Recognize the Problem

I heard a story the other day about a resourceful nine-year-old boy in Florida named Zach Wilson. Zach spends his weekends playing with dogs at the local animal shelters. Noticing that the number of dogs at the shelter were increasing significantly, he asked an adult volunteer at the facility, “Why are more dogs being dropped off?”

The volunteer’s reply will not surprise you. “The economy is forcing pet owners to make awful choices. They do not have enough money, and they must choose what they don’t buy. Many of them are choosing not to buy pet food. Some of them let their pets loose. Others bring their pets here. They are very sad to give them up but hope that we can find them good homes.”

The boy thought over what the volunteer had said. The next day, he announced to his mom, “Mom, we gotta feed the dogs.”

“Our dog is fed,” she replied.

“No, I mean all the dogs. We gotta feed all the dogs.”

To do so, he and his mother created a food pantry for pets called the Central Florida Animal Pantry, the only one of its kind in the state. Those who get food from the pantry are asked to volunteer as much as they are able. The pantry has received generous donations from pet stores, schools, and community members, but the need is increasing. At the time of this story, they had given away 1800 pounds of food the prior week.

Zach is a tireless champion for the animals. He wants to go even further and help all the animals as much as he can. As his mother says, “It sounds like a lot for a little boy, but we have to try.”

I am impressed with Zach for many reasons, but I want to focus on one. He recognized the problem. As he saw more pets in the shelter, he asked, “Why? Why are there more pets?”

After receiving the answer, he thought through the situation and realized that the problem was that people needed food for their pets, not that the pets needed a new home. Once he settled on the problem, he came up with an alternative solution to abandonment: a pet food pantry.
His solution is much better for many reasons. How much cheaper is it to keep a pet in its home rather than put it in a shelter? How much easier is it on the pet to stay in a home where it is happy than to uproot it and find it a new home? How much less stress is involved for the pet owners not to give up their pets and the shelter volunteers not to receive this influx of unnecessarily abandoned pets?

Most people abandon a pet to the wild or the shelter because they can’t care for it anymore due to changes in their lives. Shelter personnel are so accustomed to taking the pets that are dropped off and caring for them that they don’t stop and think of what is at the root of this problem. Just like the rest of us, they are overwhelmed with the day-to-day tasks involved in the shelter. When the influx of pets is increasing rapidly, they have even less time to think through a new problem. I certainly don’t find fault with them. I applaud them for what they do.

I do think that we can all learn a lesson from Zach, however. In our daily crush of business, we have a tendency to handle a situation superficially as it comes and not sit back and think through the situation to uncover the real problem. What is the problem? Did we identify it correctly? How can we dig deeper to discover it?

Take time to ask yourself these questions. Think the situation through. Recognize the problem.

Once you do, your solution will be much more effective and, possibly, cheaper.

Why Does Your Customer Buy?

The New York Times announced yesterday that it will no longer be offering its news online for free. Beginning next month, readers will get two articles per month at no charge. They will pay for the rest.

This announcement prompted a Twin Cities TV station’s news to ask people on the street if they would pay for news online. "No," replied one. "Not when I can get it from other sources online for free."

All the other interviewees echoed that sentiment.

Finally, the reporter asked the last person if she would pay if all the news sources online charged. "Well, yes, I suppose that I would pay if I had to," she responded.

How likely is that to happen?

News organizations, especially newspapers, made a huge error at the dawn of the Internet. They did not know what they sold. Rather than view what they sold as news and information, they saw what they offered was the form in which the news and information arrived. They saw what they sold as newspapers or TV news. The format, paper or airwaves, mattered more than the content.

Their readers and viewers, however, were picking up the paper or tuning into the broadcast for the news. They didn't care about the format. They wanted the information. Therefore, when the news became available online 24/7, readers and viewers found getting the information online convenient.

This disconnect between what the readers and viewers wanted and the way that the newspapers and TV news perceived what they sold spelled trouble for the news organizations. You see, the way that these news organizations make their money is by inserting ads or commercials amid the news stories. In addition, the newspapers are accessed by subscription, which is more revenue for them. Free online availability of the news wiped out those sources of revenue. These news organizations cannot insert the number of ads or commercials online that they can in print or during a broadcast.

They did not initially see their problem, however. Since they didn't know that they had a problem and they didn't know how to use the Internet to make money, they did what everyone else did at the dawn of the Internet. They climbed on board. They set up a Web site. They started having their stories available online as well as in print and on the airwaves. "Hey, look," they proclaimed. "Find us on the Web. Read our stories or watch our news whenever you want."

They thought the Internet was a great marketing tool. Since everyone else was climbing aboard the Internet, they got on, too. They certainly did not want to be the last organization to do so. None of them sat down and thought this through first. Nope. They just climbed aboard the Internet bandwagon. No news organization likes to be the last. They all want to be the first with the story. They certainly did not want to be the last on the Web.

