to that all the time. That’s the key to branding for any organization.”

On what makes a true brand:

“A brand has to be absolutely credible. It’s not something that can be contrived. It’s not something that can be made up.”

Show Links

– Andrew Fortunato on LinkedIn
– Premium Webinar: RISE TO THE TOP: Local SEO and Google Analytics
– Free Recorded Branding Webinar: Branding U – Revive, Refresh, Revitalize Your Brand

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Marketers Roundtable 8 – The Biggest Marketing Impact

By Jay Ehret on January 24, 2011

Current Marketing Issues

Podcast Episode #72 of the internet show about small business marketing

Hear ye, Hear ye! Interested citizens of The Internet, you are invited to the eighth gathering of the Marketers Roundtable.

Whereas…marketers like to congregate and discuss marketing, Therefore, let them gather at The Marketers RoundTable to discuss current marketing issues for all to hear on Power to the Small Business.

In this gathering of the Roundtable, the marketers discuss the biggest marketing impact of the past year, and what will have the biggest marketing impact in 2011.

Guests:
Tamsen McMahaon, Director of Digital and Strategic Initiatives – Sametz Blackstone
Kyle Lacy, Principal – Mindframe
Ken Briscoe, Creative Director – A6 Media
Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)

Length: 27 minutes

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The Biggest Marketing Impacts:

TAMSEN McMAHON

2010 is the year the social media barrier fell.

“It was the year the general public lost its resistance. …I point you to the dramatic increase of people on Facebook…and 41% getting their daily news from Twitter, up from 17%.”

2011 is the year marketing gets to join the big boys at the table of business operations.

“This is the year we’ll really start to see marketing shift upstream, where a lot of us think it always should have been.“

KYLE LACY

2010’s biggest impact was mobile.

“We’re seeing an uptick in manufacturing (mobile use) …health networks are starting to use iPads within the hospital.”

2011’s biggest impact will be mobile.

“I think that mobile is going to completely revolutionize the way that and industry is working. …Number one is going to be customer service.”

KEN BRISCOE

2010’S biggest marketing impact was social media.

“It became obvious that every one needs to play on some level.”

2011 will be mobile accessibility.

“I think you are going to see a lot more conversation about location-based stuff.”

JAY EHRET

The biggest marketing impact in 2010 was Facebook Pages for Business

“Businesses realized that this was something relatively simple that they could do and immediately become available to 57% of the adult population in America.”

2011’s biggest marketing impact with be Facebook combined with location-based services.

“…because of Facebook Places and Facebook Deals. Facebook has just been brilliant in the way they’ve integrated it all into one, easy-to-use interface.”

Show Links

Tamsen McMahon: Brass Tack Thinking – @tamadear on Twitter

Kyle Lacy: KyleLacy.com – Twitter Marketing for Dummies

Ken Briscoe: @kenbriscoe on Twitter

Jay Ehret: Free Branding Ebook – The Marketing Spot on Facebook

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Advertising Creativity: Generating Creative Ideas

By Jay Ehret on December 22, 2010

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing

Advertising Creativity Podcast

Podcast Episode #71 Creativity in Advertising

Don’t you hate trying to come up with ideas for your advertising? The stumbling point is creativity. You know you should do something different so your ad doesn’t look like every other ad out there. Most people don’t think they are creative, so how do you generate creative advertisements?

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, we turn to Tom Altstiel for our creative answers. Alstiel is creative director and parter at Prom Krog Altstiel in Milwauke and he joins host Jay Ehret to discuss creativity in advertising. Altsteil is also co-author of the book: Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, and Design. Altstiel and Ehret discuss what real creativity is and how you can create creative advertising.

Guest: Tom Altstiel – Creative Director and Author, Milwaukee
Host: Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot, Waco, Texas
Length: 27 minutes

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ADVERTISING CREATIVITY SHOW NOTES

Creativity Definition: Presenting ideas in a way that most people don’t expect.

  • People must be able to relate to your idea
  • It is memorable

What is real Creativity in advertising?

  1. Unexpected – Presenting the familiar in a new and different way
  2. Relevant – Resonate with your intended target audience
  3. Strategic – Must be able to extend the idea into a campaign, and more than a one-time use

Benefits of creativity

  1. Builds your brand
  2. Creates long-term awareness
  3. Extends your marketing budget

 

 

SELECTED QUOTES FROM TOM ALTSTIEL

“You need to present ideas in a fresh way so that they’ll be more memorable. And the benefit of that is you’re able to spend less to get your message out.”

