Breaking news about unemployment will remain in the forefront longer than expected. Businesses today are forced to restructure their entire operations. Unfortunately, this means a loss of jobs. Eventually, benefits and income will run dry.

This vicious economic cycle spirals out of control. The after effects leave us with empty store-fronts, vacant factories, and commercial buildings. No other company will occupy these sleeping giants, also known as the “White Elephants” of the industry, because they are a maintenance nightmare.

Workers who are fortunate to keep their job must face new challenges. Job positioning and worker experience becomes critical for survival. For example, the African Gazelle must wake up everyday on the run in order to stay alive. The Cheetah must wake up and run faster than the Gazelle if it wants to eat!

A stagnate enterprise of any size must develop new worker experience values among its workforce. It must wake up to the fact that company cheerleaders are no longer effective. Increased productivity within the current labor force will help define the new bottom line. Create better job training that’s easy to understand. One that clearly links objectives to strategies and is specific, but measurable.

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I’ve been studying and writing ad copy for 30 years. My eyes and ears have experienced tons of advertising messages. Some are out of the ordinary to say the least. Take a look at what’s around you. Every consumer product is branded with some type of logo, either on Television, in a newspaper, magazine, flyer, or on the product itself. A few however, stick out like a sore thumb. It’s like the winning team waving a victory flag after a close game!

Advertisers want to be noticed, and with today’s economic turmoil, some go to the extreme to get attention. In fact, these oddball promotions made a huge impact on their business.

Here’s my top ten of all time…

#10. Bald Head Web Address: I’m sure you’ve heard of people placing advertisements on their body parts up for the highest bidder on eBay, Right? Well, recently I attended a fundraiser for our local homeless shelter. I noticed this well dressed young man walking up to donate. He wasn’t wearing a hat and was completely bald. Except for the tattoos around his head. His entire head was tattooed with many web site URLs. I approached this young fellow and asked him how many web addresses were on his head. He said, “26 total.” And that he was working on one more. He told me he owns a tattoo parlor, and he gets $250 per URL. I then asked, “What happens if one of those web sites dies off?” He replied, “I’ll get rid of it for another advertiser!” Go Figure.

#9. Going Out Of Business: A long time clothing store decided it wasn’t working out with the state of the economy. The store owner came up with the idea of placing two dump trucks back-to-back in front of the building. Both trucks were loaded with fake clothes and other items that appeared in the store. A huge sign stretched from bumper-to-bumper: “Going Out Of Business Sale. One Week Only. What Don’t Sell Will Be Hauled To The Dump.” They reported selling every single item from 60-80 percent off.

#8. Fishing Tournament Trailer: A popular fishing club that hosts a tournament trail at one of our local lakes has a one-of-a-kind trailer. They use it to haul around their gear, tents, scales, and other items needed for their fishing tournaments. It’s a 12 foot tandem axle panel trailer loaded with small ads all over the sides, back, front, and even the top. Each ad represents a sponsor. A one foot square logo with address and phone number covers the entire trailer. From a distance it looks like the trailer is camouflaged, but when you get a closer look, it’s littered with advertisements. In fact, is has so many ads it took me 30 minutes just to glance at all. And I thought Pixel advertising was so unique!

#7. Beauty Solon Hair Knots: During a business trip, I stumbled upon a small, yet busy Beauty Solon. I decided to get a quick hair trim before the meeting. I walked inside and was fortunate to get a chair. One of the young ladies finished with her client and motioned for me to come forward. While she was trimming my hair, I noticed a tall, well dressed female mannequin standing only a few feet away. But, the hair was full of twisted knots and made of several colors. The mannequin stood upright, pointing to what appeared to be a special looking shampoo and conditioner. I asked the young lady, “What is with the knots in the mannequin’s hair?” She explained to me the shampoo and conditioner will help eliminate tangles and will aide in bright and colorful hair. She further stated that since they placed the mannequin in their Solon they couldn’t keep it on the shelves. Only two packages were available and I witnessed a sale right before my eyes!

