A couple of weeks ago, Lake Superior State University released its 37th annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse, and General Uselessness.” Those conducting the study asked participants to nominate terms they consider tired, overused, or annoying. From those submissions they created the list of twelve terms that they recommend not to use in 2012.
The terms are amazing, baby bump, shared sacrifice, occupy, blowback, man cave, ginormous, the new normal, win the future, trickeration, pet parent, and thank you in advance.
After the events of last year, some of these terms have new meaning. Some of them are new creations. Some have been around a while but, due to overuse last year, have become annoying.
At least one of them, amazing, is a term that has been in our vocabulary for a long time. Interestingly, it received the most nominations, 1500. Why is amazing an annoying word?
It is overused.
Notice people’s speech. Listen to commercials. Watch articles and ads in print. Everything is amazing. Sometimes an exclamation point follows the word in print. When spoken, the voice inflection raises and perhaps gets louder. These are done to put additional emphasis on the word amazing.
In fact, that is usually the reason amazing is used. Amazing is intended to emphasize and bring attention. Often, it is a one word response to communicate surprise and be complimentary. Unfortunately, its overuse has led to annoyance. This annoyance makes it a useless word.
As a useless word, amazing has lost effectiveness. It no longer conveys the communication which the sender intends. As such, amazing has joined other words that are overused and, therefore, ineffective. Those words include quality, selection, and value.
The problem with all overused words is the sender’s lack of specificity. Rather than saying specifically what about something is amazing, the person uses the general term amazing. This generality annoys the receiver because it tells the receiver nothing. So you think something is amazing! What does that mean?
A much less annoying, much more informative communication gives the receiver something new. For example, instead of an amazing washing machine say a washing machine that washes a twenty pound load. Instead of an amazing movie say a movie that pulled me into the story. Instead of an amazing experience say an experience that scared me and made me laugh at the same time.
Instead of “That’s amazing!” say specifically what you find amazing.
When you are tempted to use an overused, misused, and annoying word, stop. Think specifically why you want to use that word. Then, communicate your “why” instead of using the general, overused word.
Your communication will be much clearer and not annoying.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
Watch for Shifting Habits
I heard about a survey this week which caught my attention. It was conducted by the New American Food Pantry regarding grocery shopping. Its conclusion was that this economy has caused grocery shopping habits to change fundamentally.
Nine out of ten surveyed believe that the recession will last another year. The recession has caused them to spend less, but they don’t sacrifice. Instead, they are now smarter about what they need and want. They buy less on impulse. Interestingly, they state that they will not change back to their old habits when the economy improves.
Here are some additional findings:
86% are more precise in what they buy,
80% are more efficient in getting in and out of stores,
managing their time instead of money,
63% decide what brands to buy before they enter the store.
The top five must-have items upon which the respondents are unwilling to sacrifice include pet food, candy, condiments, household cleaners, and beer. They are most willing to sacrifice on frozen pizzas and meals, bottled water, paper towels, sauces, and salty snacks.
More men are doing the grocery shopping than in the past. According to this survey, ten years ago twenty percent of men did the grocery shopping. Today that figure has doubled to forty percent. That means twice as many men are in the grocery store today than ten years ago. At least one of men’s habits do not fit the rest of the survey. They are less health conscious, more brand conscious, and, unlike women, more willing to buy on impulse.
Coupons have generally lost favor with shoppers due to the time it takes to find, clip, and handle them. Today, shoppers prefer loyalty cards. They like to be rewarded for their continued patronage of a business.
Whether you sell food items or not, this survey is important to your business. It indicates that we are doing business in an economic climate in which people’s buying habits are shifting. That shift is affecting your business, too.
How is your business being affected?
The only way to find out is to ask your customers.
Nine out of ten surveyed believe that the recession will last another year. The recession has caused them to spend less, but they don’t sacrifice. Instead, they are now smarter about what they need and want. They buy less on impulse. Interestingly, they state that they will not change back to their old habits when the economy improves.
