Tip for December 1, 2004

When does a company get too big to communicate in a 1-to-1 manner with its customers? Icelandic Air doesn't feel the need to present an impersonal, "commodity," look to the members of its "Lucky Fares" e-mail opt-in list. The following is a quote from this week's e-mail newsletter: "Lucky members often tell us tales of their amazing trips to Iceland... and now we want to hear about your Iceland adventures. Drive the Golden Circle at midnight? Party like a rockstar in Reykjavik? Rescue a puffin? We want to hear from you. We'll post our favorite stories on Icelandair.com in the upcoming weeks... just think, you'll be instantly famous on the world wide web!"

Tip for December 2, 2004

How do you know when your brand is successful? You'll know your brand is worth something when you start seeing poachers, imitators and other unscrupulous types trying to trade off the investment in your brand. It may be worth hiring a lawyer to shoot off a cease and desist letter, where that's legally warranted.

Tip for December 3, 2004

Make your sales letter astounding. When she was looking for new clients in the translation industry, Sarah Pilgrim sent a Czech koruna (exotic but worth less than a penny) glued to the top of a letter that opened, "Here's a Czech koruna for your time - time that can translate into more money for you." This campaign yielded an astounding 30 percent response rate.

Tip for December 4, 2004

Do you have a “cool factor?” The public responds to exclusivity and the idea of being selected while others are rejected. The more judgmental the door guard at a nightclub, the more people who value being cool want to spend money there.

Tip for December 5, 2004

Always project a professional identity. Last week, Roger C. Parker suggested one of his clients make a major change on her letterhead and business cards. She's a very experienced computer consultant who works out of her home. Most of the time, she visits her client's offices. Nothing wrong about a home based business, except her address contained her apartment number, i.e., "Apt. 345" which adds unnecessary emphasis to her at-home office. Roger suggested she substitute the word "Suite" for "Apartment." Never take a chance and communicate anything that might undermine your prospect's confidence in your abilities or achievements. Inhale the suite smell of success.

Tip for December 6, 2004

When does a company get too big to communicate in a 1-to-1 manner with its customers? Icelandic Air doesn't feel the need to present an impersonal, "commodity," look to the members of its "Lucky Fares" e-mail opt-in list. The following is a quote from this week's e-mail newsletter: "Lucky members often tell us tales of their amazing trips to Iceland... and now we want to hear about your Iceland adventures. Drive the Golden Circle at midnight? Party like a rockstar in Reykjavik? Rescue a puffin? We want to hear from you. We'll post our favorite stories on Icelandair.com in the upcoming weeks... just think, you'll be instantly famous on the world wide web!"

Tip for December 7, 2004

Learning from the New Yorker, Part 1 Students of marketing will find numerous illustrative examples of effective advertising in the wealth of one-column by one-inch ads that are repeated week after week in the New Yorker Magazine. These ads often share common attributes which can help any Guerrilla maximize their profits. One of the most noticeable attributes is the frequent use of a short, keyword, headline that telegraphs a story. For example, "We love Paris!" That, plus the web site URL, is all that's needed for the Paris Notes newsletter to begin a relationship with prospective readers.

Tip for December 8, 2004

Learning from the New Yorker, Part 2 Longevity proves value of lessons learned. Many of the one-column by one-inch advertisers in the New Yorker have been there for years--sometimes for decades. This proves that the lessons that these ads teach are effective at building relationships. Even if the space isn't large, the results the ads create have to be large, or the ads wouldn't continue to be run.

Tip for December 9, 2004

Learning from the New Yorker, Part 3 The vast majority of the one-column by one-inch advertisers in the New Yorker sell very focused products and services. These firms are tightly positioned in their fields. Examples are sources of custom tablecloths, fancy bow ties, canal tours through France, and firms renting French and Italian villas.

Tip for December 10, 2004

Learning from the New Yorker, Part 4 The small space formula that appears to work best is based on a short, telegraphic headline, a simple elaboration, and a prominent web site address. The URL's usually form a self-evident elaboration of the keyword headline. The headline "London Flats" leads to a www.londonconnection.com URL.

Tip for December 11, 2004

Learning from the New Yorker, Part 5 The vast majority of one-column by one-inch ads appear in one color. Often, either the headline or the URL appear as reverses--i.e., white type against a black background. The use of a reversed area organizes the ad and creates a dominant visual which leads the reader's eye through the ads.

