A Good Use of Billboards

In future postings, I will go through the different media and share my thoughts on the best (and worst) uses for each medium.

I'll start with Billboards.

Billboards can be effective if used in the correct way.  I recently saw a perfect use for a billboard so I had to pull over and snap a picture of it.

I know everything I need to know from looking at this billboard.  If I was going to turn into the shopping plaza on the right and go to West Coast Video, I would clearly see the crazy kid on the billboard pointing to the other side of the street.  Then, I could read the line "Now Across The Street" and could now make a left hand turn into the plaza across the street to find the new location of my video store.

Clear, simple, direct, great photo.  That's how to use a billboard.

I won't embarrass any businesses by showing a poor use of billboards, but let me just put it this way.  If you look at your billboard design on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and think that it looks great, try this exercise...

Have someone take the sheet of paper and walk about 5 or 6 feet away from you.  Have them hold the paper down facing away from you.  Then, when you say "Go," have them hold up the paper to face you and count to 3 before turning the paper over again.

How much of that design did you see before the paper was turned over?

Keep in mind someone driving in their car only has a few seconds to see and react to your billboard.  If it has too much text and that text is too small, it's just a waste of money.

Then, you have to consider placement.  If the billboard is a "left hand read,"  (a billboard on the left hand side of the road) a driver is even less likely to comprehend your message.  Keep in mind, they have oncoming traffic to deal with and your billboard is on the other side of the road.

Keep it simple when it comes to billboards.  Directions are a perfect use for billboards ... "TURN LEFT AT NEXT LIGHT."  Brilliant.

Just don't let a design team come up with something that looks great when you're looking at it on paper just a few inches away from your eyes, that will just get lost in the crowd out on the road.

Product Placement ... in Commercials?

Have you seen the new "Super Fan Nation" commercial from Old Navy?

If you haven't, check it out.  And, when you're watching, pay close attention to the Auburn fan who shows up at the end with pizza.



Wow!  Product placement for Dominos within the Old Navy commercial!

It got me thinking about how this could be done locally.  Of course, the first thing you could do is go to the business next door and agree to promote each other in all your ads.  "ABC Hardware, located right next door to XYZ Furniture on Main Street, Downtown."  Followed by ... "XYZ Furniture, located right next door to ABC Hardware on Main Street, Downtown."

You could take it a step further in print, TV and on the web.  For restaurants, why not talk to your local furniture store and ask that they have a family sitting around that new dining room set with take out food from your restaurant?  You could agree to feed the staff once or twice a month to get the product placement in their ads.  Another way a restaurant could do this is offer a business lunch for the staff x times per month in order to be called the "Official Restaurant of ......."  Then, get the business to allow you to put up signs throughout their business to promote your restaurant.  Offer them a percentage off their meal by showing their store receipt from the store you partner with.

You need to stay top of mind any way you can.  These are some simple ways without spending the huge bucks that I'm sure Dominos did in order to keep your business top of mind even when someone isn't seeing or hearing one of YOUR commercials.

Does humility sell?

Have you seen the new GM TV commercial?  They use images of people failing, falling down, losing.  You see Popeye sinking to the bottom of the ocean.  Evil Knievel crashing after a big jump.  You see the boys from Delta Tau Chi in "Animal House" down after getting kicked out of school by Dean Wormer.  Then, you see these people pick themselves up, (Popeye eats his spinach, for example) dust themselves off and turn things around.


Finally, at the end the graphic says, "We all fall down.  Thank you for helping us get back up."

My first reaction was that I was impressed with their humility.  The bailout of the auto companies was obviously a very tenuous situation.  Some say that this message might have been too little, too late.


Regardless of how you feel about GM overall, I think that this was the right way to go.  Earlier ads had GM CEO Ed Whitacre boasting that they had paid back their loan ahead of schedule.  This claim wasn't exactly true and caused a bit of a backlash for some.  This ad doesn't talk about the bailout per se.  It doesn't boast.  It doesn't even sell product.  It just shows images that we are all familiar with.  Our familiarity with these images gives us a positive feeling because we know how all these scenarios play out.  We know that Truman defeated Dewey, not the other way around.


So, when we get to the end of the commercial, (which is a :60, by the way) it has a "tugging at the heart strings" effect when they simply say, "Thanks."


I'm surprised that I haven't seen this commercial used more -- especially in this season of Thanksgiving.


Sometimes you don't have to sell a product.  Remember, advertising is about creating an emotion.  People make purchases -- especially automobile purchases -- based on emotion.