Here are some additional findings:
86% are more precise in what they buy,
80% are more efficient in getting in and out of stores,
managing their time instead of money,
63% decide what brands to buy before they enter the store.
The top five must-have items upon which the respondents are unwilling to sacrifice include pet food, candy, condiments, household cleaners, and beer. They are most willing to sacrifice on frozen pizzas and meals, bottled water, paper towels, sauces, and salty snacks.
More men are doing the grocery shopping than in the past. According to this survey, ten years ago twenty percent of men did the grocery shopping. Today that figure has doubled to forty percent. That means twice as many men are in the grocery store today than ten years ago. At least one of men’s habits do not fit the rest of the survey. They are less health conscious, more brand conscious, and, unlike women, more willing to buy on impulse.
Coupons have generally lost favor with shoppers due to the time it takes to find, clip, and handle them. Today, shoppers prefer loyalty cards. They like to be rewarded for their continued patronage of a business.
Whether you sell food items or not, this survey is important to your business. It indicates that we are doing business in an economic climate in which people’s buying habits are shifting. That shift is affecting your business, too.
How is your business being affected?
The only way to find out is to ask your customers.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Be Transparent
The commercial opened with two beautiful draft horses pulling a wide, covered wagon through the snow. Santa was seated prominently in the front behind the driver, and wreaths were hung around the wagon, adding color and a festive look. With the snow swirling around, the entire scene was enticing. My interest was piqued. What was this about?
Watching further, I saw Santa and Mrs. Claus, fresh-cut Christmas trees, and kids decorating cookies. The announcer said, “This Christmas, start a new tradition by getting your fresh cut Christmas tree and enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides, cookie decorating for the kids, and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus at Vino in the Valley.”
“Nice commercial,” I thought. “It’s very well done. Where is Vino in the Valley?”
The commercial never told me. It’s only information was vinointhevalley.com at the end. “Where is that?” I wondered. “Did I miss the location?”
The next time that the commercial aired, I missed part of it and thought that I must have missed the location once again. The third time that I caught it, I made a point to run it back and watch it all the way through. The only information it contained was vinointhevalley.com.
That’s not enough.
I was reminded of a consumer who told me that she wanted to go to a store, but the store never gave a street address on its commercials. It only stated the two cities where the stores were located. The consumer refused to go the extra step to find the store’s location either online or from a phone book. “I’d like to shop there,” she said, “but if they won’t tell me where they are, I’m not taking the extra time to find out.”
Her reaction surprised me initially. After thinking about it, I realized that she had a point. Why should she have gone to extra effort to find the store? What was in it for her?
As I mulled the Vino in the Valley commercial over, I thought about an ad that I was given recently which completely lacked an address. There was no address, no phone number, and no Web site. I assume that was a mistake.
Was that ad any different from the Vino in the Valley commercial?
Out of curiosity, I finally went online and checked out vinointhevalley.com. I quickly realized why the commercial directed viewers to the Web site. The location was off the beaten path and required lengthy directions. These directions could not be given on a commercial. However, leaving the location off the commercial completely was a mistake. Expecting consumers to take the extra step to find a business likely won’t happen.
As the lady I referenced earlier indicated, people are too busy to investigate. Give them the information that they need to make a decision. Vino in the Valley would have been wise to indicate its general location. By not doing so, I felt that something was wrong. Either they had forgotten or were cloaking it for some reason. The latter made me suspicious. The lack of the location irritated me.
Perhaps the Vino in the Valley people thought that because they couldn’t give all the directions, they should avoid directions entirely. Or, perhaps they thought that telling the general location might be a turnoff for some consumers. If that was their thinking, they were probably correct. However, revealing that information after a consumer has taken extra time to go to a Web site will have the same result. If the consumer wouldn’t be interested by the general location, she won’t be interested by the specific one, either. Having interrupted her schedule to go online, her disinterest may be coupled with irritation.
In your marketing, be transparent. Good marketing piques interest but does not hide or neglect important information. Give consumers what they need to know to find your business.
