We see what we look for

True story #1:

I have a friend who is a dedicated patron of the small shops in a nearby village with a thriving art community.  When I go out with her, she requires that we stop at every blessed shop and strike up a conversation with every single shopkeeper.  Except the glass shop.  And the glass shop is beautiful — there’s always a cat sunning in the window, and its walls and shelves are adorned with lovely one-of-a-kind lamps, gazing balls, statues, stained glass windows, and blown ornaments.  One might surmise my friend dislikes glass, or has had some blowup with the owner that keeps her away.

One Friday afternoon, we stopped in front of the shop.  I asked her if we were going to go in.  “You go in first,” she said, “and make sure that cat is shut away.”

True story #2 (thanks to Ananonva.com):

“A pair of flamingo chicks at London Zoo have been left ‘terrified’ of the colour pink.

The birds, named Little and Large, developed the phobia after being fed using a pink sock puppet.

Zoo staff are now hoping they get over their aversion before developing their distinctive colour, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Keeper Alison Brown, 30, said: ‘To try to encourage Little to feed by himself we’ve been wearing a hand puppet which imitates adult flamingos, but unfortunately he was really terrified of the socks.’

Young flamingos take up to a year to turn pink, after they shed their grey downing feathers, so Little and Large are not afraid of themselves or each other – so far.

Ms Brown added: ‘We’ll just have to hope they get used to the colour pink, but I’m sure it won’t be a problem. Once Little gets his own pink colour he’ll be fine.’”

I wonder if it occurred to the zoo staff to find out if is really the color pink that terrifies the chicks.  Maybe what the chicks are afraid of are the zoo staff.  Or sock puppets.  (Come to think of it, who isn’t afraid of sock puppets?)

Moral:

When we observe behavior, whether it’s the behavior of buyers or the behavior of birds, we tend draw conclusions based on our own preconceptions.  The truth might be right in front of your face, but you won’t see it if you’re looking for something else.

Lesson:

Market researcher Katie Harris of Zebra Bites asked recently, “Are you measuring what you think you’re measuring?“  A related question is, “Are you seeing what you think you’re seeing?”

Let’s say you operate a retail establishment that sells, among other things, pink flamingo sock puppets, targeted to flamingo children.  If these youngsters are terrified of your store, the last thing you want to do is toss out all the pink items if what they’re afraid of is sock puppets.

If you’ve been in business for any period of time, you’ve figured out that what people say and what people do are often two differenct things.  (See my earlier post, Omission Detection.)  What people do will give you greater insights into their values than what they say, but be careful about mind reading when you are trying to figure out why people do what they do.  Connect the dots.  Ask people why.  And then watch their behavior to help you figure out whether they are being truthful with you (and themselves) about why they do what they do.

Only then will you know what decisions you need to make to turn your business into one that your target customer — be they flamingos or families or ailurophobes — want to patronize.

New Rules of Marketing and PR

If you haven’t picked up David Meeman Scott‘s book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, you should. It’s written in plain English for everyday people trying to get the word out about their business.

Scott is appearing in a webinar sponsored by Vocus on June 24th. Registration is free.

Winning the Yellow Pages War

We interrupt this blog for an important, albeit temporary announcement for readers within earshot of Madison, Wisconsin.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2009
Contact: Vicky Jones
Phone: 608-218-9005
Email: mail@vickyjones.com

Yellow Pages Seminar Will Help Businesses Avert Costly Mistakes

[June 16, 2009, MADISON, WI] Vicky Jones, principal consultant of Victoria Jones Strategic Marketing Communications, LLC, is leading a half day seminar for business owners, entitled “Winning the Yellow Pages War,” on Tuesday, June 30, and Wednesday, July 1. The seminar cost of $95 includes materials and refreshments.

Marketing consultant Vicky Jones says that this is the time of year when the telephone directory sales reps start knocking on doors and locking up advertising contracts for the coming year. “’Winning the Yellow Pages War’ will help business owners ask their reps the right questions and make good decisions regarding directory advertising and listings.”

