The Power of Positive in a Recession

The Power of Positive in a Recession

I know, I know. It’s not officially a recession. But it sure feels like it when the stock market graphs look like my latest EKG.

In times like these I remember when I was a little girl and my mother took me to Manhattan’s Marble Collegiate Church to hear the Reverend Norman Vincent Peale talk about The Power of Positive Thinking.

He was amazing but I hadn’t thought of him in years, not until we all began to feel the pinch of a terrible economy.

Small business owners, like me, blanch at the word Recession. Some of us panic. Some cut prices, cut staff. Thanks to Reverend Peale, I prefer to think about positive approaches. I start by remembering that we have a choice:

1. We can pack up our tents and go home, or

2. We can try something new.

We always pick #2.

1. I’m making myself accountable first, accountable myself to work on my next book, be more creative (in all elements of their business) for our clients and learn new things.

2. As soon as I find myself working on a new creative program, I start having fun. For some odd reason, I think about Tom Dixon, the Blendtec CEO whose “Will it blend?” videos usually go viral. In this one, he purees an iPad and it’s had over 12 millions views

Great storytelling and that’s always made for effective marketing.

3. Your network can be golden for you. If you’re on LinkedIn, keep in touch with people you’ve worked with in the past, former clients, friends, relatives and people in your groups. I reach out to several people every day to see if I can be a resource for them. I help people find new positions, mention them in a post, or ask about their families. Networking is easy on Facebook and Twitter, too. It helps if you remember this: Don’t just ask for something, offer something. Read the rest of this entry

Social Media in Sports Marketing

Social Media in Sports Marketing

A few months ago, we watched our local team, the Miami Heat, in the NBA championship final against the Mavericks. There was so much buzz created across the country for these games, that we wondered how marketers get the fans going. Our friend Alex Gomez is Vice President of Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment. They’re a full service Sports and Entertainment marketing firm that specializes in retail, media, financial services and pharma consumer and trade marketing initiatives. We asked Alex to share some insight on Sports Marketing and how to keep the fans roaring, EVEN after a loss. Read the rest of this entry

The Art of Presentation

The Art of Presentation

Last week, Rachel and I were on our way back to our office in downtown Hollywood (FL) when we passed a Jewelry Pawn Shop.

Naturally, we stopped to look at the huge display of rings in the window. Each of them sat alone on its own little piece of white paper with the price hand-printed in red ink. A few of the prices were crossed out to look as if they’d been marked down. It was … tacky.

Maybe that was on purpose, perhaps to make it look like a yard sale, a bargain hunter’s paradise.
But I wondered if the rings would attract more attention, favorable attention, if they’d been cleaned and displayed in traditional black velvet trays lit from above. “Classy,” as Fran Drescher might say.

I’m not sure, are you?

I am sure that when I walk past Van Cleef & Arpels’ window or Tiffany’s or Cartier’s (they’re all close to each other on 5th Avenue), I want to buy everything.

Maybe it’s not fair to expect a pawn shop window to look like Van Cleef & Arpels’. But couldn’t the pawnbroker at least make an effort?
I used to be 100% certain that display – presentation – matters.
I’m just wondering if the sloppy look in the jewelry pawn shop window is deliberate to make me think there’s a bargain for me.
I do know that I had a meeting this week with a woman who appeared sloppy to me (jeans and messy hair). I kept thinking her business was probably in the same disarray. Do you agree? Let me know.

All the best,

Lois K. Geller

Joy in using Social Media (and in presenting with my friend, Amy Africa).

Joy in using Social Media (and in presenting with my friend, Amy Africa).

One of the great things about speaking at the annual Merit Direct Coop is that I get a chance to learn new things. I also get to meet some of Merit’s clients and to enjoy the beautiful Renaissance Westchester Hotel.

And this year there was a bonus! I got to share the keynote with Amy Africa and spend a little time with her. The fact that it was her birthday made it even better.

Amy spoke about Mobile Marketing, expertly, as always. My topic was “Everything you need to know about Social Media for B to B companies”.

Some of the things I said might interest you:

I· You can develop a Prospect Database through Social Media. Merit Direct is a great List Company and they know better than anyone else that all kinds of businesses are building their own databases. Twitter and Facebook can help. A lot. Twitter has places for you to create your own lists and segment your audiences. You can also create a landing page on Facebook that ask your friends or fans for their email addresses so you can send them updates or offers.

II· Social Media makes it easier to access people in charge. You can begin a conversation with almost anyone on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. I’ve chatted with people online that I‘d never get to talk to if I called. There’s no gatekeeper and people logon to social media when they have time.

III. You can maximize your own content. Use it for your blog, white papers, etc. and broadcast it with links from social media. It’ll get you out to a larger audience.

IV. Talking about your company in all of these places, you can develop a large brand, even though you might be a small startup company. At the Merit Direct Coop, I was delighted to meet one fellow I’d been talking to online for a while. I thought he had a large company. Turned out it was a startup! Goes to show you what you can do with a social media approach.

V. And … You can also communicate with your customers along the buying cycle.

You might also want to consider this:

- The B2B buyer cycle is complex

- The offerings are more sophisticated (what they can do
and on what scale)

- B2B buyers are curious about how a product can make life easier and business better (mistakes can be costly)

- to win a B2B sale you first have to build trust, demonstrate how reliable your product is, and show how it is suitable

- determine each customer’s perspective, and mirror their concerns with benefits

- B2B buyer cycle will always require thoughtful consideration, due to the sophistication of the offerings.

- With targeted online experiences we can shorten the length of time between first contact to signed contract.