#6. Rotating Car-On-A-Pole: An auto parts facility (junk yard) has what it takes to be noticed. Approximately 60 feet high sits a Voltswagon that rotates on top of a huge 36 inch diameter steel pole. The junk yard is roughly a quarter mile off the highway and can be seen while driving past the entrance to their road. Their name and phone number is displayed on both the car and the pole itself. The car stops rotating after 5:00 PM when the junk yard closes. And, that’s exactly what is says on the sign: “Junkyard Closed When Car Stops.”

#5. Sawmill Giant: A replica of Paul Bunyan stands handsomely holding its ax in one hand, while pointing the way to the sawmill with the other. Only thing is, it towers above 25 feet!. The name of the sawmill is on its chest with a dark colored beard, hat, suspenders, bluejeans, and work boots. If you have trouble finding the sawmill, just look for big Paul Bunyan by the Highway. Believe me, you can’t miss it.

#4. Audio and Video Store: A 1957 panel van is outfitted with enough sound system to hear miles away. But, buried beneath the speakers is a lift away console, which emerges into a full surround sound theater. Once inside two people can sit comfortably and watch their favorite video on four wide screen Television monitors. This incredible mobile entertainment center is simply awesome to see and hear. And, of course, their advertisement is beautifully displayed on the exterior. But, that’s not all this fancy shop engages in for advertising. Once a week they place their entire catalog on two FULL pages of the newspaper – under the Obituary section – the most read section of any newspaper. WOW – That’s nearly 250 products!

#3. Real Estate Broker Lights: While driving through a nice rural neighborhood one night, I noticed a house that had Christmas lights lit up all over the place. Bright lights were on the chimney, gable ends, doors, windows, and even on the brokerage sign. Here it is July and this house is brighter than Yankees Stadium at night. I wrote down the phone number off the signage and called the broker the next day to see if the house was available. The broker answered and told me the house was sold an hour ago!

#2. Port-O-Jon Rental T-Shirt: One day nature called while on a construction job site. While inside the Port-O-Jon, a truck pulls alongside and a worker begins to clean each one out. When I made my exit, the worker stood ready to clean the one I used. He had a bright red t-shirt on with BIG black letters that said the following: “You Dump – We Pump – Give Us A Call.”

#1. Direct Snail Mail Smell: A local furniture store mailed me a sales letter one day. This was a regular two page letter that outlined many super bargains. But, that’s not all that accompanied the letter…it had a wonderful perfume aroma. I read it over and checked out the envelope and began to sniff. I thought, “Boy, does this letter smell great.” I knew the couple who owned the furniture store, so I decided to give the owners a call to see what they were up to. I told them both I received their letter with a strong perfume smell to it.

They told me a surprising story. John and Kristy tried direct mail in the past, but failed every time to yield a good return. This time, John asked Kristy if he could barrow her best bottle of perfume as he prepared to mail 5000 sales letters. John carefully sprinkled a few drops of this expensive perfume on each letterhead. They both took part inserting the letters into the envelopes and sealed each one with postage.

Approximately three days later, John started to receive customers and began to make sales. He coded the letter with instructions to bring in a coupon for the items on sale. In fact, they sold out the bargain item, then worked on selling out their entire inventory of kitchen tables and chairs, mattress sets, and sofas. This popular furniture store sold $32,000.00 worth of furniture in two weeks time – all due to the smelly sales letters. However, it dealt a not so rosy smell to women of the house. It appeared the women had something to say to their husbands, why they were receiving such a smelly letter, and who sent it. Nevertheless, John and Kristy had an astonishing 72% open rate!

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Carry Me Back To The Future

I remember like it was yesterday…it was August 3, 1985, standing by the famous DeLorean at Universal Studios in Hollywood, CA. After seeing Back To The Future for the first time, a sensational feeling to escape my immediate surroundings overwhelmed me. I wanted to be in that car with Michael J. Fox traveling through time into the future.

Who would’ve thought I’d be writing about this 24 years later!

Dr. Emmett Brown (Doc) would’ve been proud of me traveling in his time machine to visit my family and friends in 2009. Doc would have been so excited to finally see what the world had to offer when I returned to 1985.

Or would he?

It’s not too difficult to imagine the disappointed look on Doc’s face as he watch what unfolded during 24 years. His famous, “Great Scott” shout would be heard clean around the world. His eyes wide open with amazement. Doc panics trying to get sense of what happened to the economy, society, or better yet, technology.

