All posts by Jay

Business With Passion: Anachronisms

Videos

Trailer:

Episode theme: People whose old-fashioned businesses would seem to have no place in our modern culture.

Andrew Hoyem founded Arion Press in 1974. Considered one of the most accomplished printers of today, Hoyem is also a published poet and exhibited artist who occasionally includes his own writings and drawings in Arion books. The concepts for all Arion publications originate with Hoyem, who chooses literary texts, commissions new work from writers and artists he admires, and designs the books, including their bindings and typography.

Contact: arionpress@arionpress.com
Website: www.arionpress.com
Phone: (415) 668-2542

Art Rogers has been helping families tell their stories with photographs since 1975. In his Point Reyes Station studio and in the homes and gardens of those he pictures, he crafts museum-quality portraits to capture the special moments every family cherishes. By returning to photograph the same people in the same setting years later, he helps create family history in a very personal way. These portraits transform yesterday and today into stories about generations. The result is a work of art that celebrates change and preserves the passage of time.

Contact: artrogers@mindspring.com
Website: www.artrogers.com
Phone: (415) 663·8345

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Need Tagline For Summer Program

Names + Taglines

I need your great mind to come up with a tag line for an educational summer program titled Quantum Leap. The program is offered for school aged children 11-17 that are in an accelerated curriculum. It is an enrichment program for students exceed in standard school curriculum and are currently placed in AP course work . Students will use creativity and team work to build and design, and discuss world events past and current and how outcomes may have been changed, These kids are known to be out of the box thinkers. There is no marketing for this as kids apply and are selected based upon grades, standard test scores, essays, and teacher recommendation.

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Jay’s Answer:

  • Jump To The Head of the Class
  • Travel Beyond Your Peers
  • Short-Term Learning That’ll Last a Lifetime

 

Need A Name For Corporate Wellness Program

Names + Taglines

I work for an aerospace company. We do spacecraft parts and airplane parts distribution, and service for airplane. I am one of the individuals who have been chosen to create a corporate wellness program and we need a title for this. Any suggestions for something catchy that can be tied into our business?

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Jay’s Answer:

  • Top Flight Wellness
  • Level 30 Wellness
  • Take Off With Wellness

How To Increase The Footfall In A Seminar

Publicity

I am from a Stock Market Trading company. I am planning to launch our new service related product whereby, people who become our member will be getting some incentive based income. And this product launch I am planning is through a seminar where I can get people who are really interested to listen and decide. Please suggest on how to increase the footfall in a seminar apart from the activities like advertisement, Radio, SMS, Emails, Telecalling, Road side Banners, etc. through which I can get the maximum people attending this event. I am conducting in a Urban & Semi-Urban city of Gujarat, India.

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Jay’s Answer: Focus on bringing in a small, well-connected group of individuals with the goal of generating word-of-mouth. Likewise, create social media (i.e., Facebook) groups to facilitate people to find you and spread interest of your seminar/product.

Create Your Business Video Easily With Slideshows

Creative Business Ideas, Videos

Business Video Tips

Photo by Jurvetson

I was talking with a client the other day who was interested in making a video for their website, but was concerned about cost/effort necessary. They knew that people watch video voraciously, and they wanted a video, but wasn’t sure they they could make something that they loved.

One simple technique is to take a series of photos of you (or your business) “in action” to show the key visual points to highlight. Then, write a voice over script so people can hear your voice and your visuals. You won’t need any fancy camera gear (just your digital camera), any fancy lighting, a video crew, or even fancy microphones (you can probably get by with the built-in mic in your computer – or invest in an inexpensive USB microphone/headset).

Next: sequence your slideshow using your computer’s software. You could use Microsoft PowerPoint

or Macintosh iWorks’ Keynote:

or, if you’re familiar with video editing software iMovie (Macintosh) or VideoSpin (Windows). Odds are, you have at least one of these programs on your computer already.

After recording the video, consider distribution. You could host the video (keep the file) on your website, upload it to a video sharing service (such as YouTube) and then embed the video onto your website, or even embed it into your emails (either directly or place a link to the video in the email). Because video is well-received, make sure it’s also easy to find by composing a well-written description of the video for search engine’s sake.

As with any new project, start small and gradually improve the quality and content of your work. Don’t try to create a masterpiece initially – you’ll need time to learn what works for you and your customers.

Selling The Dream

Creative Business Ideas

Selling The Dream

Photo by Riza Nugraha

While you think you’re selling products or services, your customers aren’t buying for the reasons you’re imagining. People don’t want to buy a new car, a new website, a manicure, a massage, or a new marketing campaign. People ultimately are trying to fulfill their dream.

People’s dreams revolve around the basic core human drives: acquisition (desire to collect), bonding (desire to love & feel valued), emotion (desire to have pleasurable experiences) , learning (desire to satisfy curiosity and mastery), and safety (desire to protect ourselves and those we care about).

To capture people’s attention, you need to tie your offering to one (or more) of these human drives/dreams. Instead of selling a new car, market the feeling of the ride or sell the “sex-appeal” of the car. Instead of selling a website, market the ease of making (or acquiring) new business friends.

