Ok, so I'm a slacker!

I completely understand that I've totally been lax in keeping up with this blog. But in my defense, I've been swamped lately. When it's dry, it's a drought, when it rains, it's apparently a hurricane (something those of you along the gulf coast understand). I'm in the middle of the hurricane season, literally and figuratively, so I haven't had a ton of time to even think about the blog.

While you're waiting on me to come up with an incredibly smart and brilliant blog post, feel free to check out this new site, which comes in VERY handy to small business owners with marketing questions. www.freemarketinganswers.com. Oh yeah, did I mention it's FREE!? I actually know the purveyor of the site and it is totally legit and 100% ethical. You don't have to worry about being spammed or sold.

Enjoy! Visit www.freemarketinganswers.com and let me know what you think :)

You gotta talk the talk...

When you meet with a marketing firm, they may throw out some of the following terms without defining them first. This list should help you to know what to listen for and what each term means or stands for.

ROI-
Return on investment. How much a campaign, project or event measured up after the initial investment. For example, if you spent $3500 on direct mail to promote a certain product or service and received $7800 in business from that direct mail campaign, the ROI would be $4300. This is why coming up with a way to measure your marketing efforts is crucial.

SEO-
Search engine optimization. If you have a business that is run completely online or would benefit from receiving exposure to a potential client base online, you need a way for people to find your site through search engines. People can place keywords in your site and give you advice on giving your site a higher search rating (which means it shows up higher on sites like google when people input those keywords). For example, if your site is on the 5th page of the google search results when people type in keywords related to your business, you’re probably not getting any web traffic from that search engine. If you’re in the first 2 pages (a coveted position, indeed), it’s more likely that you’ll have people finding your site through the search engine results.

Web 2.0
Ok, I’m going to cheat here and copy and paste the Wikipedia definition:
A term that describes the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users.
To find out more about web 2.0, see this Wikipedia article.

Social Networking
Part of the web 2.0 movement with sites that allow users to interact with one another through their online profiles. Examples of social networking are facebook and myspace. It’s a great way to showcase your company through a more personalized approach (and there’s no cost to create profiles on either site).

I will have several more blogs with marketing terms defined over the next few posts. Please add some to the list you think need definitions or add your own definitions.

Press Release-Bilingual Marketing

THE MARKETEERS, LLC TEAM UP WITH SUSANA TORRES TRANSLATIONS TO OFFER MULTI-LINGUAL MARKETING SERVICES

Partnership will benefit smaller Houston businesses with multi-lingual targets

The Marketeers, LLC and Susana Torres Translations are combining forces in order to better serve the multi-cultural and multi-lingual Houston community. Together, the two companies will enable businesses to create marketing strategies, campaigns and materials that reach a culturally diverse target.

“We’re ready to offer smaller Houston businesses an affordable solution to multi-cultural marketing through this partnership,” said Amber Ambrose, general manager of The Marketeers, LLC.

Susana Torres Translations, located in Houston, TX, provides translation services centered around a profound knowledge of grammar and a passion for writing. This approach ensures an interpretation as opposed to a literal translation of materials. They offer onsite translation services and language classes in addition to translation of materials. See more at www.torrestranslations.com.

The Marketeers, LLC is a marketing firm located in Houston, Texas. They offer marketing collateral design, strategic and creative development and implementation, event planning and development and follow through of product or service promotions. More information and an online portfolio can be found at www.marketeersllc.com.

Confidence in your consultants

When hiring any consultant, a portion of the price of services is due to the expertise of your consultant. So why not trust them with the project you’ve handed off?

For example, would you hire a plumber to fix your leaky sink and stand over him or her the entire time and direct their every action?

“I’m not sure you’re tightening that pipe correctly, perhaps you should use the other wrench for that…”

Can you imagine having that conversation?

Would you call your accountant and argue whether or not the return they’ve prepared for you meets certain tax laws?

The answer should be “no” if you truly trust your consultants, vendors and service providers.

The same should be applied to your marketing/advertising or graphic design firm, marketing director or anyone you’ve hired to help you with your marketing efforts. Unless you have a strong background in the field you’ve hired someone to help you with, you should remain confident in the abilities of the person you’ve enlisted to provide you with services.

Micromanaging any project (no matter what type of professionals are involved) will lead to exhaustion, frustration and a lesser outcome. It may even lead to broken relationships or a tarnished reputation and quite possibly, a hirer bill from your consultant (due to the extra effort involved just catering to your whims).

However, since marketing and advertising relate more to the image of a company, a subjective approach is understandable. This is why you should do your homework as a client before deciding on a marketing/advertising firm.

Have you seen their previous work? Does it correlate to what you’re looking to do? Do you agree with their approach to projects and clients? Do you have any reservations about your contact at the agency/company? Is it easy to communicate with your contact? Do they have the same moral platform? Can they see your company from a customer standpoint? Can you see your company from a customer’s standpoint? Are there procedures in place to show accountability and/or responsibility for the project? Have you checked references?

There are thousands more questions to ask yourself before you decide on a marketing company that could make or break the relationship, and eventually, the final project. Make sure after you’ve made the decision that you remain confident in your consultant’s or firm’s ability and enable them with support, not micromanagement.

Guest - Introducing Melanie Lanuza

I had the pleasure of meeting with soon to be graduate Melanie Lanuza today. She will have a degree in Communications _ Advertising and Art - Graphic design under her metaphorical belt come this August. I sat down with her to ask a couple questions about what she has learned in her trades and how those lessons can help us (small businesses) all out. She has fresh eyes to the world of design which is sometimes a very good thing! (insert Martha Stewart joke here)

#1 - Try not to convey EVERYTHING about your business in a small space.

I agree with this whole heartedly. An AD should look graphically pleasing and convey enough information that the client/consumer can find out more information on their own accord.

#2 - Always use High quality images

It does make your files larger, but the outcome will bring a more professional look to your graphics. Mel says having to work with low quality images makes excess work for the designer. The standard for printing is 300 dpi. (most images saved by right clicking and saving pictures off the Internet are 72 dpi)

The Marketeers offers a FTP site to handle larger files which are too big for email to accommodate them.

#3 - Dot gain is important to Newspaper ads

Mel learned about dot gain when dealing with a newspaper AD where some objects were very dark and details went missing because of the dot gain. Dot gain is the measurement of how the dots of ink will expand on the newspaper paper. Typical dot gain is 30%.

#4 - Stroke on text is to be used with caution

Mel and I came to the agreement that text with a stroke around each letter is a blessing and a curse. We never could come up with set rules of when to use and when to not use it so basically we cited some circumstances where we knew it did not work for us. First, small text almost never works. The typeface is just too small to handle a detail such as a stroke. Second is the lack of using a contrast color to enhance the text.

Mel proclaims herself as a typography snob. (And rightly so she is.) She went into greater detail on how centering text is hers (and mine) least favorite justification. I do believe it has it's place, but for the most part I almost never center text to start with.