If you could travel in Doc’s time machine, what year would you choose?

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Know Your Business from Top to Bottom

All businesses possess special techniques for survival in their daily operation. Any business owner will tell you they must know every little thing about their it in order to make it successful.

In today’s competitive marketplace, a business operating solely by a staff of managers have tough decisions to make. Their high profile recommendations to invest in research and development plays an important role towards profitability.

These important decisions are usually submitted to the owner(s) before final approval is made. As a business owner in the current economic climate, it pays to know every key element for operating a successful business.

Many long hours of planning makes sure that nothing is missed. A knowledgeable owner must be able to answer any question on demand to properly solve any problem with a solution. Most owners choose to consult with their managers, staff, or employees to seek advice before making a final decision.

This is a good thing, because ideas or suggestions are hardly ignored. Some owners even hold weekly meetings to capture business revenues and to build better quality products or services for continued growth.

One common mistake owners try to improve on, but many fail to implement, is updating management procedures. These are always changing due to fluctuations in the economy. A more efficient way to remain profitable is to set a standard of operating procedures and implement key elements with a company policy.

Regardless what type of business it is, an employee, or even a customer often will raise a question or problem for the business to solve. This is when decision making at its best comes into play. The solution always comes from the top – the owner! If a different solution is given by someone other than the owner, and it turns out to be wrong, nobody is to blame but the one in charge for this mistake.

These key strategies must be in place to manage a successful business:

- Take control of Your business.
- Know how to dramatically improve profits.
- Provide the critical elements required by investors, leaders and buyers.
- Develop your own unique selling advantage.
- Operate a profitable enterprise with powerful management tools.
- Stay ahead of your competition – always.
- Make your business plan the heart and soul of your operation.

In order to eliminate the frustration of not knowing everything about your business, you must establish your inner instincts. Never give up and always diversify your knowledge. The easiest way to do this is to think back when you first started your business, and remembering those times of failure. If you want your business to succeed, you have no other choice. Always know where you’re going and remember where you’ve been should be your theme.

To look is one thing. To see what you look at is another. To understand what you see is a third. To learn from what you understand is still something else. But, to act on what you learn is all that really matters.

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Whatever amount of money that you want to keep intact for a specific purpose, safety of principle will be increasingly vital during the economic downturn. You may want to save your home mortgage, protect your children’s education, or establish a special emergency fund in the event of illness.

The investments you make for this purpose has a low yield. This means the percentage of profit on the principle will grow in value relatively slowly. In reality, it is next to impossible to lose the principle with government securities, CDs and strong corporate bonds in insured institutions.

But, while those securities with a fixed interest return with a constant number of dollars, the purchasing power of those investments, when liquidated, decreases in times of inflation. The results are, as prices go up, dollars buy less, and less! In many instances, this creates increased interest rates which may counteract inflation. Whether you are lending your money to others, or you actually own all or part in an investment, make sure you put safety of principle and income return at the top of your list. In fact, make it top priority.

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As tough economic conditions have caused general advertising revenue across the board to diminish, newspapers across the nation are closing their doors entirely. Some are willing to take a chance of converting over to the Internet in hopes of keeping the local news in front of their loyal subscribers. Others who are currently using the Web to generate ad revenue have already experienced low volume ad sales.

The thing is, a local newspaper that once filled neighborhoods with the community news in print is NOT going to reach that same audience with the Internet. Why? Not everybody has the Internet that reads the newspaper. And Not everyone who does will read the online version. In fact, 23.7% of the World still does not have Web access. What’s more, 32% still uses dial-up from their remote or rural location. This makes it difficult to view all of what the media has to offer.

Newspaper owners have NO idea what they are about to face when it comes to Internet advertising. With all due respect to the industry I love, calculating profits and measuring metrics is venturing into unknown territory for most publications. With little or no way to know if online news or ads even reach their target audience, it’s shotgun marketing at its best! The only way to know is to measure it.

Online Advertising Analytics

More Web staff will be needed to help process log files for measuring and analyzing the effectiveness of their web site in terms of customer experience, return on investment, and site effectiveness. They must learn how to collect massive amounts of site visitor and usage data to provide a better customer experience and determine ROI. Employees will have to adjust with greater intelligence regarding how their online publication operates. Everyone will need to know how to execute precision marketing, effective sales, and real-time customer service. This will be extremely important in the current economy when they can’t afford to waste time, resources, or money.

