FootLocker going viral!

A friend of mine forwarded a message he received from VP-CFO, Footlocker APAC.

This is an interesting message, for a few reasons:

1. Although it is direct, there is a high-level executive’s email signature at the bottom of the email.
   Why is that interesting? Because most EDM (Email Direct Marketing) campaigns will come from the company. Not from a person. If it is from a person, it will normally come from the marketing or sales department. This one is different.
2. It actually explains how to make this email viral, and why.
3. It contains a very compelling reason to forward the email to your friends, at all levels, and not feel bad about it – Who wouldn’t want to help their friends save on Christmas shopping?

This is the message, as I received it. If you want the discount brochure, simply say so in the comments area.

Hi Everyone:

Feel free to share with your friends, family and coworkers.

Big thanks from the Foot Locker team.
Visit us on-line at footlocker.com.au.

Happy Shopping!

Peter Gorman | VP - CFO | Foot Locker Asia Pacific
(: +61 7 3253 3006 |  6: +61 7 3253 3060 | -: pgorman@footlocker.com

 

---

Hi Everyone,

 

Please find attached a voucher for our friends and family event starting next Thursday 19th November.

Please forward this to all your contacts, friends, family and associates – really everyone you know, if you have their email address – they need this voucher! It is a great opportunity for them to get some Christmas shopping done early(ish)!!

All they need to do is print out the voucher, bring it to any Foot Locker store between the 19th and 22nd November and they get 30% off storewide!

To make this a success we need your help – if everyone forwards this email to at least 10 people who forward it to another 10 people to another 10 people – well you get the idea, it will make a lot of happy Foot Locker customers!

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Apple’s marketing secrets exposed!

Image via Wikipedia

I’m reading now a small and easily portable book called World Wide Rave – David Meerman Scott. In his book, Meerman Scott talks about the power of internet as a tool to spread ideas quickly and effectively. One of the tools emphasized in the book, is writing an E-Book, which is freely downloadable – no strings attached. Great concept.

As an example, David mentioned Steve Chazin’s e-book : Marketing Apple (5 secret of the worlds’ best marketing machines).

I’m very tempted to summarize the ebook for you, but I resist the temptation. You’d have to click on the link, or the image below and invest the time to read all 8 pages.

Download MarketingApple E-Book

So simple.

So powerful.

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Is VERY GOOD – good enough?

When you buy (or receive) a 50c pen – do you expect it to work? Sure you do. This is the basic expectation of any product you buy, receive, or come across, regardless of its’ cost – you expect it to work. Making a widget that works is very good, but is it good enough?

The WOW awards - will you recieve this award?

When a product doesn’t meet your expectations, people will tell you – “you get what you pay for”. I don’t think this is still the case. Our basic expectation is different. We, as consumers, have raised the bar. If you run a restaurant, and your patrons don’t become ill after dining in your fine establishment – is that good enough, or basic expectation? When you serve the food heated, on a plate, with clean cutlery – that is very good – but it is not REMARKABLE!

When our basic expectations are met, the product or service become VERY GOOD. When the consumers’ basic expectations aren’t met, you get two types of complaints – people tell you about their unsatisfactory experience in two ways:

1. They verbalize – complain loudly, in words (talking , writing), and to you. This is good. You get feedback, and an opportunity to rectify.

2. They publicize – they walk away, unsatisfied, and tell the world. They will also never do business with you again. This is no good. You’ll learn about your dissatisfied customer too late. Your brand and reputation will be tarnished. (I’ll explore “handling complaints”  in a future post. Stay tuned…)

Meeting expectation is not going to get you very far. Being REMARKABLE is. You need to create a WOW factor, something really unexpectedly FANTASTIC, to make you stand out, and successful.

Marketers always say, that the best form of advertising is WOM (always these damn TLA’s – three letter acronyms – Word of Mouth. How do you create this cheap form of advertising? You spend less on marketing, and more on product/service development. With a truly exceptional product, and marketing it to early adopters (people who are more risk orientated, and willing to try new things), the WOM advertising will take care of itself.

Think of the iphone: the best advertising method was to see the amazing interface, with a few cool apps, and you’re hooked (if you’re in the right demographics – of course)!

Hollywood produces over 300 movies a year! It is not uncommon to spend $20M (TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS!!!) on advertising, but if the movie is average, the producer will struggle to get ROI. The movie will have to be “something to write home about” to become a mega blockbuster. Why? because you get the audience to rave about the movie, and “sell” it to their friends and family. This is CHEAP, and very effective.

The Blair Witch Project was a low-budget movie. This means that there was no big bucks spent on celebrity actors, or Hollywood style advertising campaign.
According to Wikipedia, The Blair Witch Project grossed $248,639,099 worldwide, against a $22,000 budget. The film was featured in the Guinness Book of Records as having the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture ever, making back US$11,301.78 for every $1 spent.