We hope to hear from Mel soon after she throws the tassel at graduation and says goodbye to college!

Do what you do best

I would like to spotlight a company that was brought to my attention from a friend.

Geoff & Drew's is a gourmet cookie and brownie bakery that specializes in one thing. Doing their one trade and doing it well. Rather than trying to compete with mass market cookie chains, Geoff & Drew's use fresh cookie dough everyday and make sure the orders are sent out also the same day. They have been highlighted on MSNBC Today show, The Early Show, and in USA Today and Modern Bride. Below is a quote from their "About Geoff & Drew's" webpage.

"Our commitments since day one have been to produce and sell only the finest, freshly baked cookies, brownies and bakery gifts. This means satisfying our customers 100%, operating a great business that keeps its promises to its customers and employees, helps out the community and supports good people and causes. Five years later, we're a nationally respected company on par with peers who have been in business for 25-75 years. "

Geoff & Drew's is still relatively a small company, but they are a successful small business because they made decisions to stay focused on providing a quality product without sacrificing great tasting cookies for mass production. I encourage you to check out their website and read how they started out as a cookie and milk delivery service in Boston, Massachusetts.

Viral Videos

What the original video looked like, which I'm guessing you've probably seen before (in reference to the video below).
Have a great weekend. Next week we'll discuss the merits and downfalls of viral video marketing.

Because it's so amazingly awesome...

It's all in the packaging

When you’re selling a service, expertise or a physical product, packaging is everything.
Voice of invisible business owner: “Packaging, how does that relate to my business? I offer a service. I don’t ever have to worry about packaging.” Au contraire, my small business owner amigo (and yes, I was able to fit 3 languages into this sentence).


Packaging for businesses offering services or consulting sometimes includes grouping services together in a tidy little package, making your services easier to sell, not to mention easier to quote. In a sense, creating packages with pre-priced options saves you administrative time and makes it simpler for clients to decipher what you will offer for what price--hence the easier to sell piece of the puzzle.

An example of packaging service can be as simple as putting together blocks of hours for a pre-set price and offering them in regular increments. At the Marketeers, we’ve recently started a “Rent a Marketeer” package in which we offer 5-hour blocks of time to clients to cater to their every marketing whim. The hours are useable over a 6-month period, so even if the client takes 2 out of the 3 initial hours, they have 5 more months to use the 3 leftover hours.
It’s easier for us to quote jobs, offers more flexibility and everyone gets a fair deal. Plus, the package is easily renewable when the client exceeds their initial 5 hours (or 10 or 15—depending on their project). Much less headache for all involved.

Another way to package services is to combine two or more of the services you offer for a small discount, allowing the client to receive more bang for their buck and you to have more potential for an upsell (or eventually a larger check from the client). Both sides benefit from this package deal. You should have the services offered and the details involved written in way that should be transferable to all clients, saving you time (once again) with administrative duties and quoting jobs.

One last way to package things for a service-oriented business is to offer a membership plan. The Latham Group, a business offering mostly outsourced administrative help, offers a great monthly plan. They offer different levels per month, also providing flexibility for businesses and creating a simpler process within The Latham Group for selling and billing. The client knows exactly what to expect every month and The Latham Group is able to bill at a lower rate due to the security of having members at different levels and decreased administrative upkeep of these accounts.

How do you package your services? If you don’t offer services, but use other companies that do, have you noticed anything that stands out from certain service providers as far as packaging?

Places to go, Things to do...

Small business owners need to network, no matter what industry. I have compiled a list of places to be involved in and organizations that will be mutually beneficial to your business and the community. The key is to get involved. The more involved you become, the more contacts and respect you will gain.

Rotary International: A great place to meet like-minded individuals in all different industries. Their motto is "service above self," and have club meetings internationally that you can attend at any time. 

Kiwanis International: Their mission (stated on their website) is "to serve children of the world."

Toastmasters: Not necessarily a service organization, but a great place to hone your public speaking skills and meet new people. Making professional speakers out of professional people.

Lions Club: Mostly known for helping end preventable blindness. Also an international organization.

Optimist Club: Their mission is "bringing out the best in kids." 

Other places to get involved: your local theater/art scene, church, your kids' school, historical societies, any place you have a passion for. 

Gilligan's Island: The Musical Press Release

Yes, I am using the blog to promote a pro bono project we're working on. *Disclaimer* I was not in the show when I volunteered the Marketeers to help out with publicity. I was brought into the cast long after we had started helping out with the project. On that note, here's the release!




Contact: Arnold Richie FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel: 713-838-7191
Email: upstagetheatre@comcast.net

FAMILIAR GILLIGAN’S ISLAND CASTAWAYS SHIPWRECKED IN THE HEIGHTS
Familiar television show brought to the Houston stage

UpStage Theatre presents the Houston premiere of Gilligan’s Island: The Musical starting June 13th at Lambert Hall on Heights Boulevard.

Gilligan's Island is the most rerun television show in history. It has been a series, three TV movies, two cartoon series, a reality series, and the subject of more comedians' jokes than the mother-in-law. It has been syndicated on more cable stations than any other series in history.
The story of the eight characters in Gilligan’s Island: The Musical follows the original series very closely. Beginning with the theme song (originally written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle), arguably the most recognized in television history, these seven familiar characters are shipwrecked and try to get off the island. Hurricanes, quicksand and manmade disasters befall them as they learn to survive on in their new habitat.

Sherwood Schwartz, creator of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch co-wrote Gilligan’s Island: The Musical with son and longtime collaborator, Lloyd Schwartz. Music and lyrics were written by Sherwood Schwartz’s daughter and son-in-law Hope and Laurence Juber. Laurence Juber was a member of the Paul McCartney group, Wings, before going on to compose and score many movies.

“I am thrilled that Gilligan's Island: The Musical is playing in Houston. The characters are bigger than life....and so is Texas. It's a perfect fit,” says the musical’s co-creator, Lloyd Schwartz.

Houston production cast members include, Louis Crespo as “Gilligan,” Monica Passley as “MaryAnn,” Sam Sigman as “Skipper,” Amber Ambrose as “Ginger,” Chuck Houston as the “Professor,” Crys Hymel as “Lovey Howell,” Mack Hays as “Mr. Howell,” Patrick Graham as the “Alien.” The show is produced with cooperation from Warner Bros. Productions by UpStage Theatre and directed by Luke Wrobel.

Show dates include Fridays and Saturdays from June 13-28th, 8pm in Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved by calling 713-838-7191 or visiting www.upstagetheatre.org. Discount tickets are available at Collina’s Italian Café in the Heights and at Onion Creek (also in the Heights).

Started in 2000 by Arnold and Ann Richie, UpStage Theatre is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and group of talented volunteers dedicated to providing high quality, affordable and family friendly theatrical experiences. UpStage performs in historic Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd., and relies solely on ticket sales, ad sales and the generosity of its patrons for its finances.

