Small Business Marketing: Influentia

This is what viral videos are all about

Note: This blog has moved! For continued updates about small business marketing, visit my new blog Manizesto, or subscribe to the Manizesto feed.

HP has nailed it with these three viral videos, targeted to small business customers. They are funny, well-written, of high quality and get the point across in a memorable way. But unlike many viral videos, these also have a pseudo call to action, which many companies forget to include.

Life without HP: Car wash

Life without HP: Bubble wrap

Life without HP: Experts

What more can you ask for?

(Disclosure: I work for a division of HP, Logoworks)

How to add new customers without alienating existing ones

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Your business will never grow unless you're able to add new customers on a consistent basis. Targeting those new customers is a must, but when doing it, be careful not to alienate your existing customer base.

Case in point: Scion, one of Toyota's (NYSE TM) brands, recently gave a makeover to their wildly successful xB econo-box, which is a good thing. But the changes have been so drastic that many people who loved the quirky, stand-out car with lots of room in a small package are finding the newer generation too big, too mainstream, and too much like their dad's car, which is a bad thing (See comments on the new design).

So here's what you can learn:

• Changing something successful is good, but not if you change too much
• Broadening your target audience is good, but adding a new product might be better than reformulating one that is already successful with a customer base.
• Researching why people are not buying your products is good, but deciding to target that group and the one you already are may not be the best approach.
• Building up a new brand with a strong target audience is good, but don't suddenly target a different group when you already have loyal customers.

Want more scrumptious tidbits of marketing know-how? Then subscribe to Influentia today, or check out my new, work-in-progress blog, Manizesto.

Why your small business needs a full-time marketer

Note: This blog has moved! For continued updates about small business marketing, visit my new blog Manizesto, or subscribe to the Manizesto feed.

If you've ever wondered why your small business might need a full-time marketer, here are 33 reasons to get one now:

1. You have no website, logo, business cards or brand identity to speak of.
2. You don't know for sure that $6.99 is the best price to sell your home-made, organic soap.
3. You have never sent an html email to a customer.
4. You don't know what your competitors are doing better or worse than you.
5. You've never heard of SEO, SEM (or PPC for that matter).
6. Your brochure consists of prices and descriptions written on a paper napkin during your business lunch.
7. You think your advertisement worked because a lot of people have called in. They'll probably be buying sometime.
8. You have never conducted any primary research to find out what you should be doing that you're not.
9. You have no sales leads.
10. No one you talk to (besides your spouse and business partner) has ever heard of your company before.
11. Your customer relationships management consist of calling them regularly to ask them if they want to buy any more yet.
12. You stay awake at night wondering why no one is buying your great products/services.
13. You stay awake at night wondering if you have the right products or services.
14. You stay awake at night wondering if you're targeting the right customers.
15. You've never been in the black.
16. Marketing plan. What marketing plan?
17. You don't know what direct mail is.
18. You think advertising means being on TV and in magazines.
19. You have asked your doctor if you should be concerned about the "viral marketing" disease.
20. You think marketers are akin to used car salesman and Fox News.
21. You have no way of knowing how your customers came to you or how to get them to buy more.
22. Your customers buy from you once and never come back.
23. You cannot describe your average customer.
24.  Your last "marketing guy" demanded a large salary and brought in nothing.
25. Your small business marketing consists of attending chamber of commerce meetings and giving out a business card at least once a week.
26. You've emailed everyone you know about your business. Why haven't they bought anything yet?
27. You're thinking about closing up shop.
28. You don't get what brand awareness has to do with sales.
29. You think branding is just for Coca-Cola and ranchers.
30. People confuse your company with your competition.
31. You don't think you can afford to advertise.
32. You feel like you're in the dark when it comes to making important pricing and product decisions.
33. You identify with this list.

Marketers, if they are seasoned and competent, can truly take your business to the next level, help you understand who your target customers are, how to appeal to them, how to build relationships with them and how to increase their lifetime value. A good marketer will do a lot of testing to help you find out what works, what does not and how to reach your customers in the right way, with a message that will resonate well. It's never too late to start.

Marketing your small business is a business all in itself. Make sure you know how to do it. Subscribe to the Influentia Blog for daily tips and updates that will help you take your business to the next level.

