We train twice a week. Once a month we train extremely hard and are rewarded with a pizza dinner at our HQ. We order pizza from one of the local pizzerias and bring it in for all of us to enjoy.

We order approximately 20 pizza’s of all different varieties. Usually the bill is between $300 – $450, depending on how many firefighters train (somewhere between 25 – 40).

All the pizzerias in our area promote themselves on their boxes. All the pizzerias also have a coupon on the box that says something like “Cut out and collect 10 of these and get a free cheese pizza”.

A cheese pizza, out here, has a price of $12.00. If we were to order 20 pizza’s, at an average cost of $18.00, then we would have to pay $360.00. If we were to cut out the coupons and “turn them in”, the pizzeria would only get $336.00 (plus the two free cheese pizza’s) – the next time that we would order from them.

Last week, after one of our hard training sessions, we ordered from a pizzeria. When we brought them in (we pick them up), the pizzeria had marked “VOID” on each of the coupons on the box.

Not only did that pizzeria lose the fire department as a client for the rest of their existence, they also lost business from all the firefighters who were in attendance (and of course, whomever they told about this).

To “save” $24, the pizzeria gave up $336.00; as well as all the other catering opportunities that may have been presented to it through the course of the following year.

THINK before you do something rash like this. A cheese pizza COSTS no more then $4.00 (I am told that it is really less then $3.00), but, to be fair, let’s say it is $4.00.

For $8.00, this local pizzeria lost at least, AT LEAST, $1,000 worth of business from the department AS WELL AS all the firefighters who will no longer go there. Was it worth it?

Yes today’s economy sucks – but does that mean that you will change your “business model” when large orders come in? Will you give a discount AND void any special offers? Do you tell your clients this in advance?

The economy DOES suck, but, you must keep your current clients and not, in any way, jeopardize or put at risk the opportunity to lose them. Think before you act.

There are five legs (I believe) in marketing that support your sales and brand. In no particular order, they are:

Advertising
Promotions
Social Media
Merchandising
Public Relations

Here is how I define each:

Advertising: TV, magazine, newspaper, web. This can be static ads or video ads, on TV or on the web.

Promotions: The easiest way to define this is “Buy two xx’s and get one x free”; “Test drive this car and get a $500 gift card”; or “Send in five box tops and get a free sample”. You want to promote your product or brand and usually this is done by couponing or free giveaways or whatever kind of promotion that you think will get someone to sample OR LEARN ABOUT your product.

Social Media: Funny – this is still being defined out there – is it advertising? No because we are not forced to go to your Facebook page and therefore are not advertised to. Is it Public Relations? Absolutely, but, the customers that go there aren’t looking to be “pitched”, they are going there to be informed about non-pitch subjects. Is it Promotions? It’s certainly going in that direction where Facebook pages are now giving out “free” samples. Is it Merchandising? You could say it kinda is, because of the video’s that can be watched about your product. Obviously, this still has a long way to go. [Which leads to blogs or blogzines or whatever name they're gong to be called this week. Are they part of Social Media or Public Relations? Some people think that blogs are with promotions because they "promote" your product.]

Merchandising: End caps, in-store signage, sampling stations and everything else that you see in brick-n-mortar stores. Is advertising on a web page merchandising, since web pages are become more and more our brick-n-mortar stores?

Public Relations: News releases, press tours, and everything else that is required to get someone else to write or talk about you on TV, Radio, magazine, newspaper, blog, etc.

These five legs should make up your marketing strategy on a consistent basis. Can your brand survive if you only do one or two legs? Of course it can. Some would say it is weaker because you aren’t doing all five legs, especially if you are an agency that does one of the legs that you are not doing.

Are some legs stronger then another? Absolutely. A 30 second spot during the Super Bowl blows away an end-cap at your local hardware store – for brand recognition, but, what about for sales?

Which leads you to: Do I need that Super Bowl ad? No, you don’t – that end-cap may be exactly what you need.

Just be sure to always research each of the legs when you are building your marketing plan and you will discover how important it is to do or not do that Super Bowl ad.

These opportunities come around every 30 or 40 years. Jump on and ride the wave – if you can.

From billboards to advertising on cars (or being a car – Oscar Meyer WeinerMobile), we haven’t seen changes like this in some time.