###

To schedule an interview with Lloyd Schwartz, Hope or Laurence Juber, the Houston cast, crew or director, please contact Amber Ambrose at 409.201.3560 or email her at amber@marketeersllc.com.

Bragging Rights

So the last few posts were about Beaumont. Here's a link to a story about how awesome Houston is! Enjoy.

Why do you love, like, or hate your city?

The Barking Dog Interview – Finally Released!

I had the opportunity to sit down with Joey Crawford, owner of The Barking Dog, a new coffee shop in downtown Beaumont. Here are a few excerpts from our Q&A session.

K: What separates The Barking Dog from other coffee shops?

J: Well, the fair trade thing for starters. We are conveniently located in downtown Beaumont. Also, we try to create a more independent atmosphere as opposed to a corporate feel. We wanted [the coffee shop] to be downtown and we wanted it to look eclectic.

K: What is your target market?

J: Depends on the time of day. We have business workers in the morning and college students in the evenings and on weekends.

K: What did you do before the shop?

J: I sold everything, including medical equipment, internet service, and cell phones. Now I’m selling coffee. I also deal with rental property.

K: How would describe fair trade and the process?

J: I first got interest in it when I found out coffee is the second largest money grossing industry per year, only second to oil. And so many people working in the coffee industry in South America and other parts of the world work for such small amounts of money. They are slaves to that industry. If that's all they know, they don't make enough money to educate themselves or their children to adapt to an industry other than coffee.

The idea behind fair trade is to guarantee them [the local farmers] a higher amount per pound of coffee-- and it doesn't sound like much when you're talking $0.25 more per pound, but for families living on $3,000 or $4,000 per year, that adds up quite a bit. Fair trade not only gives them more money, but educates them on how to invest it into their education and better farming techniques, especially for organic farming.

[Fair Trade] is also a social conscience and economic empowerment thing. The world is more open now than it used to be. Borders are more accessible. America has the potential to, just by our buying habits, change things all across the world. If enough people support fair trade and make that part of their buying habits, then it helps raise the life standards of people all around the world.

The fair trade process for coffee shops in America is kind of a co-op thing through the roasters. Katz Coffee in Houston supplies the coffee for The Barking Dog. All the literature I put forth is paid for by the roasters' contributions to the fair trade program.

K: What can we do to help out?

J: You can buy cotton shirts and shoes, fair trade. I mean there's someone making our shoes for ten cents an hour. Sometimes we get mad that we had to spend $90 instead of $80 on shoes when we can actually afford that, and they are just shoes. That's the only way to put it. It's not like old time slavery, but still in a way, it's economic slavery.

There was a guy who comes in here and he was doing a speech at Lamar [University] about fair trade and he asked me if he could borrow some things. I gave him a few pamphlets and a DVD to show during his speech. During his speech a girl in his class started crying. It bothered him since he didn't know why she was crying. He discovered that the girl was from Venezuela and her dad was actually a coffee farmer. That's the way she was able to go to college here in the U.S.-- because of the fair trade money that was provided to her family.

K: Do you have anything you want to add?

J: Fair trade is empowering people to use the resources they currently have to create a better life economically and educationally, because they are going to farm coffee beans whether they are getting $1.20 per pound or $0.50 per pound for it.

Tyrell Park's Restoration in Beaumont, Texas

K: I had a chance to tour the reconstructed Tyrell Park in Beaumont, Texas, almost three years after Hurricane Rita took its toll on the beautiful park. While most of the gigantic trees did not make it through the high winds, main structures stayed in place. The park had its grand re-opening on Sunday, May 17, 2008 and unveiled the new additions to the land. Pictures inside!

The roses were back in bloom after the much sought after Rose Garden.

The waterfall is amazing and the pond is more attractive than the original swamp before the hurricane.

There is a second waterfall inside the Botanical Gardens. Though this may not be new I thought I would share it with people who may have never been inside the greenhouse before like myself.

Though my picture came out poorly, I wanted to show the new reception area people can now use for weddings and receptions.

Congratulations to the City of Beaumont and all those that helped with the restoration of this beautiful place.

A: *How does this relate to marketing? It is a place where we take solitude and are able to recharge our creative batteries. It also relates to marketing for the city of Beaumont, TX, hometown of the Marketeers, and for that, we are sincerely proud.

Consistency

In marketing, consistency is everything. All the money you spend placing ads, sending letters or coupons, website development, graphic design, printing marketing packets, business cards, or any other form of marketing is put directly in the wastebasket if your materials lack consistency. And yes, I used the word “wastebasket” which I don’t know if I’ve ever used in actual speech.

Back to the point—marketing relies on consistency of everything involved. This could mean consistency of the color scheme you use in your printed materials, the fonts you use on letters, envelopes, invoices, catalogs, the graphics on your website. Everything is game. For the most part, savvy business owners and marketing directors realize that consistency is an integral factor in the marketing process. However, what details are escaping your grasp?

For starters, the number one difference I notice in marketing materials starts with the most common form of communication (at least for me). Email. Yes, even in your email, you have to carry over the idea of consistency. The place to start is the company email signature. Notice, I didn’t mention “your” email signature. Think of the email signature as a company-wide standard. Create a company signature with the same logo (if you choose to use it in your company signature), same font, same information, same order. Just as if it were a business card, change the individual details, but keep the same formatting. The same applies to font size and type for the body of the email.

Another place to create consistency is through individual employee voicemail messages. Write up a script and have everyone follow that script. It seems extreme, but some people are better than others at recording their away messages. The ones that aren’t the most eloquent when leaving their recording will appreciate the script and the ones that like to be, shall we say, creative, when leaving their message, will know what to expect up front. You know the type, amateur comedians practicing their snide rapport for unsuspecting phone victims. Keep them in check with a professional (or fun—depending on your industry) voicemail message.

To find inconsistency lurking in the hidden corners of your marketing, be constantly aware and keep your eyes open.

Any comments on consistency in atypical places are welcomed!

Mourning the Loss of a Houston Legend

If you're from Houston or lived here for any amount of time, you're probably familiar with the annual Art Car Parade that happens every May. People put on crazy costumes, get behind the wheel of their zany modified cars and head out to Allen Parkway for a few hours of spectacular viewing. Last weekend was the Art Car Parade, and it was just as spectacular as past years (see the pictures below), however it ended with an unspeakable ironic tragedy.

Tom Jones, curator of the Art Car Museum, was killed Saturday night after being pinned by a parked car that was hit by a drunk driver. He was closing up the museum after a long day of parades and events. Here are several articles with the complete story.

Thanks to Karin Shaver for the pictures!

Art Car Museum Website
Houston Chronicle Article
Jalopnik Blog Tribute
KPRC Write up

On a happier note, The Marketeers, LLC want to collaborate with another company or individual to create an art car for next year. If you have any ideas or an old car you'd like to donate to the cause, please let us know!