The seminar will cover:

• Why most yellow pages ads fail
• What people look for in the yellow pages
• How to decide if you really need the yellow pages
• How to avoid the biggest mistakes yellow pages advertisers make
• How to choose the right directory for your business
• How to create yellow pages ads that generate more calls
• How to get ready to talk with your yellow pages rep

The seminar will also provide practical, hands-on exercises to help participants determine the role that directory listings should play in their businesses’ marketing plans, the essential elements of a strong directory ad, and tips for tracking results.

Jones says she developed the seminar because there is much at stake when a business owner considers purchasing a listing in the yellow pages of a telephone directory. For many, it is the biggest advertising investment they will make all year, and once they’ve made the commitment, there’s no turning back. Unlike other media, which allow the advertiser to make changes to an ad or withdraw it if it’s not working, directories are published on an annual cycle, and the advertiser is billed every month for a year, regardless of whether an ad is producing the desired results, business has fallen off, or he/she has run into cash flow problems.

Bob Adams of Adams Media tells the story of a service business owner who had to close his doors because he couldn’t afford the monthly bill for his Yellow Pages advertising. “This may be an extreme case,” says Adams, ” But Yellow Pages advertising salespeople are among the best in the industry and among the best paid, and they convince many small business people to buy larger Yellow Pages ad space than they should.” (Source: BusinessTown.com)

Jones says she has heard similar horror stories from her own clients, but her concern is not only that business owners often buy larger ads than they can afford. “The most expensive kind of directory ads are the ones that don’t work,” she says. “Business owners deserve good advice, not only about size, but also about headlines, design, page placement, and content that differentiates their businesses from the competitors whose ads appear alongside theirs. And they need good counsel regarding whether directory advertising is even the best medium for them – advice from someone who isn’t in the yellow pages business.”

“Winning the Yellow Pages War” will be presented in the training room at Jones’s office at 330 S. Whitney Way, Suite 201, Madison, Wisconsin. To accommodate business owners’ schedules, the seminar will be offered on two consecutive days at different times: Tuesday, June 30, from 8:30am-noon; Tuesday, June 30, from 5:30-9:00pm; and Wednesday, July 1, from 1:00pm-4:30pm. The seminar cost of $95 includes materials and refreshments. Seating is limited, and interested business owners are encouraged to register for “Winning the Yellow Pages War” by June 26 to secure their place at the table.  Download a flyer.

Victoria Jones Strategic Marketing Communications, LLC, is an independent marketing consulting firm that offers assistance to for- and non-profit organizations in positioning, strategic marketing planning, and tactical implementation. The firm’s principal, Vicky Jones, has been helping companies, large and small, plan, develop, and execute strategic, integrated marketing communications programs for over twenty five years. The firm is neither affiliated with nor sponsored by any advertising medium or directory publication. For information about Victoria Jones Strategic Marketing Communications, LLC, contact Vicky Jones at 608-218-9005 or mail@vickyjones.com.

Rethink doing it yourself

A group of boiler installers were venting in an online forum. (Usernames and grammar have been tampered with to protect the innocent.)

HEATMAN: These do-it-yourselfers really burn me up.
DALE49: They think that because they have a box of tools and internet access they know how to install a furnace.
GASSER: Are they trying to prove something or just do the job on the cheap?
DALE49: If they’re trying to save money, they’re deluded.
HANDY1: It never fails that whenever some guy gets it into his head to DIY, he ends up making a mess and everything costs more than it would have if he had just called a pro in the first place.
HEATMAN: And then they gripe about how much the job ends up costing. Like it’s my fault.
GASSER: Amen, brother.
DALE49: Maybe we just make it look too easy. We need to let people know how much school we had to go to, all the experience we have.
GASSER: That reminds me. Do you guys think that it’s better to do email marketing or post cards?
HANDY1: Email is a lot cheaper.
HEATMAN: I found a website that’ll let you build postcards online. They have art and everything. All you have to do is type your message.

If I were looking for advice on direct mail versus email marketing, I don’t think a bunch of boiler installers would be my first choice resource.  But what I find most interesting from this exchange is the notion that doing it yourself is misguided if you’re installing a boiler but not if you’re implementing marketing tactics.

Moral: We tend to think that people are making an expensive mistake if they try to do something for themselves that we have expertise in.  But we have blinders on when it comes to our own decisions.