Will social media advertising replace TV? Will mobile promotions replace direct mail?

Of course not. Well, not yet. Technology keeps changing and for us to stay on top, we have to change with it.

With this quick history in recap being said, be sure to go back to my earlier posts – about you, the young new company on the block (the start-up). You don’t have to spend a million dollars on facebook ads, or targeted efforts with Verizon users. You can get away with spending $1,000 on a direct mail campaign or the same on a targeted email campaign.

To play with the big boys, you have to market to their categories (as it is the same as yours), but, you don’t have to spend like them or play like them. Use your social media platforms effectively – you will save money and be more focused on your market.

It got me to thinking – in today’s economy how much disposable income is out there? When or where is the tipping point for individuals, the world over, to say “You know, maybe I shouldn’t buy that Pepsi Max this week and pay my water bill instead?” (Or baby formula or rice or whatever.)

NOTE: There is a whole public relations conversation on how well the American Political Machine spins the “Recovery” on a weekly basis – reminds me of the sales manager saying to the CEO every week “Even though we haven’t sold anything this year, we are doing great!”

We see Wal-Mart and Target marketing to the masses saying “Lowest Prices” and “Affordable” and so on. They’re trying to get those people that are watching their budget to save more money by shopping at their location.

Prices are rising all over the world ($3.00 for a bottle of water, $5.00 for a can of Red Bull, $2.00 for a “snack” bag of chips, etc. All these prices having doubled in the past year.)

Some stores may offer a can of Red Bull for $.25 less then another, but, still, because of the economic times, pricing has risen.

Eventually, market segments are going to start to decline, small or large, but, declination will start to occur more rapidly as jobs become more scare and cost of living rises while salaries remain the same.

Someone will step into this market and capture a huge percentage. Someone will offer a very low cost solution to the many high-cost offerings that are out there.

How much longer can a world sustain a water bottling company at $3.00 a bottle when the cost is less then $.10? It can’t. Whomever offers the pricing back at $1.00 is going to own the market. Yes, margins will go from 40% to 10%, but, look at the soda business where margins are less then 1%.

The world has reached a tipping point where unsustainablity of market prices cannot continue. Either companies will go under or they will have to reduce pricing to meet the needs of the worlds individuals as they tighten their belts.

Remember the movie “Mr. Mom”? Where the real mom advertises the drop in pricing for tuna so that the people can afford the product?

I believe that this will be occurring soon.

Came across my positioning document on the Christian Cross. How it has changed very little over the centuries – even as it was “copied” by the many different Christian affiliations/groups throughout the world.

Most still keep it a simple black cross, but others have added the Christ figure, and others added a crown of thorns as a background, others added a hill under the cross, and so on.

My main point, as is true today, is that the essense of the brand (the main look/design) has changed very little over the centuries; enabling what all brands (consumer level) want, instant recognition as well as an instant “feeling”.

As you continue to build your brands, don’t be so quick, or shortsighted, to only look at brands in the past few years. Look at brands over the past century or longer; because we all know that the true measure of success of a brand is its staying power.

The brand communicates the desired essence of a company or product(s)/service(s)

By communicating the brand and its essence, the brand will have a “life” – meaning, “it will take on a life of its own”

The only option that a company has in “controlling” that life is to place its logo’s and taglines in all outgoing “signage” (i.e. correspondence, web, etc.)

Once the brand starts for a company, it is extremely difficult to “change” the brand – without extreme cost and time

Lastly, it is advantageous for a young company to not define its brand in “concrete” but to keep it “fluid” so it can change the brand and position as the company matures

Well, now, we are seeing the other side. The side that I spoke about in previous posts. How, as a brand, if you come forward and admit your fault and how you are going to fix/change that fault, people, ALL people will forgive.

Toyota has done that. They stepped up and took the blame – on a piece of hardware that they do not produce – one of their 100,000 vendors makes it. But, they did it right – not be like American companies and blame others, but, step forward and take it.

It’s too bad that our government had to make it political (wonder why they didn’t do that with the pet food or the Firestone tires that were killing everyone). 

Toyota lost nothing yesterday. They actually gained. People saw that an individual was taking the blame and was willing to do whatever it took to fix it.

