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By Sandra Holtzman, March 23, 2013 10:08 am

Everyone loves top 10 lists.

So now that we’re ending the first quarter of the year…here’s some helpful directions to focus on in your marketing and business (they are in no particular order of importance)

1.       Integrate your marketing
As much as everyone would really love “the answer” and that it be just one thing…social media is the “one” at the moment…that’s just not how marketing works. Marketing is an eco-system that includes social, PR, collateral, branding etc.

2.       Put in a call to action in every piece of marketing you do
This may sound self-serving but it actually helps direct the customer to the key next steps in order to buy your product or otherwise engage with you.

3.       Create content that is valuable to your customers
This includes helpful tips and case histories that will help move the prospective forward to become a customer.

4.       Communicate
Tweet, blog, get your voice out there and heard.  I posted a jobs graph from another source a while back and suddenly it’s been “Pinned” by dozens of people on Pinterest. Who knew?

5.       Do primary research with your customers
Ask them open-ended questions about what’s important to them about your product or service and what will drive them to buy it.

6.       Listen to your customers’ answers
The information may be different from what you expected. Welcome the face that you do not know it all and keep your ego out of it.

7.       Follow-up after the sale
Thank your customers. If they have feedback (which you should solicit) listen to it and if something is wrong, make changes or otherwise implement their feedback.
Follow-up again.

8.       Identify your influencers
Build a relationship with them either on-line or in person.

9.       Brand yourself, your product, your company
Remember, you are your brand.  Use experiences and stories to help with brand identification. Your customers will also help you create your brand.

10.     Write better subject lines
It’s a crowded, competitive world out there…make sure your communications are opened.

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Sandra Holtzman, January 5, 2013 9:23 am

Image provided by Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com

The transition from analog to digital has enabled the reach and focus of PR and marketing messaging exponentially. These transitions are nicely described by Lucy Siegel (http://bridgebuzz.bridgeny.com/). With these new powers, it’s important to make sure that your storytelling is aligned with your branding and that both have been influenced in some way by your audience (let’s call it customer-focused storytelling). This not only strengthens your story, but your brand as well.

Even the new technology has a new wrinkle, as Janet Falk (http://www.janetlfalk.com/) tells us. It’s crowd sourcing and user-generated content — when companies actively solicit input from target audiences. She provides a familiar example: The 1995 campaign to select the next color of M&Ms is now a contest for user-generated video commercials. Contestants are rewarded with seeing their work displayed on the company website, inevitably shared among a like-minded audience and often voted upon. The grand prize winner gets monetary compensation and digital fame. In the process, consumer packaged goods companies relinquish a measure of control and yield reliability of authoritative sources to the unknown contestants, whose agendas may or may not align with specific corporate goals beyond increasing brand awareness.

The benefits of digital storytelling come with more responsibility, in the form of having to monitor both the effect your story is having, as well as your audiences’ reactions to the story (for instance, bloggers without journalist credentials and audiences with agendas).

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Sandra Holtzman, December 8, 2012 8:12 am

Image provided by Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com

Everyone is stressed this holiday season.  The opportunity is ripe for both shoppers and store personnel to be rude and abusive (particularly when stores hire part time or seasonal help who haven’t been properly trained).  But there’s a very simple way to break out of this cycle and turn a potentially bad experience into a memorable one – which is something we all want. Michael Hess has a great post on CBS News Moneywatch about how you say something during the holiday season being crucial to creating a good customer experience.  Here’s one example he gives:

Say this: “Let me help you with that” or “How can I help you?”
Not this: “You need help?”

This is great advice not only for the holidays but every day.  And this practice can be used in writing business documents, such as business plans as well.  For instance,

Don’t say this:  “Our sales goal was to increase business 40% this year but we only made it to 15%”.
Say this:  “We increased business 15% this year and are working towards a 40% sales goal.”

The second phrasing puts a positive spin on the situation. Just as importantly, it tells the reader that you are in control of your business or situation.  The reader, particularly an investor, is going to look more favorably upon this positively stated situation.
In the long run, this kind of speaking can change the way you think towards a more positive outlook in general.

For other examples, check out the link to the blog.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505143_162-57556281/good-service-language-makes-for-happier-holidays/?tag=nl.e857&s_cid=e857

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Sandra Holtzman, November 17, 2012 8:11 am

The two shining examples of running with the pack come from the pharma world (just look at all those ads with happy smiling faces…the only thing that differentiates the ad and product category is the demographic of the happy smiling face).

A short while back, I did some primary research into about 50 law firms in the metro NY area – each firm had about 60 attorneys.  Almost half the firms I looked at, had bought the exact same website template – or one so close that differentiation was essentially non-existent.  And that’s before I got to the messaging – which was almost identical. The graphics were equally ho-hum.