Understanding Data Collection

Various niche publications that choose to place their entire operations online must enforce a niche concept that rests on the importance of customers to its company. They must determine the needs of their customers. Develop their competitive advantages. Select specific markets to serve. Determine how to satisfy those needs and analyze how well they’ve served their customers. Online sales and conversions are not enough. They need to find out who the customers are, what the customers want, where and when they want it. This type of research can also expose problems in the current news service, and find areas for expansion of current services to fill customer demand. This should also encompass identifying trends that may affect sales and profit levels.

Advertiser Experience

Every media kit from every publication is negotiable. One of the best kept secrets in newspaper advertising is how to get better rates than what the publication tell you is available. All will quote you their rate card numbers. And they will offer you a discount if you agree to do multiple runs of the ad. But, what about online ads? Will they be upfront and inform you about the banner impressions you couldn’t track? Or will you ever hear from a visitor who has been bombarded with pop-up display ads? How will they combine news and ads for a pleasurable reading experience without compromising standard business relationships? Clicking Web ads while reading the latest news column weighs heavily on whether the visitor will return to read more.

For once, newspapers hold an edge. While larger publications hire professionals to do their research, smaller ones are close to their customers. They can learn much more quickly the likes and dislikes of their customers and can react quickly to change in customer buying habits. While there is NO safe prediction on where our economy is heading, a decision to go entirely online is seldom a purely rational one. One that can influence your reader’s behavior. As you explore various techniques for presenting your publication online, do not ignore psychological and emotional appeals. It might save your paper!

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Lake Michigan Home

As new home owners scramble to survive in a struggling economy, finding a decent, well constructed home becomes increasingly critical. One company provides tools for survival amidst major competition and economic crisis.

Most home markets are challenged in today?s struggling economy. One national and international kit Home company has discovered a vital tool designed to help them survive and edge out competition.

All Kit Homes has developed a way to help home owners survive amidst pressures from the economy, natural disasters and major competitors. The company provides a new practical home ownership plan which saves 20% – 40% construction time without delay.

Each unit is constructed in a controlled environment. Each home is assured with a great level of quality control with only 20% moisture by the time it arrives on the construction site. This construction technique also eliminates the cost of on-site theft and vandalism. Bulk purchasing abilities have been developed to reduce costs, and this savings is also passed to the home buyer. Costs are further reduced because there are no wasted materials likewise on conventional job-sites.

“Our homes are much different from other homes. They are basically built the same by any other contractor, but with well constructed, high quality materials in a factory controlled environment,” says David Edwards, President of All Kit Homes. “The method we use has no tolerance for error, and this revision allows simple, but fast erection and reduces the site costs and total cost of their kit.”

Purchasing a total pre-constructed package significantly cuts exaggerated local labor costs, and reduces the time required for completion. This lowers construction loan costs and allows the home to be sold, or moved into more quickly.

Hand built items cannot logically be competitive, cost-wise with assembly line style material. The more time saved the more dollars saved. Time is money. Furthermore, the home which is factory constructed, the less local labor which in turn is cost prohibitive in most areas.

“We are finding more people around the world do not know the full concept of open panel construction. A home kit is faster and more economically safe than prefabricated or modular homes,” says Edwards. “This allows sufficient time to prepare the home site and have the foundation ready when the package arrives.”

Obviously, quality craftsmanship, energy efficient and reduced per square foot cost are major factors. However, today’s consumers demand something more than dull, rectangular living modules. They demand contemporary design, eye appeal, and luxury. All Kit Homes is proud to say that these kit homes, not only meets this demand, but also exceed these requirements.

About All Kit Homes.

All Kit Homes is a national and international distributor/contractor of High Quality, Affordable, Custom Panelized Homes – Shipped World Wide.

All Kit Homes, Inc. (http://www.allkithomes.com)

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Most small businesses are more flexible organizationally than ever before. They have set aside their cultural and organizational differences to predominantly better equip their company with quick decision making, where risk taking is encouraged and failure is merely an education.

