Make Your Marketing Personal

Creative Business Ideas, Products

Many Good Ideas Sneakers

It used to be that only big companies could afford to create a marketing message that was highly visible: newspaper ads, direct mail, television, radio, skywriting, sponsorships, etc. But modern technology allows people to create one-offs inexpensively: email blasts, your own ink-jet printer, local digital printing, or even personal 3D fabricators.

These modern fabrications allow you to more easily create guerrilla marketing messages – putting your message in places people would not have previously considered. Initially, this will be fun and innovative. And as more businesses copy the idea, it’ll become annoying unless the message is well-targeted to the proper audience.

If no one else is doing this in your business niche, lead. If others are doing it, do not simply copy their idea. Do something remarkable. For example, donate to a sponsored charity for everyone that comments on your marketing message. Or, if everyone else is filling banners with lots of words, put up a blank banner with a small message (“Talk is cheap. Watch my actions.”).

Asides:

  • Neil Gershenfeld described this phenomenon in a 2006 TED Talk.
  • Zazzle.com has a wide variety of products you can customize for do-it-yourself-ers.
  • If you need a recommendation for professionals who can help create high-quality custom products at an affordable price, contact me.

Buy•ology

Book Reviews

Buy Buy•ology

Marketing is not yet a science, which means that there’s no guarantee that “if you take this action, you’ll get this result”. You may have a lot of anecdotal knowledge and strong hunches on what will get results. However, if you don’t understand how people react to your message, you are likely to be guessing.

The new field of neuromarketing is attempting to understand how people react to marketing messages. While you can segment your lists and split test, you are spending time (and money) trying to tease out what action produces what reaction.

Buy•ology is similar to Predictably Irrational, which attempts to unravel why people react the way they do to marketing message. However, Buy•ology’s premise is by studying the brain (fMRI and EEG) you can understand how a message gets processed (and by extrapolation, what reaction it’s likely to cause).

While the book doesn’t contain any keys for adjusting your own marketing, it does contain a number of fascinating stories about what works (and doesn’t):

  • Graphic warnings about the dangers of smoking actually increases the desire to smoke.
  • How product placements that are seamlessly integrated into a show work magnificently.
  • How “mirror neurons” cause us to unconsciously want to mimic people around us
  • How subliminal messaging can be used to shift our emotional state
  • How somatic markers trigger our irrational choices for products
  • Why sexual imagery doesn’t always sell
  • What religion can teach us about improving branding (feelings of belonging, clear vision, an enemy, sensory appeal, storytelling, grandeur, symbolism, and mystery)

Business With Passion: Cynthia Glinka

Videos

Trailer:

The San Francisco Bay Area social dance scene wouldn’t be the same without the influence of Cynthia Glinka. Dance coach, choreographer and entertainer, Cynthia brings expertise, skill and enthusiasm for social dance to all ages and a variety of events.

Her success with pre-teens is unmatched through her Manners in Motion series. Cynthia is founder and creative director of RejuveDance, promoting social dance as a path to physical, mental and emotional health and wellness. Her various dance programs for all ages have been featured at social and corporate affairs locally and abroad and through private and group lessons. Glinka prepares wedding couples for their “first dance.”

Cynthia has served as choreographer for several Hollywood films, has appeared in national television commercials, documentaries and theatrical productions.

Website: www.DanceWithGlinka.com

Email: cynthia@dancewithglinka.com

Phone: (415) 485-5500

Business With Passion TV Show Logo

Animal Rights NGO in India Needs Name Ideas

Clubs + Associations, Names + Taglines, Starting Out

Could you suggest some domain names and website names for a new about to launch Animal Rights NGO in India? I wanted to launch a free website and i want a name that is easy, catchy and genuine. The basic details are given below :

What type of animals are you targeting ?
All those animals which we see around …. for more deeper research and investigations we do plan to move all around but after some time…
Currently we would target some basic animals which are the target of a very cruel and illogical philosophy i.e. SLAUGHTERING in the name of certain religious ceremony here in India. the targeted animals are : BUFFALO, COW and GOATS. Besides these we also plan to work and cure stray and street dogs and cats .