Fulfilling a dream is about feeding the senses (I described this in depth in depth in my previous article: Scratch The Surface Of Your Marketing). You want people to be able to “try on” the dream, so involve the senses to invoke emotion. For example, instead of selling a house, you’re selling the dream of living in a beautiful and safe environment for your family. The air smells fresher. At night, you can hear the crickets. The colors of the hills vibrate with life. There’s lots of room to share delicious meals with your friends in your backyard.

When crafting your marketing message, first share the dream, then show how your offerings will get your prospective customers closer to it.

Title For A Nutrition Talk To The Public

Names + Taglines

I am a dietitian holding a talk on Super Foods to the community. Need a catchy title for us to advertise the talk. Needs to be something to draw people there. Super foods would be healthy and full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

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Jay’s Answer:

  • Eat Better. Get Better.
  • Can Food Help Your Body Heal?

Name my Bridal Consultancy!

Names + Taglines, Starting Out

I am in the process of starting my own Bridal Consultant/Wedding Planning business and need to come up with a catchy name/tagline.  I’m sure you have heard this before but I am so stumped on a name that everyone else has not used.

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Jay’s Answer: The fantasy is that a catchy name/tagline will start your business off with a “bang”. The name will suddenly get people to pay attention to your business, remember its name, tell all their friends about it, and flood you with more business than you can handle. It’s a fantasy.

Sure, a great name is important. But a great name doesn’t arise because you want something catchy. A great name is created from knowing exactly who you’re targeting, what problem of theirs you solve, what makes you better, etc. This is the essence of a marketing strategy. Without it, you’ll print up a bunch of business cards, create a website, maybe even get a business license and lease a building and..wait for people to show up and throw their money at you.

I can create all sorts of names that are catchy/unique, but if they don’t fit who you’re targeting, you’re starting with a deficit. For example, if you named your business “White Dreams” it won’t tell people much. But instead if you called your business “Phoenix Bridal Consultants” then people would understand who you’re targeting (brides located in Phoenix-area). That’s just one simple example.

Business With Passion: Fun & Games

Videos

Trailer:

Episode theme: Guests who make a living infusing more fun & games into people’s lives.

Dan Zelinsky (a fifth generation San Franciscan) is the owner of Musée Mécanique – one of the world’s largest (over 200) privately owned collection of coin-operated mechanical musical instruments and antique arcade machines in their original working condition – all of which can be played by visitors. Peep shows (early San Francisco scenes/bawdy comedy), fortune tellers, photo booth, and several games of chance and skill are among the many arcade attractions with several nickelodeons, music boxes and the original mechanical farm. A hand crafted carnival is fully automated… dozens of fascinating attractions and distractions including a sensational 1914 San Francisco exposition gypsy fortune teller. And of course, Laughing Sal. Any worn or broken parts are manufactured on the premises and most repairs are done in house by the Musée Mécanique staff. He can often be found roller skating inside the arcade.

Contact: dan@museemecaniquesf.com
Phone: (415) 346-2000

Michael McGinnis is an artist and inventor of Perplexus – a complex, 3-dimensional labyrinth that can be traced by a ball bearing. Working on Superplexus and its derivatives is a lifelong passion. Michael has an MFA in sculpture and teaches at Santa Rosa Junior College, where he is also the Art Gallery Exhibits Specialist.

Contact: mmcginnis@santarosa.edu

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How To Find The Best Market…Cheaply?

Starting Out

I got so much pressure from my boss who expect me to make sale on his new product to hit the goal within one month. Do you have any suggestion how to find the market with low cost budget?
PS. My product is POS Program for restaurant business

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Jay’s Answer: I’d start by first examining the sales goal itself. How did it arise? What were the assumptions in number of new clients vs. upgrading clients? What was the average sale amount for each? What was the average days-to-sale? Is this based on historical data for your company or a hopeful estimate?

Next, how well defined is your target market and how well positioned is your new product to achieve the needs of your market relative to your competition? Is it measurably better (and with a measurably lower risk of adoption)? What’s the long-term vs. short-term costs of your product? What’s the cost (in both time/expense) to adopt your new product (from the client’s existing solution)?

These are just some of the basic questions you need to better understand to develop your sales strategy.

Next, what’s the lifetime value of making a sale to your customer? Given that you sold them one thing this month, how much more money are they likely to give you over the lifetime of your relationship? That lifetime value is what you should be focused on, and your budget should reflect this. For example, the lifetime value of a new client is $10,000, the cost of goods sold is $1000, then you’re looking at a $9000 profit. In this case, allocating $10 for such a sale isn’t realistic.

How to find the market with a low cost budget? If you’re starting without a strategy, then you’re guessing. And guessing means it’s a numbers game – try to spread a message to everyone with hope that someone is interested enough to contact you. Don’t guess. Do you homework on identifying your market first, then figure out multiple avenues to communicate with them: SEO, advertisements, Facebook, co-marketing, phone calls, emails, etc.