Teaching business owners how to attract the right customers and keep them for life.

“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is−try to please everybody.”

— Herbert Bayard Swope, 1882−1958

The Formula For Failure

Posted by Ron Bloomingkemper in Brand Development

Nine times out of ten when I ask a business owner who their target audience is they always tell me: everyone. I truly believe, based on all the case studies I’ve read and personal experience, that a business struggles for two main reasons: they have an identity crisis and they try and please everyone.

This principle of trying to please everyone reminds me of the old Aesop Fable:

The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey.

A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along by his side a countryman passed them and said, “You fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon?” So the man put the boy on the donkey, and they went on their way.

But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said, “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.”

So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other, “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.”

Well, the man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his boy up before him on the donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passersby began to jeer and point at them. The man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at.

The men said, “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours — you and your hulking son?”

The man and boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, until at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them until they came to a bridge, when the donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the donkey fell over the bridge, and his forefeet being tied together, he was drowned.

The Moral of the Story: Try to please everyone, and you’ll lose your ASS (donkey).

Trying to please everyone is the true formula for failure.
If you try to please everyone, you’ll please no one; your brand should attract some and repeal others. Focus on who the most profitable and enjoyable people you like to work with, ones who appreciate the value you offer, and go after this group. Statistics tell us 20% of your customers are the ones keeping your business profitable. That said, maybe you should fire 80% of your clients (the ones that drain your resources and energy) and you’ll make more money and be happier.

How to Tell a Great Story.

Posted by Ron Bloomingkemper in Brand Development

Do your prospects and customers know your story?

It’s a common theme that small business owners spend far to much time trying to market themselves before they have uncovered their story. You see, branding is the perceived value and emotional connection you have with a person, place or thing. A business isn’t just brick and mortar, but it’s the story of emotion and value that you tell which happens to have products and services attached to it. I want to share this video about a man who knows a thing or two about finding and telling great stories.

Filmmaker Andrew Stanton (“Toy Story,” “WALL-E”) shares what he knows about storytelling — starting at the end and working back to the beginning. This video does contain some graphic language. 

Andrew Stanton wrote the first film produced entirely on a computer, Toy Story. But what made that film a classic wasn’t the history-making graphic technology — it’s the story, the heart, the characters that children around the world instantly accepted into their own lives. Stanton wrote all three Toy Story movies at Pixar Animation Studios, where he was hired in 1990 as the second animator on staff. He has two Oscars, as the writer-director of Finding Nemo and WALL-E. Andrew’s newest project is the Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy-adventure movie John Carter.

“I almost feel like it’s an obligation to not further the status quo if you become somebody with influence and exposure.”

Andrew Stanton Quotes:
“The greatest story commandment is: Make me care.”
“A well told promise is like a pebble being pulled back in a slingshot.”
“Don’t give [the audience] four; give them two plus two.”
“A major threshold is passed when you mature enough to acknowledge what drives you, and to take the wheel and steer it.”
“Change is fundamental in story. If things go static, stories die.”

Branding is all about the story you tell. It’s the perceived value and emotional connection people have with your brand that makes them want to do business with you. Focus on your story first. Don’t spend a dime on marketing until you have a great story to tell.

So, what’s your story?

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Posted by Ron Bloomingkemper in Motivational Monday

TED Talks Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question “Why?” There is a brilliant quote from this talk that explains the nucleus of how to be successful in business and in life. Simon says, “People don’t buy what you do but why you do it.” He explains why some leaders inspire while others don’t. Finding your why, (your purpose, your cause, your belief, the why you get out of bed in the morning) is fundamental to inspiring others around you. It’s hard to get excited about a company who’s sole mission is to make a lot of money—profits versus passion isn’t a cause to give your life to. I’d love to hear your comments about the ideas that jumped out and grabbed you.

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Unethical Word of Mouth Marketing Strategies

Posted by Ron Bloomingkemper in Relationship Marketing

WOM Fundamentals #3: Organic vs. Word of Mouth Strategies>

This is the last post in our “Word of Mouth Marketing” fundamentals series, and I’d like to briefly cover some low class and unethical ways businesses try to win new customers.

Nothing says One Night Stand Marketing more than practicing unethical behavior in order to win a customer. Some companies might be uninformed, but many are just unscrupulous to the ethical standards in marketing. Regardless of intent, such behavior jeopardizes consumer trust and ultimately harm both consumer and honest marketer.