Watching further, I saw Santa and Mrs. Claus, fresh-cut Christmas trees, and kids decorating cookies. The announcer said, “This Christmas, start a new tradition by getting your fresh cut Christmas tree and enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides, cookie decorating for the kids, and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus at Vino in the Valley.”
“Nice commercial,” I thought. “It’s very well done. Where is Vino in the Valley?”
The commercial never told me. It’s only information was vinointhevalley.com at the end. “Where is that?” I wondered. “Did I miss the location?”
The next time that the commercial aired, I missed part of it and thought that I must have missed the location once again. The third time that I caught it, I made a point to run it back and watch it all the way through. The only information it contained was vinointhevalley.com.
That’s not enough.
I was reminded of a consumer who told me that she wanted to go to a store, but the store never gave a street address on its commercials. It only stated the two cities where the stores were located. The consumer refused to go the extra step to find the store’s location either online or from a phone book. “I’d like to shop there,” she said, “but if they won’t tell me where they are, I’m not taking the extra time to find out.”
Her reaction surprised me initially. After thinking about it, I realized that she had a point. Why should she have gone to extra effort to find the store? What was in it for her?
As I mulled the Vino in the Valley commercial over, I thought about an ad that I was given recently which completely lacked an address. There was no address, no phone number, and no Web site. I assume that was a mistake.
Was that ad any different from the Vino in the Valley commercial?
Out of curiosity, I finally went online and checked out vinointhevalley.com. I quickly realized why the commercial directed viewers to the Web site. The location was off the beaten path and required lengthy directions. These directions could not be given on a commercial. However, leaving the location off the commercial completely was a mistake. Expecting consumers to take the extra step to find a business likely won’t happen.
As the lady I referenced earlier indicated, people are too busy to investigate. Give them the information that they need to make a decision. Vino in the Valley would have been wise to indicate its general location. By not doing so, I felt that something was wrong. Either they had forgotten or were cloaking it for some reason. The latter made me suspicious. The lack of the location irritated me.
Perhaps the Vino in the Valley people thought that because they couldn’t give all the directions, they should avoid directions entirely. Or, perhaps they thought that telling the general location might be a turnoff for some consumers. If that was their thinking, they were probably correct. However, revealing that information after a consumer has taken extra time to go to a Web site will have the same result. If the consumer wouldn’t be interested by the general location, she won’t be interested by the specific one, either. Having interrupted her schedule to go online, her disinterest may be coupled with irritation.
In your marketing, be transparent. Good marketing piques interest but does not hide or neglect important information. Give consumers what they need to know to find your business.
Monday, October 24, 2011
An Unclear Message
The other day I saw a sign that shocked me. It read “Experience College the Way It Was Meant to Be.”
“What does that mean?” I thought.
According to the movie depiction of college, “College the way it was meant to be” would include drinking, partying, and having a good time. Being a part of a sorority would be more important than studying. Fielding a winning sports program so that the institution receives funding from alumni would be a high priority. Getting away from home and doing your own thing would drive a student.
Was that what the sign meant?
Was it prompting a retro version of college, the way it was? If so, that seems skewed in favor of the institution, not the student. Many students who attend the movie depiction of “College the way it was meant to be” don’t graduate. Others take more than four years to graduate. Some don’t have the grades to graduate. In these cases, the institution wins, but the student does not.
Can today’s student afford “College the way it was meant to be?” Today, college needs to offer students more than a degree. College needs to offer knowledge. A degree might get a student into an interview, but knowledge will get him the job and help him do well at that job. Knowledge has been found to be the most important determiner of the health of a country’s economy. Is knowledge a part of “College the way it was meant to be?”
I don’t know. What do you think?
Whatever any of us thinks and anyone else who reads this sign thinks is all a guess, isn’t it? None of us is absolutely certain that we know what “College the way it was meant to be” means. The only person who knows is the person who thought up the phrase. It made sense to him or her. It was catchy. It clearly stated the reason to attend that school. Unfortunately, we don’t share that thought.