“Ultimately, the market decides if it’s good creative. If it gets attention, if it resonates with the target, if it motivates someone to take action, then it’s a great idea.”

“Humor…gets people to like your brand. It doesn’t necessarily get them to buy something. And if the objective is just brand recognition, I think humor is an excellent choice.””

SHOW LINKS

Tom Altstiel’s Agency: PKA Marketing
Buy Tom’s Book: Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, and Design
Premium Webinar: The Complete Guide to Facebook for Business
Free Advertising Webinar: Straddling The Fence

You may also be interested in reading: If you’ve ever said, “I’m not creative,” this is for you.

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Consumerology: How Customers Make Purchase Decisions

By Jay Ehret on December 6, 2010

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing

Consumerology by Philip Graves

Podcast Episode #70 Consumerology: How Customers Make Purchase Decisions

Consumers don’t make buying decisions the way we think they do. In fact, consumers don’t make decisions they way they think they do. The culprit is the subconscious mind. While customers think and rationalize with their conscious mind, at the point of purchase it’s the subconscious that often takes over to make the decision. What’s a business to do?

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, consumer behavior consultant Philip Graves joins host Jay Ehret to discuss the psychology of shopping and how consumers make purchase decisions. Graves is author of the book: Consumerology: The Market Research Myth, the Truth About Consumers, and the Psychology of Shopping. Graves and Ehret discuss the role of the conscious and subconscious mind in making purchase decisions. Take a listen and gain insights into how you can help the customer make a decision to buy from your business.

Guest: Philip Graves – Author and Consumer Behavior Consultant, Cambridge, England
Host: Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot, Waco, Texas
Length: 27 minutes

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SELECTED QUOTES FROM PHILIP GRAVES

On how customers evaluate their purchase decisions:

“We ourselves are not always aware of the mental processes that we have been through, that have resulted in us taking a particular action….Consumers end up not being very good witnesses to their own behavior.”

On customers not making a decision:

“When people have more choice, and when they’re aware that there’s more choice, they tend to feel less good about what they’ve chosen.”

“They’ll justify that to themselves as ‘Oh, I didn’t want to buy it today, or I couldn’t really get the one I wanted.’ But the reality is that you just haven’t given them an environment in which they feel they can make a choice.”

On helping consumers make a purchase decision:

“Stop thinking about them as conscious, rational creatures, and start to understand those unconscious mechanisms that are driving a large proportion of what they do.”

On consumer research:

“When you go to ask questions, whilst it’s a well-intentioned exercise, the part of the brain that people are responding with is not the part, very often, that is making the decisions on which purchases are made.”

Links:
Philip Graves Website
Buy the Book: Consumerology
The Marketing Spot Website

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The Facebook for Business Rundown

By Jay Ehret on November 22, 2010

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing

Podcast Episode #69 Facebook Tools for Business

Facebook might be the most powerful online marketing tool you have at your disposal…for the short-term. A website should still be your home base and a company blog will have stronger long term returns, but you should definitely consider getting your business active online with a Facebook page.

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, Mike Whaling of 30 Lines joins host Jay Ehret as they go through a complete rundown of Facebook tools for business. Mike and Jay will cover Facebook Pages, Facebook Places, Facebook deals, and Facebook’s relationship to your website. They will wrap up a discussion with some advice on your Facebook posting strategy.

Guest: Mike Whaling – CEO at 30 Lines, Columbus, Ohio
Host: Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot, Waco, Texas

Length: 25 minutes

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SHOW NOTES

The first step is to create a Facebook Page. Some common-sense tips in creating that page

  1. Set up your personal profile for business, but separating your personal friends in a separate friend category.
  2. Find the business pages you want to interact with, and like those pages so that you can tag them later.
  3. Do a quick search to see if your brand already has a presence through third parties.
  4. Obey the rules, don’t conduct business through your personal profile, create a business page.
  5. Don’t create your business page through a business account, do it through your personal profile.
  6. When you get to 25 likes on your page, claim your username (unique URL) by going to Facebook.com/username while logged in to Facebook.
  7. Add custom tabs to your page using FBML (Facebook’s HTML tool).

Facebook Places Page

Claim your business’ Facebook Place Page. Currently these pages must be claimed separately from your business page. The process is:

  1. Check in to your business on Facebook from a mobile device.
  2. Then log on to Facebook from your computer and search for your business, and your business’ Places page will show up.
  3. Click on the link that says, “Is this your business?” and go through the process of claiming your page.
  4. Don’t merge your business page and your Places page.