Lesson: Find your expertise and make that your personal focus in your business.  This does not mean that this is the only thing your business should focus on; as a business owner, you need to understand the importance of managing your books, attracting customers, and drafting solid contracts.  But unless you are an expert in bookkeeping, marketing, and law, it is likely that your resources of time/energy/money are better spent doing what you are great at and paying experts in these other areas to do what they are great at.

For example:

• An attorney is having trouble with her computer.  She’s pretty smart and knows a lot about computers.  She could probably figure it out in a couple of hours.  Or, she could call her Mac guy and have him take care of the problem in thirty minutes.  She has to pay him, but now she can use that one-and-a-half hours she was going to spend fixing her computer to do networking or billable work.
• A plumber is considering what to do with the Yellow Pages this year.  It’s his biggest marketing expenditure, and the Yellow Pages rep  — whose expertise, by the way, is in persuading terrified business owners to buy bigger and more expensive ads than they did the previous year — has offered to give him free help in designing his ad.  With a several thousand dollar invoice staring him in the face, the plumber could save money by doing it himself with the help of the YP staff.  Or, he could find someone a marketing expert who can help him decide whether he really needs a YP ad, how much of an ad he needs, and how the ad ought to be crafted to get the best results.  Yes, he has to pay her, but he might end up spending less on his YP ad and get an ad that brings him more business.
• A caterer wants to grow her business serving corporate lunches.  She could advertise on this one radio station she likes.  Or she could pay a advertising expert to help her find the medium — radio, television, internet, print, skywriting, direct mail, doorhangers, etc. — that her corporate lunch planners are most likely to respond to.  And, if she doesn’t know exactly who it is in corporations makes the decision to engage caterers, or what messages are most likely to push their buttons, she can hire a marketer and/or a market researcher to find out.  Yes, she will have to pay these people to learn what needs to be learned, but that’s better than spending a lot of money on advertising that doesn’t reach the right people with the right message.
• An appliance repair shop needs a new roof.  The owner is a handy guy; he could figure out how to reshingle the roof himself.  Or he could hire a roofer, who will come out with a crew to get the job done quickly, while he spends his time in his shop strengthening his reputation for speedy and reliable service.

As smart as you are, the fact that you watch television doesn’t mean you are an expert in advertising.  The fact that you know how to insert clipart into a Word document doesn’t mean you are an expert in graphic design.  The fact that you speak English does not make you an expert copywriter.

Sometimes, especially lately, we have more time than money, and doing it ourselves seems the most prudent path to take.  When you’re trying to save money by doing it yourself, remember that the most expensive marketing is marketing that doesn’t work.

f u cn rd ths…

Apocrypha has it that Tolkien’s first draft of The Hobbit was written in Elfish.  He showed it proudly to a buddy of his who said, “That’s brilliant, Ronald, old chap.  Trouble is, nobody can read it but you.”

Moral: People shouldn’t have to learn a new language to figure out what the heck you’re talking about.

Lesson:  Every business, from cheesemaking to accounting, uses jargon.  It provides shorthand for note-taking and helps us make our meaning clear when we’re talking with our colleagues.  Every one of us gets caught up in the language of our business.

There are only three reasons to use language this is incomprehensible to your prospects and customers:  (1) you’re clueless, (2) you’re lazy, and/or (3) you want to demonstrate how much smarter you are than they.

But your customers shouldn’t need an advanced degree in [insert your profession here] in order to understand what you do or to communicate with you.  Are you in business to make people’s lives easier or harder?

For one thing, most people won’t work that hard — see my first post, “Don’t assume” — and will likely go looking for a vendor easier to talk and listen to.

For another thing, it limits the range of people you can work with to people who are already expert enough in your field that they can speak your jargon.  (Besides, if they know so much, why would they need to hire you?)

Do this: Pull up your web site and plop someone in front of it who doesn’t know what you do.  Ask her to point out the words, phrases, and acronyms she doesn’t understand.  Then translate those words into plain English (or whatever common language your audience speaks).  Do the same thing with your brochures, selling scripts, and PowerPoint presentations.

Don’t worry that converting your communications from jargon to English will “dumb down” your image.  Intelligent people appreciate clarity just as much as stupid people do.

(Thanks for Mark Anderson for this cartoon.)

Cartoons by Andertoons