Archive for May, 2008
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 28, 2008
Not a day goes by that I do not have a client ask what social media sites they should be on and why (usually right after they ask if I will charge them for the work I just did). A site that I steer EVERY ONE of my clients to is Facebook.
“Facebook (while looking puzzled) - that site is not for adults, business owners or entrepreneurs; it is a site for kids.” Yes, there are kids on the site; however, there are many, many, many adults on Facebook as well. The Atlanta network of Facebook (as of this writing) has 416,557 people in it. All of which I can assure you are not kids!
Here is why Facebook has been and will be (until something better comes along) my number one choice in social media sites. In a nutshell, it captures my digital business life; it allows me to connect with people from around the world and share real-time information easily; and, it has more applications on the site than I could ever possibly use.
Facebook hosts my digital business life. When you log onto my account, you see my digital business card, a short bio on me and Town Planner Calendar, pictures and videos of my clients and other information that I have deemed important about me. It is not just a site that tells you what I do and what I have done, but a site that I use to share information about me. It funnels my twitter, flicker, You Tube, and blog accounts to one specific site.
Connecting with people from around the world is simple to do. Join a group that interests you and connect with people from around the world to share ideas. I have bounced ideas off of people that I have never met face-to-face but have a working digital relationship with. (On a side note, these people are not kids, but leaders in their industry who I would have been unable to collaborate with had I not met them through Facebook.) It is easy to join a conversation and get connected.
Lastly, Facebook is a great place for me to stay in touch with new applications being developed on the web. Let’s face it, after working till 2:00 in the morning, who doesn’t like to test their music skills by playing the music challenge? Yes, it is mindless fun but at 2:00 in the morning, this is all I need to help me sleep.
Microsoft, if you read this blog: be very, very, very careful if you are able to purchase Facebook. Develop better applications within Facebook to make it easier for me to “Get Connnected”! Make all of the software interact with each other. Make my experience more enjoyable and I will thank you for it. Make it more difficult and I will dump the application in a heart beat.
What are your thoughts? How are you using social media to create, build and strengthen business relationships? Click the link below and share your ideas with the world!
Scott T. Dunn
Posted in Social Media | Tagged: Advertising, atlanta, connections, digital advertising, digital media, Facebook, fortune 500, GA, internet, Johns Creek, marketing, microsoft, Small Business, Social Media, software, Town Planner Calendar, Town Planner GA | 1 Comment »
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 28, 2008
In the first session of my advertising classes I ask the students if think they could be copy writers. They all say yes, with varying degrees of conviction.
Then I ask them to prove it: “OK, I have reserved advertising space in tomorrow’s paper. I have a goat that I want to get rid of. Write a headline for my ad.”
They set to work, and after a few minutes they gleefully want to share their inspirations. Some of the memorable lines were, “Buy a cheap labor saving device,” or “Give this poor goat a loving home.” In every class someone comes up with a version of, “Don’t let somebody else get your goat.”
I stop the hilarity and say, “Is this a Billy or a Nanny Goat?” Someone answers, “We don’t know, you didn’t tell us.” I reply, “You didn’t ask.”
So it goes with other questions: How old is this goat? Is it healthy? Does it come from a line of good goats? Why is it for sale? “You didn’t tell us!” Again, “You didn’t ask.”
Then I get into the buyer. Who buys goats, and why? What are some problems with goats? “How should we know?”
The point of this story is you should never write an ad until you know what you’re talking about. So far I’ve only had one student who refused the assignment. She said, “I don’t know anything about this goat. I can’t do it.” (She was engineering major and knew nothing about marketing.)
If you want to sell a goat, get steeped in goat lore. Get to know goat owners and goat lovers. Go so far as to get one yourself.
Then decide, what is the one most important thing you should claim about this goat? That is its positioning. Now you are ready to write an ad. And your ad will have a good chance of actually selling that goat.
George Lemmond
Posted in marketing | Tagged: Advertising, Alpharetta, atlanta, digital advertising, digital media, direct mail, female, fl, GA, George Lemmond, Johns Creek, marketing, print advertising, Scott Dunn, Small Business, Social Media, Town Planner Calendar, Town Planner GA | 1 Comment »
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 27, 2008
American Airlines seems have received a lot of flak for their announced policy of charging fifteen dollars for a passenger’s first checked bag. They tried to explain it by citing the increased cost of fuel. If they just increased the price of a ticket they might have gotten less grief.
Maybe others will copy it, and maybe it will become the standard. But for now the question is, “What are consumers entitled to have?” Can we expect to have free meal on a flight—like we used to have? Can we expect to have our baggage handled for us—which obviously is a labor cost for the airline? What’s next—a charge for carry-ons? A charge for using the restroom? A ticket priced on your weight?
It’s an age old dilemma in many fields—should you pay a la carte for every item or service, or have the costs buried in one fee, the same for everyone?
Decades ago we had the price stamped on every product in the grocery store. Consumerists said we are entitled to have that. Then came the bar codes, and prices were printed on your receipt. The system became more efficient; it was progress and we accepted it.