Whoops-Forgot to post yesterday, Companies that "Get it" installment #4

Friday’s company:

Bella Lucce



Lela Barker, a fellow alumnus of Collierville High School and the Speech and Debate team there, started a beauty product line that has grown into a global sensation. The products are ALL natural, due to the fact that Lela’s sister was once diagnosed with breast cancer. Through research, Lela found that most of the beauty products found in her bathroom included an ingredient that increased the risk of breast cancer. Knowing there was a better way, and looking for a way to support herself and her daughters after a divorce, Lela began Bella Lucce.

Lela’s approach to the product incorporates all of the elements of my “it” list. Creating a quality product at an affordable price, treating employees with ultimate respect and gratitude (as you’ll be able to tell when you read her blog), giving back to the community through various charitable contributions (once again, you can read about those on her blog), and being extremely creative. After all, she uses chocolate as a body scrub!

Other aspects I admire are her frequent updates to the blog, the entertainment and education factor of the posts, and the personalization through pictures and first hand experiences she writes about.

Companies that "Get it" Installment #3

Wednesday’s company:

Barking Dog Coffee House

The Barking Dog is a vintage feel coffee shop new to the downtown Beaumont, TX area that promotes something new (for the Beaumont area). They only engage in fair trade coffee and strive for all other products to be organic.

According to wikipedia.org, fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, and flowers.

The Barking Dog remains the front runner in this area in relation to fair trade, organic, hipness and being brave enough to establish a business in the budding downtown. Currently, to my knowledge, no other coffee shop in Beaumont, independently owned or not, is bringing this issue to the forefront.

Wonderfully hand decorated, an eclectic feel permeates this cozy downtown space with chandeliers and vintage furniture. This coffee shop with the unusual pub sounding name and laid back appeal is helping to turn the light bulb on, in most Southeast Texans heads.

Companies That "Get it" Installment #2

Tuesday’s company:


Method

“What the style element does is it creates mass market relevance for a green product. And I'm not just talking about Method right now, although that is very much our strategy. We're not the first company to think cleaners should be green, but we are doing them in a way that makes them accessible both from a price-point standpoint and from a design/aesthetic standpoint to everyone else who isn't this sort of tree-hugging granola -- forgive the expression ... Why would you do all this green stuff and then just hang out with other greenies? That's one of the biggest reasons why the traditional environmental movement has not succeeded. It's not democratic. One of the big goals with Method, and why design and sustainability are inextricably linked in our brand, is that if you don't have the design element, you're only going to appeal to people who are already green, so you're not actually going to create any real environmental change ... To us, "sustainability" and "green" are just aspects of the quality of our product -- they are not a marketing positioning ... I mean everything should be that way. Just build it into the quality of the product and let the experience of the product be the real hero.”

--Method Co-Founder Adam Lowry, in an interview with Grist.

They meet all the criteria of the list I put up yesterday, make products that work properly (and don’t look completely hideous while on your kitchen counter), and the quote above pretty much sums up why I chose them for this list. Also, they’re independently owned and are in no hurry (from what I have read) to sell out to a large corporation. Plus, it's always an inspiration to me to see younger people running successful businesses.

See you tomorrow.

Anyone have any companies they admire? Feel free to comment and tell us why.

Companies that "Get it"

As a preface to this blog, do not do what we have done. DO NOT go as long as we have between blog posts if you have a company blog. We screwed up and have been too busy to post over the last couple of weeks and we apologize. That being said, we take you back to your regularly scheduled programming.

What exactly is “it”? An endless string of nouns can replace that one simple little word. Yet, for a business, large or small, what does it mean?
As a business owner and operator, my version of “it” is the total package of:
1. Recognizing AND acting on social responsibilities.
2. Treating employees with respect and the freedom to help their company thrive.
3. Providing a reliably good product 100% of the time and taking responsibility for any products (or services) distributed that didn’t meet the customers’ standards.
4. Make a profit.
5. Use creativity as a driving force.

Here’s the beginning of our week long tribute to companies we admire, starting with #1.

Monday’s company


Sweet Leaf Tea:
First of all, they started off in Beaumont, TX (my home town), brewing tea from pillow cases, which is a great story. They’ve graduated to Austin and recently secured $18 million in investments from a private equity firm for some expansion projects. Most of their marketing budget goes to grass roots marketing (sampling the tea at community events and music festivals) rather than taking the traditional route down the path of tv, radio, and print ads. This approach has been successful because the tea is actually good, so rather than telling their target how they have an awesome product, they're “takin it to the streets” to EMERGE them in the deliciousness that is Sweet Leaf Tea. Another thing- they actually brew the tea and use pure cane sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup, tea flavoring and tea concentrate.

Some charities they’ve been involved in include: Big Brothers and Sisters of Central Texas, AIDS Services, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Caritas and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. They've also recently donated $20,000 worth of products to The Early Show's (on CBS) Facing Hunger: Feeding America food drive. Their donation was equal to or more than a lot of HUGE, publicly traded food/beverage companies' donations. That's something to be commended.

Happy Earth Day Small Businesses!

In honor of Earth Day, this blog will be some common sense tips (that might also save you money in the long run) on becoming a more earth friendly establishment.


Although it may seem that Earth Day is just an excuse for crazy hippies to berate “the Man,” and large corporations, I see it as an opportunity to discuss some practical, easy, money saving ideas for small businesses that happen to help the earth along the way.

*Just for everyone’s information, I was long into the “green movement” before it became chic in the last few years. In fact, my elementary school put on a play about conservation when I was in the 5th grade. I remember a song called “Driving Miss Lazy” that my friend Kendall Strickland sang in front of the entire school. Ok, I digress.

Also, don’t forget about the organic lollipop samples at Linens-N-Things today from Yummy Earth!

Tips for a greener business:
1. Find a supplier for your office needs that carries “green” products. This could mean recycled paper, cleaners made with all natural ingredients, etc. You can usually find a local, independently owned business that you can help support instead of going to Office Depot for everything. For example, a local green supply business here in Houston is Savannah Supplies, Inc. They carry a huge variety of earth friendly products at an affordable price. Their website was down today, but keep them in your bookmarks and check back to see what they have to offer.

2. Bring your own coffee cup to work. I know it sounds stupidly simple, but you’d be amazed at the amount of Styrofoam cups an office can go through in a week (especially for the hard-core coffee addicts that use at least 3 cups a day). It may take a few extra seconds out of your day to wash your mug, but it saves on having to buy new sleeves of cups and saves a lot of cups going into a landfill. Managers and business owners, it IS likely that you’ll get a collective groan from any employees that are apathetic toward the cause, but guess what, it’s your business. You can even have a sign up that keeps a running tally of how many cups you’ve prevented from going into a landfill to make your employees more aware of what they’re doing. Going cold turkey is best, and within a week, no one will even notice the difference.

