Spotlight on Marketing

How NOT to Ask for Help

Posted on 7 March 2010 | 1 response

I recently received an e-mail, out of the blue, from a young man in Hong Kong who has started a new and worthy business. He found my website via Google, and wrote to me to ask me to mentor him.

I pondered his request for several days, and realised that I felt quite uncomfortable about it and felt no inclination to mentor him. So I replied to tell him to tell him why his approach didn’t work for me:

• I didn’t know him and had never met him, either online or in real life.
• As far as I knew, I didn’t know anyone who knew him.
• He hadn’t made any effort to establish a relationship with me, either online (for example on twitter) or in real life.
• His e-mail was all about him and his business and what HE needed: “I need an objective business mentor looking over my shoulder and advising me.” There was nothing to indicate why he had contacted ME rather than any other potential mentor.
• He wrote: “Obviously - needless to say - funds are limited at this time.” That seemed strange, unnecessary and illogical, because mentors by definition don’t expect payment.
• He didn’t convince me why I should help HIM rather than all the other people who ask for my free advice (and I get asked a LOT!).

He then replied to say that we have several interests, and even one friend, in common. Well that’s nice, I told him, but it’s not a good enough reason for me to mentor him. And it wasn’t enough to erase the negative perception I’d gained from his first e-mail. He also wrote: “Twitter is really not my thing. Managing my e-mail account is enough computering for me.” Sorry, that’s really not a good enough excuse for not creating relationships with people.

These days, it’s not at all difficult to establish a relationship, either online or in real life, with someone before you ask them for help. Because business is all about relationships. So he could have:

• Followed me on twitter and started a conversation.
• Subscribed to my e-newsletter.
• Commented on one of my blog postings.
• Attended some business networking events in Hong Kong, where he could quite likely have met me or someone who could have referred him to me (this is a small town).
• Asked his friends and clients to recommend him and introduce him to potential mentors. 

So in a nutshell, he didn’t market himself well - he didn’t convince me why I should help him. 

What do you think?

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 12

Posted on 1 March 2010 | 2 responses

This is Part 12 of an ever-growing series of blog postings, each one featuring links to 10 useful, funny and/or provocative articles/blog postings/videos/sites I’ve come across about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it).

Here are the latest 10:

1. “My Twitter Follower Philosophy…what is yours” by Lois Geller
2. “14 Reasons I Won’t Follow You on Twitter” by Meg Guiseppi
3. “100 Tips Essential to being a Smarter, Better Twitterer” by Jim Grygar
4. “Twitter & the Law of Reciprocity” by Kris Colvin
5. “7 Tips for Effective Marketing with Twitter” by Robert Gourley
6. “Top 5 ways to LOSE friends and NOT influence people on social media” by Craig Collins
7. “What if I didn’t use Twitter” by Scott Stratten
8. “How Not to Launch Your Company’s Twitter Account” from HubSpot
9. “7 Reasons Every Business Needs to be on Twitter” by Tom Pick
10. “Twitter = How Can I Add Value To Others?” by Tim Stevens

See also Part 1 (May 19, 2009), Part 2 (July 16), Part 3 (October 13), Part 4 (October 20), Part 5 (October 24), Part 6 (October 29), Part 7 (November 8 ), Part 8 (November 18), Part 9 (December 4), Part 10 (December 21) and Part 11 (January 28, 2010).

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources?

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

Plagiarism Sucks!

Posted on 28 February 2010 | No responses

Thanks to http://www.copyscape.com I just discovered that an advertising/marketing guy in India (who subscribed to my e-newsletter – but I’ve just deleted him from my distribution list) has plagiarised huge chunks of text verbatim from my website. Plagiarism sucks!

 

Update March 9: The guy had used my text in a slide presentation that he’d uploaded to a site called SlideShare in order to market his own services. I’m pleased to report that following a complaint from me, the admin people at SlideShare have removed the offending document.

I Bought A Toyota. Bugger

Posted on 15 February 2010 | No responses

I’m reading the fascinating book “Creative Leaps - 10 Lessons in Effective Advertising Inspired at Saatchi & Saatchi” by Michael Newman. Today, I was reading the part where the author writes about an award-winning advertising campaign for the Toyota HiLux truck.  The campaign was hugely popular in Australia and New Zealand in the late 1990s. The TV commercial showed the comical disasters that befall a farmer, his dog and his wife, who underestimate the truck’s “tugging power to pull out tree stumps, knock down fences, and tear apart large animals” - hence their dry reaction: “Bugger.”