I would be surprised if Toyota lost one customer yesterday after watching the president make attrition.

That was brand management at its best – learn from it.

But, what do they mean?

Who knows – every time, I hear this and then ask the person what they mean, I get many different answers.

• Our company must have a strong brand because we need consumer recognition.
• Our product needs a strong brand so that we can unseat the competition.
• Our company must have a strong brand so that investors will know our company.
• Our product needs strong brand recognition so that we can compete, or will drive consumers to buy our product, etc.

And so on.

Most people don’t understand what and WHY they need a brand. Many companies succeed and are profitable with little or no brand strategy (or budget to make the brand).

Coke has made a science out of building/making their brand recognized the world over.

Apple is doing the same (but, they have also changed their brand through the years – remember the Apple with rainbow colors?) – but, they are still recognized.

How can one company, who changes its brand image mid-life, maintain its brand recognition, where the other keeps its image on every surface throughout the year (as well as traditional advertising).

But, you can read books on both companies and their marketing/brand strategies.

Companies that you never even heard of make billions of dollars a year without any brand strategy.

The bigger question is, and one that I always ask after someone says “We must have a brand strategy for the product/company” is:

“What do you hope to accomplish? What is your goal?” Is it in answer of one of the questions asked above? Or is it something else?

And usually it is something else – usually it is “I want the consumers that need are products/services to buy OUR products/services”.

So, does this require branding – a strong brand recognized the world over?

No, it does not – it instead requires a marketing strategy – on how to target the market that needs the product/service – not one that requires a brand.

I think you get the idea – before spending millions of dollars on a brand, think it out – work with ALL the various divisions that have the product, sell the product, or make the product, and find out what their customers want (and what they think).

A LOT OF THE TIME all that is needed is a well-thought out marketing strategy and not a branding strategy.

Had surgery the other day. Nothing serious, just a walk-in/walk-out of a few hours.

Came into the hospital, filled out all the paperwork, and was escorted to the waiting room by an administrator who was professional and enjoyable.

In the waiting room, had a great conversation with the nurse and receptionist there (this is a hospital – you go nowhere without someone from the hospital being in front of you).

Was called in to the surgery room, met a great nurse and had a great conversation with her as we went through the procedure (as well as the doctor – but, he was not part of the hospital, he was my doctor who came in to do the procedure).

My doctor left after the procedure and the nurse and I continued to talk – I had to wait about 10 minutes to make sure that I was okay after the surgery.

The nurse filled out all the paperwork for me, telling me what and what not to do, what I can and cannot eat, how much medicine I should take, etc. This was all written on a piece of paper, with the top area for signatures and the bottom with all the instructions. 

Then, the unbelievable happened, the nurse took out a pair of scissors and cut the bottom half of the paper off and handed it to me.

No, the paper wasn’t a tear sheet.  No, it wasn’t a separate piece of paper. It was the second half of paper and cut.

An experience that was nerve wracking and stressful, ending with a nurse cutting a piece of paper in half with all the instructions on it. What a reminder that hospitals are run by people who don’t care about their patients.

Terrible marketing as well as bad operations. In fact, the nurse apologized for cutting the paper in half.

Does your business do something like this? Have you gone down the lowest level of your business and seen how it interacts with the customer?

I was so embarrassed for them - especially for the nurse having to apologize.

Some points to be sure are on your business card – name (duh!), email address and website, and phone number. Okay, so, that’s the basics, but, what is the next level after that – no, it’s not graphics (okay, maybe, on one or two out of a hundred may be graphics); it’s a statement about your business – like ours, Strategic Communication Solutions.  What is yours? Are you clear and concise? Is ours? Well, if you aren’t in marketing, then, it isn’t – but, then, companies that don’t want marketing help aren’t who I want to attract.  Is it too niche? Well, we have clients who are worldwide, as well as clients who are very local and niche (like our corner restaurant).

Does your card state your business – your specialty? Is it too busy – does it give off the feeling that you are doing soooo many things that you don’t have time to focus on one thing? Another client of ours had three different business cards made up so that they could hand out the appropriate specialized card to that market.
Think about it – the business card is your foremost advertising tool – does it convey the right message you want people to perceive about you??