3. STOP BUYING PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES. There are better ways of having good, cold, clean water available to employees and clients in your office. Get an energy saver fridge with an icemaker, and attach a filter to your kitchen sink and save on having a water cooler or plastic bottles. If you have a water cooler, have employees bring their own cups (just like the coffee mugs). I have one client that refuses to switch from water bottles to a water filter or water cooler, because “the employees like having the portable water bottles to take places.” My answer to that is that everyone has cup holders in their car, so the water is still portable (after all, it’s their cups they’re using). If they want to take water places, there are also reusable water bottles you can bring into the office with even more portability. If you’re really crafty, you can have reusable water bottles made up with your logo on the front to give away to employees and clients that stop by the office. If you’re not as concerned about the environmental aspect, a case of water retails for $6.99 a piece (on the Office Depot website), and a company with 20 employees purchases 12 cases a week (on average). This amounts to a little over $4,300/year. If you’re leasing an office and don’t have a water bill, that is $4,300 (not to mention sales tax) you’ve saved over the course of a year.

4. Turn off the lights when you go to lunch and when you leave for the day. It sounds like such a simple idea, but when I worked in an office with over 20 people, I was amazed that when I stayed in for lunch, when everyone was gone, all their office lights remained on. If you have offices with individual switches, it is obviously much easier to do…Even leaving a post-it note on everyone’s switch reminding them would be something you could do with very little effort.


5. If you’re thinking about building a new office, use an architect that is LEED certified. If you’ve never heard of the acronym, it stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” The architect can help you find ways to save on energy costs and create a sustainable building. If no one in your town or city is doing so, it would be a great way to lead your community. It would also garner you lots of free press in the local media (as a nice bonus).

Once you decide to “go green” (as overused as that phrase has become), publicize your actions to your clients, employees and customers. They will appreciate your efforts and harbor more admiration and loyalty to your company. All it takes is one person to start positive change within a company! Please leave comments on how your company, family, or organization has done something positive for the planet.

How to separate business and friendships

A: Is it even possible to separate business and friendships when you own or operate a small business? After all, a majority of small business revenue is drummed up through referrals from friends or family members. Or perhaps some of your business is friends or family members. Sometimes clients turn into friends.
My philosophy is this:

1. It’s ok to work with family and/or friends.

2. It’s ok to become friends with clients.

3. It’s not ok to pretend like you’re friends with people to turn them into clients.

This philosophy is not without a few guidelines.

Regarding number 1, if you treat these people with the same respect you treat clients/customers you’ve not previously known, there will be no reason to worry about something going sour and causing a rift in your personal relationships. This is only true when reciprocated by the client/customer that starts out as a family member or friend. If you treat all clients and customers as if they were family or friends, your business will only become known as having excellent customer service and keep all clients coming back for more.

K: I think it is great to be upfront with friends/family on how you want your new business relationship handled. Let them know that you have many clients and will treat them with the same respect as you would the others. If a friend or family member thinks they deserve special attention, it is good to get it all out in the open in the beginning.

A: Regarding #2, (it’s ok to become friends with clients), just don’t expect to become friends with ALL of your clients. Sometimes spending long hours on tough projects or coming into contact with a customer for frequent orders provides an inevitable opening for conversations to eventually turn to something other than work. It is ok to do this (in my opinion) and can forge an even stronger bond and loyalty between the two parties. Perhaps you’ll find a new drinking buddy or golfing partner.

For both 1 and 2 the most important rule is to NEVER take people for granted. This means as friends and family OR as a client/customer. If you follow this rule, you should be able to mesh the two with harmony.

Ok, now for #3. Don’t run into someone you had one class with in college and pretend like you were best friends to try and make a sale. You will be more transparent than an albino tadpole. People do not like salespeople or business owners acting as a “friend” first and salesperson second. This approach always rings false and reduces your credibility to below used car salesman status. Just be honest with yourself and the potential client/customer. You don’t even need to mention the class you shared in college. If you approach with honesty and knowledge, it will be a better sales tool than dredging up desperate references to the past.

K: There is no worse feeling than talking to someone who is obviously being fake. This is not to say casual acquaintances shouldn't be acknowledged. Use your judgement wisely and approach with sincerity.

Vector Magic

http://vectormagic.com/

Vector Magic is a great online tool when you to smooth out an image and you don't need or have Adobe Illustrator to do it. The process only takes a few minutes at most to go through the handy guide. I have used it on our actual Marketeers logo and the result was beautiful. This is especially handy if all you have on file is a small jpeg and you need to size the image up for a poster. I highly recommend trying Vector Magic out. Let us know your experience is after you try it out!

Read this Cell Phone Rudees

Taken from Road & Travel Magazine online.
Here's a link to the original: CELL PHONE RUDENESSRules

Here are some basic rules of etiquette for using your cellphone. (Car phone use is another subject.)

First, think of your phone as a tool for emergencies (i.e. the baby sitter to say that your child has made a hole in one of a neighbor kid's head with your nine iron; the hospital to say your father's long-awaited kidney is on the helicopter; your staff to alert you the jury is returning; your neighbor to say Ed McMahon is hovering about your door with a massive rectangle of cardboard.

Second, think of your phone as a portable answering machine. It takes messages and when you are in an appropriate place, say your car BEFORE you unpark it; a park bench far from anyone else; a phone booth (!) no one else wants (phone booths are fairly quiet), etc.

Restaurants:

• Ask if there are special restrictions on phone use.

• Initiate only essential calls.

• Keep conversations brief to terse. Use an at-table call primarily to make an appointment for a more appropriate time for a call-back.

• If you simply must be available you can put your phone on "vibrate" - say for your anticipated dinner companion to tell you that he is caught in traffic like a grape in aspic so have another drink. (If your phone does not have a vibrate capability maybe it's time for a new one.)

• Practice speaking in a quiet conversational tone. If no one looks your way I think you've got it.

Theaters, concerts, meetings etc:

• Check at the entrance to be sure your phone is "off." If you're compulsive, check for voice mail at breaks. (Remember, you used to have to go home to check your messages.)

• If the only time you could get tickets to take the kids to "The Lion King" coincides with the only time a major mucky-muck is available for a conference call, put your phone on "vibrate" close to your heart and dash for the exit at the first tremor.

• If you forget both "off" and "vibrate" and your phone rings, turn it off instantly. (And as unobtrusively as possible so nobody will suspect you are the jerk responsible). No matter what: DO NOT ANSWER IT!

Museums and art galleries:

• Consider the reasons you are in such a place and be there totally. Turn off the phone, or better yet check it with your coat or tote bags.

Someone else's house or office:

• Turn off your phone. If you are expecting a call of extreme importance, ask if it is acceptable that you receive an inaudible signal so you can leave the room to take the call.

Places of Worship:

• Leave the cellphone at home, in the car or at least turn it off before you enter. God may call you but it's unlikely He will use Verizon.

Airline Travel:

• Follow airline personnel instructions. Usually cellphones must be off as soon as the aircraft doors are closed until the doors open again on arrival. (Unless otherwise informed on long apron delays etc.)

• Be particularly diligent if you have a cellphone with you but haven't used it lately. It could be on; there is adequate evidence the electronics within can interfere with those that guide the plane.

