Drop the "h", Bich

Every new company goes through the struggle of naming itself. We did - we wanted something that was part of a whole, something that was universal to all (since we work with every type of industry). We ended up with O2 (you can't live without us!) Marketing + Design. Other companies' names have evolved over time. In the 1940's, the Bich pen was changed to Bic based on fear that people would mispronounce it as "Bitch". 3M was originally Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. 7-Eleven changed from U-Tote'm in 1946 to 7-Eleven to reflect their newly extended hours, 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. Reebok was named after an African antelope - alternate spelling of rhebok (Pelea capreolus). You can check out other etymologies here.

Boring Vs Ridiculous

We are frequently asked for the latest interesting promotional handout...something that no one has seen. "We've already done that; it's boring." No one wants to be boring! An insult! However, being new or the latest doesn't necessarily make something great. You can turn to fashion for some great examples of new things gone bad. How to avoid this? One suggestion is to take a successful product or idea and make it better or more interesting. Take the iPod, for example. There were mp3 players on the market before the iPod, but Apple made it amazing. In deciding how to motivate and engage your audience, think about the products and ideas they already use and like. Coffee mugs are boring in theory and you can't give one that is made of wood with spokes sticking out of it (ridiculous but interesting). You can, however, make a cooler one! You can give one that people actually want to use! Don't want to be boring? 30 ideas here.

A Pumped Up Banner

A banner that's happy to see you? Nah, it's a balloon! When you're looking for ideas to catch people's attention in a tradeshow, retail or convention situation, remember the mighty but cheap balloon! They are festive, colorful and biodegradable. Did I mention that they are cheap?

Stop Buying Bottled Water!

The good news is that Americans are drinking a lot of water. The bad news is that we are buying it in plastic bottles. Consider filling up your reusable water bottle at the home or office. Consider giving your friends, customers and family a stainless steel bottle that they can take on-the-go. Save money and save energy! Check out 5 reasons not to drink bottled water for more information.

Are You A Professional Marketing Tool?

A tool? That's how I read a subject line in an email: Name - Professional Marketing Tool. Clearly, the sender meant that they were offering a professional marketing tool but the juxtapositioning of the name and the subject sent a different message. I'm sure you've seen others. Here are some unintentionally funny signs. Some favorites: Loose Senior Citizen Center, Dead End (in front of cemetery) and Used Toilet Paper Rolls in Good Condition. Watch your words or Your words watch (click here for options)!

Ultra Thin Memory & Photos

Super cool gizmo: credit card size digital picture frame with 1 GB usb flash drive! Great incentive or referral gift. $29.99 each (call or email for quote)

Variety is the Spice of Life

If something is not working for you, try something new! If your message is boring, you might want to spice it up. People love to be entertained and surprised. How can you do that for your customers? Can you create a game out of identifying widgets that you send them? Can you send them a jumbo size calculator to help them save big? Can you send them a birthday card in the MAIL? (When was the last time you got one of those?) Mix it up - cards, gifts, emails, blogs, twitters,...surprise and inform. Keep them interested in your message and more likely to do business with you when the time comes.

An office desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet...maybe we should all hand out customized office wipes: We'll clean up your (fill in the blank) problems!

Slow Down for Good Corned Beef

We pride ourselves on being able to get things done efficiently and quickly. However, sometimes high speed does not get high results. The most immediate example is last night's corned beef and cabbage. It can't be done in 3 hours in a crock pot on high...apparently. It needs more time to cook. Ideas and solutions often need time to cook as well. The ingredients need to be assembled and prepped; they need to mix and simmer; they need to be tasted and tested; and then the solutions can be served up. Sure, a quick microwaved solution can be proposed, but will it be the best solution? After serving up the solution, the chef/problem solver reviews the results. What can be added or changed to make it better next time? Give yourself time to solve problems and serve up great solutions. Rush we can do but great results are better. Click here for brainstorming tips.

An Irish Blessing from O'2

May your pockets be heavy-
Your heart be light
And may good luck pursue you
Each morning and night

What's in a Name?

I have noticed a couple of recent naming contests: one for a gorilla and another for the Nasa Node 3. There's even a comedian Stephen Colbert who is asking his fans to put his name in for the Nasa Node. Marketing executives spend enormous amounts of time and money thinking about the names of products and services. Who would've thought that words like google and yahoo would end up being company names? I'd love to name headache medicines...ZapHead, NumbSkull, or ThroBgone. In the corporate wearable world, we get lots of names for green: celery, olive, moss, mint, lime. What would you name after yourself or what do you want to name?

