The Season of Giving

Last week I heard about Macy’s Make a Wish campaign for the holiday season.  The spokesperson said, “We know that people like to write letters to Santa so this year  Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make a Wish Foundation for each letter Santa receives at Macy‘s.  Bring a letter written to Santa to any Macy’s store throughout the country and drop it in the Letters to Santa box.”

A couple days later I heard a story about a local restaurant which was donating an entire day’s revenue so that children who might not receive gifts would do so.  Yesterday I heard a follow-up story.  The reporter stated that the restaurant had donated its entire day’s sales, not the profits but the sales.  The amount was $6000.  Another $1000 was raised through donations from the day’s patrons.  That is a substantial contribution from both the patrons and the restaurant. 

These are excellent examples of cause marketing.  As the name implies, cause marketing connects a business with a cause.  The business attempts to help the cause, generally by raising funds, and, in doing so, the business receives positive publicity.  In this season of giving, opportunities for cause marketing abound.

Cause marketing offers a wonderful return for both the business and the cause.  Keep in mind that while cause marketing involves a charitable contribution it also is marketing.  That means the business must get something out of the effort.  The business must receive a positive communication about making the contribution.  If it does not, marketing was not involved.  The exercise was merely a contribution to a cause.     

If you are thinking of participating in cause marketing, here are three factors that will make your efforts successful.  First, layout a program that gets customers into your business.  Notice that Macy’s asked customers to drop off letters to Santa.  The retailer did not require a purchase to do so.  Likely, Macy’s has positioned the drop box at the back of the store so that customers will walk the length of the store to reach it.  This is done in hopes that some merchandise will attract customers’ attention on the way, and they will make a purchase. 

The local restaurant actually gave all the revenue from customers’ meals.  In order to participate, customers had to come to the restaurant and order something.  They had to buy.  The restaurant in essence gave away the costs and profits of the operation for that day, but the customers sampled the fare with their purchases.  Hopefully, that will prompt them to return. 

Second, send out a press release so that your business gets initial press on the project.  Let the public know before the event takes place or the promotion kicks off that it is happening.  This gives your business publicity and generates participation.  If you are putting time and effort into the cause, you want to maximize people knowing about it, don’t you?

Third, do a follow-up release so that the press can report what happened.  This promotes the cause, makes participants feel good, and gives your business additional positive exposure.  Skipping this important step will significantly reduce the impact of your cause marketing. 

If you decide to do cause marketing, follow these three steps.  Your business will receive positive publicity, and the cause will benefit, too.        

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.

A Foolish Customer Program

When I was a kid, I loved Mallo Cups. My siblings and I consumed more of them than I care to admit, and we religiously collected the “Mallo Cup Play Money” on the cards inside each one. Most had five or ten points. Sometimes we stumbled across a one. Rarely, we discovered a 50 or 100, which always was very exciting!

My roommate recently began buying Mallo Cups and enjoying them again as she had when she was young. Yesterday, she handed me a “Play Money Card” from the one that she was eating and asked me what to do with it. “Can you recycle this?”

I reverted back to being a collector of Mallo Cup Money and recoiled at the thought of tossing away any of it. As I looked at the card, I realized that it appeared identical to those I collected many years ago. I peered at it closely, reading the fine print. Collect 500 points, send them in, and receive $1 rebate check. “One dollar,” I thought, “for 500? Are they kidding? Who would save that many, put them together into an envelope, and apply a $.44 stamp to receive one dollar?”

Are today’s Mallo Cup eaters that foolish?

I can’t answer that question. However, I can tell you that Boyer’s marketing is foolish. The company has trashed a program which encouraged repeat purchases and rewarded profitable customers. Think about it. If the average Mallo Cup Money card from a purchase is ten points, you must purchase fifty Mallo Cups to reach 500 points. If the average is five points, you must buy one hundred to reach 500. If a customer bought fifty to one hundred of your product, wouldn’t you reward them with more than a buck?

Oh, that’s right; there‘s more. You also can save additional points for valuable prizes. Send in for your prize catalog to the above address.

Send in for a catalog? Why not go online? Today, why not have a Web site or Facebook page that involves Mallo Cup customers with Boyer? In what century does Boyer dwell?

Perhaps the last century. These cards looked just the same as those that I collected as a kid with one exception. Those that I collected offered free product sent to your door when 500 points were reached. That program truly rewarded its customers, and that kept us buying Mallo Cups.

Take a lesson from Boyer. If you offer your customers a rewards program, make it worth their time to participate. Tie their reward to enjoying more of what your business offers.

Three Simple Criteria for a Successful Ad

A rare occurrence happened to me recently. I watched a TV commercial for the first time and remembered it. The commercial was for Frog Tape. (Don't ask me why it is named that!) No, it is not tape for frogs; it is tape that you use to cover adjoining ceilings or walls prior to painting so that your paint does not dribble onto an area which you do not intend to be that color.

Not only did the commercial catch my attention, perhaps due to the name, it also held my attention throughout the entire commercial. I watched it from beginning to end.

Why?

First of all, it was very specific. The commercial used words well. Rather than deal in vague generalities by using words such as quality, best, or value, this commercial explained Frog Tape in very specific wording. "Frog Tape has a backing that works like a laminate, binding to the wall or ceiling and sealing off paint." That was such a powerful statement that I remember it clearly.

Those specific words were coupled with a demonstration of the tape on the wall. When the tape was removed after the painting was complete, no drippage was under the tape. That was compared to "other" tape which did not have Frog Tape's sealing properties. How the laminate bonded was also shown. This was excellent use of television which demonstrates the best of any medium because it uses visual and motion together.

The clincher as to why I remember the commercial is that it gave me a reason to buy. Painting requires a great deal of effort and is not a project that I relish. I like to move my painting process along smoothly so that I save time and stress. If I think that my painting is finished and then remove the tape to discover paint bleed, I am not happy. The commercial showed that happening. Therefore, at the end of the Frog Tape commercial, I said aloud, "I am getting Frog Tape for my next painting project."

This Frog Tape commercial sold me because it satisfied three simple criteria of a successful ad, whatever the medium. First, it used specific wording. Second, it employed the advertising medium well. Third, it gave the customer a reason to buy. The next time that you review an ad, hold it up against these three criteria.

Does your ad have all three?

It's That Time of Year

"The only thing that will make women take their clothes off this Christmas."

This opening to a PajamaGram TV ad caught my attention. Beyond being a fantastic promise, the statement is very intriguing, especially to men. That is a good thing because men are its target audience. It's that time of year when men buy their Christmas presents.

I know this firsthand from working in retail. Our store was a couple of doors down from a bar which was a popular after-work hangout. Every year, each day closer to Christmas brought more guys staggering directly from the bar into our store to buy their wives or girlfriends a nice gift for Christmas. These guys were fun to work with not because they were drunk and not because they were desperate but because when I had finished helping them I always felt that I had really helped someone. I had made it a Merry Christmas for him and his wife or girlfriend.

I could always tell when one of these guys was approaching. He walked hesitantly toward the women's clothing department, acting like he would get burned by being there. Hovering around the outer parimeter, he would call me over. "She's about your size," was a usual comment. Sometimes he would say that she was slightly shorter or taller, smaller or bigger. Never ever did one of them refer to her being heavier or lighter. These guys knew not to go into that minefield.

When we had found a gift that he thought might work, he would timidly ask, "Could you wrap that for me, too?"

I learned how to wrap different gifts of different sizes very, very well. As he accepted the wrapped package, he spilled thank you after thank you. Sometimes he passed me a tip. I have never experienced this depth of gratitude at any other time in my life.

That is why PajamaGram.com, many jewelers, and other companies targeting men who want gifts for their wives or girlfriends are advertising heavily now. Now is the time that many men buy their wives and girlfriends a present. These guys procrastinate on this task until the last minute, and good marketers such as PajamaGram know it. PajamaGram also knows that these guys do not want to shop. Consequently, PajamaGram is making it easy for them to get what they want. They want a sexy gift that they can easily select and don't have to wrap. They can order PajamaGram online without leaving home, and the gift arrives overnight. These guys don't have to take much time with this purchase. They can handle it during halftime of a football game.

That is where I saw the PajamaGram commercial.

PajamaGram placed its commercial at the right time and in the right place directed toward the right target market. When you know your target market and its habits, being right is easy. Remember this when you target your market. First, find out what your customers want. Next, find out how they want to buy. Then, time your message so that you talk to them when they are ready to buy.

By following these three steps, just like PajamaGram, you will reach your customer at that time of year which is important to them.

What's in It for Us?

In the aftermath of Paul Newman's passing, a survey found that 86% of respondents would switch brands if a competing brand supported a good cause. How does this survey relate to Paul? In his later years, Paul became known for more than his acting. He and his daughter developed Newman's Own, a line of natural food products. All the profits from Newman's Own go to charities. At this point in time, that is a staggering $250 million since 1982. Paul Newman was willing to forgo profits from his company and give them to others who needed them more.

Along Paul's line of thinking, yesterday I heard that 64% of those in another survey said that they would take a 5% pay cut if it meant that others in their company would be able to keep their jobs. That figure amazed the talking heads who were delivering it. They were very surprised that workers in a company would be willing to sacrifice for their fellow workers.

In this season of sharing, these surveys indicate that, as a people, we seem to be more concerned about others than in recent years. Whether we show that concern through our purchases or in the workplace, there appears to be a shift in our attitudes toward "What's in it for us?" rather than just "What's in it for me?" While I think that we will always be concerned first about ourselves, these surveys indicate an expansion to a concern for those around us, too.

How does that affect your business?

First of all, if you have an inclination to tie your business to a good cause, more than ever your efforts will be noticed by consumers. More importantly to your business, consumers indicate a high likelihood of responding to your efforts by doing more business with you. In other words, good deeds will get rewarded in the marketplace.

Second, through these good deeds your business can give to those who desperately need the assistance, especially during a time when contributions have fallen due to the economy. Food pantries' stores are pitifully low. Charities that distribute warm winter clothing are pleading for help. Humane associations are bulging at the seams with surrendered pets that people cannot afford to keep. While supplies for all these charities has decreased, demand has increased. Your business can take a leadership role in adding to their coffers.

Your business can be a good citizen to your community.

As you focus on your business every day, remember that whatever product, service, or information your business offers, your most important function is serving the customer. In a broad sense, your community is your customer. Thus, serving your community is ultimately serving your customer.

That's "What's in it for All of Us."