38 Witnessed Murder; No One Called Police

It's called the "bystander effect" and it became a focus of study after the murder of Kitty Genovese.

Genovese was stabbed to death by a serial killer in 1964 in Queens, NY. According to newspaper accounts, 38 people heard or witnessed the act as it was occuring, yet no one contacted law enforcement officials.

The exact number of witnesses--and their lack of action--remains debatable today. However, the incident spurred numerous studies into human behavior and our response to emergencies.

Pyschologists have concluded time and time again that the more witnesses present in an emergency, the less likely those witnesses will respond. Put one person in a room as someone has a seizure, the one person calls for help. Put twenty people in a room as someone has a seizure, and everyone waits for the others to act. Hence, the "bystander effect."

This has led me to a burning question: is our economy suffering from the "bystander effect?"

In other words, are we all sitting around waiting for others to act? Are we assuming that someone else will respond to the emergency? Are we simply bystanders?

Many small business owners will be the first to say, no way. They are doing everything they can to keep their business afloat. They are responding to the emergency.

But others, I would argue, suffer deeply from the bystander effect. Perhaps this effect is exacerbated by the government's stimulus plan. People assume that the government's aggressive spending package will be the solution, so we can be "bystanders" until the economy corrects itself.

Have you tracked where stimulus dollars are going? First stop: back filling budgets previously cut. Second stop: maintaining current staffing levels to avoid further layoffs. Given these two significant stops, most stimulus money is not generating new spending, at least not yet.

The government might be doing some valiant things to combat this emergency, but if we are all bystanders in this emergency, then few will respond.

So I propose that we all become responders and not bystanders to this emergency.

Go out and create some value. Determine right now that you will create value today. Recall that value is the relationship between the perceived benefit and the price. Create much benefit for little price.

In other words--perhaps in more business-like terms--create much revenue for not much cost.

If each and every person created value today, the economic ripples would be felt worldwide.

So move your business to the next level. Avoid the bystander effect and be a responder. Determine that you will create and add value today.

After all, the responders are the heroes. If you want to be a hero in this economic crisis, go out and create some value. Add value right now!

Speak < Sell

In plain English, speak less than you sell. Or conversely, sell more than you speak.

It's a magic formula that will actually force you to speak less and directly sell more.

How does it work? Simply put, say only a few things and ask only the really pertinent questions. This lets your prospect do the talking and--more often than not--the prospect sells your product or service to themselves!

One caveat: this strategy is best used when advancing a prospect through the sales funnel. To move a lead through the sales funnel, its a matter of prospecting, presenting and following up. Prospects generally need more information, so it may be okay to speak more.

However, the best way to convert a prospect into a lead and eventually a customer is to let them do all the talking. They will tell you what they need. You can then decide of your solution meets their needs.

Amazing things happen when salespeople ask the right questions and then keep their mouths shut. The customer really opens up and tells exactly the information that the salesperson needs to close the deal, namely their biggest needs.

Call it the Socratic method of selling, but it really works.

Try it next time you are trying to close a sale. Ask good questions, let the customer do the talking and watch them close the sale for you.

It takes a bit of discipline. We all want to show how good our product or service is and tell how much we can help the prospect.

But I guarantee, speak less and sell more and you will move your business to the next level.

Please Tell Me Someone Already Thought of This!

Question for grocery stores out there: do you have "locally grown" produce section?

Most grocers carry an "organic" section that attract a certain niche of produce buyers. Fortunately or unfortunately--depending on which side of the aisle you stand--the anchor point for organic produce is a bit higher than non-organic produce. It seems to cater to a clientele with the ability to spend more.

But a "local" section could present a number of profitable and agreeable benefits.

First of all, it could be cheaper than the other options. If produce doesn't have to travel thousands of miles, the cost savings can be passed onto the customer. Savings sells in a grocery store.

Second of all, it makes wonderful environmental sense.