Facebook Deals

The Facebook service that allows you to make offers and discounts to your customers through your Facebook Places page. There are four different types a of deals.

  1. Individual check-ins. A deal is offered to any individual who checks in via Facebook Places.
  2. Group check-ins. Customers must check in with a certain number of people to receive the incentive.
  3. Loyalty. Customers must check in a certain number of times before they unlock the incentive.
  4. Charity. Donations are made to non-profit organizations for each check-in.

Don’t just offer discounts through Facebook Deals. Be creative and instead offer privileges or extras rather than discounts.

SELECTED QUOTES FROM MIKE WHALING

“I think Facebook is probably the best outpost out there, in terms of being able to distribute content, connect with an audience, and get a sense of where they’re at.”

“Focus on the content…Focus on ‘What am I sharing to the wall? What am I pushing out so that it shows up in people’s newsfeeds?’”

“Facebook is where you show off your personality. Think about what you want to do when you log on to Facebook. You’re there to connect to your friends and your family. You’re not there to be marketed to.”

Links:
30 Lines Facebook Page
The Marketing Spot Facebook Page

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The Decline and Fall of Marketing Discipline

By Jay Ehret on November 8, 2010

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing


Photo Credit: Phillie Casablanca

Podcast Episode #68: Marketing Professionalism and Discipline

What’s up with the current generation of marketers? It seems as if traditional marketing discipline and professionalism are being discarded in favor of a “test it today, launch it today” strategy. The current marketing trend is to treat advertising as a current event, rather than as a tool to build brand value over time.  Have all the shiny, new online marketing tools actually misguided the current and next generation of marketers?

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, three marketers join host Jay Ehret to discuss professionalism and discipline in marketing: Stephen Denny, Emmanuel Brown, Mike Wagner. They discuss where marketing has veered off course, and how it applies to your marketing strategy.

Guests:
Stephen Denny – Denny Marketing, Santa Cruz, California
Emanuel Brown – Creative Technologist, Portland, Oregon
Mike Wagner – White Rabbit Group, Des Moines, Iowa
Jay Ehret (Host) – The Marketing Spot, Waco, Texas

Length: 34 minutes Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business

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SHOW NOTES

– Advertising is the public display of a brand’s marketing plan. Most big brand advertising is bad. Therefore, at the core, most big brand marketing plans are bad. You should not emulate big brand marketing and advertising.

– Do not test your ideas and products through social media. The only way to test your products it through live testing, when customers don’t know they’re being tested.

– Testing products and ideas is often impractical for the local entrepreneur and small business owner. Sometimes you have to go with your gut. This is why it’s important to be engaged with your customers.

– Attract the customers you can please, don’t try to please the customers you can attract.

– Avoid marketing by good idea. Instead build brand value over time.

SELECTED QUOTES FROM THE GUESTS

Stephen Denny
“There seems to be a problem separating theater from the commercial aspects of commercials.”

“…this preponderance of do-it-yourself tools is starting to make us a little bit lazy. We’ve lost the ability to do the math in our heads.”

“I wonder if…having a ready panel of people…through your Facebook presence, your Twitter stream…makes it easy enough to turn to out of convenience, but is it really giving you what you’re supposed to be getting out of it, which is projectable, quantifiable, robust, disciplined results.”

Emanuel Brown
“Does our client actually know their audience at all? Do they know the real audience? Or is it the audience of all the people that has signed up for their Facebook page?”

“We need to start thinking about this in terms of ‘What’s the end experience?’ If ‘easy’ is the way it’s going right now…what is going to be the difference to make remarkable marketing experiences for people to connect them to the brands, products and services that they’re looking for?”

“You may have a great idea and a poor execution. It may be a poor idea and a great execution, and you suck people in either way.”

Mike Wagner
“I wonder about the corporate cultures that no longer pass along the critical skills, the analytical thinking, the disciplines”

“It seems that, because it’s easy, because it’s a tool that’s a do-it-yourself tool for the most part, because there’s a sense of urgency being created by our economic climate, no one is sitting down and saying ‘how do I mentor the next generation of marketers?’”

“It’s an indication of the diminishing of true professionalism and the disciplines…I think that’s going away.”

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Small Business Branding Clinic

By Jay Ehret on October 24, 2010

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing

Podcast Episode #67: Jay Ehret describes how to build a brand.

Building a brand is the most important marketing function of a small business. Brands are psychological, emotional relationships between businesses and customers. A business with a strong brand has a distinct advantage over their competitors.