Face-to-face with someone:

• Do not talk on the phone while someone is trying to take your order in a restaurant, locate an upgrade for you on an airplane or return the shoes you had half-soled. Attend to the face-to-face business totally even if you have to ask the one on the line to hold. Continuing to use the phone while nodding and signaling to the person in front of you is belittling and so extremely rude I've only seen the obnoxiously self-important do it.

Now here's a thought: Do you really want to be available all the time? Does that truly make you more productive, or does it just spread the productivity thinner over more time?

I once read studies of supermarkets vying to stay open longer than their competition. Then surveys demonstrated that beyond a point they were not necessarily increasing business, but rather spreading it out. And expensively so.

Keep in mind, the more available you make yourself the more available everyone will expect you to be. People will actually be miffed if you are not instantly and constantly available rather than being pleased when you do call.

Think: Do you really need to be - or want to be - "connected" 24/7/365? And ask: what's it doing for that tension across your upper back?

If you can summon the discipline to be unavailable at certain times - and even for uncertain lengths of time - it's doubtful much will change, except your peace of mind. I remember from childhood a friend's mother at an eat-over-supper halting her daughter's urge to jump up and answer the phone. She told her: "If it isn't important you've wasted the effort; if it is important they'll call back."

And that was before answering services or recording devices picked up after a few rings. That phone call was like the tree in an unpeopled forest: it fell and was forgotten, unnoticed forever.
The world still turned.

Business (Namely- Cell Phone) Etiquette

This post should probably not be applicable to any one reading this, however, I feel it needs to be addressed. A few weeks back, I attended a conference with different forums. In one of the forums, at the very end, as one of the speakers was still presenting information to the forum, a man in the audience picked up his cell phone and called someone. This man then proceeded to have an entire (at least 2 minute) conversation on his phone in a normal volume while the person leading the forum was still speaking. Unbelievable!

What do you do in these situations? What is the proper etiquette? Had I been close enough to the man on his phone, would it have been rude of me to ask him to either A.) please continue his conversation outside the room, or B.) get off the phone? Should the speaker have stopped to single this man out instead of ignoring it? Is there a right answer besides giving this rude little man a lobotomy?

The emergence of technology has been able to speed up business and aid in efficiency (see this previous post). However, it has also created a distraction from other human beings.

Another example of what I deem to be rude occurred at a luncheon just last week. I was sitting at a table with several strangers listening to a speaker give a presentation. Granted, the speaker wasn't exactly enthralling, but nonetheless, still standing up in front of a large crowd exerting energy and attempting to inform all of us. 3 out of the 5 other people at the table were checking their email or text messaging others the entire time. By entire time, I mean half an hour. That's a lot of time to be diddling with your cell phone. You might think, well, Amber's young, she was probably at a luncheon with other "younger" people who get distracted easily and rely on technology more than older, more respectable adults. This was not the case. These men (yes, they were all male) were in the age range of 45-60 and couldn't look up from their blackberries for most of the presentation.


I hate to sound like Debbie Downer on this issue (wah, wah...), but if I had taken time out of my day to speak in front of either one of those crowds and had noticed that people were talking or checking email the whole time, I would be truly disappointed and probably a little angry. When did it become acceptable for us to blatantly ignore others giving their time to us?

Please share your thoughts and experiences on this issue.

Lollipops and Lessons

K: First off, I am a huge fan of John & Kate plus 8. If you have never heard of this show, it is about how a family deals with having a set of twins and a set of sextuplets. Yup John & Kate have 8 children who only vary in age by 3 years. Ok now for my point: I've been hearing the mom, Kate, talk about how she doesn't feed her kids candy, except for organic lollipops. Really, someone is making good candy?

They are giving a free tasting April 22nd, Earth Day, at Linens-N-Things.

Yes, it seems the candy market is finding a new branch of targets: concerned parents. Even regular candy is trying to reinvent itself with a "no we aren't that bad for you" spin.

You can now find "All natural flavors" written on packaging, but really what does that mean? How do you market something that is inherently bad for you, (sugar filled candy) to a market that shouldn't really have it (kids). Change the way parents perceive it. The organic lollipops really are much healthier, but as for regular candy with new packaging the hype is unreal.

A: How does that translate to your business? You can learn a lesson on good business practices through the adaptation of a certain product to make it better (in this case, healthier). The concept that candy can be healthy is certainly unrealistic in my book, but at least the creators of the product saw a niche that needed to be filled, and jumped at the chance. The marketing of the product seems to be done in a responsible way (not making any crazy health claims, just producing a better alternative to traditional candies).

Adapting to the market is a way to stay ahead of competitors that insist on doing things "the way they've always been done," and showing your customers that you do pay attention to what they need and want. Adaptation--if done well, can get you lots of free press (therefore additional customers), respect, and push the value of your company to higher levels.

However, it is also a lesson in what NOT to do when coming up with a marketing campaign or developing your core marketing concepts. Do not give customers expectations about your product that don't exist (for example, claiming a lotion is 100% natural if it has weird chemical names that no one else can pronounce in the ingredient list). Customers will get hip to your scheme very quickly and put you out of business.

Do not give guarantees you can't live up to. Remember the Domino's guarantee that your pizza would be delivered in 30 minutes or it would be free? Delivery drivers were wrecking like crazy trying to make the deliveries on time and Domino's ended up having to settle LOTS of lawsuits with a few people even being killed by delivery drivers. In the end, Domino's had to discontinue the guarantee and do a lot of apologizing, and shell out a lot of cash. Now, their guarantee is for the quality of the pizza rather than the timing of it (which is what customers expect anyway).

Marketing should be an offshoot of your business's core principles and practices. If the heart of your business is unhealthy, your marketing will not be able to repair that. Honesty is the best policy, and if you don't truly believe in the product or service your offering, it's probably best you found a new career.

Why Houston is so Awesome

Why I love being a Houstonian.
-Be sure to click on all the links to see all of the commercials.
Enjoy!

Blogs, PR and Misspent Marketing dollars

Taken from: Element Fusion's company blog. *Everything in italic is from their blog, the regular text are my comments on the post.

Let me start by saying that I don't necessarily agree with the way this particular company manages their blog. First of all, a blog shouldn't have continuous, shameless plugs (the links within the blog posting that connect the reader to different parts of the company website) throughout the blog. A blog, in my humble opinion, is about building a relationship and credibility with your clients, your industry, and your peers. It should be more about offering up commentary on industry practices, information that would help out your clients (or potential clients), or a way to entertain.

That being said, I do actually like a lot of the points the blog author covers.

Read the original post here.

• Spend less money on word of mouth marketing; spend more money creating something worth talking about.

It is very true that a lot of smaller businesses (and large corporations, for that matter) get caught up in the details of a campaign rather than creating a product that is worth the hype. A good product for a good deal will always generate loyal, repeat customers that help spread the word (which is much cheaper than paying for airtime on television or radio, and also offers more credibility).