A company with conventional free advertising methods usually find it a generally unsatisfying experience. They utilize every part of their imagination and energy to be a guest on radio and television talk shows. They produce and distribute advertising circulars on all the free bulletin boards at coin operated laundries, grocery stores, and beauty or barber shops.

What they eventually find, is that increasing complexity in their company has resulted in inflexibility and slow decision making processes. The more routine free advertising methods have a tendency towards internal conflict and stratification, as well as a leadership that would tend to emphasize capital investment as a solution to all problems.

Consumers have acquired organizational habits that are not well aligned to the needs of a tough economy, therefore, they discover undesirable traits or behaviors found in many organizations. They have become smart consumers in the movement towards centralized control. This characterizes a typical consumer goods business, and will carry with it limited coordination among departments and divisions resulting in a weakened sense of market trends and increased dissatisfaction.

Free Advertising must embrace the initial contact and emphasize that your product or service would be of interest to the listeners or viewers of the program, perhaps even saving them time or money. This also must carry an increased willingness to seek appropriate alliances and partnerships that will provide convergence to the integrated business model required to overcome these mismatches in our current economic culture and outlook.

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I have a friendly piece of advice for those who create their own marketing and to those who sponsor it. Often, the ad that generates record-breaking volume for a business one month is repeated the following month and fails.

A campaign designed by the best ad professionals may elicit a mediocre response, yet, the same item skyrockets in sales after a 20-word classified ad with abominable grammar appears on the rear pages of a shopper magazine. It’s rolled up and tossed to homes during a rainstorm! The mystery eludes solution but demands attention.

If we look a little closer at our current economic issue, it seems corporate strength was built on price skimming. This refers to the practice of charging high prices for the purpose of maximizing profit in the short run.

It only works best when the product is unique and people are willing to pay extra just to have it. There are trend setters in society who always are looking for something new and are willing to pay the price. A larger number are followers. They will buy your product if it is accepted by the leaders. The followers however, will not pay the higher price.

It only works when the cost of development is high and there is a chance of early obsolescence or imitation by competitors. Or, you may have a strong patent position, or your product would be difficult to copy.

The real disadvantage of skimming is that it attracts competition. Your competitors will soon figure out what you are up to, and the high profit potential will encourage them to copy you. They may produce cheaper versions of your product or style, referred to as knockoffs in the market.

Once you have meaningful competition on price, your skimming days are over and you run the risk of ending up with an enormous stock of products that cannot be sold at any price. Sound familiar?

The solution is penetration pricing. This is the opposite of skimming. It is made to introduce your product at such a low price that you will quickly gain a large share of the market. The purpose is to discourage competition. However, eventually you will have to raise your prices to start making some profit, and when you do, you will learn much about customer loyalty!

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For many years marketers were in control and advertised their products and services in order to sell as much as possible of what they produced. However, there has been a seismic shift this year and it is now the consumer that calls the shots. This change in the center of control has substantial implications for marketing as traditional marketing practices have been established around the marketer in the controlling role.

At the same time, we have been witnessing an increase in the disenfranchised consumer in developed markets. This shows that marketers now have to take into account a consumer who is knowledgeable about marketing, and in many cases, cynical. They seem to de-construct marketing messages, or in more extreme cases, set up pressure groups to air their views on specific marketers or marketing practices.

The move away from mass marketing towards one-to-one and niche marketing also plays a key role. Consumers will increasingly expect marketers to deliver what they are looking for, and not a product or service that is simply designed to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible. They are looking to direct a dialogue with a marketer, not receive a monologue.

The consumer in control is one of the most important forces of change impacting on marketing today as it is changing so many of the practices and processes that are established. Through the loop has been analyzing some of the implications of this as part of its Knowledge Development Program.

This need for having greater control results from a number of factors. The over riding factor is the rise in uncertainty in life. This has occurred for a number of reasons, some of which are closer to individual consumers and some of which are more intense, but make a clear impression.

Major economic events can impact on consumer uncertainty and lead to buying decisions being postponed or canceled. It is too early to be sure of the long-term impact of the financial meltdown. However, research has shown that short-term uncertainty may not necessarily dampen longer term underlying optimism.