To us it is very unclear. Sadly, this phrase which was deemed worth putting on a sign with the idea of piquing interest in the school did not accomplish its goal. It requires too much interpretation.
Don’t leave your message to interpretation. Test your message on your customers. Ask them “What does this mean to you?” Find out before you use a message that it communicates what you want. Be certain that it clearly tells your customers “What’s in it for them.”
“What does that mean?” I thought.
According to the movie depiction of college, “College the way it was meant to be” would include drinking, partying, and having a good time. Being a part of a sorority would be more important than studying. Fielding a winning sports program so that the institution receives funding from alumni would be a high priority. Getting away from home and doing your own thing would drive a student.
Was that what the sign meant?
Was it prompting a retro version of college, the way it was? If so, that seems skewed in favor of the institution, not the student. Many students who attend the movie depiction of “College the way it was meant to be” don’t graduate. Others take more than four years to graduate. Some don’t have the grades to graduate. In these cases, the institution wins, but the student does not.
Can today’s student afford “College the way it was meant to be?” Today, college needs to offer students more than a degree. College needs to offer knowledge. A degree might get a student into an interview, but knowledge will get him the job and help him do well at that job. Knowledge has been found to be the most important determiner of the health of a country’s economy. Is knowledge a part of “College the way it was meant to be?”
I don’t know. What do you think?
Whatever any of us thinks and anyone else who reads this sign thinks is all a guess, isn’t it? None of us is absolutely certain that we know what “College the way it was meant to be” means. The only person who knows is the person who thought up the phrase. It made sense to him or her. It was catchy. It clearly stated the reason to attend that school. Unfortunately, we don’t share that thought.
To us it is very unclear. Sadly, this phrase which was deemed worth putting on a sign with the idea of piquing interest in the school did not accomplish its goal. It requires too much interpretation.
Don’t leave your message to interpretation. Test your message on your customers. Ask them “What does this mean to you?” Find out before you use a message that it communicates what you want. Be certain that it clearly tells your customers “What’s in it for them.”
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Izzy Scoop
Last Sunday I heard a story about the Izzy scoop. What is it? It’s a small scoop of another flavor of ice cream added on top of the ice cream ordered to encourage customers to be adventurous and try another flavor. The ordered scoop is a generous serving. Seeing the small scoop perched on top of the order is attention-getting. “Gives ‘em a chance to try something new without committing to a huge portion,” notes Jeff Sommers, who owns Izzy’s with his wife Laura.
Jeff and Laura came up with the Izzy scoop, which is just one of their many successful ideas. Jeff was a middle school teacher, and Laura was an attorney. Eleven years ago, Jeff bought a book on how to make ice cream from amazon.com. He followed that with a two-day workshop, and, four months later, Jeff and Laura started selling ice cream. “We were doing what we knew from our guts,” Jeff states.
Ever since, they constantly dream up new flavors of ice cream which they sell at their store on Marshall Avenue in St Paul, Minnesota. Their ice cream has been proclaimed the best ice cream in the nation by Readers’ Digest and Bobby Flay, Food Network’s toughest critic. Along with the usual flavors, Izzy’s features some very unusual ones: Salt Water, Cranberry, Norwegian Chai, Graham Cracker, Blue Mountain Spice, and Mango Django, to name a few. Mango Django includes honey, balsamic vinegar, poppy seeds, a dash of cayenne pepper, and ground pink peppercorns. It was the Best of Show Winner 2011 at Izzy’s 9th People’s Flavor Awards, an ice cream tasting event.
In 2006, Hot Brown Sugar took the top prize. The idea came from Jane Carlson, an Izzy’s customer. It features brown sugar burnt caramel ice cream with praline pecans toasted in cayenne pepper. “Wow! It just tastes so great!” Jane responded the first time that she sampled her idea.
