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Aggressive Small Business Marketing & Advertising
Showing archives from 06/2004.
Is war a good metaphor for business?
Posted by Michael Cage on Wednesday, June 30, 2004I think so.
Unless you are in the tinyiest of markets, there are businesses, organizations, and people competing for the attention and beliefs of your customers. You will have allies and enemies and periods of active and behind-the-scenes aggression. You can set out to not fight, but if someone brings a fight to you... you'd better respond strategically.
It is naive to think, as I've seen some "experts" promote, that if you just think good thoughts and kiss up to your competition, that you'll all just "get along." Just like companies that train their negotiators to take advantage of the "win-win" philosophy of negotiating, there are sharks ready to take advantage of naivity in all aspects of business.
P.S. Back to the office again, and the blog will shift back to the normal frequency.
There are 5 comments, add your own!Luxury Cinema Business and Affluent Marketing
Posted by Michael Cage on Wednesday, June 23, 2004Dan Sherman posted about the luxury cinema business -- essentially a theatre that caters to a higher-end customer, providing service and comfort beyond the norm.
We've got one in the DC area, in Chevy Chase, Maryland. When they built the cinema, only one of the theatres was in the "high-end" mold. Plush leather seats, large trays for food and drink, a full bar and mini-restaurant. I don't go often because it's a 30 minute drive from Northern Virginia (other side of DC than Chevy Chase), but I recall a ticket being around $10 or so. It was nice. If it were closer it'd be the only theatre we went to.
A few months after the opening, the owners said the luxury theatre just scratched the surface of demand, and if they did it again everything theatre would be in that mold. This is not a new story. People will pay a significant premium to avoid inconvenience, discomfort, and get a higher level of service. Smart small businesses can serve this niche very well, but most don't out of fear, ignorance, or lack of marketing knowledge.
Dan's post is worth reading. See: Luxury Cinema Business.
There are 0 comments, add your own!Full Service Gas Stations
Posted by Michael Cage on Tuesday, June 22, 2004Where, oh where, have they gone?
Other than the People's Republic of New Jersey and other states where full service is mandated by law, it's hard as heck to find a gas station that offers full service. Why don't they invent a gas pump that can switch between full and self service. Instead of blocking of an entire lane for a full day, they can open a single lane (or single pump) for full service during peak operating hours. This is differentiation folks, and there is always room at the high end.
On a related note, far too many successful businesspeople pay attention to far too many small things. The price of gas being one. Sheesh. Suck it up, compensate economics, and stop whining! 
Recognition-Based Marketing
Posted by Michael Cage on Monday, June 21, 2004For years I have taught my computer consulting business clients to integrate what I call "recognition-based marketing" into their promotional mix.
In a nutshell, you sort for news of people matching your target market who have been recognized in some way. When you find one, you begin a carefully designed direct mail sequence that ties the recognition to a logical offer. When done right, conversion rates for this kind of promotion are extremely high.
It is one of the most effective yet least utilized strategies I teach. It's also dirt cheap...
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see this tidbit over at Small Business Blog outlining the same strategy being used by a restaurant. See Community Leads: A Pat on the Back.
I've successfully used this strategy with computer consulting businesses, web design businesses, over a dozen different kind of retailers, and a half dozen other B2B business types. It works extremely well.
How will you integrate it into your business?
There are 1 comments, add your own!Small Business Entrepreneurs Need A System To Hire Employees
Posted by Michael Cage on Monday, June 21, 2004After a handful of phone consultations last week, it has become abundantly clear that most small business entrepreneurs have no clue how to effectively and efficiently hire assistants and other employees. This is not something to be left to chance, nor is it something that should dominate your workweek.
One client had spent the better part of 2 weeks fielding phone calls and conducting interviews to find "the one." When questioned about the outcome the best he could offer was which ones he "liked" better and had a "good feeling" about.
I approach hiring the same way I approach marketing. Turn it into a system, reduce manual labor to the absolute minimum, and make the candidates qualify well before they can ever get you on the phone. Select the best of the best from the qualification process, and take them through the manual labor stages -- phone call, interview, and hire. I'll write more about this later this week.
There are 1 comments, add your own!