Now newspaper subscriptions are declining at a rapid pace. So is TV viewership. People are getting their news online. Since the newspapers and TV stations offer the news online for free, that is what people have come to expect. They have been trained by the newspaper and TV stations to get their online news at no charge. That is a difficult training to reverse, especially when all the organizations that provide news need to do so. As the last interviewee noted, "If they all charge, then I will have to pay."

That's not likely to happen, particularly when these news organizations still do not know what they sell and why the customer buys.

Learn from these news organizations' error. Know what you sell and why your customer buys.

Turn Down the Volume

When I was a TV sales rep, I had to take my turn manning the station’s booth at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. Year after year viewers stopped by the booth with one major complaint: turn down the volume on the commercials. Many were quite emphatic. At the time, I didn’t notice the volume difference in commercials. In fact, viewers often acknowledged that the station for which I worked was not the worst offender.

Recently, however, I have noticed the volume being cranked up for commercials on all stations. Whether on broadcast or cable, commercials on all channels are louder than the programs. This leads me to grab the remote and turn down the volume. Sometimes I even mute the commercials.

In last month’s TV Guide, I read that I am not alone. A new bill called the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) just passed the House of Representatives. This bill requires the volume on commercials to be regulated. If the bill passes the Senate, the FCC will implement technology with cable operators which prohibits commercials to air any louder than the highest decibel of the program in which they air. Representative Anna Eshoo, sponsor of the bill, says that she has received a tremendous response from people all over the country who appreciate the regulation. “There isn’t anyone who hasn’t experienced that dive for the mute button,” she states.

If others are diving for the mute button, maybe I am much kinder in just turning down the volume. Either way, the commercial’s effectiveness is at best greatly diminished and at worst lost all together. Just because you crank up the volume does not mean your message gets heard. More likely, your intended recipient turns you off or tunes you out. Loudness is an assault on the eardrums which stimulates a pulling back rather than a going forward.

We can all learn a lesson from this, whether our business airs commercials or not. Being pushy with your marketing message is not effective. Loudness in commercials is pushy. Capital letters in printing are pushy. Crawlers across the screen in video are pushy. We apply these techniques for emphasis or to get attention, but they translate to the recipient as annoying. When the recipient of your marketing is annoyed, she or he will move quickly to avoid your message.

When that happens, what has your marketing accomplished? At best you have wasted money and effort; at worst you have imprinted a negative impression that cannot be erased. Certainly, you did not achieve your desired outcome of stimulating more business.

Use other techniques to pique interest and to make your message memorable. Don’t push. Instead, gently lead your customer into doing business with you. You will both be happy with the outcome.

Give to Get

The other day a friend showed me a mailing that she had received from Country magazine. "Look at this. There are tips on each of these pieces of literature."

She was right. On the back of the acknowledgment that she was the recipient of a gift subscription to Country was a twenty-five tip listing of energy and, therefore, money-saving tips. On the flip side of a glossy, full-color piece from Checks Unlimited were fourteen random tips from residents of Canada and the United States. On one-half of one side of a glossy, full-color piece for Bradford Exchange were tips for great salads, tenderloin tips, and straining broth.

"Interesting," I commented. "May I keep these?"

"Sure. I thought you'd want them," she replied.

When I looked at the first piece, I instantly recognized that the staff at Country knows its readers. They know that Country readers love tips. Giving new subscribers money-saving tips on the back side of an acknowledgment will ingratiate newbies to Country. The second and third pieces, however, gave me pause. "Wow!" I thought. "Country is using its knowledge of what readers want to assist vendors who are advertising with them to get more attention to their offers."

The staff at Country knows that tips printed on an offer are likely to get read and kept. The piece will be looked over more carefully. Perhaps it will be referenced several times. It may be shown to others, too. Attention to the offer, particularly multiple times and possibly by multiple people, increases the likelihood of a sale.

In addition, these tips establish the credibility of both Country and the vendors to readers. The tips are sound advice and new ideas, both of which readers appreciate. Just seeing these tips makes a favorable impression with readers. Since readers want tips, they will save these tips even if they do not have time to read them immediately.

How can you apply what Country did with your customers? What do your customers want to know?

Take a little effort to ask your customers this question and then think through their answers. Apply what you learn to your marketing efforts. You will likely find that they are interested in some type of updates about your product or service as it affects their lives.

When you know what information your customers want, sit down with your staff and brainstorm where to access this information. You and your staff have a wealth of knowledge that you can share. This knowledge comes from what you have learned through years of experience, your opinions that are based on your expertise, and your reading. Freely quote others with whom you agree. Don't assume that just because you have a piece of knowledge or have read something that your customers also have this information. Once you have decided upon and assembled the information that you think your customers want, give it to them.

Make your message more memorable by tying it to information.

After all, you have to give to get.