Tip for December 12, 2004

Learning from the New Yorker, Part 6 Occasionally, the impact of a one-column by one-inch ad will be enhanced by a second color. For example, a line drawing of a home is filled with yellow, adding impact to The Yellow House, Rockport, Maine.

Tip for December 13, 2004

Learning from the New Yorker, Part 7 Because of the limited space available in a one-column by one-inch ad, body copy is tightly written and edited to the essentials necessary to indicate category and position. Replacements Ltd., www.replacements.com, emphasizes: "10 million pieces!" in stock. www.phatphuque.com's text balances "Intellectual jazz/rock, laced with sarcasm" at the top with "new CD available online."

Tip for December 14, 2004

Learning from the New Yorker, Part 8 Puns are occasionally used to project an attitude and create a grin of recognition and "in group" affinity. Accordingly, Rianel jeweler's headline is: "Rings of Endearment."

Tip for December 15, 2004

Remote call forwarding can create the impression of a bicoastal operation because your business card can list a Los Angeles phone number which rings into a voice-mail service. You can appear to have a slew of branches by establishing phone numbers linked to several different towns and having them all actually ring at your one office. In addition, people assume you're a more settled, larger business if you have a toll-free number.

Tip for December 16, 2004

All too many web sites waste the potential power of the first words at the top of their home pages by welcoming visitors with a vapid, "Welcome to our site." A welcoming statement contains no "real" message. It neither offers or promises visitors a benefit for reading on. It's just "empty" words. Plus, how many times do you go to a web site and be told you're "not welcome"?

Tip for December 17, 2004

Subheads convert skimmers into readers. Everyone is in a hurry these days. They don't have time to read long messages...unless they're convinced they will be well rewarded for their efforts. In most cases you message will receive only a quick once-over before it is set aside to be read until "later"--which often never comes. Subheads to the rescue! Subheads break long text passages into bite-sized chunks. Each subhead provides a glimpse into the text that follows, "advertising" the upcoming topic. Each subhead provides an additional entry point into your message. Subheads belong in your e-mail and on your web site as well as in your ads, brochures, newsletters, and proposals.

Tip for December 18, 2004

Line extensions-when firms add a new product or service to existing offerings-can be very tricky. Unless there is a logical connection between the original products and services and the new one, the new offering is likely to fail. Bausch & Lomb, for example, known for precision eyeglass lenses, are now offering vitamins for eyesight restoration. Chances of success? Pretty slim. Bausch is known for lenses, not pharmaceuticals. But, Gateway Computer's recent promotion of digital cameras and accessories makes perfect sense. Because Gateway makes computers, and digital photography is a growing part of today's computer experience. Computer users are increasingly replacing their film cameras with digital cameras....and upgrading their computers to deliver the necessary processing power.

Tip for December 19, 2004

Experienced Guerrillas market with postcards. Postcards offer many advantages: they are quick and easy to prepare and print, inexpensive to mail, and are difficult to overlook when encountered in the mail. There are no envelopes to open and no concerns about viruses. Your clients and prospects will find it virtually impossible to avoid reading your message when it appears on a postcard in their mail.

Tip for December 20, 2004

Use numbers in your promotional package, preferably statistics, particularly those from a believable source. For instance, "According to the Small Business Administration, only 13.5 percent of small firms in the U.S. invest anything in research and development. This hurts their ability to keep pace with economic changes." Or, "Of 256 clients in the program last year, 63 percent lost at least 20 pounds and kept it off through the end of the year." Naturally, these must be real data. Fake data would make you guilty of false advertising.

Tip for December 21, 2004

* The biggest business magazines, just in case you want to talk to business people, are: Fortune Small Business -1,000,100, Smart Money - 809,685, Fast Company - 686,000 Inc. - 650,577 Entrepreneur - 550,925

Tip for December 22, 2004

If you have the "best" deal in the world, explain why. Though much of the public falls for things "too good to be true," others hold back when they think they couldn't possibly get a quality product or service at such a price. They become more willing to buy when you explain that a competitor went bankrupt and you bought up his inventory, or you'll perform the first service for free because you believe they'll then become your customer for life.