Think about your business.  What are you thankful for?  How can you use humility to create a positive emotional experience for your current and potential customers?


Nobody feels good about buying from someone who pounds their chest and says their the best.


Try being humble and see how it works.

Can convenience be BAD for business?

I stopped to get gas the other day and almost fell over from amazement at what I saw at the gas pump.  Right there, on the left hand side of the pump was a slot to feed cash into the pump!  That's right...not just the ability to pay with a credit or debit card, but the opportunity to pay at the pump with CASH!!!

Of course, everybody knows that Convenience Stores don't make any money on the gasoline.  They make their money by selling the highly marked up candy, snacks, cigarettes and of course, fountain drinks!  So, why would you give someone the added "convenience" of using their cash at the pump and avoiding coming into the store?

I started thinking about all the things that have made our lives more convenient and wondering if they are actually hurting business.

Ray Kroc, who built the McDonalds empire, changed the way everyone does business with his famous line, "Do you want fries with that?"  We all know that the easiest person to sell is a current customer.  Once we have them, it's a lot easier to sell them again (and again).  But we have to ask and we have to create the opportunities to sell them.  Keeping them outside at the pump and not inside at the counter won't help to sell them anything else.  Kroc understood that once he had them at the counter buying a hamburger, he could sell them fries and a shake too.

Why do you think that furniture stores set up their showrooms in a zig-zag pattern throughout the store and put the customer service desk at the far back of the store?  It's simple...it forces you to walk through every display in the store, looking at items that you didn't intend on seeing when you just went in to make a payment or to ask a simple question.


What things do you use in the sales process that are "convenient," but not necessarily good for business?  How about e-mail?  e-mail is a very convenient way to communicate with our clients, but it's also an easy way for your client to say no or to avoid you entirely.  "I don't think I ever received that e-mail," is a real convenient way to dismiss you.  It's a lot harder for a business owner to say that they never received something when you actually went into their office, talked to them and handed a proposal to them.  Nothing will replace face-to-face contact ... EVER.  And if we continue to find ways to make things more convenient for our customers, we'll also lose more and more opportunites to sell them additional products and services. 
 
Bring you customers inside from the pumps and never lose the opportunity to ask, "Do you want fries with that?"

Planning to fail?

I was driving around the other day and drove past a building that has housed several restaurants in the past few years.  There were construction trucks outside -- obviously another restaurant is going in.

I started wondering about how the people who were in the location before might have mapped out their business plan.  Did they spend all their time (and money) on the decor inside the restaurant and no time at all on a marketing strategy?  Sometimes I wonder if people actually sit down and plan to have non-distinct food that you can get anywhere and then plan to NOT tell anyone about it.  Many restaurants that I see come and go spend lots of money redesigning the inside of the building.  Then, they open up with an un-interesting menu.  Finally, to top it all off, they spend next to nothing in marketing and advertising their non-descript, uninteresting restaurant.  That they sit and scratch their heads wondering what went wrong when they go out of business is really laughable.

My feeling is that when you open a business - any business -- you need two things. 1) A niche, a unique idea and 2) A marketing plan.  So many people open up a business with nothing distinct about it.  Then, they will complain about how expensive it was to open the business and say that they can't afford to advertise.  Believe me, you can't afford NOT to advertise.

If you're opening a restaurant, you either need to have really, really great food and the seed money to wait it out until your word of mouth brings in customers for you, or you need to invite people to come in.

What sets you apart in your business?  How are you different?  What makes you distinct?  How are you letting people know about you?  Are you staying in constant contact with your customers and potential customers?  Are you doing everything you can to recognize your regular customers?  Are you giving your regular customers any incentive to bring in their friends and spread the word about you?

When you're putting your business plan together, make sure that marketing and advertising is a big part of that.

Remember, that failing to plan is planning to fail.

Sensory Overload?

I just got back from a trip to New York City.  My hotel was at 7th Avenue & 49th Street, so every time I left the hotel, I had to walk through the "sensory overload" that is Times Square.

It got me thinking about what needs to be done to cut through the clutter in advertising for the typical small business.

There are billboards on top of billboards in Times Square.  Most are now video boards.  They flash, they light up, they're eye-catching.  Some billboards are at the very top of the buildings.  I don't even know who can see those except for people at the top of the other tall buildings.

There was a video billboard of a guy dancing in different cities all over the world.  I saw that one multiple times in my few days in the city.  I still don't know what it was an ad for.  There was a static billboard for Sprite.  I know that one because it featured LeBron James.  I'm a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, so that one caught my eye and I remembered it.

