The family and I took a labor-day road trip to Hayward, WI. After a great time at the Fishing Hall of Fame, we decided to hit up the original location of Famous Dave’s restaurant chain. For the non-BBQ fans out there, it’s an award winning barbecue joint with dozens of locations across 36 states.
Besides all of us appreciating the great atmosphere, the scrumptious food and the beautiful location on Round Lake, my bro-in-law and me enjoyed one of the local brews on tap. (worth mentioning before continuing: they were served in generic mugs).
Since I’m a collector of beer glasses I was excited to remember the occasion by buying a Famous Dave’s logoed beer mug. And I knew they once existed because my dad bought one from a previous Hayward trip a while back.
A Case Study in a Failed Merchandising Strategy
Having visited the gift shop, I looked through the custom tees, the logoed water bottles & coffee mugs, even a business success manual from the founder. But no bar gifts.
No beer mugs at a famous restaurant/bar’s gift shop? Seriously?
So after finding out they didn’t have any barware for sale I inquired into the matter. The response I received from both the gift shop lady and the bartender was, “too many people were stealing them.”
What?
While I seriously doubt these workers’ ridiculous reasoning for discontinuing their barware line. I responded by saying, “Your destination location with huge memorabilia appeal doesn’t have logoed mugs anymore because of crappy security?”
And the fact that people were stealing the mugs, it shows the high demand for these glasses – I wonder if there would be a way to cash in on the demand? Hmm…? [click to continue…]
I was in the beverage aisle of Target today and I noticed something interesting:
The packs of RedBull were on sale. But with a non-congruent pricing structure. The two choices on sale were 4 packs and 12 packs, priced at $5.99 and $18.99 respectfully. This got me thinking… how many people fall for this trick? $1.02 more for the convenience of buying one box, instead of 3? Do people not know math anymore?
Illogically Logical
This pricing structure is genius. Target must make a ton of extra cash on people’s inherent laziness to logically think situations like this through. And I’m willing to bet this strategy is carried throughout the store and undoubtedly the bulk of shoppers will not catch this price difference. (note: I’ve seen this gimmick many times in other stores as well)
Symbolically, this has many underlying themes applicable to your business. As you are pricing your service or products, think about what you could do to cash in on laziness. Or how a little convenience may be consciously or subconsciously worth extra to them. And most importantly, always remember:
The guys and gals at Grasshopper have struck online viral marketing gold with the spoof of Jay-Z & Alicia Keys’ song Empire State of Mind. If you’re not one of the million plus views and you’re an entrepreneur, in marketing or a Jay-Z fan, you must watch it. Funny and awesome at the same time:
At first, the song seems to have no correlation to phone systems. Until you realize that Grasshopper is the self-proclaimed “phone system for entrepreneurs.” Now this seemingly random song carries all sorts of marketing win for the company.
To elaborate, if you or someone you know is an entrepreneur, undoubtedly the video will eventually be seen and shared. They’ll tweet it, email it and even write articles about it – just as I am here. And what does every entrepreneur that is constantly on the run and is technologically advanced need that Grasshopper just happens to provide… you get the picture. It’s genius. [click to continue…]
In specialty consultation industries, buzzwords are tossed around more than a hacky sack in the middle of a stoner get-together. And more than most, the term Search Engine Optimization has taken the Internet marketing world by storm. But as all buzzwords go, the abuse of the word creates an oftentimes-stigmatic view of the service.
I’m not downplaying SEO. But I am saying that most “consultants” these days have bought a dummies guide and now call themselves search experts. And it’s scary to think that these folks are charging ignorant businesses thousands of dollars to change some meta tags. [click to continue…]
I’ve been hearing a lot of folks saying, “I created an account, but no one is following me!” and “I’m not seeing any benefits of Twitter.”
(The high frequency of these statements is probably directly related to my recent attendance of networking events in North-Central Wisconsin – which are similar to time-traveling back a few years, social media-wise.)
But at any rate, I am here to dispel some commonalities of bad tweeters by listing the top 4 reasons most people will fail at Twitter:
1. Not Active Enough
Logging in and posting a status update once in a blue moon will not help you gain a following. Most people follow a ton of other folks. So your occasional update will probably get lost in the mix. Not every post is seen by every one of your followers.
Without keeping up a healthy presence on Twitter, your brand will never gain the brand recognition and support you’re likely hoping to achieve.
2. DM’ing Links
If I take the time to follow you and in return you auto-send me a spammy direct message, how am I supposed to take you seriously. I don’t care if you have a proven system to gain 5-figures a month. Don’t spam me. Period. [click to continue…]
Writing ad copy is not easy. Or let me rephrase that, writing great ad copy is not easy. However, it’s essential for success in business. But most copywriters get the entire process wrong. It’s not about how awesome you are, pal. It’s about the needs of the audience.
So as an entrepreneur (aka marketer hat), how do we accomplish great marketing copywriting?
I’ll let you in on my secret to copywriting; I use the SPIN selling model. For those of you unfamiliar with the SPIN cycle. Neil Rackman’s book, SPIN Selling changed my professional career completely. In summary, the method teaches you to use a series of specific questions in a sales situation. I highly suggest you read it.
But for the sake of this article, put the book on you wish list, toss on your marketing hat and keep reading…
The SPIN cycle is an acronym for situation questions, problem questions, implication questions and need-payoff questions. Each step in this strategy essentially brings the answering party closer to selling themselves on the product or service.
