1. The Truth Will Set You Free. When your reputation is at stake, nothing is worth the risk of tainting it.  Remember, you’re not just dealing with your customers; you have to consider your suppliers, vendors, potential customers and any other business relationship that you work within.  Be honest and straight forward to preserve the integrity of your company.
2. Tackle It Head On. Don’t hide from the issue; it will only make it worse.  Keeping a hand clamped over your mouth will only fuel speculation about your business.  Show that your business is ready to take on responsibility.
3. Look for a Positive Spin. Stay calm and show the press the positive changes that you are doing to remedy the situation.  Even if your business is just associated with a perceived negative issue, show the public that you are responsibly handling the issue.  Look at how IKEA handles child labor laws in countries where their products are manufactured.
4. Use your website. Notice how IKEA makes this information readily available and accessible on their website.  Your website can be used as the perfect avenue to circumvent the media and get your side of the story before the public.
5. Watch and Learn. Pay attention to how other small businesses handle their PR crises.  Look for the good strategies – and the bad habits – to make sure your small business handles the situation correctly and professionally.

Today, keeping customers happy requires more than just providing a quality product or service at a reasonable price.  Customers have learned to expect more from everyday business - and we, as business owners, have evolved from a once-good-enough service economy to an experience economy.

A cup of coffee is only a cup of coffee, right?   Starbucks turned an ordinary cup of coffee into a delightfully blended morning  experience, where coffee isn’t the central commodity.  Starbucks offers CDs, Itunes,  book recommendations,  news, community, free WiFi along with amultitude of choices for what goes in to your favorite brewed beverage, thereby making each concoction unique as the customer.

You say you aren’t Starbucks?  Creating the best client experience can be simple and inexpensive.   Try starting with the end result in mind.  What is the overall feeling you want your customer to have? What can you offer that is complimentary to your product and service that may give your business that little “something” over  your competitors? 

Ask yourself what you can offer your customer that adds value to their experience.  Spend 10 minutes  going through everything you do to touch or affect your customer from start to finish, and find a way to transform it into an experience.  As Starbucks has taught us, it’s all about the details.

Don’t be afraid to be creative appealing to your customer’s five senses.  You may even want to consider your product or service as a supporting player in an overall experience. 

Eventually, the experience you provide will become your ultimate marketing communication with your customers. Remember, the experience of buying a Starbucks coffee lasts much longer than the actual cup of coffee you walk out into the world with.

Think about the attributes that make your business unique as you open for business today.  Keep marketing and good luck!

Let’s go for a ride in the way-back machine. In the 60′s, John F. Kennedy was president and, during his election, there was a medium of communication never used before in a presidential campaign; television. This medium would forever change politics and the way politicians run and centralize their campaign.

Fast forward to present day. Again, technological breakthroughs define election communication. For Kennedy, it was television. For Obama, it is the Internet. Obama’s campaign’s use of the Internet efficiently and effectively changed the way politicians organize supporters, advertise to voters and communicate with constituents. With the touch-of-a-button technology, defending one’s campaign against political attacks and left-field accusations becomes easy. As fast as the campaign writers can type, an answer is available. Prior to the Internet, dispersing information and a defending a candidate’s position required an army of volunteers and paid organizers out on the battlefield.

Barack Obama succeeded, in part, because his campaign found a means to connect to people in a way they could understand, segmenting voters and using the right method of communication for each targeted group. With younger voters, the Obama-Biden campaign used text messaging. For older voters (including this demographic), they sent short, concise emails from a variety of characters – the campaign managers, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and his wife, and, of course, from Barack Obama himself. The emails allowed voters to connect directly with the people on the campaign frontline – to see them as real people facing real issues. The Obama – Biden campaign also took advantage of YouTube for free advertising, which proved to be more effective than television ads because viewers could chose when and where to watch them and the messages could easily be sent or received from friend. There were also weekly podcasts for those wishing to get more in-depth information on the issues.

The Obama-Biden campaign delved deep into social media and networking and came out fighting with clear vision and a well-thought battle plan. The use of this new medium doesn’t perfectly reflect that of JFK’s situation with television. The Internet demands authenticity, whereas television can be staged. Authenticity is something we haven’t seen in recent elections. The Internet became the conduit to a more genuine campaign. And that’s a change we can all get behind!

As my colleague, Allen, says, “Success in digital branding means knowing how and why things work and how to become part of an on-going online conversation without interrupting it.”   Great advice from a great guy.

I’m hearing lots from clients and colleagues about Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, text advertising…the list is grows daily.  My advice for anyone thinking about investing marketing dollars in those ventures – seek first to understand them and then decide to jump in the conversation.  As always, Pin Money is here to help your navigate new waters.

The most important thing you can do for your business RIGHT NOW is to think short-term or break down your marketing timetable into 90 day increments.  It’s easy to get caught up in planning instead of implementation or to be distracted by what’s 6 months down the road.  