Izzy’s uses this contest to solicit ideas for new ice cream flavors from its customers. The rest of this year’s winners include Upside Down Delight by William Turner, a vanilla ice cream with crushed pineapple, buttery yellow cake, and caramelized brown sugar; CH-CH-Cherry Bomb by Nicolas Larkins a Japanese plum wine with grenadine-cherry; Slow Your (Nut) Roll by Markda Awada, vanilla ice cream with crushed Pearson's nut roll, caramel, nougat, and fudge swirls; Fruit! Bomb! by Maggie Baxter, lemon flavored ice cream with frozen strawberries and apricots; and Caramel Coffee Swirl by Amelia Odens, caramel ice cream blended with coffee infused cream and a fudge swirl.
Out of its current 120 flavor selection, Izzy’s features thirty-two flavors at any given time, which are listed on its Web site and updated every three minutes. Jeff searches for the finest ingredients to use in creating these ice creams. He and Laura have decided not to expand beyond one store so that they may maintain their high standards of ingredients and flavor.
Through this attitude, Jeff and Laura remind us what is important in business: creating a product or service that our customers want and delivering it consistently. They involve their customers with an annual contest to get new flavor ideas, and then they follow through on their customers’ suggestions. They innovate with these customers’ ideas as well as many of their own. They top this off with an Izzy scoop, giving their customers an opportunity to be adventurous and sample new flavors. Their customer focus is a recipe for success.
How can you use Izzy’s recipe in your business?
Jeff and Laura came up with the Izzy scoop, which is just one of their many successful ideas. Jeff was a middle school teacher, and Laura was an attorney. Eleven years ago, Jeff bought a book on how to make ice cream from amazon.com. He followed that with a two-day workshop, and, four months later, Jeff and Laura started selling ice cream. “We were doing what we knew from our guts,” Jeff states.
Ever since, they constantly dream up new flavors of ice cream which they sell at their store on Marshall Avenue in St Paul, Minnesota. Their ice cream has been proclaimed the best ice cream in the nation by Readers’ Digest and Bobby Flay, Food Network’s toughest critic. Along with the usual flavors, Izzy’s features some very unusual ones: Salt Water, Cranberry, Norwegian Chai, Graham Cracker, Blue Mountain Spice, and Mango Django, to name a few. Mango Django includes honey, balsamic vinegar, poppy seeds, a dash of cayenne pepper, and ground pink peppercorns. It was the Best of Show Winner 2011 at Izzy’s 9th People’s Flavor Awards, an ice cream tasting event.
In 2006, Hot Brown Sugar took the top prize. The idea came from Jane Carlson, an Izzy’s customer. It features brown sugar burnt caramel ice cream with praline pecans toasted in cayenne pepper. “Wow! It just tastes so great!” Jane responded the first time that she sampled her idea.
Izzy’s uses this contest to solicit ideas for new ice cream flavors from its customers. The rest of this year’s winners include Upside Down Delight by William Turner, a vanilla ice cream with crushed pineapple, buttery yellow cake, and caramelized brown sugar; CH-CH-Cherry Bomb by Nicolas Larkins a Japanese plum wine with grenadine-cherry; Slow Your (Nut) Roll by Markda Awada, vanilla ice cream with crushed Pearson's nut roll, caramel, nougat, and fudge swirls; Fruit! Bomb! by Maggie Baxter, lemon flavored ice cream with frozen strawberries and apricots; and Caramel Coffee Swirl by Amelia Odens, caramel ice cream blended with coffee infused cream and a fudge swirl.
Out of its current 120 flavor selection, Izzy’s features thirty-two flavors at any given time, which are listed on its Web site and updated every three minutes. Jeff searches for the finest ingredients to use in creating these ice creams. He and Laura have decided not to expand beyond one store so that they may maintain their high standards of ingredients and flavor.
Through this attitude, Jeff and Laura remind us what is important in business: creating a product or service that our customers want and delivering it consistently. They involve their customers with an annual contest to get new flavor ideas, and then they follow through on their customers’ suggestions. They innovate with these customers’ ideas as well as many of their own. They top this off with an Izzy scoop, giving their customers an opportunity to be adventurous and sample new flavors. Their customer focus is a recipe for success.