In ad copy we obviously cannot list a string of questions as the method suggests. But we can use the underlying concepts to bring the reader in. And closer to a conversion. Here’s how: [click to continue…]
Buyers are a fickle bunch. Most consumers shop around. And nowadays the web has made every shopper, a savvy shopper. They can easily find coupons by checking out sites like Slickdeals. And they can compare prices of similar products and services relatively quickly.
As marketers, how do we convert these price conscious shoppers into happy purchasers?
Assuming you have a somewhat unique offering through a differentiation strategy, you must reshape their subconscious price bias.
There is an interesting concept in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) called anchoring. In short, people can become attached to a certain concept and retain that bias when making future decisions. This has huge implications for your offerings and pricing. And should be taken seriously when looking to successfully compete in your industry.
When a potential buyer becomes anchored to a price, breaking their preconceived price notions is difficult. Which is why you must create your own anchor. While this is easier said than done, it is possible. [click to continue…]
There is a ton of bad search engine optimization advice out there. And I’m annoyed by how these so-called SEO gurus are stigmatizing the industry.
Apparently creating a Twitter account with “SEO” in the username gives anyone permission to self-identify as an SEO genius. I’ve even received extraordinary proposals through my contact form, “we guarantee #1 listings on the Google pages.” I wonder what they truly expect from those emails? “Guaranteed rankings? Amazing! Where do I sign up!?! And since you obviously have a way with words, I’m excited for you to copywrite my site’s content!” Yikes! I feel sorry for anyone who gets roped into these scams. Most likely any website “optimized” by these SEO ninjas will get punished to Google’s equivalent of hell, that isuntil you fix it.
Ok, enough with the rant… on with the post.
I do about 90% of my work from my computer so needless to say; I spend a lot of time online. And, out of curiosity, I often find myself glancing at the SEO structure of websites I visit. The two things I usually notice are either no optimization what so ever or completely ineffective, outdated techniques. Rarely do I find a search engine friendly website. This tells me that the SEO industry is going to see a substantial increase in these “gurus” as more website owners innocently hop on the search engine optimization train. Put in other words, the demand for SEO services will overwhelm the good guys and with low barriers to entry, SEO gurus will flood the market.
With a rise of these bad SEO’s, no doubt there will be an increase of false information. So before you plunk down the dough for a search engine friendly website, please read this list of useless and often dangerous advice: [click to continue…]
Is your brand not performing as expected? Before you start blaming the economy, your clients, your employees or anything else. Realize that this so-called less-bad economy is the new normal. And unfortunately, the problem is with your brand. So it’s time to do something extraordinary. Create something different, something new, something remarkable. And stop complaining. The world has changed, and so must you. Luckily, it has never been easier to gain an audience, target your business model and dominate your market. But you must recognize the needs of the new world. [click to continue…]
I thoroughly enjoy the rise of the Walmart-style businesses in the world. Low-cost leaders have all but destroyed those location-based businesses that live in the past, hate change and failed to evolve. (You know… the stores that usually emit a mysterious scent of mothballs) And while I do feel for the employees of these failed businesses who lost their jobs, the owners and managers are to blame.
With the rise of these super companies we have become accustomed to sub-standard customer service and the slue of other complaints I constantly ramble on about… Where are you now Circuit City? Lucky for us, the lack of niche, value-added storefronts has created a hole in the market. And savvy business owners can jump in and rapidly take market share from the big guys. In general, though, most businesses are failing to innovate and are falling back on only low-priced claims.
To illustrate this growing trend of competing on price, simply open your local newspaper. Special sales, coupons and price cuts galore! “Mom and pops” are not buying in mass enough quantities to afford these cost cuts. So where does the cash flow balancing act come from? The essentials, that’s where. Important expenses such as training and retaining employees as well as constant storefront innovations are going by the wayside. These stores feel their price slashing is necessary to compete… not so! Over the years I have worked with numerous brick and mortars on their rebranding efforts. And I have found a common theme for storefront success. Here’s how to eliminate low cost considerations:
Create a Destination
By creating an experience for the shopper, a destination of sorts, any business will find its customer base expand greatly – usually from word-of-mouth. Cabelas is a great example of perfectly implementing this strategy. There is so much extra stuff to do and see at Cabelas than a regular big-box outdoor supply store. From huge fish tanks and animal displays to carnival-style hunting games. Even corrals for “parking” your horse (if equine is your preferred method of travel), the store is a sight to be seen.
As a young entrepreneur, online marketing expert, public speaker, real estate investor and eco-activist I have chosen the road less traveled. I'm a compulsive perfectionist and thoroughly research every major decision and investment. This has helped me create a lifestyle free of the rat race and that dreaded 40+ hour work week. And while I am years from retiring, I am quickly on my way to financial freedom.
My passion is helping other entrepreneurs create extraordinary businesses & lifestyles. I love meeting new people and learning everything I can from them. So please, feel free to reach out:
Is your brand not performing as expected? Before you start blaming the economy, your clients, your employees or anything else. Realize that this so-called less-bad economy is the new normal. And unfortunately, the problem is with your brand. So it’s time to do something extraordinary. Create something different, something new, something remarkable. And stop complaining. The world has changed, and so must you. Luckily, it has never been easier to gain an audience, target your business model and dominate your market. But you must recognize the needs of the new world.
I thoroughly enjoy the rise of the Walmart-style businesses in the world. Low-cost leaders have all but destroyed those location-based businesses that live in the past, hate change and failed to evolve. (You know… the stores that usually emit a mysterious scent of mothballs) And while I do feel for the employees of these failed businesses who lost their jobs, the owners and managers are to blame.
