Month: September 2017

A Friendly Wager

Someone has been trying to get a sales call with me for a while and, due to time constraints, I haven’t had time to reply. (I also get a truckload of emails from people trying to make a living and so I’m very selective…like most people.)

But today was different. This person sent me a thoughtful email. It was obviously not spam because he’d read at least one post on this blog, and he did some basic research on where I went to school. His message was as follows:

Hi Matt – After reading the “Cool Marketing Idea (Weekly Winner)” story on your blog I felt inspired to get creative in my reach out. I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of classic “cold” emails, but I was hoping to mix it up and have a little fun with it. I saw that you went to Utah for both undergrad and grad school and I wanted to make a friendly wager with you on the Utah vs. Stanford game this weekend.
 
If the Cardinals win, will you entertain an informal chat to learn a little about what we do, and how we help similar retailers increase repeat purchases and customer lifetime value? And if the Utes pull off a win, we well send you some Utah shirts for the whole family.
 
I hope this is something you’re willing to entertain. Please let me know if we have a wager.
 
Looking forward to the game!
Attention grabbing? [CHECK]
Thought provoking? [CHECK]
Personalized? [CHECK]
By putting in a little more effort into his email, he got me to respond. Nice job!
So, I took him up on the wager. After all, Stanford is 2-2, Utah is 4-0 and ranked in the top 20.
I’ll let you know who wins the bet. Go Utes!
_________
10/8 UPDATE: Last night the Utes lost 23-20. I guess I’ll be sitting through a sales call now.

Employees as marketing

I was at a sandwich shop the other day and the line was out the door. One man at the front of the line was ordering lunch for his whole office off of a piece of paper and everyone behind him was getting frustrated.

When it was my turn to order, I was hot under the collar.

The woman behind the counter was in her early 70s and she asked what I’d like on my sandwich.

“Tomatoes,” I replied.

“Yes!” she exclaimed.

“And Lettuce,” I said

“Yes!” she said again with gusto.

“And pickles.”

“Yes! This is going to taste great!” she concluded.

I looked at her and said, “You love your job, don’t you.”

“Oh yes! I love my job so, so much.”

I told her that she made my day. She replied by saying, “Sir, you made MY day! And you’re handsome.”

Will I go back there? You bet! On employee did more for the marketing of that store, than all of the advertising they could ever buy.

 

Finding Ball Chasers

I have a dog that only wants to chase balls. My wife and I could sit in our backyard 24×7 and not wear her out. As I write this, I’m sitting here with my ball chucker filling the need of my miniature Australian Labradoodle.

The marketing trifecta is when your product is so good, it matches your customers’ needs exactly and they want to consume it over and over again.

Product = tennis ball
Customer = dog
Frequency = hourly

Have you hit the marketing trifecta yet in your business? If not, keep looking and you’ll find them.

How to name and position a product (not!)

In less than 24 hours one of the largest hurricanes ever, “Hurricane Irma,” will make landfall in Florida. It’s scary. Just search for the terms, “Images of Hurricane Irma” and you’ll see what I mean.

Whoever’s in charge of the naming hurricanes should try something more dramatic, like how the military names their operations:

  • Spartan Scorpion
  • Bayonet Lightning
  • Warrior’s Rage
  • Gothic Serpent
  • Montana Mauler

If CNN said, “A mandatory evacuation has been called because Gothic Serpent is approaching and will destroy everything in it’s path,” people would begin to understand the dramatic nature of what is about to hit. Maybe the National Hurricane Center could use this.

 

Webcasting equipment setup for under $1,000

Webcasts have been part of my life for over a decade. I’ve written two books on the topic (The Learning eXplosion and The Webinar Manifesto) and created a webinar division of my company that went from $0 to eight-figures in annual revenue. I’ve worked on most of the major platforms (Adobe Connect, On24, WebEx, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar) and lately I’ve fallen in love with Zoom.

But where to you start? I’ve seen setups that cost over $10,000 for the pros with unlimited funds and on the other end you can just use your computer and built-in web cam for free. But suppose you want to go a bit bigger? Here’s a simple, relatively inexpensive, webcast solution you can try for under $1,000.