I know that there was a lot of Samsung imagery, but the only product from Samsung that I remember was their new 3D Television that they are releasing.  And the reason that I remember that one is because while we were walking in Times Square one night, there was a stage set up and thousands of people standing around.  Soon someone came out and introduced the President of Samsung.  He came out and welcomed the people.  Then, James Cameron was introduced and came out on stage.  He talked about how this new Samsung TV was going to revolutionize the home viewing experience.  Then, the Black Eyed Peas were introduced and they came out and played 3 songs.  After their set, they talked about how great this TV was and how "Avatar" was the greatest film of "ALL TIME."

My point is that people are bombarded by hundreds of messages every day.  There are ads everywhere.  We constantly face sensory overload.

So, what is going to cut through that clutter?  I can guarantee that what WON'T cut through the clutter is cliche lines like, "serving your needs since 1945" or "friendliest staff in town."  Boring!

Each time you sit down to write a radio or TV script or come up with a print ad or billboard, think about Times Square.  If your ad was there, would it have a chance at all of being seen or heard?

If the only hook in your ad is about how great the service is, you'd better go back to the drawing board.

Or, see if the Black Eyed Peas will endorse you.  I'm sure that'll work!

Sweat The Small Stuff

Sure.  When it comes to the big picture, life and how to live it, I agree ... "Don't sweat the small stuff.  It's ALL small stuff."

But when it comes to running your business or taking care of your clients, you MUST sweat the small stuff if you want to set yourself apart from the competition.

Let me explain...

I drive a lot.  So, I have to get my oil changed regularly.  Since I'm on the road a lot, my car is my office.  I can't afford to have it sitting in the shop all day.  Same goes for when I need an inspection or new tires.  And, I won't go to a 15 minute quick-change type of facility.

The place that I take my car for service keeps my business because of their customer service.  They really go above and beyond.  If I ask to have my car done by 11am, they call me at 10:30am to say that it's done.  If I set an appointment to wait on the car while the oil is changed, it's done within a 1/2 hour or so.  If they encounter something outside the norm that needs to be done with my car, they call and explain it and tell me how much it will cost.  They ALWAYS put the oil change and tire rotation reminder sticker in my window.  It's a computer generated sticker - easy to read.  And their phone number is on it too.  So, when I notice that I need another oil change, the number is right there for me to call from my cell phone.  Of course, I make that call when I'm parked in a parking lot and not from the road.  :-)

Today, I had to take my car in for an oil change and I was going to wait on it as opposed to dropping it off.  I handed my key over and went to sit in the waiting area.  In their waiting area (which is very clean, by the way), they have a counter with a sink and a coffee maker.  A cup of coffee sounded good right about then!

They have a small tray with hot cocoa packets, sweetener, sugar, creamer and stirrers.  Everything is neatly arranged.  The counter is clean.  I put my coffee cup under the spout and pushed the lever to get my coffee.  There was some coffee on the bottom that must have dripped and it got on the bottom of my cup.  So, when I put the cup on the counter, I left a coffee ring on the counter.  I quickly looked to my right and spotted a paper towel dispenser.  I grabbed one, wiped up my mess and threw the paper towel away in the waste can under the counter.

Soon after finishing my coffee, I was informed that my car was done.  It was parked right outside the door.  They gave me my key.  I paid the bill and was on my way feeling great about my experience.  As I drove away, I looked up in the left hand corner of my windshield and there was my reminder sticker - inviting me to come back when my odometer hit the next number.

It got me thinking about small stuff.

What if there were coffee stains and sugar all over the counter?  Would I have even bothered to wipe up the coffee the I got on the counter?  What if the waiting area was loud?  What if it was filthy?  What if I waited there for 45 minutes and nobody ever came out to tell me that my car was done?  What if I got in my car and the reminder sticker wasn't there?  Would I feel good about going back there?  You know the answers to all these questions.

Now, think about what you do as a business person.  What "small stuff" do you do to set yourself apart from your competition.  If you're an outside sales rep, do you send thank you letters to new customers?  Do you remember if a client's spouse had surgery and remember to ask how they're doing the next time you see them?  Do you show up when you're supposed to?  Do you handle the things that your client asks you to handle?

If you own a business, do you recognize regular customers or is everyone just a number to you?  What "small stuff" do you do to make the customer's experience a more pleasurable one?  Do you do what you say?  Under-Promise and Over-Deliver?

In business, you must sweat the small stuff.  Because in the world of sales, it's the small stuff that makes ALL the difference.