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November 23, 2005
In Public Relations, Like Life, Looking Good Is Half The Battle
My college daughter has fallen in love with ballroom dancing.
Just this last week she competed in two events, Cha-Cha and my all-time favorite dance, the Quickstep.
These competitions are unique - they put a bunch of couples on the floor at a time (maybe 20-25 in the initial rounds), let them dance for 2 minutes, then cull the group down through subsequent rounds.
A judge in these initial rounds doesn't have much time, maybe just a second or two, to analyze each couple and make a decision. If he catches you at a bad moment, you're out, even if you're a terrific dancer.
My daughter's teacher wisely taught them a key to making it through those initial cattle-call rounds. "Smile and look like you love what you're doing - if your smile's big enough, they won't even notice your feet."
(By the way, my daughter did very well, making it almost to finals in both events, even though she's just a new freshman - either she smiles nicely, or is a good dancer. I hope both!)
This advice works in publicity seeking too.
First impressions count. If that impression's bad, you're out, even if your pitch is exactly what they need.
Here's a few ways I have found to create a solid first impression in your publicity efforts.
Posted at 03:40 PM
Gift Baskets Update
As you may recall, we are working on the promotion of our distinctive line of gift baskets for the holiday season.
As part of that, we have just introduced our new consumer gift baskets site
We're trying to make it as strong as possible, and would love to hear your opinions. We'd appreciate it if you could drop by, look it over, and let us know your opinions through our feedback form. Anything you can share would be greatly appreciated.
And, of course, we wouldn't mind if you ordered a few baskets while you're there ;<)
Thanks!
Tags:
Holiday Gift Baskets
Corporate Gift Baskets
Holiday Shopping
Posted at 01:13 PM
Operation MoneySuck Hits Full Steam
The fact that holiday shopping is so key to annual retail profits creates some fascinating dynamics...
And, more importantly, some powerful marketing lessons for those astute enough to think about what they're seeing rather than just joining in the lemming parade to the cash register.
One of my favorite strategies is what I term Operation MoneySuck (OM for short).
This tactic describes the way retailers compete to get you to spend your budgeted holiday amount at their store rather than at their competitor's.
OM takes many forms, including:
- Door crasher events - with special prices only available between 5 and 11 am (Some stores even take this further, having some between 5 and 7, others 5 to 9, others 5 to 11, and you know when the really hot stuff is featured...)
The principle here is not only to get you to shop in their store first, but to get you locked into their store as you realize that the line's so long that there's no way you're getting to other store's specials before they expire, so you fill your cart with other items while there - sucking the money out of your checkbook...
- Pre-Black Friday specials - Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving, when the holiday shopping puts most retailers into the black (profitability) for the first time that year (a truly amazing concept - how can anyone operate at a loss 11 months of the year hoping to have a good enough holiday season to make it up?)
That's why you see great prices in the weeks before Thanksgiving, to draw your money in before the hotly contested weekend.
- Clean, open stores. Last year the fashion was to build shelves high and to cram the aisles with special displays so that you were forced to focus on the hot offers in that section of the store. This year, it appears that many retailers are doing the opposite, cleaning out the aisles, and shortening the height of the shelves especially in the entrance, giving you an expansive view of the entire store. It looks nice, and makes one want to buy!
Each of these has an application to your business, especially if you're not in retail. What is it? How can you use it to your advantage next year?
This year Wal*Mart introduced a new wrinkle to the OM tactics.
Posted at 09:49 AM
November 22, 2005
Free Teleconference Service
I use conference calls all the time. I use them for promotional teleconferences and for 3-way (and sometimes 99-way) conference calls. I've found that they're a great way to conduct business between individuals scattered all over the place. I'm even going to be using them for family chats (because my extended family is scattered all over the place.)
I use them so much that I was considering leasing a full-time line.
But in my search for a great leased line (there's lots of options out there, of very varying cost and quality), I managed to cut a deal that I really like, and I think you will too.
I got a 99-person, unlimited usage conference call line that's totally mine and totally free.
Yep, I pay nothing.
And I liked the deal and the line so much, I got them to allow me to offer one to you too. And yes, you get the same deal.
It costs you nothing.
Posted at 02:52 PM
What's That Again? Let's Do Lunch
This is the text of an actual ad run in Neillsville, WI
"What are you doing for lunch?
Cremation Seminar..."
I don't care if the lunch IS free!
Posted at 01:49 PM