A chart of some Conversion Metrics

When I spoke on the exact same topic at the Merit Direct Coop a few years ago, we had a nice crowd. This time there was a lot more people, and we were in the ballroom. B to B sees the power of Social Media.

Happy Birthday, Amy.

Celebrating with Amy Africa (@AmyAfrica)(EightbyEight) and friends; Barbara de la Riva (@bdelariva), Linda Pickering, and Joanna Brandi (@joannabrandi)(Customer Care Coach)

Before panicking, call a copywriter!

Before panicking, call a copywriter!

In New York City, on Madison Avenue (where we used to have our offices) there are hundreds of advertising executives. They live under a lot of stress and many of them try to develop outside incomes so they can walk away from the fray someday.

It’s still a lot like Mad Men.

Some of them invest with Wall Street brokers. Some buy art. Some buy gold.

Two friends decided to do something different. They bought into a Washington State orchard that had a mail order apple business.

Everything went great in the first season. But in the second season, disaster! A hailstorm pockmarked all the apples before they were picked. Shaking, the farmer partner called New York. “We’re ruined. We have to cancel all the orders and send those checks back.”

One of the Madison Avenue guys was a top copywriter. He said, calmly, “Give me a couple of minutes. I’ll call you back.”

He thought about it for a minute and then wrote:

You will notice that your apples have marks from hail damage. This is due to the high altitude at which they grow. The hail marks are your assurance that these are the sweetest, most delicious apples you’ve ever had.”

He faxed the note to the farm in Washington with instructions: Have the note printed and inserted into every order.

There were no complaints from customers and in Year Three many of them wrote on their Order Forms: Hail-damaged if possible, please.

Just goes to show you what you can do with a little creative copywriting.

Lawyers’ Marketing in Social Media?

Lawyers’ Marketing in Social Media?

Our friend Margaret Grisdela is President of her own unique advertising agency, Legal Expert Connections, Inc., which specializes in marketing and business development for attorneys and law firms. She helps clients with online ads, brochure designs, and social media. (Yes! Lawyers tweet and write on walls, too!) We asked Margaret to shed some light on the world of legal marketing.

Q: Are there any restrictions for lawyers in their marketing?

Attorney advertising was actually illegal until 1977, when the Supreme Court ruled, in Bates v. The State Bar of Arizona, that attorneys could advertise their services. Attorneys are strictly regulated by their respective state bar associations. The Florida Bar is known to be one of the strictest in the country and requires that many ads be filed with the Bar for approval prior to or simultaneous with usage depending on the type of promotion.

Q: Are lawyers permitted to use testimonials?

It varies by state. Interestingly enough, an attorney can give a testimonial for another company (like a florist or accountant) and that is not subject to any restrictions.

Q: Do you find it difficult to market in an industry that some perceive negatively?

Not really. Legal marketing is similar to other industries in that you need to start with a goal, a clear message, a well-defined target audience, and the ability to measure results. Marketing is a process, not an event, so a lawyer should never stop marketing.

Q: How important is self-marketing to lawyers?

It’s essential! Attorneys who can’t build their own books of business are finding that they may be out of a job. My legal marketing book, Courting Your Clients, identifies the key steps attorneys need to take to get more business from current clients while attracting qualified new prospects.

Q: Do you ever recommend that lawyers “demarket” unqualified prospects?

Attorneys should not take every client that comes their way, and they have the right to refuse to offer services within ethical guidelines. On a related note, I always advise lawyers to fire their worst clients (also within ethical guidelines). Not every client is a good client!

Lawyers are heavy users of Facebook and that seemed out of character, so we asked:

Q: Tell us a bit about social media marketing for lawyers.

I call LinkedIn the safe form of social media, because it is easy to use and there are no expectations as to how often you need to participate. Since so many business people are on LinkedIn, the adoption rate for attorneys has been quite strong. Many attorneys are also on Twitter, Facebook or blogging, but in smaller percentages.

Q: What role do social media play in legal marketing now? And how has that changed?

Attorneys who market to consumers, like divorce attorneys or personal injury lawyers, have been early adopters of social media and all forms of Internet marketing. On Google AdWords, for example, the most popular legal keywords can go for $50-$70 per click! Sophisticated uses of social media include the use of videos, webinars, and online databases like SalesForce to attract qualified leads, capture the prospect’s contact info, and accelerate the sales process.

Q: What is the best way for lawyers to self-market in social media?

I advise clients to start with a blog and keep it up-to-date. They can then use their blog to automatically publish posts to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook using a service like HootSuite.

Margaret Grisdela

Agency website: www.legalexpertconnections.com
Contact Margaret via email mg@legalexpertconnections.com or call 1-866-417-7025. Margaret blogs at www.rainmakingclub.com

Know thy customer

Know thy customer


My friend Kate’s nephew, Drew

I worked at Better Homes and Gardens Books, in charge of direct mail for one-shots, single books, and continuities, book sets.

We also did full catalogs and tested all kinds of things such as perforated on-page Order Forms vs bind-in Order Forms. Bind-ins always lifted response as they were more involving for the reader.

Every spread had at least one picture of a person because people tend to look at people (and animals). Your eye can’t help it, even if you’re lusting over the Michael Kors bag in the lower left corner.

So, if you offer products to Moms, you might consider adding a photo of a cute child such as Drew, my friend Kate’s nephew. If you put your most interesting product next to him, you just might lift sales for that item.

I suspect that many of the tips on merchandising a catalog also hold true for websites. Today I looked at a lot of B2B sites (because I’m leaving for a speech at the Merit Direct Conference) and almost none had photos of people. What do you think?

If someone wants to sell me something, a picture of a cat, like my lovely Lucy Baines, will always get my attention.