Given Toyota’s current disastrous quality-control problems, it occurred to me that one of the company’s competitors could turn that campaign around, against Toyota, by running an ad (at least in Australia and New Zealand) saying simply: “I bought a Toyota. Bugger.”

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 11

Posted on 28 January 2010 | No responses

This is Part 11 of an ever-growing series of blog postings, each one featuring links to 10 useful, funny and/or provocative articles/blog postings/videos/sites I’ve come across about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it).

Here are the latest 10:

1. “9 Powerful Tips for Providing Value on Twitter” by Al Ferretti
2. “Social media marketing: 5 must-read books” by Todd R. Weiss
3. “How to Get Followed on Twitter - Twitter 101” by Misty Belardo
4. “Twitter etiquette, style rules for 2010” by Gina Chen
5. “10 Ways to Get Serious About Social Media” by Amber Naslund
6. “Mashable’s Social Media Guide for Small Businesses” by Matt Silverman
7. “How To Manage, Measure And Monitor Twitter” by Jeff Bullas
8. “Free Twitter for Business Checklist” by Nikki Pilkington
9. “How To: Not Suck At Writing Tweets” by Diana Adams
10. “Top 8 ways to use social media + 1” short video by Lewis Howes

See also Part 1 (May 19, 2009), Part 2 (July 16), Part 3 (October 13), Part 4 (October 20), Part 5 (October 24), Part 6 (October 29), Part 7 (November 8 ), Part 8 (November 18), Part 9 (December 4) and Part 10 (December 21).

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources?

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

What’s the REAL Purpose of Marketing?

Posted on 18 January 2010 | No responses

What’s the REAL purpose of marketing? When I ask my friends, twitter buddies, clients and students that question, I get answers such as: to make people aware of my product or service; to build my brand; to communicate a message; to create demand; to make people have nice warm fuzzy feelings about my company; to build customer goodwill; to protect my company’s reputation; to manage the customer relationship, etc. etc.

Yes, that’s all well and good, but what’s the ultimate purpose of all that?

One of my favourite quotes about marketing comes from Sergio Zyman, the former global marketing boss of The Coca-Cola Company and the author of “The End of Marketing As We Know It” and “The End of Advertising As We Know It”. He wrote: “The purpose of marketing is to sell more stuff.” (By the way, I’m pretty sure that when Mr Zyman said “stuff”, he didn’t mean “useless crap that nobody needs”. No. “Stuff” means your product or service, or even your ideas.)

I love that! No coy, apologetic wimpiness. It cuts through all the fluff and unashamedly gets right down to the essence of the issue. Because if your marketing activities aren’t resulting in measurable sales, what’s the point?

Even if your company sponsors a worthy charity (perhaps under the banner of your Corporate Social Responsibility programme), ultimately, the purpose HAS to be “to sell more stuff”, right? What do you think?

Of course it’s not just about “selling stuff” at any price - you have sell PROFITABLY to stay in business. But the issue of pricing, well, that’s another story…

The Lesson: To quote Mr Zyman once again: “The purpose of marketing is to sell more stuff.”

Action Step: When you’re considering a possible marketing strategy, ask yourself this question: How will this help me sell more of my “stuff”?

A Win-Win Marketing Deal? I Think Not!

Posted on 10 January 2010 | 2 responses

I’m mystified. A potential client (let’s call her Mary) recently contacted me, asking me to edit her monthly e-newsletter. She proposed that because she has no budget for marketing, she’d pay me for my services by referring others to me. Basically, she wanted me to edit her e-newsletter for free every month, and in exchange she’d recommend me to her readers. She was confident it would be ”a win-win situation” for both of us.

Out of curiosity, I tweeted about that to seek comments from other self-employed service providers, and someone replied: “That’s not a client. That’s a sponger.”

I agree, because as I explained to Mary, that kind of deal just doesn’t work for me. I say pay me AND offer referrals. If I do a good job for you, I deserve fair payment from you for my work. Then, if you’re happy with me and my services, of course I’d welcome referrals (I’ll even ask you for them). And if I then do a good job for THOSE people, I expect them to pay me fairly. But by itself, referring others does not constitute payment.

Mary insisted that it would be a good deal for me because she’d mention me in her e-newsletter to her mailing list of 2,000 people. Sounds impressive, but are they the RIGHT 2,000 people for me? Are they even in the market for my services? Are they the decision-makers in their companies, and are they likely to be willing and able to pay me a fair price for my services? Mary couldn’t answer those questions.