I guess we thought that when we pay for a ticket, our bags will fly free. When we buy a TV set, we expect free programs will come with it (for the most part.) In that case, advertisers foot the bill; is there a way we can slough off the cost of baggage to someone else?
The increased cost of oil is having a ripple effect with unexpected consequences. Will it have any bearing on you business? Think hard about that, and have a plan that will help you through it with minimal damage.
George Lemmond
Posted in marketing | Tagged: Advertising, Alpharetta, american airlines, atlanta, city of milton, digital media, Georgia, Johns Creek, marketing, Scott Dunn, Social Media, Town Planner Calendar | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 21, 2008
If you’re planning a new year or writing a new marketing plan, get rid of all the junk. A short plan is harder to create than a long one, but it works better.
The “delete” button is your best friend—a garbage collector. America is full of obese people and fat plans. A leaner plan is meaner.
Here are some ways you can hone and simplify:
- Rewrite your mission statement so it means something. Phrases like “We are the on cutting edge—of something” and “People are our most important product” are management ego trips. Replace them with a vital customer need that we will fulfill. This will point the plan down the right, narrow path.
- Eliminate all but two of the new products or strategies you think should be tested or explored. Two is the most that small organizations can handle effectively.
- Put at least 95% of the numbers back in the exhibits or in the waste basket. What are the key facts—the drivers that will determine your success? These are the signals and changes the organization should live with every day. All the rest are just fillers.
- Narrow the focus of your advertising and promotion. People will think only of the one thing you do best. Don’t say, “And we also do this—.”
- Put your plan on one side of a 4”x6” card. This will be your company’s equivalent of its 30 second elevator speech.
- Appoint someone as the CSO—the Chief Simplification Officer. The duties will include—monitor straying, encourage expunging, and reward pruning.
- Make the lean plan be the company’s marching orders. Otherwise it will be a guilt machine, found only on the shelf.
With planning, as with architecture, less is more.
What does your plan say about your company?
George Lemmond
Posted in marketing | Tagged: Advertising, advertising alpharetta, advertising johns creek, Alpharetta, atlanta, city of milton, GA, George Lemmond, Georgia, Johns Creek, marketing, marketing plan, Scott Dunn, scott t. dunn, Small Business, Town Planner, Town Planner Calendar, townplanner | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 20, 2008
Over eighty percent of new stores will go out of business within ten years.
Some will be DOA; others will have painful slow deaths. And some old stand-bys may also bite the dust. (Who’s next? I’d watch K-Mart. I think the merger of Sears and K-Mart was not a marriage made in heaven. Two plus two makes three.)
There are over nineteen-and-a-half square feet of retail space for every shopper in this country. Over-stored? Probably. But there will always be new ones springing up, and that’s good. Otherwise women and some men would die of boredom.
The obvious and time-tested reasons why stores fail are poor quality, too high prices, bad locations, and obsolescence. But here are six that are becoming more prevalent:
They Don’t Connect with the Cyber-generation. Twenty-ish folks are savvy and smart. They are in instant and constant communication with each other. They are technically adept and immersed on-line. They expect information to be delivered to them digitally, free and now. So they seek out stores that have individuality, immediacy and are interesting
They Sound Uncertain and Discordant Trumpets. They can’t decide what business they’re in. They add lines, and confusion.
They Aren’t Dancing With the One Who Brought Them. Starbucks is an experience and a meeting place. What is a Starbucks in a Target Store? Virtually empty.
They Have Mega Un-service. Customer loyalty is down to one bad experience, then out. Zero tolerance. Poor service is an epidemic.
They Are Near a Good Location. There are sites in my neighborhood that have witnessed four or five separate tenants. Why? Around the corner are thriving establishments. Due diligence would have been nice.
They Aren’t a Destination. Survivors draw crowds. Stores that are fun to visit have a chance to last. Could a store stand alone, or does it depend on other traffic? If not, a going out of-business sale will come soon.
So if you intend to start a new store, it must be cool, with it, exciting, understandable, easy to get to, and provide great service. Otherwise, try anything else.
George Lemmond
Posted in marketing | Tagged: Advertising, Alpharetta, atlanta, GA, GAP, George Lemmond, johnks creek, K-Mart, kmart, mall, marketing, roswell, Sandy Springs, SBA, Scott Dunn, scott t. dunn, Sears, Social Media, Starbucks, stores, Town Planner Calendar, townplanner, WalMart | 3 Comments »
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 12, 2008
A useful way to create a winning positioning for your brand is to think of ways not to do it.
Here are some examples of thinking that will be doomed:
- Claim that it’s for everybody; otherwise you might leave some unwitting user out. Compile a list of all the features of your product and all the benefits it provides. Mention them all. To focus on just one is a foolish way to separate other brands.
- Thinly disguise its weakness. If your pet is a cuddly lapdog, brag that it is a tireless hunter and a brave guardian. If your store has trouble keeping employees, talk about your great service.
- Make a wish. Conduct a focus group and ask the ladies what they hope for. Pick the wildest dream and make that the fulfillment of your brand’s offer. Proving it and earning it can come later.