• Don’t create printed product brochures; create online case studies.
  

I have to disagree with this point in the fact that not all industries need online case studies (or any case studies). On another note, not all companies need printed product brochures. This one could go either way.

• Get over the power trip that compels you to control your message and manipulate your client; build a great product that compels your clients to become your evangelists.

I think this is a statement goes a little too far with the power trip and manipulating your client aspects. I believe that most independently run businesses and more and more corporations are joining the "we are a morally sound, founded in principles" bandwagon that prevents them from participating in manipulative marketing in the first place. The second part of the statement is essentially a re-wording of the first statement (which I 100% agree with).

• Don’t buy media; buy minds.

This just sounds creepy and reminds me of the scene in The Matrix when Keanu Reeves awakes in a vat of mucus and rips the cords out of the back of his head.

• Don’t waste your money on focus groups; talk to your real customers—better yet, spend the money to go visit them and watch them using your product for real.

Great point! I couldn't agree more.

• Don’t place print ads; create training articles instead.

Once again, a great tip, but industry-specific. Also, print ads in very targeted publications will be cheaper and can be used to point potential clients/customers to your training articles (if you have an online archive).

• Don’t hire a PR firm; start blogging. Let your employees and client advocates blog for you. Don’t be afraid to deal with a little bit of negativity in blog comments—instead use it as an opportunity to show how you really listen to your clients and then make improvements based on their recommendations.

In my opinion, a blog will NEVER take the place of good PR. A blog is just another tool in the PR toolbox. For instance, an opportunity to speak about your product in a newspaper article or on a local news program will result in much more credibility and direct sales of your product than any blog post. When used in conjunction with a website, ad campaign, or guerilla marketing, a blog can be a great asset to any company, but shouldn't take the place of a PR consultant or employee.

• Don’t talk about how you are better than your competition; talk about what you’ve learned from your competition.

Also, very good. You should be able to take what you learn from competition, put it into everyday services, products, customer service and SHOW how you're better than the competition with actions instead of mere words.

Hidden Business Tools

It all started with a trip to my local library after I moved to Houston. I was looking for business reference books to do some market research (yes, I'm a dork). I walked into the tiny round building, appropriately named Ring Branch Library, a half mile down the street, and I must have looked utterly out of place. Immediately, the reference librarian asked me if I needed help. Did I look that baffled?

It had been at least 4-5 years since I'd stepped foot in a library of any sort, so I'd forgotten how to use the Dewey Decimal System, what reference books were appropriate for my research, how to check out a book, and generally all things dealing with properly navigating a library. After all, it's been at least 2 decades since I took the "using the library" class in elementary school.

With the help of The Great Librarian, as I affectionately refer to her now, I was shocked to find that most of the resources I needed were easily accessible from my home computer with nothing more than the number on the back of my shiny, new library card.

I discovered a whole new (free of charge) world at my fingertips with everything from reference articles on ANY subject, business databases with profiles, financial data, market research, etc., to foreign language tools like Rosetta Stone.

These databases were much easier to navigate than filtering through 1.5 million results from a google search, and all the information was much more refined and relevant to the research at hand (which, I guess, is the point of the whole thing).

As I was leaving the library equipped with my new (did I mention it was FREE) arsenal of small business research heaven, The Great Librarian waved goodbye and sent me off with a, "Good luck on your research paper," but I won't hold that against her...the same way I don't mind showing my ID every time I attempt to purchase an adult beverage. Just stay out of the sun and drink lots of water and you too can look forever 17.

So, in essence--if you don't have access to your local library or a library card, run--don't walk to get one as soon as possible. When you take care of that, don't hesitate to ask what tools are available to you as a business owner (or employee of a business). You'll no doubt be shocked to find out that you have databases and tools that would normally cost lots of money without your new, members only access.

Other helpful free tools:
Google documents-when working on a project with a client, this was brought to my attention. It is a great tool for businesses working with consultants that either aren't onsite, or when data needs to be entered by 2 or more individuals working on the same projects at the same time. If you have employees that work from home or a separate location, it is great to be able to share these documents without having to email them back and forth to edit.

Google alerts-You type in a phrase or even your company name (to check for copyright or trademark infringements perhaps) and google will send any and all instances of that word or phrase to your email. You can keep track of clients and what is being put on the web, keep track of potential clients, track trends in your industry, or even keep up to date with your competitors.

I'm sure there's plenty more free tools, but I have work to do and this blog post is getting pretty lengthy, so please leave comments on some business tools you've found useful.

So, we've been out of town, busy cooking chili, and catching up with clients (hence the delay in blog posts). That being said, we've learned several things about client/consultant relationships and what works best between the two.

If you have a consultant of any kind, here are a few tips to keep their services valuable, saving you and them time and money.

1. When ANYTHING changes within the scope of services agreed upon by both parties, always contact your consultant immediately. This will prevent you from being billed for hours that go toward irrelevant tasks. Keeping communication open is key. However, it is important to realize that if you are billed for irrelevant tasks when it was your communication lapse that caused this, the consultant did the work as originally agreed upon and you should not punish them by withholding payment on these hours.

2. Have your information (whether it be technical information, history of your company, or other specific info that your consultant may not be privy to prior to working with your company) readily available and easily accessible. If it's not organized before the consultant is on board, perhaps it would be an excuse to put this information into a nice package for future use as well.

3. Be available. As #1 states, communication is the most important part of working with a consultant. You can't expect a consultant to read your mind just because you're too busy to bother with the project you handed off. It's better to either tell your consultant to hold off until you have time to discuss it (to reduce billable hours to your company) or to continue on the path that was discussed in the first place. No matter what, return all phone calls and emails within a reasonable amount of time.

4. Be open-minded. You hired a consultant because you either don't have the need or the budget to have a full-time employee to do the job. Trust that the consultant has the experience and the knowledge to come up with some great ideas/projects. Also know that the consultant will and should be 100% accountable for the hours billed. In a way, it's almost better to have a good consultant some of the time, where 100% of the billable time is going toward your project rather than a full time employee (no matter how well-intentioned) with about 65% of their time being utilized on pure work issues.

Think of your consultants as extensions of your company, very qualified, highly efficient extensions.

By following these 4 essential principles, you'll be able to get the largest return on your consultant investments.

Chili Cook Off!

LEAP Engineering, LLC took home 4th place in 10th Annual Boy Scouts Chili Cook Off! The following are pictures from the event. Community involvement marketing not only helps your business recognition, but also helps your employees bond as a team! This LEAP decided to use a new recipe and the risk paid off. The sweet and yet VERY spicy chili was a favorite among many participants including the LEAP team themselves. Without the hard of the individuals who set up, cooked, chopped, steamed, and served this event would not have been possible.




Here we have Nick browning the meat at 8AM!


The chili was so hot it kind of started melting away the cups. Oh well people just learned to eat their chili FAST! Since LEAP's booth was lost a bit among the corner booths, Dawn (pictured left) and I took upon ourselves to take the chili to the masses. Yup, I went out into the crowds and offered up more chili!