Do. Doing. Done.

Here's a great referral article for everyone.

Happy Square Root Day!

It's a bit obscure and appeals to the nerd in some of us. It's 3/3/09 (the month and the day are the square root of the year). We had one in 2/2/04 and 1/1/01. The next one is 4/4/16. So, how do you plan to celebrate? Doing math puzzles? Checking out square images around the world? Eating root vegetables (carrots being the best)? How about emailing 3 people about your company's products or services and ask them to forward your email three people? You will have touched nine people with your message!

Green Eggs and Ham Marketing

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! For years, our local elementary school has held a Dr. Seuss breakfast with green eggs and ham to celebrate his birthday and to promote reading. They also provide regular eggs for those too squeamish to eat the green ones. Many kids can not be convinced that the green ones taste the same as the regular ones. Other kids love eating the green ones, feeling very daring in the process. So, how does Sam convince his friend to eat them? By encouraging him to try them in many different ways (in a house, a car...). How can you encourage your customers to try you?

Think like Sam-
How many different ways can your customers work with you?
How many different ways can the customer pay?
How many different options can you offer?

You don't just want daring customers (there aren't as many of those). You need the regular egg eaters too. You will get more customers here and there; you will get them everywhere!

Marketing in the Toilet

Urinal screens starting at $5.00!

CloseOuts in Promotional Products

If you like a great deal, try shopping close outs. There is the old "4 P's of marketing" - price, product, place and promotion. Close outs offer at least 2 and maybe 3 of the 4. You get great prices since the manufacturers and retailers are motivated to sell. The place of distribution can be retail, wholesale, and online. There are lots of ads for these items - they tend to be the loss leaders that get you into a store or they are promoted in order to reduce inventory. The one are that might suffer is product - in terms of variety. Often, the product is a close out due to color, style, outdated model, etc. If you can go into a buying situation with an open mind on the product, you can get a great deal and still accomplish your objectives. Ask us about close outs on promotional products.

Out To Lunch

There is a lot of discussion about Social Media and Networking...Facebook, Twitter, Blogs,...I have to wonder if people are filling up their time posting, texting, tweeting, and blogging. It's looks like you are connecting, possible even working. Maybe we should just go out to lunch and chat there. Connect face to face over Chicken Mahkani! We can count it as a meeting - very business like and much more connected. Many researchers put communication as 55%-80% body language. You can't text that kind of communication!Check out this blog for more.

A Watched Pot Never Boils

I've done it...watched the pot! I realize that it does eventually boil but it just seems to take longer when I watch. I think that's happening a bit right now in our economy. We are waiting and watching for it to get better. Instead, let's take our minds off the waiting by doing something else. It can be anything that keeps your business moving: picking up the phone to interview customers, mailing thank yous to past customers, or attending a trade show to show your latest innovations. 'The pot' will boil much faster while we are doing something other than watching and waiting.

If you prefer a sports idiom...get off the sidelines and get into the game. Same idea!

Marketing on a Shoe String

Save Money Now!

We are all looking to save money and make our budgets go farther. One of the easiest ways to do that is to plan ahead. It's not something that we all do naturally but we can learn it. Planning ahead allows you time to find the best solution for the best price. It allows you to ship regular ground services rather than expedited expensive methods. It helps you preempt mistakes and get them corrected. It also gives time to produce product overseas where it might be made less expensively. It allows more creativity so that the solutions might be more cost effective. Finally, planning ahead is less stressful - which indirectly save money (less illness, less coffee, less late hours).

Think: PAAS = Plan Ahead And Save!

Re-Market using New Acronyms

It seems that everything has an acronym these days. Just read an article about re-naming TARP (Treasury Asset Relief Program) - i.e. the bailout. It seems that it has a negative connotation - so they need to re-market it! Maybe we can do the same...

Losing business to price cutters: STOP - Sell To Other People

Reduction in force (already an acronym RIF): HIRE - Happy In Retirement Exercise

Rude Customers or Suppliers: PLEASE -Practice Living Each Action Solicitiously Evermore

People who don't return phone calls: RISE -Refuse Insult Seek Encouragement

Not spending money on marketing: PROFIT - Prepare Real Options For Increasing Transactions

Maybe you have others to add? It's all how you look and act on things!