How can you use Izzy’s recipe in your business?
Friday, August 12, 2011
The Impact of Video
When I was a wet-behind-the-ears TV sales representative, I received some advice from a man I respected who had sold TV advertising for many years. “Everyone wants to be on TV. You just have to find a way to help them do it.”
I embraced his view, approached my sales with that attitude, and sold a great deal of advertising. I helped business people find a way to be on TV.
Looking at his words today, I wonder, “Why did everyone want to be on TV?”
Now I would revise his statement to “Everyone wants to use the impact of video, but they don’t know how to do it.”
What is the impact of video?
First, video is visual. You can communicate a great deal and do so more quickly though visuals. Showing has always been easier than telling. Words can be interpreted different ways, and noise can affect them. Usually, what you see is understandable without interpretation.
Second, video gets our attention and holds it. We are more likely to watch a video than to read a note. The two may take the same amount of time, but video will trump written or spoken.
Third, video conveys emotion. Through video, we can get in touch with the emotions of our customers. We can project credibility and further trust in our businesses. We can speak to our customers on a person-to-person level.
Fourth, video uses movement. We like to see movement. We like to see how something moves. Even seeing normally non-moving items such as text put into moving effects helps us notice and retain the message. Consider the two strongest mediums that we use everyday, television and the Internet. Both use video, and both show movement, don’t they?
Today businesses have the opportunity to use video beyond television. They can set up a channel on YouTube which can be watched by anyone, anywhere, and at any time, 24/7. No longer are businesses restricted to a slot on television which airs at a particular time that is watched by an audience limited by reception and personal schedules. In addition, today’s videos can be part of a two-way conversation with customers. Videos can be used to further relationships with customers, thereby increasing sales.
Cost-wise, videos are inexpensive. YouTube charges nothing to host an unlimited number of videos. You can shoot a video with a digital camera that costs around $100. You can upload what you have shot in moments without any editing. Of all the ways that you can market, video costs very little.
Yes, businesses want to use the impact of video. However, most don’t know how. If you want to learn how, do so. Read a book, go online, or find a resource from which to learn. I am offering my new seminar, How to Use the Visual Impact of YouTube, for just that purpose. I invite you to attend. Whether you attend or not, do use video in your marketing.
Online or off, video is the most effective way to communicate.
I embraced his view, approached my sales with that attitude, and sold a great deal of advertising. I helped business people find a way to be on TV.
Looking at his words today, I wonder, “Why did everyone want to be on TV?”
Now I would revise his statement to “Everyone wants to use the impact of video, but they don’t know how to do it.”
What is the impact of video?
First, video is visual. You can communicate a great deal and do so more quickly though visuals. Showing has always been easier than telling. Words can be interpreted different ways, and noise can affect them. Usually, what you see is understandable without interpretation.
Second, video gets our attention and holds it. We are more likely to watch a video than to read a note. The two may take the same amount of time, but video will trump written or spoken.
Third, video conveys emotion. Through video, we can get in touch with the emotions of our customers. We can project credibility and further trust in our businesses. We can speak to our customers on a person-to-person level.
Fourth, video uses movement. We like to see movement. We like to see how something moves. Even seeing normally non-moving items such as text put into moving effects helps us notice and retain the message. Consider the two strongest mediums that we use everyday, television and the Internet. Both use video, and both show movement, don’t they?
Today businesses have the opportunity to use video beyond television. They can set up a channel on YouTube which can be watched by anyone, anywhere, and at any time, 24/7. No longer are businesses restricted to a slot on television which airs at a particular time that is watched by an audience limited by reception and personal schedules. In addition, today’s videos can be part of a two-way conversation with customers. Videos can be used to further relationships with customers, thereby increasing sales.