She also commented that it would only take me “five minutes” to edit each issue of her e-newsletter. No, it will take me my 30+ years of experience!

What do YOU think? What do you say when potential clients propose deals like that to you?

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 10

Posted on 21 December 2009 | 3 responses

This is Part 10 of an ever-growing series of blog postings, each one featuring links to 10 useful, funny and/or provocative articles/blog postings/videos/sites I’ve come across about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it).

Here are the latest 10 (and I’m delighted that #10 below, which is #100 in the series so far, comes from my friend Perri Blake Gorman in Hong Kong):

1. “Top 10 Twitter Basics Questions Answered” by Joe Pulizzi
2. “12 Newbie Twitter Tips to Start Tweeting” from ploked.com (author un-named)
3. “The 11 Deadly Sins of Twitter” by Randy Gage
4. “Nine ways your business could be using social media, but probably isn’t” from North Social
5. “10 Tips for Getting Your CEO on Twitter” by Alexandra Samuel
6. “Best and Worst Practices in Social Media Marketing” by Lee Odden
7. “6 Twitter Tips You Should Have Figured Out on Your Own” by Hillel Fuld
8. “Twitter Lists - 16 Ways To Use Lists To Improve Your Twitter Experience” from “Twitter Power System Blog” 
9. “My picks for the 99 most useful Social Media (and PR) Blog posts of 2009” by Adam Vincenzini
10. “5 Ways To Do Good Via Twitter” by Perri Blake Gorman - follow her on twitter: @bethebutterfly
    

See also Part 1 (May 19), Part 2 (July 16), Part 3 (October 13), Part 4 (October 20), Part 5 (October 24), Part 6 (October 29), Part 7 (November 8 ), Part 8 (November 18) and Part 9 (December 4).

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources?

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross

http://twitter.com/kayross

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 9

Posted on 4 December 2009 | No responses

This is Part 9 of an ever-growing series of blog postings, each one featuring links to 10 useful articles/blog postings/videos/sites I’ve come across, about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it). Here are the latest 10:

1. “My Brief List of 54 Twitter Rules (Did I Miss Any?)” by Joel Postman
2. “16 Twitter Tips for Small Business Owners” from ploked.com
3. “Six Social Media Trends for 2010” by David Armano
4. “8 Reasons You Need to Stop Ignoring Twitter” by Chris Crum
5. “Connecting with Customers on Twitter – 9 Tips for Success” by Jake Matthews
6. The 7 Harsh Realities of Social Media Marketing” by Sonia Simone
7. “100 Twitter Marketing Tips to Promote your Business” by Mary Ann Johnson
8. “Twitter for business” video by 360 Digital Influence
9. “Top 10 Tips For New Twitter Users” by Marcelo Lewin
10. “HOW TO: Create Twitter Backgrounds” by Ben Parr

See also Part 1 (May 19), Part 2 (July 16), Part 3 (October 13), Part 4 (October 20), Part 5 (October 24), Part 6 (October 29), Part 7 (November 8 ) and Part 8 (November 18).

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources?

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross

http://twitter.com/kayross

Sorry, You Can’t Control Your Message

Posted on 26 November 2009 | No responses

I belong to a business organisation in Hong Kong that often presents terrific training seminars for members and non-members. So me being me, I always spread the word about their events by forwarding their promotional e-mails to anyone I think might benefit, and by recommending their events in my e-newsletter. Of course I include a link to the organisation’s website.

Also, whenever I meet someone that I think could/should join the organisation, I rave about it and give the person the organisation’s website address. I don’t do all that as a paid marketing consultant - I do it voluntarily because I’m a member of the organisation and I want to spread the word.

So recently, in an a-email to the organisation’s marketing executive, I happened to mention that I’d promoted one of the organisation’s events in my last e-newsletter.

And she replied: “…please let us know in advance if you will be promoting [us] and using our web address as we need to monitor this carefully.” So she seems to be saying that I must ask permission to promote their events and send their web address to my friends. (Why else would she want to know IN ADVANCE if I’m planning to rave about them?) Unbelievable!

Here’s what I replied: “Sorry, but you really can’t control whether, and how, people recommend [your] events and website to others… I think it’s ridiculous to expect members to seek your permission in advance to promote your events and to give people your website address. You should be encouraging members to promote [your organisation's] events and its website, not making it difficult for us to do so.”

What do you think?

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