Brush Up....

"Dad, what was that foamy thing the dentist stuck in my mouth?" PJ asked me the other night at bedtime.

"Fluoride treatment," I responded. "It's keeps your teeth strong and prevents cavities."

"It tasted like soap," he retorted. "I thought I was going to throw up!"

I laughed.

"Brush your teeth," I said. "Let's keep you cavity-free."

I thought about the dentist a moment. We'd both had visits that day.

He's a good dentist, but he's not big on explanations. That can be a big problem both in dentistry and in sales.

"Looks like you might need a root canal," he told me.

"Whab dobya mead MIEMPT?" I said, trying to talk with his hands in my mouth.

"You have a cavity here between your molars," he explained poking me with his probe.

"OUTHCH!"I yelled as he hit a nerve. "Ith dere a mudder opthun?"

"See? The dark area is the cavity," he said pointing to my x-ray. "The other dark area is the nerve. See how close together they are?"

I'd already felt that.

Then, he silently continued to clean my teeth.

He may have been silent to give me time to think. But my problem with his silence is he seemed to be avoiding my question about other options. He didn't ask me if I had any other questions.

If he were in sales (which he is whether he acknowledges it or not) I'd tell him he needs to brush up on his closing technique. He should have explained the procedure, calmed my fears, and tried to close the deal. Instead he just probed at my gums until they bled and quietly made notes on his chart. I'm not sure if he was trying to intimidate me with fear or if he really didn't know what to say next.

I didn't make another appointment as I left the dentists office. I don't want to wait until it's an emergency, but I want to consider my options.

His silence wasn't very convincing.

Takeaway: Sometimes as a salesperson you can talk too much. But other times you can talk too little. Closing a deal often requires you to ask for questions, explain alternatives and ask the customer to take the next step. Are you fully answering both spoken and unspoken questions? How can you "drill down" to get to the "root" of the customers hesitancy? (Sorry, bad pun. But I couldn't resist!)

Gain Heft...

In lean economic times gaining marketing heft seems counterintuitive. It seems like time for belt tightening and budget trimming.

Not for Jenny Craig. She's getting fat.

In the Jan./Feb. issue of Inc. Magazine, Craig said while her competitors are hunkering down, she is spending a bit more on ads and finding it a huge competitive advantage.

For more on this see my March 2007 blog on marketing in a recession.

Takeaway: Are you trimming fat -- or your marketing muscle? How can you beat your competition head-on?

Phil Sasso

Sticky...

Good marketers all want to find the perfect marketing message that sticks.

My wife drew my attention to a different kind of "sticky" ad, recently.

"I want to show you a clever ad that got my attention," Beth said paging through her magazine.

"If it was REALLY a clever ad it would come with it's own bookmark so you could find it again," I teased.

"Seriously. It was very clever," She said slightly irritated. "I know it's here somewhere. Yes. Here it is..."

The ad was for some kind of pod coffee machine. Nothing memorable or remarkable about the product to me.

But what did catch my eye was a Post-it Note printed on the page with a personalized note to Beth on it.

"You mother showed me the same ad when we were there for Christmas," I said handing the magazine back to her.

"She did not!"

"She did." I said. "It's interesting how you both noticed it and pointed it out to me."

"Isn't that great marketing?"

"It would be great marketing if you both ended up buying one," I joked. "But I'd say it was definitely good advertising."

In his book "YES! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways Be Persuasive," Robert Cialdini writes about the power of the personalized Post It Note in a 2005 study.

Three versions of a survey packet were mailed with differing results:

- A printed letter alone generated a 36% response to the survey request.

- A printed letter with a handwritten message on it got a 48% response.

- A printed letter with a handwritten message on a Post-it Note generated a 75% response.

Why did the Post-it Note turbo-boost the response rates? Researchers claim it's "reciprocity".
In essence because of the effort taken to write a personalized note, recipients felt an obligation to reciprocate.

Or maybe people just like Post-it Notes. (Kidding. Just kidding.)

Take Away: As we enter 2009, many of us have smaller budgets that need to do more work.
How can you use personalization and/or reciprocity to your advantage? What do you do to
connect with your prospects and customers? How much more can you do?

Gullible...

O.K., I admit it. I'm a sucker for a good promotion.

So, when we got a fax this morning from the local chamber of commerce announcing that the new Subway sandwich shop was having a Grand Opening today and offering Buy-One-Get-One FREE subs, I bit. (Pun intended.)

It was a very good deal. Not often can I get a foot long sub sandwich for less than $3. In fact, it was such a good deal the guy in front of me was ordering a DOZEN sandwiches for people in his office. It was quite funny watching him check the details on each order...

"Is that the roast beef on wheat? He gets peppers, not hot peppers, green peppers... The cold cut combo on white? I think he wanted mustard -- no -- yes. Yes it says mustard on my note."

Working with the local chamber, the restaurant was able to blast an announcement to every business on their list. By doing this, they were able to get an ad in my hand in a quick, timely and inexpensive manner. So he turned a media most people think of as dead into an effective marketing tool.

For a recent trade show, I used a fax blast, too. I was able to reach each show attendee a few days before he or she left for the show to remind them to stop by my client's booth.

I didn't have to just hope they ran across our ad in the trade journal, or that the mailer got to them in time or that they opened the email we sent. I still did all those things. But I was able to hit them one more time with our marketing message just before they left town for the show.

And it was very effective.

In fact, using our fax system, we were able to personalize each fax from the opt-in list. So, each fax was addressed to the person it was intended for. In fact, it made me chuckle when we got back several faxes with "He's no longer with our company" scrawled on them.

How often does advertising get that kind of personal attention?

Of course there are issues. You can't legally fax everyone. (They have to be a customer or have opted-in to your fax list.) And you don't want to overdo it and become obnoxious. But, managed with discretion, it can be a good, occasional use of an underused media.

Black and white marketing may not have the same impact as full color. But I bit. And ended up buying a bite.

Takeaway: How can you use an underused media to reach your target market? What can you do to make your appeal more appealing?