Case Study: When to rebrand your business

Note: This blog has moved! For continued updates about small business marketing, visit my new blog Manizesto, or subscribe to the Manizesto feed.

It has been barely a year since Court TV rolled out with a brand new logo and corporate image, but the cable channel is doing a complete rebrand all over again. Two days ago Court TV announced that starting January 1, they will be known as TruTV to better "describe the kind of programming we do in prime time," according to the channel's executive VP and GM Marc Juris (Full article). TruTV's new lineup will include shows that "would happen whether the cameras were there or not," Juris says, which differentiates them from largely scripted reality TV shows blasting the airwaves.

So is it a smart move to rebrand so soon after recently doing so? Is the Jan 1 launch date a good idea? Does the name really matter, and will rebranding alienate those familiar with the already established brand?

Although it is never easy and it is never a "good" time to take an established brand and change it to a new one, the timing seems to be right for Court TV. The channel is still in a growing stage, adding viewers every quarter for the last two years (something most networks would love to be able to claim). And the network's well-received shows that focus more on true-to-life events has clearly changed the direction the channel is headed.

Alienation when launching a new brand is always risky, but follow examples of good brand changes (a la Cingular > AT&T) and the transition will be smooth. Also look at recent rebranding efforts by other cable networks: OLN > Versus and The Nashville Network > TNN > The National Network > The New TNN > Spike > Spike (new logo).

If you're a small business looking to rebrand, consider the timing, audience, strategy, costs, and long term goals to help you decide if and when to begin launching your new brand.

For regular insights and helpful analysis of real small business marketing, subscribe to the Influentia blog.

Santa still endorses Coke after 75 years

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The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has been using Santa Claus for more than 75 years to sell their classic beverage. Here's a little history:

Coca-Cola commissioned Chicago artist Haddon Sundblom (Bio) in 1931 to illustrate several lifelike versions of Santa Claus for advertisements to boost sales during the normally slow winter months. Sundblom's first work appeared in publications such as the Saturday Evening Post (below), Ladies Home Journal and National Geographic, and it was so well received that Coca-Cola hired him to paint one each year from 1931 to 1964.

From Coke:

"[In the 1920s], many people thought of Coca-Cola as a drink only for warm weather. The Coca-Cola Company began a campaign to remind people that Coca-Cola was a great choice in any month. This  began with the 1922 slogan "Thirst Knows No Season," and continued with a campaign connecting a true icon of winter - Santa Claus - with the beverage."

What a brilliant move; taking a nationally recognized (and not trademarked) image and using it to sell your products. The campaign has resulted in instant brand recognition, created a strong emotional connection and invented probably one of the first "celebrity" endorsements of a product in marketing. The Coca-Cola Santa Claus still lives on today.*

Small businesses take note: marketing your product is all about how you utilize people's perceptions of their world and relate your products to that world. You don't have the advertising budget of Coke, but you do have the ability to use well-recognized images, sounds, themes etc and connect them to your business.

For daily doses of interesting ways you can give your small business marketing success, subscribe to the Influentia blog.

*See many of Sundblom's original illustrations here (sorry about the ads), and read all about Cokelore here.

Why the generic brand feels generic

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Generic brands always feel inferior to name brands. Why?

Every major grocery store has a line of generically branded products (think Western Family, Kroger Value and Great Value). They are usually placed on the highest and lowest shelves since stores make so much money from other brands vying for the eye level shelf positions. They are priced way lower than name brands and normally taste slightly different from name brands.

But what stands out most to me is the horrible designs generic brands boast. Compared to name brand products, generic brand's designs are way, way under par. Consider the evidence. If prices on these two groups of products were the same, which one would you rather buy?

This one...

...or this one?

I think the answer is obvious. The fact that generic brands don't invest in good quality packaging and design tells me they are banking on people purchasing their products solely based on price and are undervaluing what good packaging design can do. Maybe they've done the market research and found that design is not relevant, but my gut tells me if there is an opportunity here for competitors (especially small businesses) to compete strongly in this space. If you invest in good packaging design and have basically the same products, you have an edge on traditional generic brands.

If you'd like more small business marketing tips, news and insights, subscribe to the Influentia blog for regular nuggets of marketing insight.