- Find a difference, no matter how minor. Dig deep. Surely there is something about you that is distinguishing. Make that the reason people should prefer it.
- Assure its obsolescence. Find the latest fad, latch on to it. Put the current buzz words in your headlines.
- Be sure it’s politically correct. Never risk offending anybody. Sharp edges must be dulled. When in doubt, leave it out.
- Don’t try to be the leader. Leaders get shot at and pulled down. Be content to sit in the third chair. Under the radar. “Uneasy lies the crown–.”
So when you’re evaluating alternative positionings (or ads, for that matter), look at each one: does it fall under any of these traps?
Discard it, and look for a better one. (See my blog below.)
George Lemmond
Posted in marketing | Tagged: Advertising, Alpharetta, atlanta, brand, digital media, GA, Johns Creek, marketing, Scott Dunn, Small Business, Social Media, Town Planner, Town Planner Calendar | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 12, 2008
A brand or a company is more things that it isn’t than what it is. Therefore positioning is deciding what it is left for your customers after you get rid of the rest.
A sculptor described how he made an equine carving: “I take a block of marble and chip away everything that doesn’t look like a horse.”
”Comprehensive Positioning” is a contradiction in terms. Comprehensive means broad and inclusive. Positioning means narrow and exclusive; it’s the single place where you will take your stand, where you step up to the window and make your bet. It takes guts.
Here are the common points of a winning positioning for you:
- It conveys an important benefit. It’s more important to be important, than to be different. It’s definitely not important to make irrelevant distinctions, like “All our cats’ paws have six toes.”
- It leads with strength. You didn’t get this far on your weaknesses. Hide them until you fix them. If you are red, talk about crimson or scarlet or ripe tomatoes. Don’t bring up green.
- It can’t be just a wish. Just because a niche is available, or you’d like to be there, doesn’t mean you can fill it. It must be true and appropriate for what you are, or you be exposed as a huckster. Wishing doesn’t make it so.
- It must be simple. Can it be grasped at a glance what it’s all about? If not, it’s too sophisticated and eyes will glaze over.
- It must be singular. What is the one thing you want to be known for? This is key. If customers believe you are best at something good, they’ll also think other good things about you. People like to follow leaders.
What words do you want come to customers’ and prospects’ minds after hearing your name?
That’s your desired positioning, and it will be a winner if you follow these rules.
George Lemmond
Posted in marketing | Tagged: Advertising, Alpharetta, atlanta, digital advertising, GA, Johns Creek, marketing, Sandy Springs, Scott Dunn, Social Media, Town Planner, Town Planner Calendar | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 6, 2008
A lot of people don’t really understand positioning. They equate it with a “mission statement” like, “We are the highest quality and the most caring company in the food business, providing the best-tasting nutritious frozen meals and baby foods throughout the world.”
Mission statements are what the management and the board of directors think of themselves. Customers don’t care. Customers care what’s in it for them.
The positioning of a product or a company is what comes to people’s minds when they hear its brand name. That’s called the de facto positioning. It’s also called reality.
But what would management want people to say? That is their desired positioning. If there is a gap between the two? Then there’s an identity and a marketing problem.
The first step is to find out: what is our standing right now? How do people place us in their lives, versus other options? What are our assets and our baggage?
Then, what are we going to do about it? Think about your desired positioning. Imagine that you are groups of customers and prospects, two years from now. Focus Group moderators throw out this question:
“Think about (your name). What comes to mind?”
Put words in their mouths and thoughts in their minds. What are they? If they are different than today’s’ groups, what shall you do? Is it fixable? What must change?
Positioning is the key marketing ingredient. I’ll talk later about how to create a winning position and also about how to position yourself for failure!
George Lemmond
Posted in marketing | Tagged: ad agency, Advertising, alphretta, GA, George Lemmond, Johns Creek, marketing, marketing plan, Scott Dunn, small business marketing, Town Planner | 2 Comments »
Posted by Scott Dunn on May 6, 2008
For those of us who enjoy a cup of coffee or two you will want to take a look at Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Company. Joffrey’s has put together a “beta test” for one of their coffee brands. They are offering the first 10,000 bloggers who sign up for this beta test free coffee and a blog link on their website.
Though I am not a huge fan of “viral marketing” I like what Joffrey’s is doing because they are appealing to two things that are important to me. First, they sent me free coffee (which I very much enjoyed) and second, they have added my link to their blogroll. As I sit on their website and see the links scroll, I am amazed that they have 1215 blog links – well on their way to 10,000.
So to all you bloggers out there who not only want your link on another website, and free coffee to boot, check out Jofferey’s site, sign up and join the viral movement.
Joffrey’s, thanks again for the coffee and the link!
Posted in Social Media | Tagged: ad agency, Advertising, Alpharetta, atlanta, coffee, Dunkin' Donuts, fl, GA, java, Joffrey's Coffee and Tea, Johns Creek, Scott Dunn, Starbucks, tampa, Town Planner, viral marketing | Leave a Comment »