Most of all, a "local" produce section has the makings for a perfect Marketing DNA. It's differentiated so it will attract new and different customers. It serves an ideal niche of locals. And it adds value to the consumer, the growers and ultimately the bottom line of the grocer.

Sure there are probably some kinks to work out. Produce would not be as predictable as local growing cycles. Space is probably a concern as well since grocers generally occupy every square inch of their store. And maybe the displays would take some tweaking to make sure the message is clear.

But these seem to be easily-solved issues if the name of the game is to add value.

In fact, it seems so obvious to me that some grocer's out there must be doing it. And I'm not talking about those grocers that already have a strong organic following, like Whole Foods. I'm talking about bargain grocers like Grocery Outlet or Food Maxx. Or even big box stores with grocery departments like Wal-Mart and Target.

Are grocers already doing it? Please tell me somebody already thought of this!

Sales Down 30%, Now What? 4 Implementable Actions

Despite rosy claims that the recession is over, many small businesses continue to feel the pinch.

With the end of 2009 in sight, many business owners ponder what's to come in 2010 and beyond. If sales revenues are down, what can a business do to stay afloat? How long can a business sustain less and less customer spending?

Believe it or not, many businesses are growing during these doom and gloom times. The ones that are growing are capturing marketing share from their competitors that are shrinking or downright collapsing. And once the recession subsides, the survivors will thrive.

So how do you survive? How do you stem the huge dips in sales revenue and live to see another day? There are a number of ways, but let's focus on four key actions that you can implement today:

1) External Needs Analysis: get outside of your small business box and ask around. Ask your customers, your prospects and leads: what do you need most? Ask your competitors or collaborators what customers are seeking and needing. Only those businesses that can provide solutions based on needs will attract customers and followers. Find and identify the biggest needs; that's where the spending is happening.

2) Evaluate Your Positioning: once you have a sense on the needs in the marketplace, reevaluate your comparative advantage, or Unique Selling Proposition. This is the statement that summarizes the value you provide in a brief and succinct manner. Ensure that you are positioned to serve the needs you discovered in Step #1. If your positioning doesn't address the needs of the marketplace, it might be time to rethink your business. Also ensure that your target market understands your USP so they can differentiate what you provide from others.

3) Internal Needs Analysis: now that you know what the needs of your market are and you know how to position yourself to address those needs, look inside your company. Determine if you have the resources to get your message to those that most need your services. Resources doesn't only mean money. Remember, the best marketing takes money, time and energy. If you don't have the money, make sure you have the time and energy. Only those businesses with the internal resources to to address market needs will continue to exist.

4) Add Value: if you read this blog frequently, this is a common theme. Recall that value is the relationship between perceived benefit and price. Value is the way you monetize your business and it is a key component to your Marketing DNA. Continue to add value to your customers--even if it means sacraficing a little profit--and you will build your followers. If you can be there for your customers during these tough times, guess who will be there for you when those same customers need a service like yours?

There are other actions to stem the tide--like slashing your marketing budget--but the key is to think long term. Short term actions put out fires, but do not prepare you for the long haul.

To move your business to the next level, think long term. Business may be down 30% now, but if you can stem the tide, you too can have a growing business that captures market share from your shrinking or collapsing competitors.

Social Media Impact Predicted 47 Years Ago

As both consumers and advertisers continue to explore the waters of social media, one thing is clear: the impact of social media was already predicted 47 years ago.

Try this on for size:

"...[I]f a new technology extends one or more of our senses outside us into the social world, then new ratios among all of our senses will occur in that particular culture. It is comparable to what happens when a new note is added to a melody. And when the sense ratios alter in any culture then what had appeared lucid before may suddenly become opaque, and what had been vague or opaque will become translucent.”

This is an excerpt from The Gutenberg Galaxy written by Marshall McLuhan….in 1962.

That’s right. 1962. Even more interesting, McLuhan made this statement in reference to the printing press. Yet his comments remain applicable today.

