How to Use Holidays to Boost Business

This week’s Smart Marketing Move goes to Restaurant.com

Like many new websites, they are offering discounts to local restaurants. But they’ve come up with a unique and, I might add, an out-of-the-box way to spread the word about their business and the businesses that they represent.

They are giving away $40 million worth of gift certificates by Dec 31, 2010. Yes $40 million. They are calling this program Feed it Forward. These gift certificates are only in $10 increments. The only way that people will receive this $10 gift, which is free to give and free to receive, is from their friends sharing with them. This can be through email or Facebook. So think about it, that means if they reach their goal of $40 million that’s 4 million people! They are building a new customer base and gaining their emails, and it’s also creating more loyal customers because they were able to share something with their friends at no cost. That’s also more exposure for the restaurants involved.

 This is their description: Filling hearts and stomachs - Feed It Forward™ 2010. Feed It Forward™ is a free way to build community and lift people's spirits by giving the gift of $10 Restaurant.com Gift Certificates. Simply let us know who you want to give to and we'll take care of the rest. You can give up to 40 $10 Restaurant.com Gift Certificates every day through December 31. It's a great holiday gift for everyone on your list. And the best part is - it's FREE!

 

I can give away 40 $10 gift certificates to my friends and family at no cost, EVERYDAY until Dec 31^st. Wow! What a great way to get press, and for their company to grow through word of mouth. They are also all over the web, bloggers and more. They definitely get the Smart Marketing Move of the Week! 

Lesson Learned: You don’t have to give away $40 million in gift certificates to be recognized but what can your company do that creates a BIG impact for $5-$10 a customer? Think WILD and outside-the-box, trim down your idea if necessary. Keeping your customers loyal costs much less than trying to find new ones.  

Editors Note: I used my $10 gift on Wednesday and 2 other tables were using them! Talk about a boost in business this restaurant more than likely wouldn't have had otherwise!

{A "Smart Thought" (quotation) is a succinct way of stating a powerful point. How one interprets that point impacts the actions one takes.}


Quote: "The man who moved a mountain is the one who started taking away the small stones." - Chinese proverb

Smart Thought: Don't get overwhelmed by big projects, in business or in personal life. Break them down into small steps and actions and you will start to see progress you didn't expect.


If you have a Smart Thought you'd like to express with your interpretation email MarketingSmartly@aol.com, with the subject line SMART THOUGHT SUBMISSION. At the end of each month, we'll choose one for a small but stimulating prize.

Smart Quote and Thought - Lee Iacocca

{A "Smart Thought" (quotation) is a succinct way of stating a powerful point. How one interprets that point impacts the actions one takes.}

Quote of the Week: "Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people." - Lee Iacocca

Smart Marketing Thought: Motivation in business creates inspiration that generates perspiration from the efforts of those exposed to it, thus delivering positive results.



If you have a Smart Thought you'd like to express with your interpretation email MarketingSmartly@aol.com, with the subject line SMART THOUGHT SUBMISSION. At the end of each month, we'll choose one for a small but stimulating prize.

Law Firm's Phone Number - Smart Marketing Move

This week’s smart marketing move goes to Black and Older Law Firm.

Law firms are not generally known for the smart marketing but Black and Older did something that easily gets through the massive amounts of ads we see everyday, including their competition. It’s not their brilliant use of words on a billboard, their catchy music on a radio ad, or their off the charts website, it’s their phone number!

Everyday we are bombarded with ads and all of those ads have numbers, so how are we supposed to remember them? Even if we try it’s hard. Well, the Black and Older Law Firm secured a phone number that you won’t forget, EVER! It’s their local area code, plus 5-6-7-8-9-10. Yep that works out to a phone number! They’ve also played up the numbers even more with their catch phrase, “The Number You Can Count On 5-6-7-8-9-10”, what a smart marketing move!

Lesson Learned: Even something as simple as a phone number is just as important as any marketing you may do. Don’t forget to look at the small things, they add up to something memorable and catchy!

Will Rogers - Smart Quote and Thought

{A "Smart Thought" (quotation) is a succinct way of stating a powerful point. How one interprets that point impacts the actions one takes.}

Quote of the Week: "Even if you are on the right track you'll get run over if you just sit there." - Will Rogers

Smart Marketing Thought: Action not only speaks louder than words, it's the only activity that will end in results.