Get Some Propinquity!

Huh? Propinquinty is a noun meaning nearness or the property of being close together. How well do you know your customers? Who is your ideal customer? Start by looking at your most profitable customers that also refer business to you. Once you have a clear picture of whom that is...practice propinquity. Take them to lunch or coffee. Get some face-to-face time. Most people are feeling a bit fearful right now - why not assure them of your relationship and services. It'll be fun too!

Turning Up the Neon!

We embraced our neon and turned up the ideas at our kick off meeting. We're looking ahead to 2009 as a year of change and growth. We continue to help our customers get the most from the marketing dollars. With our ideas and expertise, everyone will benefit. Our biggest question is how do you prefer to interact with us? Phone? Email? In person? We also found out what our learning styles are...visual, auditory or kinesthetic...hmmm...
uh oh for one of us!

Neon Trend

The fashionistas were reporting a neon trend last Spring and Summer. It usually takes the corporate world a little longer to embrace trends. This Spring, I think you will see more t-shirts, hats and jackets with neon colors - either 100% or as accents. They will great for team building, attention grabbing and message announcing. For safety programs, it's not a fashion statement but a necessity. They don't even call the colors neon, as in neon orange - but "safety orange". You will find some here.

If you prefer a more subtle take on the neon, use it for pens, notebooks or other event materials. It provides color and attention to your efforts. Something like this!

Punxsutawney Phil says 6 more weeks!

Groundhog Day can offer us a few insights about marketing. Phil has seen his shadow 97 times out of 112 recorded observances. That's 86% of the time that we get 6 more weeks of winter. With these odds, we should plan for winter most of the time. I compare it to the 80/20 rule by Pareto - 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. Plan to spend most of your time with them. They are the foundation of your business.

The 6 more weeks of winter gets me thinking about events and planning for the weather - umbrellas, ponchos, sunscreen (events in Hawaii?), jackets, hats. We need to give our audience a great experience and that includes thinking about the weather.

Then there's his name: Punxsutawney Phil. It's catchy. We all want to grab our audience's attention for a sale, a visit to a booth or a meeting. Turn It Up!

Finally, continuity plays a great part in maintaining and growing your business. The efforts you make tday will reap benefits in months and years ahead. 112 years of recorded observances for Phil is a success story full of heart that grows every year.

Super Cool EyeBlack

In light of the upcoming Superbowl or I Love Lucy marathon (depending on your interest), I thought I'd highlight a cool promo - customized EyeBlack. It's the black paint that athletes wear below their eyes to reduce glare. Now, your team or company can customize it with your logo and wear it for your event. For about $1.00 per pair, you get a very cool pair of eyes for your event.

Check it out!

Imagine 10,000 runners wearing it to support breast cancer awareness!

Don't Just Mulch

Growing plants is a frequent metaphor for the sales process: plant a seed, fertilizer, weed, mulch, enjoy the new growth and then continue the care. As marketing and sales professionals, we undertake the same process. We know to do all of these steps simultaneously (that seed from November might need fertilizing now while a new seed is being planted somewhere else). Many people have put themselves in the "mulching" step - covering themselves with excuses for not doing business. They are hibernating until "this thing" blows over. Successful businesses will continue to all the growing steps. What are you doing to plant new seeds? Weed out the bad prospects? Care for current customers?

Check out this link to an article written after 9-11 - very appropriate to today's climate.

Stuck doing all the work? Outsource!

While many companies are downsizing, the left behind employees still have to get their work done plus some. How is that possible? Besides crawling under your desk, outsourcing is a solution. It doesn't mean you have to hire expensive contractors or consultants. It can mean you ask for brain power in solving problems. Rather than spending hours researching a product or service, ask a couple of companies to do that for you and provide the best solutions. It's part of their service commitment for you.

Post-it Notes Work!

Take note...apparently we all like post-it notes! We are always looking for inexpensive ways to get in front of our prospects or customers with our messaging. One of THE best ways is with Post-it notes. You may think that they are going away...but check out this Forbes article why they are here to stay!

If everyone is using them, shouldn't you be giving them away to promote your business?

Ignorance is Bliss...or Fake it til You Make it

As I was looking for information on past recessions, I was struck by how regular they seem to be. A couple of them I was in the work force (versus school). Looking back on them, I can't say that I remember them much. It could be bad memory but I think it has more to do with awareness and media. The "Dot-Bomb" left an after taste but we kept on being profitable.