CAMERAS:
I’m doing interview-style webcasts and to get a professional feel, I’m using two cameras, one for a wide-angle shot and another for a close up.

You can hook up an HD camcorder, but I’ve found this to add additional costs. For example, you’ll need a USB HDMI capture device like the Magewell XI100DUSB-HDMI USB Capture HDMI 3.0 HD Video Capture Dongle ($299). I opted not to go this route for simplicity’s sake. But I may try it in the future.

Instead, I purchased two Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 ($59 each) hooked into two different computers so I can switch cameras back and forth. This avoids having to pay for a $1,000 camera switcher.

AUDIO:
I’m pretty picky about my audio because I’ve heard too many webcasts that sound like they’re delivered through an echoey tin box. I purchased two AKG Pro Audio Perception 45 Presenter Set BD A Wireless Microphones  ($249 each).

If you have two microphones, you’ll need an audio interface to hook into your computer. I have the Scarlett 2i2 2nd generation USB Audio Interface plus two XLR cables ($13). I could’ve purchased a small mixing board, but this option is much simpler and if I want to record, it will automatically split out the two audio channels.

You’ll also want a set of headphones to plug into the monitor to check for levels.

TRIPOD:
I also purchased two inexpensive tripods, but not cheap. I don’t want it wiggling around after a month. I settled on the Manfrotto MKCOMPACTADV-BK Compact Advanced Tripod with 3-Way Head ($79). It’s a solid piece of machinery.

So, for under $1,000 ($854) I have a complete webcast set up that adds a professional touch.

EDIT: After testing the Scarlett audio interface, we realized it introduced some strange static and feedback into the webcast. So, I purchased a ZEDI8 from Allen & Heath and it is working really well.

If you only had an albino raccoon.

Raccoon Photo

Who else do you know that owns an albino raccoon? Think of the exclusivity!  You could charge a small fortune for people to see this amazing mystery of nature. There’s clearly no competition.

Unfortunately there’s nearly no market, unless you’re a dad driving through the desert in the American West with kids under the age of 12 who need to stretch their legs after a long ride.

Marketing isn’t just about creative pictures and words, it begins with a business goal. If your goal is just to make a handful of girls happy each year, an albino raccoon is a perfect product. If you want to build a larger business, you need an army of albino animals, plush toys, and a popular kids cartoon.

Ask yourself, what is your business about, and then you can figure out the price, the place, and the promotion.

For the record, despite the pleas from my daughters, I did not pay to see the raccoon.

Scoreboarding Your Lead Generation Efforts

Generating leads is just one role of the modern marketer. They also need to show what they’ve been able to generate to show their continual value to the organization. One way I’m going to do this personally is through a regularly published scoreboard (probably weekly) to all of my sales people and my executives.

Pinterest is a great resource to find inspiration for many things, but did you know you can find some great scoreboards that other designers have created? Here is my board with a bunch that I like on Pinterest.

How do I keep my regular clients if my product changes?

On a recent road trip through Moab, Utah (a place we’ve been several times before), my 18-year old son was upset with some of the changes—new hotels, new (more) tourists, new restaurants. Some would call it progress. My son called it destruction. Destruction of what the city’s “product” used to be—small, remote, undiscovered.

Their product (the town culture) seems to change every time we go there—probably at a faster pace since the days when it was a dusty trading post in the early 1800’s—even though the population is only about 5,200 people. But in many people’s eyes, it has changed too much.

What about changes that some people think are improvements? Like new restaurants, or the elimination of the uranium mines? If the product stays the same forever, will it be a product people will want to continue to use? It’s a fine line!

If your iPhone never changed, would you ever buy a new one? If your car was still a horse, would your life be as productive? If your favorite vacation spot grew too touristy too fast, would you keep going back?

Certain products need to be updated to keep their clientele and some should stay the same. Remember the New Coke disaster? Before you make a change to your product, think first about your raving fans because they’ll promote you all day long if you make changes that will improve, not take away from their lives.