If you have a Smart Thought you'd like to express with your interpretation email MarketingSmartly@aol.com, with the subject line SMART THOUGHT SUBMISSION. At the end of each month, we'll choose one for a small but stimulating prize.

Smart Thought - Optimism vs. Pessimism

{A "Smart Thought" (quotation) is a succinct way of stating a powerful point. How one interprets that point impacts the actions one takes.}

Quote of the week: "An optimist sees opportunity in every calamity, a pessimist sees calamity in every opportunity." 
- Winston Churchill

Smart Marketing Thought: Name one benefit gained from a pessimistic viewpoint. There are none. You will get inaction, indecision, and guaranteed failure. Although optimism must be tempered with reasoning, it will also lead to greater achievements and a more fulfilling life.



If you have a Smart Thought you'd like to express with your interpretation email MarketingSmartly@aol.com, with the subject line SMART THOUGHT SUBMISSION. At the end of each month, we'll choose one for a small but stimulating prize.

Where is experience and common sense?

Both, common sense and experience, are increasingly missing from the staffs of corporate marketing departments and their agencies. "Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgment."

A fact of life is that it takes time (years) to develop experience and the resource network (rolodex) so important to success. Another fact or impacting the thinking behind marketing activities is the increasingly lack of common sense. What is common sense?

"Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are
and doing things as they ought to be done."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe

Both these factors are important ingredients in building a strong foundation that will benefit those efforts directed to generating sales, acquiring and keeping customers and enhancing profitability.

Postage Stamps - Smart Marketing Move

Who thought that the Postal Service was good at marketing?

I’m sure most haven’t even thought of it but I’m sure we all know someone, or heard of someone collecting stamps! The first stamp was from England with a young Queen Victoria. It wasn’t until the 30’s, in the US, when older stamps that were shaped as a triangle became rare and people thought that they were to become valuable since very few were not used and/or torn.

The smart marketing move wasn’t just the value that these little stamps promised, it was the limited editions! Although this might have been on purpose, the Postal Service created collectible limited edition prints, almost as artists do today. This made the stamps worthy of holding onto and not using. Brilliant!

While still making ordinary stamps, they continued to make stamps with all sorts of designs, like the Simpsons stamps that are out right now. Basically, someone is paying for a service and not using it. Although, as a business you want people to use your services they buy, this was a great idea on making something ordinary collectible.

Lesson Learned: Ask yourself; is there something we offer already that will offer more value to my customers? Or ask can I make something we offer collectible? There is always an opportunity that is not being taken advantage of in every business.

DUDE, You're Getting a Dell - Smart Move

Have you ever wanted to give your company a recognizable face? Use Dell as your guide. Dell was the first computer company to use a human face to represent their computer company. And they used him, the Dell Dude, successfully. He created a brand, he created a following, they used him consistently enough that everyone knew who he was, and they got rid of him when they needed to.

Apple is also doing this successfully today. They’re using their guy in a slightly different way, rather than the cool guy persona Dell went for they’re going towards smart, and making non-Mac users “dumb”. But back to Dell! Dell used their face to casually inform prospective buyers of all the perks of owning a Dell, not their features. Usually, when they were sold on the idea, the Dell Dude would close with the catchphrase "Dude, you're getting a Dell". (Unfortunately I couldn’t find a clip with the catchphrase). The campaign was a huge success and helped bring Dell to the forefront of the marketplace.

They marketed to the influencers, tweens and teens; in a very smart way because we all know they are not the buyers. They used teens in their commercials, their Dell Dude looked young, and he exuded the “cool factor” even if it was over the top. They used him in all of their print, all of their TV, and all of their radio. He saturated the market, which finally took hold and stuck.

Dell then, quickly fired their spokesperson. Why? He was arrested. I’m bringing this up because this was also a smart move on their account. When finding a spokesperson, your contract must be cut and dry about activities that will damage your company, because you’re putting your entire company in their hands…and now customers see him/her as YOUR COMPANY. There’s a fine line and it must be defined before your marketing campaign starts.