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, marketing consultant and podcast host Jay Ehret delivers a mini Branding Clinic for entrepreneurs. Using a brand-building checklist, Jay describes how you can build a brand for your business.  Brands help customers make choices by singling businesses out of a competitive industry landscape. Learn what a brand is, and the nine things you need to build a brand for your business..

Guest: Jay Ehret – Marketing Consultant, Waco, Texas
Length: 19 minutes

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SHOW NOTES

  • A brand is a psychological, emotional relationship between customers and a business. To learn more, see: What is a Brand?
  • Use “inside-out thinking” to develop your brand.
  • There is no unique selling proposition. However, people are unique.
  • Develop your brand around your entrepreneurial spirit.

The Brand-Building Checklist

  1. Brand Mission: Clearly define the purpose of your business beyond the product or service you happen to sell.
  2. Brand Promise: What you promise to deliver to customers beyond the product or service you happen to sell.
  3. Personality: Just like people, brands have personalities. What adjective describes your brand’s personality?
  4. Tagline: Something that communicates your brand promise in sticky way. For more information on taglines, see: The Importance of Taglines in Branding
  5. Logo: A well-designed logo that is technically correct. For more information on logos see: The Importance of a Logo in Branding
  6. Branded Customer Experience: Integrate your brand promise and personality into the customer’s experience.
  7. Employee Hiring Criteria: Hire new employees that match your brand personality and can deliver your brand promise.
  8. Employee Brand Training: A planned program that teaches employees how to deliver the brand and a branded experience.
  9. Legitimacy: You don’t just market the brand you live the brand. Be who you promise to be.

SHOW LINKS

Marketing Conference: Small Town 140 Characters Conference

Jay Ehret’s Company Website: The Marketing Spot

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Getting Your Business in the Facebook Game

By Jay Ehret on October 9, 2010

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing

Facebook Marketing Strategy for Business

Podcast Episode #66: Facebook Marketing with Thomas Umstattd

Facebook has spawned an opportunity for you to create positive conversation about your business. But only if you get in the game. Yet more than 75% of businesses are standing on the sidelines watching the Facebook game play out in front of them. Time commitments, fear of negative comments play a part in this non-participation, but the biggest culprit is know how to get started and run the first play

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, Technology consultant Thomas Umstattd joins host Jay Ehret to discuss Facebook pages for small business. He thinks that how your business looks on Facebook, may be just as important as you look on Google and the other search engines. Learn how you can get started and optimize your Facebook business page.

Guest: Thomas Umstattd – Technology Consultant, Austin

Length: 28 minutes Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business

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SHOW NOTES

  • Learn to listen first. Search Facebook for the name of your company and see what people are saying and then respond to that. Try this Facebook search engine: http://booshaka.com/
  • Reach out to advocates of your business to encourage positive buzz.
  • Be attractive, not pushy.
  • People have to benefit for your page. Have a clear answer to the question: “What’s in it for me.”
  • Pull back the curtain and let people see what happens behind the scenes at your business.
  • Use your Facebook page to drive traffic to your blog. Business websites with a blog, get 50% more traffic than business websites without a blog.
  • Facebook Optimization is the art of landing in top news. Pages in Top News can get 10x more traffic than pages in Most Recent

Facebook Optimization

  1. Get people to “like” your status update: The more likes your status updates have the more likely you are to end up in Top News. Also, when someone likes your status update, their friends are more likely to like your status update.
  2. Encourage comments on your status updates: The more comments you get, the more your updates attract additional comments.
  3. Ask Questions: It’s a great way to get comments.

Facebook Best Practices

  1. Pick a good name for your page: You cannot change the name of your page after you establish it.
  2. Pick a good photo: The image you have affects how many people will become a fan.
  3. Designate you page as public: let fans comment on your wall.
  4. Advertise on Facebook to attract fans.

SELECTED QUOTES FROM THOMAS UMSTATTD

“One of the things you have to realize about Facebook is you’re not trying to please everyone…Because the more broad you are, the more you compete with the big players. But the more that you focus, the more you can really thrill a tiny group of people.”

“We’re not selling to businesses. We’re selling to people in businesses. And once you make that adjustment in your head, being social and using social media for… B2B marketing gets easier.”

“If people are complaining about your business, you want it to happen where you can see it and take care of it right away on your Facebook page, not on Yelp, not on Google, where these ratings can last forever and really hurt your business.””

SHOW LINKS

Thomas Umstattd’s Website: www.UmstattdMedia.com

Help for writers timid about technology: Author Tech Tips

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