Any practice intended to deceive people is unethical and should not be used. Below are some of the worst unethical word of mouth marketing tactics:

Stealth Marketing: Any practice designed to deceive people about the involvement of marketers in a communication. Watch this short CBS video showing what Stealth Marketing looks like. This is deception 101 in my opinion. You’re getting compensated to spread word of mouth but promote it in a way that looks like you’re an average Joe playing with a new toy.

“When you discovered you’ve been duped, it will cause a backlash on your brand.” – Malcolm Gladwell

Shilling: Paying people to talk about (or promote) a product without disclosing that they are working for the company; impersonating a customer. Read More>

Infiltration: Using fake identities in an online discussion to promote a product; taking over a web site, conversation, or live event against the wishes or rules set by the proprietor.

Comment Spam: Using automated software (‘bots’) to post unrelated or inappropriate comments to blogs or other online communities. These things are so tricky. At first the comment looks sincere. It might say something like: “I’m so glad to have found your website and enjoy reading such great content.” But when you look at email address it came from it’s usually linked to a spam product.

Defacement: Vandalizing or damaging property to promote a product. In my opinion this company is practicing defacement when it offers to pay a homeowners mortgage to save their house. Even though the homeowner agrees, the marketing company transforms the house into an eye sore. Watch the video and please post your opinion if you think this is a form of defacement.

Spam: Sending bulk or unsolicited email or other messages without clear, voluntary permission. This is the quickest way to get black listed from your email provider, like mail chimp or constant contact. Have a clean list, meaning, everyone on your email list has given you permission to contact them.

Falsification: Knowingly disseminating false or misleading information.

Word of mouth marketing cannot be faked:
Artificial word of mouth marketing is dishonest and ineffective. Word-of-mouth marketing must be based on the honest opinions of real people. Ethical and responsible word of mouth marketers do not…

  • Impersonate people, shill, or hide their identities.
  • Manipulate or corrupt honest opinions Infiltrate, invade, or violate online or offline venues.

Companies that engage in any of the above unethical tactics to get customers are well on their way to becoming a one night stand company. Some might think it’s clever marketing, but once a company gets exposed for practicing any of the tactics above, it destroys trust and ultimately could kill your brand. 

 

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Organic vs. Amplified Word of Mouth Strategies

Posted by Ron Bloomingkemper in Relationship Marketing

WOM Fundamentals #2: The Most Common Types of Word of Mouth Marketing>

Most business owners know where 95% of their referrals come from: word of mouth. Yet, when you ask how much money they spend on their word of mouth marketing campaign, they don’t know how to answer. Did you know you can manage word of mouth, versus just sitting around hoping and praying others talk about you? It’s the difference organic versus amplified word of mouth.

Organic WOM occurs naturally when people become advocates because they’re happy with a product and have a natural desire to share their support and enthusiasm. Practices that enhance organic word of mouth activity include:

  • Focusing on customer satisfaction
  • Improving product quality and usability
  • Responding to concerns and criticism
  • Opening a dialogue and listening to people
  • Earning customer loyalty

Amplified WOM occurs when marketers launch campaigns designed to encourage or accelerate WOM in existing or new communities. Practices that amplify word of mouth activity include:

  • Creating communities
  • Developing tools that enable people to share their opinions
  • Motivating advocates and evangelists to actively promote a product
  • Giving advocates information that they can share
  • Using advertising/publicity to create buzz or start a conversation
  • Identifying and reaching out to influential individuals & communities
  • Researching and tracking online conversations

It’s the latter that I’d like to discuss in more detail. Every business should have an active amplified word of mouth campaign. It’s not only cost effective in the long run, but it will save you thousands of dollars from spending money in advertising that doesn’t work for you. You know where you get the majority of your referrals, word of mouth, so it’s time to learn how to create and maintain a word of mouth strategy. Say hello to no more throwing money into things you have no clue if they’re brining you business.

Let’s talk about some positive word of mouth marketing strategies; remember, we’re learning the basic fundamentals for now. 

Positive Word of Mouth Marketing Strategies:

Good word of mouth marketing strategies involve finding ways to support satisfied customers and making it easier for them to talk to their friends. Below are the best ways to start encouraging and managing word of mouth marketing.