Lesson Learned: Hiring a spokesperson to put a face to your company is a smart move because it opens the door to communication by giving it a human touch. Like Dell focus on marketing your benefits not features, but be careful who you hire, make sure that they are reputable and will serve your company right. Also, keep in mind deceased celebrities or animated spokespersons are great too! They won't embarrass your company.

Be Open to Change - Smart Thought

{A "Smart Thought" (quotation) is a succinct way of stating a powerful point. How one interprets that point impacts the actions one takes.}

It's easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worked for you two years ago, but will soon be out-of-date." - Roger von Oech

Smart Thought: Be open to change because the odds are your competition won't be.


If you have a Smart Thought you'd like to express with your interpretation email MarketingSmartly@aol.com, with the subject line SMART THOUGHT SUBMISSION. At the end of each month, we'll choose one for a small but stimulating prize.

Trust the Bow Tie - Smart Marketing Move

Everyone wants to know the weather, even if they can see it right outside of their window. They want to know what’s to come, and what damage has happened from the force of past wind or rain. So what channel do you watch for the weather? Is one really better than the other? Meteorologists are all looking at the same clouds, and mostly predicting the same outcome of weather. But there is one NBC station, located in Philadelphia, which recently started thinking differently about their weather guy.

Their weather man, Glen Schwartz, always wears bow ties. Since I can remember he’s worn these ties. It’s his thing. Before it was just something quirky he did and something everyone laughed about to themselves while watching the weather; now they’re taking advantage of it. This is the perfect example of thinking differently, and out of the box. They’re using this bow tied character to create loyalty to their weather than any other broadcaster’s with one simple phrase, “Trust the Bow Tie” and a simple photo of the tie in their advertising.

The bow tie has been staring NBC 10’s marketing team in the face for years, and it’s about time they use it the way they should! Maybe this only dawned on them after Glen Schwartz was named the 79th Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) in the country, in Oct 2005. He is one of the first broadcast meteorologists in Philadelphia to earn this prestigious recognition. Whatever the case, NBC10’s marketing team in Philadelphia gets the “Smart Marketing Move” Award, Jan 1, 2010.

Lesson Learned: You might be ignoring your best asset for your marketing efforts.

Motivation in Business - Smart Thought

{A "Smart Thought" (quotation) is a succinct way of stating a powerful point. How one interprets that point impacts the actions one takes.}

Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people. " -Lee Iacocca

Smart Thought: Motivation in business creates inspiration that generates perspiration from the efforts of those exposed to it thus delivering positive results.

If you have a Smart Thought you'd like to express with your interpretation email MarketingSmartly@aol.com, with the subject line SMART THOUGHT SUBMISSION. At the end of each month, we'll choose one for a small but stimulating prize.

Banish Words that Limit You - Smart Thought

{A "Smart Thought" (quotation) is a succinct way of stating a powerful point. How one interprets that point impacts the actions one takes.}


Avoiding the phrase “I don’t have time...”, will soon help you to realize that you do have the time needed for just about anything you choose to accomplish in life.

-Bo Bennett, "Year to Success"

Smart Thought: There are certain words and phrase that should not be part of your vocabulary as they retard your growth, think of which ones they are that you are using and banish them from your life.

If you have a Smart Thought you'd like to express with your interpretation email MarketingSmartly@aol.com, with the subject line SMART THOUGHT SUBMISSION. At the end of each month, we'll choose one for a small but stimulating prize.

The Choices You Make in Business

I have always believed there are only four choices in business and life … do something or do nothing …Think negatively or act positively. It is amazing how many people make the wrong choices complaining about budgets, staffing or whatever other excuses makes them cover up their level of inaction. Even in "down" times history has shown those who are aggressive in tough times gain market share when the good times return. Plus tough time environment generates some of the most creative "outside the box" thinking. It just makes common sense.

If you have a Smart Move you have made, observed or read about email marketingsmartly@aol.com with the subject line SMART MOVES SUBMISSION. You contributions will be appreciated. You can even nominate each month some individual or firm you feel made a smart move for the Smart Marketing Move of the Month Award. Who knows they, as well as you, could benefit from such contributions..

-- Leslie Wolff, CEO Smart Marketing Group