As many of you have figured out by now, I’m a crusader for customer-focused market research and marketing.  Almost all legal websites talk about what’s important to the law firm and NOT what’s important to the potential client. It’s all about features and the benefits are almost never there.  Well, chest-beating does wonders for the ego, but does it bring in business?  In this environment, it doesn’t.  With so many me-toos (and very cheap off-shore solutions knocking on your customers’ doors), the only way to differentiate yourself from a myriad of other lawyers and law firms is to do primary research – that’s right – ask your customers’ what they want in a lawyer or law firm.  Listen to their answers.  And only then, with a trusted marketing or PR resource, should you start your website, and other messaging.

Fashion falls into its own category however the same rules of differentiation apply. Why look like everyone else when you can make yourself and your brand just as memorable as the product you’re selling?

It’s such a simple solution that it’s a wonder no one does it.  Of course, the result will separate you from the pack. Which is what you want. Because when you stand out, business finds its way to your door. However, standing out like this takes courage.  Every single company that has used customer-focused market research (my methodology is called Rapid Development http://www.holtzmancom.com/Rade/rade.php and the market research session itself is called OpenMind® http://www.holtzmancom.com/teamwork_openmind.php has had remarkable results. From Fortune 500 clients  to startups to the sole practitioner – in every sector. From pharma companies, to nano-tech companies to a Rabbi (yes a Rabbi  http://www.rabbibleefeld.com/).   Oh yes, attorneys and law firms as well.

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Sandra Holtzman, October 20, 2012 11:21 am

This past summer I had the great pleasure of being a judge for the Chase Manhattan and Living Social “Mission Small Business” contest.  During that one week, I (and other judges each) reviewed about 600 business plan concepts. (About 70,000 responded.) There were 12 winners each receiving $250K.

First, almost all the plans fell into the middle range meaning they were good solid plans but didn’t stand out in some special way.  There were a few that were just plain confusing so much so that in some cases the name of the business was never mentioned, or I was left guessing what exactly the business was/did.

The ones that stood out, however, made sure that they answered all the questions asked in the entry information.  One of the key points that separated the winners was their passion which came across into the written word.  Another was their story…storytelling is very important because it draws the reader into your world and let’s them experience it.  Also important, and part of their stories, was how they overcame or were overcoming obstacles and their strength and tenacity to keep going no matter what.  One of the requirements was how the business contributed to the betterment of their community…and by that I mean not just writing a check to the local charity but actually having a positive impact on their local community. This included  job creation, another  very important factor.  Each of the 12 winners had all of these elements.

A word of caution…no funder wants to hear that your use of proceeds will go to retiring debt.  Unfortunately, no one cares about your past…they are funding your future.

When you’re asked or tasked with submitting a business plan, make sure to include all these aspects – they will help you stand out from the pack.

For details of the plan, names of the winners, and interviews with two final judges, one of whom was a sponsor, please visit the links below.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11669958/1/chase-and-livingsocial-award-12-small-businesses-250000-grants-totalling-3m-through-the-mission-small-business-program.html

http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=389700003

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Sandra Holtzman, October 13, 2012 9:54 am

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In a recent blog post by a PR firm, their primary research determined that the top three reasons a company’s PR efforts fail are:

1.       The budget was too small
2.       The client had no significant point of differentiation from their competitors
3.       The client or their contacts weren’t available or were uncooperative

I’m sure whether you’re a PR or marketing firm or a client, you’re able to identify with at least one of these situations.
Kudos for Bridge Buzz for their valuable research and articulating the problems.

Here’s what my team does to try and avoid these situations (with the caveat that PR is not foolproof and sometimes efforts fail):

1.       We warn the client upfront that there is only so much we can do for any particular budget.  If they want a particular result, and they are not budgeted for it, we state that upfront and clearly.  In some cases we have the client sign off on the statement to make sure that when the effort “fails” they understand that they contributed to their own failure.

2.       We tell the client immediately if their story is newsworthy and how newsworthy it is.  We perform our customer-focused primary research which gets all representatives of the customer stakeholders into a room at once and we find out what messages will be successful for all of them. The issues  of value proposition and competitive differentiation can be solved in the research as well.    The bottom line of customer-focused market research and marketing is that the messaging speaks to the customer in their own words which will have an immediate emotional impact on them.  I have never seen it not work.