The collective psychology seems to buying into the current recession. I think that's a mistake. I think we put our heads down, talk to customers, fix problems and get the jobs done. Ignorance is bliss as they say. If you can't ignore it then fake it. An old boss of mine used to answer the question...How's business? with a resounding FANTASTIC! A faker all the way to the bank!

Friend-Raising

Just heard a new term (maybe I'm a bit behind)..."friend-raising". It was used in the context of connecting with college alums - instead of fund-raising. Isn't that what we're doing in our businesses - but we call it - client aquisition or new account development? "Friend-raising" or even "Client-raising" is so much friendlier. It's not as immediate but definitely more rewarding both personally and financially. We're raising new friends who will become our financial contributors! It says - you and I are connected and when you need my expert help, I'm here for you. Raise a few new friends today.

Your Company as a Verb

I enjoyed a Blog by Seth Godin about The Best Middle Name Ever..."the"...http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/. It made me think about other words and grammar. I've decided that while it would be great to be Meg The O'Dea (my other family members might argue with me) or O2 The Marketing + Design, I'd much rather be a verb. Think about it! Not many have achieved this - Google being the most obvious. Verbs are about actions. If that isn't possible, I would take an adjective or adverb...though I suspect that many companies already do this...that's the "company x" way or those are "company y" standards. I'm going to o2 this a little longer and come up with other possibilities.

Where are Your Customers When They Need You?

How do people purchase products and services? They have to take an action...go online, call someone, walk into a store, or email a business. Why they take an action is the source of much discussion, books, marketing classes. While the "why" is important, the "where" is too. Where are you customers when they want to buy your products or services? In the car...hungry for lunch? At home...the shower is backed up. In front of the computer...out of service awards?

Wouldn't it make sense to be in front of your customers when they wanted you? Consider giving them something that will be there when they need you. The refrigerator magnet, the travel mug, the mousepad, etc. Make it easy for them to take that action!

Spend Now and Support the Economy

On my favorite morning radio show yesterday, they were discussing signs in the real world about the economy...things like coffee shop lines, movie theaters, airports, etc. Many callers gave anecdotes on their job status and what they were seeing. Then the discussion turned to the fact that all the morning show people had jobs and nothing had changed for them economically. So, should they be spending or conserving? I wanted to YELL at them...spend! I don't mean to spend randomly but I do mean to purchase mindfully.

Support your local coffee shop so that it stays in business. Hire the contractor to do the work around the house NOW...he may have more time for you and can do it more quickly. Consider your purchases - what is important to you - but if you can, don't wait. Many people and businesses need your business. If the people and businesses who are economically viable stop spending, this recession will continue longer than it should. And, businesses, this is a great time to get more customers. Some of your competitors will not survive this recession - connect with new customers now.

The "economy" is real people...support them.

Newspaper Ads vs Direct Mail

In the gym over the weekend, I overheard a conversation between two women about local newspaper advertising. They were questioning placement, exposure and cost. They also commented on the high cost of yellow page advertising. I almost jumped into their conversation to ask some questions...did they feel like they were getting through to their audience? Was it worth the cost? Were they tracking the responses? With advertising budgets tightening, everyone is looking to squeeze the most out of their money.

Direct mail offers an inexpensive way to directly reach your audience. You can design a clever piece that motivates them to take an action. The action could be to purchase, come into a store or tradeshow booth or respond to a survey. You can then track the effectiveness of the mailing to find out the response rate - aka return on investment. How many people responded? How many sales were generated as a result of the piece? Who responded?

Then you analyze the results and try again - always trying to achieve a better response rate - aka a better return on investment.

Suffering from Recession Fatigue

It appears that the recession started December 2007. I know that many companies really started getting conservative by Fall 2008. Amongst friends and family there were discussions about less holiday shopping or no vacations. Some of these people have not been hit economically but have jumped on the doomsday band wagon. I am already tired of it. I am getting recession fatigue. Today, I decided to go support some local retail establishments. I don't even feel guilty...it was all on sale! Most businesses are offering discounts to customers now. If they aren't, I would ask - it never hurts. This is a great time to be a buyer! Ask any of us at O2 Marketing - we're negotiable! www.o2marketing.com. Fight Recession Fatigue with some buying. Make it a New Year's Resolution.