And of course, the kids enjoyed themselves as well. The event was very well planned with train and monster truck rides to amuse both children and adults.

Do you rule technology or does technology rule you?

A website I frequent daily, Lifehacker, has increased my interest into technology thrice fold since I stumbled upon it. It is updated all day long with the new software programs or gadgets to help make your life easier. I'll admit I have tried out a ton of new software because I thought it was needed. (It's funny how that stuff works.. you never know you needed something until someone makes it!) But I digress.

I still find myself carrying around a journal in the car and having a separate one for my work desk because I love to write stuff down. I am a pen multi color highlighter junkie and I love to brainstorm by putting my thoughts on paper. I love paper too. It is something about the writing process that gets my hamster to spin that wheel. I know some people who love to type. They were pretty much born with a keyboard in their hands. They cite reasons, such as "my handwriting wouldn't be legible if I wrote it out" or "it's just faster this way." I could never lead a paperless life.

Personally I have to back away from the computer from time to time. I notice I get frustrated with programs and their lack of efficiency they pose on my work day. I spent an hour and half yesterday trying to transfer pictures off my camera to external hard drive only to find out what I originally formatted the hard drive for isn't compatible with both Mac and PC systems. How does that make life easier? I could have used a 35mm film camera and stored away my pics and negatives within an hour and been done.

But, there are some technology advances I wouldn't want to live without. For example, I need to have my email organized. Outlook has done that for me in the past, but currently I'm looking into other ventures since it seems Outlook may not be able to keep up with me. I love the Instant Messenger in every way, shape or form. I can have direct contact without having to dial someone up or leaving my desk. I know this seems insane that years after its invention I'm still praising it, but seriously can you imagine what your day would be like with out it? (I do know many people DO NOT use it, but that question was rhetorically for the people who do use it heavily.)

We have become addicted to it. Looking at my desk right now I see an iPod, and cell phone (that is never turned off, only rebooted), the most fancy desk phone I've ever used, two computers, and oh yes the good ole' jump drive. (not to mention the fan I have circulating behind me because the office is way hot today!)

So I ask you, dear readers, to post in the comments what software or gadgets you have noticed you either can't live without or would rather throw down the trash.

Meaningless Wordage

When asked why your company/service/product is better than the competition the standard answer always seems to include the words: innovation, experience, or quality. All of these adjectives may or may not accurately describe what you’re trying to get across, but how do those words show the difference between you and your competition? It’s not the meaning of the words that I have a problem with, just the mediocre descriptions of companies using those words…


Innovation:
This is the most overused word within the realm of marketing and business. By definition innovate means to introduce something new; make changes in anything established (according to dictionary.com). It’s like saying “we don’t exactly know what it is we do, so we use fancy words that don’t really mean anything to try and impress you…” Innovation could mean that you just got an iPod, that you designed a prototype for NASA, or that you’ve recently discovered that employees perform better when wearing green leotards and tap dancing to Gershwin tunes. In other words, be specific about why you think you’re innovative. Give examples of improvements you’ve made to services or products and explain why they kick ass.



Experience:
Sometimes experience can cause companies to get lazy, fail to evolve with the market, rely too heavily on past experiences instead of continually growing and searching out new ways to improve their products or services. What experiences have shaped who you are, how have you adapted to changes? Sharing failures and how you’ve overcome them show that you know how to utilize your experience for the greater good of your company, and therefore your clients’ companies as well.

Now that I’ve gone on too long about my hatred of hollow marketing words, I don’t have space (or the interest of you, the reader) to complain about the word “quality,” but you probably get my point by now.

K: I will say this about the word quality: Most companies who use it don't have it.

To recap: when describing your services, products, or company in general, lean toward more specific examples of how you’re innovative, have more experience, or have a higher quality product. It will mean more to your clients, customers and your bottom line. It also forces you to delve into your strengths, and the differences between you and the competition, which is a great start to any good marketing.


Below is IBM's take on empty marketing terms. I applaud this entire campaign.





K: Personally I love the Nissan campaign Shift_Your World. I believe they thought out the useless word box and made a montage of words and images to create a stunning and clever campaign.

Companies using Valentines day as a marketing opp.

A: As promised, but not exactly in the same terms, here is a list of marketing promotions this Valentine's day that we found somewhat creative...Well, as creative as you can get amongst heart shaped food items, sexual innuendo and regular, everyday items turned pink and red for one day out of the entire year. I personally couldn't find many well executed viral marketing campaigns, so you're left with these mediocre promotions/campaigns. So, grab a handful of green M&Ms and delve into the abyss of 2008's Valetine promos.


As mentioned before, here is M&Ms viral mini-site. This is one of my top 2 pics for best Valentine's day marketing. A nice departure from all the pink and red this season!

Almost everyone of these promotions involve food of some kind...including these heart shaped salmon steaks. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and apparently it's a little easier to get there with a heart shaped filet-o-fish.


K: I'd rather cook these steaks than eat a box of chocolates myself. I really appreciate the effort this company put in making the steaks special.


A: Forget the golden ticket from Willy Wonka, meet the Godiva gift box with a winner spending the night in Bryant Park hotel, NYC. Not that exciting you think? How about if that hotel room was made almost entirely of, none other than...Godiva Chocolate? A pretty creative idea, but my only question is, do you get charged if the chocolate clogs the bathtub jets?

K: Chocolate overload!

A: So guys, want to take your significant other on a nice dinner date, but don't want to drop a small fortune in the process? Take her (or him--we don't judge) to White Castle. I wonder if you'll have to order pomme frites instead of french fries.

K: Also check on the website that reservations have to be made!

A: As I was continuing on my path down writers' block this afternoon (due to a lack of truly innovative Valentines campaigns), I checked my mail. The first thing I see on my weekly pile-o-junk-coupon-overload-mail insert was a heart shaped pizza. Papa John's is offering heart shaped pies for the big day. Frat boys everywhere will be jamming Papa John's phone lines, stocking up on Boone's farm, and raiding Blockbuster for any any romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore tomorrow.

K: I absolutely love this idea. What's even better is the website has videos of the creator of Papa Johns showing how the pizza is made. You even pre-order your pizza days in advance. Papa Johns is really taking their pizza sales to new online frontiers.

A: As if pizza wasn't enough, you can actually start tomorrow off with a big giant, you-guessed-it, heart shaped donut tomorrow. Krispy Kreme didn't want to be outdone in the heart shaped food arena, so it came up with this ingenious idea. Nothing like fat, starch and sugar to get you in the mood for love.

The final, and my favorite of all the heart shaped, Valentine's themed campaigns was a site where you can put your own spin on candy hearts and send them to the one you love, or hate. Depending on your mood, or what you'd like your hearts to say. There's no filter for dirty words, so knock yourself out.

That being said, please come up with some interesting Valentine's marketing for next year, so I can have more fun blogging about your company and how you've got mad marketing skillz, yo.