McLuhan theorized that the technology of communication has a greater impact than the actual message, and thus the technology shapes how we communicate, interact and organize. McLuhan is credited with originating the concept “the medium is the message.” He cited numerous development--from the creation of the alphabet to the invention of electronic media--as historic milestones that have shaped our civilization.

As the social media craze reaches more and more corners of the earth, he seems to be more prescient than ever. Social media is shaping the next generation of the communication landscape.

Social media has altered our sense ratios.

What's becoming clearer is our sense of time and value. The immediacy of social media has allowed consumers and respond and react to marketing messages in real time. And since word-of-mouth is so powerful within the social media channels, the content and the message must provide value for anyone to truly respond.

However, what's becoming less clear is our sense of reach and scale. Social media is not for everyone. Despite crazy growth rates for Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, some consumers have yet to plug in. Globally speaking, there are millions that don't even have access to the technology.

Given this clarity and opaqueness, it stands to reason why the social media movers and shakers are professing that the most successful social media messages are genuine, loving, positive and collaborative.

Andy Sernovitz, Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan among others all agree that the best way to utilize social media is to share valuable content. They claim that sharing good content--whether it be your own or attributed to another--is the best way to create a following.

Call it the karmic circle of social media: put out good stuff and get that in return.

In light of McLuhan's statement, there is still much to learn about social media particularly from a small business marketing standpoint. We see that companies like Gap are replacing big budget TV ads with Facebook campaigns. It's a risk, but one that Gap is willing to take. We've also seen instances like Johnson and Johnson who leveraged YouTube. Their risk, unfortunately, turned out poorly.

So yes, we are reaching clarity on some levels for social media, but other levels are still opaque.

For that reason, I recommend we all subscribe to the karmic cirle of social media. Let's put out good things and share useful and interesting information. This is truly the way to create and add value, which is a key component to your Marketing DNA.

In fact, it may be the only way to move your business the the next level.

4 Ways to Market Like a 6th Grade Teacher

6th Grade is an important year. Students across the country are expected to understand basic math, language and science concepts by the end of the year.

For many, it’s the final year of elementary school which can signify a new beginning. After 6th grade, the academic stakes are raised with tests, essays, projects, presentations and a more mature learning environment.

In order to prepare students for life after 6th grade, teachers must ensure that their students are prepared to take the next step. Successful teachers use a variety of tactics to move students to the next level.

My 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Gil-Osorio, did just that. In fact, she implemented some extremely smart marketing tactics that your small business can use. Here are four ways to successfully market like Mrs. Gil-Osorio:

1) Consistent Goal; Different Tactics: a 6th grade teacher must prepare students for junior high school and beyond. The goal does not change. However, the tactics vary. Some learners are visual, some kinesthetic, some auditory. A good teacher—and a good marketer—will realize that students--i.e. prospects—will respond to different tactics. For your small business marketing, implement different tactics to communicate your message. The message and the objective should not change, but the tactics should.

2) Give Homework: homework reinforces the message. Same goes for marketing. Encourage your prospects to do their homework. If you are providing a unique and special value—a key component to your Marketing DNA—no one should be able to compete with you. Let your customers ask around and request bids from other providers. Follow up after be prepared to show why your offer is best.

3) Grade Your Students: in other words, grade your customers. Who is an “A” customer? If you understand who your best customers are, it will be easier to attract more “A” customers. Does this mean you ignore the “F” customers? Perhaps, but a 6th grade teacher would not do that. A good teacher would figure out how to turn an “F” customer into an “A” customer.

4) Create a Lasting Impact: decades after my year with Mrs. Gil-Osorio, I can still recall her name and her class. Can you create such a bond and an impact with your customers so that decades down the line they can recall their experience with you? Create a long-term impact and your brand will stick.

6th grade was a long time ago for me. Do I remember all the facts and figures I learned? Definitely not. But I did learn how to be a good marketer and that has moved my business to the next level.

No More Cold Calling...EVER!