My swipe file is full of promotions from your competitors that are using the down economy to amp up their marketing.  Be sure you aren’t missing the important opportunities of today and tomorrow.  Need an infusion of new ideas?  Email me directly.

A big thanks to Rachel at Rescue Desk for passing this on!   Have a great weekend and stay warm.

Think back to a promotion or event that didn’t garner the results you anticipated and ask yourself the following questions:

• What were my expectations?  Were they realistic for my business, the current market, my area?
• Did I explain my product or service in a way that was easy for a new customer to understand? (I can’t stress how important this step is when bringing a new product or service to market!)
• Was my offer simple? Readable?
• Did I choose the best method of getting my offer/product/service to the intended audience?
• Did I have unexpected results or were they non-existent?
• Did I test and measure results?  Over what time frame?

There are many reasons that good promotions don’t work.  Timing, placement, the offer was too complicated, the print was too small, your offer wasn’t interesting to a particular audience…the list goes on and on!

We at Pin Money are here to help!   Send us a promotion that “didn’t work” before January 15th and we’ll give you a one-hour professional marketing consultation to answer the burning question “Why not?”.   We can show you similar promotions that have worked, make suggestions to re-tool your marketing strategy or discuss creating your next successful campaign.  Email us today to schedule an appointment or phone conference.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!
Jennifer, Scott, Nira & Laura

Your small business needs to be prepared to weather a gloomy market.  What’s your next play?

First, start by thinking about the future value of your brand and why your business is important to your client base.  Specifically, is there something that your business can offer that is of value to your clients today and in the future? 

Next, look at other businesses and vendors in your area as well as the business relationships you’ve grown through great networking.  Establishing cooperating business relationships is another way to  provide stability and add significant value to your brand during good and bad economic times.

Ask yourself:

• Can you co-brand with another business, preferably in a recession-resistant industry (health care, repair shops, marketing/advertising and education)?
• Do you have a service or product you can cross-promote to the other’s existing and potential clients?

Case Study:  Bur Oak Designs

Most people know the definition of “staycation”.  Watching this trend, BOD owner, Jane Kuzma, knew that her clients would plan to stay home more and – maybe instead of hiring her -  might start doing their own landscaping.  Her next move?  Bur Oak Designs launched a marketing campaign highlighting landscaping options to increase the size, value and pleasure of her client’s homes, including beautiful pictures of outdoor entertaining spaces, outdoor fireplaces and outdoor kitchens.  By showing homeowners they could get more enjoyment out of their homes, Jane created a whole new market for BOD

Partnering with Realtors she had established relationships with, Jane began marketing to their clients who had homes on the market.  Her campaign focused on creating curb appeal quickly and on a budget.

Last but not least, Jane sent marketing pieces to her existing clients and prospects reminding them how good landscaping can significantly increase the overall value of their homes. 

This is a great example of what we call looking down the field!  So, what is your next business move?

Sip and Shops

Jennifer and Laura graced the social pages of this month’s Madison Magazine!  (Don’t they look fabulous!?!) 

Jennifer said, “Laura and I were invited guests of Happy Bambino, a wonderful retail store and resource center located on Atwood Avenue.  Pin Money Consulting is proud to handle all their PR and marketing needs.” 

At the Sips & Shops event, Jennifer and Laura indulged in delicious hors d’oeuvres and champagne compliments of Bluephies.  They had the honor of chatting with many creative people who have influenced the development of Madison’s small business community, including the lovely ladies of Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry and the ever-creative, Leslie Watkins, the marketing and PR force behind Hilldale Mall.

“It was exciting to chat with other retailers and to hear about the promotions they have in the works”, said Jennifer. “With a more challenging economy this year, we’ve all got to step up our game.”

In Part I, we talked about Playing Smart or rethinking what you can offer your customers.  In this segment, we pose a few questions that will help you review your business model. 

Now is a great time to reflect on how your business is going.   You may be wrapping up the end of the calendar or amping up for your busy season.  Whichever is the case, there is still time to pull out all the stops if you are wondering “Will I meet my sales and revenue goals for this year?”

Ask yourself the following questions:

Is my business on the cutting edge or just the edge?
Is the market for my existing products or services expanding or shrinking?
If the market is shrinking, are there any products or services I should be offering that I’m not?
Is there anywhere I can cut fat from my business? What can I do myself or live without?
Are there additional products/services that my business can provide as the market starts to recover? 

The answers can help you refocus and redefine your business model so that your business will not only survive but thrive!

One last question: What’s the difference between a 30 second spot on tv or a three minute network interview?  Pin Money Consulting, of course!  

We’re off to coach two clients through major PR events.   We’ll be back in the office on Monday.  Enjoy your weekend and be sure you “review the play”!