Category: Small Business Marketing

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to hear Nido Qubein speak. Nido’s the president of High Point University and Chairman of the Board of Great Harvest Bread Company. I was hooked throughout the entire presentation and prompted to take action immediately after his talk.

Lately I’ve been sharing with others a few of the things I learned with him. If you walk in to any Great Harvest they will always offer you a big slice of freshly baked bread with some kind of yummy-licious spread on it. People often ask Nido why they do that and if it’s worth it, after all it is a good piece of bread they’re giving out for free, is it really worth the expense?

Human beings are very interesting creatures, and there’s a psychological effect that’s triggered when Great Harvest offers such generous portions of bread. Basically it comes down to this… guilt. You accept the gift, and feel obliged to purchase the entire loaf of bread, thus, making free very lucrative.

What are you doing in order to ethically instill “guilt” or rather an intense sense of action in your prospects in order to monetize? Think about that.

Last week a friend blogged about a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Is it just me or is it too curious that a 20-some year old girl is blogging about a boring, vacuum cleaner?! I mean, your average Gen-X gal is probably blogging about funny YouTube videos, magnificent rock bands, FaceBook, technology, work, partying, friends, dieting, going to the gym and so on… not about a boring tube of plastic that sucks things up!

In trying to comprehend why she wrote about it and analyzing if there were any signs of depression, it occurred to me how powerful that brand is! It’s not that my friend is a little screwy, it’s that Dyson was able to turn a rather boring product into a much needed and coveted device because of it’s innovative, compelling and engaging story. So much so that even I’m blogging about it now!

The fact that James Dyson created more than 5,000 failed prototypes is motivating to a business owner, the fact that it’s a wildly successful vacuum cleaner makes you wonder about your own business… what’s the power of your brand? Do you have an engaging story? Is it innovative? Does it make people feel like they’re really missing out, in overwhelming pain when they don’t have it? Will a 23-year old influential gal with the world in her fingertips blog about it?

Last week I heard a very good interview on NPR with Neil Diamond. Being the rather eclectic gal that I am I enjoy Diamond’s tunes a lot. His new CD “Home Before Dark” is great by the way!

What I thought was interesting was a little story he told about that song “Sweet Caroline“. Apparently it’s one of his greatest hits ever, which is a little bit ironic considering that it was also the fastest song he ever wrote. He had a 3-hour studio session and only two songs to record (back then you would record 3 songs per 3-hour session) so he went out the night before, jotted down a few words, created this song, and recorded it at the studio the next day! The song is so popular it’s played at every Red Sox home game and known through out generations. The reporter mentioned that it was a very popular song and pointed out that it was often played at bars, to which Diamond replied that it was a fun little song that you can sing no matter how many drinks you’ve had!

I guess I could just leave it at that and end my blog post right here, but that got me thinking… how cool it is to have a product so popular it’s everlasting, and how phenomenal it is that it’s simple and yet very impactful?! Sure it’s just a song, but a product nonetheless, no?

Are you solving other people’s problems with your business? Is it easy to use, or are you making us jump through hoops in order to get to you? It’s no coincidence that time and time again we run into that annoying little acronym KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid), we often tend to complicate what should be oversimplified. Learn from Neil Diamond… someone’s depressed at a bar, Neil offers an easy and simple, yet effective “product” to cheer them up.

Auren Hoffman published a great article on how men and women act online. It wasn’t much of a surprise to me to hear that women are much more relationship-driven and less transactional, but what I really find interesting is that because of that they spend much more time on social networks decorating their profile, connecting with others, sharing interesting finds and so on…

Why is that of interest to a regular business? For a business it becomes much more interesting to capture a female audience, considering that the likelihood of them sharing and talking about your impact on them is much greater than a man.

I don’t mean to make a point that you should target only to women, but i do want to tell you not to overlook them! Gone are the days when men made all the decisions… it’s a different world nowadays. Dang who would’ve thought women would be the number one buyer of video games?!

Another Buzz and Biz podcast! On this show we talk about social networks and how business owners can use them to promote their business. Listen to Buzz and Biz Show now!

Isn’t it funny how there are just as many men shorter than 5 feet 9 inches as those who are taller and yet only a handful of stores cater exclusively to shorter men?!

It’s a common mistake to assume that what your clients need is what you think they need. It really shouldn’t be about what you think, I mean, who cares about that? It’s about the facts… the facts will make a difference in your bottom line.

So be sure to study and track your progress. Maybe what you think is true but you will only know for sure if you’re cautious and diligent in implementing, studying, and monitoring your activities.

Hey, Jimmy Au’s didn’t remove the words “Short and Small” from the store’s name simply because they thought it was better, they did it because inhibitions were lowered, and sales rose.

In keeping up with the topic of change, I grinned when I read an article on BusinessWeek about the big change McDonald’s is going through.

It’s often unrealistic to base your business on examples of huge national companies, let’s face it they’ve got the budget to move things forward a lot faster and the resources to control the damage, if any.

But the reason I like to bring up companies like Disney, GE, McDonald’s and so on is to show that no matter how huge they are they still must go through up’s and downs, shifts, and changes. Yes, it’s on a different scale, but it’s just as daunting to them as it is to you.

McDonalds is working on growing their breakfast market and making some big changes, perhaps the biggest change they’ve done since 1977, and yet that’s not stopping them because the changes will lead to new and better scenarios.

Take a look at your business with “fresh eyes” – if it’s time to start selling specialty coffee when you’re known for selling hamburgers, go for it… just be sure to be prepared.

Oh you’ve read it in several books and heard it from innumerous people, “you must have a laser focus, go deep, stay narrow, don’t go too wide, focus focus focus.”

I tend to accept something if I keep hearing it over and over again even if I’m not quite sure why they say it, especially when successful people keep saying it – they’re successful they must know a thing or two about business! Here’s the thing though, everything has a context and just because that snippet of text stands out does not mean it’s entirely true.

You see, yes you must focus, but you must also be prepared to change your target. It’s the natural process of life, things change, they evolve and one must be ready to accompany and adapt to such changes. What’s important today might not be as significant tomorrow.

It’s ok to change, I see it as a sign of strength.

GE just recently announced that they’re not going to sell appliances anymore. That’s huge! Let’s face it, they’re fairly known for that! And yet, focusing elsewhere becomes a distinct and more desirable challenge that will lead to greater profits.

Shoemoney recently blogged about something similar – same thing… when you grow, as you evolve no matter in what stage you’re in, your willingness to perfect and remodel your business to achieve greater things increases, and one must be willing to take that step forward.

So if you’re focusing and drilling deep, keep doing it, but don’t be afraid to start drilling somewhere else when time proves it’s a better thing to do.

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Yes, it’s a must. In my opinion being the best in your industry does not simply mean having the best product or service, it’s a combination of traits and patterns that are inherent in you and your business.

I’m reading that book by Guy Kawasaki called ” Rules For Revolutionaries” (really good by the way!) and at one point he says something to the gist of if you have the best product in the world that doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter if it’s perfect if other things like customer service and the likes come in second place. Like he said, if that were true Bill Gates would be serving coffee at Starbucks today!

Sure you need to have a good product or service, but acknowledging that it’s good and knowing all about it is just not enough. You want to become the expert in your field and this will bring you customers. How do you do it? Know as much as possible about your topic, which means constantly educating yourself on the latest information in your industry. You also want to provide stellar customer service. This means going the extra mile to make sure your customers are satisfied with the purchases they make. Build value into your products or services and strive for constant improvement. Word travels fast on the internet, and you want others to say positive things about your business.