In the movie Mommie Dearest Faye Dunaway plays the title role of Joan Crawford, an abusive and harrowing mother. In one famous scene Dunaway encapsulates Crawford’s rage and anger by scolding her adopted daughter for using low quality wire hangers. She famously screams to her child, “No more wire hangers, ever!”

While I cannot duplicate the rage that Dunaway channels for her character, I can echo her passion with my own not-so-famous mantra: “No more cold calling, ever!”

A strict cold call has two characteristics: 1) it’s a call to a person that has no previous connection to your business and 2) the purpose of the call is to directly sell your product or service.

Given this understanding, it’s important to note that cold calling is a major distribution channel for marketing messages. Entire industries specialize in cold calling, except they give it a euphemistic name like outbound telemarketing (aka OBTM). And with not-so-new regulations that allow telemarketers to call mobile phones, the industry is primed to call more and more. (I speak from experience. I used to help manage the OBTM channel for a credit card company.)

However many small business owners shudder at the thought of cold calling. Cold calls seldom result in sales and more often result in rejection. A series of rejections can deflate even the biggest ego.

So I recommend you tackle cold calling with a different attitude. You still want to contact new leads and prospects and keep pushing your brand. But take the fear and dislike out of cold calling and instead make warm calls. Here are two ways to make warm calls:

1) Market Research: instead of calling for the sake of selling, call for the sake of research. Build a relationship with your call by asking questions. Listen more, speak less. Ask for a moment of the prospects time to ask a few questions about their current needs. For maximum impact, repeat what the prospect is saying in your own words and ask “is that what you mean?” Track all of your answers so you can understand all of your prospect’s needs. Finally, avoid closing the call by selling your product or service. Instead, thank them for their time and perhaps give your contact information. At most, ask for a good time to follow up.

2) Invitation: a cold call quickly becomes a warm call if you are not selling anything. The Market Research strategy outlined in #1 is one way, but another way is to invite prospects to an event, a seminar or a conference call. Let’s say you’re a real estate agent specializing in short sales. Set up a weekly conference call where you present the latest and greatest industry information. Now when calling your list—instead of selling them on your service—invite them to your event. The close in this case is warm and cordial. “Call in or come on by” is an easy close. It is a warm way to turn contacts into prospects.

Ultimately, any successful business should have an ongoing calling campaign. You have to keep your sales funnel full and calling is an excellent way. So set a number of new contacts to make over the phone; 40 a week is a great number, but maybe 10-20 is more realistic depending on your business.

Regardless, set up a target of contacts to make. When you call, ask questions or invite them to something. Take the cold out of your calling and approach them with warmth. This can truly help your small business marketing and will move your business to the next level.

After all, you attract more bees with honey than vinegar. Too bad Joan Crawford didn’t understand this.

Only the Greatest Ideas Get Implemented

Everybody has a great idea. Everybody.

There is someone with a great idea in every corner of the earth. Or at least they think it is a great idea.

Only the greatest ideas get implemented.

An idea can only become reality upon implementation. A great idea is never about "wouldn't it be great if?" or "I could have done that." Instead, it's about "when can I make this happen?" and "what do I need next?"

If you think you have a great idea, now is the time to implement it. Now is the time to make that idea into a reality. Otherwise, you're just like everyone else in every corner of the earth with an abstraction.

If you really want to move your business to the next level, it's time to test that concept and turn that idea into reality. If anything, your idea will evolve. You will learn what works and what doesn't.

And in the process you can discover how best to add value, differentiate and serve your niche.

Sand Dune Marketing

Sand dunes are amazing. Visit the same sand dunes once a year for many years and you will find the same sand dunes, or will you?

Sand dunes continually evolve. Wind, rain and other factors constantly change the shape of the dune. However—assuming no catastrophic occurrences—the dunes continue to exist. Even with daily change and alterations, the essence of the sand dune remains true.

