Picture this.  It's new year's eve, just after midnight.  You're home, and now that the festivities have died down you're ready to hit the sack.  It seems a little chilly, so you turn up the thermostat on your way up the stairs.  But, the heat doesn't turn on.  You go back downstairs, play with thermostat some more, and then go out to the garage to have a look at your furnace.  It's dead.

By now it's 2:00am, and you're flipping through the phone book looking for someone to fix the furnace.  You're concerned because it's a holiday, but as you look through the ads you find several companies that claim to have 24 hour emergency service, and some of them are open on holidays.  You begin dialing numbers, starting with the first ad.

Here's the big question.  When you're calling these companies who claim to have 24 hour service, would you expect a live person to answer the phone even at 2am?  This situation is real.  It happend to me just a few nights ago on new year's eve.  And I did expect a live person to answer the phone when a company claimed to offer 24 hour emergency service, even on holidays.  I was disappointed by every company in the phone book, however, except for one.   Only one company had someone answer their phone at 2am.  All the others had a machine answer, offering to take my name and number and have someone "get back to me."  Since it was the wee hours of the morning on a holiday, I guessed that hell might freeze over, and so would I and my family, before I would hear from anyone at any of those companies.

There is a big lesson here, and it's this.  Little details matter ALOT.  The companies with the answering machines probably thought they had their bases covered.  But, from my perspective as a customer at 2am, I felt like I had been left out in the cold.  I was tired, frustrated and cold.  I needed to speak to live person so that I would know that the situation would be taken care of.  This wasn't something I wanted to leave to chance and hope someone would get back to me.  

Whatever your company promises to do, whether it's 24 hour service, free gift wrapping or fresh, hot delivery, find out what your prospects and customers expectations are.  You may think you're fullfilling your promise, but your prospects and customers may feel otherwise.  A simple phone call or survey by mail can give you insight that will be invaluable to your company in the services you provide.  And if you need help putting together that survey and business letter to mail, Up & At 'Em is here to help you!

Up and at 'em!

Kim Hillman

Up & At 'Em Publications

www.upandatempublications.com 

Fact: you can't lead from the back of the pack.  If you're going to be a leader in your industry, you've got to move your business to the number 1 position.  It's easier to do than you think.

First, you need to figure out what it is that your company does best or the most of.  If you sell widgets, are yours the best?  Why?  What makes them special?  Maybe yours is a flying widget, but your competitor has a flying widget too.  Does your widget fly higher, faster or farther than your competitors?  Then, you can claim that yours is the higher, faster or farthest flying widget, which makes you number 1 for that particular category of widget.

Another way to become number 1, and probably the best way, is to become the best known for providing your product or service.  How do you do this?  By marketing through as many channels that reach your niche as you can.  You might advertise in classifieds, trade magazine, on radio or tv.  You might do several direct mail campaigns.  You might canvass neighborhoods with door hangers.  The point is to do as much as you can as often as you can.  Repetition is necessary and from as many sources as possible.

Incidentally, Up & At 'Em Publications can help you with this.  We create printed promotional materials from ads to sales letters to promotional booklets that get results and help you sell more of your products and services.  Why?  Because the more tangible collateral you've got in the marketplace with your name on, the more people will see your name everywhere and remember you.

Up and at 'em!

Kim Hillman

Up & At 'Em Publications

www.upandatempublications.com

With 2009 just days away, you've probably been looking over the past year at what's worked for your company in terms of marketing and what hasn't.  You may be inclined to cut back on your marketing over all, but this would be a bad thing to do.  Cutting back on your marketing would also mean cutting back on growth.  Do you really want to see your company diminish in 2009?  I didn't think so.

A better plan would be to analyze what worked and what didn't.  Find out why.  Then, tweak what didn't work or cut it out and replace it with something new.  The more marketing channels you have open that work, the more money will flow to you or your company.

Cutting back on your marketing overall is a bad idea.  Less marketing will not create more business.  Cutting out what doesn't work may not be necessary.  Some of your marketing may just need a little further tweaking to get it right.  Discovering the why's of what's working and what isn't is where the true gold is, because it gives you a framework to create a plan from.  Once you understand this, you can boldly go forward and create new ways to market your products and services.

Up and at 'em!

Kim Hillman

Up & At 'Em Publications

www.upandatempublications.com

A couple of days ago while I was at the mall for my daily mall walk, I stopped into a restroom at the most upscale department store on the mall.  This restroom has four stalls, one of which was apparently out of order.  Normally, this particular mall gets very little action on the weekdays, and compared to other local malls it gets little traffic even on weekends.  But, with the Christmas holiday just over a week away, there was actually a line in this particular restroom.

The lady in front of me mentioned the stall that was out of order, saying how inconvenient it was and she wondered why such a nice store would allow the stall to go unchecked and remain unuseable.  I couldn't help but agree, and I mentioned that the restroom never does seem to be very clean.  For that matter, neither do any of the others in any of the other stores on the mall, but from this store you would expect something better.

Both this lady and myself left that restroom and that store with a bad impression, and it will be a lasting one.  This was one of those little details that, handled improperly, created an undesirable experience for shoppers.  How could this problem be solved?  Quite easily.  The store could have the restroom checked by employees every 30 minutes to make sure it is clean, there are plenty of paper towels, and plenty of soap.  A problem would be reported to janitorial services which would respond immediately.  As an added touch, seasonal flowers could grace the counter top next to the sink, and a bottle of lotion could be placed there as well.  To really go the extra mile, a couple of boxes of tissues could be added.  This would add to the positive experience of shopping in that store, rather than detract from it.

Whether you have a brick and mortar store with restrooms, or yours is an online only shopping experience for your customers, little things matter alot.  You need to find ways to go above and beyond the ordinary and what is expected to give shoppers not just a positive experience, but one that they'll love so much they can't help talking about it.  In the case of the restroom example above, people may not rave about the improvements, but they'll remember them and enter that store and bring their friends into it if for no other reason than to use that restroom as opposed to any others on the mall.  That means they'll probably browse in that store once they leave that restroom, and browsing quite often will lead to buying.

How about your business?  What can you create, change or fix to give your customers a better experience?  Maybe you can offer free shipping and easy, no hassle returns.  Or, perhaps you can offer better customer service over the phone or in person.  Even something as simple as a thank you card from your company to let your customers know you appreciate their business will leave a favorable impression.

Up and at 'em!

Kim Hillman

Up & At 'Em Publications

www.upandatempublications.com

Are you finding it difficult to stay focused in the midst of all the naysayers who are down about the economy?  There is no shortage of business people blaming the economy for their lack of sales, yet there are a few bright individuals who can see opportunity where the others can't, or who are creating opportunity where the others are not.

If you're one of the complainers, stop.  Start thinking creatively.  If what you're currently doing isn't working, try a new approach.  And I'm not talking about lower prices.  I'm talking about creating new channels for bringing in leads, and new ways of offering value to customers so they'll buy from you as oppossed to your competitors or not buying at all.

The economy is really only as bad as you make it out to be.  You can thrive in a bad economy, and you can fail in a good economy.  The outcome has more to do with your thinking and creativity than it does with your customers.  People buy in any economy.  You just need to convince them to buy from you.

So how about it?  What are you going to do differently to bring in new leads and get them to buy from you?  How can you change your strategy so that it works better for you?

Need a little help?  Don't forget at Up & At 'Em we offer marketing consulting as well as booklets, flyers, brochures, sales letters, and more to help you make more money in any economy!

Up and at 'em!

Kim Hillman

Up & At 'Em Publications

www.upandatempublications.com

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