Sour Milk and Your Marketing Strategy

August 29, 2010 0 comments

When you pour sour milk into a glass, it comes out in globs and chunks, not very consistently.  When you dabble in one medium and then try a different tactic it is not very consistent, that does not help your brand.  People notice consistency.

When your efforts are focused on a certain task over time, by default your competency increases and you create consistency. Your customers or clients have an expectation of your work and you must deliver on that expectation consistently.  People notice consistency.

In a world where products and businesses can be developed over night, it can be difficult at times to differentiate the good ones from the bad.  Whether you own a small business or are developing your next marketing campaign, keep in mind that consistency over a period of time speaks louder than any chunky one-off sour milk promotion.  People don’t like sour milk, but love consistency.


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4 Things You Should Never do on Facebook

August 24, 2010 1 comment

1.  Mass inviting of friends

C’mon I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but inviting a bunch of people from your area to be your friend because it’s going to benefit you at your new job is just lazy.  Once you send them a message about your “new job” that “remove from friends” button just got a lot bigger.

2.

Did you leave caps lock on?  Is it your first time on Facebook?  Yes, you want to get our attention, we can see that, but typing in all caps makes it sound like you’re yelling (go on, try reading a message in all caps with a small voice, it feels weird) Most people upon seeing a message in all caps chuckle to themselves then ignore the message.

3.  Creating a fan page for the sole purpose of creating a fan page

If you don’t have a clear idea or goal in mind about why you are starting a Facebook group or fan page then don’t do it (or do it and don’t invite anyone).  Nothing is more mind-numbingly obvious that you have no clue how to market to people then inviting me to your fan page to give me updates
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Trust Equals Influence

August 19, 2010 4 comments

Word-of-Mouth is the best form of marketing.  If you disagree, please, I’d love to hear why in the comments below.  Word-of-mouth is the most authentic and effective because for it to occur successfully, there must be more than a minimum level of trust established.  Let me explain.

If I don’t trust you I will never take your advice on anything, let alone a product I will be purchasing.  On the contrary, if I trust you a lot (an influencer in my life) I will take your word on what I should buy over any marketing message no matter how clever it is.

Trust equals influence.

As fast as we can share our opinions on Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc. I can’t fathom why more businesses haven’t created incentives for customers to share their delightful experiences online for others to see.

Your brand isn’t your website, store, logo or your OWN perception of your company.  Your brand is what other people say about you and the internet makes it much easier to say anything about your company, positive or negative.

This is your warning, it’s only going to increase, how are you encouraging positive word-of-mouth?


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3 Reasons Why I Hate Text-Message Advertising

August 13, 2010 2 comments

Have you experienced this yet?  A random number texts you “HUGE SALE ON (Insert product), BEST PRICE IN TOWN, LOOK NO FURTHER FOR YOUR (Insert product) NEEDS!”

It has happened a couple of times now and I don’t like it.  Here’s why if you use text-message advertising we’re both losing.

1.  I have not given you permission to interrupt me on my phone, doing so makes me strongly dislike whatever the message is you want me to read.

2.  You seem lazy and disrespectful, I want to return the favor.  I’ll call you back or MySask411 your number to see who you are and when I find out I’ll realize how elementary your understanding of marketing really is.  I will not forget this.

3.  The more niche focused your text-message deal is, the better your chance of it being completely unrelated to my purchasing patterns.  EXAMPLE: Niche focus, “HUGE SALE ON GRANITE”   Broad focus: “HALF OFF ICE CREAM AT COLD STONE” – The first one you lose all credibility, the second only works if the person receiving the text sees value in what you’re texting.

Moral of the story?  Lay off the Spam sandwiches, you’re hurting your personal brand and
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Marketing Regina

August 09, 2010 1 comment

The other day I filled out a survey from the Regina Regional Opportunities Commission (RROC) asking about what they are currently doing and what they could do better, it got me thinking.  Now I’m not being critical of RROC, I think they’re doing a great job, especially when you see them picking up talent such as Grant Langford who I worked with on the Saskatchewan Pavilion project.  I’m writing this as an idea generator, without knowing the ins and outs of RROC this is how I would go about marketing our beautiful city.

First, I would put packages together making it SO incredibly easy to come to Regina that you would literally need to click your mouse three times on the website, enter a credit card and WHAMMY you have your holiday booked.  Why?  Because humans are lazy and the easier you make it for people to come here, the better your chances are of actually getting them here.  I know there  are some offerings through the Stay and Play promotion but I think they could take it a step further.

Second, put packages together that allow tourists to experience Regina in a different light.  We don’t have World renown
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