Imagine your brand is a sand dune. The essence of your brand should remain true, even through cycles of change and evolution.

A sand dune cannot control the exterior factors, but it can adapt and adjust. The adaptations and adjustments ensure that the sand dune will remain a viable ecosystem. A dune’s basic substance is rigid but its shape and form is malleable.

The core tenets of your brand should be rigid. Your marketing, however, should be malleable.

In other words, your marketing message should be simple, consistent and constant, like sand. The way you spread your message can adjust and adapt with time, like the dune.

To move your business to the next level—and to get the most out of your small business marketing—market your product or service like a sand dune.

Avoid the Mud and Get S.M.A.R.T.

S.M.A.R.T. Marketing is the only way to go when planning your marketing.

Many businesses simply market their products or services by throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks. Not only is this approach short-sighted, it’s also very messy.

Instead of simply throwing mud at the wall, think through your marketing. Make it S.M.A.R.T.: Strategic, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.

Here is what I mean:

• Strategic: focus on the long-term and the big picture and not the tactics. Strategy drives tactics, not the other way around. We can all get drowned in the tactics of marketing initiatives: e-mail, direct mail, websites, events, etc. But real results occur when a strategy is set in place. Seth Godin’s got a great blog on strategy vs tactics that is worth a quick read. Remember, set and follow a strategy first. Then, worry about the tactics.

• Measureable: be sure you measure your marketing efforts. A little math goes a long way. Response rates, conversion rates, click rates, open rates, hits, calls, subscribers and other metrics will help you understand if you are getting bang for your buck. If you don’t measure, you cannot determine the return on your marketing dollars.

• Achievable: you certainly want to stretch and push your capabilities, but make sure you can accomplish what you set out to do. If your strategy is too lofty, you can beat yourself up and lose focus.

• Realistic: understand your brand and how people are drawn to it. Make sure your marketing efforts complement and grow the ways in which most customers find your brand. This really comes into play when you set up your marketing budget. $10,000 for a new website would be terrific, but will it generate the return?

• Time-bound: the best marketing plans have a time limit. Set up a strategic plan with a number of tactics for 6 months. After that time, evaluate. Keep and expand what is working, discard what is not. I recommend at least 6 months, though I’ve seen plans that work with less or more time. The key is the time boundary. Without it, there is no evaluation period, no measurement and no learnings.

So avoid the mud of messy marketing tactics by uniting them all under one S.M.A.R.T. Marketing Plan. Front loading a little work at the beginning will go a long way to moving you business to the next level.

Long and Short of E-Mail Marketing

So you’ve already signed up for an e-newsletter provider like Aweber, right?

No? What are you waiting for? E-mail marketing is highly affordable and extremely professional. It needs to be part of your marketing arsenal. Stop now, click here and get with the e-newsletter program.

Now that you’ve signed up, consider that there are the two schools of thought when it comes to e-mail marketing: the short school and the long school.

The short school of thought is pretty obvious: e-mails should be quick and to the point. This will ensure that readers peruse the entire message. Provide one call to action (like “Click Here” or “Find Out More”) with one link, button or other call-out. Get in and get out, so to speak.

The long school is just the opposite: e-mails should be full of rich content that engages the readers. Keep the reader focused and committed to your information. Provide a number of links and calls to action that drive readers to your website or blog. The more time the reader spends with you, the more value you provide and the greater the brand awareness. Think of it as a grocery store: the longer you spend in the store, the more you will buy.

So which is best?

Well, that all depends.

If you are prospecting and trying to encourage readers to learn more about you and your company, the short school is best. However, if readers are already engaged and need to be moved through the sales funnel, then the long school is better.

Simply put: acquiring new customers? Use the short school. Retaining existing customers? Use the long school.

Ultimately, your customer base will determine what they like best. When you use Aweber or another e-mail marketing provider, be sure to track open rates, click rates and other metrics to see what is working. Test and learn. Find out if your audience prefers the short school or the long school.