Cost-wise, videos are inexpensive. YouTube charges nothing to host an unlimited number of videos. You can shoot a video with a digital camera that costs around $100. You can upload what you have shot in moments without any editing. Of all the ways that you can market, video costs very little.
Yes, businesses want to use the impact of video. However, most don’t know how. If you want to learn how, do so. Read a book, go online, or find a resource from which to learn. I am offering my new seminar, How to Use the Visual Impact of YouTube, for just that purpose. I invite you to attend. Whether you attend or not, do use video in your marketing.
Online or off, video is the most effective way to communicate.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Body Language
When I stopped at a red light yesterday, I noticed a tent with a sign “Free Windshield Chip Repair * See technician for details” on the grassy area between the road and a gas station. Underneath the tent, a guy was sitting in a chair with his feet up on a tub reading a book. He was dressed in quite casual attire: khaki shorts, a tan shirt, and sandals. His shirt did not have a logo or any way to identify his connection with a business.
“What a wasted opportunity!” I thought.
If he and the business he represented had realized the message that he was sending, he would have acted differently. Fortunately, no one could tell what business he represented.
What message did he send?
His message was “I’m supposed to man this tent for a certain amount of time. What a bore! I’ll read a book.”
Somebody at his office heard of the opportunity to set up a tent in a high traffic area and offer free windshield chip repair. I don’t know if this repair happened on the spot or not. I assume that was in the “*See technician for details.” In typical knee-jerk marketing fashion, the boss said, “Let’s do it!” and ordered this guy to man the tent on that particular day. The boss implemented the idea with no thought as to how to do it well.
If you or your employees are taking time to market in this fashion, do all you can to get sales from it. Don’t use it as a time to catch up on your reading. That sends the wrong message. Even worse, it doesn’t get what you want, sales.
This is a time of the year with a great deal of roadside sales and marketing. To be successful, this type of marketing requires active involvement. Realize that 85% of our communication is nonverbal. Roadside marketing offers the opportunity to use nonverbal communication to the max.
To do so, the guy in the tent could have stood up and faced the traffic. He could have smiled and waved at the drivers. He could have held up a sign further detailing the offer. He could have promoted the business on the sign, his shirt, or a hat. He could have engaged potential customers and worked the crowd of drivers with nonverbal communication.
Whenever you market at a roadside stand or a booth, work it by actively using positive nonverbal communication. Smile, look inviting, and make customers feel comfortable. Use body language to increase sales.
Don’t look like the customer will be interrupting your reading.
“What a wasted opportunity!” I thought.
If he and the business he represented had realized the message that he was sending, he would have acted differently. Fortunately, no one could tell what business he represented.
What message did he send?
His message was “I’m supposed to man this tent for a certain amount of time. What a bore! I’ll read a book.”
Somebody at his office heard of the opportunity to set up a tent in a high traffic area and offer free windshield chip repair. I don’t know if this repair happened on the spot or not. I assume that was in the “*See technician for details.” In typical knee-jerk marketing fashion, the boss said, “Let’s do it!” and ordered this guy to man the tent on that particular day. The boss implemented the idea with no thought as to how to do it well.
If you or your employees are taking time to market in this fashion, do all you can to get sales from it. Don’t use it as a time to catch up on your reading. That sends the wrong message. Even worse, it doesn’t get what you want, sales.
This is a time of the year with a great deal of roadside sales and marketing. To be successful, this type of marketing requires active involvement. Realize that 85% of our communication is nonverbal. Roadside marketing offers the opportunity to use nonverbal communication to the max.
To do so, the guy in the tent could have stood up and faced the traffic. He could have smiled and waved at the drivers. He could have held up a sign further detailing the offer. He could have promoted the business on the sign, his shirt, or a hat. He could have engaged potential customers and worked the crowd of drivers with nonverbal communication.
Whenever you market at a roadside stand or a booth, work it by actively using positive nonverbal communication. Smile, look inviting, and make customers feel comfortable. Use body language to increase sales.
Don’t look like the customer will be interrupting your reading.
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