What area of India ?
At present we will focus on our home town GUWAHATI. Its a small city from ASSAM which is a Beautiful state in the North Eastern part of our country India.

What’s the problem the animals are currently facing and what do you hope to do about it ?
The basic problem is the one I mentioned above which is unfortunately growing irrespective of many protests and requests. Its a shame in the name of our culture and people in power practice such ceremonies to gain power and reputation. its a difficult job to overpower these monsters but the initial steps were encouraging … the local mayor, the chief of state police and a few Ministers and bureaucrats have started supporting us… it might be just a new political tool for them to overpower their oppositions but it has definitely helped us a lot … financial and power packed infrastructural support from them in the future would be very helpful to expand our horizons.

Do you already have a name for the NGO ?
No, its just the beginning and thus we just want you to provide us a Title that besides being catchy, easy and genuine …. also sounds universal and doesn’t restrict it to a particular region. Needless to say that the web site and the NGO would have the same name.

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Jay’s Answer: Here are some names for your consideration. Hopefully they’ll inspire your thinking:

Focusing on stopping an attitude:

  • Stop The Sacrifice
  • Stop The Slaughter

Focusing on modernizing a behavior:

  • 21st Century Animal Ceremonies
  • Updating Religious Sacrifices

Focusing on the purpose of your work:

  • Assam Animal Rescue

How Do You Stay Close To Your Most Loyal Customers In A Down Economy?

Publicity

I’ve read that in tough economic times, it’s your most loyal customers you should stay close to. But how do you keep these relationships strong, exactly? And why is that seen as the most important target for your selling efforts in a down economy?

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Jay’s Answer: You become a leader.

Instead of keeping your marketing message the same (“We have product X that’s perfect for solving Y”), show people that your offerings actually anticipate their needs. This means that you’ll want to shift your focus from being customer-focused (where you respond to their requests) to being future-focused.

If you’re in business long enough, it’s easy to become customer-focused — just like your competitors. Everyone is showing how they are more customer-focused. That’s a reactive model.

You want to show that your company understands needs that they’re currently unaware of, and in these economic times, give them hope that you can both solve these needs and lead them to a stronger ROI. To project strong leadership, showcase your company’s history (building trust) and show how you’ve led in the past and how you’ll continue to innovate in the future.

As you know, it’s much easier keeping existing clients than acquiring new ones. That’s why you want to keep in touch with your existing clients no matter what the economic situtation is.

As businesses struggle, they are suddenly more interested in new options, vendors, solutions, and information, especially if there’s a clear benefit to them. So besides your loyal customers (who already trust you), re-examine your offerings to see if there are new niches that you can additionally target. Your past successes will help strengthen your message into these areas.

Is This a Good Name For My Construction Company?

Names + Taglines

Would Allsort construction be a good and sufficient construction name for a company?

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Jay’s Answer: Names for businesses fall into one of two categories: abstract or concrete names.

Abstract names (such as Nike, Coke, or Apple) don’t tell prospective clients anything about what they do, and instead need to spend time (and money) educating prospects about the name’s meaning. The advantage of abstract names is flexibility (in case the business model should change) and uniqueness.

Concrete names (Joe’s Auto Repair, South China Seas Restaurant, etc.) describe what the business does. As a result, less branding is needed to tell people about the company.

But what is the right name (once you’ve decided on the category)? The answer is the one that appeals to your prospective clients.

Allsort Construction does tell me that you’re in the construction business. But it doesn’t tell me if you specialize in anything. Perhaps “Allsort” means that you’ll do all sorts of construction, and don’t really have a specialty. If so, then Allsort does say that clearly. (Aside: being able to do any sort of job means to the average person that you don’t do any one thing very well – you’re the jack-of-all-trades, but perhaps the master of none. People looking to hire someone first looks to the specialist, the person who does a specific type of work regularly, not just occasionally).