Tip for December 23, 2004

Be patient: Less than 4% of sales are made on the first call, over 80% are made after the eighth call. Guerrillas are always on the lookout for the next need cycle, and strive to be there when the need arises. So stick with it. Keep mailing out your brochure.

Tip for December 24, 2004

Vehicles and billboards Morgan Press is a commercial printer in Manchester, NH, interested in projecting a professional image. One of the best ways they communicate their professionalism is their truck, which is a white truck with a large red logo. “A white truck in New Hampshire?” That’s asking for trouble, especially during mud-season,(about half the year). But, Morgan Press makes it work by having their truck cleaned every day—often, several times a day. Wasteful? Not really. For about five dollars a cleaning, Morgan Press is able to project an image that non-verbally communicates their attention to detail and their “clean” image. Take-away. How can you adapt Morgan Press’s “clean truck” to your business?

Tip for December 25, 2004

Tracking and accountability It’s not enough for Guerrilla Marketers to have a marketing plan; the plan has to include provisions for tracking and accountability. Tracking is another word for research. Tracking refers to the way Guerrillas carefully monitor their marketing to see which offers, prices, headlines, lists, and media perform the best. If the same offer is promoted through Media A and Media B, the relative effectiveness of the media can be ascertained by adding up the number of responses coming from Media A or Media B. Likewise, if the same offer is offered to Media A and Media B at two prices—Price 1 and Price 2—tracking results will show you which price is most effective. Without tracking, you’re flying blind and can never learn from your market. Accountability is equally important. As an entrepreneur, you don’t have a boss! As a result, it’s relatively easy to miss deadlines or fail to implement planned marketing agendas. Building specific implementation dates into your marketing helps you see at a glance how determined you are to succeed. If you consistently miss your planned dates, you were either too aggressive in your planning or aren’t that concerned about succeeding.

Tip for December 26, 2004

“You returned my amplifier better than before!” Audio Lab was a chain of hi-fi specialty dealers in the Boston area. In a very competitive market, they sold and repaired high-quality stereo components—at high-quality prices. One of the things that set Audio Lab’s service apart was the fact that every unit brought in for service was cleaned and vacuumed. Finger marks and dust spots on front panels were scrupulously cleaned, and all exposed areas of the components were vacuumed. Then, the unit was wrapped in heavy grade clear plastic and sealed with masking tape. Often, customers would remark: “You returned my amplifier to like-new condition!” Removing finger marks from front panels and vacuuming dust off the unit itself may not have contributed to better sound, but it certainly made customers feel better about the unit—and Audio Lab’s service prices. Cleaning and vacuuming didn’t work on an electrical level, it worked on an emotional level—where decisions are really made. Take-away. What can you do, when delivering your product or service, to add emotional value to the transaction you provided?

Tip for December 27, 2004

TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CREATIVITY 1. The best measure of creativity is profitability. 2. Remember that creativity begins with an idea. 3. The idea is found within the product or service. 4. The idea will write its own advertisements. 5. Creativity doesn't care where it comes from. 6. The best creativity spawns ideas with long lives. 7. Think of advertising as the truth made fascinating. 8. The more specific you are the more creative you can be. 9. Creativity does not come from inspiration. 10. Creativity comes from knowledge.

Tip for December 28, 2004

FIVE STEPS TO BEING CREATIVE 1. Find your inner amazement. 2. Select your competitive edge. 3. Break the advertising barrier with believability. 4. Get your audience to sit up and take notice 5. Tell them exactly what to do next.

Tip for December 29, 2004

Words of Guerrilla Wisdom: Pay attention to who your customers are and why they are buying. Be inside the experience of your customers. Give them more than they expect.

Tip for December 30, 2004

Reward customers: Salesman to customer who just bought a bed: “Oh, by the way, why don't you go over to our linen display and pick out a set of sheets. They're on us." He could have bundled a sheet set with the package, but that would defeat the objective. For the reward to be effective, it must be something beyond the customer's expectations. Guerrillas send every customer away feeling as though they just hit the jackpot. In the Reward Stage, guerrillas secure their position with customers by always rewarding them for their business.

Tip for December 31, 2004

Q: What in your mind constitutes a successful marketing campaign? A: Anything that generates profits for the marketer is successful. That means it's creative. That's the only measure. It has nothing to do with memory or people liking it or winning an award. It has everything to do with generating profits for the advertiser.

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