What is REMARKABLE in your business? Are you VERY GOOD in whatever it is that you do? Do you satisfy your customers, or WOW them?  Would you consider cutting your advertising spend, and move your budget to R&D (research and development)?

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What do you want to be known for?

Jim Rohn frequently asks: “What do you want to be known for? ”

I have to admit, that until I heard Mr. Rohn asking this question, I never gave it much thought. After watching one of Jim’s presentations, I couldn’t get this question out of my head! and I needed to find an answer. Not easy, let me tell you. As a marketer, I was always aware of Brands, but it never resonated with me to look into my own brand, and find a reasonable answer to this question: “What do you want to be known for? “
I went on a quest to find the answer. The best things about most people, that we are a social animal – we are surrounded by other animals, friends, family, business associates, etc.

They all have an opinion about us, sometimes they even share it with us, and sometimes they share their opinion about us, with others!  To make sure people in my social and business surrounding are sharing the “right” opinion, I needed to know what this opinion is. So:

I’ve sent this email to a selected bunch of friends and long time business contacts:

We’ve known each other for quite a while now, and this is a time when I need your help.I’m going through a personal development exercise. One of the tasks I have, is to get people I’ve known for a while, to describe me, in a few words, or phrases.It could be a personal description, or a business related one. About my appearance, behaviour, and values.Get personal, and honest. This what this is all about. If you only try to be nice – it won’t help me much. No need to be nasty either
What I’m trying to do, is to see if what I think of myself, and what you think of me, are somewhat related
So, if you’re keen to help me, please reply to this email, with a few words that comes to mind when you think of ME.

I’ve attached a nice picture of me, and signed my name.

And guess what? People love to share their opinions. Some share all the time, and some just waiting for an opportunity. I BRAVELY gave them the opportunity

The responses were great! It can be a great ego boost, when people you know and love, tell you all the good things they think of you. It is also a reality check, when these people get the opportunity to point out some of our shortcomings. For example, one of the things that kept coming up was that I was involved in too many things, and therefore was considered un-focused.

So what I’ve done, is looked at all the businesses and activities I’m involved in, and found a common thread. Now I stand for one thing, which is why I’m engaged in all of those activities – I love to help businesses develop through developing their people. From the head – down…

I made up two titles for myself, which I’m using to see which is better (by the responses I get):

People Development Manager, or Personal Marketer. This is what I want to be known for.

And then I explain: I help people realize they are in the PEOPLE business, and not just product and services.

Yes, I do sales and marketing, I’m involved in advertising, job search, profiling, and the list goes on, but the bottom line is – I help business owners develop their businesses, and I help people develop themselves. That’s it!

My motto is:

PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE!

I show people how to connect with other people, personally and in their business.

“What do YOU want to be known for? ”

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Are you “lucky” in business?

Image via Wikipedia

Apparently so. A bit off -topic for me, but this is important, none the less.

This morning I met with a small business owner (don’t want to expose him), who is in a high tech business, providing services based on new technology, being in business for 23 years (!).

What amazes me, is that people like him exist, operating a business with no marketing efforts, no plan, no unified approach to treating customers, getting new ones, or keeping existing. The guy has been doing very well up until now, just by being LUCKY!

I’ve discoverd that he never “had the need” for a website (elementary, Watson!), never had “DataBase Marketing” activities, just did the right thing, and hoped for the best.

For me, it is difficult to understant, but I can’t argue with the result. For MOST businesses, this approach will send you bankrupt! Very few businesses have their stars lined-up like this dudes’. It is absolutely essetial to be visible, to keep in touch with clients, to keep them updated with latest trends, products and services, and keep a close watch on their businesses, to be able to offer a solution, even before they have a problem.Sounds like a lot of work? It doesn’t have to be.

A monthly, bi monthly or quaterly (at the minimum) newsletter will do the trick. if you’re more current, you can send personalized emails periodically, or if you’re really tech savvy – a blog is a great tool to keep in touch. It is also very important to LISTEN to the clients, “milk” responses and comments from them – testimonials are great, but compaints and constructive criticism are even better – it will help you grow properly!

It is important to have a strategy ( 1 page will do) of :

1. How to gain market share – increase the number of clients you have.

2. How to gain wallet share – to increase the account size, sell more products to existing clients.

3. How to maintain the client base – what can you do to make sure the clients you’ve acquired, will stay with you.

Someone once said :” The best way to predict the future is to create it “. Don’t be lucky with your business. Plan ahead, and succeed by design.

If you have stories of “succeeding against the odds”, please share with me.

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