However, is Allsort is good name? I don’t believe it is, but mostly not because of the name but because of your marketing “strategy”. As I tell my clients, a name is one of the last things a business needs. What it needs first is to clearly identify who the target customer is, where they’re located, what problem of theirs do you solve, what makes your solution/offering better than your competition, and why they should trust you. Once you’ve articulated this, then you’re well on your way to creating a name that both is memorable and effective.

How Can I Find New House Painting Leads?

Publicity, Services

I am having problems finding new leads for new customers and have tried flyers and other things any thing to suggest?

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Jay’s Answer: Find local (highly visible) homes that have large side areas. Offer to paint their home for free (or deeply discounted), in exchange for the following: You use the side of their home as a billboard, initially painting your message (perhaps changing weekly), and slowly covering it up as you finish up. A clever message (that changes) could be a great way to get people talking about you.

How To Market My Short Film?

eMarketing, Starting Out

I am starting a production company and have a 10 minute short film that I want to market and sell for download what is the best way to market?

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Jay’s Answer: Perhaps the simplest way would be to create a 1-minute short of your film, and upload it to the various free video sites (YouTube, etc.). The short gives a sample of the movie, perhaps with some testimonials, but with your website featured prominently.

Your website itself will have the short, plus stills from the movie, and more testimonials (on why it’s such a great movie, who learned what from it, etc.). If you have supporting material (blog, ebook, etc.) you can attempt to build a network around the movie, providing something of value.

Lastly, don’t overlook selling it on iTunes, Amazon, etc.

How To Advertise My Life Advisor Business?

eMarketing, Starting Out

I am a Life Advisor with years of experience helping families, teenagers, co-workers, and executives on Wall Street with life issues. I have a good reputation with my clients who continue to use my services. Now I have my Life Advisor business on line were you pay a fee for one e-mail and I respond to the question within 24hrs. I need ideas on how to market my business to all people in person and on line.

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Jay’s Answer: You have a big challenge. The internet is full of people who are happy to answer questions (for free) on a wide variety of topics. To get people to pay for your services, you need to show them that your information is not just worth it – it’s a huge bargain. You’ll need to build your testimonials on your website to show the types of people/problems you’ve helped with (and their concrete results).

Once that’s all in place, you start by working the network of past clients (perhaps creating an monthly online newsletter about live issues in general, etc.). Your website needs an opt-in form to receive the newsletter so you can regularly reach out to people who are interested in you and your offering.

As for in-person, you don’t want to mention the email route initially. Why? Because you’re standing in front of them – human-to-human. Keep this connection alive by telling them about how you help people. And if they’re interested, they’ll ask about your services. Then you mention email as an option.

How To Launch Herbal Products With a Small Budget?

Starting Out

We are very shortly launching around 10-12 products in the cosmetic Herbal range in India and have a shoestring budget to work with. What is the best way to go about entering the market. We already have some medicines running in the Rural Market but without any advertising majorly. Its doing quite nicely for now and now we want to expand into cosmetics.


Should we first go for advertising and then launch products
OR
do we first launch products and then advertise
OR
Do we first try and get some distributors and then let them go ahead with the whole thing by offering them a Bulk Discount.

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Jay’s Answer: It all comes down to identifying the type of person you believe will be your ideal customer, then finding ways to communicate your product’s unique benefits to them (a marketing strategy).

First, who are your ideal customers? Women? How old? Living where? Single or married? Social class? What products do they already use? Why do they like/dislike them?

Next, why should your ideal customers believe your products are better than your competitors? Why should they trust your claims?

If you don’t have the budget to advertise to the customers yourself, then you really only have one choice: finding other people who already are in conversation with your ideal customer and teaching them why your product should be the customers #1 choice.