Newsflash: Teens spend a lot of money

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Teens spend more each year than Mexico makes in annual exports, according to a recent report from FairCredit.org. What's more:

• Teens spend 98% of their money, saving just 2%.
• The average teen spends $104/week or $5,408/year.
• Children's spending tripled in the 1990s.
• Teens spent an average of $141 billion as a group each year.

But this gigantic market opportunity turns out to also be one of the most difficult to crack. Market researchers spend billions each year to find out how to market to a group that hates being marketed to and who doesn't respond well to traditional marketing.

If you haven't seen PBS's fantastic documentary, called Merchants of Cool, on the topic, it's an absolute must-see that will put into perspective the lengths some businesses will go to to crack the teen market (full legth video online here).

Most interesting quote I read today

Note: This blog has moved! For continued updates about small business marketing, visit my new blog Manizesto, or subscribe to the Manizesto feed.

From Michael J. Fox:

"No matter how much fame you have, it’s not something that belongs to you. If I’m famous, that doesn’t belong to me -- that belongs to you. If you can’t remember who I am, I’m no longer famous."

Although Fox's quote is about dealing with his celebrity status, what he wrote is also true with marketing. If people can't remember your messaging, you have no brand.

Full Esquire article: "What I've learned" (strong language).

How to sell something you literally don't sell

Note: This blog has moved! For continued updates about small business marketing, visit my new blog Manizesto, or subscribe to the Manizesto feed.

It's all about perception, isn't it? Today I read a quote from Ken Calwell, Domino's chief marketing officer, on the pizza juggernaut's approach on what they sell to customers:

            "Our target's need isn't for pizza, it's for convenience."

Which it true. Who needs pizza? And yet Americans eat almost 90 acres of it every day. Sure, it tastes good, but it turns out people buy pizza because it is a convenient, tasty dinner that only requires one phone call (or one website visit). You don't even have to leave the house.

Calwell's understanding of this concept is important as a marketer, and indicates what incites people to become customers. Good marketers have a keen understanding of what makes their target customers tick. It requires learning their behaviors and needs, then building a product or service that meets them.

Which means oftentimes you'll discover that you're actually selling something you don't literally sell; instead, you're selling another intangible benefit. Here are a few examples.

- Domino's doesn't sell pizza, they sell convenience.

- Apple doesn't sell computers, they sell style and simplicity.

- Chevrolet doesn't sell cars and trucks, they sell an American tradition.

- Wal-Mart doesn't sell you convenience, they save you money.

- Nike doesn't sell shoes and apparel, they sell a lifestyle.

- ADT doesn't sell security systems, they sell you peace of mind.

- Rolex doesn't sell watches, they sell status.

- Home Depot doesn't sell lumber and tools, they help you beautify your home.

- Swiss International Airlines doesn't sell air travel, they sell pampering.

- Jell-O doesn't sell flavored gelatin, they sell low-calorie snacks.

- Coca-Cola doesn't sell flavored carbonation, they sell refreshment.

- Celebrity Cruises doesn't sell you boat rides, they sell you complete relaxation.

101 dumbest moments in business

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If you're a PR or marketing professional looking for some new clients, Fortune has just compiled a list of 101 companies that could use your help. Called the 101 Dumbest Moments in Business, the article highlights some of the funniest and most interesting gaffes people and companies have made over the last year. 

A few of my favorites:

• Eli Lilly created a chewable, beef-flavored Prozac for dogs (article).
• Redux Beverages names its energy drink Cocaine, you know, so kids will think it's cool (article and FDA Warning letter).
• Jay-Z's line of jackets labeled as having "Faux fur" actually contain dog fur. The Humane Society is outraged (article).
• Pizza Hut hires Jessica Simpson for an ad spot to sell their Cheesy Bites Pizza, but neglects to find out she is allergic to wheat, tomatoes and cheese (article).

Here is the full list. It will make you feel better about forgetting the name of the guy who visited your office from the corporate HQ.

(Note: This annual list is normally compiled and published by Business 2.0 magazine, but after they went belly-up, parent company CNN passed the torch to Fortune Magazine).

[Photo courtesy of Technology Review.]