Marketing

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Big box vultures

by Cinda Baxter on December 18, 2008

in Economy, Independent Retailers, Marketing

Am I the only one that thinks this Staples email blast crosses the line?

It’s one thing to tell consumers your business is solid and stable, but it’s quite another to do so by pointing out someone else has fallen on hard times. I’ll bet the genius who came up with this shining example of bully mentality is the same kid who threw rocks at smaller kids on the playground.

There will inevitably be temptation for independent retailers to do the same—if not in print, verbally-—-as some of their local competition falters or fails. My advice? Don’t. It’s one thing to promote that your service is better, your product selection is better, and your staff is better; it’s quite another to gloat over someone else’s pain, then try to make money from it.

Unless, of course, you want to look like a bone scraping vulture.

I can think of better things to be remembered for.

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Stimulus Plan

by Cinda Baxter on November 6, 2008

in Marketing

This week’s email included an interesting item from Open Table, the convenient restaurant booking site. Not surprisingly, diners are thinning out as budgets grow snug, which inspired them to launch the “Appetite Simulus Plan,” a price fix program running five days, mid-November, in several cities across the country.

The lineup is fairly eclectic, offering something for everyone. Prices for the special three course meals run $24 for lunch or $35 for dinner, regardless of location. Better yet, diners booking through Open Table receive double the usual points for booking the special, as many times as they like.

This is a good example of cross promotion. The restaurant gets business. Open Table gets business. Customers get a good deal, with enough selection to make it fun. Win/win/win.

Look around at the businesses who neighbor your own. Look at those across town. Consider those that naturally connect by product type, or by customer base. Think of a creative way to work together beyond the norm. (Note: If you’re in the wedding industry, be sure to consider which elements of the event are booked before yours, so you aren’t connecting to customers too late in the timeline.)

Don’t limit yourself to holiday fare only; now’s the time to be planning your 2009 marketing strategy too.

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That’s one way to put it….

by Cinda Baxter on November 5, 2008

in Business, Economy, Marketing

Nine hours in a car gives you a lot of time to sample local radio stations, most of which offered pretty predictable fare over the weekend. From Minnesota to Nebraska, contemporary to country, very little surprised me-—with the exception of two spots on KRGI FM in Grand Island:

Ingenuity Award
A 30-second spot paid for by the local Chamber of Commerce touts the many ways Grand Island is not being negatively impacted by the current economic slow down. From a rock-bottom foreclosure rate to a growing employment rate, this statistic-loaded PSA serves as an impressive way to bolster continued cash flow while comforting nervous concerns.

“Aren’t I Special” Award
KRGI’s own 15 or 20-second spot, boasting (and I’m quoting as closely as possible here) they’re “ranked number one among listeners who said they like this station best.” Hmm. One would certainly hope so. Being ranked number two by that crowd would be pretty depressing.

I certainly don’t suggest mimicking the second option, but the first…? Why not roll out a campaign of your own, listing ten ways life continues to be stable, happy, and secure in your store in spite of the real world willies? Use them as bag stuffers…create a big window banner…send out an email newsletter with them…just get the good word out.

Better yet, turn it into a top ten list (a la Letterman style) building up to the number one reason life is good at Anderson’s Card Shop: We like it here…and you will too.

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Treats without tricks

by Cinda Baxter on October 30, 2008

in Holidays, Marketing

Quick trick or treat promotion for your grown up customers:

1. Buy one of those kitchy little plastic Jack-o-Lantern candy buckets
2. Buy a bunch of shiny little star stickers in three different colors (gold, silver, red?)
3. Put gold stickers on the the back of one or two…silver stickers on a few more…red stickers on a whole bunch of ‘em (or all the rest, if you prefer)
4. Let adult customers select one candy bar without peeking inside the bucket

Gold sticker = $100 gift certificate, good through 12/24/08
Silver sticker = 20% off any non-personalized purchase before 12/24/08
Red sticker = 10% off any non-personalized purchase before 12/24/08

Have a second bucket with non-stickered treats for kids, just in case. Use different candy so no one accidentally hands a four year old the $100 gift certificate.

Note the expiration date for each is 12/24/08. We’re working on holiday sales here-—once we hit January, it will be time for fresh offers and ideas.

I’m going to be off the grid for the weekend, headed home to Nebraska for my father’s 70th birthday. Catch you on the other side!

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Waaaaaay out of the box marketing

by Cinda Baxter on September 13, 2008

in Creative, Marketing

Sorry to have been silent for so long; I returned home from a consulting trip sick as a dog (killed one week in its entirety) then took off for several days in Kentucky. Now that I’m home, a little “blog catch up” is in order, starting with the single most out of the box marketing campaign on earth.

A retail operation specializing in home medical equipment, scooters, lift chairs, and the like is probably not someone that comes to mind when thinking about creative advertising. They cater to primarily to seniors with limited mobility or other health concerns, after all. Should equate to your typical ho-hum, kinda-sad-kinda-drab television spots tucked into late night programming, between ads for Golden Oldies CD sets and some type of miracle towels.

Well, folks, someone at Freedom Medical forgot to read that memo.

I just watched a mid-Saturday morning, 30-second spot featuring very fit, very spry 80-somethings horsing around with oxygen masks, pretending to tee off with canes, and holding races in lift chairs, scooters, and wheel chairs (the latter two dodging floor display units along the way). Honest to goodness, these stores look like great places to hang out, with seniors who’d liven up any backyard barbecue. I actually rewound the TiVo to watch it again, the thing was so funny. Not goofball funny, but sincerely entertaining.

The whole point is that sometimes, you need to look twice at who your customers are, then figure out who they want to be…how they see themselves in their mind’s eye. Freedom’s tag line, “You’re Only as Old as You Feel” couldn’t be more perfect, exemplified by the clever visuals and upbeat music. By marketing the stores as happy places where customers can hang out with their vibrant peers, laughing and having a good time, they’ve taken the sting out of aging. At least out of this part of the process.

I’ll contact Freedom Medical about getting permission to post the spot here.

For a little 3-store business based in St. Cloud, Minnesota, they’ve sure blown the curve. This is the kind of stuff that ought to be in a Harvard case study. Brilliant.

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Word clouds

by Cinda Baxter on August 11, 2008

in Creative, Marketing, Web

For those of us graphically inclined, word clouds are cool and high impact.

For those of us more analytically wired, word clouds are data cells that reflect fact.

For those of us whose brains buzz on both sides, word clouds are a quick, one glance way to learn a heck of a lot about a document, web page, or other text-rich entity. The one above tells the Always Upward story, in under five seconds. Pretty effective, huh?

To create your own (free!) word cloud, visit the Wordle site. Have to admit, it’s kind of fun….

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The doorknob is fixed

by Cinda Baxter on July 25, 2008

in Marketing, Web

Finally. The new site is now fully functional, complete with the automatic entry to the site. No more need to jiggle the doorknob (aka: click on “skip intro” link).

Big thanks to Linda and Martin on the Adobe User Forums for holding my hand through this.

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New Digs

by Cinda Baxter on July 25, 2008

in Marketing, Web

Well, I finally got it finished-—the new and improved Always Upward website just went live, and it’s about a thousand percent better than the three page “slap somethin’ up there before market season begins” version folks have been staring at. It’s a pretty major overhaul…not just scooting the furniture around the room to make things look different.

The only hitch is that you have to manually click on the “skip intro” link to move to the home page. No clue why…that’s never been an issue. With luck (and help from some techie friends), that will be cleared up soon. Until then, gotta actually turn the door handle to enter.

Thanks for being patient about this, everyone. It’s been a hectic (in a good way!) summer.

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