3.       In Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing (pp 63-64) we talk about a local hospital that hired a PR firm to get press. The firm  convinced a feature editor of a large local paper to write a story that focused on this organization. The PR person told the marketing person to be on the alert for a call from the paper.  The editor called the manager repeatedly.  The manager never returned the calls.  Guess what? The PR firm had done such a good job of selling the story, that the editor ran the story anyway, only he featured the hospital’s largest competitor because that marketing person made themselves available. So here’s a perfect example of shooting yourself in the foot by paying for PR for the other company.

http://bridgebuzz.bridgeny.com/

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Sandra Holtzman, September 15, 2012 10:09 am

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Virginia Dominguez, a consultant, responds to “How come no one wants to speak to the customer BEFORE they do marketing” with this case history/anecdote:

“This is a good point…I was just watching a video, last night, where Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) pointed this out…He illustrated this with a story about a Chiropractor that wanted to set up his practice in this new town. So, he went to the town officials and asked a few questions, to which he was told that the town did not need another chiropractor, because the town already had one servicing the people. This negative reaction did not derail his ambition, so he set out to prove them wrong. He did this by doing some pre-marketing before opening the business.  He set out to go knocking on hundreds of doors and asking each individual and potential customer, how they would feel (together with other service related questions) about a new chiropractor in town. He not only proved the town officials incorrect, but he was able to make tons of money when he established the business. A year or so later, one of those people he interviewed was on this big event seminar, when the above story about the Dr. was told, the interviewee got up and said, “I remember him!” She was asked by the event coordinator, how was this possible and she said, “I remember him, because he came to talk to me!” She also used his services.”

The power of communicating directly with your customer/audience is amazing…when you do it. And the best part about this process is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. The ROI in terms of business, branding, establishing yourself and your business in the community is exponential.

Try it.

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Sandra Holtzman, March 3, 2012 12:21 pm

I recently finished a PR job for a small client. They wanted to get the word out about a new product and hired me as the external PR person on a very limited budget. In addition to me, they used internal staff as well as a freelancer. We are all smart, I have an incredible resource of contacts, and we reached all the movers and shakers in this client’s sector. But sales and response was still low. Here’s why and what you can do before embarking on a PR, marketing or a sales push.

MAKE SURE:
You have a brand and communications platform BEFORE you do the marketing and PR on a specific project.If you don’t, then your audience is doubly confused. First, they don’t know that much, if anything at all, about who is sending the message. Not good. Second, because of the first point, the message holds less weight and is more likely to be ignored.

There’s enough budget to get the job done. This client didn’t have it. If you don’t, then no matter how smart your resources are, they can only take you part of the way.
There’s infrastructure in your company so that everyone knows where they belong and who they report to. This could change on a job by job basis. That’s ok. What’s important is that everyone knows where they fit in on any given project.
Give someone, preferably internal, responsibility for the project. If no one person is a project manager, then the separate elements will go their own ways, miss deadlines, forget to do the job and basically not understand the importance of the job. This applies to companies of all sizes. I have three or four-men jobs and there’s always a project manager assigned.

DEBRIEF AFTER EVERY JOB! Get feedback from your team. What went well? What can be improved? Surprises along the way. Give everyone a chance to speak freely.

It’s better to save your money and do the job right than waste it doing only part of the job.

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Peggy & Arthur Winters, January 26, 2012 7:00 am

FOUR WHAT-NOW CREATIVE STRATEGIES

Drawing by Arthur Winters

You say Guerrilla, I say Viral, he says Flash Mob, and she says Crowd Sourcing … Maybe we should say: “Let’s call the whole thing off”? But, the proverbial genie is out of the bottle and we can’t stop the race launched forward by social networking and all things experiential.

1. MISSION MINDING – Minding the brand mission now means paying continuous attention to communicating the brand mission clearly, especially through social media. Here’s where you learn “what-now” is the brand’s story in consumers’ minds, and to use this to create new breakthrough creative strategies.

2. BRAND RECRUITING – Recruiting an army of customers who can enlist consumers is now a prime marketing objective. Instead of a movie star or celebrity athlete telling the brand story, guerrilla marketing strategies are created to encourage loyal customers to communicate “what-nows” to recruit other consumers/customers/users.

3. AWARDING BRAND BRAVERY – Tactics for awarding products or services to customers who create interactions of their own to win consumers to their favorite brand: A mission-driven brand should search for, recognize and reward those who have made that brand mission their own.

4. POSITIONING SPECIAL FORCES – Guerrilla marketers recognize that their approach to marketing needs to move toward the front lines. They use “what-now” breakthroughs rather than relying on past strategies, tactics and executions for positioning power. Creative strategies can encourage loyal customers to create stronger referral maneuvers.

It’s one of the realities in today’s brand management that guerrilla marketing is an ongoing reinvention of what works now in social media, public relations, e-tailing and customer experience. “What’s –now” must precede an ongoing what’s next. Largely due to the predominance of social media, branding strategies can be about giving your loyalists an incentive to enlist others in the brand wars.

Creative guerrilla marketing wins over potential customers who come in contact with this brand’s story – Big Pilot Watches. The breakthrough strategy places the product/brand onto a person’s wrist while they are on an airport transport bus. Also a good city transit campaign that works to defeat the competition in the watch ad battle for attention.

Arthur & Peggy Winters co-teach SXB 200 Brand Marketing Communications for Image & Meaning and SXR 050 Intro to Branding: The Art of Customer Bonding.