1. Encouraging communications:
- Developing tools that make telling a friend easier
- Creating forums and feedback tools
- Working with social networks
- Encourage two-way conversations with interested parties

2. Giving people something to talk about:
- Information that can be shared or forwarded
- Advertising and other publicity that encourages conversation
- Working with product development to build word of mouth elements into products

3. Creating communities and connecting people:
- Creating user groups and fan clubs
- Supporting independent groups that form around your product
- Hosting discussions and message boards about your products
- Enabling grassroots organizations such as local meetings

4. Working with influential communities
- Identifying people who are able to influence your target customers
- Informing these individuals about what you do and encourage them to tell others
- Good-faith efforts to support issues and causes that are important to them

5. Researching and listening to customer feedback
- Tracking online and offline conversations by supporters and detractors
- Listening and responding to both positive and negative conversations
- Involving customers in marketing and creative feedback on campaigns

In our last post in this “word of mouth marketing” fundamentals series we’ll talk about unethical word of mouth strategies. Word of mouth can never be faked and be successful long-term. Start thinking about the above categories and ways you can implement them into your marketing plan.

WOM Fundamentals #4: Unethical Word of Mouth Strategies>

findingvalues

How to Find Your Top 5 Values.

Posted by Ron Bloomingkemper in Motivational Monday

Dr. Seuss once said: “You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own and you know what you know, and you are the one who’ll decide where to go.” 

The best day of your life is the day on which you decide your life is your own. Sounds strange claiming your life is your own, but in all honesty, most of us don’t own our lives. We give up that right once we start blaming, relying or leaning on others. Life is a gift, and it’s yours. Life is an amazing journey, and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. The quality of your life is determined by the choices you make. You make those choices from a belief system—your values.

Values, simply defined is: a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.

Uncovering your value system and putting on paper what’s most important to you is the first step in owning your life. Being guided by your highest values brings immense satisfaction and meaning to life. Some examples of values are: family, friendship, health, wealth, learning, faith, integrity, creativity, adventure, love, and a sense of justice.

To help you identity your top values in life I recommend you visit the website Authentic Happiness, from the University of Pennsylvania. Under the Engagement Questionnaires menu click on VIA Survey of Character Strengths. The test Measures your 24 Character Strengths and gives a detailed description of what each value means. Write those five values down, these are the foundational principles that guide your decisions. Once you know who you are, it’s a lot easier to determine what you want out of life. After I took this test in 2006 my life radically changed. It made so much sense, now that I uncovered my core values, why I behaved the way I did.

For the test click the link below.

Next Monday’s post will be about finding your mission in life.

mondays2

What Can You Do in Five Years?

Posted by Ron Bloomingkemper in Motivational Monday

Motivational Monday #2:

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.” Steve Miller Band (1976)

Does this song lyric come a little to close to home? Didn’t going through high school seem like an eternity, but now the older we get life moves way to fast—kind of like walking on one of those escalators at the airport that doubles your speed. Before you know it, five years have passed.

You might of thought, like I did, can you really accomplish your dreams in five years? Then I found a quote by H. Jackson, Brown, Jr. who said:

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.

Did you know in five years…

  • Columbus opened up a whole new world by discovering the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, and North and South America.
  • Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel.
  • Shakespeare wrote “Hamlet,” “Othello,” “King Lear,” “Macbeth” and five other immortal plays.
  • Julia Child graduated from cooking school with a quirky idea for a TV show. Four years later she won an Emmy as America’s favorite TV chef.
  • Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus, after being fired from their home improvement jobs, created a business model called Home Depot and went public with their idea. Three years after losing their jobs, their annual sales were $1 Billion.
  • At age 30, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was living in a 500-square foot apartment, but five years later his net worth was $10 billion.

Five years…260 weeks…1,825 days…2,333,000 minutes. What will we do with it? What could we do with it? The first step in answering those questions is to find out who you really are.

Next Mondays post will help you identify your top five values and set a foundation for the rest of your life.

 

Biography

Ron Bloomingkemper, Jr. is a brand Identity designer and a relationship marketing coach. His passion is teaching business owners how to attract the right customers and keep them for life by avoiding an attitude he calls “One-Night Stand Marketing.

Ideas and Attitudes © Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved.

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