Closer to home, there is frequently less stability in consumers’ lives today. Changing working practices have meant that there is a job no longer guaranteed for life as we currently see it. Work may not provide the security required for consumers and their families. Furthermore, they may find that their journeys to and from the workplace are taking longer due to traffic congestion, or extensive travel miles.

Some companies have been looking to down shift, opting out of the normal working environment for a different type of life. Others will look to change how they work within traditional employment. Employers and employees have to work together to find ways to bring a level of personnel control back into the workplace.

Time and pressure is increasing. A reduction in working hours was supposed to lead to greater leisure time. Have working hours actually been reduced? In addition, there are an increasing number of activities that make demands on precious leisure time. Consequently, there appears to be less time to relax and take things easy. This adds to the level of stress experienced and a perceived loss of control.

On a smaller level, the personal information that is being collected from consumers whenever they use a credit card, visit a Web site, or telephone a call center leads to a degree of uncertainty about how that information will be used by the company. Consumers will look for confirmation about what is collected, how it is stored and how it is likely to be used. They want to retain control of their own personal data.

The current economy is also changing social patterns, which includes the fact that more women are working in increasingly senior roles. This leads to a shift in how household roles and childcare are allocated between parents. This means that there is an opportunity to help consumers maintain control over their home lives.

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One great need of small business managers for 2006 is to understand and develop marketing programs for their products and services. Long term small business success depends on the ability to maintain a strong body of satisfied customers while continually increasing this body with new customers. Modern marketing programs build around the marketing concept, which directs managers to focus their efforts on identifying, satisfying, and following up the customer’s needs – all at a profit.

THE MARKETING MIX

Before the marketing mix decision is made, determine what purpose these marketing efforts are going to serve. Are they to:

¤ Deepen the customer base?
¤ Increase the market share? If so, by how much?
¤ Increase sales? If so, by how much?
¤ Reach new geographic markets?
¤ Increase customer traffic?
¤ Sell remaining inventory to prepare for a new product line?

After these objectives are established, determine a date for accomplishing the objective.

The marketing mix allows owner-managers to combine different marketing decision areas such as products and services, promotion and advertising, pricing, and place to construct an overall marketing program.

MARKETING PERFORMANCE

After the marketing mix decision is implemented, the next step is to evaluate performance. With a detailed list of company objectives, monitor how well the decisions are developing. Evaluate objectives such as:

- Market share. Has the increased share been captured?

- Is it easy for customers to find what they want at a competitive price?

What to look for:

Market research should investigate four areas: customers, customer needs, competition, and trends. The research conducted should answer questions like: Customers. Identify their age, income, occupation, family size, marital status residence,interests and hobbies.

Customers wants:

- Is the product needed for a limited time (diapers, for example)?
- Are customers looking for quicker service?
- Do customers want guarantees with the products?
- Will customer come frequently (for example a grocery store) or seldom (a car dealership)?
- Are customers looking for a wider distribution or more convenient locations?

Competition:

What is the competitions’ market share?
How much sales volume do they do?
How many similar firms exist?
What attracts customers to them?
What strengths do they advertise?

Trends. Are there:

- Population shifts? (Baby boom, for example)
- Legal or regulatory developments?
- Changes in the local economic situation?
- Lifestyle changes? (single parents, working women, smaller family size)

Where to get it:

There are two general sources of information that can be gathered: data already available and data that can be collected by the business.

The following sources may provide already accessible data:

- Department of Commerce
- Local area Chamber of Commerce
- Trade associations in the line of business
- Professional market research services
- Local library

Data can also be obtained by the business’ own research efforts through the following means:

- Telephone surveys
- Local and national newspapers
- Surveys sent by mail
- Surveys sent by e-mail
- Questionnaires
- Local TV and radio stations
- Interviewing
- Customer service cards

If these objectives were not reached, what were the reasons?  If they worked well, what elements were most effective?  By evaluating performance after decisions, there is reference for future decision-making, based on past results.

In addition, periodically assess customers’ feelings and opinions toward the business and how well their needs are being satisfied. This can be done through surveys, customer comment cards, or simply by asking them, “How are we doing?”

Assessing performance and asking for customer input brings us back around market research again. Your marketing plan is a continuous effort to identify and adapt to changes in markets, customer taste, and the economy for the success of your small business.

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