I spent U.S. Independence Day weekend in the Colorado mountain town of Frisco. My agenda included fireworks, grilling and Odell’s 90 Shilling. A fun time was had by all.

Before we left, we decided to drive around and explore the town. The yellow banner on the Ramada Inn caught my attention because . . . → Read More: The Key to Marketing Success: Testing (Maybe the Free Waffles Work)]]>

Free Waffles In Frisco, CO

I spent U.S. Independence Day weekend in the Colorado mountain town of Frisco. My agenda included fireworks, grilling and Odell’s 90 Shilling. A fun time was had by all.

Before we left, we decided to drive around and explore the town. The yellow banner on the Ramada Inn caught my attention because of the inclusion of waffles as a part of the advertised free continental breakfast for hotel guests.

I initially posted the photo you see to the right with a slightly snarky comment to my Twitter account and then began the drive home. However, something about the banner stuck in my brain. As I thought about it, I like it more and more.

1. The waffles set Ramada’s continental breakfast message apart - It’s something specific. Free waffles means their breakfast is not just a stale box of cereal and some milk. Someone needs to cook those waffles. While it may not be foie gras and truffles, it’s a step up.
2. Maybe waffles tested well - If I was the marketing manager for the hotel and thought my breakfast menu could be a draw, I would get a few different banners made and see if waffles performed better than “Free espresso drinks” or “Free omelettes” for attracting highway drivers to my establishment.

What part of your marketing mix can you strategically change to see if your current tactics are still top performers?

My son is one month old. Having your first kid makes you think about a lot of stuff.

One of the biggest thoughts for most first-time parents is “How in the world are they putting me in charge of this little person?!” Insecurity and paranoia are large pieces of the joys . . . → Read More: Do You Inspire Confidence?]]>

Florence Nightengale monument in London, England

My son is one month old. Having your first kid makes you think about a lot of stuff.

One of the biggest thoughts for most first-time parents is “How in the world are they putting me in charge of this little person?!” Insecurity and paranoia are large pieces of the joys of being a new dad.

The boy was born at Sky Ridge Medical Center and the nursing staff was fantastic. They all had their own personalities and styles but everyone of them radiated a steady confidence and displayed genuine caring. This was a great thing to have as my wife and I wrapped our brains around the idea of being parents. Each nurse who helped us seemed to be 50 percent Navy SEAL, 50 percent coach/psychologist. I felt COMPLETELY confident in the advice and care we received during our stay.

Compare this experience to a trip to the local pharmacy a few days after we went home. I asked if the antihistamine my wife used before her pregnancy would still work because she was breastfeeding. The pharmacist wrinkled her brow, looked it up in a PDA and said “that should be fine” without out any enthusiasm.

Ummm…sorry. The correct answer to an anxious new dad when he asks you whether or not he may be poisoning his infant son by buying the product you sell is: “This will not be a problem at all. Your wife and boy will be fine if she takes this for her allergies. You have nothing to worry about.”  It would be a good idea to say this with all the authority and confidence you can muster too.

Make sure a potential client who comes to you for a new website, basement remodel, puppy for the kids, etc. leaves without any doubt they’ve made the right choice talking to you (even if they don’t choose you in the end).

Also, don’t forget that your current clients need to feel that working with you is still one of the best decisions they’ve made. Do they see your invoices as a continued investment in their success or an expense that could be cut if things get too tight?

In this talk from the Taste3 Conference in 2008, Dan Barber describes his experience with Eduardo Sousa, a Spanish . . . → Read More: TED Talk – Dan Barber Discusses Foie Gras and Respecting the Nature of Things]]> Foie Gras is a topic that can inspire passion. Chefs and epicureans often put foie gras on the list of the highlights of life. Opponents see foie gras as the height of animal cruelty and human excess.

In this talk from the Taste3 Conference in 2008, Dan Barber describes his experience with Eduardo Sousa, a Spanish farmer who is rapidly becoming world famous for his foie gras. But this talk is not about farming or cooking. It’s about respecting and understanding nature.

Sousa’s mantra during Barber’s visit was: “I’m here to give the geese what they want.” And by taking this respectful and calm approach to raising and harvesting his geese, Sousa’s foie gras has won the Paris International Food Salon Coup de Coeur without gavage (the force-feeding of corn that rightfully makes animal activists so angry).

A lot of marketers, PR people and corporate executives spend a ton of time and energy writing a shiny mission or positioning statement every few years.

According to author and blogger Jeff Jarvis, figuring out which questions you or your business answer is probably a more important . . . → Read More: What Questions Do You or Your Business Answer? Google and Jeff Jarvis Want to Know]]>

Some Questions Can't Be Answered By Google by Mykl Roventine

A lot of marketers, PR people and corporate executives spend a ton of time and energy writing a shiny mission or positioning statement every few years.

According to author and blogger Jeff Jarvis, figuring out which questions you or your business answer is probably a more important exercise. Why? Easy. Because of Google.

In his outstanding new book, What Would Google Do? Jarvis outlines all of the ways Google is causing a radical shift in the way people interact with their world.

One of the main points I took away from reading the book was how people are starting to think in questions. While pondering questions large and small is not new to humankind, what is new is expecting to get immediate answers to questions because they can ask Google on their iPhones.

Next time someone at your office suggests updating the mission statement, make it your job during the discussions to figure out which questions everyone thinks your business answers and then compare what you come up with against your website analytics to see if your customers agree with you.

I could say Gandhi, Einstein or Nelson Mandela are moral heroes (and they are). But they are easy choices. Here’s one you may not have heard of: J.P. Hayes.

Hayes is a golfer who won a chance . . . → Read More: TEDTalk – Barry Schwartz Reminds Us To Have Moral Heroes]]> Barry Schwartz is awesome. He urges all of us to “celebrate moral exemplars.” Who is a moral hero that inspires you?

I could say Gandhi, Einstein or Nelson Mandela are moral heroes (and they are). But they are easy choices. Here’s one you may not have heard of: J.P. Hayes.

Hayes is a golfer who won a chance to join the PGA Tour in November 2008 and then disqualified himself because he realized he had played two shots on one hole with a ball that was not approved for competition.

He broke the rules and turned himself in because it was the right thing to do.

If you think he overreacted because no one would have cared and he should have kept his mouth shut, have a look at the damage on your last retirement account statement and ask yourself where we all would be as a country (heck, as a world) if the jokers in our financial system had that kind of inner clarity and integrity.

Mr. Ariely is a Behavioral Economist at MIT.  His book explores the seemingly irrational ways people make decisions. His work shows there are a number of different ways marketers can present an offer to make it even more enticing. . . . → Read More: Books You Should Check Out – Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely]]> First in a ongoing series of book reports. My junior high English teachers would be so proud.

Mr. Ariely is a Behavioral Economist at MIT.  His book explores the seemingly irrational ways people make decisions. His work shows there are a number of different ways marketers can present an offer to make it even more enticing. How context, price, procrastination, and expectations change they way people make choices are the main area covered by Mr. Ariely.

This is a great example from Chapter One.  You’re shopping for houses. You find three choices: one is a contemporary design and the other two are colonials. All three are the same price and equally desirable. The only variable that stands out is one of the two colonials needs a new roof and that seller will reduce the price accordingly.

Which one would you choose?

Here is a good audio interview about the book at Amazon.  You can also get more information at the Predictably Irrational website.  If you’re a podcast junkie like me, Mr. Ariely does a weekly series on iTunes U called “Arming